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The beauty of professional wrestling is not always about the action that goes in between the ropes. It’s also about the fictional storylines that back up that action. Storylines have been important ever since the inception of wrestling and while some of them ended up being legendary, some others showed the other side of success.2014 has been no different for the WWE. They sparked out some intriguing angles throughout the year and even managed to bomb the other majority.With the year ending in just a matter of days, here is a look at which all were the best storylines that came out of a year that turned the landscape of WWE upside down.
#11 Honourable mention: The staph infection
This one is not technically a kayfabe storyline but reality can be sometime entertaining as well. CM Punk walking out of WWE and the incidents that followed rocked the entire wrestling business like nothing else that happened in the ring.
Punks revelations against Vince McMahons promotion were an eye opener for everyone who watched wrestling while the cold war between Punk and WWE was a joy to watch.
#10 The Bellas fall out
Brie Bella quit WWE after she saw how her husband was treated. However, her break was short lived when Stephanie McMahon constantly taunted Brie which in turn built up a match between the two at SummerSlam.
Many expected the angle to crumble due to this being Stephanie’s first match in almost a decade while Brie didn’t have enough talent to carry an opponent. Those expectations were shattered when these two delivered a great match at SummerSlam which was then capped off with an unexpected heel turn from Nikki Bella leading to another good angle.
It was actually an extension of the Authority – Bryan angle that happened earlier the year and ended up being one of the most successful divas storyline of the year.
#9 Stunt double
Damien Sandow’s career was destined to doom half way through the year. He was jobbing to everyone on the roster and that list even includes Adam Rose. The WWE Universe was also feeling bad for Sandow seeing what the company was doing with him but all that changed thanks to the stunt double character.
At first, everyone expected this to be another mistimed comedy character from Sandow but as time went by, the brilliance was there to be seen.
Sandow became more over than his ‘original’ when the fans saw this as a breather of fresh air amidst all the recycled angles that WWE was delivering them. There are still a lot more to come from this storyline and hopefully the writers will make good use of the resources next year as well.
#8 Legacy of John Cena
Bray Wyatt broke into the WWE programming as one of the most interesting characters in recent history. Everything he said made sense to the core while the creepiness surrounding him and his family made everyone stand up and take notice.
And all that hype surrounding Bray morphed into an angle where he wanted to tarnish the legacy of John Cena and bring out the monster inside him.
A wrestler looking to bring the darker side of Cena into play rather than just looking for a win was met with warm hands from the crowd. The only problem with the angle was Cena winning every now and then, if WWE had shown Bray a bit stronger, this one would’ve topped the list on any day.
#7 Believe in Evolution
It’s always good to see the past and the present lock horns in professional wrestling. WWE put this formula to a pretty good use when they brought back Evolution from the dead and pitted them against the young and hungry Shield.
Two of the most decorated stables in the WWE history working against eachother was a joy to watch for the fans as everything about this feud was top notch.
Evolution was actually giving Shield a lesson on how to be a great stable while the in ring action especially stood out with all the physicality that was involved. Shield getting a clean win every time made this into a classic torch passing storyline.
#6 Lunatic Fringe and the Eater of the Worlds
If we take a list of the best microphone workers in the current roster, Bray Wyatt and Dean Ambrose would be probably top that. So when WWE decided to put this two into a storyline, it was certain that it would be a successful angle.
The WWE Universe didn’t like the inception of the feud as it came as interference in the Hell in a Cell match between Rollins and Ambrose. However, once it took off, everyone was taking notice.
Unpredictability of these superstars was the real stand out factor of the angle. That coupled with some well-timed promos took it forward as a main event angle but the botched endings here and there proved to be big blows. There is still hope as we could see this running all the way to Royal Rumble.
#5 The end of Authority
The Authority reigned as the top heel in WWE programming throughout the year. There were many positives and many negatives throughout that run but as they say, all good things must come to an end and so did the Authority.
It all went down to a traditional Survivor Series match between a Seth Rollins led Team Authority and Cena lead Team Cena. Triple H doing anything and everything in his power to take out Team Cena’s members proved to be great buildup.
Once the action kicked off in the match, all those buildup took a backseat. Ziggler’s underdog story and Sting’s much awaited debut became the climax of both the Storyline and the Authority which made drastic changes to the company’s landscape.
#4 Follow the buzzard Bryan
Before Daniel Bryan embarked on his feud with the Authority, he had to settle some score with the Wyatt Family. Bray was at his manipulative best when he asked Bryan to join the Watt Family.
However, when Bryan didn’t meet that wish, Bray decided to take the longer path. He embarked on a great feud with Bryan all the way to Royal Rumble where they capped it off with a match of the year contender.
This was actually a feud that ran all the way from last year, however, since the most important portion of the angle was worked out this year, this deserves to be in the list. Bray’s career went to an all-time high after this but was dropped down soon after when he faced Cena.
#3 You dont backstab your brothers
Shield reigned in as the top faction in WWE thanks to their dominating run in the main event scene. There was however a lot of friction within the trio from the start of 2014 itself and all that lead to an explosion which gave WWE three great individual stars.
Rollins was the chosen one by Triple H and when he turned against Reigns and Ambrose, the roof came off the arena. Everyone was expecting Ambrose to be the one turning, but Rollins proved to be a better choice.
What followed was a simply awesome feud between Rollins and Ambrose. These two men stole the show everywhere they went and all that was built upon the basic human emotion of betrayal.
#2 The one in twenty one and one
When the WrestleMania period arrived once again in 2014, almost all the dirt sheets were guessing about the possible opponent of Undertaker for the granddaddy of them all.
And when Brock Lesnar became the chosen one, the next question was “Will Brock Lesnar do the unthinkable?” The majority would’ve answered no due to Lesnar being a part timer and not an upcoming talent, but WWE broke the internet when they decided to end the two-decade long streak of the Phenom.
It would go down as one of ‘the most’ shocking moments in WWE history while the fact that it was Lesnar made the storyline more unpredictable and successful.
#1 Just a B+ player
After wrapping up the angle with Bray Wyatt, Daniel Bryan moved on to a storyline which ended up being the backbone of this year’s WrestleMania. WWE built up Bryan as the ultimate underdog against the ever so evil Authority and wrapped it all up exceptionally well.
Triple H and his gang threw every obstacle possible against Bryan becoming the champion while the flying goat came across all of that.
Bryan even had to wrestle twice at WrestleMania, but all of that paid off when Bryan lifted both the championships in the closing moments of WrestleMania. It would go down in the WWE archives as one of the most successful Authority vs Underdog angle and WWE deserves credit for pulling this off despite all those botches they committed this year.
