Before Kane enters the fray, Daniel Bryan looks to hold his own against an onslaught from SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bludgeon Brothers: Courtesy of the award-winning WWE Network.
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PITTSBURGH — When Daniel Bryan and Kane are on the same page as Team Hell No, they’re tough to beat. So, to stop the reunited fan favorites’ bid for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, The Bludgeon Brothers split them apart.
Prior to the title bout, Harper & Rowan took Kane out with a vicious backstage assault that saw the two behemoths brutalize The Big Red Machine’s ankle, leaving Daniel Bryan at the same two-on-one disadvantage that had brought his partner back to his side in the first place. Of course, winning a Tag Team Title Match singlehandedly isn’t unheard of — Kane himself has actually done it — but between The Bludgeon Brothers’ power and the lingering damage to Bryan’s ribs, it was an uphill battle that proved too steep for even the legendary underdog to summit, and Kane ultimately re-emerged in a walking boot to offer whatever help he could.
The Big Red Machine proved more effective than expected, evening the odds with a pair of Chokeslams before an aborted Tombstone attempt forced him to tag out. Even then, Bryan was energized by his friend’s return, and it seemed Kane’s mere presence would propel Team Hell No to victory. But the Brothers adjusted, with Rowan sneakily tagging in and shoving Bryan into Kane before finishing off The Beard with the top-rope clothesline-powerbomb combo. Foolhardy as Bryan’s efforts may have seemed, they weren’t out of character: With the world arrayed against him, he has always gone it alone. Usually, it’s enough. Tonight, it wasn’t.