WWE: Should Daniel Bryan Be the First to Fail at Cashing in Money in the Bank?

Daniel Bryan shocked the world when he won Smackdown’s Money in the Bank match at the self-titled pay-per-view way back in July. 

He hadn’t been doing much on the blue brand up to that point, and many of us were pleasantly surprised when the decision was made to give him that briefcase and the guaranteed title shot that comes along with it. 

We were surprised, yes, but we were also immediately skeptical. 

Sure, WWE officials showed a lot of faith in Bryan simply by having him win Smackdown’s MITB match, but the thought in the back of our minds was, “Man, I wonder if he’s going to be the first person in WWE history to lose when he cashes in.” 

My fear seemed to be coming true when Bryan was essentially booked like a total loser immediately following his MITB win. He went on a long losing streak, basically serving as a jobber and looking like he’d never get a win. 

Since then, he’s turned his fortunes around quite a bit—even getting involved in the World Heavyweight Championship scene—but he wasn’t even the Survivor Series card, and it still doesn’t seem like he’s being treated as a main eventer. 

Pessimists say that will always be the case and that this is just the WWE backtracking on its decision to give Bryan the briefcase in the first place. But optimists say that the WWE is booking Bryan in this underdog-type role so that his eventual cash-in win will come as more of a surprise. 

While I think it would be better to build up Bryan as a submission specialist badass who makes people tap out and is seen as a legitimate World title contender, we’ve seen the underdog role played tons of times before—especially with someone like Rey Mysterio—and that’s exactly where I think the WWE is going with Bryan. 

Aside from a few exceptions, the smaller main event-caliber wrestlers in the WWE either fit into that “I’m a baby face who overcomes all odds” role or that “I’m a whiny heel who cheats to win role.” 

And if the WWE isn’t going to book Bryan like the great wrestler that he is, then he has to fit into that former role. Has to. 

Look, Bryan is the best wrestler in the WWE, and in many circles, he’s considered to be the best wrestler in the world. What good would it do have him fail at cashing in his MITB briefcase? 

The No. 1 thing that would accomplish is proving that, in the WWE, your wrestling ability means next to diddly squat. It’s not about how good of a match you can put on—it’s about how big you are or how many t-shirts you can sell. 

And that’s a dumb philosophy. 

Whether Vince McMahon wants to believe it or not, there is a very large group of WWE fans who watch his product because they want to see two athletes go balls to the wall in the ring. Bryan can do that better than just about anybody who still laces up the boots today. 

He shouldn’t lose when he cashes in because “it can lead to a heel turn” or because “it would benefit him more to lose in a great match than win a crappy one.” He should win because he’s a phenomenal wrestler, one who could carry the Smackdown brand on his back for as long as it needed him to. 

Bryan is not going to benefit from holding on to that briefcase for the better part of a year and cashing it in in a very honorable way at Wrestlemania, only to lose and “prove” that he shouldn’t have been holding onto it to begin with. Bryan is going to benefit, however, from keeping that briefcase, giving his opponents fair warning before he cashes it in and then straight up outwrestling him to win the World Heavyweight Championship. 

You want to create a huge wrestling star? Showing that he can outwrestle anyone—big or small, short or tall, skinny or fait—is a great way to do that. 

If the WWE wants Bryan to be the company’s next breakout baby face star, then that’s exactly how they should book his cash-in. 

If not, then have him lose, waste that briefcase and prove that the only real exception to the WWE’s “we push stars based on how tall or jacked up they are” rule is CM Punk.