10 Things You Didn't Know About WWE Champion Daniel Bryan

6. He Is Considered To Be A 'Founding Father' Of Ring Of Honor...

If Daniel Bryan is an example of a WWE superstar that created himself, then, in a very real sense, Daniel Bryan the WWE performer was hardened, calloused and crystallized during his tenure in Ring of Honor (ROH). In ROH, the young Bryan learned how to hold a championship, how to work a main event match and how to really forge a connection with American fans. The promotion was less than a year old when Bryan joined. However, within just a few short years, ROH was elevated to being perhaps the biggest indy promotion in the US and Bryan Danielson was a huge part of that success. Vince McMahon may not have seen the box office appeal of a loafer-wearing, vaguely elfish, mild-mannered vegan hippie-type, but ROH certainly did. Intent on sharpening his act, Danielson would saunter down to the ring, climb the top turnbuckle and sing along to Europe's 'The Final Countdown' with the crowd. It was moves like this that enabled the unassuming, laid back young man to foster a special relationship with the fans; as such, it represented the blossoming of an incendiary new talent. ROH was (and is) a tougher, more wrestling-orientated product than the WWE. They wanted grittier characters, more believable scenarios and far less reliance on gimmicks, pyrotechnics and catchphrases. Although not nearly as bloodthirsty or cold-blooded as the ECW fans could be, ROH crowds are also largely made up of 'smarks' (or, 'smart marks'), who know (or at least think they know) exactly what they want to see and precisely how they want to see it done. To satisfy an ROH crowd takes talent, dedication and a different kind of showmanship, but, of course, Bryan Danielson had all that... Incredible as it might seem to today's WWE fans, Danielson was turned away from WWE several times during his tenure with ROH. After failing to impress in a series of tryout matches, it seemed to all concerned that WWE were simply done with Bryan Danielson. In any instance, bookings with ROH were getting a little better, so he went with it. The following excerpt (taken from an article by Doug Nunnally of RVA Magazine) perhaps says it best, "His ring work, built on long matches that created tension and excitement subtly over twenty to thirty minutes, was considered untranslatable to the realm of WWE, where matches are televised and therefore subject to strict time constraints. Above all else, his supposed "lack of personality" was the biggest case against him ever making in WWE. Many considered him to be missing that "It" factor that elevates wrestlers to TV superstars". In other words, it was up to Bryan to prove himself. Again. ...So he did. In 2005, Brian Danielson became Ring of Honor's World Champion. It was, up until that point, the single greatest honour of his career. He credibly held onto the belt for a full 15 months before dropping it in order to have shoulder surgery. Not only did this title run boost Danielson's stock, it also boosted ROH's in turn and, as word of the cool indy promotion's dynamic champion spread, Danielson began to be considered as one of the best wrestlers in the world. When all was said and done for him in ROH, Bryan Danielson was deemed by fans to be one of the promotion's 'founding fathers' in recognition of his hard work. Bryan is not the only star from ROH to become successful in the WWE (and he certainly won't be the last). Take a look at 'The Swiss Superman' Antonio Cesaro - who put in a fine performance in WrestleMania XXX's Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royale, winning the match by convincingly slamming The Big Show in a moment reminiscent of Hogan's career-making turn at the Superdome (ahem, better make that the Silverdome), all the way back at WrestleMania III. Look at CM Punk (OK, WWE would prefer that you didn't right now...) or Seth Rollins, who, stupid hair aside, is arguably the most accomplished worker in The Shield. Yes, the influence of ROH looms large in today's WWE. So, how does D-Bry feel about the company he helped put on the map and it's considerable influence on the world's biggest wrestling promotion? Bryan himself was quoted by Inside Pulse.com as saying, "I think the biggest influence is that the guys in Ring of Honor had to work very hard to get here. When everybody is working hard that makes everybody else step up their games. For example, if I go out there and have a great match, I needed that to stay relevant. When The Shield go out and tear it up every single TV show, it makes the other guys step up their games. People are going to say, "Wait a minute, that Shield match was way better than that last match." I think everybody has to compete to be the best, and now I think the WWE in-ring product is the best it's ever been". See how he systematically puts both companies over at the same time? I'm tellin' ya, the kid's a class act, all the way.