10 Daniel Bryan WWE Matches You Have To Watch

5. 2015 Royal Rumble

Consider this a look backwards for a possible glimpse into the future.

In late 2014, Daniel Bryan returned to action after a long injury hiatus. He entered the 2015 Royal Rumble, and fans were ecstatic. Surely, many thought, WWE wouldn’t duplicate the mistake of the previous year and deny them a Bryan victory and WrestleMania main event?

Oh, but you don’t know WWE.

Bryan entered the Rumble at #10, only to be eliminated by Bray Wyatt a few minutes later. A couple minutes after that, Roman Reigns entered the Rumble, leading fans to unleash a hellacious rain of boos. It continued for the last half-hour of the Rumble, with it only getting louder as it became conclusive that Roman was winning.

The reaction of fans unwilling to accept anyone other than Bryan as the main-eventer helped doom Reigns from the get-go, as he was mercilessly booed throughout the build to Mania.

With Reigns once again in the title hunt against Brock Lesnar and Bryan back, will fans be more forgiving since they’re on separate brands? It’s hard to say, but Daniel’s return certainly won’t make fans more accepting of Roman as a top guy.