Daniel Bryan had become a fabulous heel since winning the title at December's Tables, Ladders and Chairs pay-per-view, infuriating audiences with his self-aggrandising 'YES!' exclamation and poor treatment of sympathetic girlfriend AJ Lee.
Audiences were subsequently not only excited just to see the match between the two, but also a contest befitting of their abilities on a grand stage, especially after an indignity the two suffered one year earlier. The pair had developed somewhat of a kinship behind the scenes at the 'Show of Shows', having seen their planned WrestleMania XXVII United States Title match relegated to the dark portion of the broadcast and then cancelled outright when run-ins turned the contest into a Battle Royal won by The Great Khali.
That dark match got five minutes and eighteen seconds, which was exactly five minutes longer than this opener for the World Heavyweight Title received.
With one swift Brogue Kick after Bryan's stolen good luck kiss from AJ, Sheamus was champion, and an arena of supporters were left deeply unenthused. But more on that later.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for 10 years. Alongside the production of daily written, audio and video content covering WWE and AEW, he 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 on the UK's wrestling podcast charts with over 10,000 episodes and 70,000,000 total downloads. He also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House!, Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast, and has guested on long-running Sunderland AFC podcast Wise Men Say.
With WhatCulture, he has provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. He has also been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana, 411Mania and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling.
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 music and culture magazines The Crack, Pilot as well as Sunderland AFC's premiere fanzine A Love Supreme. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it every other Saturday at the Stadium Of Light, and at Cribs gigs nationwide.
