WWE: Daniel Bryan Unworthy of WrestleMania Main Event

Daniel Bryan isn’t just unworthy of a WrestleMania Championship Main Event, he is a major failure in WWE.

There isn’t a single attribute that makes you say he’s worthy of a main event program. He doesn’t understand what it takes to succeed in the WWE. At this rate, he never will.

He doesn’t fit in WWE’s mold for superstardom and doesn’t appear willing to do so since coming over from Ring of Honor.

I was beyond excited when he signed with WWE years ago. WWE finally had a legitimate technical wrestler back on the roster. Bryan was arguably the very best and consistent in-ring worker on the independent circuit for years. His matches for Ring of Honor were phenomenal.

Unfortunately, that’s all he’s good for and that doesn’t cut it in WWE.

He will not get to the top of the WWE Universe on mat-work and submissions. Could he? Of course. We’ve seen workers do it in the past. The problem is Bryan can’t because it doesn’t work with him.

The closest example to Bryan is Chris Benoit.

Benoit too was arguably the best and most consistent worker in the world for years. What’s the difference?

Benoit was one of the coldest and intense workers the industry has ever seen. It was his personality and it was undeniable. You knew it the moment you watched him. That worked to perfection. Does Bryan have a personality, at all?

It was never necessary for Benoit to get on the microphone. His in-ring work did the talking for him. It was a simple formula and it worked. He was going to destroy his opponent in a way that made it seem like it was a masterpiece. The canvas was his to display his craft, his work for art.

Benoit was WWE’s Dexter. It never mattered if Benoit was a heel or face, you tuned in and watched him wreak havoc in the squared circle every time. He was the Canadian Crippler. He was must-see TV from his first to last WWE match.

Benoit’s calculating and intense nature forced everyone to take notice of him. He brought that old school, no-nonsense, straight-up wrestling feel to today’s era.

The term charisma is thrown around loosely in the wrestling universe. Many wrongfully link charisma with the just ability to captivate a crowd on the microphone. The microphone is merely one way for a wrestler to express his charismatic personality.

Benoit never would’ve won awards for his mic skills and neither will Bryan. Still, Benoit oozed charisma and personality while Bryan has a difficult time letting that shine. Benoit was extremely charismatic through his in-ring art while Bryan just looks like another jobber trying to land a contract.

Bryan consistently fails to give off that same intensity and charisma that made Benoit such a beloved performer. He is nothing more than a man playing the underdog role. There is no reason to watch him in WWE.

Simply going out in front of a few dozen or hundred people worked for him in Ring of Honor, but it doesn’t work in front of millions of people and WWE’s bright spotlight shining down on him.

In Ring of Honor, he didn’t need to show any type of persona because all the fans cared about was seeing a technical masterpiece. That’s not the case in WWE and it certainly doesn’t make him worthy of a WrestleMania Championship program.

There is nothing that makes me want to watch Bryan in a main event program and there is even less reason to believe he has a chance to win it.

What has he done?

Where is his memorable title reigns, victories or feud?

Benoit was a legitimate performer leading up to his epic WrestleMania Championship Main Event with Triple H and Shawn Michaels.

Everyone knew he was a threat because he had the confidence, intensity and résumé to back it up. He was part of some of the most memorable feuds and matches in the history of the industry with the likes of Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle.

He was a legitimate threat, which Bryan is not.

He won the United States Championship and a scramble match for a Championship contract. Am I supposed to be impressed?

Am I supposed to want to watch him win the World Heavyweight Championship like I did with Benoit?

I have no reason to believe Bryan’s in-ring abilities will allow him to overcome any obstacle like I did with Benoit.

If a WWE superstar is going to rely solely on his in-ring abilities then I need to know he can defeat anybody at anytime because of his knowledge and talents. If there is an obvious doubt, something is wrong.

I may have doubted Benoit at times, but there was always a greater chance he would come out on top because of his renowned elite skills.

If you told me Big Show and Benoit were going to fight, I would believe Benoit stood a chance to overcome Show’s power. I wouldn’t believe Bryan could. I would think Show would knock him out instantly. You knew Benoit wouldn’t just get knocked out because you believed in his wrestling skills.

You knew Benoit was as intense as any man in this world and would stand his own. You might think Bryan would cower away and cry in the corner.

There’s a reason Benoit skyrocketed to the top of WWE and enjoyed a Main Event match with The Rock for the WWE Championship at Fully Loaded 2000. There’s a bigger reason nobody expects Bryan to land a Championship Main Event match at WrestleMania.

Benoit would call himself the greatest technical wrestler in the world and I believed him. He had the track record. Bryan was consistently regarded as such and despite the track record, I still have no reason to believe or trust him.

Isn't that amazing? I see and I still don't believe it!

Bryan has yet to show an ounce of improvement at this stage in his career. He is a technical wrestling marvel, except his in-ring work doesn’t jump off the television screen like Benoit’s or Angle’s did. He doesn’t have the in-ring charisma, microphone skills or look to warrant a WrestleMania Main Event.

After screaming for him to come to WWE for years, I have no reason to want to see Bryan and probably never will again.

He is a professional wrestler running in place with no signs of improvement. Daniel Bryan is a WWE failure.

For more exhilarating WWE analysis, check out Bleacher Report’s dedicated WWE page!

Brandon Galvin is a Bleacher Report Featured Columnist and Syndicated Writer.