After hitting John Cena with a running knee that came from out of nowhere (no Michael Cole/RKO pun intended), Daniel Bryan pinned the champ and the crowd erupted into a deafening “YES!” chant. Many believed that the Bryan era had begun in the WWE, until Orton’s music hit seconds later and basically everyone knew where it was going from there.
Since then, Bryan has been involved in a long, occasionally meandering feud with the Authority. Along the way, Bryan defeated Orton at Night of Champions to regain the title before having it stripped away the following night, battled Orton to a no contest at Battleground, got screwed out of the title by Shawn Michaels at Hell in a Cell, and has been involved in countless minor storylines along the way.
Some have complained that Bryan’s Authority program has been too drawn out and that there should have been some sort of payoff months ago. I admit that I was once in this camp. The night following Hell in a Cell, the Wyatt Family attacked Bryan, pulling him away from the main event scene for multiple months while allowing for the Big Show and John Cena to feud with Orton.
It seemed impossible to think that Bryan could maintain momentum and stay relevant without directly battling the man holding the strap. In fact, the WWE’s WrestleMania plan originally did not even include having Bryan anywhere near the main event, as it was originally rumored that he would battle Sheamus. And then Pittsburgh happened.
With the WWE banking on Batista returning and being one of the top faces of the company, the Pittsburgh crowd chewed him up and spit him out like a piece of cheap, undercooked steak. Had the crowd cheered Batista that night, there is little doubt that he would be headlining WrestleMania with Orton alone. Instead, they rejected the garbage product they were being served and could have potentially altered WWE history.
