6 Career turning moments for Daniel Bryan
Always the unlikely professional wrestling superstar, Daniel Bryan has had to contend with an army of sceptics throughout his career. Whether it’s his size or abilities on the mic, it seems there is always something wrestling fans have had against the idea of Bryan being at the very top. This makes it all the more impressive, then, that the so-called American Dragon ended up with a wrestling career that would prove to be the envy of most.
Daniel Bryan, in many ways, is an innovator. The WWE has always kept the ‘smaller’ athlete at arm’s length, occasionally giving in to fan pressure and finding a place for them somewhere on the roster. Never has anyone the size and stature of Bryan Danielson reached such heights before.
He is in a very elite and exclusive club of smaller guys who have held some of the company’s main championships, but with the possible exception of Shawn Michaels, nobody has been able to endear themselves to the fans quite as powerfully as Daniel Bryan.
Now that his in-ring career appears to be all but over, here is a look back at 5 key moments that shaped the career of WWE’s resident ‘Yes man’:
#1 Signing with Memphis Championship Wrestling (2000)
Bryan is commonly associated with either his recent WWE career or his time with ROH. Fans do not tend to regard the beginnings of his time in the ring with much importance, but here is where many of the first stepping stones were laid which would eventually lead him to the very top of the mountain. Danielson signed with Memphis Championship Wrestling back in 2000, which was a WWF developmental territory during most of the Attitude Era.
He had recently spent time under the tutelage of Shawn Michaels as part of the Texas Wrestling Academy, something the WWE like to mention at any opportunity possible. Bryan actually credits most of his early success to meeting and working alongside William Regal whom he met when working with MCW.
Here he received his first taste of WWE gold, winning the MCW Light Heavyweight Championship and came close to being given a main roster contract as part of the WWF’s newly formed cruiserweight division. He also first adopted the moniker ‘American Dragon’, a nickname that stayed with him throughout most of his run on the independent scene.
There is a reason Daniel Bryan personally mentioned William Regal in his retirement speech last year. Sometimes when there are so many people telling you that you’re probably going to fail at something, it just takes one person to believe in you to turn your entire life around.