Why Daniel Bryan Winning Royal Rumble 2018 Would Be WWE's Biggest Ever Pop

Moreover, the site of the pop itself - the Royal Rumble - is synonymous with WWE’s mishandling of Daniel Bryan. It is the last level in a game as difficult - and unfair - as Battletoads. The sheer incredulity of it all, the sheer relief, would feel like victory for Bryan and the fans alike - a true win evoking the inimitable rush of your sports team battling against the steepest odds.

There is also the Final Boss to consider: Roman Reigns. Whether in defiance of the man himself, or what he symbolises, the overwhelming majority of fans don’t want the Big Dog to point at the WrestleMania sign. He has essentially pointed to it since April 2, 2017 - if not far longer. Anybody but Roman, is the mentality. Amplify that sentiment, with the pipe dream pick, and the reaction becomes amplified to an unprecedented extent.

Philadelphia, too, is a traditional WWE stronghold. Their fans are often very loud, and fully attuned to this anti-Reigns sentiment: they rained down the jeers three years ago. Virtually nothing - and that’s the problem - has changed. That toxic reaction would amplified through the familiarity-breeds-yet-more-contempt principle. Subverting it in this fashion is the very formula of euphoria.

Certain bookmakers slashed the odds on a Bryan win recently, but they’re an opportunistic and unscrupulous bunch; some of them are still offering long odds on Kenny Omega, despite his recently re-signing with New Japan Pro Wrestling. Their word is far, far from gospel.

Daniel Bryan securing victory in the 2018 Royal Rumble would not represent the realisation of an improbable dream, but the impossible dream. Whether it should remain impossible is a story for another day.

It’s probably not going to happen - but, if it were to happen, Vince McMahon would have to remove his metaphorical earplugs in place of the real deal.