The echoes of "Yes!" reverberated through the stadium as Daniel Bryan asked the crowd if they wanted him back for Royal Rumble. The former World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE, heavyweight champion of the world just shocked the wrestling world with his announcement on Dec. 29 that he is set to return and be a part of the 30-man pool for the annual pay-per-view event on Jan. 25.

With Bryan's name on the fold and a massive legion of fans loving an underdog story, the WWE is contemplating the initially best laid plans it designed for the first big event of 2015. After all, the company is also getting back a similar fan favourite in Roman Reigns, who has the best odds of winning it all and grabbing a chance to snag the world heavyweight title from Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 31. Now, the WWE is reportedly torn between which "baby face" to flank against Lesnar, who is all but decided to return to the mixed martial arts scene.

Reigns was originally planned as the next big thing in wrestling due to his blood relations to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and his "it factor" that can carry the brand. However, an unfortunate hernia injury displaced the young talent before Night of Champions, and the WWE had to make do with overusing Cena for most of its pay-per-view events for the rest of the year; ditto with Bryan who was stripped of his title in June after he was prohibited from contact activities due to his neck injury that required surgery. With both athletes ready and healthy, Vince McMahon and his cohorts have a lot on their plate.

The effects of Bryan's return is affirmed by Daily Wrestling News, which says that the comeback of the underdog is a breath of relief to the ailing WWE that has suffered a ratings drop despite offering for free its WWE Network in November. The appearance alone of Bryan at the tail-end of December gave credence to how much following he has on the show, but the wrestling outfit is also keen on keeping its other loyal talents happy. It still has Randy Orton, Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt, Dolph Ziggler, Seth Rollins and John Cena as other alternatives for the top plum, which makes it all the more consuming on who will be the last man standing at the Wells Fargo Centre in Philadelphia.

Still, if the company chooses to ride out the wave of Bryan's return—as some believe—it will see him headline Wrestlemania 31 for a second time and bank on his precious neck to carry the title for a lengthy period given how much Lesnar has been off the spotlight for much of his almost 10-month reign at the top. Still, this is a great problem to face rather than to be forced to give the people another Cena–Lesnar match that has long been outgrown by the legions of WWE fanatics.

Watch Bryan's announcement of his return at RAW:

(Credit: Youtube/WWE)

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