10 Babyface Champions WWE Fans Just Wouldn’t Accept

4. Sheamus (2012)

New WWE World heavyweight champion Sheamus celebrates at WrestleMania XXVIII in Sun Life Stadium on April 1, 2012 in Miami, Florida. (Marc Serota/AP Images)
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Daniel Bryan is the kind of wrestling phenomenon that only comes around every so often, and whereas it's true Bryan wasn't quite the same monster in 2012 he would later become, he was still considered one of the best wrestlers on the planet.

Beating him in a paltry 18 seconds at WrestleMania XXVIII will forever be looked upon as a low point of the bearded fan favourite's WWE career.

Nobody would have worked in this role, let alone a pasty-skinned Sheamus who had only turned babyface to feud with bully-boy Mark Henry in the summer of 2011. Fans had cheered politely for the Irishman, but he was considered a WWE creation who couldn't compare to the respect Bryan had earned following years of graft on the independent scene.

Any chances Sheamus had of being accepted as a babyface World Heavyweight Champion post-'Mania XXVIII were killed dead by the 18 second squash, because fans resented a major match ending so quickly and the notion that 'The Great White' was in a league above the world-class Bryan.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.