Daniel Bryan Heel Turn
January 26, 2012
By Nigel Doughty
Everyone in the wrestling world knows that Daniel Bryan is World Champion, and everyone has seen the slight hints that Bryan may be turning heel, but is this a good thing?
Many fans were ecstatic when Daniel Bryan won MITB, and even more so when he cashed it in to become World Heavyweight Champion, especially since many people believed he would be the first person to not successfully cash MITB in.
Now it seems that people see him as an underdog champion who is never expected to win. WWE have pounced on this, and used it to develop Bryan’s character. Over the past few weeks Bryan has shown little hints that he is sick of being told that he cannot win.
To develop this even further, WWE have had the sense to put him up against the Big Show and Mark Henry in recent weeks. This makes it seem even less likely that Bryan will retain his title, but so far so good. By hook or by crook, Bryan is still World Heavyweight Champion.
The heel character is being developed nicely too. First, the character changes were subtle – over celebrating every week and sly digs at other people – in particular Big Show having the shortest title reign. As each week goes by, more fans are realising what is happening and have already turned on Bryan.
If WWE do this right, Bryan could even use the fans turning on him as the reason he has changed his attitude. The development of this side of Bryan’s character has been superbly handled, and hopefully they will not mess it up.
Does Bryan have what it takes to be a heel? In the WWE there are plenty of monster heels and cocky heels, and even the ‘cowardly’ heels tend to be relatively big and strong. Bryan has the opportunity to develop a character that will stand out on its own – the geek heel.
Whether this heel turn is a good or a bad thing remains to be seen, but it is certainly interesting to watch.