10 Biggest WWE Changes Since Daniel Bryan Last Wrestled
7. Making An Impact
Daniel Bryan's last WWE match was a relatively inconsequential SmackDown tag team affair alongside real life brother-in-law John Cena against Tyson Kidd and Cesaro. The Hart Dungeon graduate and 'Swiss Superman' had found a modicum of success together as a unit having refined their main roster credentials with aura-enhancing spells in NXT.
That was April 2015. In June, Kidd's further success was tragically hampered by a freak injury suffered at the hands of a Samoa Joe Muscle Buster. Yes, that Samoa Joe. Yes, that Muscle Buster.
'The Samoan Submission Machine' had at last escaped the purgatory of a going-nowhere TNA, and was the first arrival to benefit from the mixed exposure he'd received there. Images of his emergence went viral, shirts flew off the shelves and another 'never say never' was chalked off. It ushered in a brave new world for other Orlando escapees.
In the months and years that followed, AJ Styles, Bobby Roode, Eric Young, EC3 and other Impact Zone survivors made it to an even bigger televised stage. To a section of the audience, they represented the other half of dream matches with the likes of John Cena, Roman Reigns and especially - now, anyway - Daniel Bryan. Contests of this quality were destined to take place in a ring of four sides, rather than six.