The reasons for this naturally revolve around money. The WWE has no faith in Bryan’s ability to be a top star and top box office draw, presumably because his popularity developed largely organically and was not manufactured by their company. In a business where the most important thing you can do as a performer is sell merchandise, he seems to trail just behind the other big names. The catch is, those other people who may sell slightly more merchandise? Their fans no longer seem to be attending wrestling shows. So when the WWE continually humiliates and pushes down the performer beloved by their most dedicated fans, those fans have chosen to lash out. They’ve hijacked entire television segments into Daniel Bryan love-ins, and all he can do as a truly professional performer is stand there smiling, shrugging his shoulders. To watch that clip, an outside observer would HAVE to draw the conclusion that this guy was the face of the company. And yet he’s not, and the fans are apoplectic.

Those in the WWE’s highest decision-making echelons are locked in a war against their own fans. Every night they come out to crowds that demand one entertainer and do their best to force-feed them either the same top guys or returning veterans who are out of shape and disinterested. The winner of last night’s Royal Rumble, Dave Bautista, is the latest of these over-the-hill veterans to come back. The WWE thinks he’s a star on par with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson just because he has an upcoming role in Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” that he wants to promote on TV. But he’s not that kind of star. Non-wrestling fans who are reading this have probably never even heard of Batista. And yet, despite being practically booed out of the building by all the fans in attendance, this guy is currently being presented by the company as someone adored by the audience. But nobody is buying it.