Bryan Danielson: Bio, News, Videos, Socials & More

Sid Pullar III | 4 Hours Ago

Lee South - All Elite Wrestling

Bryan Danielson is highly regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. From superb technical wrestling ability to unmatched fighting spirit, Danielson has earned the reputation as one of the most popular and decorated wrestlers of his generation.

Bio

Real Name	Bryan Lloyd Danielson
Nickname	The American Dragon, The Planet's Champion, The Ultimate Underdog, Daniel Bryan
Date of Birth (D.O.B.)	May 22, 1981
Nationality	American
Spouse	Brie Garcia (Brie Bella)
Relatives	Nikki Garcia/Bella (sister-in-law)
Debut	October 4, 1999
Theme Song	Final Countdown by Europe, Born For Greatness by Elliot Taylor
Training	Shawn Michaels, Rudy Boy Gonzalez, Texas Wrestling Academy, William Regal, Antonio Inoki, Inoki Dojo
Billed Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Billed Weight	210 lbs (95 kg)

Top News & Stories

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Early Life

Born on May 22, 1981, Bryan Danielson grew up in Aberdeen, Washington. Becoming a wrestling fan during his childhood thanks to a friend, Danielson became an avid follower of the business growing up. Despite getting into sports during his youth and teenage years, he describes himself as mostly reserved in his young years.

A wrestling career always remained in the back of Bryan's mind before starting in high school. Danielson made the decision to pursue a pro wrestling career during his sophomore year in high school at the age of 16.

Professional Career

Early Days (1999-2002)

Bryan began training under former wrestler Rudy Gonzalez and former multi-time WWE Champion Shawn Michaels at the Texas Wrestling Academy (TWA) in San Antonio, Texas. Following his training and wrestling debut, he toured Japan where he competed for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) alongside fellow TWA trainee Lance Cade.

In 2000, Danielson signed a developmental deal with World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to work their developmental system and was assigned to Memphis Championship Wrestling (MCW). In the developmental territory, he met and was trained by WWF wrestler William Regal, whom Bryan credited as being extremely influential in the development of his career. During this period he adopted the moniker or nickname of "The American Dragon." After 18 months under contract, Danielson was released in July 2001 despite making several appearances into 2002.

Ring of Honor (2002-2009)

In 2002, Danielson joined a brand new independent promotion called Ring of Honor, where he became one of the company's founding fathers wrestling in the first main event for the company at "Era of Honor Begins" against Low Ki and Christopher Daniels. "The American Dragon" firmly established himself as a stalwart of the promotion with matches and rivalries against Austin Aries and Homicide.

After briefly quitting the company due to frustration over not winning the top prize, Danielson defeated former WWE wrestler James Gibson (Jamie Noble) to win the ROH World Championship at Glory By Honor IV in September 2005. He embarked on one of the longest and most iconic world title reigns in the promotion's history, competing in critically-acclaimed matches and rivalries against Chris Hero, Roderick Strong, Samoa Joe, Colt Cabana, KENTA and Nigel McGuinness.

The feud with McGuinness is often mentioned among the greatest rivalries in company history that saw Bryan beat Nigel to win the ROH Pure Championship and become a double champion. At Final Battle 2006, Homicide defeated Danielson to finally win the ROH World Title, ending his fifteen-month title reign. Bryan's remaining two years in Ring of Honor saw him help establish the next great stars and champions for the promotion, such as Nigel McGuinness and Takeshi Morishima. In the fall of 2009, Danielson signed with WWE and concluded his ROH run with one more bout against McGuinness at Glory By Honor VIII: The Final Countdown with both men leaving the company.

Return to WWE, Firing & Second Return (2009-2012)

Upon re-signing with WWE, Danielson went to Florida to train with the Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) developmental system. Being renamed Daniel Bryan, he went on to debut on the new WWE weekly TV show, NXT. On the show, The Miz served as his "pro," which kickstarted a memorable feud between the two. Bryan became a central figure on the NXT show's first season with his rivalries with The Miz and Michael Cole taking center stage until he was the first contestant eliminated on the game show.

However, Bryan made his presence felt again when the NXT participants banded together to form The Nexus. On the June 7th episode of WWE Raw, The Nexus debuted by attacking John Cena and causing destruction around the ringside area. Four days later, Bryan was fired from WWE for being too violent during the segment when he choked Justin Roberts with his own tie.

Bryan made his return to the independent scene where he wrestled for Dragon Gate USA, EVOLVE and more. Just two months after his departure, Danielson was re-signed by WWE to make his return at SummerSlam 2010. Opposite his former stablemates in The Nexus, Daniel Bryan returned as the final member of Team WWE in the main event of SummerSlam. After being eliminated thanks to interference from The Miz, Bryan started to officially feud with his former NXT pro on WWE TV. At Night of Champions 2010, Bryan defeated The Miz to win his first singles title in the promotion, the United States Championship.

After losing the U.S. Title to Sheamus, Bryan won the SmackDown Money In The Bank Ladder Match and went on to cash in on Big Show to win the World Heavyweight Championship at TLC 2011. This led to Bryan turning heel for the first time on the WWE main roster and introduced his "Yes" chants that would become an iconic part of his character. Sheamus would once again be the man to dethrone Bryan in an infamous 18-second match at WrestleMania 28.

Yes Movement, Team Hell No, Injury & Retirement (2013-2015)

This loss at WrestleMania 28 became the genesis for the "Yes Movement" where the fans slowly got behind Bryan in a major way. Bryan formed a rivalry-turned-partnership with Kane, known as Team Hell No, that would become WWE Tag Team Champions and one of the most popular duos in the company.

After battles with CM Punk and The Shield, Bryan defeated John Cena to win the WWE Title at SummerSlam 2013. However, Triple H turned on Bryan, delivering a Pedigree that allowed Randy Orton to cash in Money In The Bank to take the gold that same night. This started his months-long rivalry with The Authority led by Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.

Following CM Punk's WWE exit and the audience making it known they wanted Bryan on top, he went on to defeat Triple H, and then both Randy Orton and Batista in the main event to reclaim the WWE Championship on the same night at WrestleMania XXX.

Just after his title win, Bryan lost strength in his right arm and required neck surgery. This ultimately led to The Authority stripping Bryan of the title and a months-long absence from WWE TV. Bryan returned ahead of the Royal Rumble 2015 and went on to win the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 31 in 2015. However, this reign was also short lived as he suffering a concussion that forced him to relinquish the title and officially retire in 2016.

SmackDown GM & In-Ring Return (2016-2018)

After retiring months earlier, Bryan made his WWE return as the new General Manager of SmackDown alongside Commissioner Shane McMahon. Bryan also served as co-host of "Talking Smack," a memorable post-show for SmackDown Live that gave stars a platform to cut promos and push storylines. The program became the stage for heated altercation between Bryan and The Miz that re-established their feud.

In 2018, Daniel Bryan announced that he had been medically cleared to return to in-ring action. He made his in-ring return as the tag team partner for Shane McMahon against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. After picking up the win, Bryan went on to feud with Big Cass and The Miz.

The Planet's Champion & WWE Departure (2018-2021)

Following his win over The Miz to become #1 contender, Bryan defeated AJ Styles and turned heel in the process to win the WWE Championship on the November 13, 2018 edition of SmackDown Live. Bryan's new heel character became known as "The New" Daniel Bryan and "The Planet's Champion." In January 2019, Bryan threw the standard WWE Title belt in a garbage can and introduced a new "entirely sustainable material" or hemp title belt. He also aligned himself with Erick Rowan as his muscle to protect his title.

After his addition into the Elimination Chamber in a gauntlet match and being the last star eliminated against Bryan. Kofi Kingston started his own underdog babyface journey against "The Planet's Champion." In a reversal of roles, Bryan started calling Kofi a "B+ Player" just like Vince McMahon and Triple H used to call him during the Yes Movement. This led to Kingston defeating Bryan to win the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35 and culminate the "KofiMania" storyline in dramatic fashion.

For his remaining time in the company, Bryan feuded with Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt and Drew Gulak. Bryan's last WrestleMania bout was in the main event against Reigns and Edge for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 37. His final match in WWE saw Bryan lose to Reigns for the Universal Championship on SmackDown in April 2021.

AEW (2021-2024)

Bryan Danielson signed with All Elite Wrestling and made his debut at All Out 2021, aligning with Jungle Boy, Luchasaurus and Christian Cage against The Elite. Bryan faced then-AEW World Champion Kenny Omega in a 30-minute time limit draw at the first AEW Grand Slam event.

Bryan went on to become the #1 contender for the AEW World Title and turned heel in a rivalry with Hangman Adam Page where the two men battled for the title in a 60-minute time limit draw and a bloody rematch, which Page won. Bryan then started a rivalry with Jon Moxley where he wanted to align with him to form a new stable. After the two men battled with Moxley winning at Revolution 2022, a post match brawl led to William Regal debuting in AEW. Regal brought his two proteges together to form Blackpool Combat Club. The three men turned babyface together and recruited Wheeler Yuta as their first student. Months later, they brought Claudio Castagnoli into the fold as well.

After suffering a concussion in the first Anarchy In The Arena at Double Or Nothing 2022, Bryan returned to feud with Chris Jericho, Daniel Garcia and The Jericho Appreciation Society. Danielson failed to capture the ROH World Championship for a second time in his rivalry with Jericho. Danielson once again set his sights on the AEW World Title again. In a 60-minute Iron Man Match that went into overtime, MJF defeated Danielson to retain the top prize in the company at Revolution 2023. After getting injured in the summer of 2023, he returned as a babyface to defeat Ricky Starks in a bloody Strap Match at All Out 2023.

Bryan went on to announce that he would embark on the final year of his full-time wrestling career. With wins over Zack Sabre Jr and, Ricky Starks, Danielson entered the first Continental Classic tournament, ultimately losing to Eddie Kingston in the semifinals. He then lost to Kazuchika Okada at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18, Zack Sabre Jr. at NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka, Eddie Kingston at AEW Revolution 2024 and Will Ospreay at AEW Dynasty 2024.

These losses made Danielson want to give it his all to headline All In and win his first AEW World Title by winning the Owen Hart Cup tournament, which he did when he defeated Hangman Adam Page. Danielson then upped the ante by putting his career on the line against Swerve Strickland at the event. Bryan defeated Swerve to finally win the AEW World Championship and celebrated with his family to close the show.

Championships

Championship	Times Won
WWE Championship	4
WWE World Heavyweight Championship	1
WWE Intercontinental Championship	1
WWE United States Championship	1
WWE Tag Team Championship	1
WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship	1
Men's Money In The Bank	1
AEW World Championship	1
AEW Owen Hart Cup	1
ROH World Championship	1
ROH Pure Championship	1
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship	1

Bryan Danielson Wife

During his United States Championship reign in 2011, Danielson started a WWE on-screen romance with both Nikki and Brie Bella. The storyline began an attraction between himself and Brie Bella that flourished off-screen. The two dated for nearly three years before getting married on April 11, 2014. When Bryan retired in 2016, Brie semi-retired so the two could start a family. Brie gave birth to their first daughter, Birdie Danielson in 2017 and their son named Buddy in 2020.

Theme Song

The Final Countdown - Europe

Born For Greatness - Elliot Taylor

Social Media

Instagram: @bryanldanielson

Twitter/X: @bryandanielson

Videos

Published 4 Hours Ago

SID PULLAR III

Sid Pullar III, born and raised in New York, is a lifelong pro wrestling fan who fell in love with the business when stars like Randy Savage, Ric Flair and Sting captured his imagination. In 2017, he started the Tru Heel Heat Wrestling podcast. Then in 2020, he began his writing for Sportskeeda Wrestling before moving to WrestleTalk in 2021. He is looking to capture his three decades worth of pro wrestling knowledge through his pieces and interviewing various stars.