This past Sunday, WWE delivered on all levels by producing a PPV which far surpassed the excitement of WrestleMania 29.
The build for the PPV was solid but it was only when we got to the go-home RAW that everyone realised that this past Sunday had the potential to be really special. The segment between John Cena and Daniel Bryan was excellent, made sense, generated excitement and made you think we was back in 2011 with gritty believable promos. Daniel Bryan proved his worth on the microphone when he claimed that John Cena was a parody of wrestling and Cena fired back with a promo that didn’t feel like Fred Flintstone handed him a script.
The PPV itself delivered everything it claimed it could. Sure, more could have been made on the mid-card but I don’t want to take away from the two main events which was worthy of admission alone.
Brock Lesnar and CM Punk went all out and pulled no punches. The story told was fantastic. Lesnar could look dominate with his ability to throw Punk round like a ragdoll whilst Punk was able to make the fight believable with his MMA antics during the bout. Lesnar needed this win and it didn’t make Punk look bad due to the interference from Paul Heyman.
John Cena vs Daniel Bryan was an epic encounter that had a similar vibe to Money in the Bank 2011. The effort put in by both men was credible and impressive. However, I still would have rather seen Cena lose consciousness in the Yes Lock rather than be pinned but in this day and age to get a clean victory over Cena is definitely the sign of the company believing in you.
If you listened to my latest podcast (The IWC – International Wrestling Chat) then you would know that the Orton cash in and Triple H turn was something that was more-or-less confirmed and predicted by myself when Hunter announced he was going to be the special guest referee for the contest.
SummerSlam went off the air perfectly, making all fans desperate to see what would happen 24 hours later on RAW. RAW did a fantastic job of continuing the story by giving Triple H’s explanation but not going in to too much detail.
RAW didn’t really do much for me as I was begging to get to the final segment but it was enough to make me want to see what will happen again next week. Bryan is now basically the PG Austin. He has a massive support and in storyline he isn’t what the company wants. He is however on a wave of popularity and Triple H is now the PG Mr. McMahon character which should now be putting barriers up for Bryan to come running through (I hope that all makes sense!).
The next 4-6 months is absolutely crucial for Daniel Bryan. He has been handed an opportunity to become the face of the company whilst John Cena takes time off for surgery. He certainly has enough popularity, skill and charisma to do so and the current story is something that shouldn’t be rushed but ultimately thought out and planned out over the next few months to ensure that it isn’t put on the backburner upon Cena’s return. Bryan should now have classic encounters, overcoming the odds against Randy Orton and Triple H and I for one am putting my feet up for this one, because it should be good!
On a side note I wanted to commend Darren Young on feeling confident enough to speak about his sexuality in public. In my eyes it isn’t something that should be spoken about as if it isn’t normal or is something ‘different’. However, in the world of Professional Wrestling and the mainstream media I can understand how it might be difficult to open yourself at that level. It takes a lot to be able to be that honest and open and I’m sure that people will be inspired to realise that it isn’t something to hide behind or be scared of.
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Until then, enjoy WWE for having a unique setup for the next few months, CM Punk and Bryan as a face, Orton and Triple H as a heel and John Cena for having some time off which is sad in the nature of his absence but at least gives us some different main event matches!
