It's true that WWE felt their hands were tied by Daniel Bryan's injury woes. In the Spring months, it became clear that the talented Bryan would have to step away from the ring, possibly for good. Various injuries had swallowed him up, spitting him out callously and leaving his wrestling career in tatters. Forfeiting the WWE Intercontinental Title, Bryan disappeared from screens. The man chosen as his replacement for the Intercontinental Title was none other than Ryback. This was a poor move by WWE, because the man could never live up to his predecessor. When Bryan won the belt at WrestleMania 31, there were high hopes that he could help the secondary title regain some traction in the company. That was forgotten about when Ryback bagged the gold. At Elimination Chamber, he was crowned the new champ. Even booking Daniel Bryan to endorse the new titleholder didn't work, fans just weren't buying it. A much better decision would have been to transfer the title onto someone else fans considered an in-ring work horse. Limited as a power-move wrestler, Ryback can't hold a candle to Bryan, and he was doomed to fail from the get go.
