Cena vs. Bryan was beyond excellent. In my eyes, a definite 5 star match that captured the kind of magic we saw with Punk vs. Cena at Money in the Bank 2011. Just like with that match, Cena & Bryan worked their asses off in an extremely competitive, physical match packed with great action, storytelling and dramatic near falls that had fans on the edge of their seat.
The match felt all the more grand, in my eyes at least, because not only did Daniel Bryan beat Cena, but he beat him clean right in the middle of the ring. I don't think most people were expecting that, I wasn't to be totally honest. I was expecting some degree of interference from Orton, Vince or somebody but it didn't happen. Trips called the match right down the middle and Bryan gained the biggest win of his career. It was a great moment.
Am I a little let down by Orton cashing in? Just a little. After all, as a fan who'd just watched a helluva match, I wouldn't have minded seeing Bryan have his moment of glory last and have the show sign off with a happy ending. But, let's be honest, I think most of us expected that he'd cash in. Triple H screwing Bryan over is what was surprising, at least to me, as this changes the whole complexion of the Vince vs. Triple H angle. I don't know where they're going from here and the idea of Trips going heel while Vince going face didn't appeal to me at this time yesterday. However, I do have to say that I'm intrigued. Maybe it has to do with the fact that Bryan came out of the whole thing looking very, very strong by beating John Cena clean while looking even more sympathetic being screwed over by Triple H. The follow up on Raw tonight will be very interesting.
