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Since the 2015 Royal Rumble, WWE fans loyal to Daniel Bryan and under the belief that Bryan, after his years of hard work, excellent wrestling and general goodwill, should be on the top of the WWE roster, specifically main eventing Wrestlemania, have been sorely disappointed.
Unfortunately, while he got his Mania moment at Wrestlemania 30, it's looking more and more as if Daniel Bryan's moment was more of a lifetime achievement award, similar to Mick Foley's WWF title win in 1999, more than that moment signifying that a massive change in the long-term WWE landscape had just taken place.
In speaking to some sources who work in the WWE Creative end, it was confirmed to me that even before Bryan ended up with the WWE championship at Mania 30, it was already planned for him to be crushed by Brock Lesnar at Summerslam. Lesnar's win was pre-destined and it happened as planned, only the injuries to Bryan led to both the title and the beating to John Cena.
So, even if Bryan hadn't gotten hurt, he wouldn't have been the top guy in the company and chances are, wouldn't have been in the running for Wrestlemania. As someone who respects and loves Bryan's work (having been watching his matches since he was the masked American Dragon for Shawn Michaels' TWA, I've literally watched him grow up before my eyes), Bryan's placement is somewhat infuriating as, like many of you, I want to see him do well and generally, I love the somewhat romantic notion that the best wrestler in the world should be presented as such - but in the soap opera-tinged, sports-entertainment world known as WWE, that's not always going to be the case.
Sure, at times the constellations meet just right and a Bret Hart or aShawn Michaels, at the time the best in the world, end up as the kingpin of the company but for the most part, it doesn't happen as the best characters (which is what WWE wants) aren't always the best in-ring performers. Even in the case of Steve Austin and The Rock, it was their personalities and their characters that pushed them forward to the head of the pack far more than their matches, although the latter was a huge plus for fans and the company alike.
The reality is that unless fans really, truly revolt in a way pro wrestling fans never have before (and in a way that WWE cannot co-op into a "Hijack Raw" angle), Bryan is going to end up being part of the machine (and an entertaining part) but not the guy that drives the machine.
But, that doesn't mean all is lost...let's try and turn this negative into a positive.
Call it Mission: Intercontinental.
We already know that based on the trajectory of the Wrestlemania storylines, Bryan is likely to end up in a multi-man bout for the Intercontinental championship. Since it's a ladder match, we know there are going to be all the crazy spots and dives, bells and whistles. It's not the slot Bryan deserves, but it's likely going to be the one he gets. It is what it is.
So, WWE should take this opportunity and go all the way with it. Daniel Bryan should win the Intercontinental championship.
Now, I know you are all rolling your eyes right now. "The IC belt is garbage." "It's now what the Intercontinental championship used to be." "The belt is just an undercard prop."
You would be 100% correct in all of that, but a few weeks ago, Dean Ambrose, in a great video feature on the WWE Fast Lane PPV, noted that when he was growing up, the Intercontinental championship was the best that meant you were the best wrestler, in terms of who you were in the ring. He's right - from Pat Patterson to Don Muraco to Tito Santana to Greg Valentine to Bret Hart to Randy Savage to Ricky Steamboat to Mr. Perfect to Chris Jericho and on and on, the IC belt was always something that was designed to bring the great athletic wrestling to the masses.
Sure, Hulk Hogan and Bruno Sammartino and the likes with their charisma pushed the machine and brought the house down by taking fans on a ride and sometimes, entertaining matches as well, but the IC title was the glue that held the live events together. It was old faithful. It was reliable. It was guaranteed good wrestling.
Sort of how Daniel Bryan is all of those things now.
WWE needs to do something with Daniel Bryan and they have already opened the door to re-educate the audience that the IC title, once the #3 title in the entire wrestling business (behind the NWA World and WWF Heavyweight championships) could and should mean something again.
It won't be easy, especially given how WWE has a tendency to change directions as often as a traffic light changes color, but it's possible. Here's how.
*Bryan wins the championship at Wrestlemania. It should be booked in a way that the other competitors all had their chance to get it and possibly Bryan wins the race at the end, leaving the door for the others to be pissed, having lost their moment. This opens the door for them to chase the new champion.
*Bryan needs to them declare that as far as he's concerned the Intercontinental championship is as important as any belt in the WWE. Let him tie in the history of the belt and say this is the title that his trainer Shawn Michaels helped make great and now he's going to make it great.
Then, he and WWE need to make the IC belt great again.
*The easiest part. Book Bryan to have good to great wrestling matches. Let him defend the title against everyone. Bryan can declare that if he's wrestling, the belt is on the line. Everyone from Dean Ambrose to Heath Slater gets a title shot and if WWE gives the matches time, Bryan can have great performances and help others improve by working with him in quality matches. This gives the mid-card talents something "main event" to strive for and puts some spotlight on them as well. While all this is going on, you are putting Bryan into a position where what he does best, in-ring wrestling, is educating the audience as to what to expect, opening the door for the NXT stars and their styles to being more easily accepted as they evolve into the next generation of WWE talents.
*The hardest part. Over time, the announcers and WWE have to begin presenting the belt and the IC title reign as if we are seeing something special here, something resurrecting itself from the past. Bryan needs to talk about how this belt means as much as the WWE championship. Take cues from Rob Van Dam's legendary run with the ECW World TV title, where that belt was built to the point it meant as much as anything ECW had to offer in terms of drawing power. This can be done, but it can't be attempted and discarded in six weeks. It's going to take months to get the "glue" to stick but it can be done.
*Turn the hourglass upside down. Wrestling has always been a "dirty" word among some circles in WWE, so use that to Bryan's advantage. Have him push he's the best wrestler and use all the old school style techniques that fly in the face of WWE's sports-entertainment ways. Take everything that is seen as a negative and use them as positives for the IC title bouts. Have different style ring entrances. Introduce the matches differently. Make the time limit part of the presentation with announcements of how many minutes have gone by. Build submissions and rope breaks so that the audience knows that when Bryan goes for an armbar, it's not a rest hold. Use MMA style striking. Maybe even KO someone with a kick for a finish. Present the IC title and Bryan as the wrestling island in the sea of sports-entertainment.
*Use John Cena to make this work. If WWE is feeding Bryan an endless procession of Titus O'Neil and Curtis Axel every week, this won't work, but what if John Cena wants a shot? What if Cena sees what Bryan is doing and says, that belt means so much to you that it makes me want to take it? What if Cena decides that Bryan beat him for the WWE title and now Bryan has something that means as much to him as the WWE meant to Cena, so now Cena wants it. Or, what if...Cena win the U.S. title from Rusev and all this time, HE'S been building the legitimacy of that belt back...and he and Bryan go into a unification bout at Summerslam or Survivor Series to find out what belt is superior and then have a newly strengthened IC belt come out of that? Use Cena to establish this as a big deal and it is.
The possibilites is there. Intercontinental champion Bryan vs. Cena. Barrett. Harper. Ambrose. Rollins. Wyatt. Cesaro. Kidd. Ryback. Big E. Ziggler. Stardust. Rusev. Mizdow. Sheamus. The NXT stars as they head to the main roster.
Sure, it's not the WWE World championship, but the trade-off could be worth it. Daniel Bryan in excellent matches while raising the profile of the IC title, the quality of matches and even the level of work of the mid-card. It's enough to make the IC title a quality draw again on the house shows as well. It's not making Bryan the center-piece of WWE, but it's giving him a lasting legacy that future generations can build upon and putting a guy who's career almost ended, back in a position where he and his career can truly matter for all time.
Who knows if WWE would even want to undertake this, but to me, Mission: Intercontinental is something they should....as long as the storyline doesn't self-destruct in three minutes.
Mike Johnson can be reached at MikeJohnsonPWInsider@gmail.com. He believes the IC title's finest hour was Savage vs. Steamboat at Wrestlemania III, but he also believes that there's no reason those heights can't be reached again. He can be followed on Twitter @MikePWInsider.
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