History YMMV / BryanDanielson

** In his official autobiography, Bryan talked about his WWE feud against ''Wrestling/CMPunk'' in one chapter and ended things by saying he would never say never but he had a feeling after Punk walked out of WWE that he and Punk would never face each other again. Many years later, this got seemingly subverted by Punk joining ''Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling'' where Bryan also worked, giving them the opportunity to work together once again. However, CM Punk's [[HostilityOnTheSet real life issues with Kenny Omega, the Young Bucks, and eventually Jack Perry]] ended up getting Punk suspended in 2022 and finally fired in 2023, with Punk and Bryan not being able to face each other in the ring during their short time together in the same company. And with Bryan officially saying he would no longer be an active full time performer in 2024, the likelihood of the two ever wrestling again goes down even further. So in retrospect, Bryan's statement about how he suspected he would never face Punk again ended up being a lot more prophetic than he possibly intended it to be.

* WMG/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's reluctance. However, a few months since then he's made some claims 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 even if it was unnecessary.

** In his official autobiography, Bryan talked about his WWE feud against ''Wrestling/CMPunk'' in one chapter and ended things by saying he would never say never but he had a feeling after Punk walked out of WWE that he and Punk would never face each other again. Many years later, this got seemingly subverted by Punk joined ''Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling'' where Bryan also worked, giving them the opportunity to work together once again. However, CM Punk's [[HostilityOnTheSet real life issues with Kenny Omega, the Young Bucks, and eventually Jack Perry]] ended up getting Punk suspended in 2022 and finally fired in 2023, with Punk and Bryan not being able to face each other in the ring during their short time together in the same company. And with Bryan officially saying he would no longer be an active full time performer in 2024, the likelihood of the two ever wrestling again goes down even further. So in retrospect, Bryan's statement about how he suspected he would never face Punk again ended up being a lot more prophetic than he possibly intended it to be.

* HarsherInHindsight: Shortly after being injured in 2015, Bryan had an interview where he revealed that he had pitched a match against Wrestling/ShinsukeNakamura as part of a WWE/NJPW cross-promotion, which never came to boot. In 2016, Bryan announced his retirement mere weeks before Nakamura formally signed his WWE contract.

** As to "The Final Countdown", here's how awesome it was. At ROH's "The Chicago Spectacular" in 2006, as a heel, he was scheduled to defend his world title against Homicide later that month. Homicide had a match against Brent Albright on that particular night, which ended when Albright locked a crowbar submission hold onto Homicide and would not release it even after Homicide grabbed the ropes. Albright was obviously not interested in winning the match so much as he was in injuring Homicide, but why? The reason was revealed very quickly: as Albright was walking to the back, Bryan walked out to meet him and, with a smug grin on his face, gave Albright a big handful of cash. This garnered him tremendous heat from an crowd that was already hostile to him, starting up a loud "FUCK YOU DRAGON!" chant. With that match over, the show moved on, until it was time for the main event: a steel cage match in which Bryan would defend his title against Homicide's friend Wrestling/SamoaJoe. As much as this crowd wanted to see Joe destroy him, as firmly against him as they were, they ''still'' sang along with "The Final Countdown" during his entrance. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku2mYBy83tE When Danielson reused the song at ''Forbidden Door'' in 2023]], the crowd '''erupted''' and, despite being a heel, he couldn't help but smile over hearing the song again. It helps that Tony Khan paid for it to be used for Danielson again for just that event due to it being expensive to use frequently.

** As to "The Final Countdown", here's how awesome it was. At ROH's "The Chicago Spectacular" in 2006, as a heel, he was scheduled to defend his world title against Homicide later that month. Homicide had a match against Brent Albright on that particular night, which ended when Albright locked a crowbar submission hold onto Homicide and would not release it even after Homicide grabbed the ropes. Albright was obviously not interested in winning the match so much as he was in injuring Homicide, but why? The reason was revealed very quickly: as Albright was walking to the back, Bryan walked out to meet him and, with a smug grin on his face, gave Albright a big handful of cash. This garnered him tremendous heat from an crowd that was already hostile to him, starting up a loud "FUCK YOU DRAGON!" chant. With that match over, the show moved on, until it was time for the main event: a steel cage match in which Bryan would defend his title against Homicide's friend Wrestling/SamoaJoe. As much as this crowd wanted to see Joe destroy him, as firmly against him as they were, they ''still'' sang along with "The Final Countdown" during his entrance. When Danielson reused the song at ''Forbidden Door'' in 2023, the crowd '''erupted''' and, despite being a heel, he couldn't help but smile over hearing the song again. It helps that Tony Khan paid for it to be used for Danielson again for just that event due to it being expensive to use frequently.

** As to "The Final Countdown", here's how awesome it was. At ROH's "The Chicago Spectacular" in 2006, as a heel, he was scheduled to defend his world title against Homicide later that month. Homicide had a match against Brent Albright on that particular night, which ended when Albright locked a crowbar submission hold onto Homicide and would not release it even after Homicide grabbed the ropes. Albright was obviously not interested in winning the match so much as he was in injuring Homicide, but why? The reason was revealed very quickly: as Albright was walking to the back, Bryan walked out to meet him and, with a smug grin on his face, gave Albright a big handful of cash. This garnered him tremendous heat from an crowd that was already hostile to him, starting up a loud "FUCK YOU DRAGON!" chant. With that match over, the show moved on, until it was time for the main event: a steel cage match in which Bryan would defend his title against Homicide's friend Wrestling/SamoaJoe. As much as this crowd wanted to see Joe destroy him, as firmly against him as they were, they ''still'' sang along with "The Final Countdown" during his entrance. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku2mYBy83tE When Danielson reused the song at ''Forbidden Door'' in 2023]], the crowd '''erupted''' and, despite being a heel, he couldn't help but smile over coming out to it again.

** His Wrestlemania match against Wrestling/{{Sheamus}}. Despite everything which had happened up to then, entering into Wrestlemania as champion as he had wanted, only to lose the title in 18 seconds after Sheamus takes advantage of distraction from his pre-match good luck kiss left a bad taste in the entire show.
*** This was taken to an entirely different level on the 4/2/12 RAW, where the Miami crowd, filled with leftover fans from the previous night's Wrestlemania, took over the show and spent the entire night chanting variations of "YES!" and "DANIEL BRYAN!"

** As to "The Final Countdown", here's how awesome it was. At ROH's "The Chicago Spectacular" in 2006, as a heel, he was scheduled to defend his world title against Homicide later that month. Homicide had a match against Brent Albright on that particular night, which ended when Albright locked a crowbar submission hold onto Homicide and would not release it even after Homicide grabbed the ropes. Albright was obviously not interested in winning the match so much as he was in injuring Homicide, but why? The reason was revealed very quickly: as Albright was walking to the back, Bryan walked out to meet him and, with a smug grin on his face, gave Albright a big handful of cash. This garnered him tremendous heat from an crowd that was already hostile to him, starting up a loud "FUCK YOU DRAGON!" chant. With that match over, the show moved on, until it was time for the main event: a steel cage match in which Bryan would defend his title against Homicide's friend Wrestling/SamoaJoe. As much as this crowd wanted to see Joe destroy him, as firmly against him as they were, they ''still'' sang along with "The Final Countdown" during his entrance. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku2mYBy83tE When Danielson reused the song at ''Forbidden Door'' in 2023]], the crowd '''erupted''' and, despite being a heel, he couldn't help but smile over hearing the song again.

** As to "The Final Countdown", here's how awesome it was. At ROH's "The Chicago Spectacular" in 2006, as a heel, he was scheduled to defend his world title against Homicide later that month. Homicide had a match against Brent Albright on that particular night, which ended when Albright locked a crowbar submission hold onto Homicide and would not release it even after Homicide grabbed the ropes. Albright was obviously not interested in winning the match so much as he was in injuring Homicide, but why? The reason was revealed very quickly: as Albright was walking to the back, Bryan walked out to meet him and, with a smug grin on his face, gave Albright a big handful of cash. This garnered him tremendous heat from an crowd that was already hostile to him, starting up a loud "FUCK YOU DRAGON!" chant. With that match over, the show moved on, until it was time for the main event: a steel cage match in which Bryan would defend his title against Homicide's friend Wrestling/SamoaJoe. As much as this crowd wanted to see Joe destroy him, as firmly against him as they were, they ''still'' sang along with "The Final Countdown" during his entrance. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku2mYBy83tE When Danielson reused the song at ''Forbidden Door'' in 2023,]] the crowd '''erupted''' and, despite being a heel, he couldn't help but smile over hearing the song again.

** As to "The Final Countdown", here's how awesome it was. At ROH's "The Chicago Spectacular" in 2006, as a heel, he was scheduled to defend his world title against Homicide later that month. Homicide had a match against Brent Albright on that particular night, which ended when Albright locked a crowbar submission hold onto Homicide and would not release it even after Homicide grabbed the ropes. Albright was obviously not interested in winning the match so much as he was in injuring Homicide, but why? The reason was revealed very quickly: as Albright was walking to the back, Bryan walked out to meet him and, with a smug grin on his face, gave Albright a big handful of cash. This garnered him tremendous heat from an crowd that was already hostile to him, starting up a loud "FUCK YOU DRAGON!" chant. With that match over, the show moved on, until it was time for the main event: a steel cage match in which Bryan would defend his title against Homicide's friend Wrestling/SamoaJoe. As much as this crowd wanted to see Joe destroy him, as firmly against him as they were, they ''still'' sang along with "The Final Countdown" during his entrance. When Danielson reused the song at ''Forbidden Door'' in 2023, the crowd '''erupted''' and, despite being a heel, he couldn't help but smile over hearing the song again. It helps that Tony Khan paid for it to be used for Danielson again for just that event due to it being expensive to use frequently.

** As to "The Final Countdown", here's how awesome it was. At ROH's "The Chicago Spectacular" in 2006, as a heel, he was scheduled to defend his world title against Homicide later that month. Homicide had a match against Brent Albright on that particular night, which ended when Albright locked a crowbar submission hold onto Homicide and would not release it even after Homicide grabbed the ropes. Albright was obviously not interested in winning the match so much as he was in injuring Homicide, but why? The reason was revealed very quickly: as Albright was walking to the back, Bryan walked out to meet him and, with a smug grin on his face, gave Albright a big handful of cash. This garnered him tremendous heat from an crowd that was already hostile to him, starting up a loud "FUCK YOU DRAGON!" chant. With that match over, the show moved on, until it was time for the main event: a steel cage match in which Bryan would defend his title against Homicide's friend Wrestling/SamoaJoe. As much as this crowd wanted to see Joe destroy him, as firmly against him as they were, they ''still'' sang along with "The Final Countdown" during his entrance. When Danielson reused the song at ''Forbidden Door'' in 2023, the crowd '''erupted''' and, despite being a heel, he couldn't help but smile over hearing the song again.

** As to "The Final Countdown", here's how awesome it was. At ROH's "The Chicago Spectacular" in 2006, as a heel, he was scheduled to defend his world title against Homicide later that month. Homicide had a match against Brent Albright on that particular night, which ended when Albright locked a crowbar submission hold onto Homicide and would not release it even after Homicide grabbed the ropes. Albright was obviously not interested in winning the match so much as he was in injuring Homicide, but why? The reason was revealed very quickly: as Albright was walking to the back, Bryan walked out to meet him and, with a smug grin on his face, gave Albright a big handful of cash. This garnered him tremendous heat from an crowd that was already hostile to him, starting up a loud "FUCK YOU DRAGON!" chant. With that match over, the show moved on, until it was time for the main event: a steel cage match in which Bryan would defend his title against Homicide's friend Wrestling/SamoaJoe. As much as this crowd wanted to see Joe destroy him, as firmly against him as they were, they ''still'' sang along with "The Final Countdown" during his entrance.

* 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.

** All those memes saying "Wrestling/TheWyattFamily? Hell yeah, more beards"? Downright hilarious with them feuding now. Threatened to cross into FunnyAneurysmMoment with Bryan ''joining'' the Wyatts at the end of 2013, but was quickly made simply hilarious again after January 13, 2014.

* EvilisCool: He's an absolutely savage fighter who sees himself as the best wrestler in the world which is hard to deny given his track record of incredible matches since he's arrived in AEW.

* 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, norminally 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.

** "...vs. Daniel Bryan in a [[MeleeATrois Triple Threat match!]]" - after his very late insertion into the [=WrestleMania=] 37 main event with Wrestling/RomanReigns and Wrestling/{{Edge}}, this took off due to the internet's BrokenBase reaction[[note]]Many, including Bryan himself, thought his presence added little to the storyline[[/note]] and Bryan's UnintentionallyUnsympathetic character portrayal in the build to the match itself. Given that this was the second time Bryan had been thrown into a Wrestlemania main event that originally featured a [[Wrestling/RandyOrton current top star]] and [[Wrestling/{{Batista}} returning star from the past]], the meme kind of grew legs from there and began to feature Photoshops of previous match graphics with Daniel Bryan inserted, expanding beyond WWE and even beyond Wrestling itself.

** The crowd alternating chants goes back at least to Wrestling/{{ECW}}'s [[Wrestling/HackMeyers "The Shah" Hack Myers]], since fans would chant "Shah" when he hit a move[[note]][[Wrestling/CurtisAxel Michael [=McGillicutty=]]] took up that tradition during his time at ''NXT'' developmental[[/note]] and "Shit" when his opponent retaliated.

* FoeYay: With Wrestling/{{Kane}}.

** Had a bit of FoeYay with Miz and A-Ry.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Wrestling/BryanDanielson's rather abrupt FaceHeelTurn at the end of 2021 left a lot of room for ambiguity, especially considering how starkly his actions after ''Full Gear'' in 2021 contrasted his actions before it.[[note]]This was reportedly because Wrestling/JonMoxley was originally slated to win the 2021 Eliminator Tournament, but [[SerendipityWritesThePlot his shot at the championship had to be given to Danielson after he dropped out of the tournament to check himself into rehab]]. Danielson's HeelFaceTurn may also have been originally intended for Moxley, given that in the weeks before his hiatus, Moxley began displaying a (even) more aggresive in-ring style, and began cutting promos implying that he was dissatisfied with the big-name signings like Danielson and CM Punk coming to the company once it became popular while he gave it a chance during its inception.[[/note]] Was Danielson ''always'' [[BitchInSheepsClothing an arrogant and sadistic bully hiding under a superficial veneer of niceness]], or did he just succumb to his worst impulses once the World Championship title was within his grasp? Did he originally challenge Wrestling/TheElite to end their reign of terror, or because [[EvilerThanThou he wanted their dominant position at the company for himself]]? Relatedly: did he pick his vicious feud with [[Wrestling/AdamPage "Hangman" Adam Page]] because he didn't believe that Hangman was worthy of the championship, or was he motivated by his former association with his [[TheRival arch-rival]] Wrestling/KennyOmega and determined to get RevengeByProxy?

* UnexpectedCharacter: Danielson's surprise AEW debut at the end of All Out 2021 made him this.

** The same is true, to a somewhat lesser extent, with his feud with Wrestling/TheMiz. Smarks actually tend to like Miz (as a rule, they're fans of charismatic heels)... but they didn't like the much less experienced Miz being made the NXT mentor for the man whom many consider the best wrestler in North America.

** Whenever people think of wrestlers proudly declaring themselves the "best in the world" on TV in the 2010s, either Chris Jericho or CM Punk will come to mind. However, in ''Ring Of Honor'' before then, Bryan Danielson was already declaring himself to be that, with the crowd even chanting "best in the world" during his matches.