Daniel Bryan and Randy Orton spent months competing in pay-per-view main events against one another but it was a throw-away match on the February 3 episode of Monday Night Raw that proved to be their best. A WrestleMania-worthy bout between two of the best workers in the industry, they tore the roof off the CenturyLink Center in Omaha with a 27-minute classic that finally met the expectations fans had set for them months earlier. The match was a war of attrition as both men wanted badly to beat the other. Orton had to prove to The Authority that he still deserved to be recognized as the "face" of WWE while Bryan was trying to prove Triple H and Stephanie McMahon's claims that he was a B+ player and "not WWE Championship material" wrong by defeating the Viper. To do so, he would have to overcome an injured shoulder and interference from the Director of Operations Kane. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQgImlN8Lko Always a fighter, never willing to give up, Bryan soldiered on. He wiped the corporate stooge out with a suicide dive, then finished Orton off with the running knee for the win. It was a clean victory for Bryan and one that put him right back into the championship hunt following a months-long program with the Wyatt Family. An essential match in the storyline that culminated with Bryan's official coronation as the top dog in the industry at WrestleMania, Bryan vs. Orton is a Raw classic that is sure to live forever on any number of DVDs produced by the company in the months and years to come.
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.
