10 Worst Booked Dream Matches

2. Daniel Bryan's WrestleMania Main Event (WrestleMania XXX)

AEW Full Gear 2020
WWE

WWE don't deserve the time and space they'll get to suggest that everything that happened between SummerSlam 2013 and WrestleMania XXX was carefully crafted storytelling designed to tug at the heartstrings of the nascent "Yes Movement" and deliver the best possible payoff at the exact right moment.

History is written by the winners, and we can only one day hope the man that won the main event definitively catalogues what a f*cking pain in the a*se it was to try and get to the top of your profession despite audiences already deigning you more than worthy of the spot.

Dragged out over several torturous months and nearly as many torturous matches with Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan's journey to WrestleMania glory was needlessly angst-ridden in all the worst ways. His stupid matches with 'The Apex Predator' devalued the belt. The stupid inclusion of The Big Show threatened to devalue the "Yes" chant. Being forced to abort a side project with The Wyatt Family devalued Bray. Not booking him to win the Royal Rumble devalued Rey Mysterio. These are not successful chapter points in the DVD menu of this wretched tale.

In fact, the only one that upped anybody's stock will never be seen. Had CM Punk never left, Bryan would have surely been beating Sheamus in the midcard. With no disrespect intended to the 'Celtic Warrior', that may well have killed the card long before Brock Lesnar killed The Undertaker's streak.

 
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Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett