The REAL Reason Daniel Bryan Just Won The WWE Title

Braun Strowman Brock Lesnar Roman Reigns
WWE.com

The bizarre symmetry between this year and last has been the result of several happy - and extremely unhappy - accidents. WWE's Banter Era continued to take shape through WrestleMania, when a "dream match" between AJ and Shinsuke Nakamura became the stuff of nightmares thanks to an ungodly number of underwhelming rematches. Meanwhile, the steadfast and show-sabbotaging protection of Brock Lesnar didn't even yield the intended outcome. 'The Big Dog' survived six F5s - six more than than Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe and AJ himself the prior year - but got bloodied then beaten with a seventh. What the f*ck had the last year been about for that finish?

Banter. It was just...banter.

Soaked in blood, Roman was a loser on the 'Show Of Shows' and phased down after a tepid Greatest Royal Rumble cage match to try and prime him for one final run at SummerSlam. A final run in which he finally defeated Lesnar in a match that began the total deconstruction of Braun Strowman and triggered the abrupt end of the pay-per-view so not to give fans the opportunity to heckle him off the air.

Order wasn't restored, but WWE's version of it was. All until real life again proved itself as the biggest heel of all. Reigns' heartwrenching reveal of his leukemia diagnosis reset the board after the aforementioned absurdity of Crown Jewel. Brock condemned Braun to Strowman's land yet again and set up a rematch fans were genuinely thrilled to see. But not as thrilled as they were with the women's equivalents aver Evolution...

CONT'D...

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 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 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, 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