5 Then vs. Now dream matches for Bryan Danielson

#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.

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#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.