I'm in absolute goddamn shock.
I never really expected this to happen. I'm both excited at the possibilities, and...scared at the possibilities, really.
There's two ways for this to go, one which is very good, the other that is not. The first thing that needs to be established here is that Danielson is not going to have it as easy as Punk did. Punk has what Danielson does not - incredible mic skills. Danielson is not, contrary to most's belief, very bad on the mic. He is no god of the mic, but he's decent. Because of his only decent mic skills, I feel he's going to have a hard time making it to the top, if he ever does, which I feel is unlikely.
So now - the good. Danielson will make a quintessential midcarder for the WWE. Like I said - he has good mic skills. As good as, say, Kofi Kingston, Zack Ryder, or Shelton Benjamin. Two of whom have already held a wide variety of midcard titles, and one of whom is more than likely in the path for them. I really see Danielson, if allowed to display his best, being a United States, Intercontinental, Tag Team, or ECW Champion. I think the likelihood of him getting a good push and the chance to give his best is high - he's known to be tight with William Regal, and was trained by Shawn Michaels. I can imagine those two will give him some pull.
Danielson also enters at a brilliant time, since SmackDown is focusing on the in ring product much more as of late. A heel feud against Morrison could get him over extremely quick and make him a big deal. With CM Punk in his current position, one has to wonder if Danielson might get lucky and have a hot shot feud with Punk. I said at the beginning I found it unlikely that Danielson would main event, and still do, but there's a slim chance he could get hot shotted in a feud with Punk. Slim, yes, but present.
I find Danielson's odds well into his favor. The WWE is making a concentrated effort toward in ring action on two of their shows (ECW and, much more so, on SmackDown), which plays to his strengths. Punk is in a good position, which could work for him. Shawn and Regal will be pulling for him. Also, I think the company digs him in general - let us not forget he beat Lance Cade, who was at the time a hot midcard heel prospect, clean, in a dark match, before he had any kind of contract. Many things point toward Danielson becoming hot in the midcard and, with great luck, he may see big things in the future.
The bad way this can go is he winds up like a Paul London or a Brian Kendrick. Enter the company, get a quick midcard push under one gimmick, then turn against the gimmick and get released quick. Even worse, he might get the Colt Cabana treatment - developmental, which would be an enormous insult to Bryan, followed by a name change, shitty gimmick, and jobbing.
We can't say where Bryan is gonna go until we see his first appearance, which is when we'll get a good indication of where he's headed. If he gets vignettes, gets a win in his debut, etc, etc, I see him as a hot midcarder with some prospects for bigger things. If he comes on with no hype, jobs...well. We all know what goes from there. I think the odds are in his favor for a good push, but we have to be wary, considering what we've seen the WWE do to indy wrestlers.
