Bryan Danielson is now the AEW World Heavyweight Champion, defeating Swerve Strickland in front of roughly 55,000 rabid UK fans inside Wembley Stadium headlining All In. With his career on the line and his family; Brie, Birdie and Buddy in the front row, Bryan overcame all the odds and dethroned Swerve to become the 9th man to win the AEW World Heavyweight Championship.

It’s been a conversation for many years of who is the greatest of all time with many people bringing Bryan to the forefront, alongside the likes of Bret Hart and ‘Bryan’s trainer’, Shawn Michaels. I write this as a man who’s favourite all time wrestler is AJ Styles but I can say, without a doubt, that Bryan Danielson is the greatest wrestler of all time.

Bryan Danielson: A Career of Dreams

Bryan debuted in October 1999, and with his 3-year retirement in the middle, his career has spanned 22 years, winning major titles in ROH, WWE and now AEW, as well as many smaller independent promotions across America. You can find out all about that below. Danielson is mainly known to wrestling fans for his tenures in the 3 bigger American promotions. He’s seen as a ‘Founding Father’ of Ring of Honor, being one of the men who brought the promotion onto the scene, alongside wrestlers like Homicide, Christopher Daniels and Low Ki among many others.

One of the main points that you can use to say Bryan is the GOAT, not just his resemblance to one during his WWE run, but is his ability to go from babyface to heel with ease and make himself hated or loved by those in attendance and watching from home. This is evident in everything he has done during his long career so far.

During his WWE run, his Yes Movement gimmick turned him into one of the most loved characters in professional wrestling to his ‘Planet’s Champion’ gimmick where he became one of the most hated characters in all of WWE. Some will still argue that he wasn’t the bad guy in that situation.

Danielson is an unbelievably diverse wrestler who has continued to move with the times. He started as an indie-riffic wrestler to now being one of the hardest hitting competitors on the planet having extremely physical battles with wrestlers like Minoru Suzuki, Adam Page and Jon Moxley.

After Bryan’s forced retirement, on February 8, 2016 in his home state, he became an on-screen character as an authority figure and a commentator. In mid-2016 he joined the commentery team of the Cruiserweight Classic alongside Mauro Ranallo, he would excel massively in both of these roles, especially as the Smackdown General Manager alongside Shane McMahon.

CM Punk calls himself the ‘Best in the World’ and would always say he is the best ‘in that ring, on this microphone, even on commentary’. Bryan Danielson does all of what he says to a better extent, he has a timeless in-ring ability, his promos are always on point and that 2-year period where he was a non-competitor proved he is always able to adapt to the task he is asked to do.

Bryan left WWE in 2021, appearing in AEW and instantly becoming a fan favourite and having instant classics with Jon Moxley, Kenny Omega, ‘Hangman’ Adam Page to name a few. For a man who retired from injury, he has had some insanely hard-hitting matches and risked severe injury for our entertainment, showing his dedication to the craft and to our enjoyment, cementing his claim as the greatest professional wrestler to exist.

If you want to see just how loved Bryan is by wrestling fans, just watch his entrance at All In and see all of the fan’s chant ‘yes’ and sing along to Europe’s Final Countdown. Bryan has always said he will always be learning and as a man, he is incredibly humble which makes us fans love him even more.

The American Dragon is our AEW World Heavyweight Champion, he is our GOAT.

Carer Stats

• All Elite Wrestling: AEW World Championship (1 time, current), AEW World Championship Eliminator Tournament (2021) and Owen Hart Tournament (2024)
• All Pro Wrestling: APW Worldwide Internet Championship (1 time) and King of the Indies (2001)
• All Star Wrestling: World Heavy-Middleweight Championship (1 time) and World Heavy-Middleweight Championship Tournament (2003)
• CBS Sports: Best Promo of the Year (2018) – Promo during TLC kickoff show and Comeback Wrestler of the Year (2018)
• Connecticut Wrestling Entertainment: CTWE Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• East Coast Wrestling Association: ECWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Low Ki
• Evolve: Match of the Year (2010) vs. Munenori Sawa on September 11
• Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling: NWA Canadian Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• Full Impact Pro: FIP Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• International Catch Wrestling Alliance: Expo Tournament (2008)
• International Wrestling Association: IWA Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• Memphis Championship Wrestling: MCW Southern Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time) and MCW Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Spanky
• NWA Mid-South: NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• New Japan Pro-Wrestling: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Curry Man and Best of the American Super Juniors (2004)
• Pro Wrestling Guerrilla: PWG World Championship (2 times)
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated: Comeback of the Year (2018), Feud of the Year (2013) vs. The Authority, Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (2014), Match of the Year (2013) vs. John Cena at SummerSlam, Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (2013), Wrestler of the Year (2013) and Ranked No. 1 of the top 500 wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2014
• Pro Wrestling Noah: GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• Ring of Honor: ROH Pure Championship (1 time), ROH World Championship (1 time), Survival of the Fittest (2004), ROH Year-End Award (2 times) : Wrestler of the Year (2007) and Match of the Year (2007) vs. Takeshi Morishima (Manhattan Mayhem II) and ROH Hall of Fame (Class of 2022)
• Sports Illustrated: Ranked No. 10 of the top 10 men’s wrestlers in 2018 and Ranked No. 5 of the top 10 wrestlers in 2021.
• Texas Wrestling Alliance: TWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Spanky
• Texas Wrestling Entertainment: TWE Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• Westside Xtreme Wrestling: wXw World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• Ambition 1 (2010)
• World Series Wrestling: WSW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE: WWE Championship (4 times), World Heavyweight Championship (1 time), WWE Intercontinental Championship (1 time), WWE United States Championship (1 time), WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Kane, WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Rowan, Money in the Bank (SmackDown 2011), Match of the Year (2019) vs. Kofi Kingston at WrestleMania 35, 26th Triple Crown Champion, Sixth Grand Slam Champion (under current format; 15th overall)
• WWE Slammy Awards: Beard of the Year (2013), Catchphrase of the Year (2013) – YES! YES! YES!, Cole in Your Stocking (2010) – attacking Michael Cole on NXT, Couple of the Year (2013, 2014) – with Brie Bella, Facial Hair of the Year (2012), Fan Participation of the Year (2013) – YES! chants, Rivalry of the Year (2014) vs. The Authority, Shocker of the Year (2010) – The Nexus’ debut, Superstar of the Year (2013), Tweet of the Year (2012) – “Goat face is a horrible insult. My face is practically perfect in every way. In fact, from now on I demand to be called Beautiful Bryan”, Upset of the Year (2012) – defeating Mark Henry and Big Show at the Royal Rumble.
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Best Non-Wrestler (2017), Best on Interviews (2018), Best Pro Wrestling Book (2015) – Yes: My Improbable Journey to the Main Event of WrestleMania with Craig Tello, Best Pro Wrestling DVD (2015) – Daniel Bryan: Just Say Yes! Yes! Yes!, Best Technical Wrestler (2005–2013, 2021–2023), Pro Wrestling Match of the Year (2007) vs. Takeshi Morishima at ROH Manhattan Mayhem II, Most Outstanding Wrestler (2006–2010), Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Decade (2000–2009) and Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2016)
• PETA: Libby Award for Most Animal-Friendly Athlete (2012)