5 WWE Superstars destined to be the next Daniel Bryan
Every once in a while, a WWE Superstar becomes so popular that the company’s decision-makers have no choice but to change their storyline plans and push said Superstar to the moon in order to appease fans.
There’s no better example of this than when Daniel Bryan ascended from mid-card performer to WrestleMania main-eventer in 2013-14, overcoming The Authority to walk out of WWE’s biggest show of the year as World Heavyweight champion.
Looking at the current-day WWE roster, there are multiple Superstars who could one day fit the criteria of the Bryan persona: an underdog mentality, a history of being held back by poor booking, an ability to have high-quality matches, and the potential to hold a major title.
In this article, we take a look at five Superstars who match those characteristics and who could go on to become ‘the next Daniel Bryan’.
#5 Chad Gable
Underdog: In a real-life wrestling match, 2012 Olympian Chad Gable would be the overwhelming favourite to win against almost everyone in WWE. However, in a ‘sports entertainment’ match, his height (5ft 8in) counts against him and immediately makes him an underdog in most of his matches.
Held back: Gable and Jason Jordan, aka American Alpha, were arguably the best tag team to come out of NXT, but you wouldn’t have known it from their booking on WWE’s main roster. While the Minnesota native has had increased television time of late, many expected him to be used in a much bigger role when he was drafted to SmackDown Live in July 2016.
High-quality matches: You only have to watch an American Alpha tag match from an NXT TakeOver event to see that Gable is an incredible in-ring performer. In WWE, he was the star of the show in the Fatal 4-Way at Clash of Champions and opened a lot of eyes in his match against A.J. Styles in 2017.
Potential to be champion: Will Gable ever be a major champion (WWE title or Universal title)? Probably not, which is why he’s fifth on this list. However, if he continues to produce great match after great match, he could easily be in the mix for a secondary title one day.