10 things about Daniel Bryan that you've probably forgotten

Bryan called it quits on a storied 16 year careerIf a question arises about who the hottest superstar in professional wrestling is, without any doubt the whole wrestling fan community would chant the name of Daniel Bryan.And at WrestleMania he made history by defeating Randy Orton and Batista to get his hands on the WWE title which has been eluding him for a long time now. From the depths of independent wrestling to the top of WWE, the rise of Daniel Bryan was monumental.The Ultimate underdog has called it quits on a 16-year career and in an emotional segment on RAW, thanked the WWE Universe for getting behind him in his rise to the top.But as every big superstar gets to the top, there will be certain things that the WWE would be wishing that the fans would forget to keep their new star shining. And Daniel Bryan is also no different! So here is a look at some of the things about Daniel Bryan that we've probably forgotten:

#10 The Miz was Daniel Bryans mentor in NXT

Really?

Miz is someone who couldn’t even learn to lock in a figure four lock after almost spending a decade in WWE. And Daniel Bryan is someone who came to WWE as the hottest technician in the independent circuit.

The pairing apparently wasn’t a great choice and Miz seemed like he could learn a lot from Bryan rather than the other way.

And fast forward to the present, we have Bryan on top of the company and we have Miz who is stuck around the midcard with no idea what he or the writers are doing with him. Well at least he did a good job mentoring Bryan.

#9 He is the Founding Father of Ring of Honor

WWE barely mentions other promotions. Ever since WCW died, there hasn’t been any reason for WWE to mention any other company since there is no one in the radar that is worth challenging them, be it TNA or Ring of Honor, it’s all the same.

And outside WWE, Daniel Bryan is someone who is acknowledged as the “Founding father” of Ring of Honor for being the star that made the company prominent during its starting years.

Bryan was also in the main event of Ring of Honor’s first ever show. And every time the name Ring of honor pops up the fans would automatically have Bryan in their mind and it reciprocates much to the disgust of WWE.

#8 Bryan had a ladys man gimmick

It actually a great mystery how WWE gives gimmicks to its performers because sometimes, the gimmicks are just the best ones in the world while on other cases they are the worse.

Letting Bryan be a lady’s man belonged to the second category. Instead of boasting up the in ring talent that he has, WWE was making Bryan look like a lady’s man in early months of 2011. The Bella twins generated affection towards Daniel Bryan but Bryan apparently was dating Gail Kim.

He might be a great fiancé or a husband as we are seeing in Total Divas, but Bryan was never a playboy and this was a move that went completely wrong.

#7 Chris Benoit is one of his inspirations

Those who knew how Chris Benoit wrestled would’ve already noticed that Bryan has a similar style to that of Benoit.

Not only style, Daniel Bryan even has the structure like Benoit and is apparently walking the path that Benoit walked. But the wrestling isn’t the only factor that defines Benoit. He is still considered by many as the man who killed his family.

And when WWE not even mentioning Benoit’s name in any accounts, Daniel Bryan coming out and saying that Chris Benoit is his inspiration will only be a big pipe bomb.

#6 The Way they made him treat AJ Lee

The romance angle between AJ Lee and Daniel Bryan was something special but the break up was disastrous.

Bryan started blaming AJ for the losses he took and he avoided AJ when she declared her love for him. AJ was running behind Bryan to mend their relationship just like a lost puppy, but Bryan showed off his cruel side and simply avoided her.

AJ was going through an emotional roller coaster but Bryan wasn’t even ready to get things fixed. And This isn’t a storyline that the company would want circling when Bryan is reigning as a top dog and being a good guy in total divas.

AJ however later settled the scores with Bryan by rejecting him just minutes before their marriage and no matter what AJ did, Bryan was badly booked in the whole segment.

#5 Lance Cade was his former Tag Team Partner

Lance Cade is a wrestler that Vince McMahon always likes to forget. It was during that time when Linda McMahon was running for the senate that Cade passed away due to the effects of the excessive drug usage he had.

It stirred up a great deal of controversy regarding the wellness policy of WWE and gave a lot of headaches for the McMahon. This same Cade was the tag team partner of Daniel Bryan during his early days in wrestling.

Cade and Bryan were graduated from the same wrestling academy and had a lot of tag teams matches throughout the independent circuit.

#4 He was a jobber to a Heel Cena in 2003

Daniel Bryan and jobber- what?

Daniel Bryan and Cena in 2003- what what?

Cena as heel and Daniel Bryan face- WHAT?

Well digging into the past certainly brings out some big surprises, and this is a big one. In the early stages of 2003, Daniel Bryan was in WWE to perform in their B Shows Velocity and Heat. He had several matches there and lost almost every single one of them.

But the most notable loss had to be this. Cena was a heel during that time and was only coming up the ladder; Bryan meanwhile was just a youngster getting some show time. It’s fascinating how these two men travelled from there and ended up as two of the biggest names in the business.

#3 He is Bryan Danielson

Wrestlers getting name changes when they come to WWE isn’t a new thing. But Bryan however was one of the hottest names in the Independent wrestling world.

I mean, if any other company would’ve signed him, they would’ve made him wrestle under that name because he was famous as that. But WWE had other plans and gave a re-arrangement to his name.

And despite all their efforts, many of the fans who follow the Indy wrestling still recognize Bryan with his old name and an identity crisis is certainly not something that WWE would want about their top star.

#2 He was fired for strangling Justin Roberts with a tie

The rookies from NXT made their intentions clear first when they attacked John Cena and CM Punk during their main event match on Raw in 2010.

Daniel Bryan was among those rookies and while taking over the WWE ring, he apparently got a bit out of hand and strangled announcers Justin Roberts with a tie while his partners were busy dismantling the ring.

WWE was furious with Bryan’s actions as it was not at all PG and Bryan was soon taken off the roster for his actions. Bryan later remarked that he was too violent for WWE and even had T-Shirts mocking the company.

#1 18 seconds of Shame

WrestleMania was the stage which stamped Daniel Bryan’s place in the professional wrestling paradigm as he took home the coveted title despite having all the odds stacked against him. But WrestleMania doesn’t always bring good memories for Bryan.

Take WrestleMania 28 for instance, Bryan came into the match as the World Heavyweight champion and was expected to have a great bout with Sheamus.

Bryan came to the ring accompanies by AJ Lee and even had a good luck kiss from her before the bell rang to mark the start.

18 seconds into the match, Sheamus got the three count and with that the title just like that. A WrestleMania title match lost in just 18 seconds, now who would want that in their resume?