5 WWE WrestleMania Losers That Were Ultimately Winners

You wouldn't know from the sight of his bloody, ravaged body, but Mick Foley was the real winner of that Hell in a Cell match against The Undertaker in 1998.

Sure, he'd fallen two stories twice, had a tooth route through his sinus cavity, and landed on thumbtacks a couple of times, but it's hard to say he truly *lost* that match. His unforgettable performance made him a *much* bigger story than the man who was scripted to win.

The support Foley received in the aftermath ferried him into a higher pantheon of stardom, and soon, a few world titles.

It's not the easiest trick to pull off, ascending to greater heights because of a defeat, but it has been done. At WrestleManias gone by, a few elite-level WWE stars have lost their matches, only to experience considerable elevation in the weeks and months ahead, in spite of the loss. In fact, the elevation is *because* of the match itself.

While there are certainly more than five subjective cases of this phenomenon taking place, these are the five prime examples of victory in defeat at WrestleMania.

You wouldn't know from the sight of his bloody, ravaged body, but Mick Foley was the real winner of that Hell in a Cell match against The Undertaker in 1998.

Sure, he'd fallen two stories twice, had a tooth route through his sinus cavity, and landed on thumbtacks a couple of times, but it's hard to say he truly *lost* that match. His unforgettable performance made him a *much* bigger story than the man who was scripted to win.

The support Foley received in the aftermath ferried him into a higher pantheon of stardom, and soon, a few world titles.

It's not the easiest trick to pull off, ascending to greater heights because of a defeat, but it has been done. At WrestleManias gone by, a few elite-level WWE stars have lost their matches, only to experience considerable elevation in the weeks and months ahead, in spite of the loss. In fact, the elevation is *because* of the match itself.

While there are certainly more than five subjective cases of this phenomenon taking place, these are the five prime examples of victory in defeat at WrestleMania.

5. Hulk Hogan (WrestleMania 18)

Upon bringing the nWo into the WWF as an equal-pronged trio in early 2002, the company was actually burying the lede - five-time world champion Hulk Hogan had returned after nine years away. Older fans, especially ones brand-loyal to the WWF, picked up on this fact.

The reaction Hogan gets in Toronto's SkyDome as he and The Rock piece together their surprise epic is something to behold. Even Hogan can't believe the adulation, as though it were 1985 all over again.

Hogan put over his younger peer, but five weeks later, he was the WWF champion once more. The company's reliance on nostalgia that continues today can be traced to the second wave of Hulkamania in 2002, where the ungodly response to Hogan's WrestleMania comeback opened up a Pandora's Box of sorts.

4. Macho Man Randy Savage (WrestleMania 3)

For 14 months, Savage proved his mettle as the scheming, wildly-rhapsodizing Intercontinental Champion (or, as he'd say, "Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion").

He was the coolest bad guy in the biz, and fans latched on to his rarefied charisma.

Before a reported 93,000 fans inside the Pontiac Silverdome, Savage finally met his match. His 400-plus day reign as champion ended when he was pinned by Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, in what is still considered one the greatest matches in Mania history.

Though Hogan was still top dog, Savage's popularity, reliability, and the knowledge that he could deliver in big matches (as thoroughly demonstrated here), all but earmarked him for a bigger run one day. A face turn and one gruelling tournament later, Savage stood tall as WWF champion at the end of WrestleMania 4.

3. Daniel Bryan (WrestleMania 28)

This entry will not seek to throw more gasoline on an eight-year raging fire, the continued bafflement that comes with trying to rationalise what WWE was thinking when they booked Sheamus to kick Daniel Bryan into oblivion in 18 seconds for the World Heavyweight title.

Instead, it's important to note how the backlash aided Bryan. While Sheamus suffered long-term for the ill-thought decision (no fault of his own), Bryan's fanbase only rallied harder around their man, perceiving him to be unjustly wronged by a tone-deaf machine.

A lot of that sentiment went into the 2014 storyline in which Bryan, representing the fed-up populace, fights the WWE machine and escapes WrestleMania 30 with the belt, first beating the office (Triple H), then the chosen ones (Randy Orton and Batista).

2. Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania 10)

This was the Foley Hell in a Cell match without the blood and the near-death experiences (well, maybe not - you'd have to ask Shawn), in that you were getting stunts you weren't used to seeing. The Ladder Match to determine the undisputed Intercontinental Champion pitted Michaels against recognised champion Razor Ramon, and man, was it a doozy.

Michaels takes bumps in this match that nobody had ever seen in 1994, pinballing off of slingshots, a ladder to the face, and throws from the apex, while finding creative use for the ladder as a weapon of his own.

It was Michaels' first show-stealing WrestleMania match, evidence that a gifted star on the rise could deliver in such a big spot. As time wore on, Michaels continued shining in big matches, and come WrestleMania 12, he was living the "boyhood dream".

1. Stone Cold Steve Austin (WrestleMania 13)

Give credit to Bret Hart - it was he that suggested the finish for the match would look better if Stone Cold were covered in blood at the time. The Submission Match between sworn enemies was due to get out of hand in a hurry, and it did. This was a good thing.

Fans were increasingly warming to heel Austin, and this match was to conclude with a double-turn that cast Hart as a bitter heel, and Austin a valiant warrior. When "The Hitman" locks a crimson-soaked Austin in The Sharpshooter, Austin fights with all he has to escape, but he just simply cannot.

Austin passed out for the technical loss, and suddenly, hearts broke for the antagonist. When he limped off under his own power afterward, the crowd response in Chicago was enormous and awing. Is it any surprise a year later that he was stunning Shawn Michaels to win the WWF title?