WWE: How the Daniel Bryan-Triple H Feud May Shape Survivor Series

Post by Travis Taylor

Daniel Bryan’s recent feud with Triple H and his beatings by a slew of his henchmen may be an early sign of how this year’s Survivor Series is taking shape.

Daniel Bryan on Raw. Photo by WWE.com

The conflict between Bryan and the WWE’s COO has clicked. With fans in place over who to cheer and who to jeer, the WWE may have ratings gold on this one.

The WWE has handled the career of Bryan perfectly. After his loss of the world title to Sheamus in 18 seconds at WrestleMania 28, he could have been sent packing down the proverbial ladder.

Instead, a funny set of skits brought him together with Kane. They formed a tag team that got over and held the WWE Tag Team titles for more than eight months. 

This run with Kane in Team Hell No, and the aftermath where he sought to prove he wasn’t the weak link, helped to surge his popularity with the fans. The guy can wrestle, and he proved that in matches with Randy Orton and The Shield. Throw in a perfectly timed Total Divas reality television and Bryan was the Everyman who stood toe-to-toe with anyone in the ring.

Setting him up to take the title from John Cena was a juicy reward, albeit a short-lived one.

The WWE wisely reached back into the heart of the Attitude Era and brought back the central storyline: that of Steve Austin and his feud with Vince McMahon. That storyline saw McMahon do everything in his power to hold back Stone Cold and keep him away from the WWE title.

In an interview with WWE.com, Austin even acknowledged the similarities. He said: “It’s a complete parallel, and obviously a decade removed with two cats in these different roles…but it’s a complete parallel with what went on between myself and Vince.” 

The revival of the legendary feud has gone over successfully. Look no further than this past week’s SmackDown. (See video. Click here if you can't view the video on your device.) Bryan ran in to save The Miz from a beating by Orton and The Shield. The crowd went nuts in a way that hasn’t been seen since Austin’s heyday.

Since Triple H has taken more a command behind the scenes of the WWE, title reigns have increased in length. It’s unlikely the WWE will pull the belt off Orton at Night of Champions.
 

Instead, this feud with Bryan, Orton and Triple H may stretch longer, even past Survivor Series. It’s easy to see the sides already taking shape for two teams to compete.

At first glance it may seem like Bryan is going at it alone, but others have been victimized. Big Show has been forced to fight Bryan and standby and watch his fellow superstars get destroyed. The Miz and Dolph Ziggler have been handed strong beatings by members of The Shield.

WWE COO Triple H. Photo by WWE.com

With Lordsofpain.net noting that Triple H will wrestle two more times by WrestleMania XXX, the pieces begin to fall into place. 

One side, the new Corporation. This team would be made of Triple H, Orton, The Shield and Ryback. Then there is Team Bryan. Along with Bryan himself, the team could be filled out with Miz, Show, Ziggler and perhaps even Mark Henry. This way, everyone involved in the match has some involvement or feud going.

The battle lines have already been drawn. Just listen to the crowd to hear that the theme of hating one’s boss and battling against the machine is still a popular one. The use of teams at Survivor Series isn't done like it used to, but this one falls into place perfectly.

Austin was better when he was chasing the title. The WWE will drag out Bryan reclaiming the belt to at least the TLC pay-per-view. That way they can give the fans a Christmas gift and set up a new WWE for the New Year.