Daniel Bryan and the WWE Title picture

When I started the piece I posted yesterday, it was initially going to focus more on Daniel Bryan and how his quest for the WWE Title has fizzled in recent weeks. After I started writing, I realized that it was becoming more about how his current role can be a positive and less about his current use and future

Well, I wanted to revisit that original idea and talk about why, even though Daniel Bryan is out of the WWE title picture at the moment, that doesn’t mean he is done chasing the belt completely. Because, honestly, Bryan not having the championship at this point in time in WWE is what’s best for business (have I really used that phrase in like, all my posts so far? I need to stop that).

As much as the fans are behind him right now, Bryan’s best role in the current Authority storyline is chasing the title, being in that underdog spot. Think about Rocky Balboa (the fighter, not necessarily the movie of the same name). The first two “Rocky” movies were arguably the best in the series. Once he had the title won, there wasn’t much else left for him to do but take on increasingly unbelievable odds, which he always surmounted after much tribulation.

Having Bryan win the title at Summerslam and successfully defend it against Randy Orton, or whoever the Authority throws at him, would not have been as exciting as watching Bryan battle the odds and almost get to the mountaintop, only to have it all taken away. And it’s, arguably, the resilience showed by Bryan in this face of this adversity that’s building his character up for a future title run.

In my eyes, Daniel Bryan needs something else for him to have a truly successful run as the WWE Champion – an equally believable and strong heel challenger. Bryan is an intense wrestler in the ring and the promos he’s cut recently also contain that same confidence and fire. He’s a supremely talented wrestler and knows it – and he doesn’t have a problem letting anyone else know that. Not even Randy Orton or Triple H can match his current intensity. But there is one man on the roster who can – CM Punk.

Though Bryan and CM Punk are just entering a tentative partnership to battle the Wyatt Family, CM Punk has proven in the past that he can play the heel just as well as he can be a face. He might even be better as a bad guy. During this feud with the Wyatts, I can see the egos of both Punk and Bryan clashing, leading to an eventual feud.

For a long time, Punk has claimed he is “The best in the world” – a claim that Daniel Bryan could easily take offense to, as he has been battling for months to prove that he is the best wrestler in WWE and most deserving of the WWE Title. Once their feud with the Wyatts is over, I can see Bryan finally winning the WWE Title from the Authority for good. But the celebration would be short lived as CM Punk uses the opportunity to lash out at Bryan for taking the spotlight and his title of “Best in the world” and for holding Punk’s coveted WWE Title.

Granted, a lot of this speculation is wishful thinking – mainly because the storyline I laid out means a good chance of CM Punk and Daniel Bryan battling for the WWE Title at Wrestlemania 30. And if that happened, I’m positive the internet would literally explode from all the smarky celebrations.

Whatever happens, I’m positive that Daniel Bryan isn’t going to be out of the WWE Title picture for long. The WWE knows how much of a fan favorite he is right now and even though PPV buyrates have been a bit lower in the recent months he was challenging for the belt, I’d much rather see him in the WWE Title storyline than Randy Orton or Big Show – and I know I can’t be alone in feeling that way.

(Found the gif at the top on an IGN message board – don’t own it, didn’t make it)