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For the second year in a row now, the WWE Championship picture prior to Survivor Series has changed completely.
Last year, then-WWE Champion Jinder Mahal took on AJ Styles in a match for the Championship two weeks before the 2017 Survivor Series pay-per-view. On that occasion, AJ Styles was the one to come out on top and won the Championship.
A full year and some days later, on the go-home show to WWE Survivor Series 2018, AJ Styles finally lost the title. He lost it to long-time WWE Universe fan favourite, Daniel Bryan, who is now the new WWE Champion.
Heading into Survivor Series, this means that as WWE Champion, Daniel Bryan will face the Universal Champion Brock Lesnar in a Champion vs. Champion match at the pay-per-view.
However, one of the biggest questions the WWE Universe has after this week's episode of SmackDown Live is about how Daniel Bryan won the WWE Championship.
Throwing aside his fan-favourite image, Bryan turned his back on the fair manner of doing things and turned heel. During the WWE Championship match on SmackDown Live, a spot saw Styles crash against the referee when Bryan dodged the Phenomenal Forearm. Bryan wasted no time in taking advantage and hit Styles with a low blow. While fans were still gasping and absorbing what they just witnessed, Bryan hit the Running Knee on Styles and pinned him for the three-count.
So now, the biggest question for the WWE Universe is this. Why did Daniel Bryan turn his back on the WWE Universe and become a heel? What possible reason could he have to go through with this massive heel turn after so many years of being a fan favourite?
In this article, we attempt to answer exactly that question. Without any further ado, let's get into five possible reasons Daniel Bryan turned heel on SmackDown Live.
#5 Need to face Brock Lesnar
For the longest time, Daniel Bryan has wanted to face 'The Beast' Brock Lesnar. After winning the Championship at WrestleMania, he was finally supposed to do exactly that, but an injury he suffered meant that he would not be able to face him, and Lesnar faced Cena instead.
For Bryan, the Lesnar match was always as much of a Dream Match as it was for the WWE Universe.
At Survivor Series, the WWE Champion represents SmackDown Live and faces the Universal Champion who represents Raw. With Lesnar being the current Universal Champion, this was the perfect (and possibly only) opportunity that Bryan had to face the Beast.
So when the opportunity presented itself, he decided that no cost was too high, and immediately seized it -- even if it meant turning his back on the WWE Universe.
#4 Limelight
A WWE Superstar is only popular for as long as they are in the limelight. Far too often, popular stars lose their momentum and get lost in the shuffle when they are without a Championship, and battling in the mid cards for an opportunity.
Given the huge roster, it takes only a moment or a false step for any star, no matter how popular, to have to head to the back of the line.
Since coming back, Daniel Bryan has seemed content being in the middle of the pack. He fought in non-title matches and was a part of every mid-card segment, including an extremely bitter rivalry with the likes of the former Intercontinental Champion, The Miz.
However, heading into Survivor Series, WWE is finally getting ready for the last stretch before the Road to WrestleMania begins.
This was the perfect opportunity for Bryan to get out of a five-man team (that too, as the co-captain) representing WWE, and get a solo match on Survivor Series instead, with the focus entirely on him and his singles match.
#3 Desperation to win the WWE Championship
If there is one goal each WWE star strives towards, it is to earn and win the WWE Championship. Possibly the most prestigious title in the company given its long history and list of title holders, every WWE Superstar yearns and dreams of someday lifting the Championship.
Daniel Bryan has won the WWE Championship 3 separate times on previous occasions and he knows exactly the adrenaline rush and the pride that winning the title accompanies. For the longest time since coming back, he has tried to get back into the title picture.
Having lost the last time he tried to win the title, not taking a chance this time makes sense. The sheer desperation to win back the title that had once been his was too much for him to throw away the only chance that he had.
Thus, when he finally got the chance, he took it without wasting the opportunity.
#2 The humiliation of being beaten by AJ Styles
One of the biggest humiliations for any wrestler is having to tap out in the middle of a WWE ring. It is the ultimate sign of capitulation -- it's an admission that he can no longer continue and is surrendering to his opponent by throwing in the towel.
Very rarely do babyfaces tap out in WWE. Vince McMahon protects his top fan favourites and hardly allows them to show that weakness. But when AJ Styles defended his WWE Championship for the first time against Daniel Bryan ahead of Crown Jewel, that is exactly what Bryan did.
Styles applied the Calf Crusher to Bryan's already injured knee, forcing the Superstar to tap out as the pain was too much for him. The humiliation of having tapped out to Styles obviously still rankled within Bryan as he tried to make Styles suffer the same fate during this match. On two separate occasions, he tried the 'Yes Lock' but Styles managed to get away.
The frustration was too much for him, and he finally gave in to the easy way and decided that taking Styles' Championship was humiliation enough.
And that's exactly what he did.
#1 Making up for lost time
The active life of any WWE Superstar is severely limited. Not every wrestler can compete well into their 50s.
At some point, the time comes to hang up their boots, and admit that all the punishment that their bodies endured for so long have made it impossible for them to continue inside the ring. Thus, missing out on a part of their career when they are in the prime of their life cannot feel good.
Daniel Bryan was forced to retire early when his injuries became too much for him. He was forced onto the sidelines and step out of the ring for what felt like the final time. He was not allowed to compete by the WWE and continued in a non-wrestling role.
For Bryan, this entire time was extremely painful, as he was not able to do what he loved the most. So, when he finally made his return to the ring, it was one of the greatest moments in life.
But along with his return came the idea and the burden of the amount of time he had lost while sitting on the sidelines. Unable to sit around and wait for an opportunity to present itself, Bryan tortured himself with the thought of how much time had gone by and how much more he wanted to achieve in his career.
So, when AJ Styles got in the way of precisely this, Bryan did the only thing that he could think of. He turned his back on the WWE audience, betrayed the trust AJ put in him as a fair competitor and turned heel.
None of that mattered to him. Daniel Bryan became the WWE Champion.
He was finally making up for lost time.
