10 Specific Ways WWE Stars Can Recover From Awful Booking

1. Daniel Bryan

Charlotte Flair Upset
WWE.com

Did Daniel Bryan have to lose to Rusev? Or to anybody, so soon after his magical return?

"He's an underdog!" is the counter-argument, but Daniel Bryan isn't Tye Dillinger. He is a performer boasting immense range, and he's already made a comeback so magical nobody could script it, let alone a godd*mn WWE creative writer. Leaning on that aspect of his character will only offer diminished returns. This much was clear before he even entered the ring at 'Mania 34. It's crystal now.

Using Bryan to elevate Big Cass was a catastrophic misfire, since Cass is irredeemable as a singles performer. Bryan's aura was tarnished through pure association, and that is before Cass walked him around the Backlash ring maintaining wrist control like he was Kazuchika Okada, and not one of the worst singles acts on the planet.

It's time Bryan started winning, cleanly and conclusively, en route to genuine WWE Title contention. Our balls are blue, our hopes tempered. Increasingly, the magic of Bryan's return is lifting, primarily because the expectation of a committed push is as improbable as his medical clearance. Bryan isn't a caricature, he is a star, and he should be treated as such accordingly.

Dethroning WWE Champion Shinsuke Nakamura following a major, emotional win over The Miz is the way to do just that.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!