Daniel Bryan vs. Roman Reigns: Winner and Reaction from 2015 WWE Fastlane

Daniel Bryan was given a new lease on life and an opportunity to earn his way into the WrestleMania XXXI main event, but Roman Reigns denied him of another fairy-tale run by defeating him Sunday night at WWE Fastlane.

WWE's WrestleMania account confirmed Reigns will be facing Brock Lesnar at WWE's premier pay-per-view show:

RingsideXcess.com broke down what happened after the match:

It was a high-energy affair with plenty of action, as WrestlingInc.com noted:

BSO's Robert Littal gave Bryan big props for his role in the feud:

Bryan's wife, Brie Bella, and Chris Jericho offered up their thoughts on the match:

Paul Heyman teased what's on the horizon now that Reigns will officially be facing Lesnar: 

Bryan's dreams were seemingly dashed when he was eliminated at the midway point of the 2015 Royal Rumble. After The Authority labeled Reigns' Rumble victory "controversial," however, the leader of the Yes Movement was able to get back in the mix.

Since Bryan never received a return match for the title he was stripped of due to injury, The Authority agreed to put Bryan in a bout against Seth Rollins, with the winner taking on Reigns at Fastlane for the right to face world champion Lesnar at WrestleMania.

It was a stipulation that Reigns didn't have to accept, but he ultimately decided to in conjunction with his new lone-wolf mentality, according to WWE's official Twitter account:

Despite being at an obvious size and strength disadvantage, Bryan made it clear from the start that he wasn't afraid to step into the ring with Reigns, per WWE Universe on Twitter:

At the same time, Reigns displayed a more aggressive attitude toward Bryan in an attempt to show that he would do everything possible to retain the title shot he earned by winning the Rumble:

Reigns was booed out of the building when he won the Royal Rumble in Philadelphia even after The Rock lent him a helping hand. While the crowd reactions became more favorable for The Juggernaut as the weeks progressed, there was no doubt that Bryan was going to be the sentimental favorite at Fastlane.

While Bryan is almost universally beloved due to his incredible in-ring work and likable personality, WWE fans are seemingly split on Reigns. Some seem to like his look, attitude and dynamic in-ring approach; however, others feel as though he is being pushed too much, too soon.

That made for an interesting atmosphere at Fastlane with Reigns playing the role of the de facto heel. Even with the fans firmly behind Bryan, though, Reigns was able to come out on top and preserve his spot in the WrestleMania main event.

WWE called an audible last year to add Bryan to the 'Mania main event against Randy Orton and Batista. While many were hopeful the fan reaction would lead to something similar for WrestleMania XXXI, it was simply misdirection on WWE's part, as it decided to stick with Reigns.

After his early exit from the Rumble, Bryan tweeted a thank-you message to the fans for standing behind him:

It was beginning to look like that support could lead to Bryan invading the main event scene once again, but the David vs. Goliath story of Bryan vs. Lesnar wasn't in the cards from WWE's perspective.

Now that Bryan is officially out of the main event, it will be interesting to see what WWE does with him. The fact remains that he is the most universally popular Superstar in the company right now, which means it would be crazy not to put him in a high-profile angle of some sort.

As for Reigns, he will likely still have his detractors despite putting on a good match against Bryan, but there is no doubt he has progressed significantly since the Rumble.

With his more aggressive character allowing him to blur the lines between face and heel at times, the manner in which Reigns will be built up leading to his WrestleMania clash with Lesnar is both unpredictable and exciting.

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