CHICAGO — Daniel Bryan is tough in mind and body — his personal equation, as he explained on Friday, is mental instability plus passion. But when it comes to mental instability, depravity and cruelty, nobody holds a candle to “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt. And ultimately, even a particularly gritty effort from The Planet’s Champion wasn’t enough to stop Wyatt from retaining his title at Survivor Series in a match that proved to be more mental than physical.
Daniel Bryan makes a thrilling leap from the top rope onto Universal Champion “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt: Courtesy of WWE Network.
It was, however, enough to give him a little more life than his detractors had anticipated. Bryan had been admonished by The Miz on SmackDown for not knowing who he was before squaring off with Wyatt, and the former WWE Champion took issue with the idea that he needed to answer such a question in order to justify himself. But the support of the WWE Universe seemed to ground Bryan within the chaos; after being brutalized by Wyatt in the opening stretch, he tapped into his old submission expertise with an armbar over the top rope and, propelled by the “Yes!” chants he thought he had killed, slowly built himself up to a fever pitch like days of old and blasted Wyatt with the “Yes!” kicks and Running Knee.
It was rousing. It also wasn’t enough. For all the heart and soul Bryan poured into the match, Wyatt simply shrugged it off and continued his onslaught in a way that could only be described as personal. Those “Yes!” kicks? He got right back to his feet each time. That armbar? He balled up his fist and punched Bryan in the throat seconds later. And that Running Knee? It didn’t get the job done. When Bryan attempted to land the knee a second time, Wyatt darted out with the Mandible Claw, ensnared Bryan in its clutches, and pinned him to the mat after he’d lost consciousness.
Bryan can take solace in the fact that he didn’t let Bray Wyatt destroy his mind, but there was only so much he could do here. Bryan wanted to fight. “The Fiend” Wyatt wanted to play. The challenger fought as long as he could, and only lasted as long as Wyatt wanted him to.
CHICAGO — Daniel Bryan is tough in mind and body — his personal equation, as he explained on Friday, is mental instability plus passion. But when it comes to mental instability, depravity and cruelty, nobody holds a candle to “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt. And ultimately, even a particularly gritty effort from The Planet’s Champion wasn’t enough to stop Wyatt from retaining his title at Survivor Series in a match that proved to be more mental than physical.
Daniel Bryan makes a thrilling leap from the top rope onto Universal Champion “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt: Courtesy of WWE Network.
It was, however, enough to give him a little more life than his detractors had anticipated. Bryan had been admonished by The Miz on SmackDown for not knowing who he was before squaring off with Wyatt, and the former WWE Champion took issue with the idea that he needed to answer such a question in order to justify himself. But the support of the WWE Universe seemed to ground Bryan within the chaos; after being brutalized by Wyatt in the opening stretch, he tapped into his old submission expertise with an armbar over the top rope and, propelled by the “Yes!” chants he thought he had killed, slowly built himself up to a fever pitch like days of old and blasted Wyatt with the “Yes!” kicks and Running Knee.
It was rousing. It also wasn’t enough. For all the heart and soul Bryan poured into the match, Wyatt simply shrugged it off and continued his onslaught in a way that could only be described as personal. Those “Yes!” kicks? He got right back to his feet each time. That armbar? He balled up his fist and punched Bryan in the throat seconds later. And that Running Knee? It didn’t get the job done. When Bryan attempted to land the knee a second time, Wyatt darted out with the Mandible Claw, ensnared Bryan in its clutches, and pinned him to the mat after he’d lost consciousness.
Bryan can take solace in the fact that he didn’t let Bray Wyatt destroy his mind, but there was only so much he could do here. Bryan wanted to fight. “The Fiend” Wyatt wanted to play. The challenger fought as long as he could, and only lasted as long as Wyatt wanted him to.
