If Punk hadn't quit, would Bryan have gotten his moment?

[Abdullah]

I rediscovered an old hard drive I have that houses most of WWE's shows in 2014. I've been trimming the videos to keep the segments I like and save disk space.

It's a long process but I've reached Wrestlemania 30. One of the first things you read on the Wikipedia page for the event is how Bryan believes he wouldn't have made it to the main event if not for Punk's exit. To this day, I find that very interesting.

On one hand, his exit probably fueled the crowd's anger even more. On the other, if he stayed would they have really booed him against Triple H, effectively asking him to step aside for Bryan's sake? If so, does that make the fact that Punk may never appear in WWE again worth it?

Hard to say. I just know, watching it back, that the WM 30 and the RAW after might have been the last perfect shows WWE produced on the main roster. There has been a lot of good since but nothing comes close.

[EoE: Well There's Your Problem]

It could have gone either way. Punk would have definitely had the Triple H match instead of Bryan, but you still have an ice-cold Orton v face Batista match needing to be saved, so the question would be if they find another way to put Bryan in there or he does just end up with Sheamus in the undercard.

[Abdullah]

May 27, 2017 11:03:33 GMT -5 EoE: Well There's Your Problem said:

It could have gone either way. Punk would have definitely had the Triple H match instead of Bryan, but you still have an ice-cold Orton v face Batista match needing to be saved, so the question would be if they find another way to put Bryan in there or he does just end up with Sheamus in the undercard.

I actually think they might have done something like Punk vs Triple H for the title and the winner of a Bryan/Batista/Orton triple threat to face the champion down the line.

They would have accomplished...
- placating the crowd.
- probably getting Punk to stay.

That's not the direction they were going in but it's interesting to think of what might be if Punk stayed and the crowd's dismay persisted.

[The Dark Order Inferno]

Probably not, and that Wrestlemania win Punk was offered over Triple H probably wouldn't have happened either, there'd be some reason Triple H needed to win as there always seems to be. The Bryan push happened because fans left them no choice, there was no 'Punk ends the authority' carrot to dangle to stave off rebellion.

["Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay]

May 27, 2017 11:08:26 GMT -5 The Dark Order Inferno said:

Probably not, and that Wrestlemania win Punk was offered over Triple H probably wouldn't have happened either, there'd be some reason Triple H needed to win as there always seems to be. The Bryan push happened because fans left them no choice, there was no 'Punk ends the authority' carrot to dangle to stave off rebellion.

I don't think this is entirely fair - Triple H's arrogance when focused on Wrestlemania in particular has for a good number of years now mostly amounted to 'only I can put him over' rather than 'I am going over.'

[Nickybojelais]

I think Wrestlemania would play out very similarly if Punk had stayed. Nothing was stopping that Bryan momentum.

Punk would face Trips, albeit not opening the show. And Bryan would make Batista tap in the main event.

The only thing that could have possibly stopped Bryan from getting his moment is if the crowd didn't unanimously shit on Batista when he returned.

[Kevin Hamilton]

Nope.

[Magic knows Black Lives Matter]

I think so. By all accounts, Batista vs. Orton was the plan while Punk fought HHH. If punk stayed, Batista/Orton still would have flopped and likely been changed. But would they have put Bryan in or would they have slotted in Punk?

Idk. This shit was so wild in hindsight, it's hard to imagine exactly how things would change.

[Allie Kitsune]

I think they'd have had to pull the trigger on Big Dave in advance and then put him up against Bryan.

Bryan needed the WM win.

Him winning the belt from Punk at some other PPV wouldn't have felt remotely as big.

Bryan beating HHH or Dave is the Outsider Golden Boy taking down Management's Pet (or in HHH's case, Management Itself).

Bryan vs. Punk is a lot more likely to split the crowd.

["Cane Dewey" Johnson]

I suppose WWE could have stretched Wyatt vs. Bryan to Wrestlemania if Triple H vs. Punk were to have happened. Wyatt actually beat Bryan at the Royal Rumble, so have Bryan win the feud at Wrestlemania...?

[Captain Stud Muffin (BLM)]

May 27, 2017 16:36:57 GMT -5 "Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay said:

May 27, 2017 11:08:26 GMT -5 The Dark Order Inferno said:

Probably not, and that Wrestlemania win Punk was offered over Triple H probably wouldn't have happened either, there'd be some reason Triple H needed to win as there always seems to be. The Bryan push happened because fans left them no choice, there was no 'Punk ends the authority' carrot to dangle to stave off rebellion.

I don't think this is entirely fair - Triple H's arrogance when focused on Wrestlemania in particular has for a good number of years now mostly amounted to 'only I can put him over' rather than 'I am going over.'

Didn't Batista reveal HHH isn't interested in other feuds except putting the young guys over? As you stated the arrogance is now only I can put him over as compared to well idc who i'm up against as long as I go over

[A Platypus Rave]

May 27, 2017 11:07:17 GMT -5 Abdullah said:

May 27, 2017 11:03:33 GMT -5 EoE: Well There's Your Problem said:

It could have gone either way. Punk would have definitely had the Triple H match instead of Bryan, but you still have an ice-cold Orton v face Batista match needing to be saved, so the question would be if they find another way to put Bryan in there or he does just end up with Sheamus in the undercard.

I actually think they might have done something like Punk vs Triple H for the title and the winner of a Bryan/Batista/Orton triple threat to face the champion down the line.

They would have accomplished...
- placating the crowd.
- probably getting Punk to stay.

That's not the direction they were going in but it's interesting to think of what might be if Punk stayed and the crowd's dismay persisted.

Batista won the Royal Rumble. His match was going to be for the title.

[The Barber]

May 27, 2017 11:08:26 GMT -5 The Dark Order Inferno said:

Probably not, and that Wrestlemania win Punk was offered over Triple H probably wouldn't have happened either, there'd be some reason Triple H needed to win as there always seems to be. The Bryan push happened because fans left them no choice, there was no 'Punk ends the authority' carrot to dangle to stave off rebellion.

This. I'll believe Triple HGH has changed when I see it.

[Jeff Mangum PI]

If Punk didn't leave, WrestleMania 30 would've been:

Orton vs Batista as the main event with Batista going over
Sheamus vs Bryan again
Punk vs HHH
Bray jobbing
Brock ending the Streak

[Bo Rida]

Don't you listen to HHH and Steph?
Daniel Bryan's journey to winning the title at WM was a meticulously planned storyline that they created and not a complete mess they managed to salvage at the last minute.

[Alice Syndrome]

May 28, 2017 2:51:09 GMT -5 Bo Rida said:

Don't you listen to HHH and Steph?
Daniel Bryan's journey to winning the title at WM was a meticulously planned storyline that they created and not a complete mess they managed to salvage at the last minute.

For real though, you wanna bet Vince still had to be dragged kicking and screaming into giving Bryan the title even when it was changed to a triple threat?

[Deleted]

The fervor over Daniel Bryan was too strong, those wheels were spinning while Punk was around, I don't think there was any stopping Bryan from forcing his way into the picture.

[cabbageboy]

What I don't understand is where was any of this going had they stuck with the original plan? Batista wasn't long for the company anyway with GOTG to promote in the Summer of 2014, so it's not like putting the title on him made sense. The whole storyline with him made no sense considering he was brought back with fanfare by HHH/Steph and would have then been asked to turn right around and feud with the Authority's hand picked champion Orton.

I hate to say this but Punk staying wouldn't have meant much for WM. Just him going over HHH later on the card, while Bryan would have won some sort of #1 contender match with Orton or Batista some other way. Punk leaving was horrific in terms of what happened later though. Bryan had to vacate the title soon after WM anyway, and man wouldn't Punk have made a nice fallback option to put the belt on instead of the chaos of that summer's booking and the fiasco of the whole Lesnar reign? Punk/Rollins could have been a nifty feud. As it happened the company had no Punk and no Bryan by mid 2014 and in my opinion has never really recovered.

[EyeofTyr]

Yeah, I can't see Punk's presence stopping this. He was there for the start of the Yes Movement and his popularity & presence didn't effect it at all.

If anything, due in part to him spinning his wheels for the better part of his last several months there, Punk was diminishing in the presence of Bryan. Not the other way around. Punk was feeling more and more like "one of the guys" instead of "THE guy", getting lost in the shuffle and generally looking like he was going to follow in Jericho's & RVD's & Booker T's footsteps of having been a top title contender (or, holder) and now being slid down the card to prepare the guys they wanted to move up. His matches were getting more hit or miss, which we know now is partially probably due to his health issues. He wasn't getting as much time on the mic and when he was, it was pretty cut and dry stuff compared to some of the gems he was pumping out before.

Ironically I think Bryan's sky rocketing up the card would've hurt Punk's standings more than any other top name.

[Manute Bol]

No chance.

Bryan's moment was the result of fed up fans who left the WWE without any other options. Punk's exit fueled those fans.