WWE over the Limit 2012 Results: Daniel Bryan Must Stay in WWE Title Picture

As soon as the WWE championship match between CM Punk and Daniel Bryan at Over The Limit was over, the first thought that went shooting through my mind was: Bryan needs to stay in the main-event spotlight. 

No, the thought did not occur to me simply because the match, which was great, ended in controversial fashion. Rather, it finally hit me that Bryan is the best all-around performer in WWE today. 

For anyone who was familiar with Bryan's work in Ring of Honor and the independent wrestling scene for the previous 10 years, this is not some great revelation. He has been regarded as the best wrestler in the business for at least the seven years. 

It took a long time for WWE to realize what it had with him. He was put in a poor spot on the NXT show, having to be "mentored" by The Miz, whom Bryan could out-wrestle in his sleep. 

Since Vince McMahon loves to tear down wrestlers who make their name in other promotions, it did not seem like he would ever be given a fair chance to succeed. 

Along the way, something strange happened: The people behind the scenes started to notice that Bryan was really, really good at everything. He had the wrestling part down, and the charisma to captivate an audience using only his words. 

Bryan has been in the title picture for months, but the world title was never put in a spotlight position on pay-per-view and we all remember the WrestleMania fiasco. 

Yet something happened after Bryan's 18-second loss to Sheamus—not only did his popularity grow, but he was also moved to the WWE championship picture against CM Punk. 

There were already high expectations for that match when it was made because of their rich history together in Ring of Honor, and they absolutely delivered at Over The Limit. 

It might seem obvious that WWE is setting up more matches between Punk and Bryan, but McMahon is booking things, and you never know what's going on in his mind. 

So, Vince, allow me to speak for anyone who saw that match last night: Daniel Bryan is the best performer you have right now and has earned the right to keep his spot in the championship mix at No Way Out. 

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