5 best Daniel Bryan moments in WWE
What a storied career Daniel Bryan has had in WWE. From being the leader of the YES! movement to defying the odds and returning after a heartbreaking retirement. Not to mention the time he was fired for going 'too far' during the famous Nexus invasion of Monday Night RAW.
He's captured the hearts of the WWE Universe along the way, and has become one of the most popular superstars of the modern era.There is now talk he is set to join WWE's current rival promotion, All Elite Wrestling, with his WWE contract coming to an end.
Whether Bryan will capture that same level of emotional connection with the audience remains to be seen. One thing is for sure, he will give it all to entertain the fans.
That being said, let's take a look at the five best Daniel Bryan moments in WWE.
#5. Daniel Bryan returning at SummerSlam after being fired
On June 11th 2010, Daniel Bryan was legitimately fired from WWE. Bryan was part of the Nexus stable that invaded Monday Night RAW and wreaked havoc. Destroying the ringside area and the ring itself. Bryan, on the outside of the ring, decided to choke ring announcer Justin Roberts with his own neck tie.
WWE claimed they had sponsors they had to answer to. They deemed Bryan's actions too violent, thus WWE had no other choice but release Bryan from his contract. Bryan was then set-free and continued to wrestle on the independent scene.
Eventually, once the dust had settled, Bryan made his return to WWE for the main event of SummerSlam later that year. He teamed up with a team of top WWE superstars, beating Nexus, to stop them in their tracks. Bryan's return was kept a surprise for the night, when he was announced as the final team member to a thunderous reception.
Bryan teamed up with John Cena, Bret Hart, R-Truth, John Morrison, Edge and Chris Jericho to face Wade Barrett, David Otunga, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater, Skip Sheffield, Darren Young and Michael Tarver. Of course, many people suggested Nexus should have won this bout, but instead it was Team WWE.
It was an interesting period for Bryan, that's for sure, but he came back stronger than ever and went on to have one of the most successful WWE careers in modern history.