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Daniel Bryan has been with the WWE for over 10 years. Throughout his career, he won numerous championships. He is a former WWE United States Champion, WWE Tag Team Champion, WWE Champion, and Intercontinental Champion. Additionally he has won 12 Slammy Awards, Money in the Bank in 2011, and is a Grand Slam Champion. Besides not winning King of the Ring, the one thing he still hasn't yet accomplished in his illustrious career is winning the Royal Rumble Match. With Bryan being the Royal Rumble this year, there's a possibility that the odds could finally be in his favor. Here are three reasons why Daniel Bryan should win this year's Royal Rumble and earn himself a Championship Match at "The Grandest Stage of Them All," WrestleMania.
#1 Daniel Bryan is one of the favorites to win the Royal Rumble match
On the December 25th edition of SmackDown, Daniel Bryan had a lengthy one-on-one grudge match with Jey Uso. After his matchup, he was interviewed by Kayla Braxton, where he made himself the first WWE Superstar to claim a spot in the 2021 Royal Rumble Match.
Daniel Bryan would then deliver a message to Paul Heyman on Talking Smack, saying that he will beat Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship.
Alongside Daniel Bryan, other fan favorites to win the Rumble include Keith Lee, Big E, Edge, and Brock Lesnar. Goldberg was initially listed as a favorite, but now that he will be challenging Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship, it is likely that he will not be entering the Rumble.
With Daniel Bryan not being in any rivalries at the moment, it's fitting for him to be this year's winner as he is approaching a part-time career to spend more time with his family.
#2 It's a match that Daniel Bryan has never won before
Ever since Bryan has been with the WWE, he has never won the Royal Rumble match. It has been an accolade that eluded him throughout his whole career. Every year at the event, he would either be in a championship match, a grudge match, or the actual Royal Rumble match, but end up facing an unfortunate elimination.
Bryan's Rumble record dates back to 2011, with three wins and five losses at the event. Three of those wins all involved championship matches, where he retained the World Heavyweight Championship in 2012, the WWE Tag Team Championship in 2013, and the WWE Championship in 2019. His losses at the show started in 2013, where he faced an elimination. In 2014, he lost a one-on-one match to Bray Wyatt and wasn't featured in the Rumble, which caused a negative reception.
Fans have shown how much they wanted their beloved hero to win the Rumble not only in 2014 but also in 2015. Unfortunately, Bryan faced another elimination by Wyatt in the middle of the Rumble march, which led to fans raging even more due to Bryan not earning a championship match at the show of shows.
Both 2019 and 2020 Royal Rumble events both featured Bryan in championship matches. He retained the WWE Championship against AJ Styles in 2019 and failed to gain the Universal Championship from Wyatt in 2020.
With this year's Royal Rumble approaching, there are hopes from the WWE Universe that Bryan could finally win the match and challenge the champion at WrestleMania.
#3 A match between Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns at WrestleMania would feel fresh
Roman Reigns has been Universal Champion for nearly five months now. During his run as the championship, with Paul Heyman and Jey Uso by his side, he has been on a roll as SmackDown's top champion. He has beaten both Jey and Kevin Owens twice, as well as RAW's WWE Champion, Drew McIntyre, at Survivor Series.
While Reigns is wrapping up his program with Owens at Royal Rumble most likely, besides Owens, SmackDown has a thin list of babyfaces. That list includes Bryan, Rey Mysterio, and Big E. This short list also points to why Bryan fits the role of being the next babyface to challenge Reigns for the Universal Championship.
Both Bryan and Reigns have faced each other in one-on-one matches on only three occasions. Twice in 2013, when both had the upper hand by disqualification, and once in 2015, when Reigns picked up a clean win.
If their match were to take place, it would be their first encounter in five years, hence why their rivalry would feel fresh.
