I said the WWE could approach this match in two ways. Either use it as a way to help put Roman Reigns over or put Daniel Bryan in the title match, if fan support for him was that insane. Let me start with that second possibility. Has fan support been that insane for Daniel Bryan? I would still say Daniel Bryan has A+ overness, but it feels like a few cracks in his armor have appeared. I have been paying attention to how fans have been reacting to him in recent weeks. It isn't as huge as it was last year. Again, he is still very over. I am not denying that. It just appears the fans have cooled a little. Is it because they find this whole thing stale? Are they just bored right now? Whatever the exact reason, I would stick with Roman Reigns in the title match at Wrestlemania.
I am not saying that because of any kind of favoritism for Roman Reigns or hatred for Daniel Bryan. If the shoe was on the other foot, I would make the same decision to stick with the original result. If Daniel Bryan had won the Royal Rumble, got a negative reaction for winning, Roman Reigns was the guy that they seemingly wanted to win, and everything else played out the same, I would stick with Daniel Bryan. Fan reaction isn't crazy enough to force the change. It is like when the referee reviews a play in football. If there is reason to believe that the original call might have been wrong, but there is not enough evidence to be sure, the ruling on the field stands. Wrestlemania plans already got messed up for the benefit of Daniel Bryan last year. He deserved it last year, but again this year? The fans better want it bad enough. And I do not see enough there that they do want it that badly. For the sake of not repeating last year and at least trying to make a new star, I would stick with Reigns.
Now that I have already said that they should stick with Reigns, let's talk story of the match. Putting over Roman Reigns in this match doesn't just mean Daniel Bryan loses. Roman Reigns has to give an impressive performance if he hopes to win over some of his critics. Daniel Bryan is a great worker to put against Reigns. This has to be a back-and-forth match. If Daniel Bryan is going to lose, you can imagine him dominating most of the action and Reigns pulling it out in the end. This match has to be about more than just putting Roman Reigns over a former World Champion prior to facing Brock Lesnar. Help him connect with the fans even better. Make him work.
I have seen more than one fan bring up the possibility of Sheamus returning this Sunday as a heel and costing Daniel Bryan the match. That sets up Sheamus vs. Bryan for Wrestlemania. That would be an even worse idea than having Roman Reigns get beaten down all match and still pulling out the win cleanly. Roman Reigns is supposed to be a face. If you have him win like that, and against a guy as popular as Daniel Bryan, you are only giving fans more reason to hate him. The logic is that Sheamus would absorb that hatred because he was the one that actually cost Bryan the match and he is heel now. But you are not doing Roman Reigns any favor with this match outcome. Do you want fans to respect him more or not? If they really want to turn Sheamus heel and have him go after Daniel Bryan, start that feud the Raw after Fast Lane.
Just to summarize my prediction, I think Reigns will win. If not that, I think you are more likely to get some situation that sees both guys go on to face Brock Lesnar than to see just Daniel Bryan getting the match. Fan reactions have not been scary enough to make me believe the WWE will change their original plans. But as important as who the winner will be, how they handle the actual match will also be important. If you want to help Roman Reigns, let him work. If he cannot, he might really need more time before he is the next top star of the company.
I already said everything I wanted to say about the match this Sunday, but let me talk about the feud development. It has been pretty lackluster. Some fans might even say it was worse than that. Always putting Big Show and Kane against Reigns and Bryan has been repetitive and boring. Some fans simply hate Big Show and Kane these days. Reigns and Bryan did not need to wrestle these two guys so much. They did not even need to be feuding against The Authority so much right now. There were other heels they could have worked against. Have The Authority put better focus feuding against Ziggler, Ryback, and Rowan, which would be better development for that match at Fast Lane. I would even say that Reigns and Bryan did not need to be wrestling so much as they have recently. There have been some nights where they were featured too much. I brought up how they ran through much of the tag division. I get that they want to tease the idea that they can't get along, but it was not done in a fresh manner.
This whole feud has been kindergarten. I don't want to imply that it was childish. It has been basic and simple. It is what you might expect from a face vs. face feud. You could have done better. I have mentioned that fan reactions don't seem to be as killer as they used to be. Ratings also indicate that the product is not on fire right now. The WWE is struggling to get Raw to average over 4 million viewers. During Wrestlemania season? Really? The WWE needs to do something to wake these fans up. Simply having Sting around is not creating that hype. You have to do more with your full-time performers. And it definitely starts with the top feud you have going on, especially when there was so much room for improvement.
What would I have done? You go back to the Royal Rumble. You go to the night after. There was some real tension there. There was real excitement there. And I am not talking about The Rock coming back and getting involved to help Roman Reigns. That is the kayfabe controversy the WWE utilized to help create the lackluster feud you have been getting. The real controversy was over the WWE once again pushing what they want to work out over what the fans want to see. Fans were upset that Daniel Bryan lost the way he did and Roman Reigns won. They even talked about this the night after on Raw. Why wouldn't you make a storyline out of that? Let this feud be based on something real. Instead, you have a feud based on The Rock saving Roman Reigns from two guys that were already eliminated from the Rumble and Daniel Bryan seemingly forgetting he deserved a rematch for the title he never lost and instead entering the Rumble. Base this feud on the real tension that was there. That should get the fans interested. Create a "pipe bomb" atmosphere. Neither guy would have to turn heel. CM Punk did not turn heel back then. Cena remained Cena. Some fans love it when someone goes out there and gives a self-righteous speech. Nikki Bella went out there and gave a promo on Smackdown a few months ago that got her cheered. She was a heel at the time. She just went out there and spoke in that kind of tone that some fans love and respect. Have Daniel Bryan talk about busting his ass to finally get to the top, then having to lose it because of injury. Have Roman Reigns talk about never having the kind of opportunities Daniel Bryan has had. Embrace the fan reactions. Play off of it more. I am not saying either of these guys are like CM Punk on the mic, but Nikki Bella was able to go out there and get a positive reaction from the fans with this kind of promo. This feud between Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns needed less matches, more promos, and more working off the real controversy. What kind of "Reality Era" is this? They are not even trying and it is not energizing the fans and drawing.
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