10 Recent WWE Rivalries That Underwhelmed In The Ring
1. Daniel Bryan Vs. Randy Orton
WWE caught lightning in a bottle with the conclusion to SummerSlam 2013 where Daniel Bryan won the WWE Championship from John Cena before Triple H and Randy Orton turned heel to take the title from him. That shocking series of events set the stage for what could have been an exciting fall season, but instead, The Authority ruled WWE programming and made Bryan look like a loser at every turn.
Fans were also hopeful that Bryan vs. Orton would be a fresh feud over the prestigious prize, and it was. However, their matches earlier in the year on Raw were much better than the string of pay-per-view matches they had toward the end of 2013. None of their championship clashes reached that next level, and Bryan even admitted his own disappointment with the matches in his autobiography years later.
In theory, Bryan being beat by Orton and The Authority on every show should have led to him getting his big moment, likely at Hell in a Cell. Not only did the final match in their rivalry fail to feel like a true blow-off, Bryan lost yet again. It wasn't until WrestleMania 30 that he'd finally get his due, but only after the fans demanded it.