Daniel Bryan showed off that old spark on WWE SmackDown
Daniel Bryan was the focal point of this week's edition of WWE SmackDown, making the case for why he deserved to challenge Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship in two weeks at WWE Fastlane.
Last week's show saw Bryan and Jey Uso go to a double countout in what could have cemented Bryan's spot to challenge Reigns. This week, they announced Bryan and Uso would face off yet again, this time in a steel cage, to determine whether Bryan could challenge Reigns once and for all.
Bryan started SmackDown with a fantastic promo to try to sell himself as a title contender after months of mostly operating in the background, wrestling more to elevate other talent rather than himself, something Bryan even acknowledged during the segment.
Michael Cole said that Bryan had been offered a tag team match at Fastlane where he and Edge would face Reigns and Uso, but Bryan was reported to have turned the match down. Bryan used that statement to underscore the theme of his promo: everyone just expects him to roll with the punches these days but he's had enough and is ready to bet on himself once again (insert "yes!" chant).
Daniel Bryan painted a story of a wrestler who has never been selfish but achieved what he has because of his love for the business. He relayed a story about scoring low on an "ambition" test with WWE, the lowest score achieved by anyone on said test, with those giving the test then wondering how he has succeeded. Again, Bryan said it was out of love for the business.
The passion in his promo then shone through in a way we haven't seen in months; Bryan has been presented as kind of a happy-go-lucky guy for a while now, someone who was even booked in a kickoff show match a couple of months ago, despite the fact that he's a living legend who was given the ultimate opportunity with a final run in his career after what seemed like a permanent, medically-forced retirement.
This week on SmackDown, you could see the fire once again that ignited the "Yes Movement" back in 2013 as he sold the hell out of himself as a would-be challenger to Reigns. Bryan talked about feeling like a failure at Elimination Chamber when he won the match, only to lose quickly to Reigns, and in defeat watch Edge point at the WrestleMania banner. It was at that moment, Bryan said, that he realized he could and should main event WrestleMania. While WWE wants an Attitude Era vs. ThunderDome Era match to headline the biggest show of the year, Bryan screamed that he would do everything he could to make sure that didn't happen. Why? Because, he said, this could be his last chance to headline WrestleMania.
This is the Daniel Bryan we have been waiting to see
Bryan's return in 2018 was like something out of a fairytale. Following his forced retirement back in 2016, nobody ever dreamed we would see him in the ring again. And then it happened. He returned at WrestleMania 34 and had the best match on the show.
Since that time, Bryan did have a fantastic heel reign as WWE Champion, completely remaking his character in a way we never thought possible, again showing the diversity of his talent for the business. How could anyone not love Bryan during this return, we (falsely) questioned - and he proved us all wrong.
However, since the return of Bryan's babyface character, we have gradually seen him slide down the card. He has been, partly due to his own inclinations and influence on the creative team, someone who has been perfectly fine working with others lower on the card and trying to make new stars like Drew Gulak.
However, those of us that have followed his career over the years have yearned for more. We don't know how many more years we have left of Daniel Bryan competing, and we want to see him used to his fullest potential in important matches. After 2016, each match feels like a gift and should be worthwhile.
We got a glimpse of that on SmackDown. Although this match with Reigns will likely amount to nothing more than a road-bump on the way to WrestleMania for the current champion, it showed us that old fire from one of the biggest stars in the industry and hopefully is a window into what is yet to come as the year goes on. There's no question that Daniel Bryan should have another run as champion and this week's show proved that. As Bryan emerged victorious in the cage match with Jey Uso to earn the championship opportunity against Reigns at Fastlane, Bryan immediately made a PPV show just two weeks before WrestleMania into something that feels like it's "must-see."
Daniel Bryan booked consistently at the main event level would do the same thing for WWE's weekly television. I'm here for it, as are millions of others. The "Yes Movement" lives.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below or give me a shout on Twitter @ryandroste.