Reason Behind Daniel Bryan vs. Kane Being a Stretcher Match at “WWE Money in the Bank”

At “WWE Money in the Bank” on June 29 at the TD Garden in Boston, Daniel Bryan is slated to defend his WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a Stretcher match against Kane. However, if Bryan is physically unable to compete, the ‘Money in the Bank’ Ladder match will then be for the vacant title.

All signs and previous reports pointed to this encounter being a ‘Buried Alive’ match, but those plans appear to have been scrapped.

The reason behind this change, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, is that ‘Buried Alive’ matches have definitive conclusions and don’t allow for future booking and rematches. With a Stretcher match, WWE will have more leeway to get even more encounters between Bryan and Kane in the coming months.

Kane is set to begin work on his See No Evil 2 film in the fall. Losing a ‘Buried Alive’ match would have been the perfect way to write “The Big Red Machine” off television.

There is tremendous pressure on Bryan to compete at the end of the month after being on the shelf since the “WWE Extreme Rules” special event. Even with a recent neck surgery, some in the company believe Bryan will wrestle at the risk of harming his long-term health.

At the very least, WWE now has a solid backup plan should Bryan need more time to recover.

Editor’s Note

Stretcher matches aren’t nearly as exciting as watching someone get buried alive, so I’m disappointed to hear that we won’t be getting such a bout in the coming weeks. Even so, I understand WWE’s logic behind making the switch. If a Bryan vs. Kane feud is something they want to extend into the next pay-per-view and beyond, this is the way to do it.

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