1. Daniel Bryan Gets Off A Stretcher To Win The WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Daniel Bryan came into the main event of WrestleMania at a distinct disadvantage - not only had he already wrestled a grueling contest, but Triple H's post-match assault with a chair had left him with a severely damaged arm. Batista and Randy Orton took advantage of Bryan's vulnerability, nailing him with a combination Batista Bomb/reverse RKO through the announcers' table. Bryan was left in the wreckage, and the two original members of the match continued it as a one-on-one battle. Trainers came out, strapping the weakened Bryan into a stretcher and wheeling him away from the ring. When they approached the ramp, though, Bryan raised his hand, grabbing one of the trainers. In a moment that sent the Superdome into a frenzy (and is giving me chills right now as I recount it), he ripped off his neck brace, freed himself from the stretcher, and ran back into the ring. He rejoined the match, and even though Batista and Orton each nearly picked up the win in the remaining minutes, it was Bryan who nailed "The Animal" with the Running Knee, put him in the Yes Lock, and forced him to tap out. As cannons blasted confetti into the Superdome, as chants of "Yes!" filled the stadium, and as a tearful Daniel Bryan was joined in the ring by his family, it was clear we had all witnessed history. WWE had delivered as powerful a feel-good moment as they ever had, and - whether we watched live or on television - none of us will ever forget it.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013