WWE: Resurrection of Daniel Bryan
Whether you tune into RAW or SmackDown! every week, the one name that is on everyone’s tongue at the moment in the WWE is Daniel Bryan. Forgetting the fact that Daniel Bryan is arguably the best wrestler in the world, the former American Dragon has been on fire lately, taking on the members of The Shield almost single-handedly, and the fans and his peers have given him their nod of approval of being the hottest star right now in the company.
In a recent interview, his former tag team partner, the big red monster Kane said that Daniel Bryan is probably the most popular star right now among the WWE Universe, and that he is impressed by the performances of Daniel Bryan, and also called him the best wrestler in the company. About a year ago, Daniel Bryan was fighting for the WWE championship against CM Punk, and was then relegated to the mid card. So, does this mean he is finally getting a long overdue push? Or is it just a temporary glow in the dark?
In 2011, Daniel Bryan shocked the world when he won the World Heavyweight championship, and started an interesting gimmick. Although the naysayers said Bryan can never win ‘The big one’ in the WWE, he proved all of them wrong and became the World champion, defying odds against monsters such as The Big Show and Mark Henry. Although the fans and his peers rejoiced his victory, the WWE turned him heel soon afterwards, and he faced the winner of the Royal Rumble of 2012, Sheamus, at WrestleMania.
Their bout opened the card, and in front of a packed crowd cheering for Bryan, he lost the World Heavyweight title to Sheamus in record 18 seconds, which created an outrage among the passionate fans and the internet community alike! Since then, Bryan has never won the title back, and after his feud with Punk ended, he was dropped into the tag team division, and was paired with Kane. Although they won the WWE tag team championships, Bryan wasn’t given a proper push. That is, until Team Hell No lost the tag titles, which came as a blessing in disguise for Bryan.
Ever since Bryan started obsessing about ‘being the weak link’ of the team, he has started a new fiery underdog gimmick, which is very similar to what Kurt Angle had back in ’01. Bryan’s credentials as a wrestler are unparalleled, and he started showing that in the ring, creating chaos and wrecking havoc against The Shield, taking them out almost single-handedly! The crowd has showed their support to Bryan by cheering him on, and as per rumours, the WWE management has been so impressed by Bryan that they want to push him back as a main eventer, possibly taking on Cena for the WWE title at Money in the Bank PPV next month! Although plans can change at any given moment, the trust the management has in Bryan at the moment shows how Bryan has climbed up the ranks yet again, all by himself, after a year of being stuck in the mid card.
This past week on SmackDown!, The Shield were finally defeated as a trio by the team of Kane, Bryan and Orton, and it was Bryan who managed to pick up the victory for his team. After superstars such as Orton, Sheamus, Ryback and the WWE champion, John Cena himself weren’t able to defeat The Shield, Daniel Bryan was successful in registering a victory against the trio. Not to forget the fact that The Shield have picked apart legends like The Undertaker makes the feat of Daniel Bryan that much more impressive. This signifies the resurgence of Daniel Bryan in the WWE and among the WWE Universe, as he has proved time and again that he truly is the best wrestler on the planet!
In the past few weeks on RAW, Daniel Bryan has faced all the members of The Shield, and whether it is in a singles match or a tag team match, he managed to put on the match of the night! Bryan went on and did one better, as he fought Ryback on RAW a couple of weeks ago which happened to be his second match of the night, and gave Ryback the best match of his career! With Bryan taking over the ‘work horse’ role from Chris Jericho in the WWE, the sky is the limit for Daniel Bryan. With his peers backing him up, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him as the WWE champion soon. With the kind of support and reaction Bryan has been generating from the fans, one can safely say that Daniel Bryan has finally broken the shackles, and has become one of the top talents in the company.