By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart says he thinks Roman Reigns is ready for the top spot in WWE, but he does not think the audience is ready, which is why he believes Daniel Bryan should have been in the WrestleMania 31 main event opposite Brock Lesnar.

"I think he is a really great talent and has a lot of potential," Hart said of Roman Reigns during an interview on Live Audio Wrestling. "I can see why they want to push him but I really think the hearts and minds of the wrestling fans are with Daniel Bryan. His workrate in the ring and what he gives through the match just means so much more to the wrestling fans than anything else."

Hart echoed what many people believe is WWE missing out on a better story of Bryan's road to redemption making it back to the Mania main event spot.

"I think Daniel Bryan was a great champion and had his run was cut short and I think fans wanted to see him get that moment that he deserves. Even though he won the title and WrestleMania last year was such a big thing for him, the fans want to see him get his proper chance and I think the WWE put a line through that and I think that's probably a mistake," Hart said.

Bryan offered his own perspective to The Advertiser newspaper in Adelaide, Australia promoting Mania: "For a year, I had this vision of me wrestling Brock Lesnar in the main event for the WWE Championship.

Bryan continued with a sales pitch for the Intercontinental Title ladder match: "Sometimes, when you don’t get what you want, you end up getting something better - like this ladder match. I think with the guys we have in that match and the excitement we can generate, we have a real chance of stealing the show."

Bryan, sounding like he recognizes he will not be the top guy for WWE, followed up on his recent sales pitch to be the center star on Smackdown by saying the IC Title could be the centerpiece title on the Thursday show.

"One of the things that frustrates me - both as a performer and as a person who thinks the current crop of Superstars is really, really good - is the way people don’t get opportunities. It's well known that the people who are perceived to be 'the bigger Superstars' don’t show up often on SmackDown, they mostly feature on on Raw," Bryan said. “One of the things I’d like to do, as a kind of near-main event guy, is to do things that provide opportunities for guys to really stand out (with the IC Title)."

At the end of the day, Bryan says if he's not going to be a top star for WWE, then he at least wants to have a positive impact on the audience, such as Connor the Crusher, and be creatively fulfilled.

"The real answer as to who I’m performing for is I’m performing for myself - I’m doing something that makes me happy," Bryan said. "That’s the honest answer to the question: within the spectrum I’m given to do something, I want to do something that I enjoy and that I would enjoy watching."

[ LINKS: Hart's Interview on LAW HERE & Bryan's interview with journalist Sean Fewster in Australia HERE ]

[Torch art credit Travis Beaven (c) PWTorch.com]

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