There’s never been a more organic underdog story in the WWE more powerfully captivating – and storyline shifting – as that of Daniel Bryan. The former indie sensation (then going by his real name of Bryan Danielson) joined the WWE in 2010, but despite a run as a babyface following his return from exile (after being exiled for his tie choke during the Nexus debut angle) at SummerSlam ’10, Daniel Bryan became a heel during his first World Heavyweight Championship reign, which resulted in his bizarre 18 second loss to Sheamus at WrestleMania 28, when his ringside valet AJ Lee distracted him with a kiss. This resulted in a feud against CM Punk (who AJ Lee ultimately chose over Bryan), as the WWE scrambled to find the right way to utilize the diminutive grappler. But his foray into the tag team division would begin the build to one of the greatest moments in WrestleMania history.
TEAM HELL NO
Following an unsuccessful attempt at CM Punk’s WWE Championship at Money In The Bank ’12, Raw General Manager AJ Lee began to make Bryan’s life a hell by putting him against Kane. They met at SummerSlam ’12, with Bryan pulling out the victory, but the two were so volatile that the two were ordered to attend anger management classes on AJ Lee’s orders. The resulting group therapy lead to the forced alliance of the two, as they were entered into the #1 Contenders match on Raw on September 10, 2012 against The Prime Time Players (Titus O’Neil & Darren Young) to face then Tag Team Champions Kofi Kingston & R-Truth at Night of Champions ’12. Not only did the duo win the #1 Contendership, they defeated the champs at Night of Champions and became the new Tag Team Champions of the WWE. Soon after, the team was dubbed “Team Hell No”, in reference to Kane’s hellacious nature and Daniel Bryan’s heel “NO!” chants. While fans were initially perplexed by such an odd pairing, they soon became fan favorites due to the Odd Couple dyamic of the two drastically different characters and wrestlers. So much so, that Team Hell No held the WWE Tag Team titles for 245 days, the longest reign since Carlito & Primo’s 280 day reign in 2008-2009. They finally lost the titles to The Shield’s Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins at Extreme Rules ’13 and after several attempts to recapture the gold, Team Hell No dissolved in July of that year.
THE AUTHORITY, Part 1
Following the end of Team No, a revitalized Daniel Bryan re-entered the singles division, closer to the main event than he’d been in some time. His “NO!” chants had morphed into the now iconic fan friendly “YES!” chants and fans were rallying behind the former World Champion like never before in the WWE. At the 2013 Money In The Bank, Daniel Bryan vied for the contract for a WWE Championship shot but it was ultimately won by Randy Orton, due to Curtis Axel’s outside interference preventing Bryan from winning. But the next night on Raw, WWE Champion John Cena declared his Summerslam opponent would indeed be Daniel Bryan, which infuriated WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, who deemed Bryan unfit for not fitting the mold of a stereotypical WWE Champion. Oddly, Triple H defended Daniel Bryan and allowed the match to take place. At SummerSlam ’13, Daniel Bryan defeated John Cena to win the WWE Championship, but while he was celebrating, Triple H (acting as Special Guest Referee) turned on Bryan and gave him the Pedigree, which lead to Orton cashing in his MITB contract and winning the WWE Championship. Bryan got his rematch at September’s Night of Champions ’13, defeating the Viper for the WWE Championship once again. But the following night, Triple H and The Authority stripped Bryan of the title, declaring that acting referee Scott Armstrong had issued a fast count. The two were rebooked for a rematch at Hell In A Cell that year in October, and just when it looked like Bryan was going to reclaim the gold, Special Guest Referee Shawn Michaels delivered his Sweet Chin Music to Bryan to assist Orton in capturing the gold once again (HBK said it was in retaliation for Bryan’s treatment of his best friend, Triple H). With the Authority now firmly backing Randy Orton as their champion – Orton would unify the WWE and World Heavyweight Championship at TLC ’13 that December – Daniel Bryan’s road to Championship gold seemed to be off limits.
THE WYATT FAMILY
Following his defeat to Randy Orton and betrayal from his trainer and mentor Shawn Michaels, a dejected Daniel Bryan was attacked by The Wyatt Family the following night on Raw. Bryan briefly reteamed with old foe CM Punk to fend off the Wyatts, but at TLC ’13, Bryan was beaten down by Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan and Luke Harper in a 3-on-1 Handicap Match. Throughout the weeks, Bray Wyatt tried to convert Daniel Bryan to his cause, offering guidance to Bryan through his battles. “I viewed you as the miniscule creature chasing this uphill war that you could never win,” Wyatt would tell Bryan on Raw. “How long are you willing to live this lie? How long until they discover that your dirty little feet are soiling their red carpets? I understand you, Bryan. I see you for what you really are. But they…they look at you like some kind of circus clown here for their amusement. They look at you like a gorilla in a cage, son. And I see the Monster in you.” Bryan would rebuff Wyatt’s advances for weeks, but on December 30, Bryan would finally cave and turn to the only people who seemed to be on his side in his war against the Authority.
Bray Wyatt would spend the next few weeks developing Bryan’s killer instinct, rebuilding his confidence after his previous encounter with The Authority. Teaming alongside the Wyatts, they would begin to feud with The Usos. And finally, on January 13, following a steel cage match loss to The Usos, Bryan would assert his rebuilt confidence and turn on Bray Wyatt, in a moment akin to the Emperor demanding Darth Vader to strike him down.
In his WWE DVD, Just Say YES!, Bryan revealed that it was originally planned that he would remain a part of the Wyatt Family for much longer and he’d go full blown heel. He was also scheduled to face Sheamus in a rematch of the 18 second travesty at WrestleMania 30. But thanks largely to the Michigan State college basketball fans starting a YES! Chant the previous week, the WWE Creative decided to capitalize on Bryan’s burgeoning mainstream popularity and enter him back into the main event storyline.
THE AUTHORITY, Part 2
Daniel Bryan would take his newfound focus back to the singles division, first facing his former “mentor” Bray Wyatt in a losing effort at Royal Rumble ’14. And despite the fans displeasure at Bryan not entering the Rumble (leading to Rey Mysterio getting booed as the #30 entrant), the WWE had bigger plans for Daniel Bryan’s character. The Michigan State YES! Chant wasn’t the only factor in Daniel Bryan’s impending run. Following Royal Rumble, CM Punk legitimately walked out of the WWE, leaving Triple H without a WrestleMania opponent. Batista, who had returned to the WWE in December after a 3-year absence, was nearly immediately turned on by the fans, destroying the WWE’s plans of having Batista be the top face against The Authority’s champion Randy Orton. It wouldn’t be long before Batista would rejoin his former Evolution stable mates Triple H and Orton in The Authority. With WrestleMania 30 on the horizon, The Authority would then begin to do everything in their power to prevent Daniel Bryan from hitting The Grandest Stage of Them All. In the months leading up to WrestleMania in New Orleans, Bryan would face every challenge thrown at him, but The Authority refused to put Daniel Bryan in a match at WrestleMania. He entered Elimination Chamber ’14, but failed to beat Orton for the title. He needed a new way to get to the Champion and his gold. So for weeks leading up to WrestleMania 30, Bryan taunted WWE COO Triple H, until The Game finally relented and agreed to face Daniel Bryan in a match at The Showcase of the Immortals. If Bryan could defeat Triple H, he would be entered into the championship match between Champion Randy Orton and Royal Rumble winner Batista.
WRESTLEMANIA 30
In a recent interview with ESPN, Triple H told Andrew Feldman his thoughts on his build with Daniel Bryan leading into – and during – their match. “I put so much more pressure on myself to [lose] to somebody than I ever did to win a title because … I just want it to be [such a big moment] for this guy,” he said. “Watching that story evolve over that long period of time — from a behind-the-scenes standpoint — being behind it with him and being like, ‘Man, I know this is not the plan right this moment, but this is where we need to go.’ Just seeing that feeling and getting to that moment, having that match with him and having that moment, and knowing what’s coming later and being out there in that moment for him … when you have the circumstances that all work out to make this fairy-tale moment — it’s just awesome.”
Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H opened the main card of WrestleMania 30 and after a 25 minute battle, Bryan pinned Triple H, guaranteeing his entry into the main event. As WrestleMania came to a close, after a 20+ minute Triple Threat for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Bryan made Batista tap out at the 23 minute mark to finally defeat The Authority and become the WWE Champion once again. Sadly, his reign would be over by May, when a serious neck injury put him on the shelf for the remainder of the year. While he would return in November as the Guest GM of Raw, inflicting punishment on the now disposed Authority, and then returned to the ring at Royal Rumble ’15. While he never got his World title back, he did manage to win the Intercontinental Championship, before ultimately retiring from concussion related issues in February of 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0QWqh9qqrg
And now Daniel Bryan has been cleared to return to active competition with the WWE following another underdog story. Only this time, the story was not something concocted in the WWE Creative meetings, or inspired by a college basketball game. It’s fueled by the passion of one of the WWE’s most popular Superstars defying the odds and the doctors themselves, seeking treatments and therapies beyond the norm, until he could one day return to the squared circle – WWE or not. And now he returns to the scene of his biggest moment in WWE, WrestleMania at the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, to start the journey all over again.
