The Complete Lack of Faith

[IrishCanadian25]

What we saw last night, ladies and gentlemen, was not just an exercise in shock value, or an exercise in excitement. It was an exercise in a complete and total lack of faith. I am referring, of course, to the World Heavyweight Championship "picture."

Just look at all of the major players who are a part of the WHC Picture and tell me what you think:

Mark Henry

For anyone who hasn't sene it yet, Wrestlezone posted a report from a WWE insider that Henry is legit hurt but was willing to work through it on a reduced schedule. VKM vanquished that idea and instead asked for the WHC to change hands. What's ever worse is that, in the middle of a feud with the Big Show that saw the superplex and ring collapse heard 'round the world, Henry's first title reign ended with the weakest looking punch I've ever seen.

Big Show

So dominant, so over is the "World's Largest Athlete" that his title reign lasted another solid minute or three. Par for the course of a fantastic performer who is hit or miss on crowd reaction but has not really shown himself able to hold a major title for a long period of time. If WWE wanted the title off Henry, why not just let Show win it and defend it when Henry was well? Simple lack of faith.

Daniel Bryan

A lot of people will disagree here and state that, by putting the WHC on Bryan, WWE is showing unprecedented faith in him. That's all well and good, but consider two major factors. First, Bryan was initially going to take the MITB case to Wrestlemania and cash it in there, the way any decent babyface would do. WWE doesn't have faith in Bryan being able to be a part of what will likely be a quadruple main event at Wrestlemania. Second, they had Bryan do the heel thing TWICE now and cash in the title with an injured Superheavyweight down in the ring. They don't trust Bryan's ability to carry a realistic match with a big man? Insert derisive Rey Mysterio comment here.

Wade Barrett

What does he have to do with anything? Loads. He's been putting himself over as the "overlooked" World Title contender, and what happens last night in a virtual #1 contenders match with Randy Orton? Barrett goes through a table and loses. Can he still realistically be considered part of the title picture anymore?

The World Heavyweight title picture is a mess of high risk and low trust. The "abort" button is pressed at a moments notice if needed. We're seeing a program and a belt sorely missing the likes of Edge right now.

 

[dotty_84]

I'll make some objections...

Mark Henry, maybe working under is a good idea, not when your unclear how long an injury could take to clear and oh yeah he little thing of the RTWM is starting next month!
Personally it's a good decision to make Henry drop the belt, hopefully WWE creative etc realise what he did with what he had and when he's back fully fit he'll have his go again.

Big Show...
Ok they've been smacking each other with chairs and his hand was 'damaged' during the match, maybe the punch wasn't the best but still, considering dude, after all the hits they took in the match you can see him go down with it. You do realise it had been reported for so soooo long hat Big Show is content with putting guys over and being used without having some championship range, this is utter BS that WWE have no faith. Ofcourse they bloody do, Big Show just isn't selfish, did you notice Big Show winking in the ring when DB was running around with the belt? Maybe he was happy for DB.


Daniel Bryan...
Just because he said he'd cash it in at WM means nothing, i really never seen that happening from the get go and maybe officials do have a slight concern with him being at the marquee event going for the belt, but anything can happen between now and WM. Sure maybe they want to test the water, who cares, he has the belt, lighten up and lets see what he does NOW with the SD spotlight on him.

Wade Barrett...
He's had the upper hand over Orton for weeks, most could see Orton take the win, he's helping Wade get over and lets face it, Wade looks more legitimate now than he did in The Corre.

 

[Davi323]

Mark Henry

For anyone who hasn't sene it yet, Wrestlezone posted a report from a WWE insider that Henry is legit hurt but was willing to work through it on a reduced schedule. VKM vanquished that idea and instead asked for the WHC to change hands. What's ever worse is that, in the middle of a feud with the Big Show that saw the superplex and ring collapse heard 'round the world, Henry's first title reign ended with the weakest looking punch I've ever seen.

I agree with VKM on this one. If the champion can't compete, you take the title. Vince has always been reluctant to let wrestlers work reduced schedules, especially if they the champion. If Henry was unable to perform, he needed the belt taken off of him, plain and simple.

Big Show

So dominant, so over is the "World's Largest Athlete" that his title reign lasted another solid minute or three. Par for the course of a fantastic performer who is hit or miss on crowd reaction but has not really shown himself able to hold a major title for a long period of time. If WWE wanted the title off Henry, why not just let Show win it and defend it when Henry was well? Simple lack of faith.

Maybe because they understand something at the core of the Big Show's entire persona? He doesn't need the title. He never really has. Someone his size will always be in the main event scene. Show doesn't need to get over, he doesn't need a rub, he doesn't need the belt to be an attraction.

Daniel Bryan

A lot of people will disagree here and state that, by putting the WHC on Bryan, WWE is showing unprecedented faith in him. That's all well and good, but consider two major factors. First, Bryan was initially going to take the MITB case to Wrestlemania and cash it in there, the way any decent babyface would do. WWE doesn't have faith in Bryan being able to be a part of what will likely be a quadruple main event at Wrestlemania. Second, they had Bryan do the heel thing TWICE now and cash in the title with an injured Superheavyweight down in the ring. They don't trust Bryan's ability to carry a realistic match with a big man? Insert derisive Rey Mysterio comment here.

Who is saying that Daniel Bryan is out of Wrestlemania? You are basing this complaint on nothing but presumption. Wrestlemania is still 3 and a half months away, you have no idea what Daniel Bryan will or will not be doing at Wrestlemania, none of us do. Also, you don't find it at least a little bit hypocritical to claim that the WWE isn't demonstrating faith with the Big Show by not letting him keep the title, and then at the same time, claim that the WWE isn't demonstrating faith with Daniel Bryan by GIVING him the title? That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever! If they really had no faith in DB, then let him cash in the MITB briefcase and FAIL. Have Big Show kick out. Have Wade Barrett interfere, causing it to be a DQ, thus no title change from the Big Show. There are a lot of things they could have done to remove DB from the Wrestlemania picture, giving him the World Heavyweight championship is not going to normally be one of them.

Wade Barrett

What does he have to do with anything? Loads. He's been putting himself over as the "overlooked" World Title contender, and what happens last night in a virtual #1 contenders match with Randy Orton? Barrett goes through a table and loses. Can he still realistically be considered part of the title picture anymore?

Absolutely, especially if he is going to be feuding with Daniel Bryan. You act as if once a wrestler loses a non-#1 Contender match that is "virtually" a #1 Contenders match, that they can never move up the ladder again. Ridiculous. The fact that he was wrestling Randy Orton at the PPV at all, a guy with multiple titles, a guy that is a permanent fixture in the main event scene, should be an indication of that. A lot of guys have lost to Randy Orton at PPVs. How this somehow buries Barrett any more than it did any of the others is mind boggling.

 

[WWEIsLife2]

Im sorry but how is WWE having Daniel Bryan Cashing and winning the Title a complete lack of faith? If it was a lack of faith he would lost and Big Show would still be Champion right now. Can't we just enjoy the fact that Daniel Bryan is World Heavyweight Champion and could be going into Wrestlemania 28?

 

[D-Man]

Mark Henry

For anyone who hasn't sene it yet, Wrestlezone posted a report from a WWE insider that Henry is legit hurt but was willing to work through it on a reduced schedule. VKM vanquished that idea and instead asked for the WHC to change hands. What's ever worse is that, in the middle of a feud with the Big Show that saw the superplex and ring collapse heard 'round the world, Henry's first title reign ended with the weakest looking punch I've ever seen.

Does it matter how strong or weak it looked? It's Big Show's (over-pushed and over-exaggerated) finisher. I mean, since when has a botched pedigree stopped Triple H's pushes?

Big Show

So dominant, so over is the "World's Largest Athlete" that his title reign lasted another solid minute or three. Par for the course of a fantastic performer who is hit or miss on crowd reaction but has not really shown himself able to hold a major title for a long period of time. If WWE wanted the title off Henry, why not just let Show win it and defend it when Henry was well? Simple lack of faith.

Daniel Bryan

A lot of people will disagree here and state that, by putting the WHC on Bryan, WWE is showing unprecedented faith in him. That's all well and good, but consider two major factors. First, Bryan was initially going to take the MITB case to Wrestlemania and cash it in there, the way any decent babyface would do. WWE doesn't have faith in Bryan being able to be a part of what will likely be a quadruple main event at Wrestlemania. Second, they had Bryan do the heel thing TWICE now and cash in the title with an injured Superheavyweight down in the ring. They don't trust Bryan's ability to carry a realistic match with a big man? Insert derisive Rey Mysterio comment here.

I'm sure that WWE took a close look at the reaction that DB got on Smackdown some weeks back and weighed their options here. They assumed they had a win-win situation. Either pass the gold onto a veteran who's had shaky runs with the world title or twist the storyline using someone like Daniel Bryan, judging by the reaction he got a few weeks ago. They've been in a building stage recently since time is running out for guys like Cena, Big Show, Henry, and Taker. Now it's time for some #fresh blood. More on that later.

Wade Barrett

What does he have to do with anything? Loads. He's been putting himself over as the "overlooked" World Title contender, and what happens last night in a virtual #1 contenders match with Randy Orton? Barrett goes through a table and loses. Can he still realistically be considered part of the title picture anymore?

The World Heavyweight title picture is a mess of high risk and low trust. The "abort" button is pressed at a moments notice if needed. We're seeing a program and a belt sorely missing the likes of Edge right now.

You want #fresh blood? You got it. Too bad Orton got the nod last night.

You and I both agree that Wade never should have lost that match. But how many times has this happened in the past? It's happened with Cena, Taker, Edge... just when we think a new superstar would capture an obvious (and seemingly undamaging) win, the WWE raises the hand of the veteran main eventer. The WWE never takes an obvious route to pushing their stars. But in the end, the right guy gets the push (for the most part).

 

[IrishCanadian25]

Cool, everyone, thank you for the early responses! I think we're on to something.

A few responses of my own:

1. On why Mark Henry "should" drop the title if he's hurt.

I actually agree with all of you, but I also think that there are plenty of guys who have worked through pain and injuries and not been shotgunned off the belt. Rey Mysterio used to work through knee pain a lot. Shawn Michaels worked through back pain a lot. Undertaker worked through a bunch of crap. Maybe taking the belt off of an injury WSM isn't egregious, but there are guys they may have not rushed off the belt.

Ok they've been smacking each other with chairs and his hand was 'damaged' during the match, maybe the punch wasn't the best but still, considering dude, after all the hits they took in the match you can see him go down with it. You do realise it had been reported for so soooo long hat Big Show is content with putting guys over and being used without having some championship range, this is utter BS that WWE have no faith. Of course they bloody do, Big Show just isn't selfish, did you notice Big Show winking in the ring when DB was running around with the belt? Maybe he was happy for DB.

If Mark Henry took out Show's hand with the chair, subsequently allowing the punch to take out this dominant champion and close the Hall of Pain for the time being makes Henry look terrible. If you're going to go all "limb psychology" in the match and injure a part of the body, allowing that part of the body to derail a dominant champion with one punch is counter-intuitive.

Second, you talk about how Show's been content putting guys over for "so long." Since when is it his choice when that ends? If that's how he's best served, so be it. He's been a champion before, and guess what? He hasn't done so well. His title feuds / matches were often overshadowed by other feuds and matches.

Third, if Show DID wink at Bryan while he was dancing around (I didn't see it) then he should be in big trouble for breaking character. I didn't see Show wink - I saw him shocked and disappointed, which is what I'd expect him to be.

Maybe because they understand something at the core of the Big Show's entire persona? He doesn't need the title. He never really has. Someone his size will always be in the main event scene. Show doesn't need to get over, he doesn't need a rub, he doesn't need the belt to be an attraction.

Then why put the belt on him at all in the first place? Why not have Henry retain in some BS fashion and knock Henry out. The set up at Survivor Series would have been perfect (we were all chanting for it) instead of what happened last night. Don't get me wrong - I popped for it pretty big. But what was the point in Show beating Henry with a weak punch from an injured hand only to then get beaten down by said Henry and getting pinned by a guy who weighs as much as his left leg?

 

[XXJJ]

I dont get the Wade Barrett complaint. He pinned Orton on Smackdown. And him and Cody beat him at Survivor Series.

People need to understand they are not turning their established stars (Orton, Cena, Edge, Taker etc) into complete jobbers for midcarders looking to move up the ladder. They are going to try to make them both look good.

Barrett was doing absolutely nothing for months before his feud with Orton. He has regained a lot of his momentum that he lost after Nexus, and has become relevant again. He is really close to becoming a world champ.

 

[Davi323]

Then why put the belt on him at all in the first place? Why not have Henry retain in some BS fashion and knock Henry out. The set up at Survivor Series would have been perfect (we were all chanting for it) instead of what happened last night. Don't get me wrong - I popped for it pretty big. But what was the point in Show beating Henry with a weak punch from an injured hand only to then get beaten down by said Henry and getting pinned by a guy who weighs as much as his left leg?

Because having Henry retain the title over Big Show doesn't add anything to the feud at all. We have been down the "Mark Henry somehow wins the match but Big Show coldcocks him afterwards" road before. If Mark Henry goes over Big Show AGAIN, then what was the point of the feud at all? They are just doing the exact same thing they have been doing on Smackdown for two months. Even if they weren't going to let Big Show stay champion, he still had to get the satisfaction of finally beating Mark Henry. If it's the other way around, and Henry wins, but then Big Show knocks him out, Daniel Bryan still ends up as champion, and it would just be a repeat of the last two months...with Big Show never getting satisfaction. In my opinion, the feud was never about the title itself, it was a personal feud...the title aspect was secondary. If Big Show STILL loses to Mark Henry, there is no resolution to the feud at all, the whole thing was a waste of time. Show needed to win the match, not necessarily keep the title.

 

[nightmare]

Reason VKM said 'no' to him working a lighter schedule and drop the title instead? 2 reasons.

a) Henry isnt Taker. Hell he isnt even on the 'superstar value' level of Rey. Vince would gladly let them work light because they draw. Henry? Not so much.

b) The reaction DB gets from the crowd is fantastic. Removing a repeat scenario (Henry wins, Show knocks him out) and pushing the WHC into a different direction was a good idea. Sucks for Show, but thats how it goes sometimes. His last good run w\ a belt was when exactly? Dosent show lack of faith towards DB, in fact it does the opposite. Vince has never been big on the 'indy' stars, but DB has fans that proved him wrong. Vince is a smart businessman & this was a good time to transition the title to one of the biggest crowd favorites right now. Plus, this could lead to a great title match at WM. Picture Barrett winning the Rumble and facing the man he 'fired' from Nexus because he feels DB is inferior. Keeps the title on Bryan until WM (which the fans want) and has a relevant reason for the 2 to fight. Seems like a plan to me.



As far as the Orton\Barrett situation. Barrett won his fair share against Orton. Now seeing as Orton is SD's version of Cena, they are letting some of the other talent shine through & this was one of those cases. How many times do we see an up-and-coming heel beat the 'super face' week after week, until the face ultimately wins and ends the storyline? Happens alot. Vince has obvious faith in Barrett. If he didnt then why have him pin Orton on a big PPV at MSG? That shows faith. Meant more for Barrett to win at Survivor Series than to win at TLC (a far lesser PPV).

 

[Coco]

Fine, I'll bite.

Mark Henry

For anyone who hasn't sene it yet, Wrestlezone posted a report from a WWE insider that Henry is legit hurt but was willing to work through it on a reduced schedule. VKM vanquished that idea and instead asked for the WHC to change hands. What's ever worse is that, in the middle of a feud with the Big Show that saw the superplex and ring collapse heard 'round the world, Henry's first title reign ended with the weakest looking punch I've ever seen.

Henry's a bad guy who's been doing bad things since the draft. He was going to get his comeuppance eventually. Having it happen at the conclusion of a lengthy rivalry with Show irks you why? Despite a lack of faith on WWE's part, Henry's still gotten more consistent booking than most expect of WWE these days. There's nothing to complain about on that front. Furthermore, the punch comes down the performers. That has nothing to do with a lack of faith in Henry.

Big Show

So dominant, so over is the "World's Largest Athlete" that his title reign lasted another solid minute or three. Par for the course of a fantastic performer who is hit or miss on crowd reaction but has not really shown himself able to hold a major title for a long period of time. If WWE wanted the title off Henry, why not just let Show win it and defend it when Henry was well? Simple lack of faith.

It's Big Show. I doubt even his parents have faith in him. Once again, this isn't the sort of thing that should trouble anyone. They've been working main event programs around the company's lack of faith in Show for years and the company has yet to collapse. I don't see why this is thread-worth news.

Daniel Bryan

A lot of people will disagree here and state that, by putting the WHC on Bryan, WWE is showing unprecedented faith in him. That's all well and good, but consider two major factors. First, Bryan was initially going to take the MITB case to Wrestlemania and cash it in there, the way any decent babyface would do. WWE doesn't have faith in Bryan being able to be a part of what will likely be a quadruple main event at Wrestlemania. Second, they had Bryan do the heel thing TWICE now and cash in the title with an injured Superheavyweight down in the ring. They don't trust Bryan's ability to carry a realistic match with a big man? Insert derisive Rey Mysterio comment here.

You are familiar with kayfabe, yes? Good. Bryan saying he's cashing in at Mania doesn't mean that's what he has to do. Deception paid off after he failed multiple times to put Henry down straight-up. You call it a lack of faith. I call it storytelling. Is it a back-up plan? Maybe. But you can't say for certain that Bryan isn't headed to Mania.

Yeah, as is the case with Henry, there's nothing wrong here. You're just looking for something to rattle your keyboard about but aren't coming up with anything juicy. I expect better of you, sir.

Wade Barrett

What does he have to do with anything? Loads. He's been putting himself over as the "overlooked" World Title contender, and what happens last night in a virtual #1 contenders match with Randy Orton? Barrett goes through a table and loses. Can he still realistically be considered part of the title picture anymore?

He's been getting the better of Orton for a couple months now. One loss doesn't negate that. He can be shoe-horned into the title scene any time right now and people will buy it. This is the usual smark crap where people equate one loss with disaster. Once again, you should be better than this.

The World Heavyweight title picture is a mess of high risk and low trust. The "abort" button is pressed at a moments notice if needed. We're seeing a program and a belt sorely missing the likes of Edge right now.

Edge was the captain of three week title reigns and soft booking. He's one of the weakest looking champions of all time. Assuming your gripes have some merit (and they really don't), it's not as though he'd be the answer.

The facts? Henry and Barrett are still viable main event guys for SmackDown. Bryan is poised to make an impact. Show is as relevant as he always was. And Orton, Rhodes, and Sheamus are right there with Christian just waiting for the green light to return. If anything, SmackDown is more stacked than usual right now and it's because WWE seems to have enough faith in everyone to give somebody other the Randy Orton and whoever he's feuding with a chance to anchor the ship. I love what I'm seeing. The SmackDown cake as a surprising number of layers at the moment.

 

[dotty_84]

I would say yes and no to the limb psychology and Big Show using his fist but in saying that, if it's your biggest weapon even if you damage it, you'd still be using it if you knew that one connection would clean knock him out. Show sold how much it hurt straight after he hit Henry.

Ofcourse what he does is not entirely up to him but possibly by mutual decision WWE and Show know it's not best for business sure he can be fueding for the title but never win it again. We just don't know, but to the so so long statement and sorry it was a slight exaggeration but i'm sure i seen it around a year ago and only in a report. And it's not always his fault Creative can be fucking useless look it how they handled Show V SES, a pure joke.

On the Third point...I'm positive i seen it, i'm not sure if anyone else can clarify with me, i also seen him smiling a bit too much, but meh he's a face, and get in shit for breaking character, i personally don't see it with him being Face, Heel then yeah you can't do that. I might be wrong though i'm in the UK and was fuckign knackered maybe i was secretly hoping Big Show was winking for me

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I can understand some of the frustration here. I've had very mixed feelings about this myself and it's hard to know where to ultimately stand, at least for me.

Henry was willing to work through the pain, it shows a lot of heart. Based on what I've read a few minutes ago, the groin pull is said to be a very bad one. Henry working a reduced schedule could help but, then again, it could also be very risky for Henry to work through it. It might be so bad that the only thing that will help is time off to simply let it mend properly. The fact that Henry is legitimately around the 400 pound mark could be a complication and aggravating factor to the injury.

As for how Bryan cashed it in, I look at it like this: when Michael Cole interviewed Bryan about his attempt to cash in and go back on his word, Bryan basically said that he was human. All us humans are flawed individuals and Bryan saw an opportunity to realize what he himself has said in promos as a life long dream. It was right there in front of him. He went back on his "word" because being World Heavyweight Champion was more important to him. It's certainly not classic babyface behavior, but it is something that I think the audience can realistically relate to and get behind. Bryan got a helluva response from the crowd during that promo and during his match with Henry on the SmackDown! special.

There's a LOT that can go wrong here. It's getting close to the initial build for WrestleMania, which means Vince is probably going to change hims mind on a hundred different WrestleMania scenarios a hundred times a day. I can understand the lack of faith in Vince in a situation like this because Bryan could find himself in the middle of a shitstorm and a potentially grand opportunity could be completely ruined.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

3590846There's a LOT that can go wrong here. It's getting close to the initial build for WrestleMania, which means Vince is probably going to change hims mind on a hundred different WrestleMania scenarios a hundred times a day[/B]. I can understand the lack of faith in Vince in a situation like this because Bryan could find himself in the middle of a shitstorm and a potentially grand opportunity could be completely ruined.

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees. but I don't know if they had a right way to end Henry's monstrous push at all. WWE has this problem of taking a storlyine to great crescendo, and then whoomp, there it is.

It is between a shitstorm and a diamond platform and now we await how things go.

Mind you, I don't think Vince can handle DBD properly.

 

[Hazardous]

If Henry wasn't injured (Way to go Cena) there would not have been a title change, or 2 in this case. He would have held on until at least the Rumble. that would have been the PERFECT time to cash in.
Really I think the WHC picture looks better than the WWE title one right now. we got some solid, proven talent. Believable contenders in Orton, Show, Barrett, and even Sheamus. Raw has a lot less going on in the main event than Smackdown. The move to have DBD win was due to Henry's injury, I can almost guarantee it. either that, or Punk has a LOT more pull in the company now than he did before.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

If Henry wasn't injured (Way to go Cena) there would not have been a title change, or 2 in this case. He would have held on until at least the Rumble. that would have been the PERFECT time to cash in.
Really I think the WHC picture looks better than the WWE title one right now. we got some solid, proven talent. Believable contenders in Orton, Show, Barrett, and even Sheamus. Raw has a lot less going on in the main event than Smackdown. The move to have DBD win was due to Henry's injury, I can almost guarantee it. either that, or Punk has a LOT more pull in the company now than he did before.

Not by the hair on Hunter's chiny chin chin.

Punk don't got no pull like that. Cena, Orton do and I really do think this all has to do with Henry's injury. I was diggin' the Hall of Pain had its moment but Christ, the way they took the belt from him, you can hear the thud of that push slamming down.

 

[sanefan_har]

Daniel Bryan

First, Bryan was initially going to take the MITB case to Wrestlemania and cash it in there, the way any decent babyface would do.

It seems you missed the show where Micheal Cole called Bryan a hypocrite after the first attempted cash in.
To refresh your memory, Daniel Bryan then talked about the attack by mark henry and *kayfabe* realised that the MITB case didn't guarantee him anything. If Mark Henry were to take him out with an injury, forcing him to miss Mania, what would be the point of having the MITB case then??

Again this perspective is kayfabe, but it did make sense for daniel bryan to cash in at TLC and while it wasn't the best thing WWE have done this year, it was definitely a good thing.

Therefore your whole decent babyface comment is rendered useless.

 

[Da Solo]

Henry losing his title had nothing to do with faith. He injured his leg/foot/something in that area, so when when you combine that with his weight, largeness, required in-ring time as champion, prominent position on the SD! roster and history of similar injuries (Fun fact: he wrestled for months with a shattered patella a while back, 2007 I think), it was obvious that Creative made the right decision to avoid injuring him by taking away the title.

I can understand why you would think that a lack of faith in Show was displayed at TLC, but it just comes down to which idea would be better. Show has had his time in the world title spotlight since he's a veteran, so it's not that they don't trust him. He just doesn't need to have the title right now, whereas giving it to DBD at least guarantees us a World Title program through the Royal Rumble.

Here's where I somewhat agree with you. Maybe it's my bias towards Brian/wanting to finally see a WM cash-in, but I feel that Creative practically told Bryan that they'd rather avoid giving him the Road to WM push and just test him out now. While it was not a totally horrible idea to have him cash-in given his involvement in the Show/Henry feud, it just throws Bryan's already bipolar booking into a frenzy: First he wins the briefcase and sorta-kinda gets the last laugh in his feud with Cody (big time opportunity), then he becomes the whipping boy for Sin Cara and Hunico in addition to losing to Barett at Summerslam (Wtf? It's ok though, for now), which puts him in almost midcard hell to the point where he's constantly jobbing and even being held off TV (Serious backpedalling here for him. Creative screwed that up royally), then he gets back on the winning streak by beating Tyson Kidd and starts getting involved into the title picture with matches with Henry (getting back on track here), he wins a big 4 Way match (once again, big opportunity), but loses that cage match (which is understandable and not really detrimental). But then he gets squashed by Del-Rio (kayfabe injury or not, it should not have happened) and gets owned by Cody for a couple weeks (Weird how the WHC can't even beat the IC champion) and now all of a sudden he's the World champion now rather than a WM cash in just to save Henry's ass? That does seem like a lack of trust.

OP, you are totally wrong about Barett. And this goes to everyone who is griping about Orton winning at TLC. Barrett has gone over Orton enough in the last couple months or so to solidify himself as WHC caliber. He didn't need the win that badly. If anything, Orton needed the win more. He spent the majority of 2011 putting over SD!'s upper midcard into main eventers. While he is a great name to get over on, it can't be done too constantly, or it'll lose it's effect. Case in point: Kane a couple years ago.

 

[Suibon]

Oh, OP, you so funny.

Mark Henry: So he really is injured? Well, either Vince was being a dick and wanted nothing else but end a surprisingly fruitful title run - or maybe Mark Henry was injured severely enough to provoke Vince into raising a red flag and preventing him from competing, letting him rest and recuperate while Bryan solidifies his hold on the main event... which tells us that the bookers have plans for him in the upcoming months.

Not bad for a man who isn't trusted.

Big Show: It ain't as much as Big Show wasn't trusted enough to have a title, it's that Big Show doesn't need a title run any more than Andre the Giant or any similarly over big guy does.

Daniel Bryan: There's this thing called kayfabe, wherein not everything people within that thing say misleading stuff all the time. You know, that kind of stuff. Oh, the way Bryan won the title could be considered heel-ish, but who cares? The audience ate it - and Daniel Bryan's rationalization to Michael Cole just after Survivor Series - up anyway.

Wade Barrett: I'm going to be completely biased here and say I intensely dislike Wade Barrett. I don't know what character is he supposed to be portraying in this last foray against Orton, and I don't see him as anything but a mid-carder with a glorified past - good talker, meh in-ring, and not very skilled at drawing heat. So I'm of two minds about this. One is that he's being de-pushed, under the pretext of not having Orton lose too many matches against midcarders, no matter how over; the other, supported by Barrett dominating most of the match, is that Barrett is getting pushed to the main event anyway.