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Daniel Bryan...Danielson


Jmare007

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He didn't say anything too bad. I think he's right in that they don't see money in him but...

 

They did build the entire show around him last week. I'm probably being naive but I really don't think they hate him. It's just horrible timing. They had this McMahon deal planned out for months and Bryan wasn't involved. They are just stream lined building to Mania with it. Of course why does Orton still have to be champ? I don't think Bryan is getting the title at Mania but I have hope they he will be alright. And I'm still holding onto them offering refunds for him being off house shows and Vince having plans for the YES chant at Mania

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Bryan is like Ron Burgundy doing Dodge commercials. He can say whatever he wants in regards to the company not getting behind him and it's gonna help bring in more attention.

 

For the people who don't get the reference (and I'm thinking basically everyone did), the president of Dodge said that because of the rise in sales of Dodge cars after the Burgundy commercials ran, Burgundy could say literally whatever he wanted and it wouldn't matter because the product was moving. And he did. They shot like 70 commercials and ran almost all of them, even if they had Ron say ludicrous things about the cars. When Bryan makes a public appearance, him saying something bad about the company works within the storyline. It'll get people talking about the product, and therefore tune in and (gasp) make him a draw.

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  • 4 weeks later...

After watching Bryan on SD! running another gauntlet I was wondering who was the last guy on WWE who wrestled as much as D-Bry every time they were on WWE TV? Has there ever been a guy on that company who has had a similar run on TV? Not saying it's a big deal or anything, I'm just curious.

 

Maybe mookie could have the answer to this?

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  • 2 weeks later...

After watching Bryan on SD! running another gauntlet I was wondering who was the last guy on WWE who wrestled as much as D-Bry every time they were on WWE TV? Has there ever been a guy on that company who has had a similar run on TV? Not saying it's a big deal or anything, I'm just curious.

 

Maybe mookie could have the answer to this?

 

So, for 2013, my records had:

Daniel Bryan: 13 PPVs + 88 TVs = 101 matches
Antonio Cesaro: 8 PPVs + 92 TVs = 100 matches
Damien Sandow: 8 PPVs + 89 TVs = 97 matches
Randy Orton: 11 PPVs + 83 TVs = 94 matches
Cody Rhodes: 9 PPVs + 82 TVs = 91 matches
Dolph Ziggler: 8 PPVs + 75 TVs = 83 matches
So, technically, Cesaro had more TV matches but DB had more PPVs matches. (13 because he technically had two matches on SummerSlam.)
2012 was:
Sheamus: 11 PPVs + 89 TVs = 100 matches
Daniel Bryan: 12 PPVs + 82 TVs = 94 matches
Dolph Ziggler: 11 PPVs + 79 TVs = 90 matches
Whereas 2011 had a lot less TV:
Randy Orton: 13 PPVs + 59 TVs = 72 matches
Kofi Kingston: 11 PPVs + 60 TVs = 71 matches
We have to go back awhile before we start to see big numbers like 2012/2013 put up.
2000:
Chris Jericho: 15 PPVs + 100 TVs = 115 matches
Kurt Angle: 17 PPVs + 96 TVs = 113 matches
The Rock: 14 PPVs + 97 TVs = 111 matches
Chris Benoit: 14 PPVs + 96 TVs = 110 matches
Christian: 13 PPVs + 94 TVs = 107 matches
Edge: 13 PPVs + 93 TVs = 106 matches
Matt Hardy: 13 PPVs + 93 TVs = 106 matches
Jeff Hardy: 13 PPVs + 93 TVs = 106 matches
Bubba Ray Dudley: 13 PPVs + 88 TVs = 101 matches
Rikishi: 14 PPVs + 87 TVs = 101 matches
D-Von Dudley: 13 PPVs + 87 TVs = 100 matches
Scotty 2 Hotty: 8 PPVs + 91 TVs = 99 matches
Crash Holly: 7 PPVs + 87 TVs = 94 matches
Albert: 7 PPVs + 84 TVs = 91 matches
2001:
Chris Jericho: 15 PPVs + 99 TVs = 114 matches
Kurt Angle: 16 PPVs + 88 TVs = 104 matches
Bubba Ray Dudley: 14 PPVs + 80 TVs = 94 matches
D-Von Dudley: 14 PPVs + 80 TVs = 94 matches
Jeff Hardy: 11 PPVs + 82 TVs = 93 matches
Matt Hardy: 9 PPVs + 82 TVs = 91 matches
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It's possible, but I wouldn't put money on Bryan having much more ring time than Cesaro. A lot of his early work was in trios where he was in the ring for maybe five or six minutes total (going off of memory) and Cesaro was in a lot of inordinately long matches for C shows like Main Event and NXT

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  • 4 weeks later...

There's a video on Wrestlemania Today from Thursday where they have a piece on the Yes Movement with some WWE figures interviewed but also a lot of fans interviewed. Little kids who say that they love Daniel Bryan because of YES! YES! YES!, a little girl who says he has great moves, another kid who likes him because he's a flying goat, and they show all the other media appearances of the Yes chant and quite a bit more and I think that, more than anything else they've done or that he's accomplished, is the craziest, most surreal thing.

 

It's a really well produced video and it just hammers the point home that even though it's the most unlikely thing in the world, it's all real.

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I'm really happy for Bryan, and I have a feeling once the bell rings I'll be way more excited about Taker/Brock than I thought I'd be. There's going to be a lot of fun nostalgia stuff, so it'll be palatable for the casual fans I have over to watch. Even though there may not be any classics on the card, I think 30 will go in the good Mania pile.

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  • 1 month later...

Yeah, Im a little tardy to the party when it came to watching the Wrestlemania Recap show with Will, Dylan, Kris and Pete, but Dylan made a really, really interesting point about Daniel Bryan and I wanted to bring it up. I agree with Dylan that Daniel Bryan has become a sort of sacred cow in the IWC. He is the last rallying point and we all want to see him succeed. He is a great underdog story and he clearly loves wrestling. Any break in file just seems like a prickish thing to do. Thus he does get off easy when it comes to a lot of criticisms that get levied at other wrestlers. I just wanted to discuss that and see what people thought.

 

I can see where Dylan is coming from in terms of the Daniel Bryan formula. I am not as hung up with that as I just see it as him having a very well-design offensive moveset and especially a couple go to moves on his comeback. However, just because he uses a lot of the same spots, I think the context (the opponent and angle) make it is so that match never feels the same. Yes, most opponents do take similar bumps from Bryan, but I think Bryan responds to different wrestlers by taking what they offer and restructuring his style match. I am open to counterarguments that show him pretty much having the same match with two different opponents that proves the "plug n play" theory.

My major hang up with Bryan and I have taken some veiled shots at it in some of my reviews, but I will come out and state it now is that he blows off selling way too frequently in order to get his offense in. Crowds more than ever are conditioned to pop for offense. It is one of the reasons why "You Cant Wrestle" gets directed at Cena. Is Cena an offensive dynamo? Hell no! Is he the best wrestler in terms of selling in the WWE since 2002, I would say yes and it is not even that close. Bryan is tailoring his matches to this new mandate from the fans, When I watch a Daniel Bryan match especially a Free TV match, it feels like the selling is getting in the way of the offense. It is not building drama, it is just the perfunctory part of the match that is required. That is not true in all cases. Daniel Bryan rocked it at Wrestlemania. He sold like a million bucks for HHH and during the main event. He was overcoming obstacles through sheer will power and determination. You were not going to deny Daniel Bryan on that night. However on too many nights recently, he has been focused on getting all his shit in at the expense of the match.

Still, I am happy for Daniel Bryan and more often than not he is an absolute pleasure to watch. I just think he could go the extra mile and really achieve rarefied air among the elite wrestlers of all time if he just made his selling during his face in peril segments mean just that much more.

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  • 8 months later...

In response to myself, I want to reinforce that I really enjoy Daniel Bryan as a wrestler and as a character. I have his RAW segments to be the most emotionally moving in a long time. I am pulling for him more now than ever. The past RAW segment was perfect from him declaring he would win the Rumble, to his interactions with Stephanie, and most importantly proving that he still deliver a hellacious ass whupping on Kane. I definitely look forward to his comeback and since I will be attending the Royal Rumble, I thought I take a look back at his best matches from his unfortunately abbreviated 2014.

 

Daniel Bryan vs Bray Wyatt - Royal Rumble 2014

 

Who is this Bray Wyatt and where the hell has he been? He was the King of the Explosive Cutoff in this match. He reminds me of Dr. Death in his ability to combine size with acceleration. You will see that in snippets in other matches, but it was in full effect here. In a lot of Wyatts matches, he does not have an opponent with as deep an offensive arsenal as Bryan so when he cuts off his opponent it is after each move, which makes it feel like he is trading moves and it becomes an exhibition. Bryan's depth affords the ability to have Bryan have longer spurts before a cutoff and Bryan's natural ability to exhibit a sense of overcoming the odds engages the viewer more.

 

One of the best things about Daniel Bryan is the overwhelming crowd support he gets and that was evident early as the crowd was very hot for this. There were periods where they dipped out, but they were staunchly behind young Daniel Bryan throughout. We get that first taste of how Bray Wyatt will use Bryan's momentum against him with an explosive elbow cutoff, but Bryan keeps coming and takes Harper out with a suicide dive. The ref sends the Wyatt Family packing. Bryan hitting two badass cross bodies was just a great rabble rousing moment. Bryan gets on top and Wyatt chops him off the top rope. Bryan takes a nasty fall. I would have liked that to have been a transition instead Wyatt goes head over heels on the steps. Bryan doing leg work is something I like because it gives his offense direction. I know unless it is a Rusev match that most likely the leg work would not be a factor and that does not annoy me as much as Daniel Bryan no selling head injuries later on.

Bray Wyatt gets an snap arm wrench onto the apron and then blasts Bryan's head with elbows as he is up against the post. I like my heels, violent and sadistic. Wyatt's back senton is awesome. I really liked the spot where Wyatt snapped Bryan into the middle rope. I had just seen that for the first time in Styles/Tanahashi and thought it was cool as all hell maybe they got it from here. The Wyatt chinlocks did seem to sap some energy from the crowd, but overall I think his attack on the head of Daniel Bryan was really spot on. I was disappointed a little bit that this did not seem to impact how Daniel Bryan would overcome the odds. I really think Bryan adjusting his game plan for a serious head injury would have made this a bonafide match of the year contender. Don't get me wrong, the finish stretch was very exciting, but felt like a departure from the rest of the match.

The match becomes about Bryan gaining more and more offense. First it is some elbows off a missed Wyatt elbow, but that is cutoff by a sweeeeeeet cross body block.Then Bryan fights through nailing a tornado DDT off the apron and a missile dropkick. He is feeling it and goes into frantic running dropkicks, but on the third one Wyatt nearly decapitates him with a lariat. Wyatt is the heir of Stan Hansen. His swinging lariat is a thing of beauty. Wyatt going for Sister Abigail, but Bryan getting a roll-up nearfall is so WWE. Bryan goes for the Yes-Lock, but Wyatts bites him. At this point, I am just going to say it, Wyatt is the better wrestler in this match. He is just on point in every way as a heel, whereas Bryan is being arbitrary and capricious about his move selection. Then in a moment that actually shocked me and blew me away Wyatt caught Bryan on a suicide dive attempt and delivered Sister Abigail. He hit one more time in the ring to win the match.

 

Great definitive finish, but also shows that at the time of the Rumble they really did think of Bryan as a B+ player as he had no protection in that loss. Wyatt looked better here than he has in his whole career. Great heel work mixed with excellent timing made for one helluva performance. Still I thought this lacked an interesting match hook. They could have gone body part with Wyatt's leg, or Bryan's head, but WWE does not care for that. Then it could have been can Bryan overcome the monster, Wyatt, but instead we were getting weak transitions like a roll-up or Bryan just starting up offense. The match was exciting, had some great spots and a great individual Bray Wyatt performance, but it was missing that overarching storyline to make it a match of the year contender. ****

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WWE World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton vs Batista vs Daniel Bryan - Wrestlemania XXX

 

It is amazing how much of an emotional impact this match still has. It has not been deadened one iota by the disappointing aftermath. In fact, I think it resonates only more strongly because it reminds that no matter what the future holds, he will always have this. We will always have this to remember the night that an impossible dream came true and to put a smile on our faces.

 

Thank all that is holy, that Batista vs Orton was not the main event of this show. I actually like Orton just find as an in-ring heel. I think his work usually looks good, he knows when to bring a match up and down and everything feels like it has a sense of purpose. I can leave Batista at the door. We saw snippets of the Bastista/Orton singles match it was just so bland. They were just going through the motions. I loved how Daniel Bryan would come flying into our screens from outta nowhere. First, it was the missile dropkick to both of them and then flying headbutt. It was the perfect way to reintroduce Bryan whenever he was off selling his arm injury for extended periods of time. The match really picked up when HHH & Steph brought out Scott Armstrong to put the screws to Bryan. It is funny how all the shitty booking up until this match actually made all these nearfalls credible. It is strange how shitty booking actually enhanced the drama of this match. Would they really be that stupid? The answer is yes they really could be that stupid. I just love how invested this crowd is in the Daniel Bryan story. It is not about MOVEZ~! It is not about Daniel Bryan winning clean. Fuck, we will take a goddamn fluke rollup just give him the damn title. I loved it! Bryan cleaning house on the Authority only to get double teamed by Batista/Orton was a great last ditch attempt to make people believe that Bryan maybe not be winning after he got RKO/Powerbombed through an announce table and was put on a stretcher. Damn, does Orton have the worst luck with gimmicks or what? That looked gnarly as fuck landing on the monitor like that. I really thought Orton was good in this match in being violent. I think they could have milked the Bryan on the stretcher for even longer to really freak people the fuck out. Instead they get everybody pretty good with Batista wiping out Bryan by accident and Orton hitting the RKO on Batista for a close nearfall. I think that was the loudest collective sigh of relief of all time. True to form, Bryan come flying into our camera to hit the Exploding Knee, but Batista looks to steal his glory. Ooooooooo another good one. Orton get taken out by a Batista Bomb and Exploding Knee. to Batista! YESLOCK~! The rest is glorious history!

 

The purely joyous response of the crowd is so overwhelming and still moves me to this day. . Also, I love how it started the tradition of one wacky Attitude Era-overbooked clusterfuck per PPV, which is just good popcorn fun that is easily differential from the normally sterile product. This match is the cure to any malady or bad day ****

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Daniel Bryan vs Triple H w/Stephanie McMahon - Wrestlemania XXX

 

In light of recent events, this match should only be more cherished as the night everything was right with the world of pro wrestling. The most emotionally impactful of the match of the year contenders of 2014. The Shield versus Wyatts made the best use of past history, AJ Styles vs Minoru Suzuki told the most interesting intra-match story and Tanahashi/Nakamura rocked the limb psychology like no one else this year. Wrestling should not hit in you the head, it should hit you in the gut. When I watch this match, I was moved moreso now than probably when it happened. Daniel Bryan represents so much more to me than just a great wrestler. He proves if you love it, want it and work hard enough for it that anything is possibly. We all know the obstacles in front of him and he just kept his head down plowed through them and became the World Champion on the Grandest Stage of Them All. Before the fairy tale ending, Bryan had to face the man who was the exact antithesis of Bryan. He was not the populist choice. He was a member of the Kliq, given a forced push to the top, and married the boss' daughter. Triple H is a lightning rod of controversy. Some contend he is a great ring general and master of ring psychology while loathing his backstage politics and knack for burying opponents. Others call his entire reputation a sham manufactured by the WWE to work the fans into believing he was one of the greatest of all-time when he was just a mediocre wrestler that happened to be connected to the correct people. This made him the absolute perfect opponent for Daniel Bryan because no matter your feelings on Triple H, he represented everything corporate and artificial about pro wrestling while Daniel Bryan embodied the passion and humanity of pro wrestling.

 

Triple H offers his hand to begin the match and Bryan kicks it away only to roll him up quickly. Bryan came to play, brutha. Bryan is on him with kicks and HHH bails. Stephanie, who is a total smokeshow tonight with those short shorts, gives The Game exhorts while Bryan now offers his hand. What I love about the early part of the match is that even though Bryan shoulder is taped and HHH targets it, it is not as soon as HHH attacks it that Bryan just writhes in pain. There are levels of pain. Bryan is able to fight through the first couple attacks because of his determination and he can't afford it to be worked on. Yes, it causes a wince, but it is a just brief inconvenience. It is a babyface shine that is truly earned that culminates with Bryan hitting a tornado DDT from the apron and the somersault off the top rope onto The Game. Triple H seems shaken from this onslaught and has underestimated Daniel Bryan. He is able to cause Bryan to lose his balance on the top rope. HHH is not going to fuck around and looks to end this early with a Pedigree on the announce table, but the feisty Bryan fights out so Triple H quickly switches gears and wrenches the bad shoulder right into the edge of the announce table. OUCH!

 

Only now does the heat on Bryan begin with Triple H destroying Bryan's arm and delivering the best limb work of his career. Stephanie laying the badmouth on Bryan, "Mess with the bull, you are going to get the horns" among others was just awesome. She would be such an excellent manager if she ever committed to it full time. Bryan's first hope spot is his signature suicide dive, but Triple H blasts him with a right hand. HHH hits a nasty back suplex with the arm behind the back on the apron. Triple H busting out the Crossface Chickenwing into the Crippler Crossface was wicked cool. Daniel Bryan will not be denied. He makes it to the ropes and begins his signature high-octane comeback. Triple H looks to cut him off with a suplex, but Bryan gets two Germans of his own. Triple H looks to stop the bleeding with a Chickenwing Crossface, but has to settle for the Tiger Suplex. Sick! Triple H showing he is not always a Cerebral Assassin mounts D-Bry on the top rope, which gives him the high ground and the chance to hit a sunset flip powerbomb. Daniel Bryan with a repeated running dropkicks, but on the third Triple H bursts out of the corner with a wicked lariat. I love the struggle of this match. You really feel like two men are fighting strongly for their respective ideologies and pride. Neither one wants to give an inch to the other. Triple H is getting anxious and abandons the arm work for the one surefire way to end this: The Pedigree. Bryan counters into a pinning attempt. Bryan's diving headbutt eats a boot and HHH right back on the arm with a Crippler Crossface, but Bryan reverses into the YESLock. Triple H after all the smack he talks feels desperate to end this. Bryan is a fucking maniac and hits not one full speed suicide dive, but two full-speed suicide dives! Bryan is feeling it, kip up, YES CHANTS! He is looking for that Knee that took down Cena. SPINEBUSTER~! PEDIGREE~! IT IS OVER 1-2-NO! NO! NO! YES! YES! YES! Honest to God, had totally forgotten Triple H hit the Pedigree in this match and Bryan kicked out. I actually saw him hit the Pedigree, my stomach dropped, then I remembered Bryan won and was ecstatic he kicked out. Now if that is not the hallmark of a great fucking match, I don't know what is! Triple H is flabberghasted and tries to beat the shit out of him while Stephanie screams in the background. This is Daniel Bryan's night and Triple H is coming to the realization he cannot overcome the power of Daniel Bryan and the People! Triple H desperately tries to pull the trigger on a second Pedigree, but Bryan wriggles out until finally EXPLODING KNEE~! 1-2-3! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!

 

Awesome match that feels like a real war and really mirrors Bryan's rise to the top. Bryan had to earn every single move in this match. His babyface shine was earned working through Triple H's early arm work. Then he fought tooth and nail not submit to HHH's killer arm work. From there, just when you think Bryan has the match won, it turns on a dime and Triple H hits his knockout shot and Bryan kicks out. They don't waste time with 8 million false finishes. Triple H gets his and keeps going for another Pedigree and then Exploding Knee knocks him out. Stephanie has to carry her husband out while they watch Daniel Bryan go to the main event of Wrestlemania. It is such a feel-good story combined with amazing fundamentals. I don't see a flaw. *****

 

Is there a better Triple H match? My pick for second is the Cactus Jack street fight and I think that is a clear level below this.

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I dont have it as high as you but it is certainly on the short list of best HHH matches in my book. I watched most of the usual suspects going through the top 100 stuff and these are the only one that are contenders:

 

1. vs. Jericho Fully Loaded 2000

2. vs. Rock SSlam 1998

3. vs. Cactus Rumble 2000

4. vs. Taker WM 27 (know this is a point of contention with most)

 

I would have the above around the same ****1/2 rating I rated HHH vs. Bryan.

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I dont have it as high as you but it is certainly on the short list of best HHH matches in my book. I watched most of the usual suspects going through the top 100 stuff and these are the only one that are contenders:

 

1. vs. Jericho Fully Loaded 2000

2. vs. Rock SSlam 1998

3. vs. Cactus Rumble 2000

4. vs. Taker WM 27 (know this is a point of contention with most)

 

I would have the above around the same ****1/2 rating I rated HHH vs. Bryan.

 

Not to get in rating semantics argument, but I would imagine how high you rate it has a lot to do with how much stock you put into feel-good stories and characters. I maybe in the minority, but I more invested in Daniel Bryan the character than I am Daniel Bryan as a wrestler. I thought this was one of the better character-driven matches in WWE history. I can see the ****1/2 rating if the feel good ending does not tip the scales for you.

 

As for the matches listed, I have never seen the Jericho Last Man Standing and I really ought to. The Ladder match is great, but I think it is below the Street Fight. Yeah, Taker WM 27 does not do it for me. What about The Rock Iron Man match? Another match I have never seen, but need to.

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  • 2 weeks later...

 

I dont have it as high as you but it is certainly on the short list of best HHH matches in my book. I watched most of the usual suspects going through the top 100 stuff and these are the only one that are contenders:

 

1. vs. Jericho Fully Loaded 2000

2. vs. Rock SSlam 1998

3. vs. Cactus Rumble 2000

4. vs. Taker WM 27 (know this is a point of contention with most)

 

I would have the above around the same ****1/2 rating I rated HHH vs. Bryan.

 

Not to get in rating semantics argument, but I would imagine how high you rate it has a lot to do with how much stock you put into feel-good stories and characters. I maybe in the minority, but I more invested in Daniel Bryan the character than I am Daniel Bryan as a wrestler. I thought this was one of the better character-driven matches in WWE history. I can see the ****1/2 rating if the feel good ending does not tip the scales for you.

 

As for the matches listed, I have never seen the Jericho Last Man Standing and I really ought to. The Ladder match is great, but I think it is below the Street Fight. Yeah, Taker WM 27 does not do it for me. What about The Rock Iron Man match? Another match I have never seen, but need to.

 

 

 

Have you watched Danielson ROH title run ? If not you need to check it .

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