Give Daniel Bryan His Due
The death of the Yes Movement has spawned Bryan’s best work.
Now I know that the saying of giving somewhere their “due” means that they have been pretty much shafted and overlooked for most of their career, and that certainly hasn’t been the case with Daniel Bryan.
But the adage still holds true because Bryan has always been a natural heel – we were just too blind to see it.
The current WWE Champion is clearly doing the best work of his career right now. A highly-publicized environmentalist, even endorsing Green Party nominee Jill Stein in the 2016 United States presidential election, Bryan has recently blended his personal views with his pro wrestling character. Not to discredit the Yes Movement angle and his miraculous return in early 2018, but to see him now as a snotty, egotistical, know-it-all vegan is refreshing to say the least. Honestly, there were only so many “believe in your dreams and your dreams will believe in you” promos before his inspirational comeback story would get stale.
According to multiple reports, Bryan has wanted to go heel for quite some time. Who can blame him? After a lackluster feud with Big Cass, briefly reuniting Team Hell No and wrapping up his rivalry with The Miz, the character had run its course. It was time for somewhat of a refresh. Who knew that it only had to take one low blow to AJ Styles to do it? But is it really crazy to think that one low blow can change someone’s career entirely? Ask Shinsuke Nakamura.
Right now, we are seeing a Daniel Bryan character that’s somewhat comparable to CM Punk’s character back in 2009-2010 with the Straight Edge Society. A character that is so insufferable, so egotistical, and so…right?
I’m not converting to being a vegan anytime soon (I like eating cheesesteaks more than really anyone I know). But the notion that we as human beings are destroying the Earth on a daily basis is right on so many levels. Slaughtering animals, endless litter, water pollution, destroying the ozone layer; we know all of these harmful things are happening, but Bryan is preaching it in a way that in professional wrestling makes him that heel star that we have been craving for so long (just like how I crave cheesesteaks on a daily basis).
The addition of Erick Rowan at the Royal Rumble opens up the possibility of a potential Wyatt Family-esque cult stable that works to Bryan’s advantage. Having disciples around him boosts that heel status, just like it did with Punk back in 2009. Plus, it ends the disastrous Bludgeon Brothers run, which was a plague to society on par with locusts and livestock disease.
Bryan’s environmentalist crusade has come full circle with the introduction of a hemp-based WWE Championship belt. It’s the gluten-free icing on the cake for a heel run that is sure to be memorable. Throwing the old title belt in the garbage signals the changing of the guard in WWE, and cements Bryan as SmackDown’s top villain.
2014 was the year that Bryan had his coming out party. But 2019 will be the year that defines his legacy.
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