Daniel Bryan Gets Another Shot To Headline Wrestlemania

It was not hard to predict that Roman Reigns might be in for a rough time during this push. He is limited in the ring, was in line for a big push, and was going to be pushed ahead of certain wrestlers vocal fans love. That is a recipe for disaster. Of course, I did not think the reaction would be that horrible. Looking at how fans reacted at the Royal Rumble and immediately after, I was ready to say I was wrong about that. This week, it looks like the fans have mellowed down a little. Roman Reigns is not the most hated man in the WWE. It is not as bad as it was for Batista last year. I think there might even be a good amount of fans who want him to get this push and not Daniel Bryan. But I am not going to change my tune every week. I'll just wait until Fast Lane is closer to give my final thoughts on how the fans seem to be reacting.

Daniel Bryan won a match to earn the right to face Roman Reigns to decide who will face Brock Lesnar for the title at Wrestlemania. This is like last year all over again. If Daniel Bryan had just been booked to win this year's Royal Rumble, that would be one thing. Sure, let him go on to face Lesnar. But to have him possibly get there by the same kind of story you had last year just annoys me. Blame the WWE booking, not Daniel Bryan or the fans.

I am not going to predict right now who wins this match. I will say that there are two different ways the WWE can use this match. First, if the fan reactions continue to be extremely one-sided for the sake of Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns is getting crushed, the WWE can use this match as an easy way to change things. Second, if the WWE is bent on pushing Roman Reigns, they could use this match to really put him over.

Let me look at the first possibility. Last year, it was a match with Triple H at Wrestlemania that propelled Daniel Bryan to the main event later that night. This year, it could be happening at Fast Lane against Roman Reigns. I would say this is a chance for the WWE to legitimately pay attention to the fans. If the fan support remains as insane as it was last year, you pretty much have to put Daniel Bryan in. If it does not? Stick with Reigns. I have said before that he does have fans. He is over. He just doesn't have the kind of overness that Daniel Bryan has. But if the Daniel Bryan fans cannot really make as big a scene as they did back then, why should the WWE go down the same path with Daniel Bryan two years in a row? If the fans want him that badly, give him the push. If enough fans still support Roman Reigns, let him have this match to himself. But the WWE actually has to pay attention to how fans are reacting.

The second option involves the WWE already making up their minds. Roman Reigns is getting Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania and Daniel Bryan will do something else. The match at Fast Lane will just be meant to put Reigns over. I have seen some fans say that Roman Reigns putting on an amazing performance might warm him up to those fans that are against him. Who better to help him look amazing than Daniel Bryan? If Roman Reigns is putting on a monster performance against Daniel Bryan, the smarks will cheer him out of respect. Just keep in mind that John Cena, despite not being an amazing in-ring performer, frequently is involved in some great matches. He can get those kind of fans to respect him during a great match at times. Problem is, it doesn't last. He still continues to get those mixed reactions. True overness isn't just about getting a good reaction on one night or after doing one certain thing fans like. It is that consistent connection with the fans. Putting on the match of the night at Fast Lane may help Roman Reigns earn a few respect points, but it does not mean he will have A+ overness.

One of the things mentioned on Raw was that Daniel Bryan never lost his World title and should have had a title shot coming. Instead, they brought him back and booked him into the Royal Rumble match. And we all know how that worked out. That is actually a good point. Instead of people debating how the Rumble match could have gone down to appease Daniel Bryan fans and help Roman Reigns connect with those fans better, why didn't they work him into the WWE title match that night? It was already going to be a multi-man match. Would one more person have hurt it? Considering that one more person happens to be Daniel Bryan, I do not think it would hurt. He gets his rematch, might help the match be even more exciting, gets to go at it with Brock Lesnar, even though it is not the same as a singles match, and you probably shut down that issue with no problem. Brock Lesnar would still retain. No one would complain because Daniel Bryan gets a title match at the Royal Rumble, which is better than competing in the Royal Rumble match just to earn a title match and being eliminated. You could have even had The Authority force Daniel Bryan to beat someone like Kane to get into that title match, just to make the road seem more difficult. Further his underdog character. It really might have been smarter to not put him in the story with Roman Reigns.