[2014-01-26-WWE-Royal Rumble] Daniel Bryan vs Bray Wyatt

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Timbo Slice]

Incredible performance by Wyatt here, who actually outshines Bryan in my opinion. Bryan did a great job working from below early, but the genius stuff came when Wyatt went to work and Bryan made every single one of his moves mean something. Awesome ending, one of the more unique finishes you'll ever see, and although people bitched about the fact that Wyatt went over, the way in which he went over made up for it, because they both came out better because of it. I'm not sure if Wyatt can have that type of match with anyone else on the roster right now, but give him some time to work off what he did here and I can't wait to see what he'll do with someone like Rollins or Zayn or Neville down the road.

[Phil Schneider]

One of the more violent matches I can remember in the WWE, especially for a match without any weapon shots. Really a coming out for Wyatt who is a fun character, but hasn't had an in ring performance like this. Loved the stiffness in this match, the curb stomp by Bryan, the crazy DDT, the big kicks, he felt like he was trying to kill Wyatt even more the he did during the cage match. Meanwhile Wyatt was a brutal force, lots of credit to Bryan who was bumping huge on the clotheslines and elbows, but also Wyatt's ringpost smashes and headbuts felt like the kind of thing that would cause concussions. Plus that ending was truly nuts, felt like the right escalation of a move for this kind of match (alot of time the WWE super move thing comes off forced), and the smoothness of the catch into the barricade Sister Abgail was great, it looked like an organic counter a crazy man would come up with.

[supersonic]

Definitely a candidate for best non-MITB opener in PPV history. D-Bry started the match dominating with his aggression and superior technical wrestling, including working on the left knee of Wyatt. After several minutes, Wyatt gained the advantage when he twisted D-Bry's left arm and slammed it on the apron. Wyatt then showed his aggressive side that we had only seen bits and pieces of, physically decimating D-Bry. However, because this is a match that features a total pro like Bryan Danielson, D-Bry would make sure to keep the crowd engaged and give them hope with his occasional strikes.

Wyatt was quite unorthodox, but D-Bry was so pissed off on this night that he would regain the advantage. My favorite spot of the night is when he dropped Wyatt with a curb stomp to epitomize how livid he was after being harassed for three months by the Wyatt Family, and showing that he had not forgotten his roots on the independent scene. But with the plans for both characters going forward, Wyatt had to go over here. He didn't sell the leg down the stretch as much as I hoped, but it can be argued that enough time had gone by in this instant classic for him to heal during the match. Or maybe, just maybe, these two held back a little bit for a much bigger rematch down the line for the company's top prize should they both go on to achieve their goals at WrestleMania XXX. ****

[Makai Club #1]

The match started off hot and heavy w/ the crowd all for Bryan and all against Wyatt. Getting rid of the Wyatt Family almost immediately was a good direction to go. Wyatt saying that he wants to do it alone was something different to his game. Wyatt took a nasty Foley bump into the stairs (leg/knee first) which was a good transition to Bryan going all in on the leg. Bryan tying up Bryan in an inverted surfboard into a curbstomp was a great nod to his days a vicious bully who would tie you up in knots - added a nice feeling of intensity and hatred. Wyatt’s beat down of Bryan was well done. It wasn’t mind-blowing but it served its purpose of getting heat on himself and building to the Bryan comeback. Although I would argue that they took a bit too long to get to the comeback and the match felt a little stagnant as a result. In fact, Wyatt’s best offence came in the form of the cut offs to Bryan’s hope spots, like Wyatt nailing a Sister Abigail after blocking a Bryan tope in a spot that went much smoother than it should’ve. The finish soon after felt a little flat though and the air got sucked out of the arena which was a bad note on what was a very  good match. I do wish that the leg work earlier on was followed up on but I can buy that Wyatt’s beatdown was big enough to send that plan waywards. ***3/4

[Superstar Sleeze]

Daniel Bryan vs Bray Wyatt - Royal Rumble 2014

Who is this Bray Wyatt and where the hell has he been? He was the King of the Explosive Cutoff in this match. He reminds me of Dr. Death in his ability to combine size with acceleration. You will see that in snippets in other matches, but it was in full effect here. In a lot of Wyatts matches, he does not have an opponent with as deep an offensive arsenal as Bryan so when he cuts off his opponent it is after each move, which makes it feel like he is trading moves and it becomes an exhibition. Bryan's depth affords the ability to have Bryan have longer spurts before a cutoff and Bryan's natural ability to exhibit a sense of overcoming the odds engages the viewer more.

One of the best things about Daniel Bryan is the overwhelming crowd support he gets and that was evident early as the crowd was very hot for this. There were periods where they dipped out, but they were staunchly behind young Daniel Bryan throughout. We get that first taste of how Bray Wyatt will use Bryan's momentum against him with an explosive elbow cutoff, but Bryan keeps coming and takes Harper out with a suicide dive. The ref sends the Wyatt Family packing.  Bryan hitting two badass cross bodies was just a great rabble rousing moment. Bryan gets on top and Wyatt chops him off the top rope. Bryan takes a nasty fall. I would have liked that to have been a transition instead Wyatt goes head over heels on the steps. Bryan doing leg work is something I like because it gives his offense direction. I know unless it is a Rusev match that most likely the leg work would not be  a factor and that does not annoy me as much as Daniel Bryan no selling head injuries later on.

Bray Wyatt gets an snap arm wrench onto the apron and then blasts Bryan's head with elbows as he is up against the post. I like my heels, violent and sadistic.  Wyatt's back senton is awesome. I really liked the spot where Wyatt snapped Bryan into the middle rope. I had just seen that for the first time in Styles/Tanahashi and thought it was cool as all hell maybe they got it from here. The Wyatt chinlocks did seem to sap some energy from the crowd, but overall I think his attack on the head of Daniel Bryan was really spot on. I was disappointed a little bit that this did not seem to impact how Daniel Bryan would overcome the odds. I really think Bryan adjusting his game plan for  a serious head injury would have made this a bonafide match of the year contender. Don't get me wrong, the finish stretch was very exciting, but felt like a departure from the rest of the match.

The match becomes about Bryan gaining more and more offense. First it is some elbows off a missed Wyatt elbow, but that is cutoff by a sweeeeeeet cross body block.Then Bryan fights through nailing a tornado DDT off the apron and a missile dropkick. He is feeling it and goes into frantic running dropkicks, but on the third one Wyatt nearly decapitates him with a lariat. Wyatt is the heir of Stan Hansen. His swinging lariat is a thing of beauty. Wyatt going for Sister Abigail, but Bryan getting a roll-up nearfall is so WWE. Bryan goes for the Yes-Lock, but Wyatts bites him. At this point, I am just going to say it, Wyatt is the better wrestler in this match. He is just on point in every way as a heel, whereas Bryan is being arbitrary and capricious about his move selection. Then in a moment that actually shocked me and blew me away Wyatt caught Bryan on a suicide dive attempt and delivered Sister Abigail. He hit one more time in the ring to win the match.

Great definitive finish, but also shows that at the time of the Rumble they really did think of Bryan as a B+ player as he had no protection in that loss. Wyatt looked better here than he has in his whole career. Great heel work mixed with excellent timing made for one helluva performance. Still I thought this lacked an interesting match hook. They could have gone body part with Wyatt's leg, or Bryan's head, but WWE does not care for that. Then it could have been can Bryan overcome the monster, Wyatt, but instead we were getting weak transitions like a roll-up or Bryan just starting up offense. The match was exciting, had some great spots and a great individual Bray Wyatt performance, but it was missing that overarching storyline to make it a match of the year contender. ****

[Zoo Enthusiast]

Re-watching the '14 Rumble for the first time since watching it live, I think.  This may be my favorite WWE opener ever.  Just an awesome, nasty match and what will likely wind up being Bray's career match.  Both guys were fantastic and the crowd was hot.  Not much more you can ask for.