Let's be perfectly honest, Daniel Bryan's slow and steady road to the top was a smart plan from the WWE. Credit where credit is due - it was a great few months of booking that ultimately culminated in him winning gold at the biggest show of them all, WrestleMania. Bryan had garnered more popularity than anyone else, and his injury was unfortunate in terms of the long-term plans surrounding the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. However, where one door closes, another one opens in the fast-revolving world of the WWE. The next champion has to be a guy who can pull off a similar level of popularity and fan reaction to Bryan, so let's start checking some names off the list? John Cena? Not a chance. Randy Orton? Been there, done that. Cesaro? He's over to a certain extent, but not enough (yet) to become champion. Sheamus? Stick to the United States Championship, fella. Bray Wyatt is a decent enough candidate, but you feel the long-term plan for Wyatt should be to morph him into a babyface slowly - much like the transformation of The Shield. And perhaps unsurprisingly, that leaves just one man in the frame. A quick glance back at the battle royal won tells you all you need to know about Roman Reigns' popularity. It was booked to perfection, leaving Reigns and Rusev as the final two men. Rusev has become a bit of a heat magnet since his dramatic anti-USA promos have begun to gather momentum, and all that heat meant Reigns became even more popular in the eyes of the WWE fans. For a while now, the big guy of The Shield had looked like the one who was destined to become WWE World Heavyweight Champion before the rest. His time has now well and truly arrived after a dramatic few weeks in the world of WWE.
