10 Wrestlers You Won't Believe Never Had A Five Star Match

4. Daniel Bryan

Kurt Angle The Rock
ROH

Daniel Bryan was such a smooth, credible and consistent technician that the Observer's own Best Technical Wrestler category was renamed the Bryan Danielson award upon his retirement. He was honoured for winning it for nine consecutive years between 2005 and 2013.

When he ascended to the headline ranks in WWE into the 2010s, he enhanced his near-peerless workrate with a sense of showmanship that was as fun as it was lucrative. Bryan was the perfect wrestler and sports entertainer of and for his generation - but he somehow never received a perfect rating from the same publication that immortalised him.

Closest Candidate: Bryan Danielson Vs. Takeshi Morishima, ROH Manhattan Mayhem II.

Bryan fractured his orbital bone early in a match already inherently dramatic for its David Vs. Goliath dynamic, championship stakes and raucous setting - and the injury was deftly woven into the narrative of an impossibly stiff affair. Bryan withstood gruesome strikes and flung himself at his target and the unforgiving chairs surrounding him just to keep himself in the match. The performance, depending on your standpoint, was either brave or idiotic - but undisputedly breathtaking.

It was awarded ****3/4. The docked mark is difficult to comprehend even a decade later.

Contributor
Contributor

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!