10 Best Daniel Bryan Matches Since His WWE Return

This match was not supposed to happen, birthed by the issues from Saudi Arabia transport back in November, making for an NXT invasion of SmackDown since the majority of the men's roster were not able to attend the live taping. Since Bryan is morally opposed to the Saudi Arabian shows and refuses to attend in the aftermath of the Jamal Khashoggi murder, he was one of the few men present at the SmackDown taping and was hastily scheduled against the NXT Champion Adam Cole as a way to draw a minimally stacked TV episode.

For a match that was prepared on the day as a last minute replacement, it is frankly insane how good this dream contest was, an absolute 20 minute+ classic for the NXT title. Bryan's selflessness had him taking the loss to Cole, cementing the man as a star ahead of his Survivor Series match with Pete Dunne later in the month. The action was incredible from start to finish, with Cole's offence looking particularly lethal, Bryan bumping around and doing committed selling for the younger man. Bryan's technical expertise and beautiful detailed wrestling helped Cole streamline his best instincts as a worker together, looking like a genuine top champion over the course of the runtime.

While it was guaranteed that the NXT title would not change hands on SmackDown to Daniel Bryan of all people, like with The Fiend, Bryan's natural babyface strengths and genius sequencing made it feel like a possibility that the impossible could happen. It's beautiful that Bryan was so committed to respecting his opponent that he happily laid down clean for him, when he could have easily asked for a screwy finish. This was 2019's best TV match by a mile.