Has Daniel Bryan's Return Been A Flop??

I wouldn't call it a flop. I think they are waiting for Miz/Bryan till SummerSlam. And while Cass was not ideal, it's kept Bryan and Miz away from each other. I expect Bryan to be in the title picture by WM.

There's also been rumors that WWE wants to push Bryan more. But they are waiting till he officially signs a new contract. Most are speculating that he will, so it's just a waiting game at the moment.

As far as we're aware, Bryan hasn't signed a new deal. So, on one hand, you can't fault WWE all that much for not going all-in with him right out of the gate.

By the same token, by not going all-in with him right out of the gate, they're probably stoking the fire just a little bit, making him more interested in testing the waters.

Regardless of whether Bryan signs a new deal or not, I don't think he's ever going to be in the position fans want him to be in. He, like every upstart babyface on the roster in the last 5-6 years, has been, and will continue to be hampered by Vince McMahon's unwavering, psychotic obsession with Roman Reigns. There's simply no room for anyone to upstage the guy, even if they're not even on the same show.

I should note, though, that Bryan's matches with Cass have been telling. Vince McMahon wouldn't just let any undersized guy make a huge guy tap out cleanly twice. It says something about the doghouse Cass is supposedly in, but it also shows that they are invested in Bryan, at least to some extent.

To add a few more thoughts...


You also have to remember Bryan is in a position nobody has ever been in before. I can't think of anyone who was forced into retirement only to be allowed back. So I'm sure WWE may be slightly hesitant to put the title on him. The last two championships he has had, he had to forfeit due to injury. Hate to see a third.

Also Bryan works best as an underdog. So he needs to scrap, he needs to claw. Having him skyrocketed to the top would be against his character. Going against Cass, in some fans eyes, reestablished Bryan as an underdog based on size alone. At least Bryan defeated Cass twice. Had Cass won, an argument could be made. But I suspect Cass was just a placeholder to save the big money feud with Miz till SummerSlam.

This man understands things. Well done.

it’s a complete and utter mishandling. he could have a high profile feud that isn’t for the championship.

Roman/Bryan should be the match for summerslam.

Bryan said in an interview that being pushed to the top without helping to try and elevate new stars isn’t a sustainable practice for the company long term. I’m sure he wants to get back to a World title, but he’s thinking big picture as he gradually gets back onto the writers radar. It sounds like he wants to re-sign from those comments.

I think they just need to get him away from Big Cass.

It was one thing for them to do it at Backlash but it was a bad choice to keep their rivalry going for two PPVs.

waaaaaaaaaayyyyyy too early to call a flop. he literally JUST came back after years off. and if his contract is up soon but he hasnt signed a new deal they arent going to just push him to the world title and have him win the thing.

if he shows them he's in it for the long term, they will do whatever they want to to make money off Bryan, and it will work because the guy is still over AF

It’s fine. It’s a slow climb.