Wrestlemania 30 News and Card: Why WWE Should Put Daniel Bryan With Batista, Randy Orton in Main Event (Video)

The main event of the 30th anniversary of Wrestlemania looks like it’s set for April 6 at the Mercedez-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Randy Orton facing Batista for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship…and it seems that only the WWE is happy with it.

The fans? Not so much.

Dave Bautista, or Batista, as he’s known in wrestling circles, made his triumphant return in January at the Royal Rumble, beating out 29 others for a shot at headlining Wrestlemania for the world title. It was supposed to be a grand and glorious return for one of the biggest stars of the last 10 years in the sports entertainment scene.

The problem is, apparently, someone forgot to tell the fans that they were supposed to be supporting Batista, not booing him. Because that’s all they’ve been doing since—booing Batista, loud and with venomous vigor.

As the fans Monday night in a raucous Raw episode in Chicago made themselves heard—where they chanted all night for their hometown hero CM Punk, who did not appear despite previous reports indicating he would—they are not fans of Batista, or the idea of “The Animal” headlining Wrestlemania against Orton.

The reason behind this vitriol from the fans is quite simple. There is a large contingent of fans that believe--perhaps rightfully so--that Batista, who left the company in 2010 seemingly in bad standing, does not deserve to be in the main event of the biggest PPV in the industry right off the bat from his comeback. That honor, many believe, should go to others who have spent the entire year working in WWE and building the storylines towards the PPV. One superstar, in particular, comes to mind when it comes to a more deserving candidate to headline Wrestlemania.

For months, one word, one chant has been dominating WWE airwaves, and even places outside of WWE. That one word? You guessed it—“Yes.”

Or more specifically… “YES!”

“YES!”

“YES!”

(Admit it, you’re chanting along.)

That one-word catchphrase belongs to Daniel Bryan, arguably one of the best mat technicians to have come along since Dean Malenko and Chris Benoit were tearing down the house in WCW. He doesn’t have the typical look of a WWE poster boy or champion, with the woolly beard and the small frame of 5’ 10”, 210 pounds, but he has mat skills, and more importantly, he has the crowd eating out of his hand. Week after week, Bryan has gotten the loudest ovations of any wrestler in the industry today. He has waves of people pointing their fingers to the sky and shouting “YES!” in a crowd chant that has gotten over like no other since Stone Cold Steve Austin’s “WHAT?” chants became a staple for WWE crowds in 2001.

Want proof? Just look at this video:

Want more proof? How about this one?

Still not convinced? Try this one:

There’s no denying it: Daniel Bryan is over.

But apparently, not over enough to headline the showcase of the immortals.

At the moment, Bryan is being slated to fight storyline WWE CEO Triple H in New Orleans. But is that really the best that Daniel Bryan deserves? While Triple H is a legendary performer in his own right, and the two of them can go on to have a sensational match at WrestleMania—one where Daniel Bryan most likely will catapult into another big push—the fact is that this does nothing to solve the problem of the potential train wreck that is the Batista-Orton main event.

It’s very unconventional for a heel vs. heel match-up to happen in any PPV, but to do it at the biggest one of the year? And top it off, to put two men against each other that the company's very large and vocal fanbase have come to revile over the last few weeks? Putting Orton and Batista against each other in front of the wrestling-savvy Wrestlemania crowd that makes their way to New Orleans will be like throwing a hamburger to starving piranhas: they’re going to be chewed up, bones and all, without regret.

So, instead of trying to force-feed the fans a Wrestlemania event that many do not want to see and have no emotional interest in, why not try and sweeten this main event a little by putting Daniel Bryan in the main event as part of a triple threat match? It would solve several problems in one stroke.

It would allow a huge chunk of the fans, who have been growing more and more restless and frustrated by the week, to feel that their voices are being heard—which is something the company needs on their side as they hope for a big number of fans signing up for their shiny new WWE Network. It also gives a legitimate stamp of approval on Bryan’s growing “YES Movement,” this massive outpouring of cheers and support that has grown around the world for the Aberdeen, Wash., native, and sends a clear signal to fans both mainstream and hardcore that Daniel Bryan is a star that will be treated seriously. Perhaps most importantly, it saves the company from being embarrassed by putting on a WrestleMania main event match that will likely not be very entertaining—given the age and mat skills limitations of the 46-year-old Batista—and will be very poorly received by the fans, viewers and any of those precious “casual fans” that WWE owner Vince McMahon seems to covet so much.

There isn’t much time before April 6, by which it will be too late, but there is still time for the WWE to somehow salvage their closing match on their crown jewel PPV. All they need to do is listen to the people, ride the wave, and “Respect the Beard.”