Daniel Bryan Wrestlemania 30 Theory

[Elijah89]

It's not out of the realm of possibility. I personally think that the odds are against it being true but, at the same time, we'll never really know for sure. What gives the idea that Bryan was always intended to be the main event at WrestleMania XXX some weight is the simple, 100% fact that both Vince and Triple H very much enjoy giving the collective internet wrestling community purple nurples from time to time. They've played internet fans like Hendrix played his Stratocaster in the past, they know just what to do or what to say to get under people's skins. Bryan is someone that fans genuinely wanna cheer for without being steered into it. They like him, they like his style, they like the energy, they like the fact that he's a "regular" guy with just the right amount of extraordinary without being over the top. They know how hard he's worked, how dedicated his is, how much he loves it and they don't particularly care that he's not some 250 pound Adonis. So seeing him get "screwed" over so repeatedly genuinely got under people's skins, including some of the hardest of hardcore smarks.

At the same time, if WWE did consider Bryan for the main event the entire time, they took a risky path to getting him there. A lot of wrestling fans can be fickle, a wrestler who was popular for a brief spell can find himself being booed or fans just generally losing interest in him. By taking Bryan out of the main event picture towards the end of the year, a we saw about this time last year, resulted in lousy buys for WWE ppvs and what may be the most lackluster feud for the WWE Championship in years: Randy Orton vs. Big Show. Thankfully, it was a short one but, nonetheless, it still resulted in lousy interest for a ppv.

WWE also kept Bryan out of the Royal Rumble match itself, and we all saw how that went down with fans hijacking the Rumble match itself once Punk was eliminated and once it was revealed that Daniel Bryan wasn't even in the match. You also have to consider what we know, or rather what we think we know, about Batista in that he's allegedly not somebody who enjoys playing second banana to wrestlers he thinks are inferior, and by inferior I mean smaller as he's criticized WWE's pushes of Bryan & CM Punk in the past. Batista was one of the biggest stars of the 2000s and one of the most dominant, so it's not at all illogical to think that Batista would only come back, even on a part time basis, unless he wouldn't be booked similarly. Plus, there are all the various reports alleging how unhappy Batista was with how he was being used since his return.

So yeah, while it's not impossible, I don't think it's all that likely. In my opinion, which is all it is, Vince McMahon seriously underestimated Daniel Bryan's popularity. Personally, I think it's a genuine example of Vince being out of touch with what fans want. I know it's something that Vince often gets accused of, but his underestimation of Bryan's popularity is an example that has some definite weight to it. Vince also thought that fans would be interested in a rehashed feud for the title, at the biggest show of the year no less, rather than seeing someone fresh, energetic and hadn't been so consistently pushed to the main event picture for years on end in the ways that Orton & Batista had. I think fan reaction to the Royal Rumble, Punk walking out and the immediate reaction to Batista winning the Rumble the next night on Raw finally got him to open his eyes; or to at least definitely reconsider. If that didn't, I think Bryan turning on Bray Wyatt on Raw in February and the MASSIVE reaction he got probably did.

They started hijacking way before Punk got eliminated. No one even cared that Punk was in the Rumble at that point.

 

[CalciferBoheme]

I said the whole time that while the specifics of the plan changed, they always planned on having Bryan get the belt at Mania. I think some of the steps looked wrong leading up, but it worked out.

If you look at it, none of the booking going into Mania looks at all out of place with the previous few months. He was always going to have his moment. though with Punk leaving it became an even bigger one. It's just a shame he had to get hurt like he did.

I still have my fingers crossed that the second surgery talk is all a put on so his return will be a surprise and he'll be the one to take the belt from Lesnar, but I don't really expect it.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

I dont think WWE is that smart to troll us that good. Bryan lost clean to Bray and it was clear that Batista was face by the time he comed back. Hijacking that Rumble and bad Batista reaction and Punk leaving maked WWE change plans.

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

Guys, WWE is not infallible.

They make mistakes on a weekly basis, and they originally had WM30 worked out in their minds in a very different way then how it eventually turned out. Employees from WWE and wrestlers, including CM Punk, have confirmed that the original plan for WM30 was Orton/Batista, HHH/Punk, Bryan/Sheamus. This is coming from multiple legitimate sources. How is it even debatable? Other than you'd love to think that WWE is smart enough to work the entire business, including their own workers to pull off some conspiracy theory master plan.

Show me some evidence that Bryan was the original choice to win at WM30, other than your blind faith opinion.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

100% agree that Bryan was always slated to be in the main event. They (WWE) realize that you have to change things up. Fans are conditioned to think "okay, most over guy wins the Rumble and wins the strap". When he didn't win the Rumble, the shit storm of support started. Bryan was WAAAAAY more over because of it.

Vince and Batista are both too smart to think a guy that was always a better heel is going to come back and steal the thunder of their most over underdog baby face in years without getting heat.

 

[Aquaman6686]

Personally I agree with the majority here, I think the fan reaction forced WWE to change their plans.

Actually I think it's VERY possible we could see a similar situation this year. Look how close this is:

In 2014 (2015), WWE is dead set on having their heel champion, Randy Orton (Brock Lesnar) defend against WWE's chosen hero, Batista (Roman Reigns), despite the fans making it clear that they want Daniel Bryan (Dolph Ziggler) in the main event of WrestleMania.

Ziggler is the most over babyface in the company right now, and hopefully WWE will be smart enough to change their plans a second time. Fans want to see Dolph Ziggler headline WrestleMania, not Roman Reigns, who is still 2-3 years from being ready.