It was the night after the Hell in a Cell pay per view, where amidst controversy a new champion was crowned inside the demonic, unforgiving structure. Although no blood was shed, there were tears. The penultimate underdog all his life, Daniel Bryan, fought tooth and nail to prove not just to the world, but to himself, that he deserved to be the face of the WWE and win the organization's most prestigious title, the WWE Championship. The heartless regime hell-bent on doing what's "best for business", named The Authority and headed by the Chief Operating Officer Triple H, put Bryan through obstacle after obstacle after obstacle, but he overcame them all, with the fans on his side. The WWE Universe drowned Bryan in a sea of cheers each and every week, and every week Bryan soaked in all of these cheers and in turn, rallied him to keep on fighting, no matter what Triple H put in his way.

That one word was YES.

But by the end of the event, Bryan wasn't shouting yes. Backstage, he shed a tear. No championship, no retribution, no anything. All he got was Sweet Chin Music. A superkick from a man who claimed to be impartial and unbiased heading into the match. A superkick from a man who was his mentor, his trainer, the man who taught him everything he knew.

He was a Hall of Famer, the Heart Break Kid, The Showstopper, Mr. WrestleMania. He was known by many names. But on that fateful night where everything was on the line, he was known as the special guest referee who betrayed his protege. He was Shawn Michaels, and in putting an end to Daniel Bryan's quest to become WWE Champion… he did what was best for business.

But as they say, the show must go on, and today is a new day.

Bryan had just confronted Michaels in the ring, and out of sheer anger, he put his mentor in a Yes Lock. He deemed it sweet retribution, but not enough. He still wasn't the WWE Champion.

Just then, he was ambushed from behind by two men. Tall, intimidating, unkempt, downright scary. One was bald wore a sheep's mask and a dark green outfit, while the other wore a tank top and jeans. Both were eerie-looking. A third man soon showed himself, a man wearing a hat and an unbuttoned hawaiian shirt, a lantern in hand. He was mouthing some words to himself.

Bryan tried putting up a fight as the hat-wearing man smirked at him, seemingly amused. But the numbers game soon got to him.

He then picked Bryan up while laughing to himself and slammed him to a nearby caged wall.

"The devil… made me do it."

And with that, Bryan was unconscious. But during that scuffle, he knew he needed to set aside his aspirations for the WWE Championship for a while. He needed to forget trumping The Authority, because he had a target on his back.

His attackers. Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, collectively known as The Wyatt Family, want him down. And they want him down for good.

…

On the Hell in a Cell pay per view, the man who called himself the best wrestler in the world, CM Punk, had just gained the revenge he had sought for a long time. He was betrayed by his friend, Paul Heyman. Paul and Punk did quite dastardly things together during their partnership, but all that was gone now. Paul, the slithery, conniving genius manager, had his feelings hurt when Punk no longer wanted him by his side. But Punk only wanted to do things on his own. To him, they were still friends.

To Paul, their friendship ended when he heard that statement.

And with that, Paul Heyman threw all he could at Punk in the form of his clients: the hulking beast known as Brock Lesnar roughed Punk up. Another beast, yet of a universally accepted lesser stature, Ryback, took his turn at Punk as well. Add to that equation the second-generation grappler Curtis Axel, and it was sure to make Punk's life a living hell.

It turned the other way around.

It was Punk who made Paul's life a living hell.

After the Best in the World vanquished his final foe in Ryback inside the devilish structure, he soon disposed of the Human Wrecking Ball and turned his full, undivided attention to Heyman. There was no weaseling out for him now, as he received a kendo stick beating atop the Hell in a Cell.

Now, it was the night after Hell in a Cell. A new day for CM Punk to prove himself that he is the best in the world. He then received his next challenge, in the form of a three-on-one beatdown at the hands of The Wyatt Family.

Ominous words soon escaped Bray's mouth as he uttered them softly, "The devil made me do it."