Will Daniel Bryan Headline This Year’s WWE Hall Of Fame Class?


When Daniel Bryan retired from professional wrestling last February, many thought that he’d be the best candidate to headline the 2016 WWE Hall of Fame. But, WWE ultimately decided to have Sting be the closer at their annual ceremony, and they held off on inducting Bryan.

There’s a ton of speculation surrounding this year’s Hall of Fame ceremony and who will be the headliner. Some are suggesting that WWE should have The Rock close the show, since the event is taking place in his home state of Florida. Other big names that have been suggested include The Undertaker and Kurt Angle, provided he can come to an agreement to return to the company. But, WWE may have revealed who the show’s headliner will be in a recent YouTube video.

In a video called “7 things we want to see in 2017” which was posted on WWE’s official YouTube page, Daniel Bryan’s name was brought up as the headliner for this year’s Hall of Fame. Is it possible? Sure. Aside from The Rock, The Undertaker, and possibly Kurt Angle, he’s the biggest name that they can put in the Hall of Fame, and the three aforementioned names may not be ready to be inducted just yet.

[Image by WWE]

One name that’s already pretty much guaranteed to be included in this year’s WWE Hall of Fame is Shaquille O’Neal, who is currently scheduled to wrestle Big Show at WrestleMania 33. A Shaq induction makes a ton of sense because WWE likes to induct a celebrity each year, and the ceremony is taking place in Orlando, Florida, which is where the ex-NBA star played the first couple of years of his pro basketball career.

Another name that’s floating around is Chyna, who passed away last April. Of course, the former Women’s and Intercontinental Champion was blacklisted by WWE before she passed, but since her passing, they’ve been more open to the idea of inducting her. Typically, WWE inducts one deceased wrestler every year, so we could finally see the Ninth Wonder of the World get inducted into the Hall of Fame on April 1.

While Chyna is a huge name, WWE clearly doesn’t want to close their annual ceremony by inducting a deceased wrestler. Take the 2015 Hall of Fame ceremony for example, where Kevin Nash and Randy Savage were inducted. Of the two, Savage is a way bigger name, but they decided to have Nash close the show because they didn’t want to end the ceremony by inducting a wrestler who’s deceased.

[Image by WWE]

When you look at all the potential candidates to headline this year’s Hall of Fame, there’s really only one guy who can, and that’s Daniel Bryan. Of course, they could hold off on inducting him until next year, when WrestleMania heads to New Orleans, Louisiana, which is where Bryan had what was probably the best night of his career at WrestleMania 30.

The big question is, who will induct Bryan if he goes in? Well, there are four people who could: Shawn Michaels, Kane, Brie Bella, and William Regal. Of the four, Shawn Michaels is, by far, the biggest name, so WWE may decide to go with him, unless Bryan requests for someone else to do it.

Typically when a WWE legend gets inducted into the Hall of Fame, it’s typically not someone who is a regular character on television. Right now, Bryan is a weekly character, as he’s the general manager of SmackDown. But, he isn’t an active wrestler, and it doesn’t look like he ever will be again.

As previously mentioned, there are really only a few big names who could be the headliner at this year’s Hall of Fame, and of those big names, Daniel Bryan is the one who is most likely going to close the show.

[Featured Image by WWE]

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