5 current WWE Superstars Daniel Bryan fought before coming to WWE
When it was announced that Daniel Bryan had been officially cleared to return to in-ring action, the collective wrestling world was excited about the possibilities that created. Those possibilities include potential matches against such talented men as AJ Styles and Finn Balor, now that Bryan can actively compete once again.
However, what fans may not necessarily know is that Bryan has already had the pleasure of stepping in the ring with a number of these potential 'dream' opponents.
These matches came before he was in WWE and was instead competing for different promotions. Watching these past matches shows that it didn't matter who Bryan was in the ring with, he was able to tell a story with each and every one of them.
For these matches, Bryan went by his real name of Bryan Danielson, while those he faced competed under different names with the exception of a couple. Here are five current WWE Superstars that Daniel Bryan has already stepped into the ring with.
#5 AJ Styles
In 2006, AJ Styles and a clean-cut, clean-shaven Bryan Danielson faced one another for the Ring of Honor world championship. While the match is twelve years removed from their recent matchup on SmackDown Live, it was a tremendous confrontation that told the story of a brash and overly confident Danielson demonstrating how much of a heel he was capable of being.
Also, read: WWE Backlash: 5 potential finishes for Daniel Bryan vs Big Cass
For instance, early on in their matchup, Danielson suplexed Styles hard on his head, and when Styles re-entered in the ring he was met with Danielson offering his hand as a sign of respect.
It got the ire of Styles, who knew that 'The American Dragon' was more concerned with making the Phenomenal One look worse than just defeating him. He even went as far as to tie up Styles with head scissors and do push-ups at the same timing, trying to embarrass AJ. One has to wonder what twelve years of seasoning for the two of them would lead to today.
#5 AJ Styles
In 2006, AJ Styles and a clean-cut, clean-shaven Bryan Danielson faced one another for the Ring of Honor world championship. While the match is twelve years removed from their recent matchup on SmackDown Live, it was a tremendous confrontation that told the story of a brash and overly confident Danielson demonstrating how much of a heel he was capable of being.
For instance, early on in their matchup, Danielson suplexed Styles hard on his head, and when Styles re-entered in the ring he was met with Danielson offering his hand as a sign of respect.
It got the ire of Styles, who knew that 'The American Dragon' was more concerned with making the Phenomenal One look worse than just defeating him. He even went as far as to tie up Styles with head scissors and do push-ups at the same timing, trying to embarrass AJ. One has to wonder what twelve years of seasoning for the two of them would lead to today.
Also, read: WWE Backlash: 5 potential finishes for Daniel Bryan vs Big Cass