At WrestleMania 30, fans witnessed one of the most emotional endings to a WWE show. Bryan Danielson, then known as Daniel Bryan, became WWE Champion after toppling Randy Orton and Batista in the main event. Despite his immense popularity, Vince McMahon never saw Bryan as a potential face of the company. In fact, he had already started laying out plans for him to lose the title a week after WrestleMania, planning the coronation of Roman Reigns.
Speaking with TMZ, The American Dragon detailed the conversation he had with the former chairman. Danielson revealed that McMahon told him they had big plans for the title. The AEW star found the hilarious side of things, especially after Vince pitched the idea for him to lose at SummerSlam. Moreover, the billionaire planned on building Reigns as the next John Cena.
In response, Danielson suggested that WWE focus on him being the top star of the company instead. A befuddled McMahon backtracked on his statement. The former WWE Champion admitted that he knew the company never saw him as the potential face of their product. As a matter of fact, the only reason he got his well-deserved moment was because of the fans, who voiced their support for him.
This is like a week after I had won the title or whatever. 'We’ve got these big plans. We’ll have a couple of title defenses for you between now and SummerSlam, but at SummerSlam, you’ll wrestle Brock Lesnar and he’ll destroy you. Then we’ll build up Brock Lesnar for Roman Reigns, and Roman will be the next John Cena.’Bryan Danielson via TMZ [H/T: Ringside News]
Bryan was initially not planned to take part in the main event, let alone win the championship. However, a sequence of events that involved CM Punk‘s departure and the YES Movement led to Vince McMahon changing his mind. As for Roman Reigns, it took several years before fans accepted him as the top guy. In fact, it wasn’t until 2020 that the former Shield member would finally find his calling.
Bryan Danielson named SummerSlam encounter with John Cena his favorite WWE match
Bryan Danielson had a roller-coaster of a career in WWE. Despite having won the world title previously, his crowning moment came at SummerSlam 2013, when he defeated John Cena for the WWE Championship. Cena handpicked Bryan as his opponent for the show, entrusting him to deliver in the main event.
Recently, the 43-year-old talked about The Franchise Player ahead of the latter’s retirement tour. In an interview with TalkSport, Danielson revealed that the match against Cena was his favorite of his WWE run. The American Dragon highlighted the crowd’s reaction and atmosphere as a major factor in making the match special.
Danielson departed WWE in 2021, jumping ship to rival company AEW. Since then, he’s become one of the most important figures both on and off screen. Regardless of the outcome at All In, he is expected to remain with the promotion for many years to come.
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