FACT: Daniel Bryan was glaringly omitted from the WWE Royal Rumble this passed Sunday. CM Punk lasted over 50 minutes in the Rumble but did not play any significant elimination role.

Daniel Bryan was recently in a short-lived (and somewhat strange) feud with the Wyatt Family. Had the story drawn out longer, the WWE creative team may have looked like geniuses. Unless WWE creative is deaf and can’t hear the YES! chants, the fans want a relevant Daniel Bryan storyline. Fans know crap when they see it and Batista was infuriated with the reaction to his Royal Rumble victory. Bryan dropped the belt to Randy Orton and his career has not been the same. His gets a title shot at Elimination Chamber but I doubt it’s gonna matter. An Orton/Batista story leading up to Wrestlemania may be the obvious path and may involve WWE legend Ric Flair.

The path is not looking as good for CM Punk. This above apology from Kane pretty much sums up the company’s attitude. His recent lackluster feud creating cracks in The Shield (pun intended) left him practically beaten into a vacation. After an amazing 434-day title run, during which he was the most hated person in the company, outsold everyone but John Cena in merchandise and helped put The Shield over, Punk dropped the belt to The Rock without proper build up. Ever since then, his bright star has been all but put out. Instead of working toward a CM Punk vs. The Authority angle and bringing in anti-establishment legends like Stone Cold Steve Austin and Rowdy Roddy Piper, breaking news this morning says CM Punk was sent home and pulled from future WWE promotions. No one knows if this  means he’s released or if he’s going on hiatus. Sure, he’s obnoxious but a guy like Punk can create great storylines and build other guys.

In other news, Batista and Brock Lesnar are back! However, with the long list of greats returning part-time for diminished roles, the lack of push for the WWE current roster is disturbing. Where are guys like Antonio Cesaro, Fandango and Dolph Ziggler with real in-ring skills? I mean, God bless Big Show, Rey Mysterio, Alberto Del Rio and Sheamus but build up other dudes instead of having them job for bigger names…

THE VERDICT: WWE Creative… what are you thinking? Give the people a little more of what they want… If you’re concerned about selling merchandise, give guys in the locker room some proper gimmicks and story lines. You wasted the indestructable Ryback and a handful of other great talents just to unify both belts and put it on Randy Orton without anyone on the current roster worth facing. Hell, they can’t even find anyone worthy to push against AJ Lee (yeah, I said it).

I know we’re still going to watch Wrestlemania but let’s hope the WWE is saving something better for us because I feel like I’m watching Total Divas.
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