Daniel Bryan Being Added To Roman Reigns vs. Edge at WrestleMania Is a Smart Move

Fastlane 2021 concluded with a captivating 30-minute bout between defending champion Roman Reigns and challenger Daniel Bryan for the Universal Championship. Predicated on Bryan’s promise to make Reigns tap out and the latter’s bold declaration that he would rather die in the ring than tap out to the former four-time world champion, what followed was a half-hour of intense drama.

With the referee down and special enforcer Edge temporarily out of commission, Bryan made good on his promise to make Reigns tap out before the Men’s Royal Rumble winner attacked both men with a chair, frustrated by Bryan’s accidental chair shot moments prior.

As Edge stormed up the entrance ramp, Reigns capitalized by pinning Bryan shortly thereafter to retain the Universal Championship. WWE seems to be calling a 2014-esque audible for the SmackDown main event at WrestleMania 37.

Adding Daniel Bryan to Roman Reigns vs. Edge at WrestleMania is a move that makes sense.

Given the selection of world champions at the time of Edge’s Royal Rumble victory, the Hall of Famer was in a tricky spot. Then-champion Drew McIntyre had been the center of Monday Night Raw for the last year and Universal Champion and Roman Reigns is undoubtedly on the best run of his career. Pursuing the Universal Championship was the most likely route for Edge to take, with his decision formally being made at the Elimination Chamber. However, Reigns’ run as “The Tribal Chief” has been riveting to the point that the possibility of losing the Universal Title at WrestleMania—at least to Edge—began to feel too anticlimactic.

Edge’s Royal Rumble win created much emotion given it wasn’t too long ago that everyone thought he would never wrestle again, but given the fact that Edge is a well-established main eventer in his late 40s, many could—and did—argue at the time that spot could’ve gone to someone who would’ve seen greater benefit than an already-11 time World Champion.

Daniel Bryan is a well-established main eventer in his own right. Even with five world title reigns on his list of accomplishments, Bryan is one of the greatest underdogs in wrestling history. Having spent the last year working with younger talent and losing for the purposes of elevating talented yet under-appreciated stars such as Cesaro and Jey Uso, Bryan’s return to the Universal Championship picture has added intrigue on SmackDown up to this point as his path to WrestleMania wasn’t exactly set-in-stone from the get-go.

Given Reigns’ likely embarrassment at tapping out and Edge’s rage boiling over as Fastlane, making the Universal Championship match a Triple Threat is a welcome adjustment. Bryan has made clear in the past, and even in his recent promos, that his current run could very well be his last at least as a full-time wrestler. This made the possibility of his memorable championship win at WrestleMania XXX repeating itself too good to pass up.

Daniel Bryan has breathed life into a storyline that was beginning to lose steam and especially after his enthralling match with Roman Reigns. Now that he’s back in the mix, the plausible outcomes of the Universal Title Match at WrestleMania will create much more anticipation heading into Raymond James Stadium.