Punk's Run VS Daniel's Run

[Pay Per Ghost]

We know the ones right? Revisiting some old matches it was pretty academic what I rediscovered:

1) Taker's entrances became pure theatre pro wrestlingwise

2) Cena has had his fair of big pops too

But the one thing I found myself being really impressed with, were the amount of loud pops Bryan got during his run. Now here was a character that people knew was being jerked around and he says it himself in the documentary (believing them here), when he was hot, Vince said it'll be Sheamus Vs Goat Boy. That leadup to Mania is littered with moments like:

[YOUTUBE]UsESZMBJhXw[/YOUTUBE]


or




[YOUTUBE]8GFYjNgL9EU[/YOUTUBE]



and



[YOUTUBE]kaZ19Cwnw8g[/YOUTUBE]



of course who could forget


[YOUTUBE]8l0ezseXcIo[/YOUTUBE]





And that brings me to Punk, while he had an explosive start and then a numero uno run, I just feel Bryan's had more white hot NOT RED HOT moments.

Discuss.

 

[StunningBlackMamba24]

Daniel Bryan only has his annoying yes chants. CM Punk was overall more popular because I remember people who weren't even watching wwe at the time hearing about his infamous promo. CM Punk was also alot more entertaining as well, both his face and heel run. Daniel Bryan, again, only has his annoying yes chants.

 

[pepentorresHHH]

Personally, Although Punk stayed on top much longer I believe at their respective peaks, Daniel Bryan was higher than Punk.

don't get me wrong, Punk had great moments that included his pipe bomb, winning the title from Cena at MITB, his record breaking title reign, his battles against Taker, Rock, Brock and HHH. But Daniel Bryan`s captured EVERYONE`s attention by staying true to himself and people bought into his one of the people gimmick. People rioted, took over segment, chanted, ruined rumbles, raw and other main events cause they wanted Bryan. And at the end of the day, Bryan got what Punk never got: A main event spot at Wrestlemania. Not only that but Bryan WON..... TWICE!!!!! Defeated Triple H and the Randy Orton and Batista....

So.... Daniel bryan`s run at the top although much shorter, was higher`s than Punk`s at their respective peaks

 

[the_peoples_adam]

CM PUNK is greater in all aspects compared to BRYAN even if BRYAN would come back and wrestle for maybe next 100000 years..PUNK was a better WRESTLER, better ENTERTAINER, better TALKER and had that 'IT'. What BRYAN did only was to raise his two hands and make the WWE fan PUPPETS chant YES and NO a 1000 times in a row which altogether made RAW more disgusting than ever.

He was just a timepass material that vince created to move WWE for the time being and to produce all the new great TALENTS like SHIELD 3, KO, BALOR, and ZAYN and introduce and establish them to the main WWE programming. I'm relieved that BRYAN wont comeback sooner or never and without him WWE shows have only got a lot more BETTER and Entertaining.

 

[MWRedskins]

Ok.....firstly I disagree with almost everything 2 poster wrote. Bryan isn't this talentless hack they are SAYING he is. He's a great wrestler who can put a 5 star match on. Wrestling wise, Bryan can go. Is he better than Punk is debatable. As for their runs, Bryan's was booked better and the live crowds were more behind him while Punk had a proper run that was hurt by booking. I liked Bryan's chase better than Punk's, but Punk's run with the title is clearly better since he held it for a proper run while Bryan (sadly) got hurt. But again, the fans were more behind Bryan and it wasn't because of him poisoning the fans with the YES chants, sure it helped get him over, but fans loved the underdog with great wrestling ability character. The YES chant was/is just an added bonus.

 

[laodaron]

Daniel Bryan was an above average in-ring worker that has below average mic skills.
CM Punk was a below average in-ring worker that had above average mic skills.

They are both Indy Fed darlings that are outclassed by guys like Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, and many of those brought up in the WWE system. But for some reason, both of these very average workers got a following behind them.

Daniel Bryan's mega ultra push from Summerslam 2013 through Wrestlemania 30 is possibly the most over ultra push in the last 15 or 20 years. CM Punk's reign as the guy who won't shut the fuck up was definitely a more sustained top level push. It's hard to compare their careers, but Daniel Bryan probably was more hot for a shorter period of time.

 

[Messiah]

Punk's run was terrible. He had very few good matches, he was a mid-carder who had the top title. Daniel Bryan was more popular and way better in the ring. There's really no comparison, Bryan's run was way better. It was more entertaining to watch and the fans enjoyed it more.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

I'm assuming Punk's run goes from the Pipe Bomb until losing to UT (over a year and a half) and Bryan's run goes from goes from his promo before SummerSlam until his injury (3/4 of a year).

Clearly both guys started strong but Punk's Pipe Bomb was other worldly. I know Bryan beating Cena was huge and started the greatest work of the audience for the longest in recent memory but the Pipe Bomb caught huge attention from wrestling fans and made MitB huge. It didn't hurt that it took place in Chicago.

So beginning of the run definitely goes to Punk.

The secondary stuff was a complete mess for both guys. Bryan's getting screwed over by The Authority repeatedly vs. Del Rio matches, winners getting "stuck" by the corpse of Kevin Nash, and whatever the hell MizTruth was. Personally I didn't care much for either but I loved the way WWE was pulling a fast one on the fans.

Bryan wins this time period.

The third quarter belongs to Bryan. Outside of his heel turn, Punk's run as champ was a bust compared to Bryan's run toward Mania and ultimate victory. Great use of storytelling and using the fans biases and preconceived notions for Bryan's story. The RR classic with Wyatt and disappointment of the fans was great. This was way better than secondary Punk stories where AJ stole the attention, the kind of dumb Jericho feud, that dull Show/Cena/Punk SS triple threat and other stuff I don't remember.

Bryan definitely wins this time period.

Fourth quarter goes to Punk. His feud with Taker suffered but the match was the best thing at a shitty Mania. His work with Rock didn't live up to the hype but it was still pretty good. DB's Kane feud, and injury bullshit was awful. Not all his or WWE's fault but was just awful. I'm tempted to throw Punk/Lesnar in to the mix but it is unnecessary to easily say Punk was way better at the end of his run than Bryan.

Punk smokes Bryan during this time.

So it looks like it is two quarters to two. How to tie break? That is easy, Punk's run was better. I don't think Punk is the kind of person that I would want to tolerate in the real world but he had more great matches and moments during his run. Pipe Bomb, MitB, the exit, the Cult of Personality return, title v title image, title v title match with Cena, his feud and match with HHH was good despite the finish, "Can I wear your sport coat?", his Mania entrance and match with Jericho, some decent world champ v WWE champ matches with Bryan, a couple one liners on Lauranitis, the heel turn at Raw1,000, the return of Heyman, he actually faced Rock twice, introduction of The Shield, and stealing the show with Taker.

Throw in Punk's match with Lesnar and intense feud with Heyman and I would argue Punk's run makes Bryan's run look like a slow jog. But most wrestling fans will say Bryan since they have short memories, Bryan is the kind of guy you want to root for, and Punk seems like a giant piece of shit in some ways. I know when I first say the topic I was thinking Bryan's run would be better but looking back it was just kind of frustrating although it had some good moments and matches.

 

[Creepy Old Man]

I'll always argue that Punk was more over than Bryan. People talked about Bryan's "huge pops", but it was hard to gauge. When his slow-burn music hit, people automatically chanted "yes!" most times, rather than cheered, and I'm confident that many of those folks were not necessarily Bryan fans but spectators going along with what's basically a crowd wave. When Bryan elicited a pure pop - such as when Cena named him as the WWE title challenger for SummerSlam 2013 - he was clearly very over, but I don't think he generated the applause that Punk did. Punk's was, to my ears, the most well-rounded ovation in the company, with cheers from men, women, and kids, casuals and smarks alike. And while Bryan's rise was spectacular, it proved to be a major anti-climax due to his injury. Punk's 2011-2013 run, on the other hand, was consistently magical, punctuated by an attitude, energy and performance level far above just about anyone else on the roster (and dare I say, in history). In purely monetary terms, Punk's on record as being the biggest merchandise seller of the two.

 

[HBKperfect23]

This is difficult. I basically stopped watching from 2005-2011 (3-4 Raws a year and WM). The summer of Punk got me back into it. MitB 2011 was the first non WM ppv I ordered in nearly a decade. The run was near perfect in my eyes.

Daniel Bryan's summer to WM was just as good. He was getting crazy pops. I think the whole DB run was booked better (even tho it wasn't intentional). Cena/DB had the big fight feel and the ending was awesome.

It's really close but I'm going to go Punk. I really want to go Bryan because his run was pure gold and Punk lost a lot of points with me for being such a douchbag the last few months but I have to be objective and give punk the nod.

 

[SJ5522]

They are both Indy Fed darlings that are outclassed by guys like Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, and many of those brought up in the WWE system. But for some reason, both of these very average workers got a following behind them.

you think Owens and Balor were brought up in the WWE system?

check out some matches by Prince Devitt and Kevin Steen

 

[BillAlfonsos_Whistle]

It's downright hilarious how many people in this thread has called CM Punk (or Daniel Bryan for that matter) "average" workers. Punk and Bryan are the two best in-ring performers since HBK/Hart.

 

[laodaron]

you think Owens and Balor were brought up in the WWE system?

check out some matches by Prince Devitt and Kevin Steen

No, I'm fully aware of the two. I'm saying they're both better workers than Bryan and Punk, AS WELL AS many others brought up in the WWE system. I just didn't phrase it correctly.

 

[laodaron]

It's downright hilarious how many people in this thread has called CM Punk (or Daniel Bryan for that matter) "average" workers. Punk and Bryan are the two best in-ring performers since HBK/Hart.

Dude, The Miz is a better in ring WWE worker than both Bryan and Punk. Punk was a dangerous and sloppy performer, his moves were NEVER believable as anything besides fake punches and fake kicks. But, that being said, Bryan WAS better than Punk.