10 Times WWE Legends Got Squashed
3. Daniel Bryan (Vs. Jamie Noble - Velocity, 12 Jan. 2003)
Watching this way back in 2003, who'd have guessed that the loser of this match would end up headlining WrestleMania XXX?
This is a fascinating bit of wrestling history and well worth taking the three minutes out of your day to watch. Jamie Noble is incredibly generous to Daniel Bryan (here billed as Bryan Danielson), allowing the rookie to control most of the match. Flashes of what Bryan would eventually bring to WWE are evident as he batters Jamie with a barrage of suplexes, uppercuts and elbows, not to mention getting his trademark backflip off the turnbuckle in.
It's especially obvious in hindsight that Bryan would turn into one of the greats. Any rookie who gets a WWE commentator to stop shilling an upcoming PPV and become absorbed in a throwaway squash match deserves special notice, but WWE would pass on him until the formation of NXT in 2009. (Can you imagine the matches we could have had if WWE signed Bryan in 2003? Daniel Bryan vs. Eddie Guerrero! Daniel Bryan vs. Kurt Angle! Daniel Bryan vs. Shawn Michaels!)
Oh well. At least WWE's inability to recognise talent indirectly gave us Daniel Bryan vs. Seth Rollins vs. Kenny Omega!