WWE: 10 Reasons Daniel Bryan Is the Right Man to Be World Champion

Daniel Bryan is the World Heavyweight Champion and a damn good one.

Though most wrestling fans knew how talented Bryan was, not many expected to see him holding a World title in the WWE, a company that has generally stayed away from smaller World champions throughout most of its history.

Yet, Bryan became Smackdown's World titleholder late last year and he's been the best Daniel Bryan we've seen ever since.

He has become the top heel on Smackdown and is doing the unthinkable by heading to one of the main events of WrestleMania 28.

And, man, does he ever deserve it.

Here are 10 reasons why Daniel Bryan is the right man to be the World Heavyweight Champion as we near the biggest pay-per-view of the year.

10. No More Big Man vs. Big Man World Title Feuds, Please

I've always been a fan of The Big Show and loved the excellent work that Mark Henry did during the peak of his heel run in 2011.

But I didn't like when these two guys feuded with each other for the World Heavyweight Championship.

We got some memorable moments from their title matches, such as that ring-imploding superplex at Vengeance and Show's top-rope elbow drop at Survivor Series.

But that was about it.

For the most part, the Show-Henry matches weren't what you would expect of World title bouts and that's a problem that we won't have with Daniel Bryan as the World Heavyweight Champion.

Bryan almost never has a bad match and, in fact, most of his matches borderline on greatness.

As long as he's holding onto that World title, we can expect to see some great matches in Smackdown's main event scene.

9. He's Bided His Time, Without Complaining

There are times when you hear rumors that a certain WWE star may be frustrated or pissed off because he's not exactly where he wants to be on the card.

But that's not something we've ever heard about Daniel Bryan.

There have been no reports of him having a bad attitude backstage or of him complaining that he's getting passed over in favor of guys who he feels have less talent than him.

Bryan has taken what he's been given in the WWE, accepted it and made the most of it.

Even though he can out-wrestle just about everyone walking this earth, he doesn't carry the ego of someone who can do that and, instead, he's humble and willing to work where he's needed.

Bryan deserves to be rewarded for biding his time and for doing so in a very professional manner.

8. A Lack of Other Options on Smackdown

The Smackdown roster has been hit by the injury bug pretty hard.

Randy Orton's missed a ton of time, so has Christian, Sin Cara's gone down as well, Mark Henry appears to be somewhat hurt still and now Wade Barrett's sitting on the sidelines.

As far as the blue brand's World title and main event scenes are concerned, there aren't a whole lot of options to fill them up at the moment.

The Big Show, Daniel Bryan, Sheamus and Cody Rhodes are the only Smackdown superstars who have proven that they can work programs at the top of the card.

Since Sheamus won the Royal Rumble and Rhodes is the Intercontinental Champion, that leaves either Show or Bryan as the only two options to hold the World Heavyweight title.

Bryan's a heel, Show's a face and Sheamus is a face, so by process of elimination, that leaves Bryan as the only Smackdown star who should be holding the World title at the moment.

Man, Smackdown needs some reinforcements come the WWE Draft. 

7. Non-Traditional Champs Are Accepted Now More Than Ever

There has never been a more perfect time for a non-traditional World champion.

Whereas the WWE and World Heavyweight titles have typically been held by the likes of Randy Orton, Baista, John Cena and Triple H in recent years, we've seen more and more champions who don't fit the stereotypical WWE mold.

The Miz and CM Punk have much different looks than the prototypical jacked-up champs and so does Daniel Bryan Yet, these guys have all excelled as World titleholders.

Punk is in the midst of one of the more successful WWE title runs of the last few years, The Miz held it for more than five months and Bryan has reached the highest point of his career in his role as the current World Heavyweight Champion.

This is a sign that non-traditional World champions can work and are often a welcome change from the typical Orton or Cena title run.

6. It's the Right Timing for an Experimental Champ

The three biggest matches on the WrestleMania 28 card are: The Rock vs. John Cena, Triple H vs. The Undertaker inside Hell in a Cell and CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho for the WWE Championship.

That means that, at the absolute best, the World Heavyweight Championship match between Daniel Bryan and Sheamus will be the number four match on the card.

Since the WHC match will not be the actual main event (a.k.a. the last match) and will likely be out-shined by at least three other matches, it's the right timing to avoid placing some more established star like Randy Orton in the bout. 

The WWE is making the right decision by realizing that—since more fans are going to be interested in Rock/Cena, Taker/HHH and Punk/Jericho—it's OK to take a chance on someone like Daniel Bryan in the World Heavyweight title match.

Non-title bouts taking top priority at Mania rarely happens, but it's definitely occurring in 2012 and the WWE should take advantage of it.

5. The WWE Needs to Build New Stars

The WWE will never be able to create new stars if it doesn't give its up-and-coming talent chances to shine on major pay-per-views.

Thankfully, though, the company has done an excellent job of that.

CM Punk became the star he is today in large part because he was given Money in the Bank and SummerSlam to do so.

Alberto Del Rio catapulted himself to the main event scene with a Royal Rumble win and The Miz helped expand his stardom by competing in the main event of WrestleMania 27.

Now, it's Daniel Bryan's turn to follow in the footsteps of those three stars.

It's no secret that, especially with guys like Triple H, Undertaker, Kane and Rey Mysterio nearing the end of their careers, the WWE needs to move full speed ahead with main event pushes for new talent.

Bryan is getting a golden opportunity to become one of the WWE's top stars and someone who will replace those guys I've mentioned when they're all gone.

And that's exactly how it should be.

4. The Babyface Chasing a Heel Champion Makes for a Better Story

Sheamus has gotten over in a major way as a babyface, and one could easily argue that he's the company's number four babyface behind Randy Orton, John Cena and CM Punk.

Since "The Great While" is now playing the role of a good guy, though, it's imperative that he's the one pursuing Daniel Bryan for the World Heavyweight Championship rather than being the one who's holding it.

Why? Because the babyface challenger chasing the heel champion typically makes for a better story.

The WWE Championship feud on Raw between Chris Jericho and CM Punk hasn't been quite as good as I thought it would be and one of the reasons why is because the "best in the world" story loses a lot of its momentum when Punk's already got the title.

On the other hand, the fans will be into Sheamus/Bryan because they hate Bryan and want to see Sheamus beat him for the belt at WrestleMania 28.

That's precisely why I like that Bryan's the current World Heavyweight Champion: Smackdown's title feud wouldn't be as fun if he wasn't such a little weasel of a champ.

3. His Title Win and Subsequent Reign Facilitated His Great Heel Turn

Since I've seen some of Daniel Bryan's heel stuff in Ring of Honor, I've always been a firm believer that he could succeed in the WWE as a bad guy.

But even I have to admit that Bryan would not be the phenomenal heel he is today had it not been for his World Heavyweight Championship win.

Could Bryan have still gotten over as a heel? Sure, but not to the level he's currently at.

What's made the fans really despise Bryan is that he "stole" the title from The Big Show and has found some tricky ways to hold onto it ever since then.

When Bryan does eventually lose the title (likely at Mania), I think you'll see that the fact that he was holding it in the first place was such a huge part of his character—he "Yes!" yells, the "role model" character, his vegan spiel, etc.

Trust me, Bryan won't be the same heel when he can no longer scream that he's the World Heavyweight Champion.

2. He's Exceeded Any and All Expecations Since Turning Heel

Daniel Bryan is a vegan and because of it, he's a role model. Well, at least that's what he wants to us to believe. 

Similarly to CM Punk's Money in the Bank win and subsequent heel turn in 2009, Bryan has used his career-defining victory and gimmick change to become one of the WWE's best characters.

Bryan went from a bland babyface with no gimmick to an easy-to-hate heel who thinks he's better than everyone else because he loves animals.

It's kind of funny to think about, but Bryan has made this character work really well.

He has exceeded just about everyone's expectations since his heel turn and I have no doubt that his incredible performance as a bad guy so far has caused the creative team to give him a longer reign than was originally planned.

Bryan as a heel World champion his been simply amazing so far and until that isn't the case, he should hold onto Smackdown's top title.

1. The World Titles Should Be on the Best Wrestlers

This is professional wrestling, and at the core of every wrestling fan is the desire to see two wrestlers do what they do best: Wrestle.

We get that the backstage skits and the promos are necessary and that wrestling probably wouldn't exist without them.

But the real entertainment goes on in the ring and we want to see the best wrestlers in the world holding onto the most prestigious titles in the world.

For the first time in a while, that's exactly what's going on.

CM Punk is the WWE Champion, Daniel Bryan is the World Heavyweight Champion and in-ring skills are being pushed more than they have at any point in recent history.

It's about damn time.

Wrestling is, not surprisingly, the heart of wrestling and I can definitely get on board with two of the greatest pure wrestlers of our generation carrying the WWE as its two World champions.