How Would You Have Booked The Ending To Summer Slam?

It's hard to really criticize the WWE right now, because it seems like we are living in a dream world. Several years ago, the WWE was so stale with guys like John Cena, Triple H, and Randy Orton consistently dominating the main event. I was forced elsewhere to get my wrestling fix, and ended up falling in love with Ring Of Honor and its cast of hard working and extremely talented wrestlers. It was refreshing and unlike anything else on TV at the time.

Five years later, and those same guys I fell in love with in ROH are making waves within the WWE. It's crazy to think that little Bryan Danielson is essentially feuding with all three of those guys that made WWE so repetitive. It's a dream come true.

But, regardless, we're wrestling fans so we're going to pick everything apart. I can't help but thinking that something was wasted in the way this all played out.

Here's my thought: Think of Shawn Michaels' first championship run. The thing you remember, is Michaels clutching the belt in his arms, while JR calls "The boyhood dream has come true...for Shawn Michaels". It's an amazing moment, especially after the slow build from the previous year's WrestleMania (where he lost to Diesel). That moment should have been the pay off for this angle, but we never really got it, and we'll never truly get it again.

When Bryan won the title, he did essentially the same thing as Michaels (Cole called something like "the fairytale is complete for Daniel Bryan"), but the entire time, you're thinking "Where's Orton?". You knew it was bullshit. There was no reason to put Triple H in the match if he was calling it straight, he had to do something, so once Cena left - you knew exactly what was happening. That's a far cry from Orton saying he's going to cash in when nobody expects it. Literally everyone expected it.

So, why not let Bryan leave SummerSlam as the champ? Let him soak in the moment. Let everyone in the crowd go to sleep thinking that Bryan's got the belt for a while. The next night on RAW, Cena does his thing, hands it off to Bryan and then leaves. Bryan comes down to address the crowd - two minutes in, The Sheild's music hits. They start destroying Bryan, but Cena runs out - he helps out, but its still 3 on 2. Then Triple H comes out to make it 3 on 3 - but attacks Bryan instead, with the four of them dominating an injured Cena and Bryan. Then, you get Orton to come out, cash in, and win the belt.

It's tough to criticize the WWE because they are doing so much right, but I felt a little underwhelmed by the predictability of what happened at the end. It was exactly how I would have anticipated it going down. Were most people just satisfied that Bryan went over clean, or were others similarly frustrated with the predictability of the ending?