Wasn't it mostly print and radio? I don't remember him doing the big talk show circuit at all. Espn? Yes, but they weren't near ESPN studios in NOLA. He did appear in the NFLNetwork.
To me it's a big difference being on Fallon, Kimmel and Conan than doing radio row or local press. Bryan got some press but clearly not at the level of the guys they see as huge stars. Again maybe it's because of the difference in the mania markets but ESPN could do remote interviews also. And as Meltz mentioned the company never promoted his appearances with the Giants or Seahawks after their championships
Agreed on WWE never promoting his mainstream exposure being a sign they don't see him as THE guy. But if it were as easy to get an ESPN interview they would've done it last year with other talent, they didn't. I don't see what happened at last year's Mania as a sign of their stance of Bryan at all.
It's pretty clear this ESPN deal is because of the market they are in or because they reached some sort of agreement. They didn't get this attention for Summerslam in past years either.