badgenome said:
I don't follow wrestling anymore and haven't watched WWF (or E, whatever) in well over a decade, so I don't know much about the specifics of Daniel Bryan, but I don't agree with the analogy since neither Hogan nor Rock spent much time in the midcard.
Hogan was an instant star wherever he went, although he did come up during the tail end of the territory period, and it took him a few years to hit the big time of the WWF. He had a one year stint with the WWF in 1980, which ended when he a falling out with Vince, Sr. over making Rocky III, then went to Japan and the AWA for a time. When he came back to the WWF a few years later, it took him less than one month to beat Sheik for the title.
Rock was similarly picked to be a major star from the get go and won his first WWF title something like three years into his career, and that counts the year he spent cutting his teeth in the USWA. The problem they ran into with him was that they were trying to force him down everyone's throat as this clean cut babyface third generation wrestler at a time when the cool heel (mainly, the NWO) was a big thing, so the fans booed him. Once they turned him heel, it didn't take long for him to get over and from there they were able to successfully turn him back into a face.
Michaels doesn't really seem to fit this, either, nor does Austin, as once McMahon became keen on them they were quickly pushed and never really de-pushed. Both only ran into trouble because of health problems, and in Michaels' case, his drug use and emotional instability. The best example may be Bret Hart, who was always extremely popular and the best worker in the company but only got grudgingly pushed to the top when Vince truly had nowhere else to go before being quickly tossed aside for someone else at the first opportunity (Yokozuna, Nash, Michaels). It made him more compelling and human, as he seemed like the underdog even when he was on top, and that's probably the best thing they could hope to achieve with a guy like Bryan.
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Hulkamania didn't start until later. That was a significant amount of time because as you mentioned, territories. Still counts in this example since Bryan has only been solo for 6 months.
Rock was mid-card for a loooong time with the Nation of Domination, hanging around with the IC title in a feud with HHH, etc. He only got the push later on when he got involved with Austin and McMahon.
Michaels wasn't the super super star he became until DX came about, which was much later in his career.
Austin could never get that shot because the McMahon storyline kept forcing him to lose. Bryan is getting the exact same storyline right now with HHH causing him to lose over and over again.
