Bryan's Fate This Monday

[Jack-Hammer]

Last Monday, Stephanie McMahon announced that she wanted Daniel Bryan to appear on the next episode of Raw to formally surrender the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. As of yesterday, Bryan is advertised for the show, which returns its usual live airing, in Knoxville, TN. While it's always possible that WWE could give us the runaround by having Bryan appear "via satellite", I don't see that going down. It may have been an idea but, if it was, my guess is that it's bee droped. Last Monday's Raw drew the worst numbers of 2014 and since next week's Raw is the go home show for Payback, it's pretty likely Bryan will appear live next week in the hopes of boosting viewership.

So the big question is what exactly will go down in this segment? The most obvious answer is that Bryan will be stripped considering his neck injury and the projected amount of recovery time. At the same time though, an argument can be made that WWE won't go that direction because it's so obvious. That's only been compounded with Stephanie reverting more to the openly mean spirited bitch that she's been towards Bryan and that the legit injury has been made part of an ongoing storyline. By now, you'd think that Bryan would already have been written completely off television and the title stripped from him as of Monday if his condition was to the point that he was going to be missing months of action. After all, Daniel Bryan showing up next week and simply handing over the title would be about as anti-climatic as it can get when compared to the epic moment of him becoming champion. Doing that, in my opinion, could possibly hurt Bryan's image in the eyes of the fans. Because of the injury, Bryan could've been stripped with no damage done, but it could be a different story if he shows up to just meekly hand over the title.

One possibility I think could be going down is WWE making us believe that Daniel Bryan is going to be out for a lot longer than he actually will be. It's unlikely he'll wrestle at Payback unless the injury's severity is genuinely as relatively small as the very initial reports indicated; said reports suggested he could potentially return to compete at Payback, depending upon the success of the surgery, the exact amount of damage done and how quickly he heals up. Personally, and this is just pure speculation since I obviously have no access to the man's medical records, I don't believe he'll compete as it might be tempting fate a little too much.

So what do you suppose will happen on Raw this Monday?

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I'm guessing he keeps the belt and it remains undefended until he returns. Though personally I'd like to see him stripped of the title. That keeps the title going, WWE can give Bryan a bit longer to recover and he has a feud upon his return.

 

[Softcore Holly]

They can easily afford to have Payback without the WWEHC, especially with huge matches like Evolution v Shield II and Cena vs Bray LMS on the card plus DB feud with Kane being....less than stellar. I can't see them pulling it off for his entire recovery period of 2-3 months though, that's just too long and too many PPVs. I also don't want him to rush back from something as serious as neck surgery, so imo they should find some way to take the title off him and find someone else to be WWEHC until he fully recovers.

Sucks since we've done the whole DB chase the title thing for so long only to see his title reign be cut short again, and we're probably going to have to go through it again when he gets back. But it's better than leaving the show's main title hanging around in limbo for a few months.

 

[Pedigree1]

The UFC does this thing called the Interim Belt,if the champ gets injured a Interim is named in his place and the two battle when the champ is healthy enough to compete.. If the recovery period is only 2-3 months,i dont see Daniel Bryan being stripped or handing over the title.. He has worked too damn hard,and the emotion He and us the fans have expelled would be a travesty,if in fact he was forced to surrender the title..

I dont see Daniel Bryan being stripped or surrendering the title on Raw this monday,but if If he is out for an extended period though,why not have a tournament to name a interim champion.. This is a way of still having Daniel Bryan be the champion while he recovers and have an Interim Champion in his place.. 2-3 Months recovery time puts DB time period past SummerSlam perhaps! Brock would make an excellent Interim Champion,have the two battle it out at NOC with DB getting the Nod against the beast Incarnate

 

[Rampage Bentley]

I know this isn't going to happen, but I would love if they gave Bryan a proxy, someone to defend the title on his behalf...

I would even book Stephanie to pick it, a young or low card wrestler chosen as a lamb to be slaughtered, only for them to actually rise to the occasion and be successful.

That way, Bryan still stays champion (he can even be at ringside for extra star power/storytelling) and someone else can benefit and get a rub through it.

 

[laodaron]

The problem here is that since about the Royal Rumble, the WWE has been catering 100% to the smark fan, and not the every day average fan. Eventually, it's going to catch up, because smark fans are extremely near sighted.

The best thing to do is to strip Daniel Bryan and keep him out of action for as long as possible to rehab and fix himself. They won't, and chances are with his vegan diet and poor physical shape, he won't be able to heal like someone like John Cena. The WWE is going to cater to the smark fan and bring him back early, which is extremely tragic. I might not be the biggest Daniel Bryan fan, but Bryan Danielson deserves the best possible care, and he's not going to get it.

That being said, the smartest move it to strip him, which is exactly why it won't happen. There just won't be a WWEWHC defense at Payback, and he'll probably try to be back in time for MitB, which will probably result in him taking some really nasty bumps like always, as well as his missile drop kick and his diving head butt, and hopefully he doesn't further damage his body.

 

[OYDK]

I really have no idea what is going to happen this Monday on Raw. I don't think Bryan is going to be stripped but I don't see how he's going to get out of handing the title over if he really can't go for 3 months. My best guess is Bryan will come out, will tease handing the title over for a good 10 minutes with his "this is really hard" look on his face and will eventually give the title to Steph. Than he'll get on the mic and give the ol' "I WILL COME BACK FOR MY WWE TITLE" speech before leaving.

Personally I would like some more originality. I would like to see either Bryan keep his title but it still be defended in some way or they take it off him in some sort of swerve maneuver where somebody like Cesaro or Ambrose gets it right away.

I really wish the MITB briefcase was still in play as this would be a PERFECT opportunity for somebody to cash it in and shock the world. Oh if Sandow still had the briefcase.

 

[Luten]

WWE really shot themselves in the foot with unifying the titles.. For the longest time I was begging them to unify those belts, but for a few weeks now, I've been second guessing their decision. So many guys are lost in the shuffle right now: Ziggler, Del Rio, Sandow, Cody, Kofi to name a few. The WH Title used to be a good platform for them, but in my opinion it only made sense when the brand extension was far more strict and consistent. Having both the belts held by different people appear on both shows week after week never made any sense to me. In retrospect I think WWE gave up on the brand split way too easily and I miss those days.

Maybe they should seperate them again? Bryan could vacate just the WH Title but still return to action as the WWE Champion.

 

[TheHellmouth]

I have no idea what they are going to do with him. But I really think they should just go ahead and strip him of the title. It's a neck injury, come on now. That is really something that Daniel Bryan should be taking his time with. The John Cena method of rapid recovery would be really unhealthy for anyone that's not a freak of nature like Cena.

If he does end up having to relinquish the title I think it may actually help Bryan's career for the rest of the year. I'm still really into him but I can't deny he's not as hot as he was during the title chase. If he has to skip a few PPVs, uh.. I mean "special events," it will allow him to bypass the filler early summer feuds that are total momentum killers. I thought the match was decent, but this Kane feud has really de railed him in the eyes of a lot of fans, and it's to DB's credit that he's still as over as he is.

So go ahead, strip him of the title, give him a safe amount of time to recover and allow the fans to miss him, than book him in an engaging return feud. I get the feeling that's probably too much to ask for though.

 

[SoulTrain4]

He should be stripped. The Authority are HEELS for God's sake let them be HEELS and abuse their power!!

Take the belt, it crushes Bryan's dream...again and He goes back on the chase to his own benefit as a character.

This is a perfect chance to be real heels. Strip him of the title and then "medically suspend" him indefinitely.

He can go home and rest then come back really strong later.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

POSSIBLE SPOILER​

WWE MIGHT have already answered the question, at least somewhat, as a new line up for the July 12th show being held at Madison Square Garden has just been announced. According to F4WOnline.com, Daniel Bryan was originally scheduled to defend the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Triple H in a "Street Fight", but both were removed from the line up after Bryan's revelation of his injury and impending surgery. Earlier today, WWE released an updated line up with Bryan vs. Triple H once again headlining the card in a "Street Fight."

This isn't automatically a lock and this show is still 7 weeks off, so a lot could happen in that time period. However, MSG is holy ground as far as Vince McMahon is concerned and as over as Bryan is everywhere else, he's insanely over with New York crowds. Therefore, and this is just my opinion, I don't think they'd advertise this bout unless everyone involved expects Bryan to be back in action pretty soon.

 

[laodaron]

But is the streetfight for the WWEWHC? That's the question at hand, isn't it?

 

[Softcore Holly]

But is the streetfight for the WWEWHC? That's the question at hand, isn't it?

Wouldn't make that much of a difference either way, I seriously doubt they would really do something as big as HHH becoming WWEHC on a Saturday house show most of us aren't going to see. Unless of course HHH got the title earlier and it would be DB challenging for the title, but that also really doesn't affect anything since there's no chance of DB regaining the title there either.

 

[laodaron]

No, the point I'm making is that if that match is for the WWEWHC, then I would say that they have no intention on stripping DB. However, if it is NOT for the WWEWHC, then that would indicate that they are going to take the belts away from him.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Bryan keeps the title until he's ready to defend it again.

Honestly, it's the best option at this point, when you look at the roster. You can't use the "He's Got the Whole World In His Hands" sing alongs as a measuring stick, because Bray Wyatt is not ready yet.

Triple H, Orton, Cena, and Batista are main event ready veterans, but after so many world title reigns and prolonged stays in the main event scene, a lot of fans are beyond burnt out on all four men as world champions. You could say Cena's the lone exception in the group, but it's hard to feel a spark or a sense of excitement for Cena as a world champion now a days. Batista took a break for a handful of years, but if we're using reactions from the live crowds as a warning sign, the fans don't want Batista anywhere where near the WWE WHC picture.

There's no real need to jump into panic mode, and if you take the title off of Bryan, you're taking a real risk of derailing his momentum. WWE will have to start all over from square one to work Bryan back into the WWE WHC after a perfect build as the ultimate underdog, and it's not worth the risk.

 

[L@RISANO]

Interesting news...is that new HHH vs DB match advertised for the title? As said; still a bit of time before July in any case...and alot can happen. However, there could be a chance that they find some way of keeping it on Bryan...How about having someone defend the title on Bryan's behalf??


That said; If there was a chance of CM Punk coming returning...think of the storylines that could happen with this Bryan injury angle, and Punk returning....

DB gets called out at the start of next RAW to surrender his title. Everyone expects that because of his injury, he has no choice but to do just that. However, Bryan reveals that he has contacted a friend who has agreed to selflessly defend the title on DB's behalf...cue the return of CM Punk to huge cheers(obviously he has to soak up the Cheers).

Stephanie agrees, and puts Punk to defend the title on RAW itself as the Main Event, which Punk is successful.

Until DB recovers, Punk acts as his defender and defends against multiple challengers. Hopefully, DB recovers by the time SummerSlam comes around, and is fit enough to defend it on the SS PPV, where he is successful with Punk at ringside.

Post-SummerSlam RAW; have the swerve with Punk going heel and making his own challenge for the title and maybe having a heel-type reveal of his reasons for leaving, one of which can involve him being peeved that a 'homeless troll' became the Company Champ, and he is back to take what is his.

That could be an engaging programme that could last until the Royal Rumble,tbh...until Brock Lesnar is made the Champion!

 

[kadroan]

Similar to Austin's situation in summer 1997, I think Bryan will show up and Steph will strip him of the titles and make an announcement later on RAW or Smackdown about the future of the championship.

I assume Bryan will still be in the picture, making Steph's life a living hell. It wouldn't surprise if they have a tournament for the championship that concludes at MITB

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

I wouldn't mind an angle where The Authority would have him defend his title on RAW. Against a surprise opponent or the winner of a Battle Royale.

I can see that person being Bray Wyatt, he attacks Bryan from behind and has a quick 5 min match to win the title. He gets heat by jumping an already injured Bryan and they can have a program once Bryan returns.

It also give heat to the Authority since they were the ones that forced Bryan to defend his title

Then finally this double "screw job" allows for fans to give Bryan some more sympathy.

 

[osujisynge]

I personally think he should be stripped of the title IF he can't defend it. Thinking about it why have your top title sitting at home people complained about Dean Ambrose not sending his title and he was healthy so if Bryan can't defend he should be stripped and have a tournament for it Kane should win it only to further the storyline between the two. Then if they want Kane drops it when he returns at some ppv