Awesome, organic and thus entirely inconvenient for WWE, the Yes Movement forced the company to change a WrestleMania after ruining another for its audience two years prior.
Daniel Bryan was dethroned in just 18 seconds at the 28th 'Show Of Shows' in 2012 despite a groundswell of support around his silly monosyllabic chant as a heel. Using "NO!" as a rejection of their affection for much of the intervening time only strengthened the bond for when he inevitably turned face, but it proved problematic for WWE when he still wasn't their chosen Champion.
Given a clean win over World Champion John Cena at SummerSlam 2013, Bryan was a victim of Money In The Bank winner Randy Orton alongside an evil new Authority group set up by Triple H to ensure he never reached the pinnacle. All quality 'Mania fodder if had actually been that. WWE will forever spin the yarn but they'll forever be lying - the 75,167 inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome pointed skywards for the man, not the machine.
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
