Dave Meltzer indicated in the latest issue of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE could be pulling the trigger on a heel turn for Daniel Bryan.
As seen on Smackdown Live this past week, Daniel Bryan put AJ Styles in a handicap match against Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens with the WWE Championship Title on the line at the upcoming Royal Rumble event. This came off in a heelish manner and it’s normally something a heel authority figure would do instead of a babyface.
Meltzer believes that the company could be trying to minimize the amount of WWE fans that could potentially watch Bryan on the indie scene or another promotion by turning him. Basically, they are trying to hurt his mainstream appeal and value by having him exit the company as a heel, which probably won’t work very well if Bryan does in fact leave WWE.