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Daniel Bryan had an exceptional run in WWE, breaking down barriers and winning titles for fun during his 11-year stay with the company. However, he has not accomplished everything.
It looks like Bryan is headed to AEW, as he leaves behind an enormous legacy in WWE. He had a special run with the company. The Leader of the Yes Movement is a Grand Slam Champion and has accomplished multiple incredible feats over the past 11 years, from winning Money in the Bank to main-eventing WrestleMania.
Daniel Bryan won nine Championships in WWE, with five of them being world titles. He also has a strong claim to being the greatest superstar of the past decade. However, with all of his successes, what has he failed to achieve?
These near-misses range from personal goals of Bryan's, to matches and opponents synonymous with his career. Here are five things Daniel Bryan surprisingly never achieved during his legendary WWE career.
#5 Daniel Bryan has never won a Royal Rumble Match in WWE
For somebody who has so heavily linked to the Royal Rumble, it's a shame that Daniel Bryan did not win a single one. He definitely should have, as WWE was presented with a few huge opportunities to create a memorable moment. But it wasn't to be.
The fans were desperate to see Bryan win the 2014 Royal Rumble Match, despite his loss to Bray Wyatt earlier in the show. Once they realized he was not in it at all, they turned on the entire match. Batista won the Rumble and was so viciously booed, that WWE had no choice but to turn him heel before WrestleMania 30.
One year later, the company once again failed to pull the trigger on a Daniel Bryan Royal Rumble victory. He was in the match, but was unceremoniously dumped out early on. His elimination sucked the life out of the entire 2015 Royal Rumble Match.
Bryan did come close to victory a couple of times later in his WWE career, lasting 76 minutes in the Greatest Royal Rumble Match in Saudi Arabia. He was among the favorites to win the 2021 edition of the 30-man contest, but found another way to enter the main event of WrestleMania 37.
#4 Daniel Bryan never fulfilled his vision for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
Daniel Bryan has mentioned his vision for the Intercontinental Championship in WWE several times over the years. He wanted to win the IC Title and help boost its prestige, through regular title defenses. Despite his victory at WrestleMania 31, this is a goal that he has not accomplished.
The Leader of the Yes Movement became Intercontinental Champion after winning a Ladder Match at WWE's Show of Shows in 2015. He instantly intended to elevate the title, defending it on the RAW after WrestleMania against Dolph Ziggler.
However, Daniel Bryan was forced to vacate the Intercontinental Title after suffering a concussion a few weeks into his title reign - ultimately leading to his retirement in 2016. This was unfortunate, given his intentions to boost the title's credibility like what John Cena was doing with the United States Championship.
Bryan never really pursued the Intercontinental Championship upon his return to the ring, until the road to WrestleMania 36. He lost title matches against Sami Zayn and AJ Styles since then. Had he been given the chance to have a proper reign, he would have made for an excellent IC Champion.
#3 Daniel Bryan has never properly beaten Roman Reigns on WWE TV
Despite their long history together, Daniel Bryan has never pinned or submitted Roman Reigns on WWE TV. His only victories over the current Universal Champion have come via disqualification or with someone else taking the fall in a six-man Tag Team Match. Anyway, Reigns has overwhelmingly had Bryan's number throughout their battles.
The Shield's first WWE match at TLC 2012 ended with Roman Reigns pinning Daniel Bryan, as did the group's first Tag Team Title match at Extreme Rules 2013. The Tribal Chief has been even more dominant in singles competition, with a string of high-profile victories over The Leader of the Yes Movement.
Reigns defeated Bryan at Fastlane 2015, with his WrestleMania 31 world title shot on the line. He did so again at the same event six years later, this time with the Universal Championship at stake.
Reigns would go on to pin both Bryan and Edge at WrestleMania 37, before ending the former's WWE career with yet another victory over him on SmackDown. Despite the feud being so lop-sided, Daniel Bryan may be Roman Reigns' greatest ever rival in terms of making him look like a dominant force of nature.
#2 Daniel Bryan has never won the WWE Universal Championship
Following up from Daniel Bryan's failure to defeat Roman Reigns in WWE, the two-time WrestleMania main-eventer has never held the Universal Championship. Out of his five world titles, Bryan won the WWE Championship four times and held the World Heavyweight Championship once.
The Leader of the Yes Movement has had his fair share of opportunities at the big blue belt, with most of them coming in 2021. Bryan unsuccessfully challenged for the Universal Title on four separate occasions within a 10-week span.
Roman Reigns defeated him every single time, from their short meeting at Elimination Chamber all the way to his final WWE match. The way he was written off SmackDown represented these two failures, involving Reigns and the Universal Championship. His earlier attempts to win the Universal Title were not much better for him.
Daniel Bryan feuded with Bray Wyatt over the belt during the winter of 2019. He lost to The Fiend at Survivor Series 2019 and Royal Rumble 2020, with the latter being a Strap Match. Bryan did well to put over the monstrous being, before Goldberg ran through Wyatt in Saudi Arabia.
#1 Daniel Bryan has never had an extended WWE world title reign as a babyface
Another empty box in Daniel Bryan's world title-related checklist, the WWE legend has not had a proper babyface title reign. Let's take a look at each of his five world title reigns to examine how The Leader of the Yes Movement was barely atop the WWE mountain as a good guy.
His first world title win in 2011 planted the seeds for a heel turn. He won the World Heavyweight Championship by cashing in his Money in the Bank contract, eventually evolving into a cowardly heel Champion pretty quickly.
A couple of years later, Bryan was up against The Authority as a babyface. His second and third reigns in 2013 lasted a day in total. Bryan would overcome Triple H's corporate empire to win his fourth world title at WrestleMania 30, beating him, Randy Orton, and Batista to reign supreme.
This big victory was supposed to lead to Daniel Bryan having a substantial run as a babyface world champion, but it wasn't to be. A serious neck injury after only a month with the WWE Championship forced him to vacate the title.
Bryan won one more WWE Title after returning from his 2016 retirement, turning heel to do so. With that being said, the ensuing title reign was brilliant. He was excellent as The Planet's Champion.
His title reign from 2018 to 2019 may have been revolutionary for his character, but the lack of a babyface counterpart to it leaves a gaping hole in Bryan's illustrious WWE career. Considering how popular he is, it's a crying shame Daniel Bryan did not get to run with the gold as a hero.
