WWE: Is Daniel Bryan the next Ryback?
Daniel Bryan
You can only have a man lose so many times, before people start to get tired of seeing the beloved hero get knocked down time and time again at the hands of the villain. Since winning the WWE title at Summerslam, WWE has done just that by ruining his chances of winning the title, and his more than ten mouth super push.
The first incident occurred after Daniel Bryan defeated top WWE baby face, John Cena, at Summerslam. Just as Bryan began to celebrate the culmination of his momentous push, Money in the Bank briefcase holder, Randy Orton, made his way the ring ready to challenge the newly crowned Champion.
Bryan promptly accepted the challenge from Orton, only to fall victim to a vicious pedigree from Triple H, who served as special guest referee in the initial championship match against Cena. The sudden heel turn by Triple H sent shockwaves through the arena, as a devious Orton quickly cashed in his briefcase and covered Bryan for the quick victory.
The next night on Raw, Bryan was subjected to a vicious verbal thrashing by Stephanie McMahon, who tried to apologize for her husband’s decision at Summerslam the night before, but that he was still only a B plus player and not capable of being the face of the WWE. Bryan didn’t take to kindly to the thinly laced insults, telling Stephanie McMahon that he could be described with a word that started with the letter B.
What happened next was a all out explosion of yes chants throughout the arena, as Bryan was detained by security and escorted out of the building, per Stephanie McMahon’s order. This segment really started to solidify Bryan as a Stone Cold Steve Austin type hero in the WWE, but of course the push was again buried, as Bryan fell victim to countless onslaughts in the coming weeks by The Authority, The Shield and Randy Orton.
Bryan’s burying continued at WWE Night of Champions, where he battled valiantly, but once again came up short due to The Authorities devious deeds against the former World Heavyweight Champion. Just as it looked like Bryan would secure his victory over Orton by hitting his signature running knee, the finish was plagued by a controversial fast three count that would put the winner of the match in question.
The controversy boiled over the next night on Raw, as Triple H stormed to the ring in the opening segment and stripped Daniel Bryan of his newly won title. Tempers continued to rise as Orton, who was the victim of the fast three count the night before, made his way to the ring and gave Bryan a vicious RKO right as Triple H ripped the title out of Bryans hands.
Triple H then announced that the WWE title would be held in abeyance until the upcoming pay per view, BattleGround, where he would again face Randy Orton for the title. This decision alone wasn’t the defeating blow to Bryan’s push as a top guy in the WWE, but it certainly began to make fans weary of if Bryan could be a legitimate main event superstar for the company.
Things didn’t get much better from there, as Bryan was subjected to ambush after ambush by The Authority, even receiving a K.O punch from a emotionally torn Big Show, who was ordered by Stephanie McMahon to do her bidding. Over the next few weeks, Daniel Bryan mounted momentum with wins Over The Shield and few moral victories over the Authority, but fell victim to countless ambushes and beat downs from Randy Orton and The Authority as well.
The intensity of the feud reached a fever pitch on the final Raw before the BattleGround Pay Per View, when a verbal segment between Orton and Bryan turned into a fight, as Bryan was violently beaten around the ringside area, before finally being RKO’d through the announce table . The assault left Bryan beaten and motionless, as his fiancée, Brie Bella, ran to ringside to comfort her man.
The idea to involve Brie Bella in the storyline was a great way to get Bryan over even more as a top baby face in the company, and even helped Brie somewhat solidify herself as a believable face within the company. The only issue with the ending was, again having Bryan on his back after being beaten down by Orton in a vicious manner.
Fate reared its ugly head again at the Battleground pay per view, where Daniel Bryan was once again screwed out of the title by fuming big Show, who interfered in the match and knocked Orton, Bryan, and referee Scott Armstrong, out with his vicious K.O Punch.