By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

Last week on Raw, WWE drew up a preposterous and cockamamie idea for how to arrive at Daniel Bryan challenging John Cena for the WWE Title at Summerslam.

Then, this week's Raw started with a fourth-grade-level verbal exchange involving Cena, Bryan, and new Raw GM Brad Maddox that came across patronizing to Bryan. The title program looked dead-in-water again. But, WWE remarkably flipped it by the end of Raw.

For starters, WWE let Bryan prove why he deserves to be #1 contender based on the framework of how pro wrestling works. Not because of an App Poll, not because one of the inconsistent McMahon Family Members likes Bryan this week, not because of the "Yes!" chants, but because D-Bryan can flat out wrestle and fight and scrap and beat people up and, most importantly, win matches.

It was classic Bryan for 40 minutes, highlighted by an epic brawl/fight/scrap with Antonio Cesaro that just kept going and built upon itself, then concluded with Bryan showing he had more endurance and fighting spirit than the bigger, stronger, more powerful Antonio Cesaro. This all set up Bryan's final obstacle against big, bad Ryback.

It added up to effective underdog storytelling. Bryan was not presented like an underdog who did not belong - unlike Chris Sabin in the TNA Title match on Impact last week, who needed to stoop to the level of the bully heel to win - but an underdog who did belong in the fight going up against the roughest, toughest, meanest bully on the roster. Yes, Ryback has been doing the cry-baby, small-package, run-away-and-quit thing as of late, but Ryback can still carry himself like a big, bad monster when needed.

In the end, Bryan still put up such a fight after wrestling for 30-plus-minutes that Ryback's character became flustered to the point where the big, bad monster's only way out of the match was getting himself DQ'ed.

Of course, the potential side-effect is making viewers want to see Bryan get his revenge on Ryback more than wanting to see Bryan get his title shot against John Cena.

That brings Cena into the equation. Cena was at his disinterested worst in the opening segment of Raw, but it's difficult to blame him. The formula for Cena's character is to build up a Monster of the Month, put Cena in jeopardy, make it seem like Cena has no way of conquering the monster this time, and get people to pay to see Cena triumphantly overcome the monster.

It's different territory for Cena, whose character seems to be in no-man's land "playing nice" with the People's Choice, but trying not to become passive and soft. There's something off about Big Brother Cena defending/saving Little Brother Bryan, then turning around and defending his title against Bryan at the second-biggest PPV of the year. Unless Bryan is turning heel again, it would almost be better if Cena were in a different role "coaching" or "mentoring" his hand-picked student because he believes Bryan has all the tools to become WWE champion. Except, the problem is Cena is the WWE champion.

The issue becomes how does WWE play it going forward? Do they have Bryan start to get under Cena's skin, do they have Cena feel a tinge of jealousy that Bryan is getting a stronger crowd reactions, or do they have Cena act cool as a cucumber, confident in his abilities to fairly and respectfully beat Bryan at Summerslam, which was how Cena came across in the opening segment of Raw?

What will also be interesting to see play out is the second aspect of Daniel Bryan's journey to Summerslam. The first aspect is proving to the audience that he deserves the #1 contender slot, while the second aspect is proving to the "grumpy old wrestling promoter" Mr. McMahon that he belongs in the WWE Title picture.

This was established at the end of Raw when McMahon wanted to see more from Bryan. Next week, McMahon wants to see a ruthless, vicious side from Bryan facing former friend, Kane. What will the focus be the following weeks as WWE highlights and accentuates new characteristics to get Bryan ready for Cena at Summerslam?

Will this two-sided journey that began as the most preposterous set-up for a WWE Title match this year lead to Bryan becoming so multi-dimensional that he could be WWE's next #1 star?

Bryan isn't there yet, Cena isn't giving up the #1 slot any time soon, and WWE isn't ready to hand over the keys to the castle to Bryan. But, what started out as a counter-productive, bad-for-business idea for setting up the Summerslam main event could - could - take Bryan's character on a career-defining journey that solidifies him as a top star in the eyes of the entire fanbase, not just in the eyes of the "vocal minority." That is, if WWE drops the patronizing act and allows Bryan to be Bryan after proving himself worthy of WWE's trust and investment.

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