10 Biggest Moments Of Daniel Bryan's WWE Career

YES! YES! YES! Daniel Bryan has been cleared by WWE for an in-ring return and all is right with the world.

Rumours had been rife for some time that a return to the squared circle could be on the cards - WWE's or otherwise - but in a statement on WWE.com, the company confirmed the news fans all over the world have been hoping for since February 8 2016. The former four-time World Champion "underwent a full review of his medical history and received comprehensive neurological and physical evaluations independent of WWE. He was cleared by each doctor as well as WWE’s Medical Director, Dr. Joseph Maroon." The last part of that quote is music to the ears of Bryan's fans the world over as it has been well documented how WWE's in-house medical team wouldn't clear the 36-year-old, even though those outside of the company would.

I'm sure you're all sat at home now conjuring up a list of dream matches you'd like to see Bryan take part in if his return is more than just a one-shot deal - I'll leave that to you, but I'll take you through what I believe to be the 10 biggest moments of his WWE career to date.

(Because we're all about celebrating all that's good about professional wrestling, there'll be no mention of Justin Roberts, ties, or firings! Damn, I just did...)

10. "Daniel Bryan" *Clap Clap, Clap Clap Clap*

Twas the night of the Championship Ascension Ceremony, and all through the arena, not a creature was stirring - apart from Stephanie McMahon and Triple H flapping their gums - until the entire arena erupted into unstoppable chants of Daniel Bryan's name and 'Yes!'.

The leader of the Yes Movement made something that wasn't really about him very much about him without doing anything other than standing still - a huge moment that Vince McMahon et al hated, apparently, because somebody was

getting over

that wasn't supposed to be at that time.

In an attempt to silence the crowd by wearing them out with a

popping

crescendo, Mark Henry raised the hand of Bryan, something Triple H spotted and was visibly annoyed by. Then, The Game presumably realised Henry is the World's Strongest Man and didn't say anything...

But this was the moment saw Daniel Bryan, of all people, overshadow a ring that included no less than 20 former World Champions to confirm he was destined for bigger and better things. It's a moment that almost forced God himself, Vince McMahon, to admit he was wrong about someone he never earmarked for true Superstardom - and he

never

admits he's wrong!

9. WrestleMania 31 Ladder Match

The last championship, for now... it's the moment that gave us a glimmer of hope and signalled that better things were to come for Bryan after a lengthy layoff from competition. However, the dream was postponed and then pronounced dead just short of 11 months later and that made us all very sad - it's the hope that kills you, isn't it?

Back in a time when the Intercontinental Championship - much like the hopes and aspirations in all of our lives - was all over the shop, a game of Hot Potato was being played throughout most of the mid-card with Bad News Barrett patting that proverbial potato up in the air in at 'Mania rolled into Santa Clara.

Coming into the event fresh off a defeat to Roman Reigns at Fastlane in a match that could have seen him wrestle Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship, our brave little warrior saw off a catalogue of men to win the IC strap - with the thinking behind the move presumably to put a massive name on the title and make it mean something. Again, it really is the hope that kills you, isn't it?

A few weeks later, however, the title was vacated and Bryan would embark on another prolonged period away from the ring before

that

retirement speech on Raw.

8. The First Big Return

Without this, the rest of it wouldn't have happened.

After being kayfabe kicked out of the Nexus and real-life shoot BROTHER fired from WWE for strangling ring announcer Justin Roberts with a tie - damn, that's the second time I've mentioned it when I said I wouldn't - Daniel Bryan morphed back into Bryan Danielson and tore all kinds of humanity up on the independent scene.

After admitting their firing was just for the lols, D-Bry made his return as part of Team WWE at SummerSlam 2010, being revealed as the surprise final member. He would be eliminated from the match after being jumped by The Miz - sewing the seeds for a match a lot of people want to see now way back then.

However, the fact he came back and was straight into a massive match like this - even though it was all about John Cena who could have probably solved poverty and world hunger that night if he wanted to - just showed that WWE saw something in Bryan. The fans would later confirm their suspicions, of course.

7. 2014 Royal Rumble

As you can see above I have obtained an exclusive image explaining why Daniel Bryan wasn't part of the 2014 Royal Rumble match. Sources close to WWE claim he was stuck, and that Rey Mysterio is not a bad human being and you shouldn't boo him - he's as pure as the driven snow, you monsters!

The most popular Superstar in WWE by this point, Daniel's Road To WrestleMania™ was far from clear. Vince McMahon was hell-bent on giving us Randy Orton vs. Batista for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, with a victory in the Rumble seemingly the only way Bryan could work his way into the title picture.

As the 10-second clock counting down to the 30th entrant appeared on screen, fans started to chant 'YES!' in expectation, with a rampant, relentless goat about to be unleashed on an unassuming field of Superstars - despite the fact they'd seen him face off against Bray Wyatt at the start of the night in a losing effort.

However, he didn't appear, and people didn't like that so Rey Mysterio had his metaphorical head cut off in front of our eyes. It was painful to watch. It's not Rey's fault that he isn't Daniel Bryan - blame science and sexual intercourse for that.

6. Winning His First WWE World Title

CM Punk did a lot of great things for WWE but first and foremost, of course, is the fact that he broke down barriers for smaller 'indy darlings' in WWE's land of the corporately built giants.

Daniel Bryan was certainly one of those who took advantage of the smaller, more technical landscape, following on in Punk's footsteps. The crowning glory of this opportunism - if that's the right word for it - came at TLC 2011, where he cashed-in his Money In The Bank contract to win his first WWE World Title.

It was a classic bit of heel work from Bryan who not only cashed-in unnanounced, but did so on an unconscious opponent who had been an ally of sorts for months prior - poor Big Show.

Believe it or not, the 'YES!' chant we all know and love today wasn't born out of 'babyfaceness' - it was very much a heel thing. Bryan would celebrate the smallest and most meaningless victories with over the top cries of 'YES!' being used to try and get on fans' nerves - having just won his first WWE World Title, it's fair to say he did quite a lot of this.

Bryan also became the first graduate from NXT to become a World Champion in WWE - another nice thing to have next to your name, I guess.

5. That Retirement Speech

After almost a year away from the ring, Bryan received

the Edge retirement haircut

and we all lost our minds.

February 8 2016 saw the leader of the Yes Movement officially retire from in-ring action at the end of an episode of Raw, giving a speech that made you laugh as much as it made you want to cry. He really does have a way with words does our Daniel.

Few retirement segments on WWE shows felt as real as this one. Most of the time we're sat there thinking of Terry Funk and Mick Foley in the back of our minds and saying to ourselves, 'meh, you'll be back.' The way Bryan spoke, coupled with everything those dirtysheets were publishing, really felt like he was closing the door on something he didn't want to see go. This looked to be true for so long, of course, before Brie told him to get his finger out of his proverbial and keep on fighting to get back even when all hope of a return appeared lost.

4. Beating John Cena At SummerSlam 2013

Back in 2013, John Cena was nothing like he is today. He wasn't as giving, he wasn't as laid back, and he wasn't as good (quite frankly) as it was all about salutes and winning and posturing, and winning (and the winning). That's what makes Bryan's inital win at SummerSlam over the leader of the Cenation such a monumental moment.

It was also - although it must be said it didn't mean half as much as it used to by this point - a victory for wrestling against the WWE machine, if you will. This was a ready-made star who had made his name on the Indies toppling someone WWE designed from the ground up. People like Daniel Bryan weren't really beating people like John Cena back then - a hard concept to grasp if all you know is WWE of today, I know.

Ultimately, the joy of the moment was short-lived as upon delivering the belt to the new Champion, Special Guest Referee Triple H hit a Pedigree which opened the door for Randy Orton to cash-in his Money In The Bank contract - a bitter pill to swallow at the time, but a moment that built momentum for Daniel as an underdog babyface fighting against The Authority.

Oh, and you have that fact that this was Bryan's first WWE Championship win - the one you really wanted to win if you had to choose between the two top titles of the time.

3. 18 Seconds

This was the night where the WWE Universe sat up in unison, said 'bollocks to this. Daniel Bryan deserves a hell of a lot more than losing the WWE World Championship in 18 seconds in the curtain jerker to WrestleMania XXVIII - let's do something about it!'

And so the Yes Movement was born.

Despite the fact that he was at his heelish pomp back then, the

clever

part of the WWE crowd warmed to Daniel Bryan with cheers and chants of 'YES!' taking the place of what should have been boos.

After stalling to provide his on-screen girlfriend and manager AJ Lee and kiss of the lips, 2012 Royal Rumble winner Sheamus landed a strong Brogue Kick on Daniel's lips to win the title. Many eyebrows were raised when it was revealed that a World Title match would open the show, but the way it went made the decision as transparent as a really clean window... I spoil you with this analogies, I know.

Without this defeat, goodness knows what might have happened to Daniel Bryan's career. I'd like to think he would have been as much of a success as he was because cream always rises to the top. But, without a defeat that annoyed the fans to such a degree that they felt obliged to join his cause, whether Bryan would have been as big as he was is up for debate (maybe).

Who cares about the hypotheticals, right? Best. Loss. Ever.

2. This Week's SmackDown Live Return

This week's SmackDown Live was fantastic. In the words of Borat Sagdiyev, 'I very excite.'

Daniel Bryan's return after a near three-year spell out of the ring isn't only great because it's a fantastic fan favourite coming back into the fold after a long old time away. It's great because he's taken medicine and doctors and all of that clever stuff, and shown the tenacity, desire, passion and willing to throw it in the bin.

Not only is it a victory for fans who have one of their most beloved performers back, but it's also a victory for performers who have been told there's no way back once upon a time.

Please just go and watch Daniel's promo from SDLive as he perfectly explains what his return means. "IF YOU FIGHT FOR YOU DREAMS, YOUR DREAMS WILL FIGHT FOR YOU!" Goosebumps all over...

1. WrestleMania 30

What else were you expecting?

It's a story that was build over two painstaking years but a story that, in the end, was absolutely worth it for the moment when Daniel Bryan made BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOtista tap out.

Daniel Bryan knows how to tug at your emotions, and on a night where he overcame the odds and pulled double duty to defeat three men he perhaps shouldn't he certainly pulled harder than most have pulled before.

This night saw Bryan continue the good work of CM Punk. I believe that the way the fans received this piece of rejigged booking - Vince McMahon wanted Orton/Batista to main event 'Mania 30, remember? - saw the likes of AJ Styles and Kevin Owens given a stronger foundation on which to thrive today.

It's a moment that you have to watch with your own eyes and feel to really appreciate, so go and do that now on the WWE Network. While you are, get excited for what is to come in the next chapter of Daniel Bryan's WWE career.

12. WWE Championship - December 3 to December 4 1991

Unlike many of his fellow multi-time world champions, The Hulkster never had a title reign begin and end on the same night. He did, however, have one that started on one night and ended the next, which is also pretty embarrassing.

At Survivor Series 1991, Hogan lost his WWE Championship to The Undertaker, giving The Deadman his first run with the top prize. Unfortunately for Taker, he would lose the title back to Hogan six days later at This Tuesday in Texas.

Both the Survivor Series contest and its rematch suffered from a metric boatload of interference, prompting WWF President Jack Tunney to declare the title vacant 24 hours after Hogan’s victory.

This did pave the way for the exceptional 1992 Royal Rumble that was won by Rick Flair, but we couldn’t really justify putting this reign anywhere but last.

11. WCW World Heavyweight Championship - January 4 to March 14 1999

The reason why this entry is so low can be summed up in three words - Fingerpoke of Doom.

The January 4th, 1999 edition of WCW Nitro was one of the most pivotal moments in the Monday Night War saga. Hogan, who was leader of the NWO Hollywood faction, was challenging the NWO Wolfpac’s Kevin Nash for his WCW World Heavyweight Championship.

Shortly after the bell rang, Hogan jabbed Nash in the chest with his finger, sending the giant flailing to the mat. This allowed Terry Bollea to cover Big Sexy to win back the title, reuniting the two sub-factions in the process.

This ridiculous angle - combined with Mick Foley winning the WWE title on the other channel – really helped turn the tide in favour of Vince McMahon.

The fact that this title reign began in this fashion - combined with its pretty unimpressive 69 day length - is what condemns it to this position.

10. WWE Championship - April 4 to June 13 1993

After Yokozuna cheated to beat Bret Hart for the WWE title in the main event of WrestleMania 9, The Hitman’s “good friend” Hulk Hogan ran down to check on his buddy.

Yoko’s manager Mr. Fuji threw out a challenge to Hogan, which he selflessly accepted. He then effortlessly beat his superheavyweight foe to win his fifth world title and close out WrestleMania in the worst possible way.

This could have all been forgiven had the new champion gone through with the idea of putting Bret over at a later date, like he reportedly promised, but that ultimately never happened. Instead, Hogan held onto the gold for two arbitrary months before dropping it back to…Yokozuna! So the whole Mania 9 ending was essentially pointless.

The only reason this isn’t lower on the list is because it didn’t help kill an entire company, but rest assured, this was pretty awful.

9. WWE Championship - April 21 to May 19 2002

At WrestleMania 18, Triple H completed his redemption arc and defeated Chris Jericho to become the new Undisputed Champion.

But what should have been The Game’s big moment was massively overshadowed by a match earlier in the night - Hulk Hogan’s big Mania comeback against The Rock.

One month later, The Hulkster would ruin Triple H’s night again.

Off the back of his monumental reception against The Great One, Hogan was immediately turned babyface and pushed to the moon. Almost a decade after his last WWE title win, he defeated Triple H at Backlash to become a six-time champ.

Not even WWE were mad enough to keep the belt on Hogan for longer than a month, as he lost the title to Undertaker shortly after in one of the worst world championship matches of all time. The only memorable moment from the match being one of the worst Chokeslams in the history of the sport.

Despite being a relatively “harmless” nostalgia run, this reign reminded all of us that - no matter his age - Hogan was always gonna Hogan.

8. WCW World Heavyweight Championship - July 12 to September 12 1999

We could tell you at least one notable event from most of the reigns on this list just by looking at the dates, but we’ll be damned if we can tell you anything off the top of our heads that happened during this one.

Hogan’s final stint with the WCW Title began on Nitro, when he beat Randy Savage for the belt. He held the gold for 62 days, defended it against Kevin Nash at Road Wild, then lost it to Sting at Fall Brawl. That was just about it.

The only noteworthy thing that happened in those two months was Hogan denouncing the black and white in favour of his old red and yellow attire. However, when you consider that this had almost no bearing on his character and was reversed within a year, that doesn’t really help this reign’s case.

It wasn’t bad, it wasn’t good, it was just sort of… there.

What else can we say? It was WCW in the summer of 99 and people within the company were barely paying attention, never mind the fans

7. WCW World Heavyweight Championship - August 9 to December 28 1997

On the August 4, 1997 edition of Nitro, Lex Luger finally ended Hollywood Hulk Hogan’s year of tyranny as WCW Champion in one of the best feel-good moments in the company’s history.

So, naturally, he lost the belt back to the NWO leader 5 days later.

Why are we not allowed nice things?

Anyway, this began another 141 days of The Hulkster on top, before his title reign came to an end at Starrcade 1997.

What should have been the biggest match in WCW history between Hollywood Hogan and Sting quickly became of the most confusing shambles ever to take place in a wrestling ring with the slow count that wasn’t a slow count.

All you need to know is that WCW ballsed up one of their most important matches ever and this whole title reign gets dragged down as a result.

6. WWE Championship - March 24 to November 27 1991

At WrestleMania 7, his muscular-ness fought for the honour of every single American when he challenged evil Iraqi sympathiser Sgt. Slaughter for the WWE title.

After the Sarge turned his back on the US military - which it turns out he never actually served in anyway - Hogan stepped up to the plate to win back the main prize for Old Glory, buffalo, cheese in a can, and everything else that defines the good ol’ US of A.

He would keep hold of his title for most of the rest of the year, appearing once more on pay-per-view alongside The Ultimate Warrior to fight Slaughter and his cronies at SummerSlam.

Then came Survivor Series and the title loss to The Undertaker we mentioned earlier. You can thank Ric Flair and his chair for that one.

A nice long reign with some memorable moments, this one wasn’t exactly a thrill-a-minute, but it was perfectly acceptable and probably generated another two or three million in merchandise money.

5. WCW World Heavyweight Championship - April 20 to July 6 1998

The way in which Hogan won his fourth WCW title was fairly unremarkable, beating Randy Savage on Nitro in April of 1998.

The reason why this reign is so high up this list is because of how Hogan surrendered the gold later that year.

The July 6th 1998 of Nitro from that year was a truly special night. Not only did it take place in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome in front of 40,000 fans, but this was when Hogan dropped the belt to the fastest rising star in the business - Bill Goldberg.

The thunderous response to Hogan eating a Jackhammer and pinfall might just be the biggest pop in WCW history. This electric reception is enough to push this title reign to the number five spot, as Hogan was instrumental in cementing Goldberg as a megastar.

4. WCW World Heavyweight Championship - July 17 1994 to October 29 1995

At Bash at the Beach 1994, just one month after officially signing with the promotion, Hulk Hogan defeated Ric Flair to win his first WCW World Heavyweight Championship.

What followed was 469 days of Hogan on top, the longest single reign in the history of the championship.

Unfortunately, those days were filled with a lot of old rubbish.

This was the reign in which Hogan defended the title against The Butcher at Starrcade, aka his old pal Brutus Beefcake in search of a payday. It also encompassed his pathetic feud with The Three Faces of Fear, later dubbed the Dungeon of Doom.

It’s also the reign that ended when The Giant and The Yet-ay got together to hump Hogan into submission at Halloween Havoc ‘95.

Whilst it’s important to recognise the historical nature of this reign, it’s also important to recognise that WCW fans had to sit through over a year’s worth of rubbish until the Hulkamania well was dry.

3. WWE Championship - April 2 1990 to April 1 1991

Hogan missed out on being champion for exactly one year by a single day.

Hogan’s second run with the WWE Title was bookended by two classic WrestleMania main events.

He won the title off Randy Savage at WrestleMania 5, after the excellent slow burn storyline of The Mega Powers imploding. The following year, he dropped the title to The Ultimate Warrior at Mania 6, kickstarting his time as a top player.

The Immortal One also won the Royal Rumble during this reign and closed out SummerSlam 89 against the Macho Man and his No Holds Barred co-star Zeus.

Hogan was still popular enough to sustain a long title reign and WWE’s business model meant that he wasn’t overexposed on top. This is easily one of his better world title runs.

2. WCW World Heavyweight Championship - August 10 1996 to August 4 1997

One month after turning heel in one of the most important wrestling moments of all time at Bash at the Beach 1996, Hogan defeated The Giant at Hog Wild to win his first world championship as a baddie.

For the next 12 months, Hogan ruled the roost. The nWo’s power and popularity grew, as did their leader’s mean streak, as he utilised more and more nefarious means to protect his beloved championship.

This reign wasn’t perfect by any means - this was the one where Roddy Piper beat Hogan clean but forgot to make the match for the title - but it was easily one of the best reigns in the company’s history.

It’s the reign that launched the NWO to the stratosphere, that reinvigorated Hogan’s character, and that really put Vince McMahon’s rival organisation on the ropes.

The irony being that, without the Hulkster himself, WWE may not have been in business in the first place.

1. WWE Championship - January 23 1984 to February 5 1988

Yes, after all that, we’ve settled on Hogan’s very first WWE Championship reign as his best.

In January of 1984, shortly after getting poached from the AWA, Hogan defeated The Iron Sheik to win the WWE title in Madison Square Garden. He would then hold on to it for a whopping 1,474 days, which is currently the third-longest reign in the belt’s history.

During this time, Hogan became a national celebrity, the most famous wrestler of all time up to that point and maybe still to this day. This popularity gave Vince McMahon the confidence to put on the very first WrestleMania, which Hogan main evented as champion.

He feuded with Roddy Piper, Paul Orndorff, Andre the Giant, and countless others, doing monster business before finally dropping the belt to the enormous Frenchman in the most viewed wrestling match of all time in 1988.

Simply put, this is one of the most important championship reigns in the history of wrestling, and there’s not much you can do about that BROTHER!