History Wrestling / BryanDanielson

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotAwesome: At the end of a long, bloody, hate-filled feud, Danielson finished off Homicide with the longest Airplane Spin (over 100 rotations!) in wrestling history.
** Using "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_rGt_zNHZI Ride of the Valkyries]]" as his entrance music after becoming WWE United States Champion.
*** What, using [[NarmCharm The Final Countdown]] doesn't qualify? It's one of the cheesiest songs ever!
*** His newest theme, Freefall, is this trope incarnate. It sounds like it should be the backround music to a epic fantasy war sequence, and instead it's a ProfessionalWrestling theme.
*** He's returned to "Ride of the Valkyries", but it's a friggin' [[RuleOfCool metal rendition of it]].
*** Screaming out "YES! YES! YES" at the top of his lungs (complete with jubilant finger points) whenever he wins a match (sheer luck or otherwise) likely counts.

*** Since his Heel turn, TheBigShow.

* BreakupBreakout: WadeBarrett has done well, but his push has been derailed due to injury. As of now, Bryan is the only member of the original Nexus lineup (Bryan, Barrett, Slater, Gabriel, Otunga, Sheffield, Young) to win a world title. Most of the others have been shipped back to FCW or are floundering around in the midcard.

** He was [[OneOfUs also featured]] on the website [[http://hotnerdsreadingcomics.tumblr.com/day/2010/06/04 Hot Nerds Reading Comics]].
* ArchNemesis:
** Nigel [=McGuinness=].

** BadassNormal: In the Wrestling/{{WWE}}s over the top characters, like the outright supernatural {{Wrestling/Kane}} and TheUndertaker, the sociopath RandyOrton, cartoonishly villainous LargeHam ChrisJericho, DarkMessiah and StraightEdgeEvil CMPunk, BryanDanielson is just a talented competitor, that honestly wouldn't be out of place in MixedMartialArts. Hell, he started out as an {{Expy}} of ChrisBenoit, added some jujitsu and then trained with RandyCouture.

* BerserkButton: As a face, MichaelCole ''really'' got under Daniel Bryan's skin and vice versa. On at least one occasion, their shouting matches escalated to the point where Daniel Bryan's jumped from the ring to the floor threatening to [[KickTheSonOfABitch kick Michael Cole's ass]] and fully intending to do it.

* BookEnds: WWE Fatal 4-Way on 6/20/10 began and ended with the crowd chanting "DANIEL BRYAN! ''(clap clap clap-clap-clap)''"

* ButNotTooWhite: He is very pale, which other wrestlers have taken time to mock. He himself (in character) insists that his pale skin is a testament to his lack of vanity, therefore making him [[RealMenWearPink more manly]].

* CatchPhrase:

** "Best in the world!"
** And his signature chant: "You're gonna get your fucking head kicked in!"

* CoolVersusAwesome: Many of his feuds, but his feud with TheMiz is a great example, [[SincerityMode yes really]], despite how good you think TheMiz may or may not be, this feud is basically the two extremes of wrestling battling it out. You have the charismatic, cocky, flashy and larger than life though unspectacular in the ring Miz versus the more boring, humble, simple and subdued super talented worker - it's TechnicianVersusPerformer on a grand scale that's been set up ever since NXT. The feud has allowed both to expand as wrestlers as well; Bryan gets the pizazz he's been lacking and TheMiz gets some in-ring respectability.
** Inverted by his mentorship of NXT rookie Derrick Bateman in that while Bryan is the humble technician, Bateman is a LargeHam CloudCuckooLander performer who can't even be taught a simple heel hook without slipping off into his own little world about how he's doing "SUBMISSION WREST-LING!" while Bryan plays the frustrated straight man. Surely, many a {{Crowning Moment of Funny}} will come from this.
* [[AwesomeMusic/ProfessionalWrestling Crowning Music of Awesome]]: He went from Europe's "The Final Countdown" to a really generic hard rock riff...to RichardWagner's '''"Music/RideOfTheValkyries"'''!

* DemotedToExtra: The second half of his US Title reign was kinda lackluster, although admittedly that's mainly because most of the mid-carders on RAW, such as TheMiz and JohnMorrison, got elevated into the main event scene at the same time, and Daniel Bryan could only kill Ted [=Dibiase=] so many times before it got boring. A much more straight example, however, is his and Sheamus's match for the US Championship getting knocked off the card for Wrestlemania 27.

* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Daniel Bryan spitting in JohnCena's face and [[CatchPhrase kicking his fucking head in]]. JohnCena's aura of invincibility was put to the test by Bryan's indy cred.

** Since returning to WWE, he seems to have settled on an omoplata crossface (named the Lebell Lock, a reference to Judo legend Gene Lebell[[hottip:*:Though he's recently renamed it to the "YES!" Lock, referencing his current catchphrase of sorts.]]) as his new finisher. Recently, he's moved to a guillotine choke. Occasionally, for a knockout finisher, he'll settle for just kicking the other guy's fucking head in.

* [[GranolaGirl Granola Guy]]: He's a vegan and a socialist, and at least his character has always had an anti-corporate slant. He even retained the anti-establishment characterization in WWE, using it to launch a feud with company man MichaelCole.

** Then on the 1/13/12 show, he manipulated his new girlfriend AJ (who confessed her love for him that VERY night) into taking a nasty looking hit from Big Show, taking advantage of the latter's {{Heroic BSOD}} to have the match called off, while likely getting Show off of his back for good. Dick move Daniel... dick move.

* LargeHam: He once engaged in HamToHamCombat with Larry Sweeney over a single cent.

* PunctuatedForEmphasis: How he usually declared himself "BEST! WRESTLER! IN THE WORLD!"

* SmugSnake: As a WWE heel. He is quite the weasel.

* UnsportsmanLikeGloating: Part of his gimmick as the WHC celebrating over any victory whether they be by dq or even default.

* WeakButSkilled: A relatively small wrestler who stays away from big power moves, but he has a nearly endless array of holds, submissions, and suplexes.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen:

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotAwesome: At the end of a long, bloody, hate-filled feud, Danielson finished off Homicide with the longest Airplane Spin (over 100 rotations!) in wrestling history.

** WORLD! HEAVYWEIGHT! CHAMPION!

* CheapHeat: He is so over right now that he is using this in his promos to get crowds to boo him.

* DistractedByTheSexy: The reason for [[spoiler: his loss at Wrestlemania 28]].
** NeverMyFault: Blamed said [[spoiler:loss]] on her, claiming it was her that wanted to kiss him before the match.

* ExecutiveMeddling: ''Possibly''.

* ThisIsSparta: How he usually declared himself "BEST! WRESTLER! IN THE WORLD!"
** And then, when the NXT rookies invaded a Raw main event to tear apart the set and brutalize JohnCena, Bryan looked JohnCena in the face while screaming "YOU! ARE NOT! BETTER THAN ME!"
** His current heel run has Bryan declaring himself as the "WORLD! HEAVYWEIGHT! CHAMPION!", combining it with "YES! YES! YES! YES!" for added ham.

*** Since his Heel turn, TheBigShow and arguably {{Sheamus}}.

* ButtMonkey: While he will manage to crush anyone at a PPV, he's not as successful on ''Raw''. He lost to Michael Tarver immediately after his return to the WWE (mostly due to TheMiz's interference), and was absolutely destroyed by Sheamus which many claimed destroyed his credibility (YourMileageMayVary, as Sheamus jumped him before the match and was eventually disqualified for repeatedly kneeing DBD's head at the ropes), then lost ''again'' to Sheamus (although he did [[UnderestimatingBadassery scare the hell out of Sheamus this time around]]). He's been getting better about it recently, though, ever since his feud with Dolph Ziggler, and most recently he had a great match with former World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger and won.

* YankTheDogsChain: Cashed in his MITB briefcase against a prone Mark Henry to win the World Title on the 11/25/2011 Smackdown, only to have the victory and the match overruled by Teddy Long due to Henry not being medically cleared. [[YourMileageMayVary YMMV]] on the ruling (Mark probably has to be conscious for the cash-in to be legit), but the disappointment and reluctance on Bryan's face was palpable.

** BadassBeard: During his {{WWE}} run, he's grown a scruffy beard, which combined with his rather drab appearance adds to his [[GranolaGirl Granola Guy]] gimmick.

** BadassNormal: In the {{WWE}}s over the top characters, like the outright supernatural [[{{Wrestler/Kane}} Kane]] and TheUndertaker, the sociopath RandyOrton, cartoonishly villainous LargeHam ChrisJericho, DarkMessiah and StraightEdgeEvil CMPunk, BryanDanielson is just a talented competitor, that honestly wouldn't be out of place in MixedMartialArts. Hell, he started out as an {{Expy}} of ChrisBenoit, added some jujitsu and then trained with RandyCouture.

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

*** Does anyone else get that vibe that he and AJ Lee are channeling Macho Man RandySavage and MissElizabeth?

** But not that he has cashed it in successfully and won the World Heavyweight Championship, [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation is]] [[MichaelCole Cole]] [[CueTheFlyingPigs right?]]

* IgnoreTheFanservice: His storyline with the Bellas largely consists of Bryan ignoring the TwinThreesomeFantasy unfolding around him.
** Only because he's already seeing Gail Kim.

* EvilMentor: To [[ChickBusters A.J,]] as he has started coaching her for her matches. She's to in love to notice.

[[caption-width-right:350:Oh, this? Yeah, I won a {{WWE}} one just like it.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Oh, this? Yeah, I [[spoiler: had]] a {{WWE}} one just like it.]]

* ArrogantKungFuGuy

* {{Adorkable}}: His current WWE gimmick is that he's a quirky, awkward, good-natured guy...[[BewareTheNiceOnes who just happens to be able to make anyone on the roster tap out]], and has the hottest women on the show fawning over him.

*** Said beard is now growing out, as Danielson said he's not gonna shave until his match at Wrestlemania.

* BeardOfEvil: Now that he's fast approaching a {{heel}} turn.

* BerserkButton: MichaelCole ''really'' gets under Daniel Bryan's skin and vice versa. On at least one occasion, their shouting matches have escalated to the point where Daniel Bryan's jumped from the ring to the floor threatening to [[KickTheSonOfABitch kick Michael Cole's ass]] and fully intending to do it.

* BlessedWithSuck: After winning The Money in the Bank briefcase, he has been losing more matches than winning them.
** Not to mention that he was conspicuously absent from the "Hell In A Cell" pay-per-view (wrestling a dark match against JTG) and the Smackdown that followed it. All other MITB winners have gotten a great deal of television time and been booked strong following their acquisition of the briefcase. Why WWE chooses not to do the same with Bryan is a mystery.
** This holds to some degree with his recent title win. Yes, he's finally cashed it in, but because of the timing, it just so happens that the two guys at the front of his long line of challengers are TheBigShow and MarkHenry - each of whom are literally twice his size.
*** Things just got taken up a notch. Now he's got both men at The RoyalRumble...in a triple threat match (which means he can lose without being pinned or submitted). In a steel cage. And both guys are angry. Show's frustrated at the brevity of his title reign, and MarkHenry...well, he's [[AngryBlackMan always pissed off.]] However, despite winning that Steel Cage Match he'll have to contend with both giants as the Road to Wrestlemania begins...
**** Lucky for him, he won't have to deal with either Big Show[[hottip:*:Who's currently occupied by Cody Rhodes, who seems intent on humiliating Show.]] or Henry[[hottip:*:He's currently on John Laurinaitis's team in a match with control of both Raw and [=SmackDown=] at stake.]] on the Road to WrestleMania, but unfortunately, he still has to contend with Royal Rumble winner {{Sheamus}}, who's completely determined to make mincemeat out of Bryan to win the World Title.

** He's since warmed up to them a bit, although he still looks very incredulous.
** Subverted. He is not celibate. In fact, the man just pulled Gail Kim into his supposedly-UnwantedHarem. In fact, the reason he'd been looking very incredulous around the Bellas is the fact that he'd been dating Gail for ''six months'' and only hung around the Bellas because they didn't have much to do ever since Raw stopped having guest hosts!
** Needless to say, though, they [[FaceHeelTurn did not take kindly]].

* CoolVersusAwesome: Many of his feuds, but his ongoing one with TheMiz is a great example, [[SincerityMode yes really]], despite how good you think TheMiz may or may not be, this feud is basically the two extremes of wrestling battling it out. You have the charismatic, cocky, flashy and larger than life though unspectacular in the ring Miz versus the more boring, humble, simple and subdued super talented worker - it's TechnicianVersusPerformer on a grand scale that's been set up ever since NXT. The feud has allowed both to expand as wrestlers as well; Bryan gets the pizazz he's been lacking and TheMiz gets some in-ring respectability.

* DemotedToExtra: The second half of his US Title reign was kinda lackluster, although admittedly that's mainly because most of the mid-carders on RAW, such as TheMiz and JohnMorrison, got elevated into the main event scene at the same time, and Daniel Bryan could only kill Ted [=Dibiase=] so many times before it got boring. A much more straight example, however, is his and Sheamus's match for the US Championship getting knocked off the card for Wrestlemania 27.
** And, interestingly enough, ever since he won MITB, his TV time has gone way down. Although that may be [[FridgeBrilliance by design]] - an attempt to get casual TV viewers to forget about him in order to make it even more shocking if and when he cashes in his briefcase. He ''says'' that [[CallingYourAttacks he intends to cash it in at]] WrestleMania XXVIII. But if the bookers decide upon a ShockingSwerve and/or to start a FaceHeelTurn as they've [[CMPunk done before]] with MITB winners, Bryan could really show up at any point.

* FollowTheLeader: Averted; Michael Cole called him out into believing he'd cash in Money in the Bank just like almost[[hottip:*: except Kennedy and Rob Van Dam]] every winner before him. Danielson replies that he's going to be cashing it at Wrestlemania 28.
** Played straight at WWE TLC, cashing it in after MarkHenry DDT'd the new World Champ BigShow onto a pile of steel chairs.

* {{Heel}}: Definitely seems to be turning again, if not there already. First, he cashes in Money in the Bank at TLC on a prone Big Show moments after he won it, after having put down others for doing such a thing in the past. Afterwards, he began antagonizing Show just a little by [[StopHelpingMe continuing to interfere in his matches despite him asking him not to.]] After implying that Show DOES need his help, he was accused of having his title go to his head. Then, on the 1/6/12 SmackDown!, when finding himself struggling in a title defense against Big Show, he resorted to taunting Mark Henry into attacking him, causing the DQ, so he could retain his title, after which, he celebrated like he had won the Super Bowl. Definitely [[TookALevelInJerkass taking a level in jerkass]] here...

** YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!