Smark Out Moment

Welcome to the fifth installment of BELT OR BURY, wherein you must choose between two different options for a particular wrestler in question: a) should they be given a push to a higher spot on the card and a championship or b) should they become a jobber or possibly even released? Factoring in that wrestler's past as well as their potential future, do they have anything left to offer but aren't being utilized well enough, or should they step out of the limelight and be pushed aside in favor of others?



HISTORY & CURRENT STATUS: The inspiration for Daniel Bryan being the latest featured person on this segment is his current status as Intercontinental champion. In 2013, Bryan defeated John Cena to win the WWE Championship, but was cashed-in on by Randy Orton immediately following the match, dropping the title. Months later, the WWE Universe supported Bryan so fervently that the original plans of Batista vs. Randy Orton for the title at WrestleMania needed to be amended to include Bryan. By the end of the big show, the leader of The Yes Movement was standing tall with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in his possession.

However, soon after, Bryan would be forced to relinquish the championship and spend a good portion of 2014 on the inactive roster. When he made his return, there was a bit of doubt that he would be 100% and that WWE could trust him enough to put the title back on him. Despite this, he won the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania.

Lightning struck twice, unfortunately. Once again, Bryan has a championship that he's unable to defend going into the summer months. Should WWE keep the title on him and trust that he can come back and be useful enough or should they just cut their losses and strip him of it? For that matter, what do you do in the future?

BELT OR BURY = BURY. Look...I'm a fan of Daniel Bryan. It took a long while for me to get to that point, as I used to be against the guy and I felt that he was overrated, but he won me over eventually. That's why it pains me to say that WWE is better off acting as if he isn't there and moving on without him. The Intercontinental Championship shouldn't sit on the shelves for a long while and there's no point in waiting for Bryan's recovery just to have him drop the belt quickly after. If he's going to come back with the title, he needs to come back 100% for sure this time and make up for the months off. Since I don't have much of a reason to believe that will happen, WWE should strip him of the title and when he comes back...if he comes back, that is...play it safe. There's no need for Bryan to be given a third championship that he's unable to defend. Whenever he's back on the roster, he can certainly wrestle as a challenger for different titles, but he shouldn't be trusted to carry the responsibility of being the champion. Bryan as champion is money, but only if he's on the show. Sitting at home with a title does nothing but hurt that championship and in the long run, titles outlive wrestlers. Bryan is a main eventer for good and his career can survive spending some time without a belt around his waist. What the Intercontinental Championship (or any belt, for that matter) can't survive is too many periods of inactivity that devalue it too much.