Daniel Bryan and Fandango - the "People Power" stars

How one can relate a ‘goat-face’ high flyer and a ‘ballroom dancer’ with chiselled looks? One is arguably the best technical wrestler in WWE, while the other is more known for his dancing moves than his wrestling prowess. So, how can these two be connected by a common thread? Both these stars are the products of “People Power”. The live audience (the so-called WWE universe) is the catalyst that has made the two a twitter-trend. Daniel Bryan and Fandango shot right to the zenith in an identical fashion – the WWE universe gave their “thumbs-up” to them at the WWE Raw show, the night after WrestleManias 28 and 29, respectively. What was the magic potion that made the people suddenly fall for them in just a night? Let’s have a look at their rise to stardom, individually.

Daniel Bryan

WWE has been a place for tall, well built, big-Herculean body wrestlers to be successful. Rarely do we see short-statured wrestlers make it big in this industry. But Daniel Bryan is an exception. He is barely 5’10″ tall (considering the fact that we find wrestlers in 6′-6’5″ range), but his wrestling moves overshadow this hindrance. The true hardcore fans have known him since his ROH days and there was not a shadow of a doubt about his technical abilities. But many feared that WWE might bury him as he doesn’t fit into the “Superman” category- portraying more of an ordinary man in the street rather than a comic book hero. He made his debut as a participant in the WWE program “NXT”, but failed to win the title of “Breakout Star”. Then he moved to the WWE main roster, wrestling his first match at Summer Slam 2010. WWE made him stick to mid-card matches, winning the US title. He was not looked upon as someone challenging the WWE title. But somewhere down the line, Vince had to accept Daniel’s growing popularity with the older section of fans.

Daniel got his first big break when he won the Money in the Bank briefcase in 2011 – a guaranteed World Heavyweight title shot. He went on to win the Heavyweight title in the TLC pay-per-view. Though he turned heel after his win, he brought a new catchphrase which is now in everybody’s lips. He would lift both his hands up and down rhythmically and continuously shouted “yes”. It didn’t take the audience’s attention at first – though some sections of the crowd caught on with this “Yes” chant. On the whole, the WWE Universe was not ready to accept it as a replacement for the “What” chants, till the WrestleMania.

In WrestleMania 28 at Miami, Daniel faced off against Sheamus for the World Heavyweight title – the first match of the show. There was huge support for the little man as loud “yes” chants from hundreds of Bryan fans filled the Sunlife stadium. Also, there were numerous “yes” placards. The crowd anticipated a breathtaking performance from Bryan’s first WrestleMania appearance. But WWE had other ideas. Sheamus gave his finisher – brogue kick – to pin Bryan in a match that lasted a mere 18 seconds to win the title. This was one of the shortest title matches. WWE may have thought that this 18 seconds loss will push Bryan to the lower rungs, but it totally underestimated the “people power”