5 Reasons why Daniel Bryan is the WWE Superstar of the decade

2010s has been an exceptionally eventful time for WWE. Just a couple of years of being removed from the company going PG, a lot was still expected to change. Big names were on their way out, new Superstars were emerging, and the quality of programming drifted.

Many names could legitimately call themselves the best WWE wrestler of the decade, from the consistent John Cena to the rising Becky Lynch. Several Superstars went on excellent runs, but there is one person who has stood out over the past ten years more than any other: Daniel Bryan.

Nobody has hit a home run with as many storylines as the former 'American Dragon' in this decade. Bryan has made everything he's done in WWE work. He was arguably the most over wrestler of the 2010s, enjoying some amazing nights when he was on top of the mountain.

Not only was he the best in-ring wrestler of the past decade, but Daniel Bryan has had lots of character development, which was something that seemed beyond his ability early in his career. Now, Bryan makes WWE a better place by lifting everybody he works with and ensuring that anything he commits himself to remains an important part of the show. Bryan might just be one of the most proactive wrestlers in WWE history.

In all fairness to Bryan, he has simply taken the ball and run to make it his own. In one of WWE's most toughest periods, Bryan has delivered and can be proclaimed as one of the best ever WWE wrestlers by a long mile.

In this article, we analyze five periods of Daniel Bryan's WWE career that prove he is indeed the greatest superstar of 2010s.

#5 A difficult start

Daniel Bryan began his WWE career on the first season of the game-show version of NXT. He showed a lot of promise in matches against Chris Jericho and Wade Barrett, but ended up with zero wins and a big fat losing streak. Bryan even decided to eliminate himself from the competition.

It is fair to say that The Miz being his WWE pro was a bit questionable, especially when you consider the differences between the two. This seamlessly blossomed over into a feud on Monday Night RAW between the two polar opposites.

However, Bryan was part of the Nexus as they wreaked havoc on their first night. He ended up getting fired for choking Justin Roberts with his own tie and spitting in John Cena's face, but Bryan would not stay down for long.

The indy darling returned to WWE as a surprise member of the 7-man team that defeated the Nexus at SummerSlam and this was one of the turning points of Bryan's WWE career and the fans were overwhelmed to see him back in the ring once again. To prove that his early struggles were behind him, Bryan even won the United States Championship from The Miz by making him tap out.

Not a bad first year in WWE for Daniel Bryan, but the next one saw him further climb the ladder of success.

#4 Team Hell No

One of the best tag teams of the decade.

Daniel Bryan won the Money in the Bank Ladder Match in 2011, cashing in on the Big Show to become the World Heavyweight Champion at the end of the year. This began a conflicting phase for him, as he went from 'yes' to 'no' in a matter of months.

An 18-second defeat to Sheamus at WrestleMania XXVIII prompted fans to overwhelmingly chant the affirmative exclamation at all times. Bryan started saying 'No' after getting rejected by AJ Lee at their supposed wedding, before he found solace in the form of the unlikeliest of tag team partners in Kane.

The two attended anger management lessons together and were forced to team. Bryan and Kane eventually squashed their differences and won the WWE Tag Team Championships as Team Hell No. The pair were so entertaining together and provided excellent comic relief, probably some of the best comedy that WWE has ever produced.

Team Hell No had a solid reign as champions and took part in some excellent matches, particularly against The Shield. Kane even called this phase one of his two favourite eras from his career, showing how good it really was.

While Bryan was screaming 'No' this entire time, the WWE Universe persisted and kept on chanting 'Yes'. And thus was born the movement that would take Daniel Bryan to the next level: the level of immortality.

Kane was gracious enough to let his partner see the limelight and Bryan made the most of all the attention he was getting.

#3 WrestleMania XXX

As the Yes Movement gained more steam, Daniel Bryan quickly became the most over Superstar on the entire roster. He would defeat John Cena clean as a whistle to win the WWE Championship at SummerSlam 2013 before his dream was dashed and Randy Orton cashed in on him with the help of Triple H.

That was the day The Authority was born, an evil foil for Bryan to eventually overcome, but he didn't - at least not right away. Orton came out on top at the end of their feud and Bryan went in a different direction. That was until the crowds were so vocal and would not accept anything less. It was surreal.

WWE was forced to change WrestleMania's plans because of how adamant the WWE Universe was that Bryan should be put in the title picture at the Show of Shows. His wish was granted thanks to a symbolic invasion of RAW from members of the Yes Movement, who filled the ring until they got what they wanted.

WrestleMania XXX would end up being one of the greatest nights of Daniel Bryan's wrestling career. He defeated Triple H in an excellent opener, before facing Batista and Randy Orton in the main event. Bryan eventually overcame insurmountable odds to conquer the world and pick up the WWE Championship.

It was a cathartic moment, one that was born out of nothing but the fans' unwillingness to accept anything else. It was a beautiful moment, one that will never be repeated in history. No matter how the future would pan out, Daniel Bryan always had WrestleMania XXX: the day he became immortal.

#2 His will to return

After that amazing WrestleMania moment, Daniel Bryan endured a couple of challenging years with injuries. In 2016, one concussion was proven too many and he was forced to retire from WWE. It was a heart-breaker in so many ways. Bryan had his dream taken away from him.

He still ended up on the road as the general manager of SmackDown Live. Along with his seemingly impossible fight to get cleared again, the leader of the Yes Movement was now the leader of the boys and girls in Blue. Bryan was a fantastic GM, with his ridiculous rambles on Talking Smack reminding everyone how good he can be without even trying.

But after over a year of trying, Bryan finally got the all-clear to wrestle just weeks before WrestleMania in 2018. He cut an extremely heartfelt promo in which he tugged on our heartstrings in the same way his retirement did.

Bryan was still the most over person in the company. At a time when pointing to the WrestleMania sign was an overused trope, the entire crowd pointed at the sign as he contemplated where he should wrestle his first match back.

It is almost scary that Daniel Bryan got his dream back in the same place where he earned his biggest triumph. It's like it was written in the stars.

He returned to roaring form and all but arrested the demons of his injury.

#1 His heel WWE Title run

The work of a true generational performer.

After returning to the ring, Daniel Bryan had seemingly cooled off and was becoming dependent on the 'Yes' chants. What happens next shows how great a performer Bryan really is and that he is willing to step out of his comfort zone for a successful story.

He turned heel, low blowing AJ Styles to win the WWE Championship. This began a breathtaking run as champion for the bearded baller. Bryan pulled off the eco-friendly heel character to perfection, causing fans to boo him for wanting to make the planet a better place.

This is a testament to how good he is, going so far with the gimmick that he even received a new WWE Championship belt, made of hemp. This was probably the best WWE World Title reign of the entire decade, aside from CM Punk's 434-day run.

Bryan was also not afraid to put other Superstars over, staring at the lights for Mustafa Ali and Kofi Kingston. Such was the amount of trust he put in his abilities. 'The Planet's Champion' played the slimy villainous role to perfection during Kofi's campaign towards a WWE Championship match at WrestleMania. Bryan became the very thing he stood against five years later. In an interesting turn of events, Daniel Bryan was now the machine.

This run from Survivor Series to WrestleMania was proof that Daniel Bryan was the best of the decade in WWE. When things were not working, he quickly changed it up and became the best thing on the show each and every time. Almost everything he did turned to gold.

He could make you cheer him to no end, as well as boo him like there is no tomorrow. Anybody who can do both equally well is a generational performer. Daniel Bryan is a gift to WWE and his comeback in 2018 was the best thing that could have happened to the company.