History Awesome / BryanDanielson

* May 31st, 2013 edition of Smackdown. Danielson and Kane come to the rescue of Orton, who is being attacked by The Shield. During this attack, both Orton and Kane get taken out. Danielson proceeds to uneash a onesided curbstomp to all three members of The Shield, powering through each one of them, delivering a flurry of kicks, dropkicks, and so forth before laying every member of them out alone. The show ended with Danielson standing tall in ring with Orton and Kane, his music playing, crowd loving it.
* '''June 6th, 2013''': Bryan not only did double duty, taking on the Shield in six-man tag and Ryback one-on-one, but he ''dominated all four men'', dropping them with suplexes, dropkicks, and vicious stiff forearms. He took Wrestling/{{Ryback}}, the man who destroyed John Cena at ''Extreme Rules'', to his physical limit, including a top-rope headbutt from ''two-thirds the length of the ring.'' Even when it looked like Ryback had stopped him cold with a powerbomb, he freakin' traps him in the NO! Lock...and the crowd ''explodes''.
* '''June 10, 2013''': Bryan and Seth Rollins from the Shield get a one-on-one match (Rollins's second on the main roster, as Kane had defeated Rollins on the May 31st ''[=SmackDown=]''). WWE gives the two former Ring Of Honor stars about fifteen or twenty minutes... and the result is nothing short of '''epic.'''

* '''June 24, 2013''': Daniel Bryan faces Randy Orton in a Street Fight, with chairs, tables and a UsefulNotes/{{Singapore}} [[WoodenKatanasAreEvenBetter cane]] getting used. At one point, Bryan had Orton in the NO! Lock, but Orton was able to get to the Singapore Cane and hit Bryan enough times to break the hold. At the end, Bryan had Orton in the NO! Lock again, with Orton again using the Singapore cane, but Bryan grabbed the cane, and still holding Orton in the NO! Lock, placed the cane where his hands would go, with Lawler saying that Bryan was going to rip Orton's shoulder out, with Orton clearly in pain until he had no choice but to tap out. As Bryan led the crowd in the "YES!" chant, Orton interrupted, shook Bryan's hand, and left. The show ended with the crowd continuing the "YES!" chant.
* '''July 8, 2013''': "The Summer of the Beard" rolls right along with highlights at the beginning and end of the RAW broadcast. The first being Bryan getting into a brutal bout with Sheamus not at all unlike their Extreme Rules match from last year, this time though surprising the Irishman by ''powering out of the Cloverleaf'' with ALL 265 lbs of Sheamus bearing down on him and small packaging Sheamus for 3! The next would be following the Orton/Punk main event, with Bryan laying out both men and climbing the ladder to take down the briefcase as a confident sign of his victory at MITB this Sunday. [[RunningGag Again]], crowd going nuts with YES! chants as this happens.
* '''Money In The Bank, July 14, 2013''': While Curtis Axel did ultimately screw him out of a victory, Bryan was a downright '''BEAST''' in the match. Nailing Orton with a running dropkick into a ladder, suicide diving onto Punk on a pile of ladders ''and springing up without a scratch'', and subverting Sheamus' usual "drive a small guy through a ladder" spot, kicking the Irishman off the turnbuckle and causing him to crash through a bridged ladder on the outside.

* '''July 22, 2013''': Put in a gauntlet match by Raw GM Brad Maddox, Bryan first faced Wrestling/JackSwagger, taking him down in a short, but physical match by tapping him out with the YES! Lock. Next, he'd face the other half of the "Real Americans" [[Wrestling/ClaudioCastagnoli Antonio Cesaro]]. What would ensue was the most physically brutal match I've ever seen on Raw between Bryan and Cesaro. Cesaro at one point laced into Bryan with '''20''' European uppercuts ''in a row'' followed by a clothesline that ''flipped Bryan for a 360'' and nearly took his head off. How did Bryan respond? By trapping Cesaro in an Indian Deathlock and ''pounding him repeatedly with vicious forearms.'' Bryan pulled off the win with an amazing counter of Cesaro's mid-air uppercut into a small package for the three count. And while he was essentially spent for his 3rd match with Wrestling/{{Ryback}}, Bryan persevered, countering a Thesz Press into a Single-Leg Crab, nailing a top-rope dropkick that floored the big man, and countering the Meathook clothesline with a knee ''straight'' into Ryback's face that nearly knocked him out.

** How does D-Bry get the win?With a BUSAIKU KNEE!
** Notably, it was a win without any shenanigans, i.e. Cena releasing the STFU to stop Johnny Ace from calling the match against CM Punk then returning to get GTS'd at MITB 2011. Who last got such a win over Cena? ''The Rock''.

* '''August 26, 2013''': Although it was but the first segment in a gauntlet match against the Shield, Daniel Bryan and Seth Rollins would tear it up in the main event of RAW for an extended (for WWE TV) duration ''AGAIN'', culminating in a ''top rope German suplex'' (with Rollins rotating so much that he landed on his face!) and a Busaiku Knee!

* '''September 16, 2013''': The main event of the night was the recently stripped Daniel Bryan against the WWE tag team champion Roman Reigns. He managed to take out every member of Wrestling/TheShield before locking in the crossface onto Reigns, but Orton interfered, ending the match by DQ. The four of them started attacking Bryan like they had done the past few weeks, [[BigDamnHeroes but the wrestlers willing to stand up to Orton spilled out of the locker room and finally made the long awaited save]]. The crowd went crazy while [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere Orton ran for his dear life]]. The Shield was given a taste of their own medicine, and the night ended with all the wrestlers standing in the ring and every single person in the arena chanting "YES!" "YES!" "YES!"
* '''October 28, 2013''': After Wrestling/ShawnMichaels gives a rather paltry "Triple H is my friend above all else" excuse for his actions at Wrestling/HellInACell, Bryan's invited out to accept his handshake of apology. After refusing it the first time, Shawn tells him the kick was meant as a finishing lesson: Don't trust ANYONE in the business of professional wrestling, whether it be friend, family, or spouse. After refusing the handshake a second time, HBK snaps and calls out Bryan for being a "self-righteous little puke" and demands that he show respect shake the hand of a real "A-plus player" in Shawn. Bryan does...and shows what a quick learner he is by ''locking The Showstopper in the YES! Lock and making the Hall of Famer tap!''

* '''December 9, 2013''': The night of the Slammy Awards, pillar to post, was Daniel Bryan's night. Dispatching of Fandango, taking home the "Beard of the Year" award, the "Crowd Participation" award and the "Superstar of the Year" award (beating out ''John Cena''), and his home state fans chanting so vociferously for him it made Bryan [[{{Corpsing}} corpse]] and halted an obviously-seething Triple H mid-promo during the "Championship Ascension" ceremony. On top of that, Wrestling/MarkHenry jokingly raising his hand and getting the rub of rubs from John Cena, who all but stated that he should be facing Bryan at TLC, but has no problem giving him the (fair) rematch Bryan deserves when Cena wins. Oh, and taking down the [[Wrestling/ShawnMichaels Heartbreak Kid]] ''again'', this time with the Busaiku Knee. He then deflects an RKO and pushes Orton into Stephanie... ladies and gentlemen, your SpannerInTheWorks.

* '''Royal Rumble, January 26 2014:''' Even though he lost, the first match of the PPV was Daniel Bryan vs. [[Wrestling/TheWyattFamily BrayWyatt]] in a match of the year contender. As the Royal Rumble reached the final few entrants, fans in the arena began clamoring for Daniel Bryan, and began booing as each of the final three entrants came out - In fact, at the final entrant's music hit, there was a brief pause as the crowd realized what had happened & immediately ''turned'' on the 30th entrant, perennial babyface Rey Mysterio aka "The Ultimate Underdog", before outright ''revolting'' once CM Punk was eliminated, with the crowd turning on both the returning Sheamus & Batista & firmly cheering for Roman Reigns, before alternating between booing eventual winner Batista & chanting "No! No! No!" as the show went off the air. As much as it must have sucked for {{Wrestling/Batista}} to be booed off the show, it really shows just how much the crowd has grown to love Bryan. It's like the more the WWE tries to keep him out of the Title picture the more fans support him.
** On a less sympathetic note, Batista getting booed and the reports of him apparently flipping out on the Royal Rumble audience when the cameras were off could be considered an awesome karmic moment. Back in 2011, when Bryan won the WHC at TLC , Batista caught flak for expressing disbelief on Twitter that he could be a main event title holder (possibly due to his non-bodybuilder look). A little over two years later, the fans (seemingly both the "internet" base that took offend to the comments, and the "casual" base that might have preferred someone that looked like Batista years ago) clearly showed which person they wanted to see main eventing or competing for the main title, chanting for "DANIEL BRYAN" instead of "BATISTA".

* A more subtle one that isn't tied to any single event, but one of the biggest Internet Wrestling Community fan distastes about a non-champion John Cena was a history of main eventing over the current WWE Champion. However, ever since Summerslam 2013, Cena moved more into the midcard, not least because he went to chase after and eventually win the World Heavyweight Championship -- more of a midcard belt -- and it's been Bryan who actually tended to be opening and closing out RAW and/or Smackdown, meaning that throughout the second half of 2013 and the beginning of 2014, ''Daniel Bryan has been regularly main eventing over John Cena''.

* '''March 10th, 2014''': The entire "Occupy Raw" movement. After the whole situation with Wrestling/TheAuthority & their refusal to give him a match at Mania, Bryan manages to fight back by taking control of the ring. However, instead of just saying that he won't let the show go on, he has the entire ring & surrounding area filled with "Yes Movement" fans. This proceeds to cause a VillainousBreakdown for both HHH & Stephanie as it becomes harder and harder to reign in control of this and impossible for the show to continue until they give into his demands. Bryan not only secures a match at Wrestling/WrestleMania for himself against Wrestling/TripleH, he forces Hunter to make it a #1 contender match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. If Bryan wins, he is entered into [=WrestleMania=]'s main event and has a chance to win the title against Orton & Batista. He then proceeded to close the show by defeating both Orton & Batista in a tag team match with Big Show as his partner...by [[OverlyLongGag AGAIN]] pinning the champion Orton after connecting with the "Knee +."
* '''March 31st, 2014''': The Wrestling/RandyOrton vs. Wrestling/{{Batista}} NO-DQ match is going on as planned, with Wrestling/TripleH and Stephanie on commentary...when Trips seemingly cuts off for no reason and the crowd suddenly wakes up. We pan over to the announce table and...HOLY CRAP, DANIEL BRYAN IS BEATING ''THE PISS'' OUT OF TRIPLE H!!! Orton tries to cut Bryan off at the pass, only to get speared by Batista, who ends up on the wrong end of Bryan's "Knee +"...and then Bryan steamrolls Triple H with a suicide dive to the outside! He beats him over the barricade, throughout the ringside area, over steel steps and then absolutely ''mauls'' Triple H with a kendo stick, sending him scurrying up the ramp to Stephanie! Ladies and gentleman, the "Yes Movement" is not dead...far from it...'''IT'S ALIVE AND KICKING THE AUTHORITY'S ASS!'''
** It's even better in context: Triple H previously laid out Bryan as retribution for Bryan outsmarting him and securing a chance for a WWE World Heavyweight Championship shot at Wrestlemania 30 (via the [=#OccupyRAW=] incident), but presumably thought so lowly of Bryan otherwise that Triple H gave Bryan more time to recover, under the assumption that he'd sail through Bryan at Wrestlemania and ''then'' face a real challenge against his former Evolution partners Orton and Batista. Triple H therefore booked them both in a No DQ match just under a week before Wrestlemania in hopes of them softening each other up... only for Bryan to waylay Triple H after Batista and Orton have done their damage to each other... which leaves ''Bryan and not Triple H'' the no-longer-injured one by Wrestlemania 30!
* '''April 6th, 2014, Wrestling/WrestleMania 30''': Daniel Bryan overcame Wrestling/TripleH in a grueling 26-minute match, surviving not only the assault on his left shoulder, but kicking out of a Pedigree! After surprising Hunter with the "Knee Plus" for the big three count, Stephanie and Triple H lay him out with a steel chair shot to the bad shoulder, leaving Bryan a one-armed man for the Triple Threat match. Despite many warnings by trainers, Bryan goes out to compete and almost narrows in on a victory before The Authority rears its ugly head. Batista hits Bryan with the Batista Bomb, Scott Armstrong (The crooked ref from ''Night of Champions 2013'') comes in and it looks like the screwjob is in... only for Bryan to kick out! Armstrong then gets kicked in the head by Bryan and stumbles to the outside, where Triple H & Stephanie pick him up & promptly get crashed into by Bryan with a Suicide Dive that takes down all three of them. After realising what happened & that his wife is down, Triple H goes under the ring for his sledgehammer, only for Bryan to take it from him & [[HoistByHisOwnPetard drill him in the head, removing the Authority from the match]]. Orton and Batista, however, recover and seemingly eliminate Bryan with a tandem Batista Bomb-RKO ''through an announce table.'' Bryan's escorted out on stretcher, pretty much out of it... Only to force his way off the stretcher & back to the ring as it was head down the entrance way. Several minutes later, Batista nails Orton with the Batista Bomb but before he can capitalize, winds up getting with hit with the "Knee Plus" which Bryan transitions into the Yes Lock, and Batista winds up tapping. Daniel Bryan becomes the new WWE World Heavyweight champion on the biggest stage in WWE history, and there's no Money in the Bank contracts or fast counts to take it away from him. [[{{Catchphrase}} YES! YES! YES!]]

** When he arrives for his opening message, the whole crowd is chanting, "YOU DESERVE IT!". Yes he does.

** And then having to endure the most [[TearJerker tear-jerking]] of MoodWhiplash after finding out that his father passed away. He insisted on doing RAW for us regardless, went out with ManlyTears in his eyes, took his lumps from Wrestling/{{Kane}} and then immediately took his bags and his wife and flew home to Washington. Takes a real man and performer to do what he did in the face of overwhelming tragedy.
* ''Extreme Rules 2014:'' He had a kickass match with Kane, that wouldn't have looked out of place during the Attitude Era. The highlight of the match? Kane ''set a table on fire,'' tried to chokeslam Bryan through it. Bryan reversed the chokeslam, and [[HoistByHisOwnPetard pushed Kane onto the flaming table]], back first. When Kane got back into the ring, Bryan hit him with the Knee+, and pinned him for the win.

* March 29, 2015. Wrestlemania 31. While not two matches including the main event, Daniel Bryan once again starts the show in the Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Championship, the only championship he has not claimed yet. The match itself had several amazing spots to say the least culminating to a Knee Plus to Barrett, and a beating Ziggler with consecutive headbutts against each other at the top of the ladder. This lead to not only Bryan's first run as Intercontinental Champion, but upon claiming the IC title, he secures his place as not only a Triple Crown champion, but as a Grand Slam champion under the new format (replacing the old European Championship with the United States Championship).

* His feud with Wrestling/TheMiz, and his ability to manage to get the last laugh in despite being unable to wrestle, has proven him as a master of the long con. After Bryan called the Miz a coward on ''Talking Smack'' and the Miz went off on him, the latter went out of his way to deliberately give the former a hard time -- from mocking him in the ring with his old taunts and moves to demanding contract renegotiations -- twice -- and taking glee in the idea of retiring [[Wrestling/DolphZiggler one of Smackdown's other stars]] at ''No Mercy''. But then, Ziggler ''won'', and the Miz actually ''turned down'' an offer to have his contractually-obligated rematch on the 10/25/16 episode of ''Smackdown''. When Bryan made an appearance on Miz TV the following week, more taunting followed -- and Bryan utterly ''destroyed him'' without laying a single hand on him. First, he revealed that the Miz wasn't on Team Smackdown for ''Survivor Series''. Then he revealed that he and Wrestling/ShaneMcMahon had ''considered'' him, but rejected it due to being a coward. Only this time Bryan had proof to back it up -- his refusal to take Ziggler's offer at the Intercontinental Championship the previous week. He then proceeded to bring Ziggler out so that he could issue an open challenge for the IC title -- first to the ''Smackdown'' roster, then to the ''Raw'' roster at ''Survivor Series''. So, not only did the Miz turn his boss against him and lose the IC title, but [[HoistByHisOwnPetard his own opportunistic ways got him screwed over]] thanks to Bryan picking up on them and using them to deny the Miz of everything he cares about. And the Miz has no one to blame but himself. Daniel Bryan, you MagnificentBastard.

* The main event of Revolution 2023 was hailed by some viewers as potentially the single greatest match AEW has ever put on, as World Champion MJF faced the American Dragon Bryan Danielson in a 60 minute ironman match. Commentary pointed out that this was already guaranteed to be the longest match of the young man's career, as he'd never even gone beyond 40 minutes before this, while Danielson did 60-minute matches for fun, but MJF stepped up to the plate to prove once again that he's more than just a (foul) mouth. It was 20 minutes of intensive chain wrestling and increasingly big moves before the American Dragon finally drew first blood with a Busaiku Knee, but MJF immediately countered with a low blow that, despite costing him another point, allowed him to score two quick pins in return on Danielson and nearly a third! As MJF mercilessly targeted the injured left shoulder of Danielson that he'd been paying other men to damage in the lead-up to the match, Danielson in return ruthlessly tried to turn MJF's left knee inside out, an issue only further exacerbated by MJF's own offence as he fearlessly hit big moves such as a spectacular flying elbow from the top turnbuckle to put Danielson through the timekeeper's table, which he followed with a running tombstone through the unbroken remnant of the table. As the two brutalised each other, the score ended up at 3-3 with MJF in a savage single-leg crab as the last few seconds counted down, tapping out right after the last second elapsed, making the match a draw. However as both men were being tended to by medical personnel, Wrestling/TonySchiavone received a message from Tony Khan backstage, who relayed to ring announcer Justin Roberts that a draw was not acceptable, and even after 60 minutes of torment the two men would have to fight into extra time. After a breathtaking series of near falls and false finishes, including MJF missing with the Dynamite Diamond Ring and then having it taken away from him by the ref while he was locked in a submission, MJF managed to sucker Danielson over to the edge of the ring before smashing him on the head with an oxygen canister the medical staff had been using to try and treat him earlier out of the ref's line of sight. For the final blow, MJF did not use his Salt of the Earth Armbar to finish off Danielson's injured shoulder, instead using Danielson's own [= LeBell =] Lock submission against him. For a moment it looked like Danielson would pass out, only for him to appear to find a HeroicSecondWind... and then tap out, unable to bear any more. This match solidified MJF as not only the top heel in AEW, but one of the very best young wrestlers in the world today and a man who deserves to be AEW's top champion. Meltzer went on to rate this '''5.75''', making it the highest rating Danielson ever got in his career.

* Bryan Danielson's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-tcrmjagG0&t=3591s ROH World Title/ROH Pure Title unification match with Nigel [=McGuinness=]]]. A brutal war in [[Wrestling/NigelMcGuinness Nigel's]] hometown, with Danielson bringing home the gold thanks to a seemingly endless flurry of elbows to the head of a bruised and bleeding [=McGuinness=].

* The main event of Revolution 2023 was hailed by some viewers as potentially the single greatest match AEW has ever put on, as World Champion MJF faced the American Dragon Bryan Danielson in a 60 minute ironman match. Commentary pointed out that this was already guaranteed to be the longest match of the young man's career, as he'd never even gone beyond 40 minutes before this, while Danielson did 60-minute matches for fun, but MJF stepped up to the plate to prove once again that he's more than just a (foul) mouth. It was 20 minutes of intensive chain wrestling and increasingly big moves before the American Dragon finally drew first blood with a Busaiku Knee, but MJF immediately countered with a low blow that, despite costing him another point, allowed him to score two quick pins in return on Danielson and nearly a third! As MJF mercilessly targeted the injured left shoulder of Danielson that he'd been paying other men to damage in the lead-up to the match, Danielson in return ruthlessly tried to turn MJF's left knee inside out, an issue only further exacerbated by MJF's own offence as he fearlessly hit big moves such as a spectacular flying elbow from the top turnbuckle to put Danielson through the timekeeper's table, which he followed with a running tombstone through the unbroken remnant of the table. As the two brutalised each other, the score ended up at 3-3 with MJF in a savage single-leg crab as the last few seconds counted down, tapping out right after the last second elapsed, making the match a draw. However as both men were being tended to by medical personnel, Wrestling/TonySchiavone received a message from Tony Khan backstage, who relayed to ring announcer Justin Roberts that a draw was not acceptable, and even after 60 minutes of torment the two men would have to fight into extra time. After a breathtaking series of near falls and false finishes, including MJF missing with the Dynamite Diamond Ring and then having it taken away from him by the ref while he was locked in a submission, MJF managed to sucker Danielson over to the edge of the ring before smashing him on the head with an oxygen canister the medical staff had been using to try and treat him earlier out of the ref's line of sight. For the final blow, MJF did not use his Salt of the Earth Armbar to finish off Danielson's injured shoulder, instead using Danielson's own [= LeBell =] Lock submission against him. For a moment it looked like Danielson would pass out, only for him to appear to find a HeroicSecondWind... and then tap out, unable to bear any more. This match solidified MJF as not only the top heel in AEW, but one of the very best young wrestlers in the world today and a man who deserves to be AEW's top champion. Meltzer went on to rate this '''5.75'''[[note]] The same rating he gave to the finals of the 28th G1 Climax between Wrestling/HiroshiTanahashi and Wrestling/KotaIbushi[[/note]], making it the highest rating Danielson ever got in his career.

* The main event of Revolution 2023 was hailed by some viewers as potentially the single greatest match AEW has ever put on, as World Champion MJF faced the American Dragon Bryan Danielson in a 60 minute ironman match. Commentary pointed out that this was already guaranteed to be the longest match of the young man's career, as he'd never even gone beyond 40 minutes before this, while Danielson did 60-minute matches for fun, but MJF stepped up to the plate to prove once again that he's more than just a (foul) mouth. It was 20 minutes of intensive chain wrestling and increasingly big moves before the American Dragon finally drew first blood with a Busaiku Knee, but MJF immediately countered with a low blow that, despite costing him another point, allowed him to score two quick pins in return on Danielson and nearly a third! As MJF mercilessly targeted the injured left shoulder of Danielson that he'd been paying other men to damage in the lead-up to the match, Danielson in return ruthlessly tried to turn MJF's left knee inside out, an issue only further exacerbated by MJF's own offence as he fearlessly hit big moves such as a spectacular flying elbow from the top turnbuckle to put Danielson through the timekeeper's table, which he followed with a running tombstone through the unbroken remnant of the table. As the two brutalised each other, the score ended up at 3-3 with MJF in a savage single-leg crab as the last few seconds counted down, tapping out right after the last second elapsed, making the match a draw. However as both men were being tended to by medical personnel, Wrestling/TonySchiavone received a message from Tony Khan backstage, who relayed to ring announcer Justin Roberts that a draw was not acceptable, and even after 60 minutes of torment the two men would have to fight into extra time. After a breathtaking series of near falls and false finishes, including MJF missing with the Dynamite Diamond Ring and then having it taken away from him by the ref while he was locked in a submission, MJF managed to sucker Danielson over to the edge of the ring before smashing him on the head with an oxygen canister the medical staff had been using to try and treat him earlier out of the ref's line of sight. For the final blow, MJF did not use his Salt of the Earth Armbar to finish off Danielson's injured shoulder, instead using Danielson's own [= LeBell =] Lock submission against him. For a moment it looked like Danielson would pass out, only for him to appear to find a Heroic Second Wind... and then tap out, unable to bear any more. This match solidified MJF as not only the top heel in AEW, but one of the very best young wrestlers in the world today and a man who deserves to be AEW's top champion. Meltzer went on to rate this '''5.75'''[[note]] The same rating he gave to the finals of the 28th G1 Climax between Wrestling/HiroshiTanahashi and Wrestling/KotaIbushi[[/note]], making it the highest rating Danielson ever got in his career.

* The main event of Revolution 2023 was hailed by some viewers as potentially the single greatest match AEW has ever put on, as World Champion MJF faced the American Dragon Bryan Danielson in a 60 minute ironman match. Commentary pointed out that this was already guaranteed to be the longest match of the young man's career, as he'd never even gone beyond 40 minutes before this, while Danielson did 60-minute matches for fun, but MJF stepped up to the plate to prove once again that he's more than just a (foul) mouth. It was 20 minutes of intensive chain wrestling and increasingly big moves before the American Dragon finally drew first blood with a Busaiku Knee, but MJF immediately countered with a low blow that, despite costing him another point, allowed him to score two quick pins in return on Danielson and nearly a third! As MJF mercilessly targeted the injured left shoulder of Danielson that he'd been paying other men to damage in the lead-up to the match, Danielson in return ruthlessly tried to turn MJF's left knee inside out, an issue only further exacerbated by MJF's own offence as he fearlessly hit big moves such as a spectacular flying elbow from the top turnbuckle to put Danielson through the timekeeper's table, which he followed with a running tombstone through the unbroken remnant of the table. As the two brutalised each other, the score ended up at 3-3 with MJF in a savage single-leg crab as the last few seconds counted down, tapping out right after the last second elapsed, making the match a draw. However as both men were being tended to by medical personnel, Wrestling/TonySchiavone received a message from Tony Khan backstage, who relayed to ring announcer Justin Roberts that a draw was not acceptable, and even after 60 minutes of torment the two men would have to fight into extra time. After a breathtaking series of near falls and false finishes, including MJF missing with the Dynamite Diamond Ring and then having it taken away from him by the ref while he was locked in a submission, MJF managed to sucker Danielson over to the edge of the ring before smashing him on the head with an oxygen canister the medical staff had been using to try and treat him earlier out of the ref's line of sight. For the final blow, MJF did not use his Salt of the Earth Armbar to finish off Danielson's injured shoulder, instead using Danielson's own [= LeBell =] Lock submission against him. For a moment it looked like Danielson would pass out, only for him to appear to find a Heroic Second Wind... and then tap out, unable to bear any more. This match solidified MJF as not only the top heel in AEW, but one of the very best young wrestlers in the world today and a man who deserves to be AEW's top champion. Meltzer went on to rate this ''''5.75''''[[note]] The same rating he gave to the finals of the 28th G1 Climax between Wrestling/HiroshiTanahashi and Wrestling/KotaIbushi[[/note]], making it the highest rating Danielson ever got in his career.

* After a quick and emphatic victory over Tony Nese on the January 4, 2023 Dynamite, Bryan Danielson takes to the mic and declares he still wants to fight, and calls out the AEW Champion, MJF. MJF begs off, claiming that as the champ, Bryan needs to ''earn'' a match against him, but not to worry, MJF's already got an opportunity for him: if Bryan can win a match on Dynamite every week until February 8th, he'll get the match with MJF at ''Revolution 2023''. Bryan...refuses, knowing full well that '''a)''' MJF has a history of doing this to anyone who wants to face him and MovingTheGoalposts in the process, and '''b)''' nothing's stopping him from running through his opponents and becoming #1 contender anyway. [[VillainousBreakdown This riles up MJF so much]] that when Bryan offers to take his deal in exchange for getting to set the stipulation at ''Revolution'', he jumps at it, and Bryan calls his shot: the match at ''Revolution'' will be a '''60 Minute Iron Man Match'''.

* The main event of Revolution 2023 was hailed by some viewers as potentially the single greatest match AEW has ever put on, as World Champion MJF faced the American Dragon Bryan Danielson in a 60 minute ironman match. Commentary pointed out that this was already guaranteed to be the longest match of the young man's career, as he'd never even gone beyond 40 minutes before this, while Danielson did 60-minute matches for fun, but MJF stepped up to the plate to prove once again that he's more than just a (foul) mouth. It was 20 minutes of intensive chain wrestling and increasingly big moves before the American Dragon finally drew first blood with a Busaiku Knee, but MJF immediately countered with a low blow that, despite costing him another point, allowed him to score two quick pins in return on Danielson and nearly a third! As MJF mercilessly targeted the injured left shoulder of Danielson that he'd been paying other men to damage in the lead-up to the match, Danielson in return ruthlessly tried to turn MJF's left knee inside out, an issue only further exacerbated by MJF's own offence as he fearlessly hit big moves such as a spectacular flying elbow from the top turnbuckle to put Danielson through the timekeeper's table, which he followed with a running tombstone through the unbroken remnant of the table. As the two brutalised each other, the score ended up at 3-3 with MJF in a savage single-leg crab as the last few seconds counted down, tapping out right after the last second elapsed, making the match a draw. However as both men were being tended to by medical personnel, Tony Schiavone received a message from Tony Khan backstage, who relayed to ring announcer Justin Roberts that a draw was not acceptable, and even after 60 minutes of torment the two men would have to fight into extra time. After a breathtaking series of near falls and false finishes, including MJF missing with the Dynamite Diamond Ring and then having it taken away from him by the ref while he was locked in a submission, MJF managed to sucker Danielson over to the edge of the ring before smashing him on the head with an oxygen canister the medical staff had been using to try and treat him earlier out of the ref's line of sight. For the final blow, MJF did not use his Salt of the Earth Armbar to finish off Danielson's injured shoulder, instead using Danielson's own [= LeBell =] Lock submission against him. For a moment it looked like Danielson would pass out, only for him to appear to find a Heroic Second Wind... and then tap out, unable to bear any more. This match solidified MJF as not only the top heel in AEW, but one of the very best young wrestlers in the world today and a man who deserves to be AEW's top champion.

** Capping it all off, Bryan was possibly the ONLY man who was able to get the crowd back into it after Wrestling/TheUndertaker expreienced his first loss at [=WrestleMania=].

* The main event of Revolution 2023 was hailed by some viewers as potentially the single greatest match AEW has ever put on, as World Champion MJF faced the American Dragon Bryan Danielson in a 60 minute ironman match. Commentary pointed out that this was already guaranteed to be the longest match of the young man's career, as he'd never even gone beyond 40 minutes before this, while Danielson did 60-minute matches for fun, but MJF stepped up to the plate to prove once again that he's more than just a (foul) mouth. It was 20 minutes of intensive chain wrestling and increasingly big moves before the American Dragon finally drew first blood with a Busaiku Knee, but MJF immediately countered with a low blow that, despite costing him another point, allowed him to score two quick pins in return on Danielson and nearly a third! As MJF mercilessly targeted the injured left shoulder of Danielson that he'd been paying other men to damage in the lead-up to the match, Danielson in return ruthlessly tried to turn MJF's left knee inside out, an issue only further exacerbated by MJF's own offence as he fearlessly hit big moves such as a spectacular flying elbow from the top turnbuckle to put Danielson through the timekeeper's table, which he followed with a running tombstone through the unbroken remnant of the table. As the two brutalised each other, the score ended up at 3-3 with MJF in a savage single-leg crab as the last few seconds counted down, tapping out right after the last second elapsed, making the match a draw. However as both men were being tended to by medical personnel, Tony Schiavone received a message from Tony Khan backstage, who relayed to ring announcer Justin Roberts that a draw was not acceptable, and even after 60 minutes of torment the two men would have to fight into extra time. After a breathtaking series of near falls and false finishes, including MJF missing with the Dynamite Diamond Ring and then having it taken away from him by the ref while he was locked in a submission, MJF managed to sucker Danielson over to the edge of the ring before smashing him on the head with an oxygen canister the medical staff had been using to try and treat him earlier out of the ref's line of sight. For the final blow, MJF did not use his Salt of the Earth Armbar to finish off Danielson's injured shoulder, instead using Danielson's own LeBell Lock submission against him. For a moment it looked like Danielson would pass out, only for him to appear to find a Heroic Second Wind... and then tap out, unable to bear any more. This match solidified MJF as not only the top heel in AEW, but one of the very best young wrestlers in the world today and a man who deserves to be AEW's top champion.

* Bryan and MJF's sixty minute Iron Man match lived up to the hype and then some with many calling it the greatest Iron Man match of all time. In the end, after 60+ minutes of brilliant back and forth action as well as Max's numerous attempts to cheat during overtime being thwarted, MJF managed to clock Bryan with an oxygen tank that Friedman was using beforehand before making Danielson tap out to his own LeBell Lock to get the victory.

* Bryan Danielson's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-tcrmjagG0&t=3591s ROH World Title/ROH Pure Title unification match with Nigel [=McGuinness=]]]. A brutal war in [[Wrestling/NigelMcGuiness Nigel's]] hometown, with Danielson bringing home the gold thanks to a seemingly endless flurry of elbows to the head of a bruised and bleeding [=McGuinness=].

* Bryan Danielson's [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/roh/roh-h.html ROH World Title]][=/=][[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/roh/roh-p.html ROH Pure Title]] unification match with Wrestling/NigelMcGuinness. A brutal war in Nigel's hometown, with Danielson bringing home the gold thanks to a seemingly endless flurry of elbows to the head of a bruised and bleeding [=McGuinness=].

* If you thought Danielson competing the entirety of the above match with an injured right shoulder was impressive enough, then look no further than [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHy6swAxsYA his ROH World Title shot against defending champion Takeshi Morishima at Manhattan Mayhem II]]. During the match, Morishima repeatedly struck Danielson in the face, giving him a legitimate [[EyeScream detached retina]] in the process. Despite the pain and ultimately losing in the end, Danielson '''still''' went through the rest of the match giving the fight to Morishima. The match was so acclaimed that it was voted 2007 Match of the Year by the Wrestling/TheWrestlingObserverNewsletter's readers.

* '''WWE RAW, April 7, 2014:''' The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsX1ATcyQxU opening video package]] for Daniel Bryan's rise to the top starting from his Indie Days and ending with him holding the championship belts at Wrestlemania XXX, all set to the beautiful "Monster" by Music/ImagineDragons.

** Capping it all off, Bryan was possibly the ONLY man who was able to get the crowd back into it after Wrestling/TheUndertaker expreienced his first loss at WrestleMania.

* On April 11, he got married to [[Wrestling/BellaTwins Brie Bella]]. Sooo… in the span of one week, he became the face of the WWE, combined with Wrestling/BrockLesnar to inject a sense of mainstream news that the WWE hasn't really had in years, beat Wrestling/TripleH in a brilliant technical match, hung on for a grueling triple threat against Wrestling/RandyOrton and Wrestling/{{Batista}} that featured some memorable spots including a Batista bomb-to-RKO through the announce table, [[HeroicResolve fighting off of a stretcher to get back to the ring]], and then making [[HateSink the unpopular Batista]] [[KickTheSonOfABitch tap out like a little bitch.]] '''[[SerialEscalation And THEN]]''' he gets married to ''Brie Bella.''

* '''Wrestling/SurvivorSeries 2018'''. The WWE universe finally gets a match it may well have gotten several years ago before injuries got in the way, with the new WWE Champion Bryan facing off against Universal Champ Wrestling/BrockLesnar. This match was a ''master class'' in storytelling and using a disparity in styles and persona to one's advantage and served in a lot of ways as the EstablishingCharacterMoment for the 'new' Daniel Bryan. In one corner, you have the Beast Incarnate, [[LightningBruiser built like a tank, moves like a freight train]], a walking case of TestosteronePoisoning that eats other walking freight trains for breakfast. In the other corner is a skinny guy a head shorter than Lesnar, who just came out of retirement after a series of injuries that could have crippled him. Most opponents that try to face Brock Lesnar make the mistake of trying to out-tough him, which immediately puts them behind the 8-ball that is Lesnar. Bryan spends the first several moments chipping away at Lesnar's patience, staying just out of the Beast's reach. Of course, eventually, Lesnar gets his hands on him, with predictable results. (Read: '''SUPLEX CITY.''') WWE took full advantage of the narrative tension of showing a guy who had just come back from a two-year forced retirement due to [[GameBreakingInjury concussion issues]], [[AttackItsWeakPoint now getting suplexed onto the back of his head repeatedly]] [[MassOhCrap by the most violent suplexer in WWE.]] But not only did Bryan show an ability to withstand this damage (both in and out of kayfabe context), he basically [[DrawAggro tanked until Lesnar made a mistake]] - at which point he counterattacked. It was a heelish way of operating and yet in this context the fans almost forgot that he had essentially stolen AJ Styles' WWE title by way of GroinAttack not a week prior. There were parts of Bryan's psychology that recalled [[Wrestling/EddieGuerrero the last crafty technician that used wits and guile to bring down a rampaging Brock Lesnar more than a decade prior.]] And then there came the moment when Bryan got Lesnar into the Yes! Lock. Lesnar didn't tap, but there was a lingering frontal shot of him caught in the hold with [[ThisCannotBe his eyes]] [[OhCrap wide with panic.]] And for ''just a few moments'', you could be forgiven for believing that he might. Maybe a handful of other times in his wrestling ''career'' has Brock Lesnar ever had that look on his face in a wrestling ring. Lesnar eventually won the match, but Bryan made his point. Anyone who questioned whether the American Dragon was truly back no longer did after this match. In fact, this version of Daniel Bryan might well be more dangerous than the last.
** The setup for the Yes! Lock is genius unto itself, after Bryan attacks Lesnar's legs and goes on his trademark balls-to-the-wall assault, Brock catches Bryan in midair, ready for an F-5... ''and then collapses because his injured knees gave out'', and this sets Bryan to apply the Yes! Lock! This has shades of [[Wrestling/DiamondDallasPage DDP]]'s iconic clash with {{Wrestling/Goldberg}}, and the ''everyone'' goes ballistic at the prospect that someone, especially Daniel freakin' Bryan, might just be able to defeat Brock Lesnar!
** As a meta moment of awesome that underscores the message Bryan sent with this match even in defeat, look at some of these matchups and their respective run times: Lesnar v. [[Wrestling/RomanReigns "The Chosen One" Roman Reigns]] at [=WrestleMania=] 34: 15:55. Lesnar v. Styles at Survivor Series 2017: 15:25. Lesnar v. Wrestling/RandyOrton, Summerslam '16 (aka The One With All The Stiff Elbows): 11:45. Lesnar v. Wrestling/JohnCena, Summerslam '14 (aka The One With All The German Suplexes): 16:05. '''Lesnar vs. Bryan? 18:50.''' In comparison to the any of the above listed matches, Bryan lasted longest and probably came the closest to actually winning.

* '''April 6th, 2014, Wrestling/WrestleMania 30''': Daniel Bryan overcame Wrestling/TripleH in a grueling 26-minute match, surviving not only the assault on his left shoulder, but kicking out of a Pedigree! After surprising Hunter with the "Knee Plus" for the big three count, Stephanie and Triple H lay him out with a steel chair shot to the bad shoulder, leaving Bryan a one-armed man for the Triple Threat match. Despite many warnings by trainers, Bryan goes out to compete and almost narrows in on a victory before The Authority rears its ugly head. Batista hits Bryan with the Batista Bomb, Scott Armstrong (The crooked ref from ''Night of Champions 2013'') comes in and it looks like the screwjob is in... only for Bryan to kick out! Armstrong then gets kicked in the head by Bryan and stumbles to the outside, where Triple H & Stephanie pick him up & promptly get crashed into by Bryan with a Suicide Dive that takes down all three of them. After realising what happened & that his wife is down, Triple H goes under the ring for his [[WeaponOfChoice sledgehammer]], only for Bryan to take it from him & [[HoistByHisOwnPetard drill him in the head, removing the Authority from the match]]. Orton and Batista, however, recover and seemingly eliminate Bryan with a tandem Batista Bomb-RKO ''through an announce table.'' Bryan's escorted out on stretcher, pretty much out of it... Only to force his way off the stretcher & back to the ring as it was head down the entrance way. Several minutes later, Batista nails Orton with the Batista Bomb but before he can capitalize, winds up getting with hit with the "Knee Plus" which Bryan transitions into the Yes Lock, and Batista winds up tapping. Daniel Bryan becomes the new WWE World Heavyweight champion on the biggest stage in WWE history, and there's no Money in the Bank contracts or fast counts to take it away from him. [[{{Catchphrase}} YES! YES! YES!]]

** Fans and critics were immediately calling this a Match of the Year contender, and one of the best matches of both men's careers. For Danielson, it bears reminding that he just wrestled another one of the best matches of his careers against Kenny Omega not a month before!

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOrl73UPrzY His ROH World Title defense against KENTA at Glory by Honor V]]. Before the match, Danielson suffered an injured right shoulder in his match with Wrestling/ColtCabana. Despite the injury and [[Wrestling/KentaKobayashi KENTA]] targeting it throughout the match, [[{{Determinator}} Danielson fought through the pain]] and retained the championship in what is one of the best bouts of both men's careers, [[DefeatingTheUndefeatable handing KENTA his first defeat in ROH]].

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOrl73UPrzY His ROH World Title defense against KENTA at Glory by Honor V]]. Before the match, Danielson suffered an injured right shoulder in his match with Wrestling/ColtCabana. Despite the injury and [[Wrestling/KentaKobayashi KENTA]] targeting it throughout the match, [[{{Determinator}} Danielson fought through the pain]] and retained the championship in what is one of the best bouts of both men's careers, [[DefeatTheUndefeatable handing KENTA his first defeat in ROH]].

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOrl73UPrzY His ROH World Title defense against KENTA at Glory by Honor V]]. Before the match, Danielson suffered an injured right shoulder in his match with Wrestling/ColtCabana. Despite the injury and [[Wrestling/KentaKobayashi KENTA]] targeting it throughout the match, [[{{Determinator}} Danielson fought through the pain]] and retained the championship in what is one of the best bouts of both men's careers, [[DefeatTheUnbeatable handing KENTA his first defeat in ROH]].

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOrl73UPrzY His ROH World Title defense against KENTA at Glory by Honor V]]. Before the match, Danielson suffered an injured right shoulder in his match with Wrestling/ColtCabana. Despite the injury and [[Wrestling/KentaKobayashi KENTA]] targeting it throughout the match, [[{{Determinator}} Danielson fought through the pain]] and retained the championship in what is one of the best bouts of both men's careers.

* '''WWE Raw, May 3, 2010:''' His match against Wrestling/{{Batista}} in a beat-the-clock challenge. It's some of the best 5 minutes you will find in all wrestling. Batista did his fair share too.

** Capping it all off, Bryan was possibly the ONLY man who was able to get the crowd back into it after Wrestling/TheUndertaker lost.