His 5 Best WWE Matches (& The 5 Best He Had Somewhere Else)
Daniel Bryan continues to perform at a high level after two decades in the wrestling industry. Independent wrestling fans viewed Bryan as the best wrestler in the world during his all-time great ROH World Championship reign. The reputation of Bryan was strong enough to get an opportunity from WWE at a time when they rarely signed independent wrestlers.
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Bryan proved that he was good enough to thrive in WWE when breaking out relatively quickly. Fans fell in love with Bryan’s work, and it eventually made him a main eventer. Bryan being forced into retirement in his prime and getting cleared to return added a stronger emotional attachment from the fan base. Find out which must-see bouts are worth binge-watching to get a closer look at Bryan’s career with the best matches in WWE and beyond.
10 WWE: Daniel Bryan vs CM Punk (Over the Limit 2012)
The recent appearance of Daniel Bryan on WWE Backstage saw him reuniting with CM Punk to talk about their work together. Both guys had fond memories of their feud in 2012 over the WWE Championship.
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Punk and Bryan had their best match at Over the Limit 2012. Bryan revealed he was extra motivated after getting snubbed out of the main event spot for the embarrassing John Cena vs. Johnny Ace match that added to the performance.
9 Elsewhere: Daniel Bryan vs. Seth Rollins (ROH New Horizons 2008)
Seth Rollins saw his ascension in the independent circuit start when working for Ring of Honor in the Age of the Fall. The name of Tyler Black was used in ROH as he quickly moved up the rankings as a main eventer.
Daniel Bryan was the top star for ROH at the time and had a few great matches against Rollins. New Horizons 2008 featured the two future WWE stars stealing the show with an instant classic that helped Rollins’ momentum continue building.
8 WWE: Daniel Bryan vs Brock Lesnar (Survivor Series 2018)
Daniel Bryan always had the dream match scenario of wrestling Brock Lesnar in a WWE ring. The return from retirement in 2018 saw him finally getting to make it happen in a champion vs. champion match at the Survivor Series event.
Bryan took a beating from Brock that had fans worrying for his well-being. The selling made fans get even more invested when Bryan charged a comeback towards Lesnar. Brock eventually won, but it was remembered as another superb Bryan performance.
7 Elsewhere: Daniel Bryan vs. Chris Hero (PWG Guerre Sans Frontières 2009)
The PWG stint of Daniel Bryan’s career was quite impressive as the second biggest promotion he worked for on the independent circuit. Bryan signed a WWE deal in 2009 that sparked a highly successful farewell tour.
The final PWG match for Bryan saw him defeating PWG Champion Chris Hero in a great contest. Fans were shocked as Bryan won the title before relinquishing it to be the prize in the company’s Battle of Los Angeles tournament. It was the perfect goodbye to PWG for Bryan.
6 WWE: Daniel Bryan vs John Cena (Summerslam 2013)
The momentum of Daniel Bryan in 2013 saw the fans wanting to see him in the main event scene. WWE booked the big match of Bryan challenging John Cena for the WWE Championship as the Summerslam 2013 main event.
Most viewers remember the Randy Orton Money in the Bank cash-in afterward, but the Cena vs. Bryan match was a classic. The timing saw the actual match forgotten as it deserves a lot more love when looking back at it today.
5 Elsewhere: Daniel Bryan vs. Takeshi Morishima (ROH Manhattan Mayhem II 2007)
Daniel Bryan had a reputation for working through painful injuries throughout his career. The detached retina saw him struggling to see through one of his eyes during a hard-hitting against Japanese star Takeshi Morishima for the ROH World Championship.
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Bryan showed his babyface fire with the audience wanting to see him pull off the victory. Morishima eventually won the match, but Bryan earned even more respect from the viewers for performing at such a high level in a tough scenario.
4 WWE: Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus (Extreme Rules 2012)
Sheamus and Daniel Bryan both hated the WrestleMania 28 plans of Sheamus winning their match in 18 seconds. WWE gave them a much longer time slot at the following Extreme Rules PPV in a 2 out of 3 falls match.
Bryan and Sheamus had something to prove and delivered the classic they hoped to have at WrestleMania. The crowd cheered for the heel Bryan until he finally took the loss to Sheamus. Both wrestlers validated their beliefs that they deserved a bigger shot on the biggest stage.
3 Elsewhere: Daniel Bryan vs. Nigel McGuinness (ROH Unified 2006)
The careers of Daniel Bryan and Nigel McGuinness will always be linked for their time together in Ring of Honor. Bryan was having his outstanding ROH World Championship reign when McGuinness was the Pure Champion, and the company wanted to unify the belts.
The home crowd advantage for Nigel at Unified in the United Kingdom added to the atmosphere. Bryan had one of the most violent matches of his career, with both men bleeding buckets with hard-hitting action. The win saw Bryan unifying the titles and continuing his legendary run.
2 WWE: Daniel Bryan vs. Kofi Kingston (WrestleMania 35)
Daniel Bryan had gone on the record stating that he enjoyed his WrestleMania 35 moment losing to Kofi Kingston more than when he won the main event at WrestleMania 30. The organic fan support for Kingston came at the right time during WM season.
Bryan’s heel character was also the perfect villain that tried to duck Kofi at all costs and even called Kingston a “B+ player” like The Authority used to say about him. Kofi and Bryan told a beautiful story on the biggest stage that culminated with Kingston finally winning the big one.
1 Elsewhere: Daniel Bryan vs. KENTA (ROH Glory by Honor V 2006)
The classic match between Daniel Bryan and KENTA at Glory by Honor V is arguably the best match in ROH history. Bryan was continuing his ROH World Championship reign despite suffering from a separated shoulder.
KENTA showed no mercy when delivering some of the stiffest kicks to the injured shoulder. Both wrestlers were at the top of their game to have a 30-minute masterpiece. Bryan winning the must-see match made fans start to cheer him even though he played a heel.
