CaptionEven if many wanted it to be a work, it was pretty hard to believe that Bryan could have another teased retirement promo. After all, that’s how he announced his entry to the Royal Rumble in December 2014.After months of speculation and doubts about his condition and career, this Monday, #ThankYouDanielBryan much deservedly became the resounding trend in the world. Bryan is arguably one of the greatest ever at what he did.It was an announcement that brought a closure to all the discussions about all of the many dream matches that he could have had and all of the great things his gimmick still had left in it.He was a great grappler and a great wrestler for sure, but even if he wasn’t a natural on the mic, he still had so many moments apart from wrestling that can be deemed overwhelmingly great.Here are 5 of them-
#1 A Wrestler\'s promo
This is a segment where despite a super hyped and well-executed promo by John Cena, Daniel Bryan was able to get inside the champs head and mess everything up.
On the heels of being overwhelmingly over and quickly gaining support from management to feature in the main event, Daniel Bryan looked Cena in the eye and began a resounding ‘Yes’ chant while sharing the ring with him.
Just before their fateful match at Summerslam, Cena and Bryan engaged in a war of words. Bryan clearly did not give much heed to the Cena’s wrestling skills and called him a ‘parody of wrestling’.
Cena clearly stated that Bryan is not in the same class of superstars he’s beaten like HBK ,HHH, CM Punk or The Rock. Bryan felt insulted but he won the segment on the sheer belief that he did not think Cena was a wrestler.
#2 Planting the seeds for greatness
What happens when the best heel and the best babyface in the business engage in a war of words? It leads to a lethal promo.
This promo came on the verge of what unfolded at Summerslam in 2013 when Bryan was screwed out of his title win against John Cena after Triple H assisted Orton to cash in his MITB successfully.
Bryan’s determination to go back to the independent scene and his clear disregard for Stephanie McMahon and her family led to one of the first best segments between them. It is the same segment that defined the theme of the feud. McMahon called Bryan a ‘solid B+ player’ and clearly, not a ‘best for business’ option.
#3 Anger management with Dr.Shelby
Kane and Daniel Bryan were the oddest tag team and they’ll probably rank pretty high in that aspect in the history of WWE. Bryan had become a heel who just couldn’t deal with the audience copying and chanting ‘Yes’, so he began chanting ‘No’ on his way to the ring.
Kane and Bryan’s team happened at a time when both had their own issues with AJ Lee. She, as the GM of Raw, made them take Anger Management sessions, the first and the original of which were the funniest.
Bryan as a heel was hilarious and this entire segment is a testament to it.
#4 Zoned out
He may not have been the face of the WWE then, but he became the face of all the rejected fanboys in the world in the most apt way possible when he was left hanging at the altar by AJ Lee.
Daniel Bryan and AJ Lee decided to have a televised wedding when eventually Lee chose to be the GM of Raw than take Bryan for a husband. Daniel Bryan was a hilarious heel and he sold this segment to the core. His reaction made the segment even better and that too on the 1000th episode of Raw.
#5 The \'Yes\'Movement begins
No, it can’t get old; it just can’t. Here’s Daniel Bryan in the beginning of the ‘Yes’ Movement – the one word that became a resounding catchphrase and made it to the pop culture lexicon for wrestling.
Here’s him chanting that one little word again and again for 31 seconds. He’s a heel and the crowd’s catching up. Watch any video from that time and it may just have him repeating that chant and it still is the best thing from that particular show; this will live on forever.
It has become so interspersed with WWE’s aura, it’s impossible to part with it.
