Hell to pay? Big Show opens new chapter in WWE corporate handbook

Like a lot of fans, I was aggravated with WWE's ending to the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view (PPV).

I'm not opposed to having Daniel Bryan lose. If the world's largest professional wrestling organization thinks Bryan is a B+ player who will never be the face of the company, then so be it. I won't pretend this is the first time WWE thinks it knows what the fans want better than the fans do.

It probably won't be the last time, either.

The reason I was so perturbed, is because I didn't get a satisfying conclusion to the main event and ultimately, to the Daniel Bryan vs. The Corporation storyline. I wasn't angry because "my guy didn't win," I was angry because I invested in a program that failed to deliver.

Or did it?

On Sunday night, I was sure Creative had shit the bed. I couldn't tell if they had collapsed under the weight of their own incompetence, or had Vince McMahon re-writing every angle 672 times before the cameras started rolling. Either way, it was bad form.

And I'm not talking about the multiple botches (it happens).

I'm supposed to believe that Shawn Michaels can kick out of Undertaker's tombstone, but can't recover from an errant shoulder block? Fine, ref bump, false finish and all that other jazz, but this conclusion had a square-peg-to-round-hole feel to it.

We paid $60 for this!

I also had the underlying fear that Monday Night RAW would air featuring repeats of all the same matches to clear up the controversies from Hell in a Cell, meaning the money I could have spent on WWE 2K14 was wasted on bouts I was going to get for free anyway.

But that's not what happened.

Instead, The Big Show returned to wreak havoc on The Corporation, Daniel Bryan got attacked by The Wyatt Family, The Shield teased dissension and Kane turned into an evil stooge, turning over his mask and wig to Stephanie McMahon like a disgraced cop turns in his badge and gun.

What the ding-dong blazes is going on around here?

Of particular importance is the Big Show. I find it very hard to believe -- even by WWE standards -- that a guy who is as over as Daniel Bryan would be a fluffer for an aging giant. Show comes with a built-in pop because he's been around forever, but he wasn't getting the kind of ovation that Bryan was.

I'm not convinced WWE is ready to cash in those chips just yet.

That's why the end of Monday Night RAW managed to keep me from taking a frustration break from pro wrestling. The fact that so many bizarre, unexplained things took place in one night tells me the creative wheels are in motion. That's enough reason to stick around, because it means Hell in a Cell started a new chapter instead of ending the book.

It sure beats Vince McMahon running out and pulling his hood down: IT WAS ME DANIEL! IT WAS ME ALL ALONG!

Before Hell in a Cell, I wondered who the true star of this program really was. Turns out, it could be the program itself. As the aforementioned twists and turns unfolded, I thought to myself, how deep does this thing go? Who else is involved? Is Vince the "devil" making the Wyatts up their creep factor?

The possibilities are endless. That's a good thing.

Even if The Big Show gets reinstated and works a program with Randy Orton, he's not going to be the ninth-inning closer. Instead, he'll likely provide middle relief, since Daniel Bryan already pitched the first half of the game. I'm okay with that, because I'm starting to believe this really is an epic program that will build toward WrestleMania 30, as originally teased.

If not, we can chalk this up to another one of those Invasion-type punchlines in the footnotes of WWE history.