7 Reasons Daniel Bryan Is The Most Important Wrestler Of This Generation

4. He Showed The Benefits Of Hard Work

From the youngest age, many of us are consistently reminded of the importance of hard work. I was born in the middle of the 1980s, and in many ways my generation was the first to truly believe that anything was possible, that if we put in the application and work necessary we could achieve our dreams. Want to be an astronaut? Aim for the stars and clamber up the ladder, you can do it. This is all easier said than done however, as the issue with hard work is that it is, well, hard. For a lot of us it isn't enough either, in that you can learn everything there is to about flying but it won't make you an eagle. Hard work doesn't equal success, is just equals doing everything you can to at least have the possibility of failing. Daniel Bryan's journey to the top of professional wrestling seemed like harder work than it would for most. Take a look at WrestleMania XXX, without doubt the peak of his career. Bryan took part in two matches on the night, taking on the three members of Evolution and coming out on top at the end of the show. In the opening match he defeated Triple H, a talented man married to the daughter of the company who politicked his way up the ladder in the 1990s. In the main event, he defeated a part time performer in the shape of Batista, who has never been described as a super worker and was afforded the opportunity to wrestle due to his look. The man Bryan replaced as champion was Randy Orton, a man who was born into the business and is the definition of 'WWE Superstar'. Now, I do not mean to belittle any of those gentlemen or claim that they didn't work to get where they did; obviously they have. It doesn't take a social scientist to look at the four individuals and see that Daniel Bryan's route to that moment was objectively harder. He started on the independent scene, worked in front of some tiny crowds all over the world (and some not so tiny) before making his way to the big leagues, where he toiled for yet more years before he could no longer be ignored. Daniel Bryan got to where he did because he was willing to put in all the conceivable yards to get there. He worked his chin off, and reaped the rewards.