Ah, the age old struggle between underdog and authority. A battle that initially enabled Orton to prosper. At the previous year's SummerSlam, Bryan defeated John Cena to win his first WWE Championship with Triple H as the special guest referee. After the match, Triple H turned heel by attacking Bryan, which directly led to Orton cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase. Orton stole the belt. After SummerSlam, Triple H claimed that it was a "business decision" to sabotage Bryan which led to the 'face of the company' schtick and months of degrading behaviour from The Authority towards Bryan. Bryan defeated Orton to regain the WWE Championship at Night of Champions, but due to referee Scott Armstrong making a fast count, Triple H stripped Bryan of the title the next night on Raw. A first match for the vacant belt between Bryan and Orton ended in a no contest after an interference from the Big Show before Bryan once again challenged Orton for the vacant championship at Hell in a Cell. Triple H interfered in the match and was attacked by Bryan, resulting in special guest referee Shawn Michaels attacking Bryan, which led to Orton capturing the WWE Championship again. At TLC, WWE Champion Randy Orton defeated World Heavyweight Champion John Cena to unify the two titles into the new WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Batista then returned to WWE and won the Royal Rumble, which made him number one contender. The Yes movement then started and a match between Triple H and Bryan was then set up. If Bryan won the match, he'd face Orton and Batista for the belts. Of course, Bryan won the first match and then captured the WWE World Heavyweight Championship after Bryan made Batista tap. That rivalry had more layers than an onion.
