Daniel Bryan Would Bring Credibility Back to the Intercontinental Championship

Daniel Bryan is headed for what many feel will be a great WrestleMania moment on Sunday. Of course, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship is not the prize this time around; it's the Intercontinental belt that will be hanging above the ring on that night.

And though six other Superstars will all be climbing the ladder to win the strap in this match, Bryan is the man to bring credibility back to WWE's most important secondary championship.

It was a moment that many fans perhaps felt they would not see. When it became apparent that Bryan's career-defining WrestleMania would not be repeated this time around, he seemed to get the Intercontinental title spot by default. The match needed a seventh man and since the company didn't appear to have a plan for Bryan, he got the nod.

In other words, he got the consolation prize.

Credit: WWE.com

But the more this storyline has progressed, the more Bryan looks as though he fits right in. Despite Bryan's main event status and his ability to draw money on that top tier, he's actually built to shine in an angle such as this.

That's because this storyline has been nothing but fun from the very start.

Bad News Barrett has seen his Intercontinental Championship stolen right under his nose and passed around from one Superstar to another. Every week the belt finds its way to another talent and it's all happened in a very lighthearted manner. There is no malice in any of this. It all seems to be nothing more than just a way to entertain the crowd and get as many names involved as possible. 

And Bryan is perhaps the biggest name of them all.

Bryan usually tends to be the most entertaining guy in the ring on any given night. He loves what he does and it's obvious he's enjoying himself every time he steps through the ropes. And while the Bryan fans saw battling The Authority was very good at being very intense, it's this Bryan that fans truly love to see.

It's an angle custom-made for a humorous personality that can bring a smile to the fans. Bryan is that personality.

But this is much more than just a comedy routine. This is about bringing respect back to the title that was once considered to be the most prestigious one in WWE, second only to the top belt. And Bryan can do just that if he does indeed walk away with the gold at WrestleMania.

Aside from being an entertaining character, Bryan is a great technician in the ring. When he gets going, it's impossible for fans to look away; the guy paints a frenzied picture every time he starts running in a match. That pace is equaled only by his mat wrestling and submission moves, which put him on a level all of his own.

Bryan was the best indie wrestler in the business and he became the best wrestler in WWE. It's who he is, simple as that.

His work ethic brought a renewed air of importance and relevance to the WWE World Championship and it will do the same for the Intercontinental Championship. It's a classic example of the man making the title, not the title making the man.  

The belt would not be going to someone still trying to establish himself in the company; it would be landing around the waist of a proven main event powerhouse. Bryan has all the tools necessary to headline in WWE, to shine on the worldwide stage. And if he does that with the Intercontinental Championship over his shoulder, then that belt will mean more than it has in a very long time.

Bryan can work the main event of Raw and SmackDown, defending the IC title in high-profile matches against the best and brightest in WWE.  e would bring all of the intensity to those title defenses that he does every time he steps into the ring and that would add a definite shine to the belt.

The Intercontinental Championship was once the stepping stone to the main event. In Bryan's hands, it would become the main event. There can be no greater level of credibility than that.