Daniel Bryan comes to the ring and says the last time he was here in New Orleans he won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. He says it is only fitting that he announces his intentions of winning the WWE Royal Rumble this year, and he’ll go to Wrestlemania again, no matter who is in his way. Stephanie McMahon cuts him off and says Bryan might not be physically fit right now, so she has her fitness DVD as a gift to him. Stephanie says this city does hold a lot of memories, and they did finally believe in Bryan, but reality came back into play and she remembers 2014 as less than stellar.
She plays clips of Kane putting Bryan out of competition, and she talks about how hard Bryan had to fight to come back. She says an A plus player would have stayed on top, but he has to start over again, and eventhough the fans believe in him, she’s not sure anyone else does. Stephanie asks if he is ready to all of this again, and Bryan says YES, and this is exactly why Stephanie doesn’t understand them. Bryan says he fought for everything he’s ever had, and no matter what the Authority says or does, he will not stop fighting, and he and the fans, they will fight until they prove her wrong. Stephanie says since Bryan wants to fight so much, she is going to make sure he’s ready for a fight, and he will have his first match this Thursday on Smackdown, not the Royal Rumble.
Kane heads to the ring and Bryan tries to kick him, but Kane pulls him through the ropes and whips him into the steps. Kane picks Bryan up for a Tombstone on the steps, but Bryan shoves Kane into the ringpost and repeatedly punches him until a group of referees pull them apart. Bryan rushes back and hits Knee Plus, then Bryan rolls in the ring and takes him down with a suicide dive and some more punches. Kane is helped up and he shoves the refs and retreats, then Bryan plays to the crowd and ends the segment with a YES chant.
BP: Good segment to reintroduce Bryan, and to get heat on Stephanie/The Authority. I’m not sure why Stephanie played the Smackdown announcement off like it was new. We’ve known about it for over a week since WWE announced it, but other than that it was effective.
