18 SECONDS TO IMMORTALITY: THE LEGEND OF DANIEL BRYAN
YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!
WrestleMania XXX turned into YES!tleMania as Daniel Bryan did the impossible and ended the show as the NEW WWE World Heavyweight Champion. The 2 year slow burn journey had reached the top of the mountain despite the path not being quite what any of us expected. It was 2 and a half months ago when I wrote ‘Is WWE going to slow burn Daniel Bryan to a crisp’ thinking he wasn’t going to get his moment but things changed significantly for the better and we got the best WrestleMania of all time I think.
As much as I would like to think this was the plan all along, the reality is that this moment probably doesn’t happen if the fans don’t revolt and CM Punk doesn’t quit. A shame but true nonetheless. The rumoured card that was leaked that had Daniel Bryan vs Sheamus on it basically happened except for obviously DB/Sheamus and Punk/HHH. But kudos to WWE for actually listening to the fans when CM Punk forced them to change plans and giving Daniel Bryan the opportunity he should have been on track for all along.
They really went all the way to make Daniel Bryan look like a badass and legitimate threat to HHH. He got a Steve Austin type Raw moment with the awesome Occupy Raw stuff that got him the match with HHH and into the Main Event. It’s rare that you can do something that has never been seen before these days but Daniel Bryan and the YES! Movement definitely gave us that. It was an awesome visual to see the entire ring and ring area filled up with Daniel Bryan fans and it was a great message that sometimes you need to stand up for what is right. Then HHH resorting to handcuffing DB before he will start attacking him, and he put a serious beating on him. Some of those falls might look harmless but as Mick Foley learned the hard way, things hurt a hell of a lot worse with your hands behind your back not able to help absorb the blow. Plus falling on your arms/shoulders in that position, there is a much higher chance of getting significantly injured.
But he overcame all that and walked into WrestleMania looking like, as they like to say, an ‘A+ player’ with a chance to win the title in the main event. That’s all any of us could ask for. Reports during the week in New Orleans were saying that YES! chants were randomly breaking out all over the city in airports, restaurants, on the street, etc… so it was clear that the YES! Movement was out in full force for this moment. The second he walked out the crowd went crazy, you could cut the intensity with a knife. All that support meant nothing if he couldn’t defeat HHH so as excited as everyone was for the match you could tell that people were nervous. They did a great job of making you think HHH was going to win and get himself into the main event so every near fall/submission attempt got your heart pumping. Awesome match but watching it live I was so nervously waiting for Bryan to win that it was hard to enjoy it or watch it just as a match. I’ll have to re-watch it again a few times to really get a feel for just how good it was but it was definitely a Top 25 WrestleMania match that I can say for sure. Held my breath for the Pedigree pin attempt but when DB kicked out and then nailed HHH with the Dragon Knee it was pure awesomeness haha YES! YES! YES! YES!
There was still a huge mountain to climb but he did it. Against all odds Daniel Bryan was in the main event of WrestleMania and had a chance to end the show as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion with 75,000+ chanting YES! But before that would happen, the WWE Universe would be rocked to its core when Brock Lesnar did the impossible and defeated The Undertaker. Coming in I did not think Taker/Brock would have any impact on Daniel Bryan’s moment but it certainly did. Instead of a rabid crowd ready to witness history, they got an absolutely stunned, shell-shocked crowd not sure what to think after just witnessing a different kind of history. Everyone had all the answers and were just waiting for Taker to hit the Tombstone and get this over with so we could get to Bryan’s moment and then BAM! They changed the questions haha The reaction to the entrances and beginning of the match made it clear that the outcome of Brock/Taker impacted the energy of the crowd. People were not ready to forget about the Streak ending but this was the main event the people helped make so the crowd had no choice but to wake up. To the credit of the 3 guys in the match they did a great job of making that easy and got the crowd back into it big time. This turned out to be an awesome match leading up to the moment we thought we would not see, Batista tapping to the YES! Lock. He had done it.
All those years of struggle leading up to getting his opportunity with WWE. Getting fired for basically doing his job. Getting his job back and earning the World Heavyweight Title. Losing it in 18 seconds at his 1st WrestleMania. Going through a 2 year slow burn. Getting screwed out of the Title immediately after winning it. So many brutal booking decisions. Not winning the Royal Rumble. And then finally HHH, Randy Orton and Batista. He overcame it all and was left standing at the top of the mountain. It was all worth it. As unlikely and impossible as it seemed at times, Daniel Bryan won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of WrestleMania. Unbelievable.
What a ride it was. Now that he has won and got his moment, we can look back and say it was all worth it. And that was the thing everyone kept saying all along, as long as the end is the right thing it will justify the means. But for a long time it didn’t look like the end was anything close to this and that’s why people lashed out. It definitely wasn’t perfect and this journey seemed to be hanging on by a thread at times especially without the Royal Rumble but in the end it turned out really fucking awesome. Even though they weren’t screwing with Daniel Bryan last year with this goal in mind, it ends up working perfectly and makes this a kickass long term storyline. There are things I think they could/should have done to keep him stronger but it all worked out in the end. And now they still have a Royal Rumble win in their pocket to use in the next story arc and make Daniel Bryan an even bigger deal.
Now that brings us to where we are now. Daniel Bryan got some time off to marry the love of his life Brie Bella so he has spent 1 of his first 2 weeks as Champion off TV. I think it’s actually a good thing. In 2014 most fans are clued into what’s going on behind the scenes so they know exactly why he was off TV and it shouldn’t hurt his momentum. The YES! Movement has been full force for a while and it seemed the crowd was really wanting him to show up last week on RAW so a break might be good to stoke the fires. Absence sometimes makes the heart grow fonder. It looks like he is on track for his first PPV or “special event” title defense against Kane with his mask back on. Hopefully it goes on last but I think it’s going to end up playing second fiddle to Evolution vs The Shield. That’s a big match but if they are going to get Bryan near a John Cena level he has to be in the main events.
As soon as Brock Lesnar ended the Streak he jumped to the top of the contender list for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. So far he hasn’t said anything about it but you have to think we are on track for Bryan vs Brock at SummerSlam for the Title. Throw size out the window, Daniel Bryan is the best wrestler in the world and can kick ass in that ring and will not look out of place with a beast like Brock. If they let him end the Streak I have to hope he is committed to giving back to wrestling this time and will have no problem working with Bryan. It’s looking like Daniel Bryan’s journey to win the Title sold a lot of PPV’s, an amazing 400,000 in the US with it available on the WWE Network. International numbers not released yet but 600,000 should be in reach so selling 1 million PPV’s with it available on the Network proves that Daniel Bryan is legit as a draw. A feud with Brock culminating at WrestleMania 31 could break records if done right. Paul Heyman’s reputation is red hot right now and he could be the x-factor that helps get this to the next level.
A bit of fantasy booking: I’d have Brock beat Bryan at SummerSlam for the belt. Brock is definitely not working a full time schedule but if he was the money was right he might agree to work just Raw. Mostly just standing there with the Title while Heyman does his thing but defending once a month to not get stripped of it. Heyman always finding a way to keep Bryan from getting a shot and we can get cool match-ups like Brock/Ziggler, Brock/Kofi, Brock/Batista, Brock/Orton, etc… Then Daniel Bryan finally gets his shot at Brock by winning the Royal Rumble and we have an epic main event for WrestleMania 31. If this works out like I think/hope it would then the decision to have Bryan not win the Rumble leading up to WM XXX could go down as genius. If done right it would be more than worth it for Brock to agree to work Raw leading up to WM 31 and it would solidify Daniel Bryan as a Top draw in Wrestling. Then next year Daniel Bryan can return the favour and put over Roman Reigns in the main event of WM 32. But I’m getting way ahead of myself and off track haha
18 seconds to Immortality. That’s how far we have come. I can sit here and fantasy book scenarios in which Daniel Bryan legitimately main events a WrestleMania against Brock Lesnar. A few months ago that was starting to look like a pipe dream getting further and further away. It certainly looked like one when Sheamus beat him for the World Title in 18 seconds. But now that he got his moment, the WM 28 loss is a great chapter in the story of Daniel Bryan. It worked in the storyline at the time but more importantly it kick started what is now known as the YES! Movement. The fan support for Daniel Bryan that won’t go away, that hijacks Raw, that Occupies Raw, that chants YES! relentlessly even when the company doesn’t want them too, it was all vindicated the moment Batista tapped to the YES! Lock. Some people questioned and ridiculed the fans for lashing out and not just accepting what was presented. But when Daniel Bryan did the impossible and beat 3/4ths of Evolution in 1 night and the numbers started coming in, it proved that sometimes you have to fight for what is right. This wasn’t just a wrestler people liked, his popularity could be measured in dollars and cents. People toss around “deserves” all the time but Daniel Bryan has proved that he deserves the opportunity he has been given so far and to be a guy they continue to push hard going forward.
They say this was the WrestleMania the people booked but WWE really stepped up doing the right thing and giving their fans what we want. I don’t see the popularity of Daniel Bryan decreasing if they keep him strong so I really hope they don’t move away from pushing him. The next few months will be very interesting as Evolution vs The Shield looks to potentially dominate the summer keeping 2 big potential defenses in Batista/Orton busy. Daniel Bryan can get a great match out of anybody but hopefully they build some legit contenders for him to face. I was hoping to see this 1st reign like Bret Hart’s, constantly putting the belt on the line to prove he is a fighting Champion. Going from Bryan who always defends to Brock who rarely does could help put more heat on Brock as people will be used to title matches.
Whatever way they choose to go Daniel Bryan got his moment. He beat HHH in a great match to open WrestleMania XXX and he beat Batista/Randy Orton in the main event to close the show as WWE World Heavyweight Champion. The scene with the confetti, YES! chants and the fireworks was incredible. The confetti made it impossible to have the big YES! chant moment post-match because you couldn’t see anything but it was still an amazing scene. The fans were vindicated for standing up and demanding what is right and got to have an actual role in shaping WrestleMania. That’s is an awesome thing and will remain so no matter what. Obviously it will be better if they do Bryan/Brock and it works but anything can happen in WWE. I will enjoy the completion of the journey we just went on and look forward to the next one wherever it is going to lead.
It’s crazy to think that the American Dragon Brian Danielson main evented WrestleMania and won the Title. Back in the day pre-2005 I used to argue that he WASN’T the best wrestler in the world and guys like HBK/HHH were hahah back then I would have taken a bet at any amount a situation like this would never happen, funny how things change. 18 seconds to immortality. As unlikely as it is, The Legend of Daniel Bryan and YES! will definitely live forever but we are far from the end of the story and I cannot wait to see how much louder it will shout into Immortality.
YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!