Before we get started, make sure you’ve checked out last week’s article – which was the first part of this in-depth look at Daniel Bryan vs Triple H. Done? OK. Let’s move on.
Today, in the second part of the series, I’ll be looking at the build to this match over the last few weeks – what’s worked, what hasn’t and what I would’ve done to improvement. That’s not to say that I know better than everyone else, but opinions are like Ferrari’s – everyone has one!
The Build-Up
The build to this match has been a little bit strange because it completely changed mid-course. I mean we could look at it from the perspective that this match has been destined to take place since SummerSlam last year. I talked a lot about that last week, so I won’t repeat myself.
For argument’s sake, let’s just say it all started in the lead-up to Elimination Chamber when Daniel Bryan started having issues with Kane. Kane was the stepping stone to Triple H, keeping the story relevant to Daniel Bryan trying to defeat the Authority.
As I mentioned last week, this whole storyline was intended to go to CM Punk, with Bryan slated to be feuding with Sheamus into Mania instead, which (I think) would’ve caused a riot in New Orleans. They even went so far as to set up a feud between Kane and Punk after Punk eliminated him from the Rumble, only for Kane to return the favour later on (Punk would then walk away from the company less than 24 hours later).
There were good moments and bad moments in Bryan’s “feud” with Kane – mostly good because they know each other quite well, and the David vs Goliath battle is always a good thing to have in wrestling. Their match on Main Event a couple of weeks ago was a particular highlight of the series, but it was all filler until they started putting Bryan and HHH in the same ring together.
That all started 4 weeks ago when Bryan confronted Triple H in the parking lot about everything that had happened for the past 7 months, and demanded a match at WrestleMania. This was heartily laughed off by HHH of course, in true heel fashion. The battles with Kane continued throughout all of this until last week.
3 weeks ago, they continued to dangle the carrot by having HHH and Bryan face-off in the middle of the ring, but they still hadn’t made the match official. The rabid Chicago crowd booing H and Stephanie mercilessly helped elevate HHH’s heel tactics to a new level though, which all led to the amazing Occupy Raw segment from 2 weeks ago.
That moment not only made the match official, but it also made a moment that will live on among the greatest Raw moments in history – whether you like it or not. No it’s not the Austin beer truck, but it’s up there, and definitely in the top 5.
This segment also made the main-event potentially a lot more interesting with the added stipulation that if Bryan wins, he’ll be inserted into the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match later on in the night, making it a triple-threat.
It almost guarantees that Bryan will win because, as it stands, the main-event is heel vs heel, and those matches never go down well. With this being Mania, and the 30th anniversary no less, they cannot afford to have the match crapped on by the fans, and given how diverse the Mania crowd is, it will be!
All of this was elevated further by developments last week, when HHH got frustrated and decided to insert himself into the main-event too, should he win. It won’t happen, but it’s an intriguing possibility to say the least. I honestly wouldn’t put it past HHH to put himself in the main-event, but there’s too much at stake for him to pull that kind of stunt.
What Worked
Rather than go off on a tangent about stuff here, I’m just going to list what worked:
- Occupy Raw
- Bryan pinning Orton clean a number of times
- Bryan beating Kane decisively multiple times
- Not having Batista beat Bryan clean
- The stipulation to place Bryan in the main event
Some good things here, but what didn’t work is what’s really important, right?
What Didn’t Work
Again, I’m going to use a list, but this time in a little more detail:
- HHH laughing at Bryan’s challenge as if it were nothing
- Not putting Bryan in the main event in the beginning
- Continued mis-treatment of Bryan since August of last year
- Beat down after beat down after beat down after…you get the picture
- CM Punk’s sloppy seconds
There wasn’t a truckload of things wrong with the build-up, it was just a bit of a mess. Punk’s departure was actually the least messy part because the role that Punk was due to be playing should have went to Bryan anyway because of what’d happened over the latter half of last year!
The messy part was that they didn’t really acknowledge any of the previous story (basically anything that happened in 2013) until 2 weeks ago, so they had to scramble to find an opponent for HHH and a way to fix the main-event after the oh-so-astronomical failure of Batista’s return.
If Batista had come back last year, it would have been fine, but 2013 was the year of Daniel Bryan. And that train hasn’t stopped. If anything, it’s gathered momentum in 2014, so anyone coming back to steal a spot that should rightfully have gone to Bryan was going to get booed.
Hell, if The Rock or Stone Cold had come back to take that spot, they would have been booed. Don’t believe me? Look at the reaction Rey Mysterio got when he was the number 30 entrant in the Royal Rumble. Rey NEVER gets booed, and he only getting booed in that instance because he wasn’t Daniel Bryan!
What I Would Have Done Differently
There are a lot of things I would have done differently, but most of them extend to last year when the story was fresh and new, and things were changing on a daily basis – like holding the title “in abeyance” for 2 months, constantly changing your mind on whether Randy Orton was the face of the company or not.
In terms of the build towards this WrestleMania match between HHH and Daniel Bryan, there’s not really a lot that I would’ve changed.
As much as I loved the segment, I would have had the match made official in a different way instead of hijacking the entire Raw broadcast.
I would’ve had Daniel Bryan call HHH out on all of his crap, and slowly, but subtly push him closer to the edge until he snapped and agreed to the match. I appreciate that there may not have been time for that, given that they only started to build the match 5 weeks before Mania – which is understandable considering the backstage circumstances surrounding it – but that’s just my opinion.
I also would’ve made Daniel Bryan look a little stronger, instead of continually going back to the typical “you hit like a girl”, “put on Stephanie’s pant suit” or “hiding behind your wife’s skirt” comments every time he challenged HHH to the match.
There are other, less sexist ways to goad someone into a fight. He could’ve said how HHH has lost twice to the Undertaker at WrestleMania, as well as twice to Curtis Axel on Raw (albeit by count-out, but still). You’re not calling his manhood into question. Instead, you’re saying that he’s hiding behind his corporate title and is genuinely afraid of a real wrestler.
But sexism is cool in WWE apparently, even for Daniel Bryan – who’s probably the furthest thing from that in real life, given what little I know about him from Total Divas!
Conclusion
Overall, the build to this match has been good, but it could’ve been a lot better. Some things worked, others didn’t, but you could say that about any feud in wrestling. Nothing’s ever perfect. Even the Austin/Rock feuds back in the Attitude Era faltered a bit from time-to-time. It’s hard to sustain gripping feuds for long periods of time, especially when there’s so many changes just a few weeks before the event.
I’m suitably excited for this match. I’m going into it 90% sure that Bryan will go on to the main-event, and 50% sure that he’ll win that main-event. If that happens, then WrestleMania will be an event that will go down in history, and finally make good on WWE’s promise of building stars for the future.
Either that, or we’ll end up with HHH as champion and Cena will defeat Bray Wyatt in 12 seconds. But they wouldn’t possibly do that…would they…
Make sure you come back next week for the final part of my in-depth series on Daniel Bryan vs HHH, where I’ll be looking at predictions, not just from me, but from most of our writers here on the site!
Peace!
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