"I don't care about him anymore" - WWE legend on fans' view of Daniel Bryan after huge moment (Exclusive)
Brian James, also known as Road Dogg, believes Daniel Bryan’s popularity decreased after one of the biggest moments of his WWE career.
Bryan won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 30 after defeating Batista and Randy Orton in the main event. He also beat his arch-rival, Triple H, earlier in the show.
James, a WWE Superstar and producer at the time, spoke on Sportskeeda’s “The Wrestling Outlaws” about Bryan’s memorable journey to the WrestleMania main event. The 53-year-old recalled how the popular star’s merchandise numbers fell after the show:
“That’s a real thing,” James said. “Go back to Daniel Bryan. Daniel Bryan, he beat the world at WrestleMania, won the title, and his merch sales went down. That’s analytics that can’t be argued with. It’s like the journey is the destination. Once they reach there, it’s like, ‘I don’t care about him anymore.’” [9:09-9:32]
Watch the video above to find out James’ thoughts on Kofi Kingston’s WWE Championship victory over Bryan at WrestleMania 35. He also commented on Brock Lesnar’s eight-second win against Kingston six months later.
How Daniel Bryan reinvented himself after his WrestleMania 30 success
Bryan was forced to vacate the title 63 days after his WrestleMania triumph due to a neck injury.
After returning in 2015, the five-time WWE World Champion took another lengthy break from the ring due to concussion-related issues. He retired in 2016 before being cleared to return in 2018.
#OnThisDay in 2014, Daniel Bryan defeated Batista and Randy Orton in the# Wrestlemania 30 main event to capture the WWE Championship. https://t.co/ZFf98ifnlP
The 41-year-old continued to perform as a babyface following his long-awaited in-ring comeback. He also performed as a heel in late 2018 and the majority of 2019 before gradually transforming back into a good guy.
Bryan left WWE in 2021 and joined AEW, where he now performs under his real name, Bryan Danielson. The two-time WrestleMania main-eventer is a member of the Blackpool Combat Club stable alongside Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley, Wheeler Yuta, and William Regal.
What did you make of Bryan’s WrestleMania 30 victory? Let us know in the comments section.
Please credit Sportskeeda’s “The Wrestling Outlaws” and embed the video if you use quotes from this article.