You cant help but feel bad for Daniel Bryan and his sizable fanbase. He was riding a huge wave of momentum up to WrestleMania XXX, then got stuck in a nowhere feud with Kane before being shelved for nine months. Since returning, Bryan has shown that he hasnt lost a step, both in the ring and in terms of popularity. However, WWE has clearly moved on to the next big thing, even if fans havent. Rather than giving in to fans or holding off on Bryans return so it doesnt interfere with Roman Reigns, WWE has chosen a different path. On Monday, Bryan won a match against Seth Rollins (with a little help from Reigns) to face Roman at Fast Lane for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship title shot at WrestleMania. So basically, Bryan is one victory away from main-eventing Mania again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0_egZ72CN0 But its fairly obvious whats happening here: Bryan will help put a solid, maybe great one-on-one match under Reigns belt (which he really hasnt had yet) and endorse him as a top contender, essentially becoming second banana. Its the best of a bad situation, but it also gives fans false hope that Bryan can fight his way back to the top. That sort of hope might generate interest in the match, but it will only serve to frustrate fans in the end. Its a tough spot, but WWE has no one to blame but itself.
Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.
