Daily DDT EOY Series: What Was The WWE Feud Of The Year?
WWE.com
From December 23 through January 2, Daily DDT will be bringing you our “End of the Year” series of posts, which will highlight the biggest topics in professional wrestling from 2014.
In each post, some of our writers will be giving their reaction to these subjects.
What was the feud of the year in WWE?
Interesting enough, this topic highlights the main problem with WWE over the course of the 2014 calendar year. The fact of the matter is that WWE has a serious creative problem on their hand. It is a problem that WWE has had since the day after Wrestlemania 30. If you are looking for the feud of the year in WWE, that would be where you have to go back to.
From January through the beginning days of April is when the feud of the year took place.
The feud of the year in the WWE was undoubtedly Daniel Bryan versus The Authority.
Ironically, Bryan was not even supposed to be a part of this feud. The original plan was for CM Punk to be the one going up against The Authority and the seeds to that feud was planted throughout January when Triple H would authorize The Shield to attack Punk. The storyline was pushed further when Corporate Kane was the reason why Punk was eliminated in the Royal Rumble match.
But, then something happened that WWE did not anticipate. The night after the Royal Rumble, Punk walked out on the company and was never seen in the ring again.
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Enter Bryan.
Fortunately for WWE, the stars aligned perfectly for Bryan to step into the feud and replace Punk.
The alignment started when Bryan defeated John Cena at SummerSlam for the WWE Championship only to be screwed minutes later by Triple H with a pedigree. After Triple H hit the pedigree on Bryan, Randy Orton cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and successfully pinned Bryan to win the WWE Championship.
The following months would see Bryan attempt to reclaim the title against Orton but his attempts would typically end with interference from the likes of The Wyatt Family, The Shield, or Corporate Kane.
The Authority continued to screw Bryan over by not allowing him to compete in the Royal Rumble match in January.
Between the months of February and April is when Bryan was extremely over with the WWE Universe. With segments such as the Occupy Raw movement, Bryan was undoubtedly the hottest character on WWE programming during that time period.
The feud reached it’s conclusion at Wrestlemania 30. At Wrestlemania 30, Bryan was set to face Triple H. If Bryan defeated Triple H, then he would be allowed to compete in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match along with Batista and Orton.
Bryan defeated Triple H. Then, Bryan went on to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship after defeating Orton and Batista in the Triple Threat match.
After months of being screwed by The Authority, Bryan was finally on the top of the WWE Universe.
That is why the Bryan versus The Authority feud was the feud of the year in 2014. Bryan is not and will never be the “top guy” in WWE. But, for a few months at the beginning of 2014, that sentiment was forgotten and Bryan was larger than life. That shows the brilliance of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon when they have creative control over a feud/storyline.
As we enter 2015, the hope is that Triple H and Stephanie McMahon gain more creative control and we see multiple feuds that contend for the feud of the year award.