WWE Rumors: Daniel Bryan Beating CM Punk for Title Would've Been a Huge Mistake

CM Punk has built up a boatload of momentum over the past year and has established himself as one of the WWE's most important superstars. Having him drop the WWE Championship at a second-tier PPV like Over the Limit, even against fellow rising star Daniel Bryan, would have been a major mistake.

It's a scenario the company had serious discussions about before ultimately deciding to let CM Punk's reign continue, according to a report passed along by Justin LaBar of WrestleZone.com. He says the decision came right down to the wire, though.

Vince McMahon has become known for swerves whenever the overwhelming expectation for a match is leaning in one direction like it was for CM Punk. Most people were confident he would retain the title, so perhaps it shouldn't be a shock that they considered going the opposite way.

That said, if the WWE believes CM Punk will be somebody that can carry programming on his back moving forward, he must be treated as such during his first extended run with the top title. The executives can't treat the WWE title the same way they do the Divas title.

CM Punk has been in control of the belt for nearly 200 days now and will pass that milestone before the next PPV, No Way Out. Nobody has held the strap for longer since Triple H four years ago, showing how far the “Second City Saint” has come.

Any time a run at the top lasts that long, the creative team has to act with extreme caution when finally allowing a title change to occur. A rushed decision right before the show wouldn't have given them enough time to make that happen.

Another issue would have been the lack of build time on Monday Night Raw for Bryan. He has spent most of his time on SmackDown recently, serving as the World Heavyweight champion before getting beat by Sheamus at WrestleMania.

Even though the lines have been blurred, brand separation still exists, so having him come over to the red brand and immediately gain control of the WWE title wouldn't have made much sense, especially since he only had three weeks to establish himself.

An issue like that might seem minor on the surface, but when you dig a little deeper, it's definitely something that needs to get taken into account before making the switch.

The match itself at Over the Limit was fantastic. CM Punk and Bryan are two of the best technical wrestlers the company has to offer and they delivered a candidate for match of the year. And luckily, it appears the feud will continue.

Sooner or later, the belt will have to change hands, but doing it on Sunday night would have been a risk that simply wasn't worth taking.

CM Punk's reign should come to an end at one of the year's biggest events, and Over the Limit certainly doesn't fall into that category.