Potential Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler WrestleMania Bout Is a No-Brainer Move

WWE doesn't need to be creative or ingenious to figure out where to slide Daniel Bryan into the WrestleMania 31 card now that the marquee match won't include him.

An excellent option is standing in plain view—pair him with Dolph Ziggler.

Ziggler vs. Bryan would be a wrestling purist's dream and a battle of two of the best performers in WWE. It promises to be a fun show-stealer that would help pacify fans angry that Bryan didn't get the spot on the WrestleMania lineup that Roman Reigns currently occupies.

It's a bout Ziggler himself has been pushing for.

The Showoff first reached out to Bryan via Twitter, offering himself up as a potential consolation prize to the main event. Bryan's response showed that he was clearly into the idea:

The campaign was far from over, though. Ziggler tweeted a long message that laid out the differences and similarities between the two men, crafting a possible narrative for their match:

The latest word is that Ziggler is not alone on a limb here. The company is considering the idea. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Wrestling Inc) WWE has changed its mind, moving away from having Bryan face Sheamus and instead looking to pit him against Ziggler.

The Sheamus match was always a bad idea.

It lacks novelty, for one. He and Bryan have twice battled at WrestleMania. They have already feuded and revisiting their story would provide no spark.

And as good as that clash would be in terms of in-ring action, Ziggler vs. Bryan would outdo it.

Both men excel at creating great matches. Both infuse technical wrestling with showmanship, passion with athleticism to make magic on the mat.

When the WWE.com staff compiled the best matches of 2013, five of Bryan's contests made the list and Ziggler's battle with Alberto Del Rio at Payback came in at No. 8. On the 2014 list, Bryan's name popped up five times and six matches involving Ziggler made the cut, including the one at No. 1.

Bryan and Ziggler have met sporadically throughout their career—not enough for this to feel overdone at WrestleMania, but enough for WWE to proceed with great confidence. Each time they have squared off, the results have been tremendous.

They opened Bragging Rights 2010, producing the best match that night. They rocked it in a clash on Raw on Oct. 22, 2012.

On March 11, 2013, the collided on Raw in what turned out to be a thriller of a TV bout.

Smooth counters, high-quality mat wrestling and an overall electric feeling powered it. It's a performance like this that allows a fan to fall back in love with wrestling, showcasing pure in-ring talent and a "we are going to tear the house down" attitude. 

That was with no hype and with both men not as popular as they are today. Add WrestleMania-level buildup and a bigger stage, and everyone else on the card would be forced to step up their game.  

Former WWE star Zack Gowen believes it can be as good as a classic from WrestleMania III:

With as stacked as the card is going to be, Ziggler vs. Bryan isn't going to get 20 to 30 minutes to work with. The expected Sting vs. Triple H matchup and the WWE title match aren't going to be given priority when it comes to divvying up ring time.

However, it won't take half an hour for Bryan and Ziggler to have the crowd chanting "This is awesome!" Ricky Steamboat vs. Randy Savage, a match some consider the best the event has ever produced, was only 14 minutes and 35 seconds long, per ProFightDB.com.

A shorter time frame might actually improve the match. Ziggler and Bryan would have to work at a faster pace, eschewing rest holds for more high-impact fare.

Ziggler has already laid out the story to go with all that great ring work.

This can be billed as two guys looking to go out and prove they belong on the top tier. It'd be a babyface-against-babyface match between overlooked men, the kind of respectful clash that would likely end in the two men embracing afterward. Plenty of sportsmanship would be sure to go along with all the showmanship.

All the fans angry about the company going with Reigns over Bryan at the Rumble won't be happy with another matchup with Kane or a return to a feud with Sheamus. Ziggler, on the other hand, has a similar following among the Internet Wrestling Community.

Going with this match would feel like a nod to the IWC, an offering of action with great work rate, a celebration of these two stars.

Credit: WWE.com

WWE can sweeten this showdown by dangling a prize for the victor. Perhaps at a future date, the winner gets to face whoever is WWE world champ by the end of the night.  

Even without that stipulation, Ziggler vs. Bryan promises to be just plain good.

With Seth Rollins likely to face Randy Orton, The Rock not certain to be available and Shawn Michaels likely to stay retired, Ziggler is a realistic and satisfying option for Bryan. Nothing will replace him being in the main event, but this would surely be a match that would have fans buzzing after WrestleMania.

Ziggler's proposal is the best one on the table. WWE would be smart to respond to it just as Bryan did—with an emphatic "Yes!"