In appreciation of Daniel Bryan

I don’t want to spend a whole lot of time talking about Daniel Bryan and how great he is, because there are plenty of other times to do that, and plenty of other times we have done that, and this is Kofi Kingston’s moment to shine. And shine he will. We’re seeing that in real time, and it’s outstanding.

But I do think it’s absolutely worth saying a few words to appreciate what Bryan did here.

He had his career taken away from him, right at the time he finally reached the peak of it. That destroyed him at a level we could hardly comprehend. He hung around the business, because what else would he do, and eventually he was cleared to return. But when he did, it wasn’t anywhere near the level he was at before, and he was booked into such oblivion he was forced to turn heel to find his way back to his previous glory.

He went on one hell of a run with it too, maybe as good as his previous run as a babyface, though I’m fine with anyone disputing that. Before he could really establish true momentum, though, a babyface not unlike the 2014 Daniel Bryan caught fire at just the right time.

That babyface was Kofi Kingston.

All Bryan did in response was play his role to perfection, giving Kingston multiple fantastic matches and working his ass off at WrestleMania 35 to put Kofi over just as big as he possibly could. By the time it was said and done, I was in tears, unable to control them, and that was both Kingston and all the work he’s put in but also Bryan’s pro wrestling brilliance. That match was everything I wanted it to be and more, and Bryan deserves a lot of credit for making sure it was.

Thank you, Daniel Bryan.