Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer of F4Wonline.com and “Wrestling Observer Radio,” have provided some backstage news on WWE’s plan for Daniel Bryan moving forward. As previously reported, Bryan was eliminated early in the 2015 Royal Rumble Match, which caused a fan revolt at the event for the second year in a row.
With the fans reacting the same way they had before in 2014, which caused WWE to change its script and put Bryan in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match at WrestleMania XXX, many have been wondering if their actions on Jan. 25 may be the catalyst to seeing Bryan getting put in that place on the card again at WrestleMania 31. However, as Alvarez and Meltzer reported, lightening is not likely to strike twice.
Word backstage is that WWE CEO Vince McMahon is set on having Roman Reigns take on Brock Lesnar for the WWE title at WrestleMania 31, and that he is not going to be persuaded into adding anyone else to the match this year. The feeling is that McMahon was frustrated about having to put Bryan in the ‘Mania main event in 2014, and “damn sure” will not do that twice in a row. To McMahon, that would be like “going to the well” too often to appease the fans.
WWE officials expected some fan outrage over Bryan’s elimination in the 2015 Royal Rumble Match, but were not prepared for the reaction that they actually received for it. Apparently, things early on during the event were modified and moved around by McMahon and company as the crowd had been hostile even before the Battle Royal began.
WWE was reportedly not ready for the amount of backlash given and directly solely at Reigns upon winning the Royal Rumble Match. They brought in The Rock to try and save face for Reigns and give him a boost in fan appeal, but that didn’t even work and The Rock was even jeered by the Philadelphia crowd. He was reportedly upset about the Bryan situation, and the way the WWE Universe responded to the program.
No one but McMahon and the creative staff knows exactly what’s next on the horizon for Bryan, but it is clear that the fans want him to be their guy for a while, and until that is solidified in the annals of WWE history, they aren’t going to give up on him.
Editor’s Note:
They definitely expected backlash, otherwise The Rock wouldn’t have been there, but holy CRAP Philly was loud in protest last night. I really want to know the conversations and meetings going on backstage.