One year on, and Daniel Bryan was still the man fans insisted remained at the top of the card. However, 12 months was long enough for the audience to find a new hate figure in the departing Batista's place. Enter Roman Reigns. 'The Big Dog' become the new muscular golden child and now faced even greater vitriol than 'The Animal' had a year earlier.
WWE attempted to get around the problem by having Bryan eliminated early, but it only fuelled hatred that lasted even longer. By the time Roman despatched Rusev to win the bout, the hostility had peaked, and even a transparent rub from The Rock couldn't curb the ill will.
As an out-and-out babyface beloved by 100% of the audience, Reigns never truly recovered.
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
