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Daniel Bryan was one of the favorites for the 2021 Royal Rumble. Ultimately, Edge won instead, earning the right to challenge for either the Universal or WWE Championship at WrestleMania 37. Edge prolonged his decision but chose to target Roman Reigns and the Universal title in the end.
Many WWE fans still want Daniel Bryan to win a Royal Rumble and thought 2021 would be the year. Instead, he had a run of under 30 minutes before being eliminated by the returning Seth Rollins.
Over the last two months, Bryan has been inserted into the Rated-R Superstar and Tribal Chief's ongoing feud. Bryan won the SmackDown Elimination Chamber match but was quickly defeated by Reigns immediately afterward.
The quick loss felt hollow for fans of the Leader of the Yes! Movement, further fueling the fire that he should get one more shot. Bryan will get his chance at the upcoming Fastlane PPV. However, with a guest enforcer set for the match, something fishy could play into the outcome.
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Regardless, Daniel Bryan should win the Universal Championship from Roman Reigns. Here are five reasons why.
#5 Daniel Bryan's storytelling ability
One thing is apparent from Daniel Bryan's time in WWE - he is a fantastic storyteller in and out of the ring. How many of his feuds have been amazing, whether he was a heel or a face?
The Yes! Movement and his ascent at WrestleMania 30 led to one of the most organic rises to the top in WWE history. Fans supported him because it was apparent that he cared so much about the business and would not give up.
His storyline involving Kane and Team Hell No was also great because of the comedic timing between the two. The therapy segments were hilarious and allowed Daniel Bryan to pursue a different avenue of storytelling.
Bryan's heel turn a few years ago was also very different as he portrayed a dishonorable villain who cared deeply for the planet. His heel work on the road to WrestleMania 35 was exceptional. This time, Bryan was the dastardly heel trying to prevent a more-than-deserving face, Kofi Kingston, from reaching the pinnacle of WWE.
The former WWE Champion has played multiple roles, and he makes fans care about every storyline in which he is included. That's hard for many WWE Superstars to do, but not Daniel Bryan.
The angle of getting another major WWE title shot has played out brilliantly on the road to WrestleMania 37, and it may alter the plans for the Show of Shows.
#4 Daniel Bryan as Universal Champion will lead to new feuds
Daniel Bryan hasn't been in the title picture since his feud with The Fiend at the end of 2019. The major feuds surrounding the Universal Championship over the last year have involved Reigns, Braun Strowman and the Fiend. Following Payback, Roman Reigns turned heel and faced Kevin Owens and his cousin, Jey Uso.
Since September, the Tribal Chief has ruled SmackDown with an iron fist and a constant need for acknowledgment. Some stars like Uso and Owens have stood up to Reigns but have been pushed back. Bryan has a long history with Reigns and is a perfect foil for the Tribal Chief.
Edge winning the Royal Rumble gives Reigns another top-level WWE star with which he could feud. Daniel Bryan won the Elimination Chamber and unceremoniously lost the immediate match for the Universal title. Both Uso and Owens had multiple shots at the Head of the Table.
The lack of top-level faces on SmackDown facilitated having Edge challenge Reigns. It also forced WWE to turn both Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro face while pushing them both up the card. Without calling up some of the top stars from NXT, having some names switch sides was the best option.
Outside of Big E, there aren't many other good guys for Reigns to feud with following the Show of Shows. Seth Rollins is one of the top stars of SmackDown but he is also a heel. For that reason, Daniel Bryan capturing the Universal Championship would freshen things up atop SmackDown.
The Tribal Chief could have a very long reign, but that would exhaust potential opponents. If he still retains the title past WM 37, he could have a singles program with Daniel Bryan or Edge.
If Bryan won the Universal Championship - a title in WWE that he's never held - it would introduce several different feuds for the belt. Instead of The Tribal Chief abusing the roster, Bryan could feud with Edge.
He was also eliminated from the Royal Rumble by Rollins. If Rollins is going to become a major champion in WWE again, he would most likely win the title from a face. Rollins, however, is headed towards a big match with Cesaro first.
Daniel Bryan is the ultimate face and would be open to defending the title against anyone. That includes fellow good guys like Rey Mysterio, Nakamura, Big E, and Cesaro.
#3 Daniel Bryan's career is winding down
Daniel Bryan had neck surgery just a few years before he retired in 2016 due to a series of concussions. During those two instances, he relinquished both the WWE and Intercontinental Championship, respectively, at the height of his career.
He would return to the ring two years later in 2018 after a stint as GM of SmackDown alongside Shane McMahon. In that return, he would capture the WWE Championship by defeating AJ Styles, which set one of Bryan's heel turns in motion.
A simple fact is that Daniel Bryan has been one of the top stars of SmackDown, whether portraying a heel or a face.
Bryan admitted last year that once his current WWE deal expires, he wants to become a part-timer rather than a full-time WWE star. Now that he has two children, he wants to spend more time with his family once his current deal expires in September.
Looking back even five years ago, he was starting his family with Brie Bella. Becoming a parent changes a person, and it's hard to fault someone for wanting to spend more time with their family.
With such a change in his life outside of the ring, it altered his wrestling career perception. He'll turn 40 in May of this year, and his body has seen some wear and tear.
In order to maximize the current storyline and the rest of Daniel Bryan's WWE deal, he needs to win the Universal Championship. It doesn't have to be at Fastlane or WrestleMania but could be at the following PPV.
The match at Fastlane between Reigns and Bryan could end with a controversial finish. If that happens, WWE could turn the Universal Championship match at the Show of Shows into a triple threat.
Daniel Bryan is one of the top stars in all of WWE but isn't often booked like that. He has given a lot to the tag team division and mid-card of WWE. For that reason, he isn't always featured in the main-event.
It's those actions that allow other WWE stars to grow and thrive in their careers. Since Daniel Bryan isn't always a main-event star, his time atop SmackDown and WWE is dwindling. That is mainly because of the next point.
#2 Daniel Bryan constantly puts others over
One of the biggest parts of Daniel Bryan, the WWE employee, is his desire to help out the rest of the roster. Without his fantastic work as the Planet's Champion, the Kofi Kingston storyline wouldn't have been as effective.
He fell to Kingston in that feud and it was one of the best angles of the last few years. That wasn't the first or last instance, however, of Daniel Bryan putting over another WWE star.
In the last year alone, he's helped a lot of the SmackDown roster look good. It started with Sami Zayn and Drew Gulak. At the end of 2020, Bryan even put over Jey Uso when the latter emerged as one of The Tribal Chief's first challengers.
It's a huge deal in wrestling to be willing to put over a WWE star known mainly as a tag team specialist. There aren't a lot of stars from yesteryear that would do what Daniel Bryan has done for the roster. Even before that, Bryan put Murphy over during the whole "who attacked Roman Reigns" angle.
Murphy had just debuted on SmackDown following a successful stint as the Cruiserweight Champion. Doing that for a newer star can often help them make it with their first big angle in WWE.
In the last few months, Daniel Bryan has put over several stars from the blue brand. Nakamura bested him en route to an impressive showing in a gauntlet match.
Cesaro defeated Bryan in two singles matches as the two showed mutual respect in the process. They even both started the SmackDown Elimination Chamber match.
Putting others over is not something that every WWE Superstar does, but the former WWE Champion has done more than his share. Daniel Bryan's willingness to make newer and different stars look good makes him deserving of another shot at a major WWE title.
His dedication to the craft also makes him deserving of at least one more run with a major WWE title. The run as Universal Champion doesn't have to be lengthy, especially with Money in the Bank soon after WrestleMania. It would be an easy way to garner a lot of heat for the star that would cash in the briefcase on Bryan.
There are stories left to be told with the former WWE Champion and it's time to reward him for his loyalty to WWE.
#1 A big portion of the WWE Universe wants Daniel Bryan to win gold
This is an important reason because a lot of fans love Daniel Bryan. It may not, however, mean as much in the scope of things when it comes to the decisions of WWE Creative.
As seen with wrestling, the ability to alter plans is often necessary. That is what happened at WrestleMania 30 when Bryan defeated Triple H to open the event. He would then topple both Randy Orton and Batista in the main event to become Champion.
A huge reason why Reigns was rejected as winner of the 2015 Royal Rumble was because Bryan was a heavy favorite entering the match. Rather than remaining in the match for long, he was eliminated halfway through the Royal Rumble without much fanfare.
When the Rock couldn't salvage the crowd reaction, it was a huge sign that something would have to be altered during that run to WrestleMania.
He would get a shot at Fastlane that year, but nonetheless still fell to the Big Dog. Bryan did get his moment at the top of WWE on the way to WrestleMania 30 as he won the first and last match of the event.
Fans have always been behind Bryan because he's easy to root for due to his work ethic, dedication, and respect for the business. He seems like he could be your neighbor rather than a jacked up performer standing in the mold of John Cena.
WWE needs relatable characters and Daniel Bryan is as relatable as it gets for some of the WWE Universe.
The Yes! chants are usually the loudest chants in any arena. During this current era without substantial crowds, the audience response to Bryan is among the loudest. Fans are still behind Daniel Bryan because it's hard to argue against his rationale for challenging for the Universal Championship.
Bryan has often worried about the whole of WWE rather than himself, so his current reasons for deserving another shot are logical. If he didn't receive a fair shake at a title match, another shot is warranted.
WWE sometimes listens to the fans and sometimes does not. This is a time when WWE should listen to the WWE Universe and crown Daniel Bryan Universal Champion within the next few months.
