10 Wrestlers Who Defeated The WWE Machine

4. Daniel Bryan

Triple H Mania 31 II
WWE.com

Daniel Bryan, variously, was referred to on NXT as:

The wrestler of choice for geek fans dwelling in high school gyms. A vegan nerd who didn't even eat meat. A vegan nerd who didn't even watch television. A charisma vacuum. A loser. Deformed.

They had to recognise that he had something - else they would not have rehired him following his controversial firing in June 2010 - but Bryan was a good little technical wrestling hand, as the events of WrestleMania XXVIII so devastatingly confirmed. He apparently lacked the height, the physique, and the good looks (ironic, given who he snagged as his wife) to reach the very top tier in WWE. He was also disturbingly different in his approach to most everything. He was carefree, liberal, self-effacing. In many ways he was the total opposite of the WWE ideal - which worked out wonderfully for him, given that the army of fans he amassed were sick to the back teeth of WWE's relentless insistence on reverting to type.

Batista's road to WrestleMania XXX was also the total opposite to Bryan's; he was handed the main event in just one 14:34 performance, throughout which he sweated profusely and sucked air, clearly unable to hack the pace set by the man who succeeded him on a wave of immense, reactionary fan support.

Bryan defeated the WWE machine so thoroughly that, not only did he emerge from New Orleans as the man, he helped tear up WWE's recruitment policy in ensuing years.

 
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Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!