5 WWE stars that deserve a shot at the Universal Championship or WWE Championship

#4 Daniel Bryan - Shot at WWE Universal Championship

Bryan challenged the Fiend for the Universal Championship last year.

For the longest time, Roman Reigns was the babyface that WWE brass wanted the fans to cheer for but Daniel Bryan was the actual face most cheered for. It wasn't Reigns' fault, but rather how he was consistently pushed opposed to other stars.

Both men would have their runs as the WWE/Universal Champion (Reigns) or WWE Champion (Bryan). But as things currently sit, The Big Dog is working on becoming the top bad guy on SmackDown. It's a slow-burn process as his first challenger is his cousin, Jey Uso. But once Reigns dispatches of his cousin, I expect him to go full heel.

Bryan has been off of TV since around the time of Money in the Bank. He was one of the competitors in this year's match but hasn't been a fixture on screen since May. Brie gave birth to her and Bryan's second child, so he opted to sit out while she was pregnant. But before too long, we will have the former WWE Champion return to the fold on SmackDown.

It was a sticking point a couple of times as Reigns and Bryan "squared off" in WWE in the past. When Reigns won the 2015 Royal Rumble, he still had to beat Bryan at Fastlane before challenging the Beast for the WWE Championship. And even last year, we had the whole "who attacked Reigns" storyline between the Big Dog and Bryan. When all was said and done, it was actually Rowan, and not Bryan, that had attacked Reigns.

Bryan is the epitome of a face and he was doing his very best to get some chances for the likes of Drew Gulak and members of the Lucha House Party. When he comes back, he should still be a face because Reigns will need a lot of good guy challengers.

Hardcore fans (like myself) will likely always root for Bryan and especially whenever he opposes the Big Dog. Factor in that Reigns is actually a heel this time and that Bryan always gets great matches out of people, and it should be a no-brainer to book.