When Daniel Bryan entered WrestleMania XXVIII as the World Heavyweight Champion, many were expecting a show-stealing performance for the up-and-coming star. Instead though, Bryan was given just 18 seconds in his match with Sheamuseating a Brogue Kick almost immediately, before taking the pinfall in the middle of the ring. The real disappointment here was that Bryan was arguably the greatest in-ring technician in the world at the time, and this was an opportunity to prove that to the masses on the Grandest Stage of Them All. Having him squashed in near-record time simply made him look like a fool. It was later revealed that the WWE had been aiming to do something nobody was expecting. I suppose it was mission accomplished in a way then, but sure there were better ways of going about this? As if to prove a point, Bryan and Sheamus went on to contest an exceptional 2-out-of-3 falls match just four weeks later at Extreme Rules, which would have been right at home on any WrestleMania card.
