Around The Horn 2014 1/4 Final - LORD TSC Vs thebostoncrab

When tasked with choosing a superstar on the roster and giving him a manager figure to stand beside or behind him, there’s a few questions that run through my head. Who needs a manager? Why? What does the person stand to gain? Does the person lose anything? Does it fit their character?

As such, when tasked with such a hypothetical, I have to make sure that I choose a superstar who has potential to be bigger than what they are, but are struggling at the moment, not necessarily because of their ability or their character, but because they need some sort of character behind them to bring their ability and their potential forward. Someone who can put the focus on the young up-and-comer and make them look better than they are, without fear of overshadowing them.

Looking at the roster, I think there’s a variety of upper-midcarders who have so much potential, but are just missing one or two things. So for the purpose of this question, I decided to throw my weight behind this man.

The reason I chose Bray Wyatt is because over recent months, the common complaint about the character is that for as much as he loves to talk, he doesn’t really say much; that the substance of his promos never seems up to much. He has a fantastic character, and the crowd get behind him (you only have to look at his entrance to see the crowd take to this character like few others). Yet for all the promises of converted minions, he’s never actually added to his family (even the rumors of an upcoming recruitment seem slightly underwhelming). That as a wrestler, he shows signs of being a great "Big man" but hasn't really figured out quite how to captivate. I think there’s money to be made in Bray, but I feel like he needs some sort of mentor figure, both inside the ring and on the road too. Someone who has been don the road with a similar style of character and with a similar style in the ring.

As such, I’d personally love to see him paired up with a man whose contract ended a few months back with WWE; someone who I think could add phenomenally to the characters of the Wyatt Family.

Poppa Wyatt....Mick Foley.

Much like Bray, Foley was never Mr Olympus. He was never the best built, never the handsome superstar, the typical face of the company. He wasn’t a muscle head but that didn’t mean he wasn’t a fantastic in ring performer, both on the microphone and between the ropes. As such, I think that behind the scenes, Foley would be able to teach Bray so much; the character of Mankind had a similar style to Bryan and Bray would benefit from having the man behind such a character to help him.

On screen then, the Wyatt Family could finally start working towards converting people, and who better to convert than a loveable rogue like Foley, someone everyone adores for being happy and upbeat. Only, he’s not always that way, is he? We know he has shown at times to be bitter towards WWE, it would be easy to sell a story of a man who resents being outcast because he didn’t look like Hulk Hogan or The Rock, despite being just as loved. A man who could see a possible protégé in young Bray Wyatt, someone who he could help take down the company who turned their backs on him. Foley was a man who literally jumped off cliffs for WWE, and what did he get in return? A small cheque while his face was plastered on games and shirts, a pat on the back as WWE got richer.

Imagine the image of Foley sitting in the rocking chair as Poppa Wyatt, teaching Bray (a dangerous man who has already done well against top talents) how to evolve to the next step, how to add to his repertoire and not hold back. Imagine someone who released the monster inside of Bray. An old, bitter man who (kayfabe) wants revenge against WWE and will recruit an army to take it; who sees a man already so like him, so ready to be moulded and taken to the next step. In kayfabe, the two could gel together perfectly, their characters already nearly in sync.

At his age, in his condition, we’re not looking for a long term return for Foley in the ring, we’re not going to need multiple matches out of a man with broken knees. However, you’d likely be able to get one match out of him down the road, one where Bray turns on the master and breaks free. The other members of the family can remain with Foley, still doing his bidding, still covering for the fact Foley isn’t a wrestler any more. This isn’t a story designed to build Foley up as a top level player; I think he’s the type of guy who’d be quite happy to use his legacy to help Wyatt build his own. And I think he’d help bring a direction to Bray who sorely needs it. Long term, he would facilitate the turn of Bray into a face, while still helping others to get over.

And I think that's the key to my idea; it's not about launching a broken down wrestler from decades gone as a new top level guy. Its about bringing a new top level guy into the mix, improving his abilities on every level and achieving what a good manager should; the advancement of his client.

I would respectfully disagree that putting Angle as Bryan's manager wouldn't cause a dent to Bryan's credibility; Bryan has captured the top title a few times, has headlined a Wrestlemania where he beat HHH, Batista and Randy Orton in a single night. He's also recorded a clean win over Cena, and the YES movement has shown the crowd absolutely adore him. As such, he doesn't need the manager. He doesn't need a mouth piece, and he really shouldn't need someone "coaching" him to take on Brock.

This, then, is the crux of my problem with the proposed Bryan/Angle partnership with Angle in the managerial role; it's not something either man needs. Bryan is already seen as a top guy who can beat top guys. He shouldn't be hiding behind Angle, and it would be insulting to fans to act as if Bryan is some rookie who needs to be taught how to wrestle. Don't get me wrong, Ange vs Bryan, down the road or straight away, would be a dream match, a real money maker. But Bryan doesn't need a manager, he doesn't need to have a nostalgia character in his corner. It wouldn't add as much to Bryan's character as it would for Bray in my vision.

In many ways, what you propose is similiar to mine; Bryan, thinking he needs help, recruits Angle to teach him, raise his abilities and give him an edge. Likewise, Bray recruits Foley, not to become the leader necessarily but to mentor him, to act as a father figure who he can seek advice off, who can help him develop, not just against one opponent but many. I don't think this would take away from Bray's leadership status straight away; Foley is someone who he seeks advice from, and over time, it develops that Foley is manipulating Bray with that advice. A slow burn where Foley grows into the role of mentor and adapts it to role of puppetmaster.

You're right, the other Wyatts would slowly shift the focus of their allegiance to Foley; that Foley would develop into the leader. I referred to this in my opening post. Bray's turn would still need Foley to have people to fight on his behalf. Bray would, in time, branch away from Foley's tutelage, but the rest of the family (after a tease of "Whose side are they on?") would stay loyal to Foley, a case of Bray not being careful what he wished for. Meanwhile, Foley as leader could continue to offer his mentorship to others as well, recruiting them into his new Family.

As for the idea that fans would not boo Mick Foley, again, I disagree. It would all be down to who they paired Foley/Bray against. For instance, how about a feud against Ambrose. Should Foley come out under his new guise and cut a promo on Ambrose, calling him a lunatic and berating the fans for liking him, the fans would soon follow their roles. Placing Foley/Bray against the right face, someone loved by the smart crowds, in conjunction with Foley's ability to tell a story, would quickly have the fans playing along in the "right" manner.

In many ways, I think we're proposing a very similar idea. I simply propose that Bray is more in need of that manager than Bryan is; that Bryan does not gain nearly as much from a partnership with Angle as Bray does with Foley.

I feel as if you’re trying to misrepresent the idea for the introduction of the Foley character into the Wyatt family by oversimplifying it to an extreme; I’m not purposing the idea that Foley debuts and is instantly the leader of the Wyatt family, that Bray is instantly portrayed as lower than Foley and as a mindless servent. I am offering a story that is built and developed over many months, which begins with the indoctrination of Foley into the family, with Bray seeking a mentor (very similar to how you want Angle to coach Bryan); that, at first, Bray would be after the mentorship of a legend, who isn’t telling him what to do, but how to achieve the goals Bray wants to achieve. That Bray, much like Bryan with Angle, is looking for a man to help him reach the next level. And then, through layered storytelling, through months of a building trust and developing bonds, the relationship with Foley would grow into one which Foley takes advantage of.

In time, yes, Bray would lose the family, but this does not devalue him; Wrestling Booking 101 is built on betrayal, and stables often have a member rise through them to start a coup. That, after months of development, Foley would oust Bray would not hurt Bray at all; if anything, it would create a sympathy for Bray in the fans eyes which would play into a face turn. When Bray loses the family, it would be further character development, something that has developed over months. A member of a stable can branch away from the group and gain hugely with a crowd; Batista breaking away from Evolution, Bryan and the Nexus, the current SHIELD members. A split from a stable, a restructuring of the status of its members, does not mean a devaluation of someone. Done right, the lose of his family, an ejection from a heel stable or a face turn against them, could do wonders for Bray, and a war against Foley and his minions would provide ample storytelling opportunities for a man who is foundering right now.

And that simply becomes the core of my argument right now; Bray is floundering. Bray, as things stand, is finding it difficult to not lose value. Bray needs Mick right now far, far more than Bryan needs Angle. With or without Angle, Bryan will not struggle to remain over. The fans will crave Daniel Bryan, still chanting YES as The Authority run him down week in, week out, absent from television.

Daniel Bryan does not need a manager. Bray does.

Bray needs the character development which comes from a long term storyline involving a great storyteller. Bryan vs Angle has the probability of being a very good match, but to be blunt, it doesn’t necessarily mean it would be a good partnership, and I certainly don’t think it would be a long one; fans would demand such a partnership ends quickly for the match to take place. A Foley/Bray story would develop a partnership with months and months of potential together, and many more afterwards as they war, a dark war which could encompass the entire of WWE.

Bray needs Foley, quite simply, more than Bryan needs Kurt.