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

9. 2018 - Daniel Bryan's Forced Heel Turn

Daniel Bryan Yes This Sign Wasted Paper
WWE.com

The 2018 Daniel Bryan heel turn was the latest in a catalogue of 2018 catastrophes, doubling down on a wretched 2017 and prepping everybody for the disastrous, monopoly-smashing 2019 ahead.

To recap; Bryan had been the company's undisputed top babyface when he was forced into retirement in 2016 and a sentimental favourite for the duration of his divisive run as SmackDown's co-General Manager when all hope seemed lost that he'd ever return. An out-of-nowhere pre-WrestleMania 34 announcement that he was in fact cleared for an immediate comeback was a gift from the wrestling gods for a star-starved WWE.

Unfortunately for...well, everybody, this was fundamentally the same company as the one he'd taken himself out of years prior. An organic and amazing babyface comeback story was instantly diluted by the announcement that Bryan would team with his SmackDown authority figure buddy Shane McMahon to take on 'The Money's rivals Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn on the 'Grandest Stage'. The match was a success in spite of itself when McMahon insisted on taking just about all of the heat and shine before Bryan made the hot tag the stadium actually wanted to see, and it foreshadowed the utter slop with Big Cass, Kane and an underwhelming run against The Miz.

After a return in March, he was a heel in November. Naturally, 'The New Daniel Bryan' was yet another role he perfected, but it was the company's biggest creative embarrassment that he even had to rise to the challenge.

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.