Man, WrestleMania XXX was damn awesome. It may not have been the best show in terms of bell-to-bell action but in terms of delivering the drama, it was hard to beat. From the iconic opening with Hulk Hogan, The Rock and Stone Cold to the legend of The Undertaker dying at the hands of Brock Lesnar, the event was a roller coaster of emotions.

Even with a card loaded with legends and stars from the Attitude Era, it was one beardy, lumberjack-ish warrior who shone the brightest. Yes! Yes! Yes, through it all, it was Daniel Bryan’s WrestleMania. Bryan delivered two match of the year candidates by shutting Triple H up with a knee to his jaw and then capturing the richest prize in the game, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. It was such a beautiful moment that it made this Undertaker mark forget that Undertaker had just lost to Brock Lesnar. There might have been a Divas Battle Royal in between, but my brain was still trying to understand what it just saw.

Then it was all taken away. After being placed in a feud with the only giant more horribly booked than Big Show in Kane, Bryan was forced to vacate his dream due to a neck injury that would leave him on the shelf for seven months. Every report that came in had the same news: the strength had not returned to his arm. It seemed as if it was a formality that he would announce his retirement on Raw. But no, he wasn’t retiring. Yes, strength did return to his arm and oh yes, Daniel Bryan would enter in the 2015 Royal Rumble on January 25th. The marks and smarks were in agreement; this was incredible news. It provides the WWE another chance to give Bryan a Royal Rumble win and go on to give Bryan the long title run we were supposed to see last year.

It’s very rare to find superstars who can have an incredible match, deliver a believable, gripping promo and is capable of breaking into the mainstream. Daniel Bryan possesses all these qualities. He isn't The Rock on the mic, but he has natural comedic timing and knows just when to crank up the intensity for effect. For mainstream appeal, Bryan is married to Brie Bella, a star on Total Divas which opens Bryan to a whole new type of fans. His 'Yes' chant can be heard at several NHL, MLB and NBA games. Wrestling ability? Does that even need an explanation?

The man beast who currently holds the WWE World Heavyweight Championship is Brock Lesnar. He is the polar opposite of our bearded hero. Blessed with herculean genetics and a mean streak a mile wide has every single advantage any athlete could possess while Bryan has to scavenge for everything he has. Lesnar is a recluse who isn’t interested in shaking hands, making fans or playing nice. Bryan is a motivational speaker beloved by millions who stops burglars in his spare time. Given the contrasts between these two characters, it should make fans salivate at the possibility of a back and forth exchange between Daniel Bryan and the best talker in the WWE, Paul Heyman.

If that isn’t enough there are also real facts. Bryan was forced to vacate his title; he never lost it in the ring. As impressive as Lesnar’s decimation of John Cena was at SummerSlam, all the Beast did was destroy a man who never should have held the title in the first place. The competitive fire of Lesnar wouldn’t allow him to be satisfied without destroying the true champion of WWE and its people’s champion. He destroyed the legacy of the Deadman last year and if Bryan wins the Royal Rumble, Lesnar could conquer the Yes Man and crush the hearts of the WWE Universe with one (or however many it takes) F-5s.

Another dimension to the storyline would be playing off Bryan’s injury. In addition to the F-5, Lesnar has another crushing finisher in his pocket with the Kimura armlock. Their matchup would be a story of Lesnar trying to decimate the arm of Bryan and stamp out his comeback before it even gets off the ground. Bryan on the other hand has to use his agility and tenacity to dodge and counter the bullrush charges of Lesnar to come out on top. Lesnar’s best match in his current WWE run was with CM Punk at SummerSlam 2013, a man who forced Lesnar to quicken his pace unlike Lesnar’s matches with Triple H and John Cena which were slow paced “Clash of the Titans” match ups. A classic contest would make both men look like a million bucks with Bryan reclaiming his championship and Lesnar most probably leaving for MMA. There is one other man who seems to stand in the way of this dream.

There’s one man who the powers that be seem to want to be the one to dethrone the Conqueror; Roman Reigns. I don’t want this article to turn into a Roman Reigns bashing piece, but the problems are two fold with Reigns winning the Rumble (aside from the fact that he’s simply not ready). The first problem is that the story is simply boring. There is no arc or flow between the two characters of Lesnar and Reigns. Their styles are too similar to the point that a match between the two would be as dull as dishwater. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, it would kill Reigns’s fan support. As much as Reigns seems to be liked by crowds, fans still love Bryan that much more. If he were to win the Rumble rather than Bryan and go on to defeat Lesnar, all the goodwill and support that the WWE has tried so hard to build for Reigns will be lost because of a bad booking decision.

Daniel Bryan may not be the man to lead the company for the long term. He has all the tools to do it, but he’s 33 years old with a lot of miles on his body. There is the possibility that Bryan gets injured again and we’re right back to where we started. The question that I ask though is this: Does Daniel Bryan deserve to stand victorious at WrestleMania 31 as World Champion? YES! YES! YES!