“The Planet’s Champion” Daniel Bryan: How WWE Uses Sport, Neoliberalism and Colorblind Ideology in Professional Wrestling Narratives

Abstract

Daniel Bryan’s WWE Championship reign, from November 13, 2018, to April 7, 2019, provides an interesting case study to analyze the intersection of politics, mediated sport, neoliberalism, and colorblind ideology in professional wrestling storylines. This study conducts uses textual analysis to uncover how WWE utilized Bryan’s reign to communicate ideologies in their weekly programming. The findings suggest that Bryan’s persona as a villainous leftist “heel,” symbolically positions left-wing politics as antagonistic to the neoliberal values exercised in sports media. Bryan’s defeat at the hands of African wrestler Kofi Kingston, reifies colorblind ideology and neoliberalism through the aesthetics of mediated sport.