Projecting Daniel Bryan's Budding Feud with Vince McMahon Through WrestleMania

Daniel Bryan is set to do battle with Randy Orton and Triple H over the coming months, but don't think Vince McMahon won't be right there, looking to shove his own knife into Bryan's back.

Theirs is a feud that can both pay homage to the Steve Austin vs. McMahon classic feud and carve its own path, one that could build until WrestleMania season begins. Call it ego or going with a dependable villain, but McMahon has a history of jumping into the fray against WWE's top stars.

Aside from Austin, McMahon has clashed with, directly or otherwise, CM Punk, Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels and, strangely enough, God himself.

It stands to reason that McMahon will not be just a bystander in this corporate vendetta against "The World's Toughest Vegan." The following is a projection of how their feud might play out.

In the Way of Glory

Orton and Bryan is the likely WWE title match at Night of Champions.

Even if the McMahon's don't want Bryan to be the face of the company, Bryan should get a rematch. Temper your expectations going into that battle, though; it's not going to be Bryan’s next moment of glory.

In addition to Orton, Bryan is going to have to make that trek back to the WWE Championship with the Mr. McMahon clan in his way. Expect a similar scene to what happened when Bryan took on Wade Barrett in a No Disqualification match.

McMahon is clearly not above cheating to keep Orton on top, and his actions will irk both Bryan's fans and Bryan himself.

There is bound to be a confrontation on a subsequent WWE Raw where Bryan's anger management issues get the best of him. The way fans of the Attitude Era erupted when Stone Cold would stun McMahon, today's fans will get a parallel experience seeing Bryan kick the chairman in the chest.

This incident should be plenty to get Bryan suspended, but more importantly, Triple H won't stand to see his father-in-law abused like this. When Brock Lesnar put his hands on McMahon, it sparked a three-bout rivalry between Triple H and Lesnar.

Bryan's story has too many players to have Triple H take up that much of the action, but the first-ever Battleground pay-per-view is a perfect spot to break up the Orton and Bryan matches and have Bryan face a different, sledgehammer-wielding opponent.

A Victory Goes Punished

Eventually, Bryan will get his WWE title back.

That's the cathartic story, the one that pleases the paying fans. WWE will stretch this out for maximum drama, but don't bet on Orton escaping Bryan's wrath past Hell in a Cell.

This is a perfect spot to have the feud reach a high point, for Bryan to win the WWE Championship inside of the Hell in a Cell, his allies outmaneuvering his enemies around the cage.

That victory won't be the end of the animosity between the McMahons and Bryan.

To try to strip that gold from Bryan's waist, expect McMahon to use his power to make Bryan's life hell. He'll have to battle opponents at a rate that drains him. McMahon and Triple H both will put him in three-on-one matches, championship scrambles and other unfavorable matches.

To make matters worse, Brad Maddox or McMahon himself will serve as referee.

Survivor Series and TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs will be difficult tests for Bryan. The darkness nearly closes around Bryan several times, but he wills himself to wins again and again. Each one infuriates McMahon further.

The Road to WrestleMania Forks

Royal Rumble generally marks the beginning of the road to WrestleMania. This is where we will see the focus shift.

Even if WWE wanted to, it would be a mighty tough task to stretch the Bryan and McMahon feud into WrestleMania XXX. McMahon can't keep gnashing his teeth at Bryan's feet forever. With as many folks involved in the conspiracy against Bryan, one can't expect them to all stay on the same page forever.

Someone is going to betray someone—that's just a time-honored WWE tradition.

The rumored Triple H and McMahon match at WrestleMania is reported to be off, per The Baltimore Sun. Plans shift and change all the time, and McMahon turning on Triple H to side with Bryan puts that projected matchup back on.

Maybe McMahon is impressed with Bryan's tenacity and changes his mind about him. Maybe he just wants to get at Triple H for some reason.

Rekindling that fire is simple.

While McMahon heads down a path to challenge Triple H at WrestleMania, directly or by way of some representative, Bryan will have a new journey to take on.

For the fans' sake, that's hopefully a WrestleMania showdown with Punk.