WWE: Is Daniel Bryan Becoming What Fans Hate About John Cena?

Daniel Bryan, if one looks at the state of the WWE product, is unquestionably the most “over” superstar on the roster. Fans wanted to see him win the Royal Rumble and face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31, but after his early elimination, it wasn’t meant to be.

Or it wouldn’t have been had there not been a huge backlash over awarding the victory to company favorite Roman Reigns. Now Bryan finds himself in the main event at Fast Lane. If he beats Reigns one-on-one, then he gets a shot at Lesnar.

The Wrestling Observer‘s Dave Meltzer, however, has indicated there will be a no contest, facilitating the triple threat match with Reigns, Lesnar, and Bryan at the company’s flagship event on March 29.

Is this what Daniel Bryan fans really want? And with the way Bryan has been booked over the last year, is he turning into the new John Cena? A guy who can face any odds and suddenly turn into Superman at the right moment?

Bryan no-selling the beating he took at WrestleMania 30 en route to the title is one example that such critics give of another “Super Cena.”

If he should prevail at Fast Lane and then at Mania, or at just Mania in a matchup against two much bigger opponents, some fans have expressed a fear he will become “Super Cena 2.0,” only this time it will be at the fans’ doing instead of Vince McMahon’s.

This fear may seem rational on the surface, but it doesn’t appear to speak to the heart of what fans really didn’t like about the Reigns Rumble victory.

If that’s what WWE thinks, then it’s taking the wrong message.

Here’s how one /r/squaredcircle commenter put it that seems to sum the fear of a Cena 2.0 up nicely.

“Daniel Bryan can lose cleanly and no one minds too much as long as the match is great (see RR 2014 Vs Bray). What we want is quality, and Bryan is the closest we’ve gotten to having a superb wrestler with crossover appeal and real likability as The Guy.

The reason his wins and losses have become so important lately is because of what they signify. Roman winning over him signifies that WWE has learnt nothing and are going to push ahead with another superman, so we latch onto Bryan all the harder. Batista last year was a HHH buddy who just waltzed back in and cost the infinitely more deserving Bryan and us the rightful end to the story they presented, with no rhyme or reason, so we latched on to Bryan more.”

But what do you think, readers? Are fans pressuring WWE into creating an over-the-top Cena clone in Daniel Bryan should he once again find himself the champion at WrestleMania 31? Sound off in our comments section.