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We as WWE fans have all been guilty at some point of being too reactionary after seeing a result which we feel shouldn't have happened. In essence, we're talking about moments where a Superstar needs to win to keep their momentum alive.
There's no denying that wins and losses matter in WWE, but we often forget that all it takes is a hot streak to fix all of that. Look at Bayley, for instance. After a great win and successful title defense of the RAW Women's Championship at WrestleMania 33, she lost it a month after to Alexa Bliss and it went completely downhill from there. For two years, Bayley's presence on the main roster was toned down significantly and she became a background figure with no creative direction whatsoever.
But in 2019, she was drafted to SmackDown and from there, she began to pick up some steam before Money in the Bank a month later, where she won the briefcase and the SmackDown Women's Championship in the same night. That's one of many examples, but in this case, we're going to talk about Superstars who fans thought were buried, only for them to get pushed right after.
#5. Buddy Murphy
One of the more recent ones on this list, Buddy Murphy's trilogy with Aleister Black was one that greatly benefited him and the former NXT Champion. However, it was a trilogy where he lost all three bouts, leaving fans to wonder if he was just a placeholder who was being utilized to get Aleister Black over.
As it turned out, the night of the third match saw him sit ringside after the match, with the circumstances in the main event seeing him join Seth Rollins & The AoP. His alliance with Rollins was a big push for him and he won his first title - the RAW Tag Team Championship with The Monday Night Messiah for a while before losing it to The Street Profits.
#4. Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan's rise to the top in 2014 is unlike any story we've seen in WWE before. The circumstances of it all made it among the most powerful storylines of the last decade and perhaps even in WWE history.
Bryan's rise to the top began in 2011, but it truly took shape in 2013 when he began to gain momentum and become the hottest Superstar on the WWE roster. He won the WWE Championship at SummerSlam 2013, but he lost it moments later, kick-starting one of the most memorable runs in WWE history.
He was a Superstar who lost more often than not, making fans believe that WWE wasn't serious about pushing him. As it turns out, they weren't. It took fans rejecting Batista at the Royal Rumble 2014 for things to change. Daniel Bryan had lost to Bray Wyatt earlier in the night in a singles match and was expected to appear in and win the Royal Rumble match, but he didn't even appear, leaving fans to believe that he was buried in favor of Batista.
However, the power of the 'Yes!' movement, along with CM Punk abruptly leaving WWE made sure the stars would align for Daniel Bryan - and he would go on to main-event WrestleMania and receive the biggest push of his career.
#3. Becky Lynch
Becky Lynch was called up in the summer of 2015 along with Sasha Banks and Charlotte Flair. It was evident within the first few months that Becky Lynch was viewed as the 'third fiddle', constantly losing and taking the pinfall to Superstars such as Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks. She never got her moment until the 2016 Brand Split, when she was the first woman drafted to SmackDown and subsequently, the first SmackDown Women's Champion.
However, her push turned out to be one that was executed to help elevate Alexa Bliss, which led to a lackluster 2017 for Becky Lynch. 2018 saw her momentum pick up significantly, with Lynch carefully pushed and protected - even racking up the best winning streak on SmackDown at the time (male and female).
Her momentum led her to earn a title shot against Carmella at SummerSlam 2018, but Charlotte's Flair return saw her added to the match as well. While many felt Becky Lynch needed a win, WWE decided that she didn't and had Charlotte Flair pin her instead, infuriating fans.
It led to her heel turn - one that got her cheered far more than before. Nobody wanted to see her as a heel and they made it known, and just a month later, Becky Lynch won her second Championship. She would gradually turn face and her fresh gimmick of being The Man led her to the first Women's main event of WrestleMania 35, where she became the only WWE Superstar to pin Ronda Rousey. She would walk out as both RAW and SmackDown Women's Champion and will walk into WrestleMania 36 still the RAW Women's Champion.
#2. 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt
This one is a bit on the line since Bray Wyatt had already been pushed before his 'burial'. But since it was the most recent one on this list and highly-talked about, we decided to add this in.
Bray Wyatt returned in April 2019 after close to eight months away and his brand new gimmick left people confused at first, instantly assuming that it was stupid. It took a few more weeks for fans to begin to understand that there was a lot more to it.
The confusion turned into popularity and WWE took over three months before unleashing 'The Fiend'. The new entrance, the new appearance, and the new presence left fans awestruck at what they witnessed.
It only took a few months before Wyatt won the Universal Championship and he had a good feud with Daniel Bryan - beating him multiple times before going after Goldberg. At Super ShowDown 2020, fans were outraged when Goldberg pinned Wyatt - the most highly protected superstar in WWE for a full year.
While the initial thought was that it was a burial, Wyatt's push was maintained as he challenged John Cena at WrestleMania 36. If a Superstar faces John Cena at The Grandest Stage of Them All, they're not being buried.
#1. AJ Styles
There are only a few cases throughout WWE history where Superstars have been pushed as fast to a World title. For AJ Styles, it took just over seven months to win the WWE Championship. Fans who watched him outside of WWE knew that he was the best in-ring performer in the world and WWE didn't realize what they had until he began to deliver.
He admitted that he thought WWE was going to make him a mid-carder and nothing more. But as they say, the cream always rises to the top. AJ Styles' first feud was against Chris Jericho and he lost at WrestleMania, only to win a great #1 contender's match for the WWE title one night later on RAW.
His feud with Roman Reigns was essentially what convinced WWE that they had a top star in him. While he was never going to beat Roman Reigns, fans felt that the same finish to two PPV headliners gave him a bad look and that he was 'buried' in favor of Roman Reigns - the most hated Superstar at the time.
However, he would miss out on a Money in the Bank opportunity, which allowed him to feud with the returning John Cena. He faced him in two incredible matches, the second of which he beat Cena clean. That shot him to a WWE title opportunity and he would go on to win it and become the face of SmackDown until April 2019.
