WWE: Daniel Bryan, CM Punk and the Wyatt Family

“I can’t believe WWE/Triple H is burying Daniel Bryan like this! He should be the World champion right now! And now he is being involved with the Wyatt Family? This is terrible for Bryan! It’s obvious they have no faith in him!”

I’ve seen this sentiment repeated ad-nauseam for the past few days. Well, since Hell in a Cell, really.

What’s more, that statement above couldn’t be further from the truth. If you really think that Daniel Bryan is being buried by WWE, you must also think that Big Show really is flat broke or that Fandango is actually a for-reals ballroom dancer.

WWE, Triple H, Vince McMahon, “The Board,” which was hastily referred to on Raw this past week – they all understand how much the crowd has come to love Daniel Bryan. Yes, in terms of kayfabe, Daniel Bryan is very much being held back by The Authority. But in terms of the real world, taking Bryan out of the WWE Title picture and putting him in a program with the Wyatt Family is what’s best for business. (Because really, how many more times can Orton and Bryan face off with basically the same result?)

Ever since the Wyatt Family – Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan – were brought up from NXT, it seemed that WWE had high hopes for the mysterious trio. Though Bray’s eloquently creepy diatribes and the brutal in-ring style of both Harper and Rowan connected with NXT fans, the average Raw or Smackdown crowd has yet to fully embrace the Wyatt Family (and by embrace I mean, believe as legitimate heels). As much as I’m a fan of the devious trio, I’ll admit that WWE hasn’t exactly made it explicitly clear how evil they really are. Bray Wyatt is like a cult leader – he speaks of lofty ideals and seems to be a man of the people but he also has a hidden agenda. It seems that Bray has such a gifted silver tongue that many fans aren’t sure quite how to react to the Family.

It’s this ambiguity that a feud with Daniel Bryan, as well as CM Punk, will help alleviate. Since the Wyatts debuted, their only real feud to speak of was a rather dull program with Kane before the Big Red Monster left for a few weeks to shoot “See No Evil 2.” Prior to, and after, their work with Kane the trio was relegated to squashing the likes of R-Truth, The Miz and Kofi Kingston for seemingly no reason. However, working with guys as popular as Bryan and Punk will be extremely beneficial for everyone involved.

Bryan and Punk are the two most over/popular guys in WWE right now. While WWE golden boy John Cena gets a mixed reaction from most crowds, Bryan and Punk unquestionably get a positive reaction wherever they go. That being said, they are the perfect foils to pit against the Wyatts.

“They’ve been lying to you man! There ain’t no such thing as a hero! You have become addicted to the illusion of what a hero is!” These are the sentiments that Wyatt has been throwing about since coming to the main roster. R-Truth, Miz, Kingston – they aren’t real heroes to the WWE fans. Squashing guys like Truth or Zack Ryder does nothing for the Wyatts because the fans’ hearts aren’t behind them.

Daniel Bryan and CM Punk, on the other hand, are THE top two heroes in the eyes of WWE fans right now. CM Punk has been at the top of his game for years now, drawing cheers even when he was the reigning, defending WWE Champion with Paul Heyman by his side. And ever since Daniel Bryan’s tag team title run with Kane in Team Hell No, he has become steadily more and more popular.

With the Wyatts attacking both Punk and Bryan recently, they are cementing themselves as top heels in the company. And not only will this feud help showcase just how evil and dastardly the Wyatts can be, it will also help elevate their legitimacy in the ring as well. There’s never been a question about what the imposing Wyatt Family is capable of once the bell sounds, but until now they’ve only been able to showcase their stuff against lower tier opponents. But working against Bryan and Punk will help prove to fans that they are threats to the WWE locker room that should not be taken lightly.

So don’t worry so much, guys, this isn’t the end of the road for Daniel Bryan. In fact, with the Wyatts seemingly responsible for Kane’s heel turn, and Kane then joining the Authority, a future Daniel Bryan/Kane feud seems inevitable. While we don’t know what Bray Wyatt’s intentions are, his current goals and motivations seem to line up surprisingly well with what Triple H and Stephanie have been up to lately. Could it be that the Wyatts are actually working for the Authority? Only time will tell but with dissension seemingly growing in The Shield, Triple H and Stephanie might need new enforcers soon and who better than the newest monsters in the WWE, the Wyatt Family.