10 Reasons Why Daniel Bryan Belongs On WWE's Mount Rushmore
9. Breaking The Record For Longest Time Spent In A Single Royal Rumble Match
One hour, sixteen minutes, and five seconds.
That's how long Daniel Bryan lasted in a single Royal Rumble match, entering at number one in 2018's Greatest Royal Rumble and lasting through to the final hurdle, until being the penultimate man eliminated by Big Cass. Eliminating Viktor, Mark Henry (helped by Dolph Ziggler), and Dash Wilder (helped by Hornswoggle) along the way, it meant Bryan broke the record that had previously been held by Rey Mysterio. 'The Biggest Little Man' lasted one hour, two minutes, and twelve seconds to win the bout in 2006.
All the debate about WWE's Saudi Arabia escapades aside, this is still a hell of an achievement for someone who was wrestling just his fourth match after a three-year spell in the retirement home. To put this into perspective, the combined length of Bryan's WrestleMania 35 tag team match and his two subsequent SmackDown outings comes in at thirty-nine minutes and twenty-eight seconds. That means Bryan wrestled about three minutes less in one match than he had over a period of around three weeks.
Again, this was right after Bryan had returned from retirement at 'Mania 35. That he was able to not only last such a spectacular time but also do so in reasonably tremendous fashion is a testament to Bryan's tenacity.