Man, do I miss Daniel Bryan. The former WWE World Heavyweight Champion (can we shorten this at some point, PLEASE?) is apparently done as an active wrestler, according to Bret Hart. Bryan himself has said that he will be able to get in the ring eventually, once he gets enough okays from enough doctors. But he's come back from injury before, only to be quickly shelved again. Nobody wants Bryan to suffer further injury, especially to a critical area like his neck. But we don't want him to be relegated to a role as extra on Total Divas, either. So, what to do with Daniel Bryan?
He still have a lot of positives to bring to the WWE. Crowds still love him. He has a certain charm on camera, and an oddball goofiness at times, as evidenced by his Table for 3 and Tough Enough appearances. He's not huge, but fans remember his technical prowess, toughness, and intensity. Lastly, he has underdog qualities that are easy to root for.
For me, those qualities add up to a brilliant future as a manager. Bobby Heenan spent much of his career finding and training monsters to face Hulk Hogan. Guys like Andre the Giant, Big John Studd, King Kong Bundy, Hercules and the Barbarian. Heenan wasn't muscle. He was a master planner and motivator, driven as much by a desire to beat Hulk Hogan as to make his client successful.
Heenan was also an amazing entertainer. He once had a fight with a phone. Heenan also had a recurring show on WWE's Prime Time Wrestling, His speaking ability and quick wit, (as well as neck injuries...) eventually lead Vince McMahon to move him into a commentator role, where he and Gorilla Monsoon became one of the classic announce teams.
Many people don't realize that Heenan wrestled often early in his career. One of his first major neck injuries occurred in a match in Japan for All-Japan Pro Wrestling. He's not the only wrestler to move into managing; J.J. Dillon was a successful wrestler who held several titles before becoming the manager of the Four Horsemen. Daniel Bryan could make the same transition.
Heenan and Dillan both managed heels, but a manager doesn't have to work solely for the bad guys. In fact, Bryan's crowd reaction would be a huge help in putting over young faces. Remember how over Bryan and Kane were? Crowds enjoy cheering Bryan, and some of that will rub off on his clients. Imagine Bryan giving a motivational speech to a despondent Adam Rose, with the crowd chanting 'YES! YES! YES!' to each point. He could even make a good story out of a Bella split, convincing Brie that she deserves a shot at Nikki's title. Not that I'm rooting for more Bella screen time. The point is, he could help put wrestlers over, and tip the scales so that fans believe a young underdog would have a chance.
Here are a few other clients he might consider.
Jack Swagger - he was almost over as a face by accident with his 'We The People' bit. A trainer would fit him better than a politician, though.
Cesaro - Clearly the WWE feels he needs SOMEthing. Maybe this could be it. They've worked together before, so they'd probably have some chemistry.
Natalya- you've got a Total Divas angle, and he can empathize with a skilled wrestler having a hard time getting into the spotlight.
Ryback - Please don't make us listen to Ryback talk. He can say "Feed Me More", and leave the rest to Bryan.
Roman Reigns - Ditto. Instead of giving him 10 minutes of mic time on Mondays, give Daniel Bryan time to cut a Heyman-style promo FOR him, while Reigns looks dangerous in the background. A few months on screen with Bryan would do wonders to make fans remember how much they used to LOVE it when Reigns came out and beat people up. You know, when he was the muscle of The Shield.
The Wyatt family - The mid-card monsters are stuck in a rut. Bryan could be just the thing to push them to a more serious, more dangerous level.
Any upcoming NXT superstar - Bryan + Neville? CHAMPIONSHIP. Bryan + Blake and Murphy? CHAMPIONSHIP. Bryan + Sasha Banks = YES + We Want SASHA.
Bryan could still take the occasional bump, could become a white-hot heel manager if he wanted, and would be a credible, entertaining motivator for any Superstar.
