Is Daniel Bryan ready to be World Champion (contains sd spoiler)

With him becoming no.1 contender on sd this past week and current MITB holder Daniel Bryan could very well end up as World Champion sooner then WM where he says he's going to cash his MITB in but is he ready to be a World Champion?

We know he has the in-ring ability and potentially can out wrestle anyone in the world alive today so that wouldn't be a issue for him but does he have the character for it?

Whilst in WWE he's been forced to play someone with little personality what so ever, Yet people who have seen him in the indy's know very well that Daniel Bryan is top draw at promo-ing and can cut just as good a promo as most top stars in the wwe.

This leaves the question what should the WWE do with Daniel Bryan?
Should they turn him heel or leave him as he is?
Is it too soon for him to be World Champion?

he is ready but needs a heel turn

Although we all know from ROH and PWG he is ready to be World Champion, for the young WWE audience and casual wrestling fans, Bryan needs about another 4 or 5 months of build up to be properly shown as a main eventer and World Champion. I wonder what event falls around April

I voted not yet, I feel he needs a couple more months of build

I voted yes.

Bryan could easily take on the role of underdog champion, it's more believeable if Bryan wins matches by submission over bigger and stronger competitors rather than when Mysterio beat them with a 619 and splash. And when he "won" the title on Smackdown, it looked better and more believeable than when Swagger/Christian/Mysterio held the WHC, in my opinion.

I don't necessarily think he needs a heel turn, just like stated above just needs a bit of character that he can stick with.

He is 100 % ready in my view. Loved him from one day one when he walked into the company and had one of the matches of 2010 against Chris Jericho on Nxt.

Main evented Summer Slam 2010 and had a stand out performence at night of champions 2010 against the miz.

I thought that he was going to be world champion after he beat Henry that would of been perfect. But stupid teddy long

Danielson's heel American Dragon character was fantastic but not sure it would work in the current direction the WWE has due to his finisher being absolutely brutal.

He definitely does have the credentials to be a successful champion but certainly needs a few more months of build up.

I don't think he is ready, and from the way WWE books him, I'm not sure he ever could be. Potentially he could fill the role left by Benoit, shows his charisma through his wrestling and intensity in the ring. However, I think on the evidence so far WWE don't seem interested in giving him good booking. For some reason, I always get the feeling that he was given the Money in the Bank and now world title shots begrudgingly to try and appease his fans, despite the WWE bookers not having the faith in him.

I don't think he will ever be ready in the WWE, and have a feeling he'll be back in the indies in the next few years.

His pop when he "cashed in" this week would point to yes however WWE are doing a great job in testing the water with Bryan at the moment. He could do with a few clean wins over Orton (who seems to be putting over tons of people atm!) Before finally cashing in on Henry at WM

I haven't watched Smackdown, but I assume the pop could actually just be because Smackdown is taped and they piped it in.

It doesn't sound piped in tho crimey and all live reports from the show have reported that the crowd was red hot all night (except for Hunico and Jinder Mahal but no one cares about them). The difference between actual pops and piped in pops is always evident at Bryans wasn't piped in.

The heat that Teddy Long got when he reversed the decision was incredible as well! Then Bryan got another huge pop at the end of the night. (As did Ryder but that's a different story)

I'm still not convinced that WWE has any faith in him.

He needs to be booked much stronger. He's not even making Pay Per View cards yet were meant to believe he suddenly belongs in the main event?

The man is ready, the character isn't....yet, if he gets well booked and lets say that's possible on SmackDown! then I don't think it'll be long until he is fully ready, the crowd went ape when he won, not edited pops, you can't edit people jumping up and down marking the F out

The man is ready, the character isn't....

This is exactly how I feel. I am just not sure that WWE will ever book the character to be good enough. I really thought that they were going to book him well after he won the Money in the Bank, when they could have given guys like Sheamus or Wade Barrett the MitB, it seemed nonsensical to give it to Bryan unless they weren't going to book him well from that point on.

the-gaffer wrote:The man is ready, the character isn't....yet, if he gets well booked and lets say that's possible on SmackDown! then I don't think it'll be long until he is fully ready, the crowd went ape when he won, not edited pops, you can't edit people jumping up and down marking the F out

Perfectly put... Man ready character isn't

Na i don't think the pop was edited, he's got huge pops the last year, just recall back to Money in the Bank, loved him.
But furthermore it is obvious WWE don't have faith in him as Leak pointed out.

No but it's not his fault he's not ready, it's the incompetence of the wwe creative team. He wins mitb and then does nothing of note since, went on a bit of a losing streak and constantly gets buried by a commentator.

I don't even want him to win it when he cashes in the contract unless there's a drastic turn around with his character, a heel turn would be good so I went for that, but in all honesty as long as they make him relevant I ain't bothered whether he was face or heel

I think a failed "cheap" cash in attempt could be the best thing for Bryan. Get a bit of "no more Mister Nice Guy" about him, go on a decent run and then challenge for the title. But at the moment he shouldn't have the belt put on him.

Any problem can be solved with a heel/face turn. Imagine what it could do for Nick Clegg...

I dont think so, not just yet. Fair enough, the pop he got when he won was incredible. And the heat when it was removed from him was amazing aswell. But the pop he received and the end of the night wasnt near the first one.

Was the pop maybe just for the cash in and title change more than Bryan? I think so.

I voted not yet.

I'm basing this purely on the run he has had in WWE. Talent wise he is absolutely ready, but with the lack of build up he has had he just wouldn't make a credible champion.

His character is total crap.

There is absolutely no way he could be World Champion with it right now. Ahead of Barret, Sheamus, Henry, Orton, Christian? Do me a favour. Couldn't care less how good he is in the ring, it would be the most boring title run in a long time.

Not sure how well this will go down but i'm just not interested in him. He's terribly bland, i hate the name 'Daniel Bryan', he lacks presence, has a terrible look and i just find him very boring to watch, he has no star quality. Is that down to the WWE not building him and booking him properly? Perhaps, but even then im not sure if id be interested in him. That old argument of having 'natural charisma' and 'natural star quality' comes to mind again.

Sure, Danielson is a terrific technical wrestler, and i know he cuts a decent promo, but Dean Malenko, William Regal, Owen Hart and Mr Perfect were all top technical wrestlers and could talk but they never held a World Title, and they had more charisma than Danielson. He'll always be a midcarder for me, and if he does get a World Title reign i have a feeling it would bomb much like Del Rio. I just cant see him drawing.

On another note, ive read alot of comments about how the time was never right for Mr Perfect to be World Champion but i know when i would have pulled the trigger on him....

I think he is ready. Not sure why he has this whole 'ladies man' gimmick. Does him no favours. A wrestler of his ability should be involved with in-ring wars. I blame the WWE for not 'letting' their talent loose in the ring. Look at Benoit, the man had wars in the ring and I am not saying he should be built around that persona, but his ring skills should not be limited just because they are trying to distance themselves from Benoit.

He would be over if he had wars or brawls with other talent. If him and Cody had a program built around the type of matches they had, like a ladder match or something, then it could work. Worked for Michaels at WMX, Austin at WMXIII where they had career defining matches before being elevated to the next level. I think that would be the only way to get him 'over' over.

It is painful to see such talent wasted in the ring.

I think he should definitely go down the Benoit route, they need to show that he's intense in the ring, while he may not appear to be a danger when on the mic, they really need to sell that when he's in the ring he's merciless.

Do you think that the WWE would be willing to allow him to go down the Benoit route though? It may have obvious negative connotations for the company it if were to bring that incident back up in the minds of viewers.

I am not suggesting that it would, just that the WWE may worry about that.

JoshSansom wrote:Do you think that the WWE would be willing to allow him to go down the Benoit route though? It may have obvious negative connotations for the company it if were to bring that incident back up in the minds of viewers.

I am not suggesting that it would, just that the WWE may worry about that.

But then I can't see fans bringing 'Benoit' signs or placards to events. The commentators are hardly going to mention the 2 in the same breath. I think the WWE are going too extreme to distance themselves from Benoit. They can't erase history, so to me it always seems pointless that they conduct themselves in such a way.

I think they can take him down that route, but it is not like Bryan will do the 'signal' like Benoit for a finisher. If they can sell intensity in the ring, they can do it with this guy.

The WWE have made quite an effort to remove Benoit from their history! Plus, I would imagine that they would worry about a small minority of fans chanting Benoit. Given that it doesn't take a huge number to be heard at an event it could be an embarrassing situation.

I can't see how it would be embarrassing though. It is embarrassing to see the lengths they have gone to. By acknowledging Benoit doesn't mean they endorse what he did, I mean christ if they continued selling his merchandise then yes it is a problem.

I think the WWE would take massive steps if they did actually acknowledge what he done in the ring. Not sure what the feeling is amongst posters, but for me it happened what he done and it is a closed case. The Wellness Policy is obviously something introduced on the back of the Benoit tragedy and it will always be linked to the WWE as many will feel it needed to be in-corporated years before, but at events it is something which isn't going to gain exposure amongst the fans or the wrestlers. Yes it might be awkward that fans mighyt chant 'Benoit' but if the fans can move on from it, then it is about time the WWE did.