PWTorch.com - WWE NEWS: Daniel Bryan's Road to WM30 - former WWE writer writes about storyline pitch 3 years earlier that set up Bryan's journey, plus insight from Bryan on his mindset

WWE News
WWE NEWS: Daniel Bryan's Road to WM30 - former WWE writer writes about storyline pitch 3 years earlier that set up Bryan's journey, plus insight from Bryan on his mindset

May 25, 2015 - 2:34:00 PM

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By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

One of the defining points in Daniel Bryan's career was the second-half of 2011 when Bryan won the MITB briefcase, but seemingly had no prospects.

The belief was Bryan would be the first wrestler to unsuccessfully cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase, which Bryan acknowledged in his new book due out in July. However, Bryan seemed to be saved by an association with A.J. Lee.

Former WWE writer Kevin Eck wrote in a new blog that his storyline pitch to have Bryan pair up with A.J. Lee seemed to give Bryan the boost he needed in the eyes of management. Eck revealed that Bryan was not interested, though.

"Other people on the team seemed to like the relationship idea, and I approached Bryan and A.J. at TV one day to discuss it with them. A.J. loved it, but Bryan's reaction surprised me. He politely but firmly said he'd rather not be in a storyline with a Diva since he had done one about a year earlier with the Bellas and Gail Kim and he felt it did nothing for his career," Eck wrote.

"Despite Bryan's misgivings, we proceeded with the angle. It certainly wasn't a major storyline, but Bryan and A.J. did sort-of become a couple that fall."

Bryan then cashed in to win the WWE World Title when Mark Henry was injured. "Bryan was a babyface at the time, but McMahon's vision was that success would go to Bryan's head and he would gradually turn heel. I suggested that one of the ways we could tell that story was by Bryan mistreating the love-struck A.J. and caring only about himself and the title. And off we went," Eck wrote.

Interestingly, Bryan does not mention pairing with A.J. in his book. Perhaps because he was against the idea, according to Eck, Bryan did not reference A.J. in the book, even when recapping how his World Title run ended at WrestleMania 28 when he kissed A.J., turned around, took a Brogue Kick from Sheamus, and lost the belt in 18 seconds.

Also in his book, Bryan provided context on why he was against the idea of being paired with another Diva, even if he does not mention A.J. by name, and how he was frustrated by his TV positioning at the time.

Referencing his TV program with the Bellas, Bryan wrote: "In this case, they were actually in competition with each other to see who could sleep with me first because they both thought I was a virgin (not a vegan). I was an oblivious geek who was befuddled by any woman's interest in me. That was the story... This horrible premise is how Bri and I came to be together."

Later, Bryan wrote about not being used on TV after winning MITB: "Everything with Brie was going great, but wrestling - not so much. After I won Money in the Bank, it seemed like I was going to get a bit more TV time, and at first I did... I thought wrong. I started being used less and less on Smackdown (after being drafted to the show).

"I felt very discouraged, and Cody Rhodes, who remembers my state at the time, refers to this period as a time when I was 'Depressed Dan.' The only thing that would bring me happiness was having a good match... Plus, WWE didn't seem to have any idea about what they were going to do with the whole MITB situation on Smackdown. Then, shortly before TLC on December 18, Mark (Henry) got hurt."

Bryan recapped McMahon telling him the plan for Bryan to cash in MITB on Big Show after Show beat Henry, which led to Bryan doing the "Yes!" chants that turned him heel in the eyes of the fans. And, the "Yes!" chants eventually turned him babyface two years later to help set up the Road to WrestleMania 30 that Bryan's book is centered on.

"Bryan eventually went on to headline WrestleMania in 2014 and A.J. is regarded as one of the greatest Divas of all time," Eck wrote in his blog. "Again, I can't take any credit for that, but I am incredibly proud of the fact that I was able to play a role in at least getting the ball rolling."

[ LINK: Eck's Full Blog HERE. Bryan's book is available for pre-order HERE on Amazon.com ]

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

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