The evolution of Daniel Bryan has been a truly incredible sight to see. Over the past two years, Bryan has been on of the fiercest competitors, often working twice in one night. He lost to Sheamus at WrestleMania XXVIII in 18 seconds. He then worked with Kane for a year before splitting off and jumping into the main event scene. Then the WWE decided to reward him with a title shot and victory over John Cena at SummerSlam in 2013. The reward lasted for all of a few minutes as Randy Orton came down to the ring to tease that he was going to cash in the Money in the Bank contract that he had won a month earlier. Only it wasn’t a tease as Triple H hit Bryan with a Pedigree and Orton cashed in and pinned him in 8 seconds. Bryan had lost two championship matches in a total of 26 seconds in two years. And yet somehow, he has been transformed into the company’s biggest star.
The company’s biggest star right now will have to pull double duty at WrestleMania XXX if he wants to recapture the gold that he lost at SummerSlam. However, I am a firm believer that him winning on Sunday is the WRONG move for the WWE to go forward with. Before we get into the theory as to why he should not win and where the win should occur, how Bryan arrived at this moment has to be explained.
Bryan has had to overcome so much since SummerSlam. This is where The Authority (the modern day version of Vince McMahon’s Corporation) was essentially created. This is where the power struggle began in the company. While I walked away feeling underwhelmed with Triple H and his promo work, I began to respect what Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley brings to the arena every night. She plays her role perfectly. When needed, she will play the role of a face, but on most nights, she is seen as the sadistic, power hungry partial owner of the company. Enter Daniel Bryan, and his quest to regain his championship that he lost. Triple H and Stephanie see Bryan as a “B+” player, someone who might have the popularity of a champion, but doesn’t have the look of one.
The scary thing about Bryan is his ability to take over the passion and emotion of the crowd with a simple word: YES! Bryan’s work in the ring and being able to work the crowd draws very similar to how Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock were able to accomplish this during their careers. After losing the title in controversial fashion to Randy Orton, Bryan would garner three championship matches at the next three PPV’s all facing off against Authority approved Orton. The final match would occur at the company’s Hell in a Cell PPV. Although the title had been “vacated”, Shawn Michaels was instituted as the special guest referee to ensure that everything would be called 50/50 down the middle. The only thing missing from that statement was that it was called right down the middle until the conclusion of the match, a conclusion that essentially saw Shawn Michaels turn heel when he gave Bryan Sweet Chin Music and counted the three for Orton.
The next night on RAW, Bryan would meet face to face with Michaels in the ring, where after a long and emotional promo, Bryan would apply the YES! Lock to Michaels. The evolution would continue later in the night as Bryan was savagely attacked by the Wyatt Family.
Bryan would find himself staring down at a very fierce and volatile enemy in the Wyatt family. He was not alone, though, as CM Punk was feuding with the Wyatt’s as well. At the WWE’s Survivor Series PPV, the two would team together to face the Wyatt family (Luke Harper and Erick Rowan). After a great match between the four, the finish saw Punk and Bryan picking up the victory. The next night on RAW was a huge transition period for Bryan. The Wyatt family would drag Bryan out of the arena and essentially would brainwash Bryan to be a part of their “family”. The brainwashing would not last as on an episode of RAW. On December 30, 2013, Daniel Bryan announced that he was crossing over to the darkness and joining the Wyatt family. It remains speculated as to how long this would have lasted for, had it not been for the fact that Bryan’s popularity was continuing to surge. YES! chants were going on in sports arenas around the United States. So while Bryan seemingly turned heel that night, Bryan would turn face after he and Bray Wyatt lost in a steel cage match to the Usos.
The way the crowd chanted for him was unbelievable. It was one of those surreal moments, a moment that could be compared to when Mankind won the WWF Championship on Raw, or where Chris Jericho beat Triple H to win the WWF championship, only to have it be overturned and the title given back to Triple H. The turn on Bryan helped him to create the character that the fans love so much.
The Royal Rumble featured a 21-minute classic between Bray and Bryan. In the end, Wyatt picked up the pin and solidified his status as an up and comer. As the Royal Rumble began, fans began to wonder when the leader of the YES! movement would make his appearance into the match. It never happened. I was one of many people that was upset that he was not there. To make matters worse, Batista would end up wining the Royal Rumble and solidifying his spot in the Main Event of WrestleMania XXX.
Over the course of the next few weeks, Bryan continued to try to win his way into the main event title match. He lost in the Elimination Chamber match in controversial fashion. Following this, he wanted to face Triple H at the grandest stage of them all, WrestleMania XXX. Triple H, never one to back down from a challenge, surprised everyone and declined, claiming that Bryan was not on his level. It was an act that began the full heel turn for him. On March 10, Bryan used the YES! movement to his advantage and had fans storm the ring and surround it in an effort to stage an event similar to “Occupy Wall Street”. This type of event was surreal but Bryan was able to get Triple H to not only agree to a match at WrestleMania, but the winner of their match will be inserted into the main event match with Randy Orton and Batista.
March 17 was a different story. The full heel turn of The Authority took center stage as to conclude RAW, Triple H savagely beat Bryan, using steel chairs and hitting him with the Pedigree. This was all done while Bryan was handcuffed as well.
So now we have arrived at the present. WrestleMania is this weekend. Bryan and Triple H will square off. The biggest question pertains to where they will land on the card. The easiest solution is to make it for the beginning of the PPV in order to allow Bryan to rest up for the main event. That’s the wrong move, though, as this battle has been all about Bryan overcoming the odds. This has been about Triple H doing the little things to make sure that Bryan does not get what he wants. If I’m booking the show, I put their match as the second to last match. If Bryan beats Triple H, it will mean that the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match would begin right after. Notice how WWE has run few Batista/Orton championship promos on their programming? This could be a clue as to how Bryan/Triple H match will end.
So why doesn’t Bryan win the title here? It’s obvious that he has paid his dues. It has become very obvious that he is the hottest character in the WWE right now. However, I am a firm believer that the win should not occur here, but it should occur at SummerSlam of this year. Think about it. Batista or Triple H (who would be inserted into the match making it a fatal four way) wins the belt. If it’s Batista, its clear that this was a part of the contract that he signed to return a couple of months ago. If Triple H wins the title, then this is a part of the grand scheme to keep the title with The Authority. This could also be done to help jumpstart what would be the final run with Triple H as a champion, which is the way that they should go.
The fans would still sympathize with Bryan. His title win occurring at SummerSlam would be spawned by the following events:
1) Continue to keep Vince McMahon off TV until just before the Money in the Bank PPV.
2) Have Triple H and Stephanie become so obsessed with power that they “fire” Bryan.
3) Vince returns to cut off Triple H’s abuse of power.
4) Vince will “re-hire” Bryan and insert him into the Money in the Bank match.
5) Bryan wins the Money in the Bank Match and immediately challenges Triple H for his title at SummerSlam.
The story writes itself here. This would be Daniel Bryan’s year long journey to recapture the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. After being screwed over countless times, this is a GUARANTEED contract against the man that has tried to keep him from becoming a star. Triple H, so obsessed with the popularity that Daniel Bryan has created, opts to fire Bryan. This move is motive for Vince McMahon to return to the squared circle. He claims that the Money in the Bank match needs one more person. Cue Daniel Bryan’s music hitting and a crowd going insane. Following this, Bryan wins the match and the following night on RAW, challenges Triple H to the match. At SummerSlam, Bryan overcomes the odds and wins the championship.
I’m not saying that Bryan doesn’t deserve the title at Wrestlemania. There is no doubt that he does because of the work ethic that he has displayed over the past year. Imagine the promos that would come with a match at SummerSlam. I’m reminded of the Undertaker and Kane promo from WrestleMania XIV that lasted for five minutes. It told an incredible story about what had happened in the past 4 months that someone with limited or no wrestling knowledge would immediately become energized and to instantly rally around the character that the WWE had worked so hard to create. This is where Bryan’s “Moment” should happen. The WWE waiting another four months would not be the worst thing in the world to happen. In fact, it might be the best thing that they have done in years.
