Best Possible Outcomes for Daniel Bryan in IC Title Match at WWE WrestleMania 31

Daniel Bryan is one of the top wrestlers in the industry today, but WWE has dropped the ball with the Superstar heading into WrestleMania 31 by throwing him in the Intercontinental Championship Ladder match.

Now that Bryan is involved in a meaningless storyline centered on an irrelevant title, there are still several ways for the company to take advantage of the fact that Bryan is one of the most popular wrestlers in the world.

Here are the best possible outcomes for Bryan in the IC title ladder match.

Bryan Wins IC Title and Restores Its Prestige

There is a minority of wrestling fans which doesn’t like or is tired of Bryan, but he is incredibly popular with the vast majority of the WWE Universe and is arguably the most skilled in-ring technician in the company.

Bryan was the heavy favorite to win the 2015 Royal Rumble, and many believed he was the right man to take on Brock Lesnar in the main event of WrestleMania 31.

Instead of getting David vs. Goliath, Bryan now will fight six other combatants in a ladder match.

There is no doubt that the Intercontinental Championship bout has the potential to steal the show with the depth of talent involved (Stardust, Luke Harper, Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler, R-Truth, Bad News Barrett), but it should be Bryan who walks out of the event with the title.

Just as John Cena winning the United States Championship would instantly add credibility to the belt because of the man who holds it, Bryan would make the IC title relevant again—like it was when stars like Randy Savage and Curt Hennig held the strap.

While winning the Intercontinental Championship would not make the same impact as winning the world title in the main event did last year, Bryan will get his moment and his fans would have a reason to celebrate.

Sheamus Returns and Takes Bryan Out of the Equation

If Bryan isn’t going to win the Intercontinental Championship, then he should be taken out of the situation altogether. The perfect answer is a returning Sheamus costing Bryan the victory by interfering in the ladder match.

Bryan never saw a proper finish to his feud with The Authority, and cracks in the support for Triple H and Stephanie McMahon could lead to major changes within the stable.

Adding a returning Sheamus as the heel enforcer would be the major change his character needs.

After main-eventing last year’s WrestleMania, Bryan deserves to be featured in marquee singles feuds—not in multiman matches. While there isn’t much excitement surrounding a long-term battle between Sheamus and Bryan now, a proper storyline would result in an angle that the WWE could build around after WrestleMania.

As soon as Bryan returned from his neck injury, the company should have booked him in a co-main event that would have helped carry the WrestleMania card. There is no doubt Bryan will be great in the ladder match, but he deserves something bigger.

Sheamus attacking Bryan would be the best-case scenario for both men moving forward.

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