The Complete History of the WWE Championship

Daniel Bryan was not supposed to main event WrestleMania XXX on April 6, 2014. Oh no. That honor was supposed to belong to the returning Batista, who made a comeback to WWE almost four years after departing the sports entertainment powerhouse.

WWE planned to present a battle of the former Evolution stablemates; Batista versus WWE Champion Randy Orton in the main event of 'Mania. However, that attraction was not one that the WWE Universe wished to see.

The WWE Universe had expected to see Bryan as one of the thirty participants in the 30 Man Royal Rumble match. When he failed to appear, loud boos rang out around the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, PA.

Batista, whom fans had surmised was WWE's choice to win the match was crucified with negative chants. He was not a popular winner.

Adding to the controversy, CM Punk, who (among other things) had become dissatisfied with his booking and departed the company, never to return, the following night which meant his scheduled bout at 'Mania with Triple H was canceled.

Therefore, Bryan, who despite his two reigns as WWE Champion the previous Autumn, had become an afterthought was suddenly gifted a major WrestleMania match.

However, fan discord did not end there. The WWE Universe continued to reject Batista and insist Bryan be inserted into the WWE title match instead.

WWE eventually complied and booked Bryan to compete with "The Game" in the card's opener, with the winner to be inserted into the WWE Championship bout.

Bryan defeated Triple H and in one of the most glorious WWE moments ever, captured the WWE crown from Orton in the headline bout, also featuring Batista.

Unfortunately, Bryan's reign would be truncated after he suffered a severe neck injury and he was forced to vacate the title on June 9, 2014.

Fortunately for Bryan, this would not be his last WWE title reign, although he would have to wait four more years to reclaim the belt.

Previous parts in my series can be found here: Part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11, part 12, part 13, part 14, part 15, part 16 and part 17.

Daniel Bryan (September 15, 2013 - September 16, 2013)

Daniel Bryan: Recaptured the gold at Night of Champions

Daniel Bryan delighted the WWE Universe at SummerSlam 2013 when he dethroned WWE's top star, John Cena, clean in the middle of the ring.

Fans thought they had seen the crowning of wrestling's next superstar babyface a la The Rock or Stone Cold Steve Austin.

However, those hopes were just as quickly dashed, when permanent main event fixture, Randy Orton raised his seventh WWE Championship and tenth World title overall by defeating Bryan moments later via Money in the Bank cash in.

In the immediate aftermath of the bout, WWE management, ad nauseum, told their audience that Bryan was a "B+ player" and not fit to be a headliner.

This was no storyline. In WWE's eyes, Bryan was a placeholder champion to occupy new champion Orton until the real star, Batista returned to the company.

Nevertheless, to prolong the feud, WWE did book Bryan to regain the strap at the company's next pay per view offering, Night of Champions on September 15, 2013.

However, this was a false dawn. The very next night, The Authority double act of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon stripped Bryan of the title and held it up in yet another rematch at Battleground in October. That would be a contest that would signal the end of Bryan's top line push. For several months anyway.

Randy Orton (October 27, 2013 - April 6, 2014)

Randy Orton: Unified WWE's World titles at TLC 2013

Randy Orton had done it all by the time he won his tenth World title from Daniel Bryan at SummerSlam. A permanent main eventer for almost a decade, Orton, like John Cena had caused the WWE Universe to feel fatigued.

Like Hulk Hogan in 1993, the WWE Universe had grown tired of the stars who had been on top for years and years and yearned for someone new in the top spots. Daniel Bryan was their choice. However, the fan-base would continue to be denied during the Autumn and Winter months of 2013-14.

Orton captured an eleventh World crown at Battleground on October 27, 2013, by defeating Bryan and next defended the belt against Big Show. Show, who had won his first World title in WCW in 1995 and his first WWE World title in 1999, was another wrestler whom fans had no desire to see in a headline spot in 2013. Fans rejected the feud and the conflict between them quickly ended at Survivor Series.

With few bonafide main event talents remaining in the company, WWE made the call to unify their two World titles once more at TLC on December 15, 2013. Unfortunately, the World Champion at the time was none other than Cena, and WWE presented yet another Orton versus Cena contest which played before an indifferent live crowd despite the Tables, Ladders and Chairs stipulation. RKO won.

The big plan for WrestleMania XXX on April 6, 2014, was for Orton to drop the title to returning hero, the 45-year-old Batista, who had left WWE in May 2010.

However, fans rejected the prospect and loudly booed "The Animal" from the Royal Rumble event onwards, forcing WWE to re-evaluate their opinion on Bryan.

Orton's title losing bout at WrestleMania XXX is a contest that will be remembered forever, making this one of his most important title reigns.

Daniel Bryan (April 6, 2014 - June 9, 2014)

Daniel Bryan: Title reign unfortunately truncated by injury

Daniel Bryan became WWE's most unlikely figurehead when he captured the WWE Championship from Randy Orton in the headline bout at WrestleMania XXX, which also featured Batista.

WrestleMania XXX was unquestionably Bryan's night. He was the star of the show, defeating Triple H in the opening bout and upsetting the odds and fighting off outside interference to win the big one. Bryan seemed like he had become WWE's new top star.

However, WWE failed to capitalize on Bryan's momentum by placing him in a feud with his longtime rival/ally Kane. Although Kane was a logical opponent given their history, the lumbering giant veteran was not going to extract the best out of Bryan in the ring. To make matters worse, their feud played out like a B movie Horror film, with Bryan (who was meant to be the fearless babyface superstar) constantly running away in fear from the monster.

Bryan did win their climactic encounter at Extreme Rules on May 4 in an entertaining contest but was forced to vacate the belt due to a neck injury on June 9 after he had undergone neck surgery several weeks earlier.

Bryan's road back to the WWE Championship would be a long one, as he was forced to retire in early 2016 before making an in-ring comeback at WrestleMania 34 and regaining the strap in November 2018.

John Cena (June 29, 2014 - August 17, 2014)

John Cena: Kept the WWE Championship warm for Brock Lesnar

Normal service was resumed when John Cena captured his twelfth WWE Championship and fifteenth World title overall at the 2014 edition of Money in the Bank.

In fairness, WWE was left with little option but to put the belt on Cena this time. After Daniel Bryan had been sidelined with a serious neck injury, WWE needed to put the belt on an established babyface star so they could transition the World title to Brock Lesnar.

Cena, in Bryan's absence, was the perfect fit for that spot. Cena did make one successful defense on pay per view in a four-way encounter at Battleground 2013 but everyone knew he was only keeping the belt warm for Lesnar.

In a rematch of their instant classic brawl at Extreme Rules 2013, Lesnar carried on where he left off in that match, pounding the champion at will. However, this time there was to be no miracle comeback from Cena.

"The Beast" defeated Cena, marking consecutive SummerSlam title matches where Cena dropped the belt with no shenanigans, clean as a whistle.

This was Cena's penultimate WWE Championship reign and he would have to wait over two and a half years before he won his final World crown.