Daniel Bryan is often referred to as one of the most unlikely stars in WWE history. He certainly doesn’t look or act like your typical WWE Superstar. But Bryan has raw talent and that talent has helped him make a genuine connection with wrestling fans on a massive scale over the past few years. Since making his debut in WWE Daniel Bryan has accomplished quite a bit but it was on this date, December 18, 4 years ago that he won his first World Heavyweight Championship with WWE.
Many fans were surprised when Daniel Bryan won the Money in the Bank briefcase in the summer of 2011. We all knew he was talented but he didn’t seem like the type of guy WWE would push to a World Championship win. Bryan held the briefcase for several months and fans were starting to get worried that he might be the first guy to cash in without winning the belt. But a last minute change proved to be a huge opportunity for Daniel Bryan.
Bryan revealed in his book that he didn’t expect to be a part of the show at TLC, but the night ended up changing his career.
“It was looking like I wouldn’t be at WWE TLC either, but at the last minute I got booked at a Kmart to do a signing with Kelly Kelly before the show. … After my signing, I came to the building, not expecting to be doing anything. I was just chatting and goofing around (at one point, I was browsing the Internet for the best paper airplane design, as I recall).”
During his World Heavyweight Championship run we got to see a different side of Daniel Bryan. He became a cocky heel and he started doing this thing where he would throw up his hands and scream “YES!” Bryan would carry the belt all the way to WrestleMania 28 where he would lose it to Sheamus in only 18 seconds during the opening match. That loss could have spelled doom for anyone else’s career, but it only helped Daniel Bryan become more popular with the fans.
It’s unknown at this point if we’ll ever see Daniel Bryan wrestle in a WWE ring again. But we hope that someday he’s allowed to create more memorable moments such as this one.
