WWE: Why Daniel Bryan Needs to Cash in Money in the Bank Before WrestleMania

Daniel Bryan is one of the most athletic and impressive pure wrestlers in WWE history.  He has a long history of putting on spectacular matches in his career in the independent circuit before he made the jump to WWE in 2009. 

Bryan was instantly a favorite for many fans who had followed his indy career, and many were prepared to see Bryan grow into a top WWE superstar.

Daniel Bryan hit his first bump in the road when he was released from his WWE contract after violating WWE rules and acting too violently by choking ring announcer Justin Roberts with his own tie during the Nexus invasion in June of 2010. 

However, he returned after just about a month and stepped over almost every other member of Nexus and began his singles run.

After a run as the WWE United States Champion, Bryan made history when he won the SmackDown Money in the Bank ladder match at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view in July of 2011. 

In less than two years, Bryan had gone from independent wrestler to a potential future World Heavyweight Champion.  On the July 22 episode of SmackDown, Bryan declared that he would cash in his briefcase at the biggest event of the year, WrestleMania XXVIII.

Since Bryan's victory at Money in the Bank, he has slipped into a void unseen by anyone who has ever won a Money in the Bank briefcase. 

While Alberto Del Rio, who won the Raw Money in the Bank ladder match on the same night as Bryan, has grown into one of the top superstars in the company, Bryan has fallen to WWE's "C" show, WWE Superstars, and has yet to have a meaningful feud with another top, or even mid-card superstar.

Bryan has frequently lost to other superstars, such as Wade Barrett, who have been making their way up the ladder on SmackDown.  While defeating the Money in the Bank winner greatly helps out someone like Barrett, who needs solid wins to help push him back into the main event scene, it hurts Byran even more by making him seem like a stepping stone as opposed to a future World Heavyweight Champion.

So how can WWE solve this problem and turn Daniel Bryan back into a superstar that the fans will actually have some interest in?  How can they go from having Mr. Money in the Bank lose match after match to then become a legitimate World Heavyweight Championship competitor?

Easy, Bryan has to turn heel and cash in Money in the Bank before WrestleMania.

I strongly feel that Daniel Bryan needs to return to the heel persona that was both unique and effective while he reigned as Ring of Honor World Champion.  Bryan, who would never really blatantly cheat to win, would bend the rules in his favor to gain the upper hand on his opponents.

For instance, if Bryan had a submission locked in and his opponent reached the ropes, Bryan would hold the submission until the last moment before the referee would reach the five count.  Bryan was also more aggressive and outgoing, both in the ring and toward the fans.

Though CM Punk sort of portrays this same arrogant, rule-bending character, I think that Bryan could play more to the heel side, especially if he can get some cheap heat from the fans, by insulting hometowns and such.

This persona would work perfectly for Bryan in WWE.  It would add another heel to the SmackDown roster, which really only has Mark Henry and Christian as top heels (Wade Barrett is on his way there, and Cody Rhodes is stuck with the Intercontinental Championship.), and would also be a quick and easy fix to help move Bryan out of the shadows.  

All it would take is for Bryan to attack the next face to win the World Heavyweight Championship, and there has recently been the perfect set-up for this all to go down.

Over the past couple of weeks Daniel Bryan has been involved in matches with Big Show and Mark Henry, which has put him closer to the world title than he has ever been.  

On the November 4 episode of SmackDown, the show ended with a match between Bryan and Mark Henry.  Henry won the match via disqualification when Big Show entered the ring and knocked out Henry with his WMD punch.  

Big Show then tried to get Bryan to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase on the knocked out Henry.  Bryan looked like he was going to cash in, but Henry recovered and prevented the match from ever starting.

By looking at the results for the next week's SmackDown, which airs on November 11, it looks as if Daniel Bryan is going to remain in the picture with Mark Henry and Big Show.  Though he is remaining an ally to Big Show, that could all change at Survivor Series.

If Bryan stays in the picture for one more week, which would be the November 18 SmackDown and the last WWE show before Survivor Series, he would be fresh in the minds of WWE fans as a friend to Big Show going into the pay-per-view.

If Big Show were able to defeat Mark Henry at Survivor Series, Daniel Bryan could do the heelish thing and cash in his briefcase on Big Show, just after his match (and potential post match beat down) with Mark Henry.

Though Big Show is not the biggest face in the company, he gets over with the fans well enough to have a Daniel Bryan betrayal work well in turning Bryan into a heel.  

If WWE continues to make it seem like Big Show and Bryan are partners, working to take down the monster Mark Henry, it would become the perfect set-up for a Bryan heel turn.

Now, Survivor Series probably won't turn out the way I just said, but you have to admit that it would create a much better Daniel Bryan character.  

He would go against his word to cash in his briefcase at WrestleMania, turn on his friend Big Show, and become world champion, all without technically breaking a rule.

Whether it happens or not, it seems like a much better option than what WWE has planned (or doesn't yet have planned) for Bryan and his briefcase so far.