No, you didn't see it wrong. No, you weren't imagining things. Yes, the referee in the main event of last night's (Sun., Sept. 15, 2013) Night of Champions pay-per-view (PPV) at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan, counted a fast three in favor of Daniel Bryan, awarding him the WWE championship over Randy Orton.
Curiously enough, however, no one in WWE acknowledged it. Triple H never came out to dispute the decision, Orton sold in silence, Bryan, for as much of a clean cut babyface hero as he's supposed to be, never wondered aloud why the referee counted fast in his favor.
Even the announcers acted as though nothing was out of the ordinary and all was normal.
According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, this was a strategic move by WWE:
"The deal there is that they thought, and I don't know why you would think this, they thought that if the announcers don't acknowledge it, it would create more talk and therefore the rating would be bigger (for Raw the next night). I don't understand that, but we'll find out."
Ultimately, we'll see how well that strategy pays off when the rating comes in for Monday Night Raw later on this evening, which is up against the Cincinnati Bengals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers game on ESPN.
Until then, let's get your thoughts on this, Cagesiders. Sound move? Or silly decision?