>>19329510I generally agree with this anon, especially with regard to HHH trying to replicate the Evolution storylines that helped launch Batista and Orton into main event status. I disagree with him insofar as it looks like HHH has cast Bron in more of the 2005-Batista role than the 2004-Orton one. Orton's push was undermined by the leader of Evolution, whereas Batista's was a success. There are a number of reasons for this that would take too long to explain (most important: Orton quickly lost momentum because he couldn't yet work effectively as a main event babyface).
There is a predictable and obvious answer to the question of why Bron's build seems so forced compared to Batista's build 20 years ago: Vince is gone. Vince produced over a year's worth of shows where HHH would look like a pompous and whiney dipshit. It would be going too far to characterize HHH as a "chickenshit heel" at this time, since HHH was savvy enough to avoid being viewed as one, but he would play this role from time to time as an homage to Flair. Meanwhile Batista was portrayed as the freakishly jacked no-nonsense badass who destroyed his (and HHH's) opponents and backed down from no one. Without advising the commentators to make it explicit, the fans watching the shows gradually came to believe that Batista was a stud being held down a manipulative control freak. Vince realized this and booked it to perfection.
What HHH is doing with Bron and the Vision is a pale imitation. Both Heyman and the commentators are repeatedly informing the audience that Bron is the next big star they're scheduled to like. Bron is being booked strong week after week (the win over LA Knight, especially the finish, was admittedly very well done), but the seeds of an antagonistical relationship with Seth or Heyman have not been planted, and the fans have little reason to want to see Bron go babyface. HHH is going to force a babyface Bron main event push before the fans are ripe to receive it, and it'll flop.
