1. Daniel Bryan, 2014
Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few months, you know the story of one of WWE's most glaring examples of not fully pushing a popular superstar. For almost two years, Daniel Bryan has been the most popular superstar in the WWE, and has consistently had the best match on every single show he has been on. Yet time and time again he has had the number one spot ripped away from him. At Summerslam 2013, it looked like the WWE would make the obvious choice, and let Bryan be the top man in the company. He defeated John Cena cleanly (a feat akin to walking on water), only to have his reign cut short mere moments later when special guest referee Triple H attacked him, allowing Randy Orton to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase. Flash Forward to January 2014. After a very brief and awkward stint with the Wyatt Family, Bryan turned on Bray Wyatt, to a crowd roar just as loud as any ever received by Stone Cold Steve Austin. Everyone thought the next logical step would be for Bryan to win the upcoming Royal Rumble match, and earn a WWE Title shot at Wrestlemania XXX. Not only did Bryan not win the Rumble, he wasn't even in the match! The reaction to this travesty was one of the biggest backlashes the WWE has ever received. The fans in Pittsburgh booed the last ten minutes of the Rumble out of the building, and the Facebook and Twitter users that WWE cherishes so much have used the social media forums to express vitriol towards the company. This may have been the one time where WWE's failure to push a popular superstar may actually cause them serious trouble.