10 WWE Champions That Didn’t Fit Vince McMahon’s Mold

3. Daniel Bryan

Never have wrestling fans pushed as hard as they did for Daniel Bryan.

The Yes! Movement wasn’t a catchy branding label – it was a real-life grassroots campaign conducted by fans and members of the industry to show McMahon that the goat-faced indy darling belonged at the top of the company.

Amid this groundswell of support for Bryan, McMahon penciled in Randy Orton defending the WWE Championship against the returning Batista as the main event of WrestleMania XXX. Apparently, the chairman had become tone deaf to the chants of the WWE Universe, who hijacked several events with cheers for Bryan. When CM Punk walked out of the company after Royal Rumble 2014, nixing plans for a match against Triple H, McMahon was forced to change direction.

Thankfully, Bryan faced Triple H in the opening bout, securing his spot in the main event where he made Batista submit to win the title. While WWE spins the chain of events as a long-term storyline, fans know that their voices made the difference.