The Complete A-Z Of WrestleMania

16. K - Kiss

Stone Cold Steve Austin The Rock
WWE

Truly a flashpoint that kickstarted the 'Yes Movement' (more on that later), the kiss between AJ Lee and Daniel Bryan before his World Title instant defeat to Sheamus now stands on its own as a bonafide 'WrestleMania moment'.

As demeaning as the 18-second loss to 'The Great White' was for Bryan, the entire of the structure was at least in keeping with the traits of the world class d*ckhead he had morphed into since winning the title the prior December.

As a bullying boyfriend to the doe-eyed diva AJ, he'd earned scorn from the crowd for his perpetual mistreatment of her, but became impossible to truly despise thanks to his self-aggrandising 'YES!' entrance and supreme in-ring skills.

All things came to a head at WrestleMania 28, where fans anticipated an absorbing battle between two men who had their US Title match the prior year cruelly dumped to the pre-show then converted to a battle royal within minutes of starting.

With the quick fire defeat, the 'YES!' chant became a call to action in support of Bryan for nearly two years, despite endless attempts by the company to keep him below the main event.

It started with a kiss.

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