6 Ups And Downs From Last Night's WWE Raw (Feb 2)

By Scott Carlson /

2. Giving Fans False Hope

You can€™t help but feel bad for Daniel Bryan and his sizable fanbase. He was riding a huge wave of momentum up to WrestleMania XXX, then got stuck in a nowhere feud with Kane before being shelved for nine months. Since returning, Bryan has shown that he hasn€™t lost a step, both in the ring and in terms of popularity. However, WWE has clearly moved on to the next big thing, even if fans haven€™t. Rather than giving in to fans or holding off on Bryan€™s return so it doesn€™t interfere with Roman Reigns, WWE has chosen a different path. On Monday, Bryan won a match against Seth Rollins (with a little help from Reigns) to face Roman at Fast Lane for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship title shot at WrestleMania. So basically, Bryan is one victory away from main-eventing Mania again.But it€™s fairly obvious what€™s happening here: Bryan will help put a solid, maybe great one-on-one match under Reigns€™ belt (which he really hasn€™t had yet) and endorse him as a top contender, essentially becoming second banana. It€™s the best of a bad situation, but it also gives fans false hope that Bryan can fight his way back to the top. That sort of hope might generate interest in the match, but it will only serve to frustrate fans in the end. It€™s a tough spot, but WWE has no one to blame but itself.