What if Daniel Bryan Hadn’t Retired In 2016?

#4 Daniel Bryan Vs. Brock Lesnar

2016-2017 would have been the window for Lesnar vs. Bryan.

Twice it appeared that WWE flirted with the idea of Daniel Bryan vs. Brock Lesnar, in the ultimate David vs. Goliath showdown. The first time was SummerSlam 2014 after Lesnar ended The Undertaker’s streak at WrestleMania 30, and Bryan won the WWE Championship.

There’s every reason to believe that the squash John Cena wound up absorbing at SummerSlam was originally earmarked for Bryan. From there, when Bryan returned in 2015, there were hopes he’d take Roman Reigns' spot battling Lesnar at WrestleMania 31, but WWE was too committed to its plan (and perhaps gun shy then, too, about Bryan’s health).

Bryan vs. Lesnar would have the potential to hit similar notes to Lesnar’s SummerSlam 2013 match with CM Punk, and his Survivor Series 2017 clash with AJ Styles, with an outsized, hellacious worker going full throttle against insurmountable odds. Had Bryan not been missing from the WWE landscape for 2016 and 2017, we may well have seen this dream match finally materialize.