Daniel Bryan: The Next Zack Ryder?

A lot of fans are drawing the comparisons between what is going on between Daniel Bryan and Kane now and what went on between Zack Ryder and Kane two years ago. Let me point it out for those who don't see the connection. Last week, there was a diva match between Brie Bella and Paige. I pointed out that Brie was in the position Eve was once in, Paige was in the position Beth Phoenix was in, and Kane was his normal self. Expand on that. Zack Ryder was involved in a romance angle with Eve. Who is Brie married to? That would be Daniel Bryan. Daniel Bryan = Zack Ryder? They both seem to have the unfortunate luck of car issues popping up when they are trying to flee a monster with their girl.

Mick Foley had a few things to say about the development of the storyline between Kane and Daniel Bryan. He made the comparison to Zack Ryder. He implies that this storyline is what "derailed" Ryder's career. I couldn't disagree more. The WWE never wanted Ryder over in the first place. If they did, they never would have taken so long to give him a legitimate push. When they did get around to giving him that push, it was more about putting over how nice a guy Cena is. And even with using him as a pawn in the larger feud between Kane and Cena, fans still cared about the guy. The WWE just slowly pulled the plug on his momentum. Before you knew it, he was back being treated as an F player.

Daniel Bryan has never been treated as an F player in the WWE. Even back in his days of being humiliated in NXT, they were still putting focus on him. That is better than no focus at all. In terms of the storyline, yes, you can obviously draw comparisons between the last time Kane returned with the mask and his current return with the mask. In terms of the feud and how they are being pushed, however, you better be careful with comparing Daniel Bryan to Zack Ryder. John Cena was the main face in that storyline years ago. Daniel Bryan is the main face in this storyline here. This is a guy they want to be a success, but they just do not want as their centerpiece. He will get depushed. Depushed as badly as Zack Ryder? No. He will get depushed back to the place he was prior to this title reign, which was still a pretty good place. The issue here isn't a bad storyline ruining someone. The issue is the WWE's willingness to push someone as a star. It was never there for Zack Ryder. To a better degree, it is there for Daniel Bryan.

Let me move away from comparing Daniel Bryan to Zack Ryder. I see some fans really hating this storyline. Daniel Bryan has bad acting skills. Brie Bella is even worse. Kane is cheesy. Daniel Bryan needs to feud with someone else. Some fans are being too critical. I don't think the majority of fans out there are that critical of what is going on. They will continue to love Daniel Bryan for the energy he brings with him. Say what you want about Kane, but he is an interesting character that can still cause buzz. As for Brie Bella, this storyline has a good chance to get her over better than anything else she has ever had. What they do with her after that is a topic for another day. Analytically, I do not see a huge problem with this storyline. Critically, I can agree with a lot of what is being said, but this is pro wrestling, so relax. As a fan, I like it.