Daniel Bryan Needs WWE Title to Maintain Legitimacy After Weak PPV Bookings

When Triple H Pedigree Randy Orton cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase to capture the WWE title in August at SummerSlam, it was assumed that the impending angle would culminate in Daniel Bryan winning the championship back and becoming an established main event performer.

At Night of Champions, in Bryan's first opportunity to regain the title, he caught Orton with a running knee to the face and pinned his shoulders to the mat for the win. He celebrated with the title that had been stolen from him weeks earlier.

After weeks of torment, he once again felt the bliss that comes along with capturing the most prestigious prize the industry has to offer.

But then he had it ripped away from him again as Triple H questioned referee Scott Armstrong's fast count at the pay-per-view and implied that the official and Bryan had worked together to take the title from Orton.

The development was forgivable because it was understood that the story was not over. When Bryan finally and definitively won the title, all of the hardship and difficulty would have been worth it.

With the WWE title held in abeyance, Bryan was booked to face Orton in the main event at Battleground. For the second consecutive month they delivered an outstanding near-classic of a main event that had the fans in Buffalo on the edge of their seats.

Their hard work would be undone by interference from The Big Show. The match would be declared a no contest, leaving fans incredibly dissatisfied with the event as a whole.

In between the two lackluster pay-per-view booking decisions, the rivalry between Big Show and Triple H has wrestled the attention of the creative team away from Bryan's quest to prove himself as the face of WWE.

The inclusion of Big Show took the focus of Bryan's dispute away with the COO and split audience's attention between he and the already-established giant. Rather than allowing Bryan to star on his own, which had to have been the plan when John Cena put him over as strong as he did at SummerSlam, it introduced someone who was already a longtime main event star—and a surefire Hall of Famer. 

While Bryan remains one of the most popular Superstars on the roster, if not the most popular, there has been damage done during his current angle that can only be repaired with the WWE Championship.

In the two months that have followed SummerSlam, Bryan has been beaten down and left unconscious to close out Monday Night Raw what feels like a dozen times. He has had the WWE title taken from him on two separate occasions, but he continues to thrive because of the connection he has with the audience.

The strength of that connection has overpowered every attempt, inadvertent or not, to kill the momentum he gained from his eventful spring and summer and his clean victory over the aforementioned Cena at SummerSlam.

In any given story, there are twists and turns that an author asks his audience to take with the main protagonist. They will not always be happy or positive twists. Too many of the negative twists, too many instances of giving the audience what they want only to rip it away will alienate and damage the trust established between the two parties.

WWE is dangerously close to damaging the trust it has built with its audience in relation to Daniel Bryan. They have implied that he is the face of WWE, that he is the rightful WWE champion and that at some point, he will get his opportunity to finally carry the title without interruption for story's sake.

If Hell in a Cell comes and goes without Daniel Bryan celebrating a WWE title victory after months of torment and misery at the hands of Triple H, Stephanie McMahon and the handpicked champion Randy Orton, the company could very well burn the final bridge they have with an audience whose patience is wearing thin following the near-disastrous booking of the last two pay-per-view events.

All would be set right with the world if Bryan has his arm raised in victory on October 27.

If he does not, the biggest angle of the last three months will be a failure of colossal proportions.