Pulse Wrestling’s Top 100 Wrestlers of the Modern Era: #48 – Bryan Danielson

Features, Top 100, Top Story

Number 48 on our Best Wrestlers of the Modern Era is a man who will almost certainly end up ranking far more favorably in a few years than he does now, and he’s already at the top half of the list. This man, the Best Wrestler in the World today, is a two time winner of Pulse Wrestling’s Male Wrestler of the Year award as well as a former ROH and PWG Champion. Bryan Danielson has gone from a backyard wrestler to an international star and one of the few draws on the indies.

48. BRYAN DANIELSON

Real NameBrian Danielson
AliasesAmerican Dragon
HometownAberdeen, Washington
Debuted1999
Titles HeldAPW Internet; APW King of the Indies; ASW Heavy Middleweight; ECWA Tag Team (with Low-Ki); FIP Heavyweight; MCW Southern Light Heavyweight; MCW Southern Tag Team (with Spanky); MSW Junior Heavyweight; NWA Canadian Junior Heavyweight; NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight; IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team (with Curry Man); PWG World; ROH World; ROH Pure Wrestling; TWA Tag Team (with Spanky); WSW Heavyweight
Other AccomplishmentsUnified ROH World and Pure Wrestling championships; ROH Survival of the Fittest winner in 2004; Winner of Pulse Wrestlng’s Best Male Wrestler award in 2006 and 2007; Winner of Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Best Technical Wrestler award in 2005 and 2006; Winner of Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Most Outstanding Wrestler award in 2006

Number 48 on our Best Wrestlers of the Modern Era is a man who will almost certainly end up ranking far more favorably in a few years than he does now, and he’s already at the top half of the list. This man, the Best Wrestler in the World today, is a two time winner of Pulse Wrestling’s Male Wrestler of the Year award as well as a former ROH and PWG Champion. Bryan Danielson has gone from a backyard wrestler to an international star and one of the few draws on the indies.

Prior to being trained, Danielson, like so many of his contemporaries, began as a backyard wrestler, where he was the Backyard Wrestling champion. Deciding that this was worth pursuing, Danielson intended to join Dean Malenko’s school since Dean inspired him to be a pro, but due to the school’s closing, he instead joined Shawn Michael’s Texas Wrestling Academy where he was part of a stellar class that produced Brian “Spanky” Kendrick, Lance Cade, Paul London and Michael “Maverick Matt” Shane. Out of this he was signed to a WWE developmental deal, but when the territory folded, Danielson was set free into the indies. WWE would never know what they missed.

On the independent scene Danielson quickly made a name for himself. The most prominent and prestigious tournament on the indies was, at the time, the ECWA Super 8. In this tournament, Danielson advanced to the finals where he would meet longtime rival Low Ki in what many consider the tournament’s best match ever. This got him a spot in the fledgling promotion, Ring of Honor.

In 2002, when ROH was founded, Danielson was one of its immediate top draws. At the very first show he was in the main event and battled Low Ki and Chris Daniels in an epic three-way encounter that is still talked about to this day. He followed this up with a five star classic with Low Ki on the best show and just like that ROH was known as the place to find the best, most innovative wrestling. Naturally, with his skill, it wasn’t long before Japan took notice and Danielson began taking bookings in New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he would become the IWGP Junior Tag Champion with Curry Man (Christopher Daniels). Through these years he had notable rivalries and amazing matches with Paul London (Night of the Butcher, The Epic Encounter), Jushin Lyger (Weekend of Thunder), Samoa Joe (Midnight Express Reunion), AJ Styles (Main Event Spectacles), Homicide (their 2005 best of 5), and Austin Aries (Testing the Limit, Nowhere to Run). Danielson would continue to split his time between Japan and Ring of Honor, putting on great matches, all the way through to 2005, when he finally committed to ROH full time and became ROH World Champion, dethroning James “Jamie Noble” Gibson in a classic.

As Ring of Honor Champion Danielson changed his in ring style, from a pure technician to a man more comfortable with longer, technical matches with a cocky heel persona. It was in this form that, throughout 2005 and 2006, Danielson would become known as the Best Wrestler in the World. His title run lasted over a year and featured classics with Roderick Strong (Vendetta, Supercard of Honor), Samoa Joe (Fight of the Century), Colt Cabana (Chi-Town Struggle), and, of course, Nigel McGuinness. All through the Summer of 2006, Nigel and Danielson would battle, putting on classic after classic, culminating in a Unification match between Danielson, the World Champion, and Nigel, the Pure Champion. This match is among the best in Ring of Honor history.

Almost immediately after this reign defining match, Danielson would go on to badly injure his shoulder. This was terrible timing as KENTA, the hard-kicking, undefeated Japanese junior was coming for Danielson’s title belt. Having already pinned Danielson in a tag and in a three way, KENTA was heavily favored. Danielson, however, injury or no, went out and put on a five star classic that is among my favorite matches ever with KENTA, defending his belt successfully for this match at Glory by Honor VI Night 2 and for 3 months prior until he was finally unseated by Homicide at Final Battle 2006. During his title run he won the Wrestling Observer Technical Wrestler of the Year twice and was named Most Outstanding Wrestler in 2006.

After taking the first few months of 2007 off, Danielson was back with a vengeance, changing his style for a third time, to a more MMA based offense and working face, he became the ROH ace, leading the company without the belt and putting on some of the best matches of the year in any promotion with KENTA (Driven), Go Shiozaki (Live in Tokyo), Austin Aries (Honor Nation, Glory by Honor VI Night 1) and of course, the immediate classic series with Takeshi Morishima. Danielson had to claw his way up the ranks to face Morishima and when he did, it was a war (see the ROH Match of the Year from Manhattan Mayhem 2). The match was a classic and Danielson broke his orbital bone and detached his retina. The next match, on the PPV “Man Up” saw Danielson nearly take the belt again before Morishima attacked the hurt eye. Since then, at Glory by Honor VI Night 2 and Rising Above, the fifth PPV taping, the hatred has gotten out of control and there is an issue to still be settled between the ROH Ace and future NOAH Ace. Coming into the New Year, Danielson awaits his accolades for a more amazing half of 2007 than nearly anyone but perhaps Cena managed in more time, while looking for another Ring of Honor title shot and to settle the score with Morishima.

During 2007, he was also slated to become NWA Champion, but an eye injury (in the first Morishima match) derailed those plans, while he joined PWG as a regular, winning their World Title and putting on classics with CIMA, El Generico, and, reportedly, Low Ki.

Bryan Danielson has developed into one of the most versatile and entertaining men in the wrestling business in any capacity. From a cowardly heel, to a pure technician, to a MMA style face, he can do it all. He’s taken Japanese crowds that didn’t care about him to their feet, cheering and showering him with accolades. He’s had the Manhattan Center in the heart of New York in the palm of his hand. The main star of ROH on Pay Per View, it’s only a matter of time before the world sees what we already know: Bryan Danielson is a man without peer in the wrestling business today.

The entire Top 100 Wrestlers feature can be found here.

Glazer is a former senior editor at Pulse Wrestling and editor and reviewer at The Comics Nexus.