FanPost

Daniel Bryan, the next Shawn Michaels???

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Daniel Bryan & Shawn Michaels go way back in time, and the comparisons may be just beginning...

So it has been more than 48 hours since the 2015 Royal Rumble ended with Roman Reigns winning the Rumble match & heading to Wrestlemania 31, to face Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. And the reaction, from both the Philadelphia crowd & the IWC in general, was something that, in the 7 years I've been watching the WWE, I can never think of a similar situation (maybe outside of last year's Royal Rumble, with Batista's win & the backlash from it) of people literally freaking out about a winner of a match in this fashion... We heard about people blocking the wrestlers from leaving the Wells Fargo Center, hordes of fans shouting left & right that they're canceling their subscriptions to the WWE Network (even though 48 hours later, we hear that Network subscriptions are somehow in the highest peak they've ever reached!!!), all kinds of crazy talk from a ton of people...

Now my opinion on Reigns winning the match is kind of irrelevant at this point... Where I want to put the focus of this fanpost is on the man that most of us (including me) wanted to win the 2015 Royal Rumble, in Daniel Bryan. Now obviously, the majority of us wanted him to win the Royal Rumble & go to Wrestlemania, to face the Beast, Brock Lesnar, in what could be the greatest David vs Goliath story in WWE history!!! And it didn't happen... And honestly, I'm to the point now, where I think he shouldn't have won the Royal Rumble, maybe he shouldn't even have come close to that!!!

Now, before you attack me with pitchforks & torches, here's where I'm coming from... I believe that at this point, Daniel Bryan is NOT a wrestler... Daniel Bryan is a wrestling PHENOMENON!!! He's the one wrestler currently in WWE, who in my opinion can transcend wins & losses, who could lose every big match he'll ever compete in from no on, and he'd still be the most popular wrestler every Monday on Raw, on every PPV, anywhere! It is something that has even won over management in WWE: his ability to remain as popular as he is, even with him being sidelined with an injury for as long as he was (nearly 8 months).

And there are 2 reasons that Bryan has been able to do this... First, is the fact that no matter who he faces (from Seth Rollins & Bray Wyatt, to John Cena & Kane), he's able to take his opponent & have the best match of the night with him (like he's done on many occasions). And second, is the fact that, through his run in the WWE, especially since mid-2013 or so, he's been so damn good, that he's won the respect & admiration of the WWE fanbase, as being the guy who, win or lose, will give 110% in the ring, entertain you, take you on a ride throughout his storylines & his matches & make you paying the $9,99 or however much you pay to watch him, worth every last penny of it!!!

And here's where the title of this fanpost comes along, because there are very few people who've been able to do this, in my mind... In fact, there's only been 2 of them!!! One of course was the Undertaker, but obviously there's a major difference in styles, mystique etc. between him & our favorite bearded guy... The other one however, well, not only is the person who Daniel Bryan reminds me of when I watch him, he also has a long history with Bryan that goes back to before Bryan's days in ROH: Shawn Michaels!!!

About that "long history" between Bryan & Michaels... At the turn of the century, around 1999-2000, Daniel Bryan left the state of Washington & traveled to San Antonio, TX, to train under the HeartBreak Kid, at the Texas Wrestling Academy (TWA), where he wrestled for a while, even becoming tag team champions with Brian Kendrick (bet you didn't know that)... Michaels obviously around that time was "retired", still recovering from the back injuries he suffered in 1998, during the Casket match against the Undertaker at the Royal Rumble. He went on to Wrestlemania, where he lost to Stone Cold & retired from in-ring competition... at least for 4 years, before he returned at Summerslam 2002, to face Triple H... and the rest is history...

Daniel Bryan also suffered a career-threatening injury, last year, right after the became WWE World Heavyweight Champion, at Wrestlemania 30. A neck injury sidelined him after May, forcing him to vacate the title & for the most part, disappear from our TV sets until his memorable return on Dec. 29th, when he almost brought us to tears, thinking he was retiring, before announcing he wasn't retiring, that he was ready to return, sending us into a never-ending "Yes!"-gasm!!!

Now here's where I think Bryan & Michaels' similarities go to the next level... Obviously as we know, Shawn Michaels was one hell of a wrestler, an athlete & an entertainer, and he was able to have good to great, and sometimes legendary, matches no matter who his opponent was. From Razor Ramon, the Undertaker & Bret Hart, to Marty Jannetty, Jeff Jarrett & Sycho Sid... From Triple H, John Cena & Kurt Angle, to Chris Masters, Mr. Kennedy & even Vince McMahon, it didn't matter who his opponent was, you knew Shawn Michaels was going to go into a match, give 110% & steal the show, while making his opponent look like a million bucks!!! Many times, he'd actually lose to that opponent of his, helping his career immensely (e.g. tapping out to Chris Benoit, or losing to a young Randy Orton). And he was a guy, that if you think about it, since his comeback, only held a world title for 1 month (Survivor Series 2002 anyone?), which frankly was a nostalgia run (not that we were mad about it, right?), yet still, remained one of the most popular wrestlers of our generation until his 2010 retirement.

Now let's look at Bryan, and his WWE run, mostly since mid-2011... He's had some unbelievable matches over the last 3 years, with the likes of Sheamus, CM Punk, the Shield (that TLC 2012 match, just watch it!!!), John Cena, Cesaro, Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, Triple H & Batista, while also helping the careers of a number of them (e.g. Sheamus, the Shield & Wyatt), by putting them over & making them look like a million bucks... just like Shawn Michaels did!!!

As for the "respect" aspect of the comparison, here's where there's a difference... Shawn Michaels had to EARN the respect of the WWE faithful, mostly because of how nasty his attitude was back in the mid-to-late 90's... We all know of his attitude problems, drug problems, the whole nine yards (as they say around my village)... That's why, even when he was a babyface, he was getting loud boos (the pop Sycho Sid got when he beat him at Survivor Series '96 in MSG still baffles me!!!), which led to him turning heel, allowing him, through D-Generation X, to display that nasty attitude of his every week on TV... For that reason, he was hated by many, and was facing an uphill battle upon his return in 2002, to earn our respect... And that's exactly what he did, with his changed attitude, his funny moments with the reformed DX & obviously, how freaking good he was!!! And he ended up being one of the most respected wrestlers of all time, and someone who transcended how many big matches or titles he won, especially late in his career, because it didn't matter what he was doing, he made you CARE about it!!!

In my opinion, Daniel Bryan is getting there pretty soon... Gosh, he may already be there!!! Now, he did have a head start over Michaels, meaning he was never really hated by the fans, and especially the IWC (admit it, half of you go to bed looking at a Bryan Danielson/Daniel Bryan poster, am I right?)... But the fact that he has become so popular with casual fans as well, with the help of the "Yes!" chants, is astounding, and makes me wonder one thing: "Has Daniel Bryan reached that level where it doesn't matter if he wins, or if he's champion? Is he bulletproof?"... Has he reached that level of invincibility, that, win, lose or draw, it doesn't affect him at all, his popularity stays the same (or maybe even rises) & he's able to drag you emotionally into everything he does, no matter who his opponent is? I think the answer is clear...

YES!!! YES!!! YES!!!

Which leads to the $64,000 question: has Daniel Bryan become this generation's Shawn Michaels???

Ummm... Maybe not yet, but he's on that path, and one day, maybe even soon, those comparisons between the "HeartBreak Kid" & the "American Dragon"-turned-"Goat-faced Killah" may become legit... And hey, Shawn Michaels ended up practically a 1st-ballot Hall of Famer, so dare I say, Daniel Bryan is gonna be OK!!! Am I right cS-seaters?

So that's it, my 2nd fanpost here on Cageside Seats... Give me your feedback, your thoughts on the Bryan-Michaels comparisons & I'll be back with you on Friday, with a fanpost about our favorite child... NXT!!!

Until then, have fun & enjoy the sun!!!

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Cageside Seats readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cageside Seats editors or staff.