If nothing else, the win hurt Sheamus more, for his moment of ascension quite simply wasn't. In the four long years since the 18-second debacle, fans have never come close to accepting Sheamus as anything vaguely resembling a bona fide main event star. Meanwhile, the loss was only going to hurt Bryan if the suits in charge were completely deaf. Indeed, the fans never gave up on Bryan, spurring him on with contagious cries of "YES", and more famously rallied behind him in early 2014, when they made their preference for WrestleMania headliner clear. Maybe if Bryan loses a fifteen-minute match to Sheamus, the fans accept his fate as an upper-midcarder. By employing the rug-pulling finish, the outrage on Bryan's behalf came pouring out to his benefit.
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.
