The 'apology' match, as in, "We're sorry we wasted something you wanted to see on an 18-second gag finish." Had this two-out-of-three falls match for the World Heavyweight title taken place at WrestleMania instead, then 'Mania 28 is potentially a pantheon show. C'est la vie. Admittedly, this one is far less remembered than the 'Brogue Kick LOL' troll-job, but it's precisely the hard-hitting battle that could mollify fan annoyance. Bryan gets disqualified in the first fall after injuring Sheamus' shoulder, then gets an implied submission (pass out) off of the YES Lock in the second. You knew Bryan probably wasn't getting the belt back here, but at least he got to be portrayed as a virulent fighter, and not an obnoxious fluke. The match is among Sheamus' best as well.
Justin has been a wrestling fan since 1989, and has been writing about it since 2009. Since 2014, Justin has been a features writer and interviewer for Fighting Spirit Magazine. Justin also writes for History of Wrestling, and is a contributing author to James Dixon's Titan series.
