After Sunday night, it’s probably best that Daniel Bryan find something else to do for a few months.
In the Hell in a Cell main event between Bryan and Randy Orton for the vacant WWE Championship, special referee Shawn Michaels was bumped. Bryan hit the Busaiku Knee, but Michaels couldn’t count the pin and Bryan went over to check on him. Meanwhile, Triple H and Dr. Michael Sampson opened the cage to check on Michaels. Triple H shoved Bryan out of the way, but ate the knee for his trouble. Then Michaels (barely) hit Bryan with a superkick, and while he was “conflicted,” he counted a pin for Orton.
I guess true love conquers all, just not the way we hoped. Instead of fiances Bryan and Brie Bella celebrating as new WWE champion and WWE Divas champion, respectively, Michaels’ love for Triple H conquered his desire to do the right thing for honor and his greatest student.
Bryan has now been screwed out of the WWE Championship at four pay-per-view events in two months:
- He actually won the title from John Cena at SummerSlam, only to get Pedigreed by Triple H so Randy Orton could cash in Money in the Bank to steal it for himself.
- He won it again by defeating Orton at Night of Champions, but referee Scott Armstrong fast-counted the pin on secret orders of Triple H, who orchestrated the plan so he could hold the title up if Bryan won.
- Bryan and Orton went to (literally) no decision at Battleground when Big Show knocked both of them out.
- Michaels screwed him Sunday night at Hell in a Cell.
For Bryan’s own good and so the fans aren’t burnt out, this has to be the end of him challenging for the WWE Championship for at least a few months. He is perilously close to being…not quite a choke artist, but someone the fans are hesitant to get behind because he’ll always be screwed out of a big win.
Theoretically, he could move to the World Heavyweight Championship, which Cena won Sunday night, but knowing WWE booking patterns, that wouldn’t be a good idea, either.
Since WWE likes to have everyone trade wins and Bryan is 1-0 against Cena, a rematch would probably be won by the (actual) face of WWE. Regardless, since WWE has their significant others (the Bella Twins) teasing a split and feud, it’s probably happening sooner rather than later. It’s not like Bryan has a lot of options for opponents right now: He’s feuded with The Shield all year, so that’s not fresh at all, Big Show is a babyface who’s now his friend again, Triple H should be saved for WrestleMania, etc.
They could also prolong Bryan vs. Cena by inserting Alberto Del Rio at first to make it a three-way program. Del Rio still needs to get a rematch against Cena, so you could do the Triple Threat match at Survivor Series and then transition to the Bryan-Cena singles feud at SummerSlam.
As for Orton’s potential challengers for the WWE Championship, a few names come to mind:
- WWE could hotshot a unification match with Cena since he never got a rematch after losing the WWE Championship.
- CM Punk could finally be inserted into the main event feud with the McMahons since his feud with Paul Heyman came to an apparent end Sunday night.
- Big Show, who was looking like his next opponent regardless of who was champion, could be re-hired by Vince McMahon on Raw to set up a match at Survivor Series.
If I had to guess, I’d go with Punk or Big Show. Unless there’s a big angle Monday, Punk had been expected to take a leave of absence to heal various nagging injuries. After dispatching Ryback and Heyman, he has nothing to do short of a brand-new feud at the top of the card. From a storyline perspective, Big Show makes the most sense since it’s been the obvious direction for weeks.
What does everyone else think? Where would you slot everyone, and why would you do it? Let us know in the comments.
0 comments:
Post a Comment