The Complete A-Z Of Wrestling In 2018

23. D - Daniel Bryan

Asuka Zack Sabre Jr
WWE.com

He was but a bullied and bothered General Manager as 2018 begun, but Daniel Bryan's "fight for his dreams" return ahead of WrestleMania's kicked off a year full of unlikely occurrences for the now-former 'YES Man'.

It was unlikely - nay - impossible he'd wrestle again. It was certainly very unlikely he'd return to the site of his glorious Championship coronation. It sadly wasn't that unlikely he'd be booked so poorly that revisiting Team Hell No and a "dream" feud with The Miz dissolved excitement for his return entirely.

The trajectory triggered a heel turn, and the only way's been back up ever since. Bryan dethroned AJ Styles with a kick in the spuds, and has since positied a pious pro-earth life ever since. His transformation has been incredible and yet not-remotely-suprising. Daniel Bryan can do anything in wrestling well - thank goodness WWE are permitting him to.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett