What's Next For Bryan?

[The Eighties]

According to a report from F4WOnline.com, the current plan calls for the Wyatt Family, Bryan & Punk to be involved in a traditional Survivor Series match. As of now, it's going to be 4 on 4 rather than 5 on 5 with 1 yet to be revealed wrestler teaming with the Family and 2 other wrestlers teaming with Bryan & Punk. This program is being used as a means of using Punk & Bryan's popularity to help elevate the Wyatt Family.

As for the 4th member of Team Wyatt, I'd say that it'll either be Ryback or Kane taking that spot. Kane joining the team, even after being taken out by them, could be a request from Stephanie. After all, he pretty much came right out and said that he's her monster now. Ryback's a possibility but after seeing him so handily defeated twice by Punk in a 24 hour stretch, his stock seems pretty low to me.

For Bryan & Punk's team, it's difficult to say at this time. The Family could wind up claiming more victims in the weeks leading up to Survivor Series, which I think is probably the way they'll do this. Miz seems a likely choice but, frankly, Miz's stock is at an all time low right now, especially after being squashed by Kane last night in about 2 minutes. Kofi Kingston's a possibility as the Family looked to be going after him recently, even though nothing's really come of it as of yet. Dolph Ziggler is also a pretty good possibility I think. His stock isn't exactly skyrocketing right now, but it's higher than Miz's. A long shot is a returning babyface Wade Barrett, but I'm mostly mentioning him as he could be used as something of a surprise. As I said, he's a long shot.

Kane being forced to team with The Wyatt's is a possibility I guess, I think Ryback is done for now in big angles.

I think the face team would need some size added to it if the heel team lines up as above, and The Wyatt's have already beaten Kofi and Miz. This would be a good place to bring Mark Henry back in to side with Punk and Bryan I suppose.

Although in truth I'd prefer a handicap match of The Waytt's vs Punk & Bryan, it would cut to the chase IMO.

 

[SSJPhenom]

What's next for Daniel Bryan? IMO, a major step down.

Why does WWE do this to people? IMO, Daniel Bryan was on the verge of getting to a CM Punk and John Cena type level. Hell he was basically already there and they go and put him back into a mid card feud with the Wyatt Family? As has already been said, the WWE really dropped the ball on this one.

Bryan needed to win the WWE Championship at Hell in a Cell and have a legit run with it, but now he's out of the title picture altogether. I think that the brass in the WWE might actually have something against D-Bry in real life because why would they stop someone from becoming a legit superstar? Someone that, along with Punk, would be able to carry the WWE in the future? It just doesn't make any sense to me.

The only way that D-Bry can recover from this is if he were to win the Royal Rumble and FINALLY get his shot at being the legit WWE Champion at WrestleMania XXX. Even then, however, the fans might have given up on D-Bry because he's back in the mid card.

I hope that D-Bry and Punk can make short work with the Wyatt Family and get back to Main Event glory. I know that Punk will because he's a legit top guy, however, Bryan hasn't been a legit top guy yet. I just hope the fans don't lose interest in D-Bry and he's able to over come this mid card feud.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

Not sure where most of you thought DB was heading. He was never going to be the top guy. They needed an interesting storyline while Cena was away, nothing more. I think Bryan has permanently moved up a notch, but don't kid yourselves, he's never going to be "the" guy. Outside of being great in the ring, he doesn't have the tools.

 

[The Butcher]

Not sure where most of you thought DB was heading. He was never going to be the top guy. They needed an interesting storyline while Cena was away, nothing more. I think Bryan has permanently moved up a notch, but don't kid yourselves, he's never going to be "the" guy. Outside of being great in the ring, he doesn't have the tools.

Tried to tell 'em:

Some dim bulbs are setting themselves up for colossal disappointment. This storyline just started. Sure, there are similarities and like I said, if you want to point them out, go for it. Just don't get ahead of yourself. Some are rushing to dub this "Austin/McMahon 2013," and when the angle doesn't live up to that billing, they'll be the first ones waxing and waning.

WWE doesn't strap rockets to guys' backs anymore. They elevate and then they relegate, keeping every above average talent simmering at a level where they could believably beat or lose to almost anyone save those at the extreme ends of the pecking order. I'm not going to lie though- I was a little disappointed by Bryan's lack of a real title reign. That's partly because I'm a fan and partly because I'm all for world title holders not named Cena or Orton. However, as I said after Bryan lost the belt at SummerSlam, the title is a prop; the storyline and placement on the card did more for Daniel than a potentially loss-filled or otherwise mismanaged title reign would have.

I like this potential Survivor Series match. It's a solid use of the traditional elimination tag match, and it will showcase some of my current favorites in Bryan, Punk, and Bray. How the teams will fill out is intriguing. It would seem that The Miz would be a shoo-in, and Kane would work well on either squad. It won't happen, but a neat idea I had is WWE surprising us with Luke Gallows as a teammate for Punk's team. They could then spin that off into a feud between The Wyatt Family and a new, face Straight Edge Society, which could either culminate at TLC with a stipulated 6-man tag or go into the new year and lead to some fun moments in the Rumble, perhaps featuring some mic work in a callback to Punk's excellent 2010 performance. That's my markish fantasy, though. As long as The Wyatt Family's fourth man isn't "The Devil" like HBK's teammate was once "God," I doubt I'll have many complaints with the match however it shakes out. Hope Alvarez and Meltzer got a good tip on this one.

 

[DB-Fan]

It does seem painfully obvious that, at a minimum, the "powers that be" have decided to drop Bryan down a notch and replace him in both legit fueds (Orton and, more importantly, HHH). Now the Big Show looks to have those spots. If I were Danielson I'd be disappointed. No doubt about that. He did everything they asked of him and he still didn't get the traditional payoff for such an angle.

On a related note, did anyone else think it strange that they didn't allow Daniel Bryan to speak at all Monday Night on Raw? I thought that was a bit strange and possibly pointed to the higher ups maybe feeling he wasn't cutting it in promos. I certainly don't agree if that was the issue, but something happened because it made no sense for Daniel not to have a mic while he was out there with HBK.

Thoughts?

 

[OwenHart]

I believe WWE would not had give Bryan so much exposure and allowing him to beat up Cena clear and also Orton and make him look weaker than Bryan if they did not have big plans for him. I dont believe they will drop Bryan. At least not yet. Lets be patient. Yes it looks like WWE is going for some type Survivor Series match with Punk against the Wyatts. BUT i dont believe it would hurt Bryan to team up with WWEs biggest name (well after Cena) and go against the Wyatts. Specially if the "Devil" is Stephanie or one of the Authority. This way Bryan would in some way STILL be fighting against the Corporation.

Big Show turned out to become big because the fans sympathised with the big sensible giant who was crying and lost his house etc...but IMO booking Big Show like Stone Cold will not work. Big Show cant become WWEs top guy. I believe sooner or later Bryan wll get another shot at the title and this time win it and keep it!!! I dont know how... but i would be VERY dissapointed if they really do send him back to mid card. But as long as he sells merchandise and is so crazy over with the fans i cant see that happening!

 

[DB-Fan]

Wow. So no one else found it strange that Daniel wasn't given a mic and didn't really speak at all on Monday Night? I thought that spoke volumes (no pun intended). I honestly believe that was a reflection of what Vince and HHH think about Daniel's promo skills. And this is coming from a big fan and someone who doesn't think Bryan does poorly on the mic. But I believe the WWE was looking for a scapegoat in terms of poorer ratings and decided to put at least a little bit of the blame on their "B+ wrestler." I honestly don't know what tptb think of Daniel, even after all this time. Did they conduct an "experiment" with him while Cena was on the bench and feel the experiment failed? Are they just moving him down the roster for the time being, with the bigger plan that they'll reintroduce him to the main storyline after SS? I wish I knew, but after Monday Night Raw I have honest doubts about their confidence in DB.

 

[steven87gill]

I don't think there is any chance of them doing Orton vs Bryan at Mania, Byran has beaten him numerous times and they just headlined 3 PPV's in a row. Truthfully Orton is just an avatar for Triple H, he is the main heel in the angle and the guy Bryan needs to beat for it to really matter IMO.

Stone Cold never beat Vince McMahon at Wrestle Mania 14 & 15, but on both occasions (more so with the Rock) he beat men that were arguably 'avatars' for Vince McMahon/The Corporation as well, that didn't take away from those victories, nor did it mean he was any less over because of it.

So I say Orton vs Bryan will main event Wrestle Mania 30, with HHH in the lead up playing a similar role to Vince McMahon back in 1999.

So I could certainly envisage a match between the two, but it would be before WM, as a means for Bryan to actually get to Orton in the ME. (a mirror of St Valentines Day Massacre)

 

[DB-Fan]

So by now we've heard that the buyrate for SummerSlam was way down. I'm guessing this might have been the final nail in the Daniel Bryan main event scene coffin. I think this is why the storyline with Daniel fighting both Orton and the Corporation has been dropped and Big Show has taken his place. And while I'd like to believe that somehow the Wyatt Family beatdown will be traced back to HHH and therefore keep the cohesion of the big storyline in place (Bryan against the WWE Corp) I'm not so sure.

All I'm going to say is this. If the WWE doesn't follow up what they've been building ever since SummerSlam (heck, even before that) and give us a satisfactory ending to this storyline I'm done with them. If they just unceremoniously drop the story then I say to heck with them!

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

So by now we've heard that the buyrate for SummerSlam was way down. I'm guessing this might have been the final nail in the Daniel Bryan main event scene coffin. I think this is why the storyline with Daniel fighting both Orton and the Corporation has been dropped and Big Show has taken his place. And while I'd like to believe that somehow the Wyatt Family beatdown will be traced back to HHH and therefore keep the cohesion of the big storyline in place (Bryan against the WWE Corp) I'm not so sure.

All I'm going to say is this. If the WWE doesn't follow up what they've been building ever since SummerSlam (heck, even before that) and give us a satisfactory ending to this storyline I'm done with them. If they just unceremoniously drop the story then I say to heck with them!

Don't go betting the farm on coherence from the WWE. It's just not gonna end happily.

Summerslam 2013 had the same buy rate as Summerslam 2011 and yet, Punk is still doing quite well. 2012 had Lesnar Vs. Triple H, which had a pretty solid build for that match. But, they can't keep going back to that well too often.

 

[DB-Fan]

Trust me, I'm not counting on WWE to do much of anything right nowadays. They are notorious for dropping storylines. What will be so bad about this one in particular though is that Daniel Bryan had progressed, grassroots-wise, to some major fan reaction like hasn't been seen in a while and that might all be squandered. On top of that, the basis of the storyline allowed for Hunter and company to really - and I do mean R-E-A-L-L-Y - take shots at Daniel by painting him as a "nice little B+ player." If the storyline is dropped where it's at then all that does is affirm everything HHH, Vince, Stephanie, and the rest have said. And that almost has to affect fan reaction. You can't demoralize a guy over and over, failing to get a payoff, and expect the fans to keep cheering. I fear that's where we are at right now and I expect we'll see a decreasing fan reaction for Daniel as the weeks progress. I hope I'm wrong, but it's what I honestly think is going to happen.

The only way this storyline can be redeemed is if HHH is behind the Wyatt's, and if Daniel comes back and wins the RR so he can be assured of heading in strong to Wrestlemania. But I'm not betting on any of that either.

 

[SkyCommanderWinky]

So Shawn's excuse for superkicking Daniel Bryan was that he was protecting his friend... after his friend was already knocked out... Yeah, that makes sense...

Kane doesn't care that the Wyatts burned him and put him out of action for months...

The Wyatts, who claim to have a reason behind their attacks, attack yet another 2 people at random... Adding Daniel Bryan and CM Punk to a list of people including Kane, Kofi Kingston, The Miz, and Kassius Ohno...

And all this leaves Randy feuding with whom? The Big Show? Wow... smell the ratings on that one...

I'm so glad I boycotted Raw.

Edit: This is the first I've heard of the Summerslam buyrate being low. That's shitty because Summerslam was 1 of the only 2 PPVs I bought this year (The other being MITB which I buy every year) and I bought it specifically to counteract the people that would (wrongfully) blame Daniel Bryan if Summerslam flopped.

 

[DB-Fan]

Well, I got my answer (per the report on the main page). So hoping I was wrong. This sucks!

 

[Jack-Hammer]

The report on the main page, and featured on other sites, confirms Bryan is out of the WWE Championship picture. It also suggests, however, that there could be another time for Bryan a bit down the line. The report states that angle finished up with Bryan simply being unable to overcome The Authority, but that it can be addressed again later. There's also talk of Bryan being put back in contention during WrestleMania season, but that his program with Punk & the Wyatt Family will be where he's used for the next few months. The report also says that WWE feels Bryan is a star who can hang with the other top guys in the company. Given the type of response he's continually gotten from fans, I don't see how officials could come to any other logical conclusion.

There's still 6 months until WrestleMania and a lot can happen between now and then. Bryan's easily among the most over guys in the company and his popularity has only increased since his WHC push roughly 2 years ago. So while I personally believe that it was a mistake not putting the title on Bryan, MAYBE they have something planned for him next year. As the report alluded to, while Bryan wasn't able to overcome The Authority. It wasn't Orton so much as Stephanie & Triple H's machinations & plans that ultimately screwed over Bryan, but it ended in a way that they can get back into it later on. Plus, there's also the potentially unfinished business with John Cena that's still floating out there.

 

[Redrum]

I like how when i said this would happen some people said i was being dumb. It was clear as day to me monday night they were moving him out of the title picture yet some i guess cant see was was clear as day to others.

Called a team of Punk and Bryan + whoever else vs the Wyatts and Show vs Orton but i was attacked. Time has proven me in the right!

 

[SkyCommanderWinky]

I like how when i said this would happen some people said i was being dumb. It was clear as day to me monday night they were moving him out of the title picture yet some i guess cant see was was clear as day to others.

Called a team of Punk and Bryan + whoever else vs the Wyatts and Show vs Orton but i was attacked. Time has proven me in the right!

So let me get this straight. You saw the Wyatts attack Punk and Bryan and called Punk and Bryan (and someone as yet un-named) vs Wyatts? Then you saw Show knock out Orton and called Show vs Orton?

I'm sorry dude but I can't help it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqkI691dxNg

 

[Donald]

I don't see nothing happening with the big show and orton feud i expect that to last a whole month! as far as daniel and punk facing wyatt family i hope this is a one time deal, then at tlc daniel bryan vs randy orton just to be screwed by the big show, big show get's his job back. at the royal rumble cm punk wins the rumble, and announces he's going for the wwe championship, and at elinmation chamber randy retains which leads to
randy orton vs cm punk "wwe championship"
daniel bryan vs big show
cody rhodes vs goldust
and john cena vs "insert person here"

 

[Blade]

So let me get this straight. You saw the Wyatts attack Punk and Bryan and called Punk and Bryan (and someone as yet un-named) vs Wyatts? Then you saw Show knock out Orton and called Show vs Orton?

I'm sorry dude but I can't help it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqkI691dxNg

I'm not sure you know what hindsight means...

Anyway, the Wyatts versus Bryan and Punk will be a great angle to run while we're waiting for the Wrestlemania season angles to kick off. When Bryan faces off with Bray, gets attacked by the family, then Punk makes the save, the pop will be pretty epic.

And we've got the basis for a very good Survivor Series match-up. If the Wyatts turn out to be working for the Authority somehow, we could have the Wyatts and the Shield against Punk, Bryan and other faces. That would be a lot of fun.

But at the end of the day, Bryan is in a pretty good spot. I know he's not WWE champion, but we know he's going to go over the Wyatts during the feud. He's going to be shown as equal to Punk. And it looks like it could lead to Punk vs Bryan too, which will be wonderful to watch. Particularly if it's the two Indy kids fighting over the WWE title at Wrestlemania.

So yeah, there's no need to worry about Bryan, he'll be fine. The IWC just has this idea that if one of their favourite isn't WWE or World Champion, he's being buried.

 

[DB-Fan]

I agree in principle with everything Jack-Hammer said. What he expressed is what "should" happen considering the organic and continued popularity on Daniel Bryan. But I just don't trust Vince and HHH to do what is "right" in this situation. I think this is the beginning of burying Daniel back toward the mid-card because he's not a Vince guy, he's not large, and most importantly he didn't bring in huge numbers in Cena's absence (even though I don't think that should be attributed to him). Unless the fans really, really stay behind Daniel over the next couple of months he's not going to be brought back into the main event.

The saddest part has nothing to do with him not winning the WWE title from Orton. I couldn't care less about that. What frosts me is that the program with the "Authority" has been abandoned and it makes DB look weak. No payoff after all the crap HHH and Steph spewed, and the multiple beatdowns Daniel took, can do nothing but hurt his credibility with the fan base. Had Daniel turned his focus from Orton to HHH then I'd have been fine with everything coming out of HIAC. But instead they've basically put Big Show in a program with both those guys (instead of splitting it up and letting Daniel have a serious program one on one with HHH). It just stinks, imho.

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

I agree in principle with everything Jack-Hammer said. What he expressed is what "should" happen considering the organic and continued popularity on Daniel Bryan. But I just don't trust Vince and HHH to do what is "right" in this situation. I think this is the beginning of burying Daniel back toward the mid-card because he's not a Vince guy, he's not large, and most importantly he didn't bring in huge numbers in Cena's absence (even though I don't think that should be attributed to him). Unless the fans really, really stay behind Daniel over the next couple of months he's not going to be brought back into the main event.

The saddest part has nothing to do with him not winning the WWE title from Orton. I couldn't care less about that. What frosts me is that the program with the "Authority" has been abandoned and it makes DB look weak. No payoff after all the crap HHH and Steph spewed, and the multiple beatdowns Daniel took, can do nothing but hurt his credibility with the fan base. Had Daniel turned his focus from Orton to HHH then I'd have been fine with everything coming out of HIAC. But instead they've basically put Big Show in a program with both those guys (instead of splitting it up and letting Daniel have a serious program one on one with HHH). It just stinks, imho.

I really enjoy DB as well, but i think you hit the nail on the head with your statement about not bringing numbers while cena was gone. Vince is a business man and business men deal in numbers.

I think the only thing DB has going for him as far as staying in the spotlight with the WWE title is the fact that they have pushed Cena into the heavyweight deal to bring it some more credibility. meaning DB may be there to stay for the foreseeable future

 

[DB-Fan]

Crap. DBryan gets what I thought was the biggest reaction of the night and is relegated to a 30 second interview backstage? Sorry, but I just see tptb as cutting off their nose to spite their face right now.

 

[Redrum]

So let me get this straight. You saw the Wyatts attack Punk and Bryan and called Punk and Bryan (and someone as yet un-named) vs Wyatts? Then you saw Show knock out Orton and called Show vs Orton?

I'm sorry dude but I can't help it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqkI691dxNg

Apparently you cant get it straight so let me help you. I said yeah that's probably what would happen but the Bryan fanclub said i was being stupid they wouldn't have show vs Orton or move Bryan out of the title picture.

You may try and flame me for pointing out the obvious matches but hey better then seeing what was obvious and going "Derrr Bryan vs Orton IV!"

 

[DB-Fan]

So I guess it's now about as official as it's going to be that Vince & Co blame Daniel for the poor buy rates at the last few PPVs. If this doesn't prove that he's been pushed back, not simply to let him "simmer" (as some have speculated) for a future rebuild, but because they honestly don't believe he's a true, bigtime main event guy, then I don't know what does. It's obvious to me. And again, for the record, I absolutely hate saying it and actually having to admit that's what is going on. But I think it's pretty clear.

Now, does this mean Daniel won't ever be back in the top spot again at Wrestlemania? No. All that could happen. But what it does mean is that this isn't just tptb deciding to put DBryan on hold simply to let him simmer for a bit before pushing him again. I think it's clear that he's been "demoted" at this point. No, he's not gone to mid-card or anything. But he's been replaced by Big Show specifically because HHH and VK don't believe in Daniel at this point. Painful to acknowledge, but the truth as I see it.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

I got nothing against a Punk/Bryan vs. Wyatt's feud but it's a bit frustrating as a fan to see Bryan taken out of the WWE title picture because he never got his revenge and although he may have never got beaten cleanly at the end of the day he got beat, Randy Orton is still champ and HHH still gets his way. I'm not gonna comment on Bryan getting blamed for Summerslam as we all knew that was coming but if that's true then I worry about what's gonna happen when Cena leave.

The thing that frustrates me the most about this though is WWE's whole "pulling out before climax" when it comes to building their talent. It's not just Bryan, it's Punk, it's Ryback, it's a lot of guys in the WWE locker room that could/should be a lot higher in value and would be if WWE didn't keep stopping short on their push. Realistically how are they gonna ever build legit stars after Cena if they freak out every time a new star draws less than Cena? Of course they aren't gonna draw great at first, very few do.

WWE in '97 did shit business but they had a bright future. Wrestlemania 13 was the lowest buyrate in the history of Wrestlemania and the only match that people wanted to see was Bret vs. Austin (who one year later became the biggest star in the history of wrestling) making it (in my mind) the main event of the show. Austin was hot as hell in '97 but business was in the crapper but that shitty business year (which was awesome TV wise) set up their biggest year which came 12 months later. The great thing about
WWE today is even with no Cena they will still make money so even if they have a few bad buyrates no big deal, but building new talent through those buyrates could set up big years down the road. I'm not saying anyone is on the level of Austin all I'm saying is if WWE pulled what they pull now in '97 (killing Austin's main event push after a shit WM buyrate) they wouldn't be in business today.

They will never reach their full potential money wise if they keep pulling back when they are getting ready to build their superstars. Punk would have been a much bigger deal money wise if they went all the way with him, same with Ryback, same with Bryan. It doesn't mean Cena can't still be the face but its a good idea to set up talent that can take that spot after Cena is done. Anyways I went off topic.

I think Punk/Bryan vs. Wyatt's will be a good feud. You got a pair of good talkers in Bray and Punk, all characters have interesting elements to them, they can all get it done in the ring so I see nothing but good things throughout this feud. I still wish Bryan was feuding with Triple H/Orton but as a consolation prize I will happily take it. It may not be as big of a feud for Bryan but this feud has more potential from an entertainment perspective.