History YMMV / BryanDanielson

* EnsembleDarkHorse:

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Daniel Bryan isn't the WWE's most cherished worker, but he had enough PopularityPower to force major rewrites after the PR disaster that was the 2014 Royal Rumble. Even now, the WWE and their fanbase don't seem to see eye-to-eye on just how much D-Bry is worth, though his neck injury now provides some justification for the WWE's reluctance to rely on him.

** Now that his in-ring career is done, you could argue that he's what Wrestling/MickFoley would have been if he'd been a technical wrestler as opposed to primarily a hardcore guy. Both were dismissed as non-prototypes by WWE brass because of their looks and pre-WWE backgrounds. On the other hand, they were both [[EnsembleDarkhorse insanely over with WWE fans because of their underdog appeal.]] For both, this was parlayed into storylines against Wrestling/TripleH and [[Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon Stephanie]], who generally made life hell for them. Both eventually did win the company's top title in moments that would be considered iconic to their particular generation of fans. Both unfortunately had their careers CutShort because of the injuries they sustained in their career. Both would re-emerge a bit later in other roles to allow the WWE to continue taking advantage of their massive popularity. Presently, the two are actually counterparts, with Foley the onscreen GM of WWERaw and Daniel Bryan occupying the same role on ''[[Wrestling/WWESmackdown Smackdown! Live]]''.

* MemeticSexGod: A song for it, http://sixsecondsmagic.bandcamp.com/track/yes and his manly beard. Hide your wives and hide your soy milk!

* PoisonOakEpilepticTrees: After his injury in 2015 but before his retirement, many fans took cues from reports indicating that doctors outside of WWE were giving him a clean bill of health but the WWE medics weren't as a sign of a conspiracy to keep Bryan out of the ring. The retirement speech in Seattle on ''Raw'' and interviews immediately in the aftermath in February 2016 changed the minds of many of these fans, especially when he talked about the lesion in his brain, seemingly justifying WWE. However, in interviews a few months since then he's stated some things in interviews that have called the medical necessity of his retirement right back into question[[note]]Wrestling/VinceMcMahon called him and asked him to retire the day of the show and he and Brie realized at that point he indeed would never be cleared even if a million doctors told him yes, the test in New York that had unfavorable results did not adhere to the main recognized concussion testing standard, etc.[[/note]] and even remarked on the 8/23/16 edition of ''Talking Smack'' when questioned by Wrestling/TheMiz that "if they would let me come back, I would come back," almost stating out of hand that he was forced out. Given the fact that WWE is extremely concerned with playing it safe in every way that doesn't involve reducing the talent's touring schedule and thus would not be in any hurry to have someone get back in the ring after multiple concussions, other injuries, and missing most of the last couple years, as well as the fact that Wrestling/RomanReigns still struggles to be fully embraced by the wider fanbase after being clearly pushed to become "The Guy" over an increasing litany of seasoned talents including Bryan at the height of his popularity, they would have plenty of reason both altrustic and otherwise to hold Bryan back.

* PoisonOakEpilepticTrees: After his injury in 2015 but before his retirement, many fans took cues from reports indicating that doctors outside of WWE were giving him a clean bill of health but the WWE medics weren't as a sign of a conspiracy to keep Bryan out of the ring. The retirement speech in Seattle on ''Raw'' in February 2016 changed the minds of many of these fans, especially when he talked about the lesion in his brain, seemingly justifying WWE. However, in interviews a few months since then he's stated some things in interviews that have called the medical necessity of his retirement right back into question[[note]]Wrestling/VinceMcMahon called him and asked him to retire the day of the show and he and Brie realized at that point he indeed would never be cleared even if a million doctors told him yes, the test in New York that had unfavorable results did not adhere to the main recognized concussion testing standard, etc.[[/note]] and even remarked on the 8/23/16 edition of ''Talking Smack'' when questioned by Wrestling/TheMiz that "if they would let me come back, I would come back," almost stating out of hand that he was forced out. Given the fact that WWE is extremely concerned with playing it safe in every way that doesn't involve reducing the talent's touring schedule and thus would not be in any hurry to have someone get back in the ring after multiple concussions, other injuries, and missing most of the last couple years, as well as the fact that Wrestling/RomanReigns still struggles to be fully embraced by the wider fanbase after being clearly pushed to become "The Guy" over an increasing litany of seasoned talents including Bryan at the height of his popularity, they would have plenty of reason both altrustic and otherwise to hold Bryan back.

* OneSceneWonder: Danielson's WWE Pay Per View experiences had been like this when he had just re-debuted; he wrestled in the first or second match on the card, but those matches usually winded up match of the night. Examples include Miz/Morrison/DBD at ''Hell in a Cell'', DBD/DiBiase at ''Survivor Series'', or DBD/Ziggler at ''Bragging Rights''.

** Nearly a half year using the move [[TookALevelInBadass (and a lot of uses of the move)]] and Daniel Bryan's running knee ''still'' doesn't have a [[NameOfPower name]] yet. You would normally chalk it up to TheyJustDidntCare... but this almost ''never'' happens. Nearly all unique finishers have names - even the ones that belong to {{Jobbers}} that you have to [[AllThereInTheManual dig]] to find. That means it's probably very purposeful. Here are two possible reasons:

*** '''Bryan''' hasn't picked a name for it himself as a way to make a point. The move itself is the definition of SimpleButPractical and a microcosm of Bryan's entire bearing. Bryan doesn't care about flash - he chooses moves that get the job done. And a knee forcefully applied to an opponent's skull, will usually get the job done. As of 3/10/14, he's finally given the move a name, "Knee +" which was based on Stephanie grading him as a "B+" though.

** All those memes saying "Wrestling/TheWyattFamily? Hell yeah, more beards"? Downright hilarious with them feuding now... [[spoiler: But may or may not cross into FunnyAneurysmMoment now that Bryan has ''joined'' the Wyatts.]] [[spoiler: Made hilarious again because of the events of January 13th 2014.]]
* HollywoodHomely: [=DBD=] may not have the super defined bodies of a lot of his peers, but put him in any other circumstance and he'd be quite studly.

** He sometimes has legimate HypeBacklash. He is constantly referred to by the IWC as being the greatest at everything in Wrestling that can be done. While he is legitimately one of the most talented wrestlers around, the constant praise makes it simply impossible to live up the hype.

* LoveToHate: It remained to be seen how an EnsembleDarkhorse like Bryan could get over as a Heel, but man, oh man, had his character turned into a ''bastard'' since his time as World Heavyweight Champion.

** SUBMISSION WRESTLING
** White Swan of SUBMISSION

*** The chant has popped up at Wrestling/RingOfHonor shows, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0F5zP2159c high school sporting events,]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0ttEbPycDs Michigan State's celebration of their NCAA victory]], [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9WRmK-Wqyc Mexico vs. Nigeria soccer games]], and even [[http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/cf83a56879af54ad67cd95fbaaf488e828976241/c=0-0-640-854&r=183&c=0-0-180-238/local/-/media/USATODAY/USATODAY/2014/02/18//1392755578000-SeahawksShoutout-to-DanielBryan.PNG being acknowledged by the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.]][[note]]Danielson lives a couple of hours away in Aberdeen, and is a huge Seahawks fan.[[/note]]

** [[SpellMyNameWithAThe THE]] Wrestling/{{Ryback}}

* OlderThanTheyThink: The crowd alternating chants goes back at least to Wrestling/{{ECW}}'s "The Shah" Hack Myers, since fans would chant "Shah" when he hit a move and "Shit" when his opponent retaliated.

* OneSceneWonder: Danielson's WWE Pay Per View experiences had been like this when he had just redebuted; he wrestled in the first or second match on the card, but those matches usually winded up match of the night. Examples include Miz/Morrison/DBD at ''Hell in a Cell'', DBD/DiBiase at ''Survivor Series'', or DBD/Ziggler at ''Bragging Rights''.

* ScheduleSlip: Justified. His Youtube channel and website have not been updated very much, but Bryan is too busy being in the main event.

** He once commented that he'd like to do a program with Wrestling/ShinsukeNakamura. A pity The American Dragon vs The King of Strong Style won't happen due to unfortunate circumstances. Made even worse by Nakamura stating getting to wrestle Bryan had been a major reason he wanted to come to WWE in the first place, so it was as much a dream match for him as it was for Bryan.

*** And now we'll never see [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Desmond Wolfe vs. Lloyd Boner]].

** In Royal Rumble 2014, when the crowd realized Daniel Bryan wasn't in the rumble, all the excitement of the match fading was audible, which then culminated into outright booing and chanting for Daniel Bryan at any opportunity. Poor Sheamus's attempt at a Brogue chant was replaced with [=NOs=]. Batista's eventual victory got booed or replaced with the "NO!" chants. Hell '''[[Wrestling/ReyMysterioJr Rey Mysterio]]''' of all people was booed for being number 30 and people cheered when he got ''eliminated''. That should tell you something.

** During the short time in the independent circuit after being fired from WWE in 2010, he teased going to TNA and competing by the name of "Lloyd Boner". After the mere mention of TNA got quite a few boos from the crowd, he simply asked "What? You guys wouldn't want to see a match between Desmond Wolfe and Lloyd Boner?" The crowd responded with "Boner! Boner! Boner!" chants.

** He once commented that he'd like to do a program with Wrestling/ShinsukeNakamura. A pity The American Dragon vs The King of Strong Style won't happen due to unfortunate circumstances.

** He once commented that he'd like to do a program with Shinsuke Nakamura. A pity The American Dragon vs The King wont happen due to unfortunate circumstances.

* TearJerker: His ROH farewell speech. Especially when he tells the sound guys to cue up his "favorite song" one more time.
** The death of his father barely hours before the 4/21/14 broadcast of RAW. This prompted an abrupt rewrite of a segment so that Bryan could take the night off to mourn his father.
** The fact that he's hanging up his boots for the sake of his health. Say what you will about him, having to pack it in at the age of 34, an age where one should have many more miles in them has gotta sting. He will be sorely missed.

*** And now we'll never see [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Desmond Wolfe vs. Lloyd Boner]].

** He showed up in Royal Rumble 2015...and was eliminated in an anti-climax before the show was even halfway done. You could feel all the heat drain from Wells Fargo Center the moment he went over that top rope. His departure started an outburst of anger and disappointment that became uglier and uglier with the abrupt elimination of other darkhorses like Wrestling/DeanAmbrose and Wrestling/DolphZiggler, and eventually culminated in the crowd booing [[Creator/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] when he came to congratulate [[spoiler: Wrestling/RomanReigns]] on his victory. '''''The Rock'''''.

** It's a stretch, but his career so far can be seen as a parallel to Wrestling/HulkHogan up to his AWA run. Both became popular outside the company (Hogan in Japan, Bryan in the indies) and after joining the company they quickly captured the audience's interest, but were passed over by the promoter for older stars despite fan demand that they be given a title shot. Both did receive a title shot and were screwed out of the belt. The comparisons admittedly break down there, and Bryan's unlikely to cameo in a SylvesterStallone movie anytime soon, so we'll see where things go.

* FanPreferredCouple: Bryan/Brie? Bryan/Nikki? Bryan/Gail? Bryan/AJ? Forget all of those, the {{OTP}} is Daniel Bryan/Derrick Bateman.
* FoeYay: With Wrestling/{{Kane}}

** He and his manly... so manly...oh, ''so'' manly NXT rookie, Derrick Bateman. So, so much.

* FanDumb: It certainly felt like his run was coming. He had the hero's journey and everything, and was glad to get the crowd behind him so feverishly. But the downside is it set a precedent that fans could conceivably hijack the show and chant nonsense to try and put WWE in a position where they have to give in and push Cesaro or whoever into the main event. And you definitely don't want to hear "WHAT?!" when Roman tries to cut a promo, or CM Punk chants during women's matches, etc.

** Because of his name in the WWE (it's easier to market people when their names have fewer syllables), many people had started calling him Daniel Bryan Danielson, or "DBD," to avoid confusion.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: The 2014 Wrestling/RoyalRumble, and subsequently the rest of the "Road to ''Wrestling/WrestleMania''". When Wrestling/ReyMysterio came out at #30 and the fans realized Bryan wasn't in the Rumble, the crowd went postal and turned on the match completely. Rey, nominally being an incredibly popular face for his ''entire career'' in WWE, had every bit of his offense booed and his elimination '''''cheered'''''. To say nothing of what they did to the eventual winner, Batista (who had just returned from a four year hiatus as a face); for the first time ever, the Rumble ended with hisses and jeers from the audience. Wrestling/CMPunk legit quitting the company the day afterwards and the PR disaster from the ending of the PPV forced the company to change their plans. Bryan ended up being booked in Punk's place to face down Wrestling/TripleH and Wrestling/TheAuthority and, after Batista continued to be booed out of the building and forced to turn heel because of it, was inserted into the title match and won the title, just to ensure that the main event of the biggest show of the year didn't implode in on itself.

** The beginning of Bryan's WHC run. Yes, he is now a heel that has a high opinion of himself. Yes, that was a dick move using [[EnsembleDarkhorse AJ]] to take a hard bump from Wrestling/TheBigShow in a title match. However, it was a little hard to not root for him. Putting aside his admirable past work for a moment, his feud going into the 2012 Royal Rumble alone was "David v. 2 Goliaths" of Wrestling/MarkHenry and Wrestling/TheBigShow (who were also booked to NoSell most of Bryan's offense). In addition, he defended the title three times before the Rumble, coming out with [[GenreSavvy somewhat clever methods]] to walk out with the title against the odds (though again, using A.J. to help in one of those matches was questionable at best).

* MemeticSexGod: A song for it, http://sixsecondsmagic.bandcamp.com/track/yes and his manly beard.