It took a lot to re-energize the festive crowd after the shocker of Undertaker's streak ending, but Bryan fulfilling his hard-fought, and partially crowd-sourced, journey to the top of WWE would do just that. Bryan sold a shoulder injury (more on that encounter in a moment) in a match that hearkened back to frenzied Attitude Era-esque chaos, with Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, and corrupt official Scott Armstrong getting involved. Bryan also pulled a Willis Reed, returning from a dooming injury by leaping off of a stretcher and re-entering the fray. By the time Batista drops Orton with his powerbomb, and Bryan follows with his charging knee to the chest, the fans know the uncorking is near. The YES Lock was academic, and the very WWE that is often criticized for its deafness gets this one right.
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.
