WWE Week in Review: Who Received B/R's Top Awards for Week of Feb. 12

Jonathan Bachman/Associated Press

Watching Daniel Bryan say goodbye hurt, but the former WWE champion made sure to provide one more lasting image as he stepped away from the ring.

His speech to confirm his exit from wrestling was the most emotionally charged moment on WWE programming in a long time. He stood on the mat in his home state, chants thundering around, and closed his eyes. He looked as if he wanted to breathe in the love fans had for him.

Elsewhere, Alexa Bliss, Dolph Ziggler and Chris Jericho stirred up interest in their own journeys.

Bryan's announcement dominated the news cycle, but those stars each made an impact of their own. Bliss beating up Cameron and Jericho ordering around WWE employees showed off how varied wrestling can be in how it entertains.

Those wrestlers, along with Bryan, walked away with the latest B/R weekly WWE awards.

Alexa Bliss looks more like a future champion each week.

While battling Cameron on Wednesday's NXT, Bliss displayed her growing mastery of the art of being a heel. She taunted and sneered at her foe. At one point, Bliss held Cameron up by her hair and yelled, "Who do you think you are?"

Every bit of it was convincing.

And despite her being in the business for just a short time, she played ring general. It was clear that Bliss controlled the flow of the bout. The result was a better match than anyone would have expected with Cameron involved.

Bliss continues to make the most of her time on stage, forcing the audience to take notice.

Just when Dolph Ziggler's act was growing stale, he showed a flash of imminent change.

He defeated Kevin Owens on Monday's Raw by putting his foot on the ropes for illegal leverage. It was a small act, but one that points to a big potential shift in Ziggler's character.

Was this just desperation? Was it a precursor to a heel turn? Is The Showoff going to start taking an Eddie Guerrero-like approach to being a babyface?

Whatever the answer is, there is more intrigue surrounding Ziggler now than there has been of late.

Ziggler could use a gimmick adjustment after playing the never-say-die hero for so long. And now with promise of that on the way, it's easier to get invested in his next battle, even if it's another clash with Owens.

Not every bout has to be built around bad blood.

Bayley and Carmella expertly told a story of two friends engaging in respectful competition, with both women's eyes on the NXT Women's Championship. This unusual dynamic made for a refreshingly different match.

Champion and challenger went after each other hard, but seemed concerned along the way. Carmella nailed Bayley with a flying crossbody and checked on her afterward, for example.

Wrestling Inc. tweeted ^[7], "That was a really fun match. Easily Carmella's best. Good for both of them. You could tell it meant a lot to them."

That's a spot-on take. Bayley delivered once more. Carmella reached her career peak to date.

On top of the quality action before the final bell, post-match chaos left fans wanting to see what's next. Eva Marie and Nia Jax attacked Bayley and Carmella, only to have Asuka chase them away. Asuka then grinned at Bayley, stroking her championship belt.

And now the NXT writing team has a number of routes to take, from Carmella feuding with Jax and Marie, to Asuka going after Bayley's belt.

WWE leaned heavily on a 45-year-old Chris Jericho, and he made the company look smart. Y2J was one of the more entertaining elements of both Raw and SmackDown, both in and out of the ring.

On Monday night, he invaded Miz TV, transforming it into a Highlight Reel segment instead.

This was the funniest he's been since his return. Jericho looked to be having fun as he mocked The Miz and riled up the crowd. And as he would on SmackDown a few nights later, he showed a glimpse of his darker side.

When he talked about AJ Styles, his smile went away and the cold, measured voice he employed during his 2008 heel run emerged. This version of Jericho is miles better than the one using juvenile lines like "rooty tooty booty."

Jericho and Styles teamed up against The Social Outcasts on SmackDown. The highlight of the bout was the two rivals trying to one-up each other as they beat on Curtis Axel. Daily DDT's Evan Gomes ^[10] wrote of the opening tag match, "The back-and-forth between Jericho and Styles was great."

He followed that up with a strong bout against Styles to end SmackDown.

Something about Styles is clearly bringing out Jericho's best. He seems recharged in the ring with The Phenomenal One, making it clear that he deserves a prime spot at WrestleMania.

Daniel Bryan walked away from wrestling, creating one last magical moment before he exited.

After months of uncertainty about his health, Bryan officially called it quits on Monday's Raw and gave a stirring speech to close the show. ProWrestling.net's Jason Powell ^[13] called it, "One of the greatest moments in Raw history and perhaps the greatest retirement speech that I have ever heard from an athlete in any sport."

Bryan peeled open his ribs to let us look at his heart, telling us how much the business means to him, how difficult this decision was.

He reminded fans why he had made such a strong connection with them during his career. He is incredibly likable, he overflows with passion for wrestling and his story is a real-life tale of an underdog making it to the mountaintop.

All night, Raw featured clips of Bryan's career, leading up to his heartfelt farewell. Then WWE wisely gave Bryan plenty of time to soak up the appreciation from the audience.

It was tough as a fan to come to the realization that Bryan is really done, but this closing segment was a fitting tribute to one of the most popular stars in recent memory.