10 Ups & 7 Downs For Daniel Bryan’s WWE Career

8. The Real Champion Ascends

John Cena Randy Orton WWE World Heavyweight Championship Ascension Ceremony
WWE

How could you not be drawn to Bryan, when he reacted as he did at the reception to the December 9, 2013 Championship Ascension Ceremony?

With defiance in the air—and how could WWE not see this coming?—Bryan’s home state fans rejected, in roaring voice, the idea that only John Cena and Randy Orton were worthy of unifying the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships. As Triple H ran through his histrionic spiel, attempting to extend the failed narrative that Cena and Orton together were comparable to Hulk and André, Bret and Shawn, Austin and The Rock, the fans, smelling bullsh*t, chanted for Bryan.

It’s such an eternally fascinating watch, in its acute failure of spin. CM Punk wore an expression of no-f*cks exasperation. Triple H was pissed. Stephanie McMahon was pissed. Randy Orton was pissed, even embarrassed at one point. He bit his fingers, having lost the opportunity to chew the scenery. In a scene intended to make history, history changed around it.

And there, shunted into the background, was Daniel Bryan. Wearing an involuntary, beaming grin, he didn’t use the reaction as a platform to stake his claim. He was the humble everyman.

He was everything a great territorial babyface was; no wonder, then, that WWE seemed to resent him for it.

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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!