5 Amazing Daniel Bryan matches… Outside of WWE

IT’S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!

It seems like AEW have done it again with another top tier signing in Daniel Bryan! So, like we did a few weeks ago with CM Punk, we have decided to go ahead and watch some of Daniel Bryan’s best matches from when he was the king of the independents. There was a lot to cover and so many choices, but we’ve tried to narrow it down to 5 absolute highlights for you to watch. So grab the popcorn while we go back in time to when the bearded “Yes Man” was an “American Dragon”.

American Dragon vs Low Ki vs Christopher Daniels – ROH The Era of Honor Begins 2002

Throughout this list and our list of incredible pre-WWE CM Punk matches (*cough cough* you can view that article here *cough cough*), you will see a lot of matches from Ring of Honor. There is a very good reason for that! Back in the 2000s ROH was the height of independent wrestling, with almost every card having at least one jaw dropping match. So, for this list, it seemed fitting for our first match to be the main event for the first ever ROH show.

Even back in 2002, Christopher Daniels was a veteran of the industry, and it shows as he guides the early part of the match to a pique with a beautiful Boston Crab and Camel Clutch combination. Not to be outdone, both Danielson (who went by American Dragon at the time) and Low Ki show off their vicious striking ability and all round beautiful smooth wrestling.

The ending, which is still talked about to this day, sees Low Ki hit a phoenix splash off of the top rope to break up Dragon’s cattle mutilation that was being applied to Daniels. Safe to say this set a precedent for Ring of Honor putting on some of the best wrestling matches for years to come.

Bryan Danielson vs Naruki Goi – Dragon Gate USA Untouchable 2009

Back in August of 2009 it was announced to the public that Bryan Danielson had signed with WWE. Not one to rest on his laurels, September became a farewell tour for Danielson, having stellar matches in multiple promotions to once again show why he was known as the king of the independents.

You wouldn’t be able to tell that this matchup was the first time that Doi and Danielson faced, because as soon as the two lock up you can see an instant chemistry between the two.

This match is fast paced, stiff, and technical, with there barely being enough time for either man to catch a breath for the full 22 minutes. If you want to see the best of the late 2000s independent scene from both America and Japan, this really is one to watch!

Bryan Danielson vs KENTA – ROH Glory by Honor 5 Night 2 2006

Way back in 2006 two of the fastest rising stars in the industry were Bryan Danielson and KENTA. So, when Pro Wrestling NOAH started to build a working relationship with other companies including ROH, there was one match that everyone wanted to see.

This bout lived up to the very lofty expectations that fans had placed on it. It wasn’t flashy, it wasn’t a dance, it was wrestling at its purest. The psychology of this match was based around the in ring work, with KENTA brutally trying to crush Bryan’s taped up shoulder, making submissions just as painful for the American Dragon as they were for KENTA.

Both men left this match looking like absolute badasses, and we were grinning like kids at Christmas throughout.

Bryan Danielson vs Chris Hero – PWG Guerre Sans Fontières 2009

Another part of the Bryan Danielson farewell tour, this grueling 43 minute masterpiece is considered by many as the best wrestling match of 2009, which is really saying something when it was the same year as Undertaker and Shawn Michaels’ classic encounter at Wrestlemania 25.

When watching this match there will be holds and submissions you have never heard of, with beautiful counters to counters that prove that Bryan’s introductory WWE nickname “The Submission Specialist” was well deserved.

What may be most surprising is Danielson actually won this match to win the PWG World title, he would have to vacate it immediately after winning due to being unable to defend it in the future.

Bryan Danielson vs Nigel McGuinness - ROH Unified 2006

The feud between Nigel McGuinness and Bryan Danielson may be the best in ROH history. There were so many matches between these two that we could choose from, as every single contest was absolutely stellar, but in the end this one took the cake for us.

Yes, we may be a little biased with this being held in Liverpool, but the white-hot British crowd really did add to the spectacle of this title unification match. No move was wasted here, with both men bloodied, beaten and barely able to move by the end of the bout.

There was so much drama we may have shed a tear 15 years later when our hometown hero was knocked out. Can someone build us a time machine so we can watch this again live?