Recap of Bryan's 1st Year After Return: Yes Movement to Planet's Champion

#3. A Rivalry 8 Years in the Making

Daniel Bryan vs Miz at Summerslam

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.