WrestleMania Rewind: Daniel Bryan vs. Batista vs. Randy Orton at WrestleMania XXX

The granddaddy of them all, WrestleMania is just about a week away. The anticipation for the extravaganza is sky high among the WWE Universe. And since the pay-per-view is richer than Richie Rich when it comes to history, we have decided to take a look back at some of the best WrestleMania matches with this latest series.Over the last thirty years, WWE fans have witnessed some great WrestleMania matches. WrestleMania has also been the stage for fairytale – esque storylines unfolding in front of the fans, with the likes of Randy Savage and Shawn Michaels realizing their lifelong dreams, while the Chris Benoit saga, albeit rarely mentioned or remembered, was also one of the greatest stories to have unfolded at the grandest stage.One of such stories is of Daniel Bryan, who wasn’t even a part of the Royal Rumble match last year in January. With the fans turning on the company as well as a returning Batista, who was supposed to headline the biggest PPV of the year along with Randy Orton, the WWE was forced to acknowledge the support Bryan had garnered. With their backs against the wall, WWE then decided to give Bryan his big moment, and that was undoubtedly the highlight of 2014.

#1 The Build up

With CM Punk walking out of the WWE after the Royal Rumble PPV, and with fans unhappy about Daniel Bryan not being booked for the Rumble match, the fans chose to voice their displeasure by booing Batista, and at every arena WWE went to, the fans started rooting for Daniel Bryan. With Triple H and The Authority needing a new underdog face, Bryan was finally given his due, and leading up to WrestleMania, Bryan challenged Triple H after Kane interfered in the Elimination Chamber match and cost Bryan the chance to become the WWE World Heavyweight champion.

Triple H was later forced to accept Bryan’s challenge at WrestleMania, with fans “occupying” the ring during an episode of Monday Night RAW, and refusing to leave until Triple H agreed to face Bryan, with the stipulation that the winner of the match would be then involved in the main event, making it a triple threat match for the WWE World Heavyweight championship.

With Batista and Randy Orton not on the same page, tensions started brewing within the faction, and at WrestleMania, Bryan managed to defeat Triple H after a hellacious battle, earning the opportunity to face Batista and Randy Orton in the main event of the show.

#2 The match

With the odds stacked against the underdog challenger, and with The Authority hell – bent on stopping Bryan from walking away with the title, Bryan came out all guns blazing, but was quickly neutralized by Orton and Batista. With Orton and Batista then going after each other, Bryan found the opening in the match and quickly applied the Yes Lock on Orton, but Triple H and Stephanie McMahon once again made the save, with Triple H dragging the referee out of the ring.

Scott Armstrong was sent to replace the original referee, as the match centered around the uphill battle Bryan was forced to go through to walk out as the champion. With all the odds stacked against Bryan, he managed to find a way to take Triple H and Stephanie McMahon out of the picture, as Orton, Batista and Bryan fought it out to determine the winner.

Orton and Batista then worked together to take Bryan out of the picture, as both men put Bryan through the announcer’s table with a Batista bomb turned into an RKO. While Bryan was being stretchered out, he managed to claw his way back into the ring, and finally trapped Batista in the Yes Lock, forcing him to tap out and was then announced as the new WWE World Heavyweight champion.

#3 The aftermath

The crowning moment of Bryan’s career was cheered by 75,000 fans in attendance, as the PPV was considered a great success. After the PPV, The Authority then feuded with The Shield, resulting in Batista leaving the faction, and consequently getting fired (kayfabe).

Although the fans felt that the win at WrestleMania would give Bryan the rub to finally dethrone Cena as the face of the organization, the unfortunate injury Bryan suffered kept him on the shelf for the remainder of the year. Bryan’s first title defense turned out to be his last, as he defeated his old partner turned nemesis, Kane at the Extreme Rules PPV.

With WWE choosing Roman Reigns as the next face of the organization, Daniel Bryan was used to put him over last month at WWE Fast Lane, and at this year’s edition of WrestleMania, he will be a part of the ladder match for the WWE Intercontinental championship. Although the fans believe that Bryan deserved more, he now has the opportunity to put on the match of the night, along with the likes of Dolph Ziggler and Dean Ambrose, and is rumored to win the title to make it more relevant in the WWE.

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