5 Past WWE rivalries that deserved a better ending

#1 Daniel Bryan vs The Miz

A terrible end to a personal rivalry.

It's a shame that WWE failed to properly conclude the hottest feud in SmackDown Live history after getting a huge opportunity to do so. It all started when The Miz went on a passionate rant about Daniel Bryan on Talking Smack in August 2016, after the former general manager ridiculed his wrestling style.

The Miz and Bryan were at odds with each other, renewing rivalries that stemmed from NXT season 1. The two seemingly did not like each other in real life, which made their story all the more compelling. However, we would not get a payoff since Bryan was not cleared by WWE.

That changed in March 2018 when the Leader of the Yes Movement returned to in-ring action. Inevitably, he restarted his rivalry with The Miz on the Blue brand. This was the best feud of WWE's brand split era, even with one of them being unable to wrestle. So when they were set to face off at SummerSlam, the WWE Universe was understandably excited.

The match was pretty good, with The Miz cheating to win. That was fine, as Bryan would likely get his revenge on a bigger stage. After another Miz victory in mixed tag team action, the two had one final match at Super ShowDown in Australia. The rivalry was so watered down at this point, but the two promised to have a belter of a match to end it.

Daniel Bryan vs The Miz was the second last match on a long show, taking place between a terrific 6-man match involving The Shield and the main event between The Undertaker and Triple H. The fans were hoping for a fitting conclusion to an incredibly storied rivalry, with Bryan making Miz tap out.

However, what we got was embarrassing. A testament of the way WWE cooled down the feud. Bryan caught Miz in a small package to win in less than 2 minutes. In a rivalry that was supposed to have an intense and emotional end, WWE turned it into a joke.

When it comes to rivalries that deserved a better ending, Daniel Bryan vs The Miz takes the cake. WWE did a great job with it for a couple of years but when the matches actually began, the rivalry lost its value to the point where the big blowoff match lasted only 2 minutes. A real shame.