One Moment WWE Wants You To Forget From Every Year (1985 to 2026)

15. 2012 - The Truth Behind A Movement

WWE WrestleMania 28 XXVIII Sheamus Daniel Bryan
WWE.com

When Royal Rumble winner Sheamus challenged Daniel Bryan for the World Title at WrestleMania XXVIII, it was assumed that the match mostly existed as make-good for their bruising exclusion from the show the prior year. Back then, having already found their United States title match dropped to the dark match position (then converted to a battle royal hilariously won by the Great Khali), the rematch a year later seemed well set to be creative and commercial vindication for the pair.

One of them got all of that and more, but not on purpose.

After just 18 seconds, Bryan had been defeated. Fans voiced their incredulous indignation long after the match had concluded, peppering the rest of the card with "Yes!" chants and holding up the signs and banners they'd made for cult favourite Bryan that had barely seen the Miami sun by the time he'd lost the title. The finish fed into a wider storyline involving the doomed relationship between now-ex-Champion and storyline girlfriend AJ Lee, but the audience wanted the match more than they wanted an angle. When douchebag boyfriend Bryan demanded a kiss and got his head popped off with a Brogue Kick, Lee was an easy target for blame, but the live crowd were far too incensed with the reality to immerse themselves fully in the fiction. 

The monosyllabic chant greeted most wrestlers at least once during the show, and then dominated the conversation before, during and after the typically vociferous post-Mania Monday Night Raw. What was born as an irritating heel gesture became an era-defining catchphrase that Bryan has carried with him for the rest of his career. The babyface version of "What", it's now part of the show and integral to the never-say-die aspect of the 'American Dragon'. Like so much about 2002-2022 WWE, it was borne out of protest. 

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for nearly 10 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 65,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and 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. 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.