Photo Courtesy of Megan Elice Meadows.
With no definitive decision on whether or not Daniel Bryan will be stripped of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, WWE fans have been left to speculate on the true extent of Bryan’s injury and the resultant story-line.
Approximately one week ago, on the May 12th edition of WWE RAW, Daniel Bryan announced that he would need to undergo “neck surgery.” Later reports from WWE.com concluded that Bryan had indeed undergone a cervical foraminotomy, a procedure which relieves nerve compression in the upper spine.
On WWE RAW’s most recent episode, which aired on May 19th, Stephanie McMahon teased London’s 02 Arena audience with the possibility of stripping Daniel Bryan of his belts. Stephanie subsequently suggested the option of awarding the vacant belts to either “The Demon” Kane, “Bad News” Barrett, Batista, or Triple H. To the audience’s relief, neither of these options were viable to Stephanie at the present. However, Mrs. McMahon-Hemsley essentially demanded that Daniel Bryan surrender his belts as this would be—you guessed it—“Best for business”.
The question must now be raised concerning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship: Is the end of Daniel Bryan’s brief title reign what’s really best for the WWE? Let’s consider a couple of factors:
- Daniel Bryan is a pure wrestler, not a performer.
This may be a hard pill to swallow, but people like Daniel Bryan because he’s the current guy to like. Aside from his stellar in-ring performance, Daniel Bryan has NEVER produced a viable story-line on his own (insert doubts here). Consider the fact that Bryan originally got over due to his work with the likes of AJ Lee and his therapy angle involving Kane. Overall, Bryan has displayed great performance but not much personality. “His YES!” gimmick has picked up a great deal of steam, but the sad truth is that Bryan can’t talk his way out of a wet paper bag. In comparison to great mic guys like The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Hulk Hogan—Daniel Bryan is truly a B+ player. Whether your like it or not, the WWE World Heavyweight Champion has got to be the best on the mic and in the ring. Daniel Bryan is ½ of the total package
- Bryan does not book well as a dominant champion.
The “YES! Man” was booked very well against John Cena when he was put over to win the WWE Championship at last year’s Summer Slam. The angle was not quite a David vs. Goliath showdown, but Bryan was most definitely the underdog. His win against Cena turned the focus toward him as feasible guy to bear the belt. However, this took place when both the WWE Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship were still in play. Thus, Bryan was not the undisputed king of the mountain after beating Cena. Holding the WWE World Heavyweight Championship means that WWE has no option but to book Bryan against A+ competitors like Sheamus—who by the way—beat Bryan for the World Heavyweight Championship in a record 18 second victory at Wrestlemania XXVIII. Therefore, it’s not truly believable to see Bryan toppling opponents such as Triple H, Randy Orton, Batista, and Kane. It’s great fantasy booking but it’s a stretch at best.
Having said my piece up until this point, I believe Daniel Bryan is a fine competitor and a great upper mid card guy. I applaud him for getting lots of fans on his side who cheer in anticipation that he’ll beat the odds. At the end of the day, however, I am not convinced that Bryan has every tool that it takes to be #1 guy in the business today. If you’re a Daniel Bryan fan and you’re still reading, I encourage you to weigh the facts and respond with constructive criticism. After all, you may choose to disagree or follow the advice of one my favorite underrated superstars: “The Truth will set you free.”
Brian Jemison is a writer for Couchriderreport.com. Follow him on Twitter
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