2. His Absence In The Royal Rumble Match
This one sorta goes along with his temporary title runs, but I think that Bryan not being in the Rumble was the final nail for revealing his fate. It made perfect sense to have Bryan come out as a surprise #30 to go on and win the title at WrestleMania. It made as much sense as it did to have CM Punk come back in Chicago to help out his old indie friend. The fact that it made sense is the exact reason that WWE didn't do it. Again, WWE is going to milk this storyline for all its worth. It's going to take as many detours as humanly possible before Bryan finally gets that title match. It was too early to grant him a title shot on the first RAW of March. Granting him the title shot in the second half of January would've stopped this storyline dead in its tracks. The moment Bryan is inserted into the championship match, it's gonna be painfully apparent regarding who will win the title. There's no rush yet, and there was certainly no rush back during the Rumble.