WWE SmackDown Grades: The Planet’s Champion Gains Five New Challengers

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1. Daniel Bryan Segment

The New Daniel Bryan has been on fire lately with some of the best heel work the WWE has seen in a while.  His initial heel turn was shocking enough coupled with a WWE Championship win, but what has taken place since then has developed his new character into something special.

The condescending, preachy, and holier than thou attitude of The New Daniel Bryan has given Bryan a great career resurgence, but his beliefs apparently affected Eric Rowan, who returned at the Royal Rumble to help Bryan retain his title against AJ Styles.  Last night saw Bryan and Rowan addressing that win and the WWE universe in general in what turned out to be a fantastic segment.

Bryan said he was a hypocrite because he has been carrying around a WWE Championship belt made courtesy of the death of a defenseless cow, who would later be named Daisy.  He then proceeded to throw that belt in the garbage and introduce a new, eco-friendly belt made out of hemp.  It was just madness in the best possible way, but The Phenomenal One had heard and seen enough.

Styles came out, followed by Randy Orton, Jeff Hardy, Mustafa Ali, and Samoa Joe, who all tried to stake their claim for a WWE Championship match.  A brawl between the five would break out with Bryan standing on the announce table on the outside watching it all and saying none of them deserved a title shot.  Triple H disagreed, however, and he announced that all five men would get a shot at the title inside the Elimination Chamber in under three weeks.

This was one of the most memorable segments on WWE TV in a while and it has taken The New Daniel Bryan to an even bigger level as a top heel.

Final Grade: A+