4 Ups And Downs From Last Night's WWE Smackdown (Feb 28)

1. Daniel Bryan Has Been Downgraded To IC Title Contender

There were a lot of positives surrounding the IC Title on this show that will be covered later, but it needs to be said that Daniel Bryan trying to win this title seems like a major downgrade for him. Bryan's the guy that main evented WrestleMania last year, that gets the biggest reaction out of anybody on the roster, that is the best in-ring performer in the company and has a connection with the crowd that is rare in a good way. Now he's only caring about the IC Title? It's weak. This reminds me of when WWE didn't want Bret Hart to overshadow WWE Champion Diesel so they had him feuding with the likes of Hakushi (good worker that wasn't a big name), Jean Pierre Lafitte (they feuded because of a jacket!) and Isaac Yankem (terrible gimmick). Eventually WWE went back to Bret as the man. It may never happen again for Bryan. Even though Bryan had a tremendous match with Reigns at Fastlane, he's not going to be around him because it's all about making Reigns look strong all the time. The expectation is that Bryan will be one of the guys in the multi-man Ladder Match for the IC Title at WrestleMania. It's the 5th or 6th biggest match on the show. That's a significant downgrade for him and he really doesn't deserve it.