I know many will disagree, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts also, but I think WWE handled Daniel Bryan perfectly. I have two reasons, so let me explain.
First of all, Bryan was never going to win the Rumble. He knew it. We knew it. And, WWE knew it. Therefore, putting him in there would have just made him one of twenty-nine that got eliminated. Leaving him out got fans fired up and put DB over even more than he was before.
People need to realize that WWE doesn’t look at things like fans do. In the minds of fans, Daniel Bryan deserved a spot in the Royal Rumble. In the minds of WWE creative team members, the goal is to get the fans emotionally involved and excited for him, and that is exactly what they accomplished.
Secondly…. Even though we all know that WWE is semi-scripted and predetermined, we are supposed to suspend our disbelief and see it as real fighting. So, logically speaking, how is he supposed to wrestle a reasonably long and tedious match at the start of the PPV and then come back and be in the Rumble? That just doesn’t make sense.
DB fans, of which I happen to be one BTW, will argue that it wouldn’t be the first time someone had a match and then got in the Rumble. Cody Rhodes and Goldust did it this time. However, I don’t like the idea. I think it undersells the previous match that they are magically healthy and fully recovered a couple hours later to go back in and work the Rumble.
What are your thoughts? I look forward to hearing them.