History Awesome / BryanDanielson

* Bryan taking on Swerve Strickland for the first time ever at Title Tuesday 2023. This match, unsurprisingly, absolutely delivered as the two men traded bombs for nearly the entirety of the match's 15 minute runtime. In the end though, it was a surprising assist by Bryan's old rival, Hangman Page, that managed to seal the sin for Danielson.

* 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/{{Nigel|McGuinness}}'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=].

** Even more so for Bryan as, for the first time in his 20+ year career, he's ''finally'' awarded his first 5-star match by [[Wrestling/TheWrestlingObserverNewsletter Dave Meltzer]].

* After being put off for over a year due to injuries, Bryan finally got to have his long awaited dream match with Zack Sabre Jr in front of his hometown fans at AEW WrestleDream 2023 and the match did not disappoint. The two traded strikes and holds on the mat on a masterful level for 20 minutes until Bryan finally managed to put Sabre Jr down with a Busaiku Knee to claim his spot as the undisputed best technical wrestler in the world.

* Bryan taking on Ricky Starks in a Strap match at ''All Out 2023''. This was a brutal, bloody affair with both men using the strap to whip, choke and generally absolutely brutalize each other. In the end, Bryan was able to lock in the [=LeBell=] Lock with the strap and make Starks pass out to pick up the win.

* Bryan making his surprise return on the September 3, 2023 Collision to answer Ricky Starks' challenge for a Strap match at the following nights' All Out.
* Bryan taking on Ricky Starks in a Strap match at ''All Out 2023''. This was a brutal, bloody affair with both men using the strap to whip, choke and generally absolutely brutalize each other until in the end Bryan was able to lock in the [=LeBell=] Lock with the strap and make Starks pass out to pick up the win.

* Bryan taking on Ricky Starks in a Strap match at ''All Out 2023''. This was a brutal, bloody affair with both men using the strap to whip, choke and generally absolutely brutalize each other until in the end Bryan was able to lock in the [=LeBell=] Lock and make Starks pass out to pick up the win.

* Bryan taking on Ricky Starks in a Strap match at ''All Out 2023''. This was a brutal, bloody affair with both men using the strap to absolutely brutalize each other until in the end Bryan was able to lock in the [=LeBell=] Lock and pick up the win.

* Bryan making his surprise return on the September 3, 2023 Collision to answer Ricky Starks' challenge for a strap Match at the following nights' All Out.
* Bryan taking on Ricky Starks in a strap match at All Out 2023. This was a brutal, bloody affair with both men using the strap to absolutely brutalize each other until in the end Bryan was able to lock in the LeBell Lock and pick up the win.

* '''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.

* [[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 [[DefeatingTheUndefeatable handed KENTA his first defeat in ROH]] to retain the championship in what is one of the best bouts of both men's careers.

* We knew the American Dragon vs the Rainmaker was going to be epic, but the epic started NOT with Bryan's familiar "Born for Greatness" AEW theme, but '''THE FINAL COUNTDOWN'''. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku2mYBy83tE Just LISTEN to that reaction when the Toronto crowd realizes what song they're hearing!]] The match itself was phenomenal despite Bryan genuinely breaking his arm. Danielson fought through all of Okada's signature offense, including a sick Tombstone Piledriver on the ramp, to eventually lock in a modified [=LeBell=] Lock to make Okada shockingly tap out and cement his place as arguably the greatest wrestler of all time.

* We knew the American Dragon vs the Rainmaker was going to be epic, but the epic started NOT with Bryan's familiar "Born for Greatness" AEW theme, but '''THE FINAL COUNTDOWN'''. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku2mYBy83tE Just LISTEN to that reaction when the Toronto crowd realizes what song they're hearing!]] The match itself was phenomenal despite Bryan genuinely breaking his arm 10 minutes into the match. Danielson fought through all of Okada's signature offense, including a sick Tombstone Piledriver on the ramp, to eventually lock in a modified [=LeBell=] Lock to make Okada shockingly tap out and cement his place as arguably the greatest wrestler of all time.

* We knew the American Dragon vs the Rainmaker was going to be epic, but the epic started NOT with Bryan's familiar "Born for Greatness" AEW theme, but '''THE FINAL COUNTDOWN'''. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku2mYBy83tE Just LISTEN to that reaction when the Toronto crowd realizes what song they're hearing!]] The match itself was phenomenal despite Bryan genuinely breaking his arm 10 minutes into the match. Danielson fought through all of Okadas signature offense, including a sick Tombstone Piledriver on the ramp, to eventually lock in a modified LeBell Lock to make Okada shockingly tap out and cement his place as arguably the greatest wrestler of all time.

* We knew the American Dragon vs the Rainmaker was going to be epic, but the epic started NOT with Bryan's familiar "Born for Greatness" AEW theme, but '''THE FINAL COUNTDOWN'''. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku2mYBy83tE Just LISTEN to that reaction when the Toronto crowd realizes what song they're hearing!]]

** 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!

** He's still a Badass; unlike all the other Money in the Bank winners that cashed in when the champions had defended their titles (but were totally exhausted from it), he stated that his Money in the Bank contract would be cashed in on Wrestlemania 28's main event. Now, it's a seven month race to see who's gonna have it by April 1st, 2012 and [[CatchPhrase to see who's gonna get his fucking head kicked in.]]

* He won the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Technical Wrestler award ''nine years in a row''. It got to the point they later renamed it after him following his retirement. After Wrestling/ZackSabreJr went seven years with his own impressive winning streak, Bryan ''finally'' won it back in 2021.

* Finally, the main event 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. The icing on the cake was Dave Meltzer's rating- 5.75 stars!

* A dream match has been schedule at ''Forbidden Door 2'' featuring Danielson and Wrestling/KazuchikaOkada. The battle between the American Dragon and the Rainmaker is going to be one for the history books.

* [[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/{{KENTA|Kobayashi}} targeting it throughout the match, [[{{Determinator}} Danielson fought through the pain]] and [[DefeatingTheUndefeatable handed KENTA his first defeat in ROH]] to retain the championship in what is one of the best bouts of both men's careers.

* [[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 [[DefeatingTheUndefeatable handed KENTA his first defeat in ROH]] to retain the championship in what is one of the best bouts of both men's careers.

* He may not win but the American Dragon put on potentially the single greatest match AEW has ever put on at ''Revolution 2023''. And unlike MJF, Danielson doesn't need to cheat to score most of his points. Danielson nearly won the match after putting MJF in a single-leg crab but the time ended at the second Friedman taps out. In the sudden death round, Danielson is forced to tap out to his own submission. Nevertheless, Danielson proves that he is still among the best wrestlers in the world, with the match being given 5.75 by Meltzer, the highest rating match in Danielson's career.

* After the first Anarchy in the Arena match became one of the most acclaimed matches in AEW history, the sequel between the Blackpool Combat Club and The Elite at Double or Nothing 2023 had a lot to live up to but by God it delivered. The match was a perfect marriage of the frenzied violence of the BCC and the creativity and oddball comedy of The Elite. After 30 minutes of insane balls to the wall action, the BCC got the win thanks to a shocking assist by Konosuke Takeshita.