Obviously, the biggest news this week is that
Daniel Bryan unfortunately announced his retirement from professional wrestling
due to a history of concussions. I've now had to watch two of my all time favorites, Edge and
Bryan, hang it up earlier than they were supposed to. The first Ring of Honor
show I ever attended live was Final Battle 2006. Bryan Danielson was the ROH
World Champion and main evented against Homicide. He lost the title but I was
hooked and he instantly became one of my all-time favorite wrestlers. I cheered
for him louder than anyone at the ROH shows I attended. I watched him go to war
with Austin Aries, Takeshi Morishima and many others. His final ROH match,
against Nigel McGuinness, was in New York and I am grateful that I got to see
it live. Watching him make it to the top of the WWE was one of the greatest
feelings in the world. A guy that I picked and was drawn to from the first time
I saw him made it. He made it when many people said he couldn't. Daniel Bryan
embodies the notion that anything is possible. Daniel Bryan was and is
everything that I love about pro wrestling. To honor him, I'm going to look
back at my personal top ten moments from his WWE career.
10. The AJ Lee Pairing
Starting us off isn’t something that isn’t relegated to
one specific moment. For a lot of Daniel Bryan’s early WWE run, he was kind of
just there. Yea, he had the United States Title at one point but he just wasn’t
clicking the way he should have, even after winning Money in the Bank. From out
of nowhere though, he was paired up with AJ Lee and things just starting falling
into place. In the early stages, they were just the adorably nerdy couple and
it was pretty cute. Once Bryan won the World Title and started showing heel
tendencies, this really took off. Bryan became a controlling douchebag who
ordered around the sweet, innocent AJ Lee. It really helped get the crowd to
boo Bryan, while also managing to do something else. It gave him personality.
Even if it was as an asshole boyfriend, it gave us something to care about when
it came to Bryan besides his talents inside the squared circle. He was now
entertaining in a way that many didn’t think he could pull off. To be fair,
both he and AJ deserve a ton of credit for playing their roles so well. It was
because of this pairing that both AJ and Bryan had their careers launched to
another level. They were involved in a high profile wedding at Raw 1000 and, by
2013, both had won the top titles of their genders.
9. Intercontinental Championship Victory
I’d consider the Intercontinental Title to be a bit above
the United States Title in terms of prestige and importance. However, when it
comes to the case of Daniel Bryan, the IC Title win meant a bit less. After
suffering a heartbreaking injury and forfeiting the WWE World Heavyweight
Title, Bryan was forced to miss several months of action and his career was in
doubt. He returned in time for the Royal Rumble, ultimately getting eliminated
like he was just some random mid-carder. At WrestleMania 31, Bryan would not be
in the WWE Title picture, he’d instead be thrown into a randomly thrown
together Intercontinental Title match. A lot of people saw it as a major
demotion and that’s understandable. It’s hard to disagree since it wasn’t even
a well thought out program for the belt. It was seven dudes stealing the title
from each other leading up to the biggest show of the year. None of it really
made any sense. Still, when it came time for the match, it proved to be a
really fun encounter that Bryan won. Not only did it give him his first Intercontinental
Title but it completed the Grand Slam for him, putting him in elite company. It
also marked the fifth straight Mania that Bryan competed for his fifth
different championship.
8. Winning the United States Championship
After getting eliminated first from the first season of
NXT, Daniel Bryan’s career was in question. He was constantly berated by his
pro, the Miz, and went 0-10. He even cut a promo saying that Daniel Bryan was
done, but maybe Bryan Danielson wasn’t. He would resurface during the Nexus
debut but get fired for choking Justin Roberts. Fast forward to SummerSlam, where
Bryan returned, teaming with many future Hall of Famers against his former
stable, the Nexus. He did well in the match, getting the crowd even more behind
him, until the Miz cost him and caused him to get eliminated. That set up the
NXT pro against the former NXT rookie for Miz’s United States Title at Night of
Champions. They went out and had the best match in Miz’s career. Miz looked
awesome, pun intended, throughout the entire match, even in defeat. Miz was one
of the better US Champions in recent years and held the Money in the Bank
briefcase at the time, so Bryan beating him was a pretty big deal. It was also
historic since it was the first title win for Bryan in the WWE. Too bad the US
Title run itself was largely forgettable outside of two standout matches.
7. Mr. Money in the Bank
In Daniel Bryan’s “Journey to WrestleMania XXX”
documentary on the WWE Network, he calls 2011 the lowest point of his career. That
certainly has some merit considering he lost the United States Title, got
bumped to the Pre-Show (before it was on the WWE Network) of WrestleMania XXVII
and got stuck in a lengthy losing streak. Things started to turn around by the
time Money in the Bank happened. Bryan participated in the Smackdown Money in
the Bank match against the likes of Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, Sheamus, Kane
and others. Most people, myself included, pegged either Rhodes or Barrett to
win it but Bryan shocked the world by retrieving the briefcase in front of a
rabid Chicago crowd. Up to that point, everybody that won the briefcase had
successfully cashed in. Despite his struggles, this win kind of said that the
WWE had at least some faith in him. The question now was whether he’d become a
Jack Swagger or a CM Punk. Bryan started to get more shine as the year came to
a close, culminating in one special moment.
6. Winning his first World Title
That one special moment came at the Tables, Ladders and
Chairs Pay-Per-View in December of 2011. Mark Henry was at the tail end of his
surprisingly great “Hall of Pain” run. He defended the World Heavyweight
Championship against the Big Show and lost it to him. Big Show’s celebration
would be short lived however, as Henry attacked him and laid him out.
Considering the size of Henry and Show, one wouldn’t expect Daniel Bryan to
cash in at this moment, but that’s exactly what he did. Bryan rushed out and
pinned the Big Show, ending his World Title reign in just about a few minutes.
Bryan had gone on record saying he would cash in and give notice ahead of time.
This was clearly him doing just the opposite. People popped for it anyway
because it was such a cool moment but it kick started the heel turn that would
change Bryan’s career for the better. This win was extremely significant
because, no matter what else happened in his career, Bryan would have the “former
World Champion” tag. It may not mean as much now as it did years ago, but it’s
a level many people didn’t think Bryan would ever attain.
5. Turning on the Wyatt Family
While CM Punk infamously got the Summer of Punk in 2011,
2013 kind of gave us the Sumer of Bryan. After a red hot run with Kane as part
of Team Hell No, Bryan was determined to prove that he wasn’t the weak link.
This run led to Bryan winning the WWE Title (more on that later) and a feud
with Randy Orton. He didn’t win out in that feud and, by the end of year, was
sidetracked in an angle with Bray Wyatt and the Wyatt Family. Bray targeted
Bryan, wanting to recruit him. Partially because of their similar beards, but
more so because he believed they were cut from the same cloth. It led to an
angle where Bryan was beaten down and chose to join the Wyatt Family on the final
Raw of 2013. Bryan would emerge in 2014 in full Wyatt Family attire, be
involved in the stable’s promos and even team up with them. The man that the crowd
so desperately loved, was now part of a faction they despised. He seemingly
gave up. Then, one fateful night in January, Bryan teamed with Bray to take on
the Usos inside of a Steel Cage. The Usos would win the match but Bryan found
himself locked in a cage with Bray. He ripped off the Wyatt suit and showed
that it was all a ploy to get back at them. Bryan attacked Bray in the most
satisfying way as the crowd chanted “Yes” in unison, giving us one of the very
best moments in recent Raw history.
4. 18 Seconds
At first glance, including a moment where someone loses in
18 seconds on the grandest stage of them all in a top ten moments of their
career list is strange. This is a special case though. Daniel Bryan was
reigning as the World Heavyweight Champion with a defense against Royal Rumble
winner Sheamus scheduled for WrestleMania. Bryan’s “Yes” taunt was just
starting to get over, but it reached a new high at WrestleMania. They opened
the show and, despite being the heel, the crowd loved Bryan. There were tons of
“Yes” signs and chants, something not many people expected. With the fans
firmly behind him, Bryan got a good luck kiss from AJ, then proceeded to turn
around right into a Brogue Kick, dropping the title in less than twenty seconds.
This kind of embarrassing moment should not have worked the way it did but life
is funny sometimes. This loss, coupled with the chants, worked as a rallying
cry. Bryan became the ultimate underdog. He became the guy that the fans clung
to because they chose him and it seemed like the WWE had no faith in him. The
following night on Raw, Bryan wasn’t even on the show but the crowd chanted “Yes”
and “Daniel Bryan” throughout the entire night. Without the 18 second loss,
Daniel Bryan may never have found the success that he ended up reaching.
3. Team Hell No
Never in my wildest dreams, could I have seen this working
as well as it did. Shortly after Daniel Bryan publicly dumped AJ Lee, she
started to lose her mind. Bryan got engaged in a rivalry with CM Punk that also
ended up including Kane. AJ, like she did with almost every male on the roster
in 2012, flirted and made out with both Punk and Kane. Once Bryan failed at
dethroning Punk and AJ became the General Manager of Raw, he was forced to take
anger management classes with Kane. Those segments were some of the best things
ever done during the era of three hour Raws. It brought Kane and Bryan together
in an uneasy alliance, which then turned into a tag team. They would win the
Tag Team Titles shortly after and follow up with almost a year of classic
segments and moments. Their graduation ceremony, the actual match where they
were forced to hug, both men screaming “I AM THE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS” and even partnering
up with the Undertaker to take on the Shield. All of that, and everything else
they did, was golden. It’s the most I’ve enjoyed Kane since his early days. I’d
consider Team Hell No to be the best oddball pairing the WWE has ever put
together.
2. SummerSlam 2013
As noted earlier, after ten or so months as part of Team
Hell No, Daniel Bryan was out to prove that he wasn’t the weak link. They had
teamed with Randy Orton a few times and Bryan wanted to show him that he was
nowhere near the weak link. They went on to have a series of matches, including
a class Street Fight that Bryan would win. With Bryan at his hottest, then WWE
Champion John Cena was given the rare opportunity to handpick his next
challenger for the gold at SummerSlam. Listening to the crowd’s response, Cena
selected Bryan. It set up a similar situation to when CM Punk and Cena had
their classics. The indy guy that “didn’t belong” going up against the top dog
of the company. The company fed into that by having Vince McMahon try to change
Bryan because he didn’t have the look. Bryan was determined to win the WWE
Title to prove that he was truly the best. The showdown finally happened, to
close out one of the best SummerSlam events ever, and it was spectacular. After
a long, hard fought clash, Bryan hit the running knee and pinned Cena cleanly
to become the champion. That put Bryan in elite company, joining Shawn
Michaels, Triple H, the Great Khali and maybe some others I’m forgetting, as
the only me to accomplish that. It was a crowning moment for someone that was
never supposed to make it. Granted, he had Money in the Bank cashed in on him
right after, but this still was a huge moment.
1. YEStleMania
WrestleMania XXX should forever be known as YEStleMania
and for good reason. Originally, despite him being the most over guy in the company,
the WWE planned on putting Daniel Bryan in a throwaway midcard match with
Sheamus, which would be their third Mania match in four years. They honestly
felt that Randy Orton vs. Batista was somehow the best option for the main
event. Plans for CM Punk vs. Triple H had to be scrapped when Punk infamously
walked out. The WWE was forced to call an audible and, thanks to the reactions
of the WWE Universe forcing their hands, we got the very best possible outcome.
Bryan would not only get his hands on Triple H, the man behind him getting held
back on screen, but if he could beat him, he’d find himself added to the title
picture in the main event. Given the biggest chance of his career, Bryan
absolutely delivered. He opened WrestleMania XXX by defeating Triple H in an
absolute classic that was among the best openers in Pay-Per-View history. Then,
he made a heroic comeback during a great main event, to topple Batista and
Randy Orton and become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. The historic 30th
WrestleMania was all about Daniel Bryan and he put on the best performance in
Mania history. Even though his title reign and career were both cut way too
short by injuries, if nothing else, we’ll always have WrestleMania XXX.
