10 Wrestlers Who Eventually Rewarded Fans For Sticking With Them

6. Daniel Bryan

Jon Moxley
WWE

Few wrestling fanbases are quite as passionate as the fans of Daniel Bryan.

Going back to his formative days, the 'American Dragon' Bryan Danielson quickly became a standout of the independent scene and a darling of early internet fandom. In Ring of Honor, Danielson was doing things rarely seen before as his stock continued to rise and rise.

Finally making it to the big dance as part of the first season of NXT, so many people were all kinds of excited at seeing what the newly-christened Daniel Bryan could do in the big leagues of WWE. Only things quickly went south when Bryan was fired following the Nexus' first night on Monday Night Raw.

Bryan would be brought back at the 2010 SummerSlam PPV, and he'd start to slowly move his way up the card as a singles act. The WWE World Heavyweight Championship would end up around D-Bry's waist, but it was in the darker, head-scratching times that fans amped up their support for Daniel.

Whether that was after his 18-second loss to Sheamus at WrestleMania XXVIII, his continuous struggles to get the recognition his groundswell of fan support demanded in the lead to WrestleMania XXX, his initial return from major injury, or his ultimate return from enforced retirement and subsequent Planet's Champion run - the career of Daniel Bryan is one full of rewards for those long-standing fans of the Yes! Man.

In this post: 
Jon Moxley
 
Posted On: 
Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.