Daniel Bryan Bryan Danielson ( May 22 , 1981 ) is a retired American professional wrestler . He is best known for his time with WWE where he wrestled under the ring name Daniel Bryan . He is also known by his ring name , and later nickname , the American Dragon . In professional wrestling , Danielson is an eight - time world champion , having won the ROH World Championship in Ring of Honor ( ROH ) once , the PWG World Championship twice in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla , the WXW World Heavyweight Championship once in westside Xtreme wrestling , and the World Heavyweight Championship once and the WWE Heavyweight Championship / WWE World Heavyweight Championship three times in World Wrestling Entertainment . In addition , he has won the FIP Heavyweight Championship once in Full Impact Pro , the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship once in Pro Wrestling Noah and is officially recognized as the final ROH Pure Champion , as he unified the Pure title with the ROH World title in 2006 . He also won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship in New Japan Pro Wrestling with Curry Man . Until 2009 , Danielson primarily competed on the independent circuit . ROH was generally regarded as his home promotion , but he also worked in FIP , PWG , and the National Wrestling Alliance ( NWA ) . He has also worked internationally , most notably in Pro Wrestling Noah through ROH ' s involvement in the Global Professional Wrestling Alliance , a global organization of cooperative promotions that allow their competitors to travel abroad to other companies . He also competed in a handful of matches in WWE before signing an actual contract with the company in 2009 . In June 2010 , shortly after the end of the first season of the " WWE NXT " show in which Danielson participated , WWE announced that he had been released from his contract . He returned to WWE in August at SummerSlam , and won the WWE United States Championship the following month . On July 17 , 2011 , Bryan won the SmackDown Money in the Bank ladder match . On July 18 2016 Danielson was named the General Manager of SmackDown Live by SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon . Professional wrestling career . Early career ( 1999 – 2004 ) . Danielson ' s first exposure in wrestling was as a backyard wrestler competing for Backyard Championship Wrestling ( BCW ) under his real name with the nickname " The Dagger " . There he won the promotion ' s Heavyweight Championship . After Danielson graduated from high school in 1999 , he decided to pursue wrestling professionally and initially attempted to train at Dean Malenko ' s Wrestling School . Due to its subsequent closure , however , he instead trained under Shawn Michaels at the Texas Wrestling Academy . Danielson debuted in Michaels ' promotion , the Texas Wrestling Alliance ( TWA ) , and on March 21 , 2000 , he won his first professional wrestling championship , when he teamed with Spanky to win the TWA Tag Team Championship by defeating Jeromy Sage and Ruben Cruz . As Danielson continued to tour the country , he was signed to a developmental deal by the World Wrestling Federation ( WWF ) to work in their developmental system where recently signed performers train and refine their skills before debuting on WWF ' s television programming . Bryan was assigned to Memphis Championship Wrestling ( MCW ) where he gained exposure , and was trained by WWF competitor , William Regal . It was during this time that Danielson adopted his well - known moniker " American Dragon " . WWF severed its ties with MCW in 2001 , releasing Danielson from his contract , but not before he won the MCW Light Heavyweight Championship and the MCW Tag Team Championship with Spanky . Danielson returned to the company on later dates after it was renamed World Wrestling Entertainment to compete on its secondary programming , " Velocity " and " Heat " , initially as enhancement talent before being allowed to compete in longer matches ; he once wrestled future WWE Champion John Cena in a losing effort . Danielson also toured Japan with the promotion , Frontier Martial - Arts Wrestling ( FMW ) with fellow trainee from the Texas Wrestling Academy , Lance Cade , competing in several tag team matches . He returned to the country after his release from the WWF , competing in Japan ' s premier promotion , New Japan Pro Wrestling ( NJPW ) . In NJPW , he used his American Dragon persona , and donned a red , white , and blue mask reminiscent of a dragon . As a part of the junior heavyweight division , Danielson had success in both singles and tag team competition in the company , the latter of which culminated on March 12 , 2004 when Danielson ( sans mask ) won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship with Curry Man from division veterans , Jado and Gedo , on the " Hyper Battle " tour . Ring of Honor . Founding father ( 2002 – 2005 ) . In 2002 , Danielson joined the independent promotion , Ring of Honor , where he is acknowledged as a " Founding Father " of the company by fans , as he was one of the wrestlers who made the company prominent during its inception , and competed in the main event of the company ' s debut show , " The Era of Honor Begins " , in a three - way match against Low Ki and Christopher Daniels . He continued to have critically acclaimed matches in the company that would last for extended periods of time with numerous wrestlers , including a match with Austin Aries that lasted for eighty minutes . One of the more notable rivalries he had in the early years in the company was with Homicide ; the two embarked in numerous matches with a variety of stipulations , culminating in a steel cage match at " The Final Showdown " , which was won by Danielson . At that time , Danielson had long been regarded as the best wrestler in ROH to have never held a major title belt ; despite winning the company ' s inaugural " Survival of the Fittest " tournament in 2004 , championship gold constantly eluded him . It came to the point where , in 2005 , Danielson announced in the company ' s newsletter , the ROH Newswire , that he had quit ROH after being frustrated by his inability to defeat Austin Aries for the ROH World Championship . It was later revealed Danielson had become frustrated in general with professional wrestling and planned to take some time off to evaluate his career options . Danielson had several dates booked in Europe and Japan , however , leading fans to believe that the periodical was likely a storyline claim for Danielson ' s absence during this period . In May 2005 , rumors started that Total Nonstop Action Wrestling was interested in signing Danielson , and he also had some more tryout matches with WWE at that time , but none of these events led to anything , as he remained in ROH . World Champion ( 2005 – 2006 ) . Danielson defeated James Gibson for the ROH World Championship at " Glory by Honor IV " on September 15 , 2005 . The rest of the year saw Danielson have many successful title defenses , competing against all comers , even those from other companies , such as Pro Wrestling Noah star Naomichi Marufuji , at " Final Battle 2005 " . At the beginning of 2006 , Chris Hero , a representative from Combat Zone Wrestling ( CZW ) , invaded ROH and targeted Danielson ; this led to the two exchanging words over the Internet before having a match together with nearly the entire roster of both companies embarking on an interpromotional feud . Danielson became personally invested in this feud , and invaded CZW himself , which led to him having physical altercations with a number of CZW wrestlers . Hero intensified the rivalry , leading to the two wrestling at ROH ' s " Hell Freezes Over " event , where Danielson successfully defended the ROH World Championship . He soon filled the vacant slot on ROH ' s five - man team which participated in one of CZW ' s more popular attractions , a steel cage match called the " Cage of Death " , a ten - man tag team match that would have a man from each team start out in the cage , with one more random competitor entering into the match after an allotted amount of time . During the match he turned on his team by assaulting his rival , Samoa Joe , before leaving the match and effectively abandoning his involvement in the animosity between the two promotions . As the interpromotional hostility with CZW heightened , Danielson also defended against challengers from the rival company , who had signed an open contract for any CZW wrestler willing to challenge for the ROH World Title . Former champion Samoa Joe also challenged Danielson during his constant defenses , only to have their match end in a sixty - minute draw . Ring of Honor , while having the ROH World Championship , faced the issue of having another title with seemingly equal value , the ROH Pure Championship . Danielson and the ROH Pure Champion Nigel McGuinness had a match to unify the titles . They met at April 29 in a match fought under pure wrestling rules and McGuinness left Danielson outside the ring after a chair shot to win by count out ; this would be enough to win the Pure Title but not Danielson ' s World Title . Consequently , they had another unification match in McGuinness ' native England where ROH declared there would be a winner , with a title changing hands by count out and disqualification , and a draw would force a restart . Danielson won the match on August 12 and retired the Pure Title as its last champion . During a match with Colt Cabana on August 26 , Danielson received an injury ; he separated his shoulder , tearing two tendons in it , and tore another tendon in his chest , which led to his next few matches being cancelled . Danielson returned at " Glory by Honor V : Night 2 " , and was challenged by Kenta , a guest competitor from Pro Wrestling Noah , due to the two company ' s talent exchange agreement ; Danielson again retained his championship . At " Final Battle 2006 " , Danielson ' s fifteen - month title reign finally ended after losing to Homicide , and he subsequently took time off from wrestling in order to heal his shoulder . Later years ( 2007 – 2009 ) . On May 11 , Danielson made his return to the company at " Reborn Again " where he defeated Shane Hagadorn and Adam Pearce in separate matches . On May 12 Ring of Honor filmed its first pay - per - view , Respect is Earned , which had Danielson team with ROH World Champion , Takeshi Morishima , to take on Nigel McGuinness and Kenta ; Danielson ' s team scored the win , as Danielson made Kenta tap out to his signature submission hold , the Cattle Mutilation . Danielson made his return to contention for the ROH World title by defeating Nigel McGuinness at " Domination " , which would appear on the company ' s next pay per view , Driven . This allowed him to , now as a heroic character , challenge Morishima for the title at " Manhattan Mayhem " in a losing effort ; he also suffered a legitimate detached retina . Following a subsequent surgery , Danielson returned with intent to challenge Morishima once more , leading to a match at Man Up that had the referee stop the match due to Danielson being unable to respond to him . Danielson exacted revenge , albeit by Morishima getting disqualified , at Rising Above against his rival by assaulting him before Morishima returned to Japan . Morishima returned to the company at " Final Battle 2008 " , in a match billed as a " Fight Without Honor " , which allowed both men to use weapons , which Danielson won . Over the coming months Danielson worked with Austin Aries again as friendly rivals , exchanging victories including a match on pay - per - view at Take No Prisoners , which was won by Danielson . Danielson also aided Aries by becoming his partner in order to take on The Age of the Fall as revenge for Aries . The two wrestled all members of the group in a series of different stipulation matches , as well as teaming together frequently to challenge members Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black for the ROH World Tag Team Championship . As part of ROH ' s agreement with Pro Wrestling Noah , the company held a show in Japan on September 14 entitled the " Tokyo Summit " , where Danielson wrestled GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion , Yoshinobu Kanemaru , and won the championship . Following his victory , he was interviewed , and announced that Noah would allow him defend the title in Ring of Honor , with his first defense being at " Glory By Honor VII " , defeating Katsuhiko Nakajima , a competitor from the Kensuke Office , another member promotion of the GPWA . This would ultimately be his only successful defense , however , as he would return to Japan on October 13 to lose the title to Kenta . Following his loss , Danielson challenged McGuinness for the title at the next ROH pay per view , Rising Above in a losing effort . Ring of Honor made its national television debut with the program , " Ring of Honor Wrestling " , and Danielson made his television debut in the main event of its third episode by defeating Austin Aries . The following episode to feature Danielson had him wrestle Tyler Black , which ended in a draw . This was the start of a rivalry between the two that was highlighted by Danielson ' s respect for Tyler , even claiming Black would be the top star in the future , with Danielson ' s antithesis being that would not happen for a while , leading to the two have many more matches that kept the notion of neither man truly being better . At this point , as well , Danielson became more involved in trying to win the ROH World Tag Team title , so , out of respect to his rival , had chosen Black to be his partner . The two attempted to win the title multiple times , leading to a conflict , dismantling the partnership . On August 23 , it was announced Danielson signed a deal with World Wrestling Entertainment ; prior to joining the company , he embarked on a farewell tour with ROH known as " The Final Countdown Tour " , which saw him challenge Aries for the title again in a losing effort . On September 26 at " Glory by Honor VIII : The Final Countdown " , he won his last match in the company against Nigel McGuinness , who was also having his final match with the company . Other promotions . Aside from competing primarily in ROH , Danielson has also competed in a multitude of other independent promotions , both in the United States and abroad . In 2003 , Danielson also toured the United Kingdom for British promotion , All Star Wrestling . While he was in the UK , Danielson won the World Heavy Middleweight Championship on May 6 in an 8 Man One Night Tournament in Croydon defeating James Mason . He spent the next 6 months in the UK , working for ASW , FWA , WAW and Premier Promotions . He returned several times over the next 5 years , working for various promotions . In February 2005 , at " New Dawn Rising " , Danielson made his debut in ROH ' s sister promotion , Full Impact Pro ( FIP ) , teaming up with Rocky Romero in a match against Austin Aries and Homicide . The next night at " Dangerous Intentions " Danielson competed in a losing effort against CM Punk , which led to a brief feud between the two . Danielson ' s biggest success came in 2006 by winning the FIP World Heavyweight Championship , holding the belt for eleven months before losing it to Roderick Strong . Danielson wrestled his last match for FIP in December 2006 at " Florida Rumble " , in a losing effort to Erick Stevens . Danielson has also wrestled in the California - based promotion , Pro Wrestling Guerrilla ( PWG ) . He made his debut in November 2003 at " An Inch Longer Than Average " , in a losing effort to PWG Champion Frankie Kazarian . He continued to appear in PWG over the next couple of years , winning the PWG World Championship in 2007 , and holding it for six months before taking an eleven - month hiatus from the company . He made his return to PWG at the 2008 Battle of Los Angeles tournament . In May 2009 , he made another appearance teaming with Paul London , referring to himself as " American Dolphin " in a parodied manner . On September 4 , 2009 , at " Guerre Sans Frontières " , during his last night in PWG , Danielson defeated Chris Hero to win the PWG World Championship for the second time and immediately vacated it afterward . Following his return from his injury in 2007 , the National Wrestling Alliance ( NWA ) published a video of Danielson stating his intent to challenge for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship , as the establishment that sanctioned the title at the time , Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , was relinquishing the title back to the NWA . A tournament , entitled Reclaiming the Glory , was held to determine the new champion with Danielson making his way to finals , scheduled to compete face Brent Albright on September 1 , but due to the eye injury he sustained at " Manhattan Mayhem " , the NWA announced he withdrew from the tournament with and Adam Pearce replacing him ; Danielson was appointed the referee of the match . In 2009 , Danielson ' s contract with Ring of Honor expired ; this opened up Danielson to travel to other companies more freely while competing in his home promotion . He made his debut with Philadelphia - based promotion , Chikara to compete in their King of Trios tournament , which saw him team with Claudio Castagnoli and Dave Taylor in a contingency called " Team Uppercut " . In the same year , it was announced Danielson would compete in Dragon Gate USA in their second show , which saw him lose to Open the Dream Gate Champion Naruki Doi . World Wrestling Entertainment ( 2009 – 2010 ) . On August 23 , 2009 , ROH announced that Danielson had signed a deal with World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) . Danielson made his debut as a WWE contracted wrestler on January 4 , 2010 , in a dark match prior to " Raw " , defeating Chavo Guerrero . Later that week it was reported that Danielson had requested to go to Florida Championship Wrestling ( FCW ) , the WWE developmental territory , to acclimate himself to his new work environment and work what he saw as " ring rust " . He made his debut at the FCW television tapings on January 14 , where he was defeated by Kaval . At the February 11 tapings , Danielson was renamed Daniel Bryan . On February 16 , it was announced that he would be wrestling on the first season of the " WWE NXT " show , using the name Daniel Bryan , with The Miz as his storyline mentor . He made his debut on the inaugural episode of " NXT " on February 23 , losing by submission to the World Heavyweight Champion , Chris Jericho . After the match , Bryan was attacked by The Miz for disrespecting him earlier in the show . Over the next several weeks , Bryan failed to win a single match , but despite having a win - loss record of 0 – 5 , he was ranked first in the inaugural Pros ' Poll on the March 30 episode of " NXT " . After losing five more matches on " NXT " , Bryan earned his first victory on the May 10 episode of " Raw " by pinning Santino Marella in an eight - on - four handicap match . The following night on " NXT " , he was eliminated from the show , along with Michael Tarver , as neither man had confidence in themselves to win the competition . Later that night , in an interview , Danielson said that the elimination might be the end of Daniel Bryan , but that Bryan Danielson will be fine . Despite his elimination , he appeared on the following editions of " NXT " , being interviewed by Matt Striker and attacking both Michael Cole , who had constantly belittled him on commentary , and The Miz . On the May 31 episode of " Raw " , Bryan defeated The Miz in a singles match , and after the match , he threw The Miz into Cole , who was commentating at ringside . The following week on " Raw " , the season one " NXT " rookies interfered in the main event match between John Cena and CM Punk , attacking both competitors , the announce team , and the ring announcer Justin Roberts , before dismantling the ring area and surrounding equipment , turning Bryan and the other rookies heels in the process . On June 11 , WWE announced via their official website that Danielson had been released from his WWE contract . It was later reported by the Wrestling Observer that his release was due to him strangling Roberts with his own tie during the segment on the June 7 episode of " Raw " , which WWE felt was too violent for their TV - PG programming . His release was put in a storyline , where the rest of the " NXT " rookies kicked him out of the group for showing remorse for his actions and declared he would not be seen in the WWE again . Return to the independent circuit ( 2010 ) . On June 26 , 2010 , Danielson made his return to the independent circuit , defeating Eddie Kingston at the Chikara event " We Must Eat Michigan ' s Brain " in Taylor , Michigan . Rather than receiving streamers , the fans instead threw neck ties in light of the Justin Roberts incident in WWE . The following day at Chikara ' s " Faded Scars and Lines " Danielson defeated Young Lions Cup holder Tim Donst in a non – title match . On July 3 Danielson returned to westside Xtreme wrestling , defeating Wade Fitzgerald and TJP in the round robin stage of the Ambition 1 tournament . The following day he defeated Tommy End , TJP in a rematch and finally Johnny Moss in the finals of the tournament to win Ambition 1 . On July 17 , Danielson debuted in the International Wrestling Association ( IWA ) , being booked to defeat Q . T . Marshall for the IWA Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship . On July 23 Danielson debuted in the fledgling Evolve promotion , which was originally conceived to be built around Danielson as their top star before he signed to WWE . In the main event , he defeated Bobby Fish who went 0 – 4 in the company , while Danielson continued on undefeated the following day by returning to Dragon Gate USA , and submitted Shingo in the dark match main event " Return of the Dragon " . After the match Danielson joined BxB Hulk , Masato Yoshino , Naruki Doi and PAC as the fifth member of the stable World – 1 . On July 30 Danielson returned to Pro Wrestling Guerrilla , competing in a match where he defeated Roderick Strong . On August 7 Danielson unsuccessfully challenged Adam Pearce for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at the NWA Legends Fanfest . Despite returning to WWE , Danielson honoured most of his independent bookings , making his first appearance on August 20 and defeating Jon Moxley at Heartland Wrestling Association ' s " Road to Destiny " . The following day he was defeated by Drake Younger at Insanity Pro Wrestling ' s " Ninth Anniversary Reign of the Insane " . The day after that Danielson defeated J Freddie at a Squared Circle Wrestling event . On September 10 he returned to the IWA , using the name Daniel Bryan , and lost the IWA Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship to Dennis Rivera . The following day Danielson returned to Evolve , defeating Munenori Sawa in the main event . Later that same night Danielson wrestled for New York Wrestling Connection in a tag team match , where he and Tony Nese defeated Dimitrios Papadon and Alex Reynolds . On September 25 Danielson returned to Dragon Gate USA and defeated YAMATO in the main event of the evening . The following day Danielson defeated Jon Moxley . On October 1 Danielson wrestled the last of his independent matches by defeating Shelton Benjamin at a Northeast Wrestling event . World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE . Return to WWE ( 2010 - 2011 ) . On August 15 , 2010 , Danielson returned to WWE as Daniel Bryan at the SummerSlam pay - per - view , where he was revealed as the surprise seventh member of Team WWE for the seven - on - seven elimination tag team match against The Nexus , the other " NXT " season one competitors . At the event , Bryan was one of the two final members of Team WWE , and managed to eliminate two members of the Nexus , but was eliminated by Wade Barrett after his former pro The Miz , whose place he took in Team WWE , attacked him . Despite this , Team WWE won the match . The following night , he was revealed as part of the Raw roster . He feuded with the Miz , with both interfering in each other ' s matches , and The Miz being aided by Alex Riley , his rookie from the second season of " NXT " . At Night of Champions , Bryan defeated The Miz to win the WWE United States Championship , his first championship in WWE . He then successfully defended the championship two weeks later , by defeating The Miz and John Morrison in a triple threat submissions count anywhere match at Hell in a Cell , and successfully defended it against Ted DiBiase at Survivor Series . On the November 30 episode of " NXT " , it was announced that Bryan was returning to the show as the Pro to " NXT " Rookie Derrick Bateman on season four . In late 2010 , The Bella Twins began competing for Bryan ' s affection , leading to them supporting him at ringside and competing in mixed tag team matches together . On the January 24 , 2011 episode of " Raw " , it was revealed that Bryan had been secretly dating Gail Kim , who began accompanying him to ringside . On the March 14 episode of " Raw " , Bryan lost the United States Championship to Sheamus . Bryan was originally scheduled to wrestle Sheamus for the United States Championship at WrestleMania XXVII on the main card , but the match was rescheduled as a preshow dark match , a lumberjack match that ended in a no contest when the lumberjacks fought among themselves to trigger the start of a battle royal . On the 11th April edition of Raw Bryan joined a group set up by Santino Marella known as The Apple , also consisting of Mark Henry and Evan Bourne in order to battle against The Corre . Bryan lost his title rematch the next night on Raw , after which he was saved from Sheamus by the debuting Sin Cara . Mr . Money in the Bank and World Heavyweight Champion ( 2011 - 2012 ) . On April 26 , Bryan was drafted to the SmackDown brand as part of the 2011 Supplemental Draft . Bryan debuted for the SmackDown brand on the May 6 episode , when he lost to Sheamus . Cody Rhodes then started a feud with Bryan by attacking him after losing their match and placing a paper bag on his head . Bryan then aligned with Sin Cara to feud with Rhodes and Ted DiBiase . On June 28 , Bryan returned to " NXT " to manage Derrick Bateman once again . On July 17 at Money in the Bank , Bryan defeated Cody Rhodes , Justin Gabriel , Heath Slater , Kane , Sheamus , Sin Cara and Wade Barrett to win the Money in the Bank ladder match and earn the right to challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship whenever and wherever he wanted , within the next year . On the July 22 edition of " SmackDown " , Bryan declared he would cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase at WrestleMania XXVIII . Throughout the later half of 2011 , Bryan would be put into a feud with World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry , in which after two losses to Henry , Henry nearly put Bryan into the Hall Of Pain twice , only for Big Show to save Bryan , on the second match , Big Show nearly had Bryan cash in his money in the bank contract only for Henry to escape . On November 25 tapings of Smackdown , Bryan cashed in his MITB contract successfully on Henry , only for Teddy Long to revoke the match and give Bryan the MITB back due to Henry ' s injuries . After winning Number One Contendership by making Cody Rhodes tap , Bryan would lose a World Title Steel Cage Match to Henry the following Tuesday in a Holiday Edition of Smackdown . After losing the World Title Match , Bryan would re - ignite his feud with Micheal Cole . At TLC 2011 , Daniel Bryan would win the World Heavyweight Championship . The following night on Raw Supershow he teamed with real - life friends and fellow Champions CM Punk and Zack Ryder ( as TLC Trio to defeat The Miz , Alberto Del Rio and Dolph Ziggler . The following Smackdown , Bryan beat Ziggler , making a winning streak . On the January 6 , 2012 edition of Smackdown , Daniel showed signs of a heel turn getting disqualified to retain the World Heavyweight Championship against the Big Show after making Mark Henry angry and causing Henry to push him . The following week in a No DQ match against Big Show for the title , after several attempts to pin Show , and making Show angry , Bryan hit Show with a chair and Show chased Bryan halfway around the outside of the ring only to crash into AJ Lee ( who is Bryan ' s on - screen girlfriend ) causing a no contest . After the match , Bryan showed extreme anger at Big Show , claming if he wanted the World Title he could have it but Show couldn ' t be so reckless . Bryan ended the show calling Show a " bastard " . It was announced Bryan would defend the title against Mark Henry a week later . In his World Title defense in a Lumberjack Match was again turned into a no contest after the lumberjacks attacked each other . It was announced Bryan would be defending the title at the Rumble against Big Show and Mark Henry . With the 4 consecutive title defenses , Bryan is the most defended champion since Edge in 2011 . On the final Smackdown before the Royal Rumble , Bryan attacked Big Show with a steel chair . After this Bryan would claim in an interview he was now a Tweener . At the Rumble , Bryan would defend the title against Big Show and Mark Henry which he came out victorious . In February , Bryan would get into a 4 match mini - feud with real - life friend and WWE Champion CM Punk and would turn heel for the first time since joining WWE siding with John Laurinitus . Bryan would then successfully defend the World title at Elimination Chamber 2012 and would defend the title against the Royal Rumble 2012 winner , Sheamus at WrestleMania XXVIII . At WrestleMania , Bryan lost his title to Sheamus in 18 seconds due to Bryan being distracted by AJ when she kissed him and got kicked in the face by Sheamus right after . On the next episode of Smackdown , Bryan blamed AJ for his loss at WrestleMania and ended their relationship . AJ would try to fix their relationship , but Bryan would reject her , leaving her an emotional wreck . # 1 Contender for the WWE Championship and Team Hell No ( 2012 - 2013 ) . At Extreme Rules 2012 , Bryan failed to capture the World Heavyweight Championship to Sheamus in a 2 out of 3 falls match , with 2 - 1 . The next night on Raw , Bryan became the # 1 Contender for the WWE Championship by beating Jerry Lawler in a Beat The Clock Challenge match in under 3 minutes , beating Randy Orton ' s time at 4 : 16 . Bryan would then face CM Punk at the Over The Limit 2012 . On the May 4 edition of Smackdown , Bryan would go up against Sheamus but the match was interfered when Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez ganged up on Sheamus , injuring his left arm . Bryan and Del Rio would later be found arguing backstage in Eve Torres ' s office . Later that night , Bryan would lose against an injured Sheamus . The next week on Raw , Bryan teamed up with Lord Tensai in a 2 on 1 handicap match against CM Punk in a winning effort . On the May 14th episode of Raw , Bryan and Cody Rhodes lost to CM Punk and Santino Marella . During Over The Limit , Bryan failed to capture the WWE Championship against CM Punk . The following night on Raw , Bryan would engage in a match against Kane . CM Punk would try to interfere in the match and would try to hit Kane with a chair . Bryan grab the chair from just when Kane would catch Bryan redhanded with the chair . Kane use the chair on Bryan , hitting him multiple times . Later on , CM Punk would use the Anaconda Vice on Bryan . Kane then attacked Bryan next week , but Bryan retaliated on May 25 , hitting Kane with a chair 26 times . After Kane left the feud after No Way Out to deal with AJ . Bryan continued the feud with CM Punk , and was made number one contender again for Money in the Bank , and on the June 29 , edition of Smackdown , Bryan discovered AJ was made the Special Referee for the WWE title match . Which he lost , ending his feud with Punk , Bryan would then propose to AJ , to which she accepted , on Raw 1000 , AJ left him at the alter to become GM of Raw . The following two weeks , Bryan would show intense paranoia , with the fans constantly chanting " Yes ! Yes ! Yes ! " and combined with AJ leaving him , Bryan showed signs of an anger problem , on RAW 1002 , Daniel would lose a match to John Cena , following the announcement he would fight Kane at SummerSlam and On SummerSlam Daniel Bryan defeated Kane . AJ Lee enrolled Bryan and Kane in anger management classes by Dr . Shelby and they were later forced to hug each other . The two adversaries fought with The Prime Time Players ( Darren Young and Titus O ' Neil ) by forces of AJ Lee and Dr . Shelby and The match resulted in victory of Bryan And Kane . Later that match they became the No . 1 Contenders to the WWE Tag Team Championship on the September 10 Raw . Bryan and Kane defeated the WWE Tag Team Champions R - Truth and Kofi Kingston at Night of Champions . Bryan and Kane made their first successful title defense on Raw , defeating the former champions in a rematch . The following week on Raw , " Team Hell No " was chosen as the official team name via Twitter while Team Rhodes Scholars ( Damien Sandow and Cody Rhodes ) started a feud with them and made Bryan turn face once again . On October 28 at Hell in a Cell , Team Hell no lost to Rhodes Scholars via disqualification , but they retained their title back . On the November 14 Main Event , where Team Hell No defeated The Rhodes Scholars to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship . On the November 26 Raw , after Kane lost to CM Punk in a non - title match he was assaulted by The Shield ( Dean Ambrose , Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns ) . Bryan and Ryback attempted to save Kane , suffered a similar fate . This attack had the effect of uniting Bryan and Kane , and after The Shield and Team Hell no , along with Ryback , attacked each other on the December 3 Raw , all six men decreed to face each other in a Tables , Ladders and Chairs at TLC where the Shield gain victory against Team Hell No and Ryback by Pinning Bryan . Team Hell no went on to Defend the Tag Team Titles through the end of the year , retaining against Team Rhodes Scholars on the Following Main Event , and against 3MB ( Drew McIntyre , Jinder Mahal and Heath Slater ) on the December 31 Raw . Bryan ended 2012 having wrestled the second most PPV matches that year with 90 . On January 27 at the 2013 Royal Rumble , Team Hell No retained the WWE Tag Team Championship against Team Rhodes Scholars . During the Royal Rumle , Bryan eliminated Kane and was in turn thrown out of the ring by Antonio Cesaro ; Kane caught Bryan before he touched the floor and despite Bryan ' s begging , dropped Bryan to complete Bryan ' s elimination . On the February 4 Raw , Bryan was inserted into the World Heavyweight Championship number one contender Elimination Chamber match when he defeated Rey Mysterio , after that Mark Henry returned and attacked Rey Mysterio and Bryan . On February 17 at Elimination Chamber , Bryan was the first man eliminated from the match , courtesy of Henry . On April 7 at Wrestlemania 29 , Team Hell No defeated Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston for another successful title defense . Team Hell No rekindled their rivalry with The Shield the following night on " Raw " , after saving The Undertaker from an ambush by them . On the April 22 Raw , Team Hell No and the Undertaker were defeated by the Shield in a six - man tag team match . The Shield went on to take Undertaker and rack up wins over Bryan and Kane in both singles and tag team matches that also included WWE Champion John Cena . On May 19 at Extreme Rules , Bryan and Kane lost the WWE Tag Team Championship to Shield members ( Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns ) , ending their reign at 245 days . Yes ! Movement ; WWE World Heavyweight Champion and injury ( 2013 – 2014 ) . As Bryan being pinned led to the loss of the tag titles , Bryan became obsessed about proving that he was not the weak link of Team Hell No . As a result , Bryan became even more aggressive , but his overzealous behavior led to Team Hell No losing their rematch against Reigns and Rollins on the May 27 " Raw " . When Kane tried to reassure Bryan , Bryan replied with harsh rebukes that alienated Kane from him . As a result , Bryan was paired with Randy Orton despite their poor relationship to face a common enemy in the Shield . During this storyline , Bryan was praised as the best performer in WWE and having an unmatched connection with crowds by critics , peers and veterans of the professional wrestling industry . On the June 14 " SmackDown " , Bryan ended the Shield ' s unpinned and unsubmitted streak in televised six - man tag matches by forcing Rollins to submit in a match with Kane and Orton as his tag partners . Two days later at Payback , Bryan and Orton ' s poor teamwork resulted in an unsuccessful challenge for Reigns and Rollins ' Tag Team Championship . The following night on " Raw " , while the status of Team Hell No was left up in the air after both members considered individual pursuits , Bryan and Orton faced off in a no disqualification match that Orton won via referee stoppage after Bryan suffered a legit nerve injury . Four days later on " SmackDown " , Bryan defeated Orton , but to Bryan ' s dismay , it was via count - out . On the next " Raw " , Bryan decisively defeated Orton via submission in a street fight , and later continued his hot streak by picking up wins over Sheamus and Christian . On July 14 at Money in the Bank , Bryan competed in the WWE Championship Money in the Bank ladder match ; during the match , Bryan was attacked by Curtis Axel , a non - participant , which ultimately prevented Bryan from winning the match that was won by Orton . The following night on " Raw " , WWE Champion John Cena picked Bryan to be his opponent for the WWE title match at SummerSlam . This led to Bryan being embroiled in the McMahon family ' s internal feud , with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon against Bryan due to Bryan ' s image not fitting the mold of McMahon ' s typical " WWE Superstar " , while WWE COO Triple H was in support of Bryan . On the July 22 " Raw " , Bryan ran a gauntlet match to prove his worth as number one contender , defeating Jack Swagger and Antonio Cesaro in succession , while his third opponent Ryback was disqualified after powerbombing Bryan through a table . The following week on " Raw " , Bryan was forced to face Kane and emerged victorious , but Kane attacked Bryan after the match . On August 18 at SummerSlam , Bryan defeated Cena to win his first WWE Championship . However , after the match , special referee Triple H attacked Bryan , leading to Randy Orton cashing in his Money in the Bank contract to win the title from Bryan . The next night on " Raw " , Triple H and the McMahons endorsed Orton as " the face of the WWE " , forming The Authority faction , claiming that the company was looking for Orton as champion instead of Bryan . Bryan also assumed the top babyface role in WWE with Cena being out injured . With Triple H threatening to fire anyone who disobeyed him , Bryan was left alone to take on and suffer attacks from Orton and the Shield . On September 15 at Night of Champions , Bryan defeated Orton to regain the WWE Championship , but was stripped of the title the following night on " Raw " by Triple H after referee Scott Armstrong admitted he had made a fast - count the previous night resulting in Bryan ' s win , while Bryan denied that Armstrong was working for him . This resulting in his second WWE Championship reign coming to an end , meaning Bryan hasn ' t held the WWE Championship for one full day over his two reigns as the WWE Champion . Bryan and Orton faced off again for the vacant title on October 6 at WWE Battleground , but the match ended in a no contest after Big Show interfered and knocked out both men . Bryan once again challenged Orton for the vacant championship at Hell in a Cell , but was unsuccessful after the special guest referee Shawn Michaels superkicked Bryan for attacking Michaels ' best friend Triple H . The following night on " Raw " , Bryan confronted Michaels , who offered a handshake , but Bryan put Michaels in the " Yes ! " Lock . Later in the night , Bryan was attacked by The Wyatt Family . As a result , Bryan allied himself with CM Punk , and the duo defeated Luke Harper and Erick Rowan of the Wyatt Family at Survivor Series , but the entire Wyatt Family defeated Bryan in a handicap match at , with Wyatt attempting to recruit Bryan in the previous weeks . On the final " Raw " of 2013 , Bryan defeated Harper and then Rowan in a gauntlet match so that he could face Wyatt , whereupon Harper and Rowan interfered for a disqualification and beat him down . Bryan then acknowledged that no matter how many times the fans chanted " Yes ! " or supported him , it wasn ' t enough for " the machine " , so he gave up and decided to join the Wyatt Family . On the January 13 " Raw " , after the Wyatt Family punished him for their lack of success since he joined , Bryan attacked all the other members of the Wyatt Family to break free from the group . At the Royal Rumble pay - per - view , despite Bryan losing to Wyatt in a singles match and later not participating in the Royal Rumble match , the audience continued to chant for Bryan during the Rumble match and the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match . On the January 27 " Raw " , Bryan qualified for the Elimination Chamber match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the eponymous pay - per - view by teaming up with John Cena and Sheamus to defeat the Shield via disqualification . Meanwhile , he also continued his feud with the Authority , as Kane attacked him on multiple occasions , attempting to injure Bryan before his Elimination Chamber match . At the Elimination Chamber event , Bryan survived until he was one of the final two " " participants in the Elimination " " Chamber match , but defending champion Randy Orton retained after Kane interfered against Bryan . On the March 10 Raw , Bryan and multiple fans occupied the ring and refused to leave , resulting in an irate Triple H agreeing to Bryan ' s demand for a match at WrestleMania XXX , with the stipulation that the winner would be inserted into the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match at the event . At WrestleMania XXX , Bryan defeated Triple H and was inserted into the title match . He went into the main event with a badly injured shoulder , but defeated Randy Orton and Batista to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship by making Batista tap out to the Yes Lock , despite interference from the Authority and a crooked referee . After successfully defending the championship against Triple H in a one on one match , Bryan resumed feuding with his former partner , Kane . After getting married to Brie and learning Kane was his next challenger , Kane brutally assaulted Bryan in front of Brie by executing a Tombstone Piledriver three times outside the ring on the floor , on the steel steps and lastly on the announcing table , despite Stephanie McMahon ' s orders . He was taken away on a stretcher afterwards . In real life , Bryan ' s father had recently passed away , so this angle was put in place to " " give Bryan time off . Bryan would then go on to defeat Kane at Extreme Rules to retain his title . On the May 12 episode of " Raw " " , " Bryan announced that he would have to undergo neck surgery . That same night , he was attacked by Kane and stretchered away . " " On May 15 , Bryan underwent successful neck surgery , with a cervical foraminotomy to decompress the nerve root having been performed . Bryan returned on the " May 26 episode of " Raw " " , where he refused to relinquish his title . Stephanie McMahon threatened to fire Bryan ' s wife Brie Bella if Bryan did not give up his championship at Payback . At Payback , Brie Bella ' quit ' WWE , allowing Bryan to not have to give up his championship . The next night on " Raw " , Stephanie McMahon announced that at Money in the Bank - if Bryan were able to compete - it would be against Kane in a Stretcher match , otherwise he would be stripped of the WWE World Heavyweight title . On the June 9 episode of " Raw " , the Authority announced that due to Bryan ' s neck injury , he was stripped of the title effective immediately and the vacant title will be on the line at the Money in the Bank pay per view . During the November 24 episode of Raw , Bryan made his WWE return when he interrupted The Authority ' s farewell to the WWE Universe . He then announced that he was put in charge for the night , punishing members of Team Authority , including Lana , Jamie Noble , and Joey Mercury . Return from injury ( 2014 - 2016 ) . On the December 29th edition of " Raw " , Bryan addressed the WWE universe that he can compete again and will be an entrant in the Royal Rumble match at the upcoming " Royal Rumble " pay - per - view . Despite entering the Royal Rumble match with the full support of the WWE Universe behind him , Bryan would ultimately be eliminated by Bray Wyatt . Two weeks later , he defeated Seth Rollins for the right to face Roman Reigns at WWE Fastlane with the winner moving on to challenge Brock Lesnar for the World Title at WrestleMania 31 . At WWE Fastlane , Bryan put forth a hard - fought effort to achieve his goal of facing Brock Lesnar on The Grandest Stage of Them All . Pulling out all the stops against Roman Reigns , Bryan nearly secured victory but Reigns came away with the victory following a huge Spear . After the bout , Bryan congratulated Reigns and wished him luck at WrestleMania . The next night on Raw , Bryan displayed his admiration and respect for Roman Reigns . Then , at WrestleMania 31 , Bryan triumphed over six other Superstars to capture the Intercontinental Championship for the very first time in a fast and furious Ladder Match . After a successful title defense against Dolph Ziggler the next night on Raw , both Bryan and Ziggler were attacked by former Intercontinental Champion , Bad News Barrett and the returning Sheamus . On SmackDown , Bryan was bloodied by the returning Celtic Warrior , losing their match by count out after Barrett nailed Bryan with a Bull Hammer elbow . Bryan is set to defend his newly won championship against Barrett at Extreme Rules . On the April 9 edition of SmackDown , Bryan teamed with Ziggler and Reigns in a winning effort against Bad News Barrett , Sheamus and Big Show . Retirement . Bryan was cleared by the doctors at UCLA but has yet to be cleared by WWE and Dr . Joseph Maroon . WWE told Bryan at one point he was not going to be cleared . On February 8 , 2016 , Bryan announced his retirement due to medical reasons on Twitter . This was later confirmed by WWE . com General manager of " SmackDown " ( 2016−present ) . Bryan still has three years remaining on his WWE contract despite retiring and will be a central figure on " Total Bellas " . On " Thank You Daniel " , a WWE Network tribute to Bryan , he confirmed that he has been asked about working for WWE in a different capacity , but Bryan compared this to " a partner breaking up with you , getting married to someone else and then asking you to be best friends " , expanding to say that he needs time to heal emotionally before he can agree to such an offer , while WWE confirmed that Bryan would continue to appear for the WWE in a non in - ring role alongside his wife Brie Bella , who now serves as a WWE Ambassador following her retirement from in - ring competition at WrestleMania 32 . Bryan , now an officially recognized WWE Legend , is co - hosting the WWE Network summer series WWE Cruiserweight Classic alongside " SmackDown " commentator Mauro Ranallo . Bryan was appointed as the general manager of " SmackDown Live " by " SmackDown " commissioner Shane McMahon on the July 18 , 2016 episode of " Raw " . Persona . Danielson has spent the majority of his career without an overt character in favor of becoming popular with the fans through his monikers , signature mannerisms , and wrestling ability . His attire has varied , as well , with the majority of his tenure wearing a pair of short trunks , but also ventured into wearing a mask for a time in Japan as an extension of his " American Dragon " persona . A notable part of Danielson ' s persona are his mannerisms and the reaction he inspires from the crowd during the course of his matches that include : Personal life . Danielson has cited a number of wrestlers as influences to his style : Toshiaki Kawada , Mitsuharu Misawa , and William Regal . He has also made mention of modeling his wrestling off of the work of Dean Malenko and Chris Benoit in his early career , then using Jujutsu as a platform to develop his own style . In 2009 Danielson relocated to Las Vegas , Nevada , where he has began training in mixed martial arts at Randy Couture ' s Xtreme Couture gym . During his time as World Champion , ROH appointed Danielson the head trainer of the ROH Wrestling Academy , replacing Austin Aries . He relinquished the position to Delirious in 2007 . Danielson married WWE Diva Brie Bella on April 11 , 2014 , with whom he had been in a relationship for nearly three years . On April 21 , 2014 , WWE announced the death of Danielson ' s father . Danielson insisted on performing that night on Raw as scheduled but left for home immediately after his segment . In July 2014 , Danielson ' s home in Phoenix , Arizona was broken into by two burglars . Danielson came home at that time ; he managed to chase down and subdue one of the burglars with a rear naked choke until police arrived . Based on information gleaned from the caught burglar , police apprehended three other people about two weeks later who were involved in burglaries throughout Arcadia and Phoenix . During a 2014 interview , Danielson stated that he cannot swim or go deep into water due to a ruptured ear drum he suffered in an unspecified 2007 Ring of Honor match against Kenta . Danielson has never had the ruptured ear drum fixed , and he claims he still has problems hearing in his left ear . On October 5 , 2016 , the wife of Danielson , Brie Bella ( Brianna Monique Danielson ) and he announced that they ' re expecting their first child together .