Are they booking Kane too strong for the sake of Daniel Bryan's title reign?

[Alucard316]

After watching the segment from Monday Night Raw involving Daniel Bryan, Brie Bella and Kane, it got me thinking about the future of Daniel Bryan's title reign. They are completely making Kane look like an unstoppable monster right now. He looks like the old Attitude Era Kane. The same one that it took three tombstones for the Undertaker to defeat him at WM14. Now, we all know that Bryan's going over at Extreme Rules, and it's great booking for the particular event, but then what? How do you make the next few challengers seem like a credible threat when the babyface defeats a monster that sits up even after he hit him in the head with a wrench? IMO, they would have to put Bryan in matches where the odds are stacked against him like a multiple man match or Triple H being the referee or something along those line. If they do regular one-on-one matches, then everybody else (with the exception of Lesnar, who I would still say a wrench to the face would put down) will seem like a step own for already mentioned reasons. Thoughts?

 

[chicagokmc]

He looks just like he did awhile ago when he was the uncontrollable monster versus Cena, using that deadly looking smother hold to put people out. I wouldn't worry too much about future opponents. Kane, like Taker, is one of those characters with enough established "powers" to suspend belief occasionally.

The part that concerns me is they are using the same formulas with Bryan that they have with Cena for years. Wrestler faces insurmountable odds. Everything against him. And yet...he wins!! He pulls it out!

 

[L@RISANO]

It sort of continues the Underdog storyline for Daniel Bryan...He continues to fight against seemingly insurmountable odds.

As for Kane's strong booking...I think that was needed since Corporate Kane was a chump,tbh. He was booked to looked like crap most of the time, and as Stephanie said...he needed to get a 'backbone'.

I do like the addition of Brie,however. Freshens things up a bit.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

Would you rather him look weak? I don't get this question. Kane needs to look as strong as possible because no one believes he's going to beat DB. He shouldn't beat DB. So you have to compensate for that. Fans know it's a work. They know it doesn't make sense to have DB lose. So make Kane look as ruthless as possible. He does this every few years. Then he enhances a main eventer. It's been his career.

 

[laodaron]

He's booked strong so no one will believe that db has a chance, and then, BOOM! db sneaks a win in. Its playing to the underdog dilemma, the only problem now, how do you make every single other challenger for db look this strong? The answer is simple but doesn't make the marks happy...you can't. You can already see a severely diminished Daniel Bryan fan club in the audience, and that's due to the star power like cena and hhh no longer involved with Bryan. Kane has to fight db at every special event until summerslam, and hopefully lesnar can carry Bryan.

But to specifically answer the op, he has to be booked this strongly because Daniel Bryan's gimmick doesn't work otherwise.

 

[Alucard316]

Would you rather him look weak? I don't get this question. Kane needs to look as strong as possible because no one believes he's going to beat DB. He shouldn't beat DB. So you have to compensate for that. Fans know it's a work. They know it doesn't make sense to have DB lose. So make Kane look as ruthless as possible. He does this every few years. Then he enhances a main eventer. It's been his career.

Oh, I know that they have to make him look strong for this match. My thing is if they put Bryan in a regular one-on-one match against someone like Randy Orton after this, then why would Bryan have any trouble beating Orton if he could beat someone like Kane? That's why I said that they will need to stake the odds against Bryan in each match. I will say that I like Kane's booking for this particular match.

 

[MMK]

Are they booking Kane too strong? I think the better question is why are they booking Kane at all? It's 2014, not 2003. The typical Kane storyline is paint by numbers booking at this point. Bryan deserves better. Here's the checklist they follow for every Kane feud:

1)Kane removes OR puts back on his mask
2)Kane savagely attacks our hero
(RVD/ Shane/ Zack Ryder/ Daniel Bryan)
3)Kane stalks his opponents lover or family member
(Linda McMahon, Paul Bearer, Eve Torres, Brie Bella, etc etc)
4)Kane loses at the PPV

Rinse, recycle, repeat.

Here are 2 great tweets from @WWEcreative_ish during tonights RAW...

"We wanted to give @WWEDanielBryan a credible opponent at Extreme Rules but instead we went with Kane."

"So @WWEDanielBryan couldn't beat up Kane but his wife could?"

 

[kadroan]

After watching the segment from Monday Night Raw involving Daniel Bryan, Brie Bella and Kane, it got me thinking about the future of Daniel Bryan's title reign. They are completely making Kane look like an unstoppable monster right now. He looks like the old Attitude Era Kane. The same one that it took three tombstones for the Undertaker to defeat him at WM14. Now, we all know that Bryan's going over at Extreme Rules, and it's great booking for the particular event, but then what? How do you make the next few challengers seem like a credible threat when the babyface defeats a monster that sits up even after he hit him in the head with a wrench? IMO, they would have to put Bryan in matches where the odds are stacked against him like a multiple man match or Triple H being the referee or something along those line. If they do regular one-on-one matches, then everybody else (with the exception of Lesnar, who I would still say a wrench to the face would put down) will seem like a step own for already mentioned reasons. Thoughts?

That's how he's supposed to look otherwise it'll be like The Shield's match at WM XXX if he was to face Corporate Kane. I like this run of Kane vs. the end of 2012 when he tried to make Cena "embrace the hate" - he's more aggressive.

I'm not sure if this match will be the last between the two. Just how you can't let Bryan lose his title in first defense, you can't let Kane look weak after you rushed to build him up in two weeks. I wouldn't be surprised if the two face off again at Payback

 

[chicagokmc]

The problem with today's Kane is that, even when he is being a super bad ass outside of the ring, he is a chump inside of the ring. with or without the mask. i can't think of the last time kane has won a match during a ppv. i understand the wwe formula. sometimes they really assume that we don't pay attention to what goes on.

 

[toddmb]

You can already see a severely diminished Daniel Bryan fan club in the audience, and that's due to the star power like cena and hhh no longer involved with Bryan. .

Lol, what are you talking about? The St. Louis crowd was pretty dead tonight and D-Bry was one of the only guys who got a great reaction from the crowd, they went nuts for him last week when he came out, he wasn't on Raw the week before and they went nuts for him the night after Mania.... But whatever...

I think that one way or another this match is going to be used as another way to prove how "tough" Bryan is. The way he said "You're going to regret dragging my wife into this" is very telling in my opinion. Bryan may get beat up for a good portion of the match but being that it is an extreme rules match, I think Bryan uses that to his advantage and actually gets a dominant win over Kane as opposed to a lucky roll-up or something similar to that.

In terms of who Bryan can face after Kane? What about Bray Wyatt? As long as Bray gets the win over Cena on Sunday, Bray is an extremely logical choice as they already have history with each other and Bray has the win at the Rumble he can hang over Bryan's head.

 

[Alucard316]

Are they booking Kane too strong? I think the better question is why are they booking Kane at all? It's 2014, not 2003. The typical Kane storyline is paint by numbers booking at this point. Bryan deserves better. Here's the checklist they follow for every Kane feud:

1)Kane removes OR puts back on his mask
2)Kane savagely attacks our hero
(RVD/ Shane/ Zack Ryder/ Daniel Bryan)
3)Kane stalks his opponents lover or family member
(Linda McMahon, Paul Bearer, Eve Torres, Brie Bella, etc etc)
4)Kane loses at the PPV

Rinse, recycle, repeat.

Here are 2 great tweets from @WWEcreative_ish during tonights RAW...

"We wanted to give @WWEDanielBryan a credible opponent at Extreme Rules but instead we went with Kane."

"So @WWEDanielBryan couldn't beat up Kane but his wife could?"

Yeah, it's sort of strange that it's Kane in the first place. I would have almost bet money that it was going to be Bryan vs. Triple H at ER. It just seemed like the logical progression of the story. BUT, they had to go with Evolution vs. The Shield. I don't how they are going to keep interest in that long enough to get to SummerSlam. It sucks because it also ties up Orton and Batista who are the other logical choices for challengers.

 

[lowandmighty]

I don't think they're booking Kane too strong. The whole point of this Kane vs Daniel Bryan thing is to make Bryan come out on top against a credible opponent to give him something to work off when he does go into a feud against a more relevant challenger.

So Kane has to look strong for it to have any credibility.

Kane and Bryan have worked well together in the past so I'd say creative is going with this as a safe option while they try to figure out exactly what to do next.

It also doesn't hurt Kane to have one last short main event feud before he retires, I mean Kane is pretty old these days. I'm pretty sure Kane would also like to put Bryan over as best he can as they get along outside of business from what I've heard.

I'm actually really enjoying the feud because I love when they bring back the sick fuck version of Kane.

Seriously, who deep down didn't want to see Brie Bella dragged into hell? Love it.

 

[OYDK]

He's booked strong so no one will believe that db has a chance, and then, BOOM! db sneaks a win in. Its playing to the underdog dilemma, the only problem now, how do you make every single other challenger for db look this strong? The answer is simple but doesn't make the marks happy...you can't. You can already see a severely diminished Daniel Bryan fan club in the audience, and that's due to the star power like cena and hhh no longer involved with Bryan. Kane has to fight db at every special event until summerslam, and hopefully lesnar can carry Bryan.

But to specifically answer the op, he has to be booked this strongly because Daniel Bryan's gimmick doesn't work otherwise.

Actually Kane is being booked strong to make it seem as if KANE has a chance against DB. Take away the size and the strength advantage and everything else that has to do with actual fighting and focus solely on the story aspect of this match and everybody knows Kane has no chance of winning the title at ER.

And are you telling me that HHH, Batista, Orton, and Cena aren't going to be seen as legitimate contenders because Bryan beat Kane? You want to see Bryan and Kane feud for 4 months? Come on man you're better than that.

As for Bryan's "diminishing fanbase"... Are we watching the same show? That St Louis crowd was DEAD last night and Bryan STILL got a huge ovation... Easily the biggest of the night. It's obvious you don't like DB but don't say something like "hopefully Lesnar can carry Bryan" because it makes you look very dumb. Lesnar couldn't carry a stick.

 

[laodaron]

Kane is being booked strong so that Bryan can be the underdog while still the champ. It's not to make it look like Kane has a chance, it's to make Kane look like a vicious monster that Daniel Bryan will have to overcome.

I'm not sure if you noticed, but Evolution, the only other contenders to the title, are all wrapped up in another angle that leads through the summer and ends with HHH v. Roman Reigns and probably Orton v. Seth Rollins at Summerslam.

Now, if the plan is Lesnar v. Bryan at Summerslam, and Lesnar doesn't return until Summerslam season, who fills in? That's right. Kane.

I don't WANT it to be that way, but there just aren't any heels that are good enough to title shot right now that aren't already working other programs.

Cena isn't a legitimate contender because he's sticking it out in the midcard for the foreseeable future.

The point is that the only way to make Daniel Bryan look like a valid champ is to book him as this underdog guy, but the only way to do that is to make everyone look like a supermonster. That's just not feasible booking.

I don't dislike Daniel Bryan at all. I don't dislike his gimmick or anything. I just don't think he is a realistic long term champ.

And St. Louis was a well above average crowd last night, and Randy Orton got a bigger face pop than Daniel Bryan did. I realize that he's FROM St. Louis, but the point remains. Your biggest heel on the roster got a hometown pop that was bigger than your SuperFace, and the crowd was pretty hot most of the night.

Also, Lesnar showed every critic he has that you're mistaken about him at WM30 when he carried a concussed Undertaker through a 20 minute match that the Undertaker can't even remember. Lesnar is at SuperCena level.

 

[Viola Moonlight]

Definitely not.

Bryan has been booked as the underdog for the entire time he fought the Authority and won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. He's had everything thrown at him (including the kitchen sink) and he somehow managed to push through every roadblock on his journey for the gold. What else does the Authority have left in their arsenal that hasn't failed?

Kane needs to be built as a legitimate threat so when it comes time for their match at Extreme Rules, they can play up the storyline that Bryan is in serious danger of losing the belt. So, when Bryan does successfully defend the title against Kane, it'll make Bryan a much more credible champion and allow the fans to continue believing in Bryan, knowing that their support for Bryan isn't a lost cause. The last thing Bryan needs is for the WWE Universe to become dis-interested in him.

I was say that Kane's strong booking does limit the amount of future challengers for the title but with the recent unification, all the contenders have been pooled into one group so the WWE have a much better selection than before so it shouldn't be too hard to find someone else.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Would you rather him look weak? I don't get this question. Kane needs to look as strong as possible because no one believes he's going to beat DB. He shouldn't beat DB. So you have to compensate for that. Fans know it's a work. They know it doesn't make sense to have DB lose. So make Kane look as ruthless as possible. He does this every few years. Then he enhances a main eventer. It's been his career.

Exactly right. We all know that Daniel Bryan isn't going to lose the title in his first PPV defence, so they need Kane to look strong to at least look some kind of a threat to Bryan to make the match one the fans want to see. If they had him look weak then it just makes the match completely meaningless. I think they have done a good job of once again making Kane look a credible threat, he looks rejuvenated over the last few weeks and so Bryan looks good beating a monster.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I think they're just ultimately taking Kane back to what brought him to the dance in the first place: making him a near unstoppable juggernaut that's practically impervious to pain. When it comes to viewing Kane as a genuine force in WWE who can go up against and potentially come out on top with anybody, this is how to do it. When he first arrived back in '97, he spent the next 6 months harassing/stalking his "brother" and was booked to look so physically dominant along the way that he ultimately gave Taker one of his toughest bouts at a WrestleMania. At one point during their first match, Kane had Taker pinned but pulled him off the mat to keep the ref from making the three count.

As to how this bodes for Bryan's title run, Bryan is always gonna be a physical underdog when you put him up against powerhouses like Kane, Mark Henry, Big Show. The truth is, just about everyone is painted as an underdog against them when they're being specifically booked for certain storylines. A little less than 3 years ago, Mark Henry was practically unstoppable and demolished everyone from Randy Orton, Sheamus, Big Show and anyone else they put in front of him. During Henry's brief feud with Cena last year after the brilliant "retirement speech", Cena was booked as an underdog who was downright intimidated by Henry. Cena ultimately went over, but he was booked to look considerably less formidable than Henry during the build up. It's no different with Kane & Bryan in this bout. Bryan's going into the match "injured" and even though they haven't mentioned it on television, he's grieving over the loss of his father. Everyone knows about that by now and even though it hasn't been made part of the angle, fans are viewing it as another obstacle Bryan has to overcome.

 

[GeneralKarim]

Corporate Kane was a joke so naturally if he is going to challenge the "Unified champion", he needs to look as good as possible going into the bout. Since nobody expects Bryan to lose after having his WM moment, there's no point in giving a mediocre Kane. What's the point?

Do I like this pairing? Honestly, no. I think the Kane gimmick has been ruined for some time now, people don't just forget what he's done in the past, or mb they do, I dunno.

This push of Kane's is like the obligatory once a year Big Show heel turn, or the obligatory once a year Kofi 2-week push. LET THE WILD CAT OUT BABY WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

This is just to get Bryan even more over as champion now and to get him an opponent, I guess, until every else is done with their feuds. Since anyone relevant to the main event is kinda occupied at the moment. Sure a CM Punk vs DB Feud ( with CM Punk being jealous of DB's moment and all the attention he got at WM ) would be cool as hell. But Punk's not here right now so they had to go with Kane.

 

[blueskyy]

It's obvious you don't like DB but don't say something like "hopefully Lesnar can carry Bryan" because it makes you look very dumb. Lesnar couldn't carry a stick.

I don't know whether this says more about him, or more about you. Lesnar carried Taker not too long ago.

Let's just hope that if they finally do have that match (I'm certainly looking forward to it), that it'd be a good match.

 

[toddmb]

Kane is being booked strong so that Bryan can be the underdog while still the champ. It's not to make it look like Kane has a chance, it's to make Kane look like a vicious monster that Daniel Bryan will have to overcome.

I'm not sure if you noticed, but Evolution, the only other contenders to the title, are all wrapped up in another angle that leads through the summer and ends with HHH v. Roman Reigns and probably Orton v. Seth Rollins at Summerslam.

Now, if the plan is Lesnar v. Bryan at Summerslam, and Lesnar doesn't return until Summerslam season, who fills in? That's right. Kane.

I don't WANT it to be that way, but there just aren't any heels that are good enough to title shot right now that aren't already working other programs.

Cena isn't a legitimate contender because he's sticking it out in the midcard for the foreseeable future.

The point is that the only way to make Daniel Bryan look like a valid champ is to book him as this underdog guy, but the only way to do that is to make everyone look like a supermonster. That's just not feasible booking.

I don't dislike Daniel Bryan at all. I don't dislike his gimmick or anything. I just don't think he is a realistic long term champ.

And St. Louis was a well above average crowd last night, and Randy Orton got a bigger face pop than Daniel Bryan did. I realize that he's FROM St. Louis, but the point remains. Your biggest heel on the roster got a hometown pop that was bigger than your SuperFace, and the crowd was pretty hot most of the night.

Also, Lesnar showed every critic he has that you're mistaken about him at WM30 when he carried a concussed Undertaker through a 20 minute match that the Undertaker can't even remember. Lesnar is at SuperCena level.

Lol, I feel like you're trolling. You're kind of grasping at straws trying to discredit D-Bry. The crowd was totallly into him last night and Orton himself didn't really get much of a reaction... Nobody was chanting "Randy Orton", that's for sure. Even if Orton had gotten a better reaction in his hometown(he didn't)... So what? Daniel Bryan is OVER, as long as he is booked properly then there is no reason why he can't run as champ through the summer at least.

As far as who he faces before Lesnar? Like I said earlier, if Bray Wyatt goes over Cena in the cage then put him with Bryan based on the fact that Bray had already beaten Bryan at the Rumble. Hell, it looks like Cesaro is going to play the heel for the time being... He and Bryan could have a top notch ppv (or "special event") match that can help enhance Cesaro even if he came out on the losing end.

 

[OYDK]

I don't know whether this says more about him, or more about you. Lesnar carried Taker not too long ago.

Let's just hope that if they finally do have that match (I'm certainly looking forward to it), that it'd be a good match.

Yes but Lesnar carried Taker to an absolutely horrid match... That's not necessarily "carrying" but "just getting through it". Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of respect for Lesnar, the guy is damn tough and a specimen but to say that Lesnar would carry Bryan through a match and not the other way around is asinine. Daniel Bryan is one of the best wrestlers in the world. Brock Lesnar is one of the best fighters in the world. There is a big difference.

 

[No Count Pup]

Guys listen, Kane could win. Nobody thought Lesnar would end Taker's streak, and we know what happened. WWE is in the mode of surprising fans, and a Kane victory would get some buzz.

Kane ended Austin's reign in 1998. It wasn't expected. Sure it was only for a day, but Attitude Era fans remember it clear as day.

Demon Kane can draw. He's got the Attitude Era edge about him. Granted, history doesn't favor Kane. But every now and then WWE shakes things up.

 

[Nate DaMac]

I don't really see this as a push for Kane but rather a push for the mask. They're acting as if the mask gives him some sort of power that he doesn't have otherwise. It makes sense, honestly. He was part of team that was totally squashed a few weeks ago. In order to make him seem like he's somehow a viable contender for the World Title after that would take something almost supernatural. Luckily, Kane is someone who has had supernatural powers off and on for years so it was easily obtainable.

It's really quite brilliant, actually.

 

[Viper_Strikes]

As much as I'd like to see Kane win 'the big one' one last time, I have to reiterate the same notion that everyone else on here has - the vast majority at least - that Kane will not win. In all fairness, at this stage in his career and where he's positioned on the roster, or has been as of late, he probably shouldn't - supernatural powers or not.

Don't get me wrong, I've been a huge Kane fan over the years, and still am. Suffered through the many disappointing times when you thought that he was going to win 'the big one' once again, but didn't. I wouldn't complain if he did win, though. Let's leave that point there.

I kind of hope with this match at ER, Kane does something that means the match is declared a no contest. Whether it be throwing DB down to the concrete from the titantron stage - whatever. Just something that means Daniel Bryan is taken from the arena without either opponent getting a clear cut win. But Kane - having not actually won the titles - still leaves with the titles. Then have DB chase his own titles for the next month with the passion that we've seen in the past with his build to Wrestlemania.

I think the story would benefit from being extended to the next pay-per-view, so that the eventual win for DB means that little bit more and we 'the fans' are able to witness some more depth to the story. A lot of this is personal preference, and is probably based on a little bit of bias being a Kane fan, even though I am a DB fan too, but I'm in no rush for the Kane persona of old to go away too quickly; it does but come once in a blue moon. Especially nowadays.

 

[THE CEREBRAL Viper 1986]

no they aren't booking kane too strong it's better then how they booked kane vs Cena i cringe everytime i think of that rivalry it absolutely sucked the way they had kane booked all that hype with vignettes and he loses to cena plus them booking kane like this makes sense u don't want your undersized champion to be favourite going into a championship match