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It takes a good wrestler to get over the fans, but it takes an amazing wrestler to have those fans riot for you on multiple occasions. When Daniel Bryan announced his retirement in February 2016, it was an emotional moment for all WWE fans, and along with him, thousands of other fans retired from watching wrestling. Daniel Bryan was one of the few wrestlers who is loved and respected all over the world for his technical prowess. His mass appeal his incomparable, along with an undeniable good charisma.
So, naturally, when WWE announced the return of the Yes Man on 20th March last year on their Twitter account, fans collectively rejoiced the moment and couldn't wait for their hero's return and pick from where he had left off. It has been more than a year since he returned, and what a year it has been. Let's recap how the year faired for the current WWE champion and what he achieved after returning.
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#1. In-ring Return on Bourbon Street
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Daniel officially made his in-ring return at Wrestlemania 34 in a tag team match, with Shane McMahon tagging alongside him against Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. The storyline was not all that impressive but it didn't matter as it made Daniel Bryan wrestle a match in over two years. The entire stadium was chanting "Yes! Yes! Yes!" and Bryan couldn't do anything wrong that day.
Basically, he was the Becky Lynch of Wrestlemania 34. The return became more heartfelt as he made his return on the same stadium where he defied the odds and became the WWE Heavyweight Champion a couple of years ago at Wrestlemania 30, which later was popularized as the 'Miracle on the Bourbon Street'.
Daniel Bryan was at his best throughout the match and it never seemed like he was out of practice. He hooked the Yes Lock onto Sami Zayn for the victory. He had a great returning match, but everything started going south from there.
2. An Underwhelming first feud and the return of Team 'Hell No'
Instead of booking Bryan as a proper main eventer, WWE tried to again showcase him as an underdog and put him in a lackluster feud with Big Cass. The underdog storyline works only once for any wrestler, and this feud was doomed to fail from the beginning as no one was excited to see Bryan as an underdog once again right after his return.
Both men faced one on one matches at Backlash and Money in the Bank, with neither meeting the fans' expectations. Big Cass still had ring rust and even Bryan could not make him look good. After Bryan defeated Big Cass for the second time at Money in the Bank, the latter was released from the company, and it marked the return of a familiar team.
After Kane returned to save Daniel Bryan from the beating of Rowan and Harper, the duo again formed the team 'Hell No' for one last time to take on The Bludgeon Brothers for the Smackdown tag team championship at Extreme Rules. The champions would annihilate Bryan throughout match after attacking him and Kane in the backstage earlier. These would mark a sad end to such an interesting tag team which was a key part of Bryan’s career.
#3. A Rivalry 8 Years in the Making
After Extreme Rules, Daniel Bryan entered a feud with his long term rival, The Miz. Both had incredible chemistry and sheer hatred between them. WWE had smartly held back this feud after Bryan's return to keep building enthusiasm among the fans and to offer them a bigger stage at Summerslam. The build-up to their match saw both men cut incredible promos, with The Miz accusing Bryan of being too loyal and how sometimes “any means necessary” is what one must do to win.
The A-Lister emerged the winner at Summerslam after he used brass knuckles to hit Bryan's face. After his second back-to-back pay-per-view loss, Daniel had started losing the momentum that he had created after returning.
He continued the feud with Miz, with their respective wives being involved too this time around. Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella faced Miz and Maryse in a mixed tag team match at Hell in a Cell. The former lost the match after Maryse pinned Brie. These losses had really started hurting Bryan as the fans were losing interest in him.
The Miz and Daniel Bryan would finish up their rivalry for now as they would face each other at Super Show Down, this time for a future WWE Championship opportunity. Bryan defeated the Miz in just over three minutes with a roll up and he was finally in the championship picture after wandering in the mid-card for months.
#4. Birth of the "New" Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan got his WWE championship opportunity in Smackdown after he refused to go to Saudi Arabia for Crown Jewel, where he was originally scheduled to face AJ Styles for the title. Bryan lost the match after a classic clash, with Styles going on to hold the WWE championship for a whole year.
However, these two would not be done with each other as Bryan again got an opportunity of becoming the WWE champion on the November 13th episode of Smackdown, where Bryan finally got his hand on the belt after he defeated Styles with a low blow and the running knee.
He had turned on the fans and became the Planet's Champion in the process. After losing his 'Champion vs Champion' match against the Universal Champion at Survivor Series, the WWE champion claimed that he made Brock beat the weakness out of him and he that he had become the 'New' Daniel Bryan who is stronger and more aggressive.
#5. The Planet's Champion
It was never going to be easy for someone like Daniel Bryan, who is universally loved, to get heat from the crowd. However, he did the unthinkable, where his promos of accusing the crowd for everything bad happening with the environment increased the boos.
He started talking about how to care about the environment in a condescending way, which would turn the crowd against him. He took a jab at everything from merch sales to his WWE championship belt and had started calling himself as 'The Planet's Champion'.
On the work front, he defeated Styles again at TLC and then at Royal Rumble, ending a brilliant feud between them. He now had Rowan by his side, who would constantly help him in saving himself from his opponents and to retain the championship.
At Elimination Chamber, he again defended his championship inside the Elimination Chamber where he would end the Kofi Kingston fairy tale for the first time. He then defended his championship against Kevin Owens and Mustafa Ali in a triple threat match at Fastlane in the match of the evening. Daniel Bryan's mic work since his heel turn has been incredible, as he currently stands as the top champion.
This one year was filled with surprises and excitement for Bryan. From being in the mid-card, to becoming the centerpiece of Smackdown Live and the top heel in the company. Here's to another year of dominance for the champion.
