Summerslam 2012: Kane VS Daniel Bryan

[Mitch Henessey]

Daniel Bryan’s psychologist might consider the former World Heavyweight Champion to be bitter, short-tempered and strangely obsessed with actor Charlie Sheen, but at SummerSlam, the “submission specialist” better hope he’s also on top of his game as he’ll be stepping in the ring against his self-described “anger management therapist,” Kane.

In a bit of retaliation on the Aug. 6 edition of Raw, General Manager AJ Lee signed up her ex-fiancé to face The Big Red Machine in what’s certain to be a supremely physical encounter. Lee announced the match after Bryan unsuccessfully petitioned to be included in the Triple Threat WWE Championship Match at SummerSlam. (WATCH) Instead of vying for the championship gold at the summer spectacular, Bryan now finds himself scheduled for action against one of the most sinister beings in all of WWE.

Yet, in Kane, the increasingly misanthropic Bryan may have found an opponent who’s every bit as unstable as he is. The only guarantee leading into their SummerSlam match is that physicality will not be at a minimum. True, Mr. Don’t-Call-Me Goat Face received a clean bill of mental health following a psychiatric evaluation that was broadcast internationally on Raw, but whether he’ll receive a clean bill of health following his SummerSlam clash with The Devil’s Favorite Demon is another question entirely.

After all, there’s little doubt the masked Superstar will go into the fight mindful of all that’s transpired between Bryan and himself in recent months.

Both Superstars have spent the bulk of this summer in pursuit of CM Punk’s WWE Title, to no avail. Ahead of the WWE Title Match at No Way Out, in which both Superstars were positioned as challengers, Bryan unleashed a flurry of chair strikes — 26 in total — against Kane on an episode of SmackDown. And during a particularly head-spinning few weeks in June, Raw’s current GM made romantic overtones toward both men, which only served to further confuse an already-bewildering predicament.

Despite their numerous run-ins, it ought not to be forgotten that Bryan and Kane share at least one unsettling commonality: Throughout their respective WWE careers, Kane and Bryan each have exhibited significant signs of rage. What with his fiery origin, long-shrouded existence and “unorthodox” upbringing, Kane entered WWE with a monstrous chip on his shoulder. The Big Red Machine has demonstrated time and time again an inability to cope with his anger in any way other than brutality.

Bryan’s outlook, meanwhile, has taken an especially dark turn ever since AJ stood him up at the altar on Raw 1,000. In addition to the fit he threw following the wedding-that-wasn’t, Bryan has become prone to volatile outbursts in recent weeks. He’s already denounced the WWE Universe’s use of his infectious “Yes!” catch phrase, and after scoring the winning pinfall in a Six-Man Tag Team Match on the Aug. 3 SmackDown, Bryan repeatedly screamed “No!” in the face of a fan who refused to relinquish the affirmative chant.

What will happen when two of WWE’s most twisted Superstars tie up on Aug. 19? Will victory befall the Superstar who is best able to control and channel his anger? Or will the “W” go to the individual who is able to let loose completely, perhaps revealing a degree of unrepentant rage as never before seen in WWE? The WWE Universe can count on one thing, for sure: Daniel Bryan vs. Kane will be crazy fun to watch.

Bryan continues to gain momentum and more TV time, and the "NO! NO! NO!" stuff has provided a slight tweak for his character.

I'm picking Bryan for the win here, because I can't think of a real reason to stop his momentum. In the end, Bryan could use the win a lot more than Kane. Kane is reliable as the long term veteran with a good amount of name value, but he really doesn't need the win here.

Kane VS Bryan should be a physical, hard-fought match, and I'm really looking forward to this one.

Who's your pick to win?

 

[wrestlingfanatic98]

Mitch Henessey - how is Bryan going to win, if he has not got a finishing move set to beat kane? kane aint going to tap out, because of Bryan's tiny physique and he aint no benoit for upper body strength, he cannot exactly keep kane down if Bryan is a midget compared to kane, Bryan's weapons are completely useless against kane. The booking team do not want kane losing clean to guys like Bryan now, and Bryan has been losing allot recently, so I do not see this changing any time soon. I maybe wrong, but for me I expect kane to pick up the win, with sheen really screwing Bryan here. Unless Bryan cheats, Bryan cannot win clean, because of the finishing moves he has got. But look at how Bryan's been booked, his anger etc, it's all frustrating, and losing to kane will pile it on, with AJ throwing Bryan to the dogs, sheen messing with Bryan, it is the ultimate revenge mission for AJ, where she finishes what she started with Bryan it makes sense for kane to go over

So for me I expect a dominating win for kane, if Bryan had a better finishing move set, he may win, but its going to be another defeat for the no man, unless he cheats

 

[midgensa]

Kane probably would be the logical choice if they want to drag this feud out anymore, but I don't think they do.

I think that Bryan gets the win and moves on to other things.

I have been pretty happy with these two working together though, so I would not mind seeing a Kane win to drag these guys working together out a bit.

 

[pepentorresHHH]

Im split about wrestlingfanatic´s pov, while it is true that bryan is more over than kane he cannot finish off kane because he lacks a finisher than can allow him to pin kane but he does have moves than can chop down kane, remember he is a kicking experct, and he can chop down kane with enough kicks.....but thats not the point..... also we havent seen them interact with each other except with kane annoucing himself as bryan´s anger management coach.... Charlie Shee must play a part here as well right?

But i think Kane will win with charlie sheen interfering

 

[wrestlingfanatic98]

Kane probably would be the logical choice if they want to drag this feud out anymore, but I don't think they do.

I think that Bryan gets the win and moves on to other things.

I have been pretty happy with these two working together though, so I would not mind seeing a Kane win to drag these guys working together out a bit.

How is Bryan going to win, if he has not got a finishing move set to beat kane. He is half the size of kane, and submission is not going to do it. It's pretty obvious this match is the ultimate revenge mission for AJ, throw Bryan in a match with kane, with kane being sheen's henchmen, AJ gets what she wants, and sees Bryan get destroyed by kane again. Kane's beat Bryan allot recently, just because Bryan is so feeble, and with the power and speed of kane I cannot see kane losing clean, it has to be a dirty win for Bryan, but if sheen is involved, it only strengthens my belief kane will pick up a dominating win, with sheen and AJ chanting YES at the end. But lets face it, Bryan is becoming a glorified jobber, and summerslam I see nothing changing

 

[King of the Words]

I think Kane will win do to interference by Charlie Sheen, who will probably be in Kane's corner.

This match seems kinda weak. I'm not a big fan of Orton by any means, but I thought for sure he would return and start a feud with Bryan. He is known to have anger management problems so that would fit perfectly with the Charlie Sheen bit.

Orton could have got a big win with help from Sheen. Instead he will probably be added to the WHC. match, which will turn into a boring triple threat match like the WWEC. match.

Poor booking.IMO.

 

[HBsam31]

I am torn with this one as Bryan does have a lot of momentum. I agree with the point that Bryan has no way to beat Kane though. He could easily use a foreign object to pick up the win. I could see this being the double countout match of the night as well with them brawling to the back or something like that. Not really sure how this one is going to go, but I could see Kane winning with interference from Sheen if he is involved.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I am torn with this one as Bryan does have a lot of momentum.

Daniel's personality has a lot of momentum, that's true...... but it remains to be seen if his winning ways have been compromised by recent events. I was surprised to see him pinned cleanly by John Cena, especially going into a major PPV in which the company wants all participants to appear strong.

Also, Daniel's Summerslam opponent is Kane, who doesn't hold a title and hasn't been involved in any major programs lately. For this PPV, Kane is a good acid test; if Daniel has any strength left in the lengthy push he's received the past year, he should be able to beat Kane, cleanly or not.

Kane, on the other hand, went over Miz in clean fashion Monday night, which surprised me. No, Miz isn't exactly Cena or Punk, but he is being pushed, as evidenced by his recent win of the IC title. Having Kane pin him two weeks before Summerslam indicates that they want Kane to appear strong for the match with Daniel.

I think Daniel will win if WWE wants to continue the high-profile billing they've given him over a long time. If not, the guy could sink back to the mid-card quick as a wink. Recently, he's been sent sprawling by A.J., pinned by John Cena.....and he's probably going to get embarrassed by Charlie Sheen in some way. If he also loses to Kane at Summerslam......look out below.

 

[wrestlingfanatic98]

Daniel's personality has a lot of momentum, that's true...... but it remains to be seen if his winning ways have been compromised by recent events. I was surprised to see him pinned cleanly by John Cena, especially going into a major PPV in which the company wants all participants to appear strong.

Also, Daniel's Summerslam opponent is Kane, who doesn't hold a title and hasn't been involved in any major programs lately. For this PPV, Kane is a good acid test; if Daniel has any strength left in the lengthy push he's received the past year, he should be able to beat Kane, cleanly or not.

Kane, on the other hand, went over Miz in clean fashion Monday night, which surprised me. No, Miz isn't exactly Cena or Punk, but he is being pushed, as evidenced by his recent win of the IC title. Having Kane pin him two weeks before Summerslam indicates that they want Kane to appear strong for the match with Daniel.

I think Daniel will win if WWE wants to continue the high-profile billing they've given him over a long time. If not, the guy could sink back to the mid-card quick as a wink. Recently, he's been sent sprawling by A.J., pinned by John Cena.....and he's probably going to get embarrassed by Charlie Sheen in some way. If he also loses to Kane at Summerslam......look out below.

I do not think Bryan has allot of momentum he's been losing allot, and you should not be surprised the miz lost clean to kane, the miz got squashed a few times by kane, it happened in 2009 when the miz took taker to the limit, a few days later and got beat by kane, so this is no surprise, plus it is masked kane, so it is expected for kane to beat the miz when they reintroduce kane's classic gimmick from the past.

The way Bryan has been built, I see him losing at summerslam. Because with AJ being the new GM, they are not going to make her look dumb, by booking Bryan in a match with kane, without AJ getting the last laugh here. I see kane winning clean here, just to humiliate Bryan some more. Bryan has no finishing move, if he is to beat kane, he must cheat to win. But I see AJ and sheen chanting YES at the end, after he loses to kane, just to see Bryan flip out screaming NO NO NO NO, which does create allot of reaction and heat from the crowd

 

[Infinity]

Why is wrestlingfanatic acting like this is a UFC fight and not a wrestling match with fixed outcomes? Realistically, yeah, Kane should kill Daniel Bryan every time, but by your logic, Daniel Bryan should have probably never been champion in the first place. You probably threw up when Mysterio won the title, too.

I'm just glad Bryan's taking on a wrestler, and not an actor.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Mitch Henessey - how is Bryan going to win, if he has not got a finishing move set to beat kane? kane aint going to tap out, because of Bryan's tiny physique and he aint no benoit for upper body strength, he cannot exactly keep kane down if Bryan is a midget compared to kane, Bryan's weapons are completely useless against kane. The booking team do not want kane losing clean to guys like Bryan now, and Bryan has been losing allot recently, so I do not see this changing any time soon. I maybe wrong, but for me I expect kane to pick up the win, with sheen really screwing Bryan here. Unless Bryan cheats, Bryan cannot win clean, because of the finishing moves he has got. But look at how Bryan's been booked, his anger etc, it's all frustrating, and losing to kane will pile it on, with AJ throwing Bryan to the dogs, sheen messing with Bryan, it is the ultimate revenge mission for AJ, where she finishes what she started with Bryan it makes sense for kane to go over

So for me I expect a dominating win for kane, if Bryan had a better finishing move set, he may win, but its going to be another defeat for the no man, unless he cheats

Well, as pepentorresHHH already pointed out, Bryan can use his kicks to wear Kane down, and the Yes/No Lock could become a factor. Also, Bryan can use his speed to outmaneuver Kane. Bottom line, Bryan is more than capable of holding his own against Kane.

I won't rule out the possibility of Bryan cheating, and as far as the Charlie Sheen stuff goes, he could stick his nose into this match at some point. I could picture a scenario with Sheen sitting in the audience (possibly front row), and causing some sort of distraction, that causes Bryan to lose focus, and Kane will take advantage for a sudden victory.

 

[wrestlingfanatic98]

Well, as pepentorresHHH already pointed out, Bryan can use his kicks to wear Kane down, and the Yes/No Lock could become a factor. Also, Bryan can use his speed to outmaneuver Kane. Bottom line, Bryan is more than capable of holding his own against Kane.

I won't rule out the possibility of Bryan cheating, and as far as the Charlie Sheen stuff goes, he could stick his nose into this match at some point. I could picture a scenario with Sheen sitting in the audience (possibly front row), and causing some sort of distraction, that causes Bryan to lose focus, and Kane will take advantage for a sudden victory.

Kicks are not going to keep kane down, and certainly not going to pin kane, when kane has shown he can take a hell of allot of punishment, and the Yes/No lock I just cannot see it being applied, when he cannot rap his hands around kane. Do not underestimate kane's speed, he is has quick as any big man in the business, I am going on past matches, and Bryan has just not been able to keep kane down. But I cannot see the booking team having someone like kane tap out to Bryan, its just not going to happen. For Bryan to win, he will have to cheat

Why is wrestlingfanatic acting like this is a UFC fight and not a wrestling match with fixed outcomes? Realistically, yeah, Kane should kill Daniel Bryan every time, but by your logic, Daniel Bryan should have probably never been champion in the first place. You probably threw up when Mysterio won the title, too.

I'm just glad Bryan's taking on a wrestler, and not an actor.

It's nothing to do with UFC, its just fact that Bryan really is fucked in matches with bigmen like kane, when he has a submission move for a powerful submission wrestler, if he had the ankle lock, yes its possible, but look at how much punishment kane has took against Y2J and angle, the walls and the ankle lock were applied for 4 mins against kane, and he still never tapped out. In recent storylines he has been acting for his part. Kane has been destroying Bryan in every match, so how will it change anytime soon? Mysterio has a finishing move, Bryan does not. And that is what I am getting across, his weapons against kane are going to be pretty useless, so its a nightmare booking wise for the writers when Bryan has no finishing move. So like I say, this match is built for AJ to have the last laugh, and see sheen have his spotlight. So really it makes sense for Bryan to lose

I could be wrong and Bryan wins, but it must be by cheating. But Bryan needs to change his finishing move set, and have an actual finishing move

 

[wrestlingfanatic98]

I am actually changing my prediction, despite kane been booked to win at house shows against Bryan, Bryan may actually win, but he will only cheat. Seeing AJ motivate Bryan that he has never pinned kane ever one on one, this may motivate Bryan to prove her wrong and beat kane booking wise, but because of Bryan's lack of finishing move, he will nick a win by cheating

 

[@smarkmouth]

Simply put; when has Kane ever lost cleanly? I'm sure there are examples of this, but I've been a fan about all my life, and I'm struggling to think of one. Kane may have had some funky story lines, that's for sure, but creative has always protected the monster.

I'm thinking Kane wins with help from AJ, either extending the feud or starting a storyline with Kane as the Raw General Managers "kept man". I think the latter would amuse me.

 

[The Crock]

This is a nice little hold-over feud for both men and I think they'll put on a decent match. Daniel Bryan's been near the top of the wrestling world since WrestleMania and he's only getting better and better. The guy's not in a championship feud right now, but certainly can be at any point and time. Facing somebody like Kane is an excellent way to maintain Bryan's momentum, while giving him a major "threat" as an opponent. On the other hand, this entire feud seems to be more about AJ/Bryan, rather than Kane/Bryan. I wouldn't be surprised to see some shenanigans play out during the match, but I think the end result needs to be the same, regardless of which path they choose to get there.

Daniel Bryan should, without a shadow of a doubt, win this match. He's been getting ridiculous reactions whenever he steps out in front of the fans and put on one of the best TV matches of the year with John Cena. Wouldn't it be fun to explore that (Bryan/Cena) as its own feud? It certainly would be and a win over Kane would make Bryan seem like a larger threat. Bryan/Kane isn't the type of feud I see going beyond SummerSlam, nor do I think it should. Bryan should get a major star, someone to really bring him to the forefront of WWE programming.

 

[JBK2008]

Good match for both guys to give them something to do and it kind of ties off the whole AJ thing as well at last. I liked it, but it's finally over. Kane doesn't need this win. He gets some TV wins and then puts over the young talent on PPV usually. Bryan has been on fire and the NO!NO!NO! is catching on!

Still, there's a problem. How in the world is Bryan going to win? He's just too small to make Kane tap. Who's knows. We've all seen stranger in the WWE. By hook or crook, Daniel Bryan SHOULD win this match and move on to better things. Nothing agianst Kane ofcourse. Kane can go with anyone in the ring, so a Kane win wouldn't shock me right now.

 

[HBKistheHOF]

This is BY FAR the weakest storyline now but could easily be one of the top matches of the night!

This story is played out and weak. If they want to continue Daniel Bryan and AJ, they need to do it without Kane. Especially since AJ is a "buisness woman" now. I think Bryan/AJ is too drawn out though. Since RAW 1000 there has been nowhere to go but down and since 1002 AJ has made no sense and been pointless (besides being gorgeous eye candy).

I just hope they give Kane/Bryan 15min+ and they END IT at Summerslam!
Maybe even add a No DQ/Hardcore Stipulation

 

[TheTruNoLimit]

This is a nice little hold-over feud for both men and I think they'll put on a decent match. Daniel Bryan's been near the top of the wrestling world since WrestleMania and he's only getting better and better. The guy's not in a championship feud right now, but certainly can be at any point and time. Facing somebody like Kane is an excellent way to maintain Bryan's momentum, while giving him a major "threat" as an opponent. On the other hand, this entire feud seems to be more about AJ/Bryan, rather than Kane/Bryan. I wouldn't be surprised to see some shenanigans play out during the match, but I think the end result needs to be the same, regardless of which path they choose to get there.

Daniel Bryan should, without a shadow of a doubt, win this match. He's been getting ridiculous reactions whenever he steps out in front of the fans and put on one of the best TV matches of the year with John Cena. Wouldn't it be fun to explore that (Bryan/Cena) as its own feud? It certainly would be and a win over Kane would make Bryan seem like a larger threat. Bryan/Kane isn't the type of feud I see going beyond SummerSlam, nor do I think it should. Bryan should get a major star, someone to really bring him to the forefront of WWE programming.

I understand your argument, but the thing about is that Bryan is getting a major star in Kane. The only superstars bigger stars than Kane are the likes of Cena, Punk, Orton, Sheamus (not counting part timers like HHH, Lesnar, Rock, Taker). And really, when you look at the list, Bryan has feuded with 2 out of the 4, so Kane is hardly the worst idea. Sure, there's also Big Show or Jericho, who are both mostly on the same tier as Kane in terms of star power, but that's about it. Ziggler isn't quite that level of star yet and Del Rio is treated as though he's on the top level of WWE talent but he can't get over to save his life.

 

[wrestlingfanatic98]

Good match for both guys to give them something to do and it kind of ties off the whole AJ thing as well at last. I liked it, but it's finally over. Kane doesn't need this win. He gets some TV wins and then puts over the young talent on PPV usually. Bryan has been on fire and the NO!NO!NO! is catching on!

Still, there's a problem. How in the world is Bryan going to win? He's just too small to make Kane tap. Who's knows. We've all seen stranger in the WWE. By hook or crook, Daniel Bryan SHOULD win this match and move on to better things. Nothing agianst Kane ofcourse. Kane can go with anyone in the ring, so a Kane win wouldn't shock me right now.

Even though I said Bryan will win, I think I am changing my mind. And no offense to Bryan, he is losing all the time. Yes kane has lost matches since his return, but he is winning matches and looking dominating. And why should kane lose to quiet frankly a guy in Bryan who is jobbing Bryan lost again on RAW on free TV , and yes it was cena, but the booking team are quiet willing to see Bryan get pinned, so I do not see that changing at summerslam, and the booking team seem to be protecting kane has kane and even sheamus did not appear on RAW. I do expect an impressive kane win, adding the fact Bryan does not have a finishing move to pin kane unless he cheats. This is masked kane, and I do not think it would help the masked character, to lose to a guy on a losing streak at the minute. Bryan is over, but that does not mean he will win which I cannot see happening, esp how the WWE treat their heels today

 

[Dagger Dias]

This one is a tough call and could really go either way. Bryan needs the win more than Kane does, so I'm giving him my predicted victory. It's a rather random feud, with Kane having proclaimed himself Bryan's anger management therapist, or whatever that was. Charlie Sheen could get involved somehow. I think it will be like what they did with Rourke at Wrestlemania 25.... He will be in attendance and then get involved after the actual match rather than be in Kane's corner or participate in the match. Bryan picks up a win and then Sheen comes into the ring to taunt him or something.

It could be good or really stupid, depending on how it goes. I'm hoping to see a decent match out of the two in which Bryan wins (honestly, does Kane NEED a win here?) and then begins a promo where he brags about winning followed of course by the dueling YES/NO chants with the fans, and then Sheen can get involved if he will be doing anything at this point. He'd get the last laugh if he did as the celebrities almost always do. I've got lower expectations for this than I usually do for a Daniel Bryan match, hopefully it will be alright.

DAGGER'S PREDICTION
Daniel Bryan will defeat Kane

 

[Carlito_Orton]

Pretty sure Kane's winning this.Usually if someone loses a big match the show before the ppv (Daniel Bryan vs Orton) they end up winning at the ppv but in this case I still Daniel Bryan's taking the loss here and there's probably going to have him continue on this losing streak and have him blame Aj for it.

I made a video discussing this actually talking about my prediction and what I'd like to see happen with DB.
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[youtube]9bf4dswCwSg&[/youtube]

 

[Theo Mays]

As much as I like Daniel Bryan to win, I can't see it going down. Just the way his character has been going I really don't see him picking up the win. You have to think Sheen is going to get involved at some point and I suspect he'll screw over Bryan and Kane will score the win. The WWE has hinted at the Sheen thing since he appeared at the 1000 Raw and it seems likely that Sheen will play a role. I'm thinking a Mickey Rourke like appearance from Sheen that will see him taking a shot from the mad man himself. I expect the match to be a doozy, Daniel Bryan tends to get the best out of whoever he is fighting and Kane is certainly good enough to carry a match as well.