As we’re all sitting around being sad that the person who made us love pro wrestling by being the best goddamn thing in pro wrestling has had to step away from the thing he loves, we think it’s time for a moment of levity. We can talk about Bryan’s struggles in WWE to break the idea that to be the most successful in mainstream wrestling, you need to look like Ryback or Mason Ryan (though I think they kinda proved that themselves, oops). We can talk about how gutting it is to watch the losses in his life take that doofy smile off of his face. We can talk ad nauseam, and probably will over the next *checks watch* um, forever, about all of these things. But right now we need to talk about American Dragon:
Daniel Bryan brought out the masked American Dragon gimmick during his time in Memphis Championship Wrestling, fresh out of training at Shawn Michaels’ wrestling school under Rudy Gonzalez in Texas. MCW was the first time he had a go-round with WWE’s developmental system, and the thing that first put him in contact with mentor William Regal.
Related: Relive All Of Daniel Bryan’s Greatest Moments
As you watch the video, it’s pretty clear that the Daniel Bryan we know and love is in there. This is roughly fifteen years ago, and the things we recognize as pure Daniel Bryan (the strikes! that bridge!) are already there. His connection to Regal would lead to the signature maroon color we associate with his gear and his merch, and it’s our first glimpse at the goofy, fun-loving Daniel Bryan that we associate with his time in NXT with Derrick Bateman, or as part of Team Hell No with Kane.
That’s one of the coolest things about Daniel Bryan. Everything we fell in love with — at any stage of his career — was kinda just always there. You see it in this video of him in the Libertyland parking lot, or all those times he showed up in Chikara, or in Dragon Gate or Ring of Honor or wherever. If he’s Dragon or Bryan Danielson or Daniel Bryan, if he’s bleeding out everywhere or being the biggest piece of sh*t with the small package or YES-ing on top of a steel cage, he’s always himself. That’s pretty goddamn special, wouldn’t you say?
