BOOKING MY WAY #1 – The Inclusion of Daniel Bryan of the Main Event Circle of WrestleMania XXX

I have discussed this at least 20-30 different times over the past year and a half to various people, so I figure I might as well go ahead and type this up. To be quite honest, I was inspired by Jim Cornette’s guest booker style discussion on his podcast following the Royal Rumble 2015 event, where he pitched his ideas on how to “save” WrestleMania without Daniel Bryan in the actual title match.

My personal problem with WrestleMania XXX was that WWE pushed Daniel Bryan too hard and too fast within the span of ONE evening just to cater to the fans’ demands and out of fear of potential fan outrage. Seeing the extent of his injuries currently and possible retirement, I think his health concerns could be different today if WWE played out things a bit more carefully.

I’m going to play this out with two possible outcomes and endings that possibly won’t satisfy both ends of the IWC (internet wrestling community) but I’m saying it anyway for reference to anyone else who asks me how I would have booked this storyline.

1. Triple H def. Daniel Bryan and moves onto Triple Threat Match in Main Event for WWE World Heavyweight Championship versus Batista and then champion Randy Orton

a. OPTION #1 – Vince McMahon names Daniel Bryan as Special Guest Referee

Most people will argue this point right away as this was “supposedly” Daniel Bryan’s year to win the “big one” at the grandest stage of them all, but he could also win in a different way and get the last laugh on the Authority by preventing Triple H or Randy Orton to win the title and allow Batista (who returns to being a babyface) go over as champion. That way WWE’s plan to market Batista alongside Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy movie premiere as their resident champion like The Rock the previous year doesn’t plan out.

Daniel Bryan gets a “win” over the Authority, WWE gets what they want by putting the gold on Batista, and it also gives the Authority something to work with post-WrestleMania after this. They could follow up with “punishing” Bryan, Triple H and Randy Orton could still chase the title, or the Authority could take their frustrations on the entire WWE Universe for laughing at their shortcomings.

b. OPTION #2 – Vince McMahon names Daniel Bryan as 4th participant, making this match into a Fatal 4 Way Match after the Authority’s foul play in the previous match

This could go one of four ways.

i. Daniel Bryan wins – Fairy tale ending and feel good moment of the year (up to this point)

ii. Randy Orton retains – Worst possible outcome IMO. This was one of Randy Orton’s stalest runs as main event champion. Continuing that title reign would lose more viewers than than they already lost by pissing off their fanbase at Royal Rumble.

iii. Batista wins – The IWC would be mad at first but then they would “deal with it.” The lesser of two evils if you think about it.

iv. Triple H wins – Here’s the one that very few people would see coming, much like The Game’s win against Sting in his WWE debut a year later. Sadly, this would be the one that most people would complain about MORE than Batisat winning to be quite honest. In terms of continuing the Authority angle and adding more heat/hatred to the stable, you almost HAVE to go with this option. Why? I’m going to explain below…

2. Daniel Bryan def. Triple H and moves onto Triple Threat Match in Main Event for WWE World Heavyweight Championship versus Batista and then champion Randy Orton

a. OPTION #1 – Vince McMahon or the Authority injects Triple H into the main event to make match into a Fatal 4 Way Match as a clear abuse of power for more heat

The outcomes are the same as above, but let’s go with the option I personally would have gone with – Triple H wins the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

Why, you ask?

Just imagine the promos from Stephanie McMahon rubbing it into our faces each and EVERY week that her husband is the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. I would tolerate Triple H as champion for a few months just for Stephanie’s promos from the matter. Steph and Paul Heyman would have a field day between bragging rights to ending the Streak and HHH’s being champion. Love or hate her, but Stephanie McMahon is marvelous to watch at her craft as a heel.

Then think of it – if Daniel Bryan still wasn’t cleared or healed enough for Summerslam, WWE could have properly built Summerslam around Brock Lesnar vs. the Authority, with Paul Heyman serving as the Beast Incarnate’s mouthpiece (as usual) and Stephanie McMahon does the bulk of the Authority’s promos until Triple H decides it’s appropriate for him to weigh in. This is a bit of foresight, but I have a feeling that’s going to be a pending storyline in the near-future anyway.

On top of that, here’s the business reason why I would go with this route. Let’s be serious here. Daniel Bryan worked his ASS off in WrestleMania season. His wedding was the week after WM30, so it would appropriate for him to take the time off and enjoy his time with his new bride/wife. It was well-deserved. It would be perfect PR move to show WWE’s skeptics and critics that CM Punk was wrong yet again and they do take care of their employees with well-deserved time off/breaks.

Everyone tends to lean with the opinion that everyone would “forget” or “not care” about Daniel Bryan if he took time off. Look at present day. They didn’t keep him off TV to recover and recuperate from his injuries and he’s looking to be too banged up to even continue wrestling. Truth be told, Daniel Bryan and his fans are looking at the scary reality of his pending forced retirement like Adam Copeland AKA “The Rated R Superstar” Edge. Daniel Bryan could have stepped away while the Authority continued to brag about HHH’s big win and continue to garner heat until either they continued their plan with Brock Lesnar at Summerslam to take the strap or allow Daniel Bryan to take the title off Triple H at that event. While I personally wouldn’t recommend a Brock Lesnar match for Daniel Bryan for the sole reason of Lesnar’s stiff, hard-hitting style, they could have still kept that plan alive too to keep Brock as champion until WrestleMania 31 as they originally intended. Once again, Bryan could have been kayfabe hurt during the match (i.e. The Undertaker at WM30 or John Cena at Summerslam 2014) and WWE offered him with more time off.

Fast-forward to the Royal Rumble, Daniel Bryan enters as a surprise entry (without ANY announcement) and wins it – instead of going into that messy Roman Reigns situation that we got this year.

b. OPTION #2 – Match remains unchanged. Daniel Bryan vs. Batista vs. Randy Orton for WWE World Heavyweight Championship

Fairy tale ending to WrestleMania 30 that we know in history, with Bryan winning the gold, but here’s where the similarities end.

On the following night of Monday Night RAW where Triple H injects himself into a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match against Daniel Bryan, the reunited “Evolution” would help Triple H win the gold to write Daniel Bryan off television for that aforementioned break above.

We can still have Stephanie McMahon rubbing it in our faces that her husband is the champion for the weeks to come while WWE keeps things moving.

WWE could follow this up with their Evolution (after Batista and Orton take the Tag Team Titles) vs. Shield feud as planned as they are the only ones willing to stand up for “justice” against the Authority. Once again, you can still factor Brock Lesnar’s return into the equation as well as Daniel Bryan getting payback after his extended vacation.


On top of all of that, you would be able to tie in the Bella Twins’ feud with Stephanie McMahon into the mix for Summerslam as well. C’mon, Brie vs. Steph AND Triple H vs. Daniel Bryan for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship? If that’s not good enough, throw John Cena into the mix after Nikki Bella’s “betrayal” to her sister to side with Stephanie as the devil on Cena’s shoulder, urging him to go heel – even though we know it won’t happen but it would make for some great segments, matches, and overall dynamics. Then eventually this could revolve full circle and pull the feuding Paige and AJ Lee onto the same page against the combined efforts of Stephanie, Nikki Bella, and another Diva aligned with the Authority against AJ Lee, Paige, and Brie Bella.

Looking for #GiveDivasAChance? Well there you go… Don’t worry I’m going to tackle that topic in an entirely different article altogether.

Ugh, we don’t get great storytelling like this anymore… The hype alone would’ve sold ALL of those matches and built off each other.

Closing Thoughts

I’m just as saddened as everyone else about the circumstances of Daniel Bryan’s career-threatening injury, but in the back of my mind I feel like that World Wrestling Entertainment could have been a bit more careful in terms of booking and protected Daniel Bryan a lot more than they did. I understand that giving the fans what they want is important but at the same time, the well-being and health of your employees outweighs the demands of your customers.

REVIEW -- Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Avengers: Age of Ultron is a 2015 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the Avengers, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the sequel to 2012's The Avengers and the eleventh installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was written and directed by Joss Whedon and features an ensemble cast that includes Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie, Hayley Atwell, Idris Elba, Stellan Skarsgård, James Spader, and Samuel L. Jackson. In Avengers: Age of Ultron, the Avengers must work together to defeat Ultron, a mechanical artificial intelligence bent on human extinction.

Cast:

Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man
Chris Hemsworth as Thor
Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner / Hulk
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America
Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow
Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton / Hawkeye
Don Cheadle as James "Rhodey" Rhodes / War Machine
Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Pietro Maximoff / Quicksilver
Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch
Paul Bettany as J.A.R.V.I.S. and Vision
Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill
Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson / Falcon
Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter
Idris Elba as Heimdall
Stellan Skarsgård as Erik Selvig
James Spader as Ultron
Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury

Thomas Kretschmann and Henry Goodman return as Baron Wolfgang von Strucker and Dr. List

Linda Cardellini portrays Laura Barton, Hawkeye's wife.

Claudia Kim portrays Helen Cho

Andy Serkis portrays Ulysses Klaue

Julie Delpy appears as Madame B., who mentors Black Widow into becoming an assassin.

Kerry Condon voices the artificial intelligence F.R.I.D.A.Y.

Josh Brolin makes an uncredited appearance during the mid-credits scene as Thanos.

Avengers co-creator Stan Lee makes a cameo appearance in the film as a military veteran who attends the Avengers' victory party.

Plot:

In the Eastern European country of Sokovia, the Avengers — Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Thor, Bruce Banner, Natasha Romanoff, and Clint Barton — raid a Hydra outpost led by Baron Wolfgang von Strucker, who has been experimenting on humans using the scepter previously wielded by Loki. They encounter two of Strucker's experiments—twins Pietro, who has superhuman speed, and Wanda Maximoff, who can manipulate minds and project energy—and apprehend Strucker, while Stark retrieves Loki's scepter.

Stark and Banner discover an artificial intelligence within the scepter's gem, and secretly use it to complete Stark's "Ultron" global defense program. The unexpectedly sentient Ultron, believing he must eradicate humanity to save Earth, eliminates Stark's A.I. J.A.R.V.I.S. and attacks the Avengers at their headquarters. Escaping with the scepter, Ultron uses the resources in Strucker's Sokovia base to upgrade his rudimentary body and build an army of robot drones. Having killed Strucker, he recruits the Maximoffs, who hold Stark responsible for their parents' deaths by his weapons. Together, they investigate the base of arms dealer Ulysses Klaue in an African shipyard to obtain vibranium. The Avengers pursue them, but Wanda subdues the heroes with haunting visions, causing the Hulk to rampage until Stark stops him with his "Veronica" weaponry.

A worldwide backlash over the resulting destruction, and the fears Wanda's hallucinations incited, send the team into hiding at Barton's safehouse. Thor departs to consult with Dr. Erik Selvig on the meaning of the apocalyptic future he saw in his hallucination, while Romanoff and Banner plan to flee together after realizing a mutual attraction. However, Nick Fury arrives and encourages the team to form a plan to stop Ultron. In Seoul, Ultron forces the team's friend Dr. Helen Cho to use her synthetic tissue technology, vibranium, and the scepter's gem to perfect a body for him. When Ultron begins uploading himself into the body, Wanda is able to read his mind; discovering his plan for human extinction, the Maximoffs turn on Ultron. Rogers, Romanoff, and Barton find Ultron and retrieve the synthetic body, but Ultron captures Romanoff.

The Avengers fight amongst themselves when Stark secretly uploads J.A.R.V.I.S. — who is still operational after hiding from Ultron inside the Internet — into the synthetic body. Thor returns to help activate the body with lightning, explaining that the gem on its brow – one of the six Infinity Stones, the most powerful objects in existence – was part of his vision. This "Vision" and the Maximoffs accompany the Avengers to Sokovia, where Ultron has used the remaining vibranium to build a machine to lift a large part of the same-name city skyward, intending to crash it into the ground to cause global extinction. As the city begins to lift, Banner rescues Romanoff, who awakens the Hulk for the battle. The Avengers fight Ultron's army while Fury arrives in a Helicarrier with Maria Hill, James Rhodes and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to assist in evacuating civilians. Pietro dies when he shields Barton from a barrage of fire, and a grieving Wanda abandons her post to destroy Ultron's primary body in revenge, inadvertently allowing one of his drones to activate the machine. The landmass plummets, but Stark and Thor overload the machine and shatter the city into pieces. In the aftermath, the Hulk, unwilling to endanger Romanoff by being with her, departs in a Quinjet, while the Vision confronts Ultron's last remaining body.

Later, with the Avengers having established a new base run by Fury, Hill, Cho, and Selvig, Thor returns to Asgard to learn more about the forces he suspects have manipulated recent events. As Stark and Barton also leave, Rogers and Romanoff prepare to train new Avengers: Rhodes, Vision, Sam Wilson, and Wanda.

In a mid-credits scene, Thanos, dissatisfied by the failures of his pawns, dons a gauntlet and vows to personally retrieve the Infinity Stones.

The Verdict: 

Watch it, rent it, or don't bother?

Who am I kidding? You have to be crazy NOT to watch this one - DEFINITELY watch this one, folks.

Now that's out of the way, I'll weigh in a lot of things I loved about this film along with my own personal analysis since you guys tend to love to hear what I have to say on this Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

The number one complaint that I have heard from a LOT of people is about how Ultron is yet another throw-away villain for the MCU. If you want to be black and white about it in terms of comics, that was the role that Ultron was given in comics until recent years. Ultron was a major villain but he was used mainly as a distraction to build towards bigger storylines. That is EXACTLY what part he serves here in his introduction in the MCU. Ultron is yet another "disposable" villain for the Marvel Cinematic Universe but he serves a plot device more than a threatening antagonist, who merely plants the seeds for further conflicts and drama in more upcoming films, namely Captain America: Civil War. 

Interesting points established for the Marvel Cinematic Universe going forward: 

Thor knew what the Stones are for - even went as far as mentioning that FOUR (instead of THREE) have appeared in the last few years, meaning that he is aware with what goes on in the Guardians of the Galaxy's end of Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The Mind Stone was in Loki's scepter all along, despite people have been arguing with me since the original Avengers film that Loki's scepter was NOT one of the Stones. Look who's wrong now, hmm?

JARVIS bonds with the Mind Stone to become the Vision = embodiment of life. I personally believe that with the Mind Stone, JARVIS/The Vision will play the part of Adam Warlock in the Infinity War. If you don't know what that is then I suggest you do some research. I won't spoil that for you guys.

Hawkeye has a family and children, so we (old school Marvel fanboys like myself) can forget about Hawkeye hooking up with Mockingbird from Agents of SHIELD in this continuity. Seems like Marvel is going a completely different direction with those two characters' development entirety..

Notice that BOTH Captain America and Ironman were clearly targeted by Scarlet Witch's powers - which opens the door on what will have those two Avengers butting heads down the road in Captain America: Civil War.

Ulysses Klaw was introduced in this film, hence sparing the lengthy explanation and backstory in the opening moments of the upcoming Black Panther solo film. Speaking of Black Panther, his home nation of Wakanda was referenced as well as the source of the world's most powerful metal substance, vibranium. Marvel fans should remember that Captain America's shield is composed of this substance, thanks to Howard Stark in Captain America: First Avenger.

Almost all of the Avengers were sporting various StarkTech upgades and gadgets - Cap with a magnetic adapter for his shield, Black Widow with a multitude of new gadgets, etc.

It was ironic that Hawkeye plays the role of Batman and Green Arrow in Justice League: Unlimited in this film as the mere mortal among gods and monsters who keeps the team "honest" and level headed. 

The Maximoff twins' origin is changed drastically from the comics - no ties to Magneto nor the Inhumans.

Tony Stark still dreams of a world encased in armor for protection, but still forgets that keeps everyone cold and forever in the dark from within.

New Avengers (or rather Secret Avengers) team established at the end of the film, consisting of Falcon, War Machine, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Black Widow, and Captain America. The latter two members serving as mentors to the new recruits as the new SHIELD facility backs this new team.

Hulk is possibly written out of the story to return as back-upp during the Infinity War Part 2 when the Avengers need more heavy-hitters against the pending threat of Thanos.

Dr. Helen Cho was introduced in this film - it makes me wonder if her genius-level son, Amaddeus Cho will be introduced in the MCU continuity sooner more than later.

In the mid-credits teaser, Thanos grabs an Infinity Guantlet (Kevin Feige has stated that there are more than one in the MCU) and says that he'll take care of it himself, teasing that he's going to get involved sooner more than later. If I were to speculate, I would guess he would have a bigger role in Guardians of the Galaxy 2.

This was a minor Easter egg, but one of the alternate operating systems that Tony was thumbing through before the film's climax was JOCASTA. In the comics, Jocasta was the name of the wife that Ultron built for himself who ended up destroying him instead and siding with the Avengers.

Strong Points of the film as a whole

Not quite as good as Captain America: The Winter Soldier in terms of being my personal favorite MCU film but we get a LOT more character development here than we did in the original Avengers.

Overall theme of destroying "monsters" of the world goes full circle in this film - both Avengers and Ultron tip the scales to see who is truly the "real" monster in this war to "save" the world from the other.

James Spader as the voice of Ultron resembles Tony Stark/Robert Downey Jr.'s natural wit and charm, but his arrogance and humor bleeds through the character as well as a mirror image of his rather flawed creator.

JARVIS/Vision becomes the light in the Avengers' darkest hour - reminiscent of the Matrix of Leadership in Transformers: The Movie, especially after Thor's vision and prophecy.

The film gave a simple, yet effective reasoning for fan-service of pitting Ironman vs. Hulk.

Civilian safety was the Avengers' #1 priority in every battle. DC Comics/Warner Bros. need to take notes for their films - their heroes need to take responsibility for their actions.

Black Widow and Hulk have to be the most unlikely romance pairing ever on this team, but somehow it works.

The film takes place immediately following the previous week's Agents of SHIELD tie-in episode after Coulson clued in Maria Hill on the whereabouts of Baron von Strucker. Speaking of Strucker, I think he faked his death or his son would take over HYDRA if Baron Zemo doesn't fill that role in Civil War - either way I don't see Strucker out of the equation so easily.

NEW Helicarrier and NEW Avengers facilities - this means that SHIELD can properly train powered people: i.e. Sky (Daisy Johnson/Quake and the other Inhumans) I personally can't wait to see how this factors into future seasons of Agents of SHIELD.

Iron Legion were a clever reference to Henry Pym's peacekeeper sentries in Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes and to follow-up Stark's "house party protocol" from Ironman 3.

Personal Criticism on film's narrative

There's one HUGE plothole between this film and Ironman 3. Tony Stark destroy his home and all of his armors. Did he start over at the Avengers tower? Did he do so before or after the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier?

Exactly why was Maria Hill working for Tony Stark after the "end" of SHIELD when she was clearly still answering to Nick Fury off the grid?

Black Widow seemed to bond with Captain America during Captain America: The Winter Soldier, much like how she bonded with Tony Stark and Pepper Potts in Ironman 2, so why the sudden geek crush on Bruce Banner/Hulk now? I'm not really complaining but Black Widow is making that "slut" label hard to ignore for nit-picky critics. To be quite honest, Widow has been simply reduced to the role of a surrogate/filler Betty Ross in Ultimate Avengers. To be fair, I did appreciate that after her three appearances in the MCU, she has finally shed some light into her backstory that held ties to the Red Room that was introduced into Agent Carter.

The film spent a little TOO much time trying to "fool" the audience that Hawkeye was going to die that the film feels more about Hawkeye and Black Widow proving that they belong among these gods and supermen instead of more focus on the threat of Ultron. Ultron does NOT feel like a threat to the Avengers until maybe the latter half of the film and even then, Vision makes him seem pathetic in comparison.

To say that he was an advanced artificial intelligence, Ultron wasn't smart at all to be quite honest:

1. He allows Black Widow to call the Avengers via Morse code. 
2. He trusted the Maximoff twins when they could have destroyed him whenever they pleased, 
3. Ultron was controlling StarkTech (namely the Iron Legion) so who said he couldn't have controlled ALL of Tony Stark's armors the same way? That being said, as much as I loved the sequence between Hulk versus Ironman, the setup was piss-poor. It would have made more sense to have Hulk fighting Stark as Ultron-controlled the Hulkbuster armor. Sue me, that's just my two cents as a comic book nerd.

Banner shouldn't be too shaken up about collateral damage if the Eric Bana Incredible Hulk film is still canon to the MCU.

Ultron stole ALL of Stark's sensitive files on the Avengers and SHIELD database (well, whatever's not in Fury's "toolbox" that Coulson has...). This makes you wonder who got a hold of that information by the time Ultron was destroyed and if he backed it up or passed that information along.

I know most people won't agree with me but the cinematography in this film compared to the original Avengers makes the action sequences look confusing and messy compared to the streamlined view of the original film.

Last but not least, it's rather ironic that this film recycles a lot of the same traveled ground as the as the original film - Nick Fury gives the Avengers the pep talk to when their spirits are crushed, Captain America calls the plan for battle in the climax, Captain America fights and holds his own against the film's main antagonist (like he has ANYTHING else to prove to skeptics? Like REALLY?), someone close to the team dies (in the original film it was Phil Coulson, in this film it's Quicksilver), and the team puts their differences aside for the greater good to save the day when it matters most.

Closing Thoughts

Age of Ultron is another blockbuster success for Marvel Studios in terms of box office ticket sales while simultaneously planting the seeds to further the expansion of their Cinematic Universe for the years to come. Much like it's predecessor, the Avengers, it's a bit rough around the edges but it's a wild ride for all ages from start to finish.