Just a few hours ago, WWE presented Night of Champions and four new champions were crowned. The lives of people changed in a span of those three hours. The two that come to mind are Daniel Bryan and Chris Jericho.
Daniel Bryan premiered on NXT as the bright star burning bright, but a neck-tie fizzled that star. For two months, WWE got heat from a lot of hardcore fans demanding that they reinstate Daniel Bryan. Signs were turned away from WWE events, chants were voiced over, and petitions fell silent. SummerSlam changed all of that when John Cena named Daniel Bryan as the surprise seventh member overshadowing The Miz, who had earlier decided to help out Team WWE as their Final Hope against the threat of The Nexus.
Ever since Daniel Bryan first appeared on NXT, we all knew that he would come in to take the United States title from The Miz. But NXT was not the right time, and neither was SummerSlam. Daniel Bryan walked into Night of Champions with hopes and aspirations of making it into the WWE, and left as the new United States Champion.
Throughout the match, Matt Striker was defending Bryan’s hard work and how much he sacrificed in order to get to the WWE. Michael Cole belittled Striker and heavily pushed Miz as the future of the business.
Maybe Cole is right, but what about the true dream of being a professional wrestler. Now, I know that wrestler is considered a dirty word in World “Wrestling” Entertainment, and that these men are called superstars because they “perform.” But I consider superstar a dirty word. This time last year, I didn’t know Daniel Bryan from a hole in the wall but watching that first match with Chris Jericho changed my whole perspective. On the independent circuit he went by his real name, Bryan Danielson. He also had the moniker of “The Best Wrestler in the World.”
Certainly in the independent realm, Danielson was the best. Then again, WWE is a different place where the best can be buried. Danielson came at a perfect time though because WWE realizes that they have to create new stars, as their older ones become more worn and outdated. I respect everything that Daniel Bryan has done to get into the business, and finally etching his name in WWE history.
Chris Jericho vowed that if he was unsuccessful at Night of Champions then he would walk away from the WWE. Being that the WWE Heavyweight match was contested as a Six-Pack Challenge with Elimination rules set in play, Jericho could have gone on to win. Chris Jericho defeated both The Rock and Steve Austin on the same night to become the first-ever Undisputed WWE World Champion. He entered a WWE World title Championship Scramble and came out a champion. Chris Jericho entered an Elimination Chamber match earlier this year and pinned The Undertaker to become champion. Chris Jericho has always been on top of his game and was the clear favorite to win this match. But the main guy that WWE is pushing right now is Randy Orton… the winner of tonight’s Six-Pack Challenge. Chris Jericho was not only eliminated, but he was eliminated first by The Viper.
Everything stopped in that instant. The guy eating a hot dog in section 2C just stopped eating. The baby in section 3A for the first time of the night stopped crying. The girlfriend annoyed that her boyfriend dragged her to see the show on their anniversary in 1D stood silent. The superstars in the ring stopped wrestling. Everything just stopped…
Chris Jericho–teary eyed–left Rosemont, Illinois and possibly the WWE forever. No one knows for sure of the future of Chris Jericho, except for Chris Jericho. Hopefully Monday Night Raw will reveal more on the matter.
As the clock strikes 2 AM as I continue to write this post, I have come to terms with my life goals. My first goal is to become an author. My second is to become a pro-wrestling journalist. My third is to find a fulfilling steady job. My fourth is to mold and build my body. My fifth is to learn a style of fighting. My sixth is to find a soul mate to build a family.
Now.. the title of this post has nothing to do with completing these goals within the span of six-days. That is impossible, even for Yoda. But I’ve been away from my fourth task for quite a while. Much like I’m sure Daniel Bryan had a hand in teaching Miz all the technical, grappling, and submission moves from tonight’s title match, I also wish to improve. Starting on Tuesday morning, I will start my six-day challenge of training my body at the gym. The most I have ever done was four-days in a row, but never six consecutive days.
As for my first and second task… Daniel Bryan posted a link on his twitter account of “1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die.” It seems like a bold and crazy task, but I am willing to give it the old college try. Who knows… maybe I’ve read at least one of them. That would just leave me with a thousand more to go. If you were wondering, Daniel Bryan read thirty-five of those books.
I will change… and I will become better.