Twilling's Blog: Will WWE strike while the iron is hot with Bryan Danielson?

By Rich Twilling

Wednesday, MAY 19 - 4:12 P.M. (CT)

-Last week, Daniel Bryan was eliminated from the WWE NXT show. He then cut a promo backstage and as he soon as he mentioned the name Bryan Danielson, it was as if he flipped a switch and instantly became the same guy that was regarded by many as one of the best wrestlers in the world.

On Tuesday night, Danielson cut a promo in the middle of the ring largely directed at the six WWE pros sitting at the top of the stage and to those "in the know." He said WWE likes to push their own wrestlers and Vince McMahon loves big guys. He also said the pros all know just how good he is.

As we know, comments like these are rarely allowed to be said in live WWE promos. I compared this promo to one given by former announcer Joey Styles on Raw a few years back. In that promo, Styles, like Danielson, made a lot of valid points and in a case of positive irony, provided his own "Oh my God!" moments.

Danielson then turned his attention to lead announcer Michael Cole. Cole's heel persona on the NXT show originated with his disdain for Danielson. Every week, he made snide comments about Danielson being great on the independent scene, but that he really had accomplished nothing since he did not excel on the big stage.

Just like last week, Danielson flipped the switch and went from "decent promo guy" to "pissed off wrestler delivering a damn good promo." He approached Cole and literally pushed him repeatedly while referring to him as "a poor man's JR (Jim Ross)." He attacked Cole and even though he didn't completely kick his ass, he definitely made his point.

So, what does WWE do now with Danielson? Is Cole the cheesy babyface announcer we hear on Monday Night Raw or he is the slightly more cocky version of himself we get on NXT? Is Danielson a heel for attacking Cole, or is he a hero for beating up the announcer who is not Jim Ross?

Anyone who saw Danielson in Ring of Honor knows he can play the sympathetic babyface, but they also know he can be a damn good heel. I would love to see him as a heel but he has an obvious feud built in with The Miz. Regardless, I want WWE to act on this as soon as possible.

If it were me, I would let Miz and Chris Jericho remain a tag team for the time being and keep Danielson away from his former NXT mentor. Then, I would love to see Danielson have a 'tweener' like character where he just outwrestles all of his opponents. On top of that, why not put the United States Championship on him?

From there, the storylines could write themselves. Danielson could be a loner type character that leans toward the heel side, similar to how Randy Orton leans toward the babyface side. Eventually, his path will cross the path of Miz and if a feud makes sense, they can go down that road at that time.

Nevertheless, while Danielson is not the traditional star WWE has produced and the star he was referring to in his promo, he is a star and WWE has something special in him on their roster. Let's hope they allow him to utilize his strengths and allow his talent to dictate just how high he is pushed on the WWE totem pole.