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There could very well be an argument made that Bryan Danielson is the best wrestler on the planet right now. Bryan left WWE at the conclusion of his contract a few months ago, crossing the boundary to All Elite Wrestling.
Ever since announcing his "All-Elite" status, Danielson has been devoted to delivering classic after classic with the likes of Kenny Omega, Bobby Fish, and Minoru Suzuki.
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Bryan Danielson's name comes with an expectation of good wrestling, as the former WWE Champion is seemingly incapable of producing a bad performance. His tremendous star power and in-ring ability have seen him morph into a dream match machine, and there are so many names both in and outside AEW that represent exciting options to go to battle with.
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Although there are so many dream matches for Bryan Danielson in today's landscape of wrestling, one has to consider the fantasies that history still has to offer. Which legends from pro wrestling's past would offer Bryan Danielson the best bouts? Let's take a look:
#5 Bryan Danielson vs. Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels and Bryan Danielson are similar to each other in so many ways. Both Bryan and Michaels retired once, then returned to the ring. They never appeared to miss a step in their time away from the ring. Both of them also combined their naturality within pro wrestling and a hard-working ethic to produce sheer moments of magic.
Professional wrestling and sports entertainment share the need for a performer to be both charismatic and athletic in order to become a star. Shawn Michaels and Bryan Danielson are two such examples of the hybrids the industry is always searching for.
You only need to see Michaels and his work against The Undertaker, Triple H, and Bret Hart to recognize the devotion he has to wrestling. Bryan Danielson, on the other hand, drew deep down from his heart and soul to deliver potentially the most wholesome moment in wrestling in the last decade - overcoming Triple H, Randy Orton, and Batista to capture the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of WrestleMania XXX.
Bryan vs. Michaels would have been the finest in professional wrestling, intertwined with compelling character work and storytelling to deliver the best of both competitors.
#4 Bryan Danielson vs. Bret Hart
If Bryan Danielson and Bret Hart share one thing, it's an undeniable symbiosis with the mat. While the concept of destiny can be disputed until the end of days, what cannot be disputed is that Bryan and Bret have shown that, if destiny is real, they were destined to wrestle.
Everything that had transpired with their names attached in the ring felt organic, fluent, and seamless. Their storylines (mostly) delivered gold in the way they told them. Their characters were/are believable and their wrestling skill showed through in every move they made.
Bryan Danielson and Bret Hart have become names so synonymous with great wrestling that their dream match will forever sit in a place of "what if?" The universe graced wrestling with Bryan Danielson and Bret Hart but with a curse that they never met in the ring, one-on-one, in their prime.
#3 Bryan Danielson vs. Steve Austin
The rise of Bryan Danielson in WWE was, in a way, a story of man vs machine. The working man against a corporation that would oppress those who didn't fit their belief in what makes a world champion. He was confronted with speed bumps and roadblocks but persevered and fought his way to the throne he was told didn't belong to him.
Steve Austin underwent a similar ascent to the top of the mountain. He famously feuded with WWE CEO Vince McMahon and the Corporation during his pursuit of the WWE Championship. And, even today, the star power of Austin is immeasurable.
A match between Bryan Danielson and Steve Austin would see two of the WWE's largest thorns in their side go against each other. Austin famously went against Mr. McMahon and beat him in front of the world, and Bryan went against Triple H for the same result.
Bryan Danielson vs. Steve Austin would have been a brutal and believable encounter, with every move performed to tell a story and navigate the layers of rich history both characters possess.
#2 Bryan Danielson vs. Antonio Inoki
Bryan Danielson has seen so much success in wrestling from being a hybrid of various in-ring styles. He is someone capable of working in a variety of ways within the ring and has consequently been recognized as a chameleon of the squared circle.
One style that Bryan Danielson particularly wrestles well is the Japanese Strong Style of wrestling. The style that has been the foundation for the prestigious and honored promotion, New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Antonio Inoki, one of the forefathers of Japanese pro wrestling, founded NJPW. He had star power from day one and built it further from his natural ability within the squared circle.
He was someone capable of producing magic with ease against a variety of opponents. Inoki paved the way for the thriving and adapting wrestling scene we see today and was an early example of the best of professional wrestling to be found outside WWE.
Bryan Danielson, cut from the same cloth as Inoki, would have been an ideal opponent for him.
#1 Bryan Danielson vs. The Undertaker - At WrestleMania
WrestleMania made immortals out of both Bryan Danielson and The Undertaker. The seeds were planted for the underdog story of a lifetime as Bryan lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Sheamus in under 20 seconds at WrestleMania 28.
Those same seeds had grown into bloom by the time we reached WrestleMania 30, where Daniel Bryan overcame 3/4ths of Evolution to capture the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the main event.
In a similar way, The Undertaker saw his monumental WrestleMania story come to an end in the pay-per-view's 30th iteration. He had amassed 21 consecutive wins at WrestleMania against a who's who of professional wrestling icons. All of that came to an end with three F5s from Brock Lesnar.
Although winning on The Grandest Stage of Them All is nothing to scoff at in its own right, it was the way that The Undertaker had established the streak for the last decade that gave it the shine it possessed. The Deadman had iconic moments standing opposite the likes of Shawn Michaels, Triple H, CM Punk, and Edge, and was on the run for match of the year candidates before his decimation at the hands of the Beast Incarnate.
It does beg the question of what could have happened if the stars had aligned differently. Bryan Danielson is an exceptional wrestler capable of producing gold with many different opponents. He has a history with The Undertaker's storyline brother, Kane, whom he has feuded with for the WWE Championship and reigned alongside as WWE Tag Team Champion under the name Team Hell No.
The Undertaker vs. Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania would have been the unbeatable vs. the underdog - a legitimate David vs. Goliath match in both the physical and symbolic sense.
With the streak left in tatters, Bryan Danielson chopping and kicking his way through the AEW roster, and The Undertaker character seemingly laid to rest, this remains a match reserved for the imagination.
