ZeeWI: Daniel Bryan’s WrestleMania Return

We’re just days away from the biggest show on the calendar, and everyone else is writing something about WrestleMania! Here at ZeeWI, we don’t plan on being any different! In past years, I’ve talked about my love for WrestleMania VIII, went back to that well to break down the hallowed eight-man tag that took place that night, given my live account of WrestleMania 19, and waxed nostalgic on Brock vs. Goldberg at WrestleMania XX.

This year, instead of looking back, I wanted to get all giddy about the SmackDown tag team matchup between the teams of Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, and Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan. Because, holy magoli, DANIEL BRYAN IS GOING TO WRESTLE!

Well, something like that.

I’ve never made a secret about my fandom of Daniel Bryan, and so the excitement I feel about his getting cleared recently to return shouldn’t be a huge surprise. The way he went from “internet favorite” to “most popular guy on the roster” in a little over a year’s time was something to behold. I personally doubted his ability to ever truly make it in WWE, and gladly ate my words as I got wrapped up in the lunacy of it all as he screamed at Randy Orton and Kane that he wasn’t the weak link.

When Bryan won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, it was a moment I truly cherished witnessing. After relinquishing the title to injury, I gained more respect for the man as he attempted to come back (maybe too soon) and maintain his form, which would ultimately lead to more injury issues, and his loss of medical clearance to compete.

Though not able to step into the ring anymore, he was able to influence things from the outside, as he’d agree to join the SmackDown crew as the new General Manager. Bryan was seen as a good hire, as he had the adoration of the fans, the respect of the other wrestlers, and the spine to not let any wrestler walk all over him.

He also took great joy in needling his old nemesis and NXT mentor, The Miz.

Bryan and Miz would have an on-again, off-again “feud” of sorts, with Miz constantly taking offense to anything Bryan said, and repeatedly pointing out that Bryan was all talk, since he certainly couldn’t wrestle anymore. There was a real interest in seeing the two go at it again, with many believing that The Miz would be the very vehicle needed to get Bryan back into a ring.

Unfortunately, it was not to be, as Miz would move on to the RAW side of the brand split, seemingly taking with him any chance of a Daniel Bryan return.

And then Sami Zayn pulled Kevin Owens off the table at Hell in a Cell, and suddenly Bryan would find himself involved in what had been, to that point, a strictly Shane McMahon / KO issue. While Shane would look to fire the duo, Bryan would give them chances to keep their jobs, and even helped them stay employed with a fast count at Clash of Champions. It seemed that maybe, just maybe, Bryan was helping out his old Ring of Honor friends, and doing it in a way that made life miserable for the McMahons, the people in charge of the company that wasn’t letting him do the one thing he wanted to do: compete.

Shane definitely felt like Bryan was acting out of character, growing angry/confused with each passing week as to why Bryan would continually put into such advantageous positions two men that didn’t deserve such opportunities.

That’s when it started to feel like, instead of The Miz, maybe Shane McMahon could be the one to get Daniel Bryan back into a ring. And I guess, indirectly, he did. But that’s pretty generous to Shane to give him that kind of credit.

Because while Bryan was making some questionable moves in front of the cameras, behind them, he was still on his own personal crusade to get cleared. One by one, another doctor would give him the news he wanted to hear, but it still didn’t seem to be enough to get the WWE heads to change their stance.

And then, Kurt Angle was cleared to wrestle at TLC.

It’s purely speculation, but one has to wonder how Daniel Bryan took the news that Angle had been cleared. Angle, an older man with multiple neck issues, multiple knee issues… he had to be in worse shape than Bryan, right? I know that as a fan, I certainly asked myself those questions. I also went the other way with it, too – maybe Bryan’s condition is way worse than any of us have been led on to believe? I mean, if they’ll clear Kurt, and not Bryan, there’s got to be a reason for it!

Bryan has stated that it was only in the most recent months that he really amped up his quest to get back into a WWE ring. Right or wrong, until Bryan tells me otherwise, I will always believe that WWE opened the door more than they’ll ever know when they let Angle wrestle again. Regardless of why Angle was placed into that TLC match, it gave Bryan the leverage he’d need, and the will to keep fighting.

As fate would have it, Bryan would receive the news that, finally, he’d been cleared. He’d receive this news one week after Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens orchestrated an unconscionable attack on Shane McMahon, one that left him making one of the funniest sounds you’ll ever hear in your life.

Having told the fans earlier in the night that he was BACK, BABY!, Bryan had one more act as GM for the night: he’d have to let Zayn and Owens know that, while he’d had their backs for a while, there was no way he could condone what they did to Shane, and that he’d have to let them go.

Would you believe that it led to an attack?

Those two, so dishonorable!

Which ultimately led to the announced tag team affair at WrestleMania, with Owens and Zayn being promised their jobs again should they come out victorious.

That’s enough to keep the leaders of the Yep Movement hungry. They’ve already shown they won’t follow the rules, and they have no problem attacking either of their opponents. The ability to regain their jobs is icing on the cake.

For Shane-O-Mac and Bryan, it’s about trying to restore order, letting your pride take over, and following your dreams. These are two men who either a) haven’t competed in years or b) have never been full-time competitors taking on two of WWE’s very best. Add to it the injury history of Shane and Bryan (along with Shane’s reported hernia right now), and you’ve got two walking warriors looking to end the malice of Owens and Zayn.

For me, and other diehard fans of Daniel Bryan, it’s just about the moment. The moment his music hits. The moment he walks through the curtain, and he’s a wrestler again. The moment he actual starts wrestling. Win or lose, he’s already made it back.

And, make no mistake, they’re losing. I can’t even get mad at it. Daniel Bryan coming back and winning immediately would seem cheap and sugary sweet. That’s not how it works for him. But once that bell rings at WrestleMania, everyone will know that, above all, Daniel Bryan is most certainly not the weak link.

That’s why we love him.