10 WWE superstars who had disappointing WrestleMania debuts

1. Daniel Bryan

Daniel Bryan had the worst WrestleMania debut imaginable

Daniel Bryan had arguably the worst possible WrestleMania debut of any top-tier WWE Superstar of the past decade. Despite being wildly popular – even as a heel – Bryan lost his World Heavyweight Championship to then-challenger Sheamus, in an 18-second match.

The entire match – if you could even call it that – was composed of Bryan kissing then-on-screen-girlfriend AJ Lee, Bryan turning around, and getting hit in the face with a Brogue Kick, before getting pinned.

Naturally, this infuriated many fans, as they were convinced that WWE was ‘burying’ Daniel Bryan as a performer. They believed that this awful, one-sided squash was meant to not only destroy Bryan the character but also to destroy any credibility he had as a performer.

Since many casual fans only watch the PPVs – with the largest number of casual fans usually tuning in to watch WrestleMania more than any other PPV – it was crucial that Bryan began his WrestleMania career on the right foot. He clearly didn’t, given the nature of this match.

However, one positive that did come out of this was that it was the seeds of what would dictate the next two years of Bryan's rise to the top of the card. This was where the "Yes! Movement" began and Bryan would go on to become the #1 fan favourite, culminating with his world title win at the main event of WrestleMania 30.

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