25 Years Of WWE Raw Mistakes

4. 2014 - Daniel Bryan Flees From Kane (May 5th)

Shane McMahon Vince McMahon
WWE

WWE fought as hard as they possibly could against the unfathomable tides of support for Daniel Bryan between 2013 and 2014. It was only after relenting enough to give him a WWE World Title he richly deserved at WrestleMania 30 did the company realise burying him after the fact was the smartest strategy all along.

His first (and sadly, only) feud as Champion was against former Tag Team partner and corporate schizophrenic Kane. It was loosely logical and at least promised the 'Yes Man' a comfortable win, but nothing could hep the feud rebound from a chronic chase segment between the pair that appeared written to undermine the company's most organic success story in over a decade.

Sh*tting themselves in fear, Bryan and wife Brie couldn't escape Kane's wrath because of car trouble. The cod-horror plot thickened when Kane appeared in the backseat, horrifying Brie to the point of irritation. The couple just about got away, but not before Brie's screams scared local dogs and 'The Big Red Machine' recovered from tumbling off the vehicle.

Contributor
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