It's the match that he should have been a part of last year, but fans now officially have confirmation that Daniel Bryan is a participant in the 2015 Royal Rumble. Arguably the man who is the face of the next era of WWE could cement his place by headlining two consecutive Wrestlemanias. But can he outlast 29 other men to do it? Bryan has had a hell of a year. In the past twelve months, he went from reaching the very top of the mountain to plummeting to the deepest abyss. He overcame all odds, beat The Authority at Wrestlemania XXX to become the WWE World Champion. He then went on to have a brief feud with Kane before being forced to take time off to undergo neck surgery after losing all strength in his right arm. The surgery was successful, but the arm was still not right, and amid talk of more surgery, he was told that he might never wrestle again. Combined with the recent death of his father after Wrestlemania, it was an emotional low point for Bryan. After months of speculation as to whether or not he would ever compete in the ring again, Bryan returned to Raw in December last year to make what many people thought would be a retirement speech. Instead, he triumphantly announced his return to wrestling and his entrance in the Rumble match. Since then, he's picked up more or less where he left off, feuding with Kane and by extension The Authority. Bryan is still a white-hot babyface, and his matches against his potential opponents at Wrestlemania could be stellar. He's proven he can compete against John Cena to a match-of-the-year calibre, becoming one of the few people in the process to hold a clean victory over Cena. A rematch at 'Mania could be a genuine passing of the torch moment. He's worked with Rollins many times, both inside WWE and elsewhere, and it would be an excellent revisit to the Bryan vs Authority storyline, with Rollins replacing Orton. It's the Brock Lesnar matchup that has the most potential, though. There could be no bigger David vs Goliath story than Daniel Bryan vs The Beast Incarnate, and winning would once again prove Bryan to be the ultimate underdog babyface, and by being the man to defeat the one who ended The Streak, he would take his place as the next top guy of WWE once and for all. Bryan was never meant to headline Wrestlemania last year, it was only by the support of the fans that he got there. In return, he gave us one of the biggest Wrestlemanias of all time. He is now a proven draw in the main event scene. In these risky times, WWE has to find the balance between putting it's faith in the future and playing it safe on a reliable main eventer. With a Daniel Bryan win in the Royal Rumble, they can do both. Thanks very much for reading. Who do you think will win in the Royal Rumble on Sunday? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section, and to hear about more articles, add me on twitter at @IAMMARZI
Stephen Maher has been a rock star, a bouncer, a banker and a busker on various streets in various countries. He's hung out with Robert Plant, he was at Nelson Mandela's birthday and he's swapped stories with prostitutes and crack addicts. He once performed at a Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras by accident. These days, he passes the time by writing about music, wrestling, games and other forms of nerdery. And he rarely drinks the blood of the innocent.
