This is it. The preamble, the rising action, the beginning of the end to one of one of the most organic, long-form stories in the modern history of professional wrestling. On Sunday, April 6, in the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, Daniel Bryan will battle Triple H at WrestleMania XXX for the right to fight for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of that very same pay-per-view.
One could argue that this journey truly began back at WrestleMania XXVIII. There, the reigning World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan lost his title to Sheamus in a measly 18 seconds. The WWE brass ashamedly expected the Irishman to receive a hero’s ovation. Instead, the crowd at the Sun Life Stadium revolted, hijacking the show with “Yes!” chants almost two years before #hijackraw would become a thing.
Fast forward to summer 2013, through Bryan’s feud with CM Punk and his run as part of the unexpectedly hilarious Team Hell No. Monday Night Raw is emanating from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, and John Cena is about to handpick his opponent for the main event at Summerslam. He chooses Daniel Bryan, and the crowd once again erupts in raucous chants of “Yes! Yes! Yes!” This is the beginning of the Daniel Bryan versus The Authority story as we know it.
Bryan would win the title on that August night, and as the crowd once again broke out the chant synonymous with their newly crowned champion, Bryan’s fate turned a sharp 180 degrees. In a scene that would become all too familiar over the ensuing months, special guest referee Triple H pedigreed the celebrating Bryan and counted the pinfall as Money in the Bank holder Randy Orton slithered away with Bryan’s championship.
Bryan would spend the next months chasing Orton, always just falling short against increasingly impossible odds. After a short trip off the beaten path with the Wyatt Family, the feud reignited at the Royal Rumble. Returning star Batista won the eponymous match, and almost passed out from exhaustion during it. Once again, the fans revolted in support of the grappler out of Aberdeen, Washington.
Over the next two months, Bryan battled the Authority at every turn. Seeing him beaten down as the screen faded to black became a near weekly-ritual. However, the leader of the “Yes Movement” still had at least one truly iconic moment up his sleeves. After having his challenge for a WrestleMania match repeatedly dismissed by the COO, Bryan filled the entire ringside area with fans clad in his t-shirt. The mob occupied Raw, and Bryan refused to disperse them until his demands were met. An infuriated Triple H granted Bryan his desired match, with the stipulation that if he won he would be inserted into the title match.
And here we are, on the precipice of one of the most unlikely, but also most deserved journeys in the history of professional wrestling. More important than anything listed above, is that all of this happened because of the fans. The support they’ve shown in spite of the WWE’s constant attempts to steer them in other directions is truly unlike anything we’ve ever seen.
The actual bell-to-bell action of the match is almost irrelevant, as it is almost guaranteed that both men will still wind up in the main event (I would personally love to see a recreating of the aforementioned Bryan/Sheamus match).
What matters is that we are here. What matters is that WrestleMania XXX will be focused on Daniel Bryan. What matters is that fans do make a difference. What matters is, when WreslteMania XXX ends with Daniel Bryan hoisting the titles above his head, will this all have been worth it?
The answer: a resounding “YES! YES! YES!”
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