5 WWE WrestleMania Losers That Were Ultimately Winners
There's definitely an art to losing...
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).
Written by Justin Henry
In addition to writing lists and commentaries for Cultaholic, Justin is also a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine, and is co-author of the WWE-related book Titan Screwed: Lost Smiles, Stunners, and Screwjobs.