Back in the beginning of 2014, Daniel Bryan was hotter than ever with WWE crowds. His “YES!” chant was dominating the programming, and he was considered the ultimate underdog in his program with The Authority.
However, in January of that year, Bryan took a break from his fight with the higher powers to take on a new evil in the form of Bray Wyatt. Wyatt infamously convinced Bryan to join the Wyatt Family, seemingly turning heel and going against the WWE Universe.
Not long after though, Bryan was involved with Wyatt in a cage match against The Usos, in a match that was exclusively first reported by Wrestling Rumors. Bryan would turn on Wyatt, leading to an epic moment where he led his chant on top of the cage.
As PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reveals in his review of the recently-released “Daniel Bryan: Just Say YES!” DVD, the plan had been for Wyatt to hold on to Bryan for some time:
“The most interesting story actually clears up a question we receive all the time, which is what the original plan for Bryan being part of the Wyatt Family was. Bryan was always supposed to remain heel and part of the group (which is baffling when you think about it) but once the college basketball team had that big “Yes” celebration (which Bryan, due to his character, was not allowed to even Tweet about), the decision was made to turn him back. Bryan even admitted that at that point, he wanted to stay heel since Bray was going to fight John Cena at Wrestlemania because that could have led to Cena-Bryan, but in the end, it all worked out well for Bryan going into Wrestlemania 30.”
With Cena being occupied with Wyatt, it is safe to assume the plan was for Bryan to go against a face Sheamus at ‘Mania. At the time, many had believed this would be a heel turn for the “Celtic Warrior,” and Bryan confirms in the DVD they were meant to face one another, but it appears these new details reveal otherwise.
Editor’s Note
I have yet to see the DVD, but look forward to it. Amazing they thought about keeping him heel.