Love threads like this. Won't go all the way to WM since I'm not getting paid to do this.
Next week, Bryan has a hope spot. He takes out the Shield (in believable fashion) and heads for the hills before another massive beatdown. Nothing satisfying, but enough to give the fans hope.
On the Night of Champions go-home show, Bryan fights off the Shield and starts going for the YES lock before HHH calls the superstars down to the ring to pull Bryan off of Orton, and Orton low-blows Bryan and beats him down to end the show. Given the IWC nature of this, you'd think it would call for a Bryan victory, but at NOC do the basic crooked referee angle. Charles Robinson won't call the 1-2-3 because he wants to keep his job, and Orton eventually picks up the win.
At this point, we see an angrier Bryan. He stops the YES chants (except on occasion), yells during promos, starts losing his mind. He starts attacking Orton and pulls some complex pranks on HHH (but doesn't get his hands on him), pissing Orton off. So they come to a compromise, Bryan gets another title shot so Orton can get his hands on him, but inside Hell in a Cell, with Miz as the special guest referee, but if Bryan loses he cannot get another title shot. Russo-booking: Orton comes out with HHH, then Bryan comes out and the cage lowers. Triple H decrees "as the COO, he declares that countouts now count in Hell in a Cell" and pressures Miz into counting the 10. He declares Orton the winner, HHH trolls the fans about the show being over, and then it's time for the VKM face turn. He comes out, announces Triple H has oversteps his bounds and that while he gives free reign to the COO, especially with Triple going to inherit the company one day, but that Triple H has overstepped his bounds. He calls for the match to restart with Triple H banned from ringside. So Triple leaves, Vince sits in on commentary, the match lasts 30 minutes and is wildly competitive, and after kicking out of 2 RKO's Daniel falls off the top rope out of exhaustion, right next to Orton who just rolls over for the 1-2-3. Randy celebrates, confetti falls, Bryan rolls out of the ring and grabs a kendo stick. He tries to run after Orton but is just too warn out, so he takes his rage out on Miz instead. He beats him with his fists, feet, kendo sticks, ring bells, fire extinguishers, chairs, anything he can find. And he fucks that boy up! Vince is noticeably impressed by this and changes his tune on Daniel Bryan. Miz is written off the show and has a built-in heel turn for his return.
Anywho, Battleground. Everything's changed. There's backstage clips of HHH finding out what he can do as COO (explaining it to the audience) and setting up backstage deals, while also kissing up to Vince and making sure everything he's doing is okay. CM Punk is the new #1 contender and blurring the lines between his anti-authority 2011 babyface character, friendly 2012 character, but all in a badass way like his current character. (It makes sense in my head), as Daniel is utterly depressed. He cuts a promo about how HHH was right, he is nothing more than a B+, so the best he should go for is Curtis Axel and the Intercontinental Championship. Punk tries to sway him away from his dark side (while fighting his own battles), but Daniel's too far gone. (And Heyman talking him down isn't helping, either.) The match happens, Bryan gets screwed again (by Heyman this time) and he sits there, depressed in the ring, as HHH pops up on the monitor and says "Guess we were wrong about you... maybe you aren't even a B+ after all". During the ME, the Shield come out against Punk. Punk walks up the ramp because he's smart, and Daniel comes out yelling "I'M NOT A C!" and does the same thing that he did on that Smackdown against the Shield, taking them all out but not hitting the competitors. Match ends with Orton winning with an exposed turnbuckle or something traditionally heelish. Show goes off the air with Vince smirking at Triple H and says "You keep saying he's bad for business, and while I agreed at first... he definitely has that ruthlessssss aggressssssion."
So, Survivor Series buildup, HHH plans a #1 Contender's tournament, and before the last match happens Bryan comes out looking unnaturally happy. He starts talking trash about Triple and Stephanie, and pulls out a DVD. Bryan says that if he knows what's "Good for business" Triple H would recend the restriction on Bryan's title shots, before dropping some obvious euphemisms for (yet still PG) it being a sex tape. The Bryan/Vince alliance plays off some Attitude Era-style fun and throwing in some new things as well, and on the go-home show Bryan drives a V8 truck out and sprays down the Corporation with it. Survivor Series, Orton/Bryan IV. Great match, even better than the HIAC bout. End of the match, Bryan does the first corner dropkick on Orton before IMMEDIATELY seeing Triple run in the other side of the ring and run right into it with that running knee of his. Crowd pops like crazy. Kicks in the corner to Orton, massive YESes, he runs into the other side and hits Triple with that running knee yet again, bounces off turnbuckle for the second dropkick. Slings Orton to the ground, Flying Goat headbutt, before staring down Triple H with vengeful eyes... and then Orton gets up and Bryan turns around, roundhouse kick, before hitting the multiple YES kicks to Triple H on the ground and getting him in the YES lock, keeping his eyes on Orton. Both get up, HHH rolls out of the ring and Orton goes for a clothesline, ducked, Orton bounces off the corner into another clothesline which is also ducked, and Bryan runs in for the Running Knee + Yes lock to finally win the title from Orton, and the ref calls for the bell RIGHT when HHH was fingertips away from interfering again. Crowd pops huge, Bryan celebrates with the belt, Vince stands on the apron, applauds, lets down the confetti, but the focus is all on Bryan celebrating...
