The best surprise fans got Monday night was seeing Daniel Bryan return to Raw, even if for one night only. Bryan looked to be in good spirits, and while no comment was made about when he could possibly return to the ring, his presence alone showed that his popularity has not waned one bit. Of course, Bryan was there to bookend the entire Authority storyline. He was in some ways the root of Triple H and Stephanies power grab during summer 2013 after his WWE Championship victory at SummerSlam. He was the face of the opposition to the Authority all the way up through WrestleMania XXX and right up until he was put on the shelf at the beginning of the summer. The minute he was out of action, the angle began deflating. John Cena tried to fill in, but fans didnt really buy a 15-time champ and company guy as the downtrodden opponent of the Authority. Bryan returned and Yes! chanted them right out of the ring in a moment that was a rare instance of Triple H and Stephanie really getting their comeuppance. Sure, losing their power last night was big. But D-Bry spiking the football and chanting in their face, following them up the ramp and blocking their path to prolong their embarrassment was sheer gold. http://youtu.be/2Mpa01ghJGM?t=2m17s Although we might not see Daniel Bryan in the ring for a good while, appearances like Monday night help to keep him relevant and only help boost the WWE product.
Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.
