10 Great Wrestling Moments That Not Enough People Have Seen

6. Bryan Danielson Being More Charismatic Than The Miz Years Before He Had "No Personality"

In 2010, Daniel Bryan debuted in WWE as the 'Rookie' to The Miz's 'Pro'.

A cosmic joke unto itself, fans were told - inexplicably, since the idea is to not depict theoretically money-drawing performers like sh*t - that Bryan had "no personality". He needed the Miz to somehow summon it from him. What happened here is that, through WWE's fatal inability to perceive or promote talent beyond a single dimension, it was thought that Bryan, being a superb technical wrestler, was in fact just a superb technical wrestler. He couldn't possibly have a personality because he wasn't tall and tanned and didn't look like he had one. This atrocity of a mentality misses the mark like WWE misses the teenage demographic.

The idea persists, to this day, that he had to find it in WWE - that the system that profoundly failed him had somehow helped him, and what a great story it was.

Bryan was as entertaining as he was brilliant all along, as very helpfully encapsulated by Twitter user GolazoDan: Danielson here is a total riot, seamlessly turning it (and very likely you) on with a piss-funny pastiche of the '80s fanny hound.

Humping midair with a ridiculous aesthetic, he reels it all in with a fantastic deadpan at the finish, cycling through modes of comedy to make a mockery, in retrospect, of WWE's one broad style.

 
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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!