10 Great Wrestling World Title Reigns Marred By Bad Endings

To the amazement of smarks everywhere, WWE quit making Daniel Bryan look like a loser and gave him the World Heavyweight Championship in late 2011. The former indie king's talent was undeniable with even Vince McMahon himself seemingly giving up on the sporadic burials.

One of the finest technical wrestlers there's ever been, D-Bry won WWE crowds over even further with his comedic heel turn. The once mild-mannered Bryan was consumed by an enormous ego. Bryan was soon going the way of many celebrities these days and espousing his views as gospel to increasingly perplexed crowds. From his veganism to his Prius, the sanctimonious ROH legend was the most holier-than-thou heel since CM Punk's Straight Edge Society run.

With a unique character and a crowd-pleasing wrestling style, the immensely talented Bryan marched into WrestleMania 28 as a solid crowd favourite. Not only did he lose Big Gold that night, he didn't even get a proper match - instead falling to Sheamus' Brogue Kick in just 18 seconds.

The sea of 'Yes! Yes! Yes!' signs that night made it clear: Daniel Bryan was the new megastar and WWE had just thrown him under the bus.

While Sheamus was a solid talent doing respectable work as a babyface at the time, the nature of his win here was simply inexcusable.

Thanks to crowd support, Bryan did at least bounce back from this embarrassing setback. He regained his kayfabe credibility soon enough and remained a beloved character throughout his time in WWE.