10 WWE Stars Who BURIED The Writers

5. Daniel Bryan

Daniel Bryan
WWE.com

This holier-than-thou eco warrior vintage of Daniel Bryan is the Vince whisperer.

Bryan has enjoyed a level of creative control since turning heel, a role in which he has influenced the few genuinely uplifting and rewarding storyline developments of 2019. This is a role Bryan requested to play, and plays with agency.

Not coincidentally, it was the best thing on WWE television throughout a chaotic and divisive Road to WrestleMania.

He asked to turn heel in the autumn of last year because WWE comprehensively and inexplicably botched his improbable, magic return from enforced retirement. Bryan played injured sidekick to the diverticulitis-stricken Shane McMahon at WrestleMania 34, valiantly failed to elevate the lump that was Big Cass, and reformed Team Hell No in a brief and charmless sequel. The magic was gone; WWE removed the rabbit from the hat, and beat its brains in.

Ahead of Bryan's dream programme with The Miz, he was asked by James Delow of the Gorilla Position podcast if he could see it extending to WrestleMania 35. Bryan laughed, jubilantly, in the man's face. He literally laughed out loud at how sh*tty WWE's booking is.

Was Bryan's cynicism warranted? Was he right to question WWE's ability to write a long-term storyline of the heroic everyman's triumph over the shifty, celebrity heel?

At WrestleMania 35, the heroic everyman Miz battled Shane McMahon in a Falls Count Anywhere match to defend his father's honour. Meanwhile, the villainous Daniel Bryan clashed with Kofi Kingston because WWE hadn't bothered to build a WWE Championship challenger - ahead of WrestleMania - on their own.

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!