WWE rumors are now making the rounds that Brock Lesnar gave John Cena the beating at SummerSlam that was intended for Daniel Bryan.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter , the injury Bryan suffered after his victory at WrestleMania 30 is the only thing that saved him from getting buried by WWE Creative a few months later.
Essentially, this means that WWE never had any plans to use Daniel Bryan as the future face of the company, but instead as a transitional champion who would keep the belt warm for Roman Reigns, who is still expected to face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31 .
While you hear a lot of WWE rumors that don’t turn out to be true, this one has some legs to it in that Vince McMahon and Company have never felt great about giving the spotlight to little guys. Also, Meltzer’s tips are usually pretty solid.
So, any Daniel Bryan fans hoping for a triumphant return can probably keep wishing. Even if he does return from Tommy John surgery in just three months, his WrestleMania 31 outlook is improbable.
Bryan will likely find his way back to the mid-card.
Now, if this new information is true, the beating that John Cena took at SummerSlam just furthers the case we’ve made in the past that Cena is the most loyal WWE Superstar (and pro wrestling talent) to ever step in the ring.
The Cena match at SummerSlam was humiliating for his character to endure, especially considering that he’d beaten Brock Lesnar in the past.
While physically, a Lesnar beat-down of Daniel Bryan is more believable, the crowd has been so far behind Bryan in the last year, that disrespecting his character in this way, would indicate an active willingness to beat back the organic following he has received from WWE audiences.
With that in mind, it appears that WWE Creative is not ready to go in the way that fans would have them go.
That means you can expect Roman Reigns to take the belt from Lesnar at WrestleMania 31 as the IWC has repeatedly predicted, even though Reigns is clearly losing fan support after his lackluster showing at SummerSlam .
Personally, it’s hard to see the value in caring when you already know how it will go down eight months in advance. But what do you guys think — do these latest WWE rumors concerning Daniel Bryan mean his character is doomed to the mid-card whenever he returns? Sound off in our comments section.