WWE may be pushing Daniel Bryan as one of the top stars on SmackDown, but his improbable return to the blue brand hasn't been without its fair share of faults.
Credit: WWE.comCredit: WWE.com
Though WWE has presented Bryan as an incredibly likable fan favorite and a cornerstone of the blue brand, there is this general sense that something has been missing since he was cleared to return to active in-ring competition this spring, and even those within the company can see it. According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Ringside News), people working for WWE have been disappointed by the way Bryan has been portrayed on TV since being cleared back in March, with the perception being that he has come across as "just a guy" on the roster:
The whole Daniel Bryan booking since WrestleMania, that actually should go down as promotional malpractice. As over as he was when he first made the comeback to where he is now. He’s still popular and they’ll chant but it’s like he’s just a guy… even guys in the company you know bring it up.”
On the road he’s more than ‘just a guy’ but they’ll go like: ‘Yeah, you watch the TV he’s just a guy on the roster and he should be so much more than that.
Perhaps because Bryan found himself in the midst of an uncertain contract situation all summer long, WWE seemed hesitant to truly go all the way with his push. Although Bryan certainly wasn't buried by the booking, a lackluster feud with Big Cass and notable losses to Rusev on SmackDown, to the Bludgeon Brothers at Extreme Rules and to The Miz at both SummerSlam and Hell in a Cell demonstrated that WWE was comfortable with pushing Bryan well but not too well upon his return, even though it struck gold when he was cleared to wrestle again.
Indeed, there was obviously a ton of interest and excitement created by Bryan's return to in-ring action. The announcement of his return on SmackDown back in March propelled the blue brand to its best viewership in nearly a year, and his advertised tag team match alongside Shane McMahon against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn reportedly resulted in a huge surge in ticket sales for WrestleMania 34, bringing the flagship pay-per-view much closer to a sellout after it initially looked like the event wouldn't accomplish that feat.
It appeared that Bryan, who trailed only John Cena in merchandise sales during his previous run, picked right back up where he left off as one of WWE's biggest draws. But a series of questionable creative decisions, most notably the way WWE simply hasn't portrayed Bryan as the massive star he should be presented as, has taken the wind out of his sails and hindered what should be one of the greatest comeback stories in pro wrestling history.
The good news is that WWE is getting Bryan back on track with his tremendous feud with The Miz. The bad news is that Bryan seems to have been surpassed by a number of other babyfaces on WWE's pecking order. He's no longer a top five merchandise mover, having been leapfrogged by Reigns, AJ Styles, Seth Rollins and Finn Balor, and that all comes back to the way he's depicted on TV, with losses to seldom seen stars like Shelton Benjamin certainly not helping his perception as a top star even if they're part of his story with The Miz.
Reigns, of course, is booked strongly and characterized as the face of the company. Rollins, meanwhile, has consistently been put in a position to succeed as one of the most protected stars on the roster and one of the most pushed stars on Raw. Styles is in the midst of his second lengthy WWE Championship reign, which has exceeded 300 days, and he's been presented as the face of SmackDown for well over two years.
And while WWE may simply be taking a gradual approach to Bryan's rise to the top of SmackDown, you can't help but wonder if what PWInsider.com's Mike Johnson (h/t Ringside News) said about Bryan earlier this year is true. Johnson noted that "You wanted Daniel Bryan back but you’re not going to get the American Dragon back, so you got to live with it," saying that WWE will "give fans just enough" to satisfy fans of Bryan without pushing him to the moon, perhaps due to concern that he may get injured again.
Thus, even though Bryan's feud with The Miz has been quite enjoyable and it's been a treat to see him back in the ring, WWE may be booking him more like the 2015 Bryan, who was unceremoniously eliminated from the Royal Rumble and in a multi-man Intercontinental title match at WrestleMania 31, than the 2014 Bryan, who forced his way into winning the WWE title in the main event of WrestleMania 30.
And if the latter is true, that will sure seem like a massive letdown given all of the possible dream scenarios created by Bryan's unlikely return.
Blake Oestriecher is an elementary school teacher by day and a sports writer by night. He’s a contributor to @ForbesSports, where he primarily covers WWE. You can follow him on Twitter @BOestriecher.
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