WWE Superstar of the Week: Daniel Bryan

From the moment that Daniel Bryan debuted on WWE TV in 2010, there was an instant fear that he would get lost in the shuffle because he doesn’t fit the stereotypical mold of a WWE superstar. 

So much for that, huh? 

Bryan has been steadily climbing up the ranks of the WWE over the last several months, spurred by a fantastic heel turn and an amazing increase in popularity. 

However, Bryan’s unlikely rise to the top of the wrestling world was seemingly cut short when he lost the world heavyweight championship in just 18 seconds at WrestleMania. 

Or so we thought. 

Even though Bryan no longer calls himself the world heavyweight champion, he can still call himself the WWE Superstar of the Week after having one of the best weeks of his young WWE career. 

At Extreme Rules on Sunday, Bryan lost his two-out-of-three falls match to Sheamus, but it wasn’t the result that mattered. It was Bryan’s performance in the match that stood out. 

At least in my view, this was the best match of Bryan’s WWE career and the first real opportunity that he had to perform in a lengthy, show-stealing match that was a part of a heated feud. 

Bryan more than delivered in a 23-minute classic that showed why many think he is actually the best wrestler in the world. 

And—speaking of the best in the world—Bryan’s incredible journey took another interesting turn on this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw when he became the No. 1 contender for CM Punk’s WWE championship. 

It would have been very easy for the WWE to move Bryan to the backburner after he lost his rematch for the world heavyweight title, but that’s not what happened. 

Instead, the WWE immediately thrust him into another title feud, this time against someone he has a ton of history with. 

Bryan and Punk go all the way back to Ring of Honor, and they’ve also faced off in a number of TV classics in recent months. 

However, now it’s time to move to the big stage. 

It will be Bryan vs. Punk, but not on iPPV. It will be Bryan vs. Punk on PPV for the most prestigious title in pro wrestling.

Drake Oz is the WWE Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. You can follow him onTwitter and ask him any wrestling-related questions (to be answered in the B/R Mailbag) on Formspring.