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With less than a week until showtime, there isn't a clear favorite to win either Royal Rumble Match in 2021. There are so many candidates who could feasibly win, but there is one Superstar who seems more likely to stand tall over the others. Daniel Bryan could win the 2021 Men's Royal Rumble Match.
As the first Superstar to declare himself for the Royal Rumble, Bryan stands more than a chance of winning the entire thing. He would certainly be a popular winner, as evidenced by the reactions he received in the match in 2014 and 2015, whether he was a part of the Rumble or not.
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There are several indications that point towards a possible victory for Bryan at Royal Rumble, with a Universal Championship match against Roman Reigns looming at WrestleMania. Here are five signs that Daniel Bryan might win the 2021 Men's Royal Rumble Match.
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#5 Daniel Bryan's WWE legacy would feel incomplete without a Royal Rumble victory
With his full-time career in WWE probably coming to an end this year, Daniel Bryan might not enter another Royal Rumble Match after 2021. This might be his final chance to win the multi-man melee and it would be a shame if he doesn't.
Bryan has had his fair share of Royal Rumble memories, including a 76-minute stay in the Greatest Royal Rumble Match in 2018. As mentioned earlier, the Leader of the Yes Movement's presence was felt during the 2014 and 2015 Rumble matches.
Bryan wasn't actually in it in 2014, with the WWE fans relentlessly booing everyone in the match upon realizing he wouldn't be in it. One year later, he was in the Rumble match. However, he got eliminated early and the WWE fans seemed unhappy for the rest of the match.
If Daniel Bryan emerges as the winner of the 2021 Royal Rumble Match, it would kill the ghosts of those two infamous Rumble memories. He remains one of the greatest competitors who have never won the match.
#4 Daniel Bryan deserves another main event run in WWE as a full-time Superstar, and a Royal Rumble victory could be a way to kickstart that run
As mentioned earlier, this might be Daniel Bryan's last Royal Rumble as his full-time WWE career is winding down. Before he is done, the five-time WWE world champion needs to have one more run in the main event scene on SmackDown. After all, he still has a lot left in the tank for one more run in the main event scene.
Bryan is still as good as ever right now and has proven it every Friday night in recent months. However, he has barely been at the top of the card since his phenomenal WWE Championship reign as a heel during the 2018-2019 period. Bryan's Universal Title feud with The Fiend has been the only exception since then.
The two of them had a brutal Strap Match at last year's Royal Rumble pay-per-view, possibly The Fiend's greatest in-ring outing. Anyway, it is high time that Daniel Bryan gets another crack at the world title. One way of getting there is by winning the Royal Rumble Match.
Perhaps, WWE could center the Universal Championship match at WrestleMania around Bryan having one last hurrah. Bryan winning the Royal Rumble could lead to some interesting possibilities. There could even be a stipulation where he puts his WWE career on the line, blurring the lines between fiction and reality.
#3 Daniel Bryan has put over several stars in the buildup to Royal Rumble
Daniel Bryan is possibly the most unselfish WWE Superstar today, with this fact being prevalent in the buildup to Royal Rumble. He always finds a way to make everything around him feel bigger. Bryan has put over so many Superstars since his return to the ring in 2018.
From Mustafa Ali to Kofi Kingston, the Leader of the Yes Movement is no stranger to taking a loss against stars in the upper mid-card. However, since Bryan returned in October, he has been pinned clean multiple times. The most recent examples happened in the past couple of weeks.
If Daniel Bryan is booked to win the Royal Rumble Match, it would only be natural for himself to do as much as he could for other Superstars around him. He put over Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro on consecutive episodes of SmackDown, and both of these stars feel like much bigger deals now.
The fact that Bryan is losing so much could be intended as a red herring so that fans are surprised if he stands tall at the end of the Royal Rumble. He is one of the few Superstars who always recovers after losing a match. Only the best of the best can do that, and Daniel Bryan is certainly the best of the best.
#2 Daniel Bryan could win the Royal Rumble as he is the best choice to face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 37
The main event scene on SmackDown is extremely open heading into Royal Rumble, thanks to Daniel Bryan's efforts in putting over Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura. Kevin Owens will face Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship at Royal Rumble, while a couple of other stars are in the conversation as well.
Intercontinental Champion Big E is a possible opponent for the Tribal Chief at WrestleMania, as is a returning Seth Rollins. However, the best option is for Daniel Bryan to go to The Show of Shows and challenge for the Universal Championship. Bryan and Reigns are the two biggest Superstars on SmackDown.
Bryan is the ultimate babyface, who would be perfect alongside the villainous Reigns. There is history between the pair, from Reigns pinning Bryan in his first WWE match to the 2015 Royal Rumble debacle. WWE may be building to this match, with the Leader of the Yes Movement having faced Jey Uso multiple times.
This is the biggest match WWE could book for Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 37, at least among the current SmackDown stars. Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan have proven chemistry with each other, as their match at Fastlane 2015 was excellent. It is high time they face each other again. Both Superstars have improved greatly since that moment.
#1 SmackDown's plans for WrestleMania 37 may be more coherent than RAW's objectives for the event heading into Royal Rumble
With Daniel Bryan being established as the best challenger for Roman Reigns for WrestleMania, nobody on SmackDown might have a better chance of winning the Royal Rumble than him. That being said, there is a possibility that the Rumble winner comes from RAW.
However, considering the stark difference between both shows, it is likely that at least one of the Royal Rumble winners will come from SmackDown. The Blue brand just feels like an extremely well-written show at the moment. SmackDown might have their plans for WrestleMania in order, at least to a greater degree than RAW.
The Red brand's shows seem very hastily written every week. RAW also feels like a slog to get through at times, with several storylines giving off the idea that there may not be a proper long-term plan for the direction of the show. There are ten weeks - and two pay-per-views - between Royal Rumble and WrestleMania.
As a result, RAW's direction might change multiple times on the Road to WrestleMania. On the other hand, SmackDown might have created a much more coherent main event scene. The show flows well and everything has a purpose, which might suggest that the long-term plans for the FOX product are in order.
As a result, Daniel Bryan could win the 2021 Royal Rumble Match and confirm a date with Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, while WWE may finalize Drew McIntyre's opponent for the WWE Championship a bit closer to the big event.
