It's total BS. It makes so much difference to the feeling and prestige of the match. Those 2 guys have busted their asses for months. Bryan got over in SPITE of the way WWE treated him, and Punk got himself over too.
But there's only so far they can go if they're not gonna be booked into the main event. WWE can never find a new face of the WWE with this kind of treatment.
You remember the days when there was any number of guys who could have main evented? It's not like that anymore, and its all due to the stupidity of the bookers.
The real WWE Championship is being John Cena. It's disgusting.