WrestleMania 30 Predictions: Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H

With WrestleMania 30 all set to invade the Mercedes-Benz Superdome this coming Sun., April 6, 2014, live on pay-per-view (PPV) and the WWE Network, it's time to go about making predictions for the biggest show of the year. The match card is filled out and the cSs staff of learned blowhards will give their best guess on who is going to emerge victorious this weekend.

But instead of doing this all in one post and giving you a wall of text and 3,000 words to read through, we'll give the top five matches their own post then cover the undercard.

Got it? Good. Up next:

Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H

The General: After everything that's happened, I can't imagine even Triple H is egotistical enough to halt Bryan's run to the top. I mean, sure, he kind of did it already last year but it's grown so much since then and while we've gotten here in large part thanks to the actions of another disgruntled star, at least we're here. At least the opportunity exists for WWE to right the wrongs of 2013, of which there were many, namely Bryan never getting his just due. There is absolutely no reason for Triple H to win this match other than to piss off the world. Fans won't riot. They won't tune out. They'll keep coming back. But Daniel Bryan the character will be killed dead. He won't ever get the chance to capitalize on all this momentum ever again. He'll always be the "B+" player Triple H has been trying to convince us he's always been. What's more, any and all enthusiasm for Bryan will vanish. It would be a crime against the gods of wrestling. But while "The Game" has shown he'll do the wrong thing and absolutely go over on a guy he shouldn't (Booker T at WrestleMania 19), he's also shown he'll do the job for a guy he should (John Cena at WrestleMania 22).

Pick: Daniel Bryan

Sean Rueter: And here...we...go. I may be living in a fantasy world, but I'm pretty confident that WWE does the right thing in New Orleans and send Bryan out of WrestleMania as WWE World Heavyweight Champion. The question is, how do we get there? We should know right from this match if we're getting the version of The Game that tapped for John Cena and spent a summer jobbing to Batista, or the one who beat CM Punk to end the hottest summer the company has ever seen. And I wouldn't be shocked with any outcome ranging from DB pinning him clean but Trips inserting himself into the title match anyway, to his pinning The Beard following some heelish cheating with Bryan being placed back in the title tilt by some higher power. If it's the latter, then our boy needs to take him out clean in the main event. But I'm getting ahead of myself. The point is, Bryan's going to the triple threat. The more decisively the better.

Pick: Daniel Bryan

Hulk Holland: Yesterday I said that Brock Lesnar losing to The Undertaker was the only lock on the WrestleMania 30 card and I may be forced to reconsider. I just cannot imagine the backlash if Triple H not only beat Daniel Bryan, but advanced to the main event for a Triple H-threat match against Batista and Randy Orton. That is, essentially, every pro wrestling fan's worst nightmare in the era of the YES! movement and not even "The Game" is crazy enough to try to pull that off. It's one thing to make the fans hate you within the context of your current storyline. It's another thing to draw their ire because you have a shitty product. Having D-Bry bounced from the show before the main event is creative suicide ... unless there is a goofy finish and Shane or Vince McMahon returns to re-insert him into the main event as a Fatal Four-Way. Possible, but not plausible.

Pick: Daniel Bryan

Keith Harris: The betting odds are favouring Daniel Bryan, he has momentum on his side, but I have a funny feeling it won't all be plain sailing for him at WrestleMania 30. Given how WWE loves to troll their fanbase, hates their finishes being predictable and Hunter's notorious ego, I can't see a clean tap out victory for a B+ player on the way to greater glory before the night is over. At the very least, if Bryan wins, he'll be left battered, bruised and broken down, looking like easy pickings for the muscular Batista and venomous Randy Orton. But being the contrarian that I am, I can see WWE going even further with their plan to tease its game over for the Yes movement. Maybe there's interference from his cronies or maybe The Cerebral Assassin uses his trusty sledgehammer to pick up a tainted victory, but the finish won't stand thanks to a returning Vince McMahon ensuring justice is served and Daniel Bryan still gets the opportunity to wrestle for the WWE Championship in the main event.

Pick: Triple H, but Daniel Bryan still beats The Authority in the end

Cain A. Knight: Last year, WWE was faced with the incredibly obvious story of John Cena getting his win back on The Rock, and they followed through on this story with dogged stubbornness. This year, WWE was faced with the incredibly obvious story of Daniel Bryan triumphing over Triple H's authority. And yet it has taken several twists and turns (Punk walking out, Batista failing to get over as a babyface) to force WWE to pursue what should have been the obvious match all along. Now that we are finally here, is WWE going to follow the obvious booking and have Bryan defeat Triple H AND win the championship at WrestleMania 30? Of course not. Triple H is not going to book himself as the stepping stone to an even bigger win for Bryan later in the night. So either Bryan beats Triple H and comes up short later on, or Triple H beats Bryan here only for someone like Hulk Hogan or Vince McMahon to insert Daniel Bryan into the championship main event. This is too obvious of a win for Daniel Bryan, so I expect the latter scenario will unfold.

Pick: Triple H

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Previously:

- Undertaker vs. Brock Lesnar
- John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt
- Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

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Those are our predictions, Cagesiders. What are yours?