As we head into the last months of Bryan Danielson’s 2nd WWE career, as well as the beginning of the Performance Center/“Thunderdome” year, I’d like to take a step back and admire that Bryan can at least make something out of a less than stellar year. 

Returning from injury two articles ago, and regaining the WWE Championship nearly an article later, old Lloyd is doing as well as you can. And while he no longer had the belt after WrestleMania 35, he was still chasing after championship gold. Feuding with (and losing to) then Universal champion “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt in two straight PPV Matches by the end of the end.

With both the World and Universal titles out of his reach for now, Bryan would then start a feud with Drew Gulak. Gulak, whose career developed around the same time Bryan began to rise as a generational talent, saw inconsistencies in Bryan’s approach to wrestling. This feud would have Gulak violently exploiting other wrestler’s flaws as a sick way of improving other people. All of this leading to a match at Elimination Chamber.

Daniel Bryan vs. Drew Gulak (08.03.2020) 

Daniel Bryan’s very last WWE match before lockdown. As well as the second last he’d have in the company with fans in attendance. On the other side of the ring, a wrestler who believes that he has a weakness. A weakness he wants to exploit.

Both work very competitive, centering around one-upmanship and countering out of hold. Getting in a few heavy strikes to break it up. It’s slower than what I usually think a WWE match might usually be. But it makes sense given who is in this. Excellent head scissors escape reversal from Gulak. Dropped Bryan right on the top of his head. I didn’t expect to see a lot of stuff in this, to be honest. Suicide suplex to the outside, the head scissor piledriver, an insane Saito suplex. All very smooth, very careful. I say this knowing that a lot of this is Gulak targeting Bryan’s neck in this. It’s harrowing at the moment, watching him get tossed via release German. Landing on his shoulders, he near seizes up in the center of the ring. It’s about as dangerous as a WWE match like this can get. I assume. It’s a beautiful suplex though. He’s floating in the air for 2 seconds. Commentary in this isn’t much to write home about. Flipping through everything Bryan’s gone through. Neck issues leading to his brief retirement, his feud with The Fiend. On top of the fact that he’s more normal than how he was a year ago.

It’s Cole and Graves, and Vince is in the company. Very short leash. Though Graves selling the neck bump spot was very good. Real emotion.

Bryan starts to make a comeback. A quick misdirection, leading to an elbow to Gulak. Gives him time to breath, time to gain back some strength. Gulak cuts him off at the corner and gives him a messed up looking inverted suplex into a dragon suplex. Tries to lock it in, Bryan rolls out of it. Reverses into the Yes Lock, and Gulak…goes unconscious.

This feud would end with them forming an alliance against Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn. As well as his stablemate in the Artist Collective. This would lead into a match between Zayn and Bryan for the title. Which could have been fantastic.

If only it were that simple.

At the same time, Lockdown began all across the world. Leading to WrestleMania, and presumably a lot of creative plans to abruptly change. Leading to…

Sami Zayn (c) vs. Daniel Bryan (25.03.2020 // 04.04.2020)

The first (major) match of the rest of Daniel Bryan’s existence.

It’s still obscene to see an emptied out Performance Center. A sell out crowd of two people (presumably papered), get to treat themselves to this one. Sami Zayn, current Intercontinental Champion, and leader of the Artist Collective. Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro in tow for this match. Referee Drake Wurtz calling the action. One big 2000s east coast indie reunion, and I fucking hate it here. 

I’m already getting a headache. Everyone’s talking very loud. Commentary talking over them. And the nauseating camera cuts. If I was watching this as it happened, I would have ripped my eyes out. Sami buying his time and the beginning, getting in and out of ring. Nakamura and Cesaro running interference, so Bryan can’t get to him and fight him. This goes for about two minutes of the match before Gulak break the interference and gets him out of the match. They trick Sami into think he can walk out of the match, and Bryan bum rushes him on the ramp. So, four-ish minutes into the match, a move has happened.

Crouched punches.

Bryan sends him into the ring. Starts teeing off on him with strikes. Sami retreats back to the outside, and eat a car crash of a tope suicida for his troubles. Looks like Bryan took the worst of it, landing shoulder first into the guardrail. Lot of gross shoulder bumps this year. Back to the ring, back to teeing off on Sami. Sami in tears, begging Bryan to stop this. On his knees asking for reprise. Even in the short moment where he gains control, telling him it was a mistake not to join the collective. All while the rest of the collective jump Gulak behind. Distracting Bryan enough to do another dive to the outside. Bryan, focused back on Sami, heads to the top to hit some type of move, but eats a helluva kick instead. For the three. Wait, what do you mean for the three?!

This match is rough to watch. Whatever idea they had for this either got derailed by lockdown, or straight up couldn’t work in execution. A house show match for WrestleMania, and it not anybody’s fault. I can’t even really call it a low point, because there were (probably) much worse offerings on here. And again, I presume a lot of stuff kinda just ended up on the cutting room floor. Though I do admire that they could have five people in a match without technically breaking the 6 feet apart mandate given at the time. 

Not a great start. Hopefully next year’s a bit better.