The Best Daniel Bryan Match Every Year During His WWE Career

Daniel Bryan, also known as Bryan Danielson is often considered to be one of the greatest in-ring performers of all time. Throughout his illustrious career, Bryan has wrestled across several promotions such as ROH, WWE, and AEW. He has won many titles during his career and has had many great matches.

RELATED: 10 Greatest Matches of Daniel Bryan's WWE Career, Ranked

Bryan's WWE career lasted for over 12 years. He had his struggles with injuries due to which he also had to retire in 2016, but he made a miraculous comeback in 2018. Despite the injuries, he didn't slow down at all on his return and delivered many classics again. Let's see what were his best matches from every year during his time in the WWE.

10 2010: Vs. Dolph Ziggler - Bragging Rights

This was one of Bryan's first PPV matches in WWE. As the theme of Bragging Rights was Raw vs. SmackDown, Raw's US Champion, Daniel Bryan took on SmackDown's Intercontinental Champion, Dolph Ziggler.

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Both wrestlers wrestled a similar fast-paced style, so it wasn't tough for them to have a great match. The match featured great back and forth action, many near-falls and in the end Bryan won the match. The two would go on to have more matches, but this was easily the best.

9 2011: SmackDown Money In The Bank Ladder Match - Money In The Bank

Money in the Bank 2011 is widely considered to be one of the best wrestling PPVs ever, and one of the reasons why the event was so good is this match. The participants in the match were Cody Rhodes, Kane, Sheamus, Sin Cara, Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel, Heath Slater and Daniel Bryan.

With so much talent involved, the match was bound to be great, and it was. Lots of crazy and brutal spots which elevated the match quality, especially the Sin Cara spot. Bryan won the match, and he was arguably the best choice.

8 2012: Vs. CM Punk - Over The Limit

CM Punk and Daniel Bryan were two of the best WWE wrestlers at the time and as expected, the two showed great chemistry in the ring and delivered a banger at Over The Limit 2012. It was a great technical match with fantastic psychology.

We saw good limb work from both men and their selling during the match was also on point. The ending was a bit controversial, but it made sense as they wanted to continue the feud without making anyone look weak.

7 2013: Vs. John Cena - SummerSlam

Pretty much since the day he debuted, Bryan became one of the most beloved wrestlers and fans desperately wanted him to get a push. John Cena had to choose his SummerSlam opponent for the WWE Championship and much to the delight of the fans, he chose Daniel Bryan. For their SummerSlam encounter, Triple H was the special guest referee.

To match with Bryan's wide range of wrestling moves, Cena also stepped up his game and brought in new moves to the contest. Bryan targeted Cena's injury and in the end, he won the match. Even though his celebration was cut short thanks to Randy Orton, it was still a great star-making moment for Bryan.

6 2014: Vs. Triple H - WrestleMania 30

Daniel Bryan's popularity was insane during 2013 and 2014, and fans demanded him to be part of the main event of WrestleMania 30. However, in his way stood Triple H who only viewed him as a "B+ player" and not Face of the WWE.

At 'Mania 30, Bryan and Triple H faced each other in the opening match with the stipulation, that the winner would go on to main event later that night against Randy Orton and Batista. The match was absolutely terrific with great storytelling. Bryan was the underdog, but he overcame all odds and in the end, won the match. This match is often overlooked due to the main event, but it's actually better.

5 2015: Vs. Roman Reigns - Fastlane

When Bryan was eliminated in Royal Rumble 2015, fans were absolutely furious and refused to accept any other winner which meant the winner, Reigns was hated by the fans. Till this point in his career, Roman Reigns had wrestled many great matches as part of The Shield but hadn't had many great singles matches, and who better to have one than against Daniel Bryan. The match had Reigns' WrestleMania title match on the line.

Bryan's great submissions skills were on display during the match, and it was a terrific in-ring encounter. Reigns wasn't at his best but kept up with Bryan and the two delivered a banger. The result was questionable as fans wanted Bryan to win, but it was an important match in Reigns' career and easily his best singles match at that time.

4 2018: Vs. AJ Styles - TLC

After being forced to retire in 2016 due to injuries, Daniel Bryan made his much awaited return in 2018, and he hadn't lost a step. He won the title from AJ Styles turning heel and their rematch was set for TLC. Styles and Bryan are two of the greatest wrestlers of their generation and thus, it was no surprise that the match was awesome.

RELATED: The Best AJ Styles Match Every Year For The Past 10 Years

We saw some great psychology here with Bryan targeting AJ's ribs and Styles going for Bryan's knee. Bryan kept selling it even post-match which was great to see. The crowd wasn't the best which was a shame as the match was an absolute classic.

3 2019: Vs. Kofi Kingston - WrestleMania 35

Kofi Kingston was in a similar position as Bryan was in 2014 - most popular wrestler among the fans, but Vince McMahon didn't want him to be in the title match at 'Mania 35. After overcoming many obstacles, Kingston finally got the opportunity to face Bryan for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania.

The match was not only great in-ring wise, but the storytelling was also phenomenal. Kingston won the match which was a great emotional moment, and it was easily his best match of his entire career.

2 2020: Vs. AJ Styles - SmackDown, June 12

On the June 12 edition of SmackDown, Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles found each other in the same ring once again, this time in the finals of an Intercontinental Championship tournament. The match took place just two days before the "Greatest Wrestling Match Ever" and actually was better. The match had great psychology and the pacing was also good.

The commercial breaks did hurt the match a bit and the fact that there was no crowd meant the atmosphere wasn't perfect, but it was terrific and definitely one of the best SmackDown matches ever.

1 2021: Vs. Edge Vs. Roman Reigns - WrestleMania 37 Night Two

Originally the match was supposed to be just a singles match between Roman Reigns and Edge, but Daniel Bryan was added to it later which meant it turned into a triple threat. All 3 men were absolutely great here, and the match was excellent.

The contest had a lot of fun action with many near-falls. In the end, Roman Reigns pinned both Edge and Bryan to win the match and looked very dominant. This was the best match of WrestleMania 37 and also probably one of the best WWE triple threat matches ever.