Welcome back to my review of the latest WWE Network collection, as we continue to look at Daniel Bryan’s career highlights. You can find part one here. The collection itself can be found here. Now, let’s continue!
DANIEL BRYAN CASHES IN – DECEMBER 18, 2011 (4:34)
This video actually features some build up to the cash-in, with the tail end of Big Show vs Mark Henry plus the aftermath. The actual cash-in begins more than half-way through. This is obviously a cool moment and as I said in my retrospective, it was perhaps the genesis of a chain of events that are now iconic However, there isn’t too much to see here, unless Bryan winning his first World Title is really special to you.
DANIEL BRYAN VS. CM PUNK – MAY 20, 2012 (29:27)
This match is from Over The Limit 2012 and is a technical classic. Personally, I prefer their 1-on-1 rematch from Money in the Bank from that same year, as the story was more developed by then and that match felt more intense. There’s no denying that this worked better as a pure wrestling match. For those unaware, this feud helped sew the early seeds for Team Hell No as well.
Facing CM Punk was just what Daniel need at the time. Although a groundswell of support was growing for him, Bryan could have still floundered if WWE didn’t keep him in a prominent position after the World Title loss. Allowing these two to just tear up the top of the undercard in a match like this was a smart move. It allowed the company to let these both men simmer.
Like I said, this is something special. The whole thing ebbs and flows really well, with great chemistry throughout and plenty of believable nearfalls. Better yet, the finish made everyone look good and left the door open for the next two months. If you somehow haven’t seen this match yet, I recommend it immediately.
TEAM HELL NO ANGER MANAGEMENT 1 – AUGUST 27, 2012 (16:18)
This is the first half of a collection of Team Hell No vignettes. These ones in particular lead up to their WWE Tag Team Title win. Highlights include Daniel Bryan overreacting to a goat mask and Kane retelling his life story in hilariously deadpan fashion. While most WWE comedy goes over like a fart in church, these segments are some rare gems of the modern era. Also, despite what the title says, I’m pretty sure these didn’t all happen on the same show.
TEAM HELL NO WINS TAG TITLES – SEPTEMBER 16, 2012 (14:12)
This match is from Night of Champions 2012. Now time for a quick pop quiz: who did Team Hell No defeat for the tag team titles? If you said R-Truth and Kofi Kingston, congratulations on being a bonafide wrestling nerd. But in all seriousness, I think that serves as a stark reminder of the dark times the tag team division was going through at this point.
The story of the match just further highlights this too, with the action playing a distant second fiddle to the hi-jinx of Team Hell No. That is somewhat excusable though, as the vignettes above had done a lot to turn the duo into a red hot act in the vein of the Rock ‘N’ Sock Connection.
This match isn’t a great workrate showcase, but it does a great job of displaying character work. Watch it for the hugging at least.
TEAM HELL NO ANGER MANAGEMENT 2 – SEPTEMBER 24, 2012 (5:42)
While the first Team Hell No vignette video was a collection of segments, this one features a sketch in a restaurant. This is also a pretty solid addition, with Kane’s role play as “Gera after ld” and an inventive parody of the “fake orgasm” scene from When Harry Met Sally being particularly chuckle-worthy. As always with WWE comedy, this will probably divide opinion. However, at 6 minutes long, it should be given a by any first time viewers.
THE GRADUATES – JANUARY 21, 2013 (8:27)
This was the “culmination” of Team Hell No’s story arc, for all intents and purposes, though they did continue to reign as tag team champions until May of 2013. Basically, this was the duo’s “graduation” from anger management class and took place on Raw again. If you include “Dr Shelby”, all of these men had great chemistry by this point. Daniel especially knows how to make building anger look funny.
I must say though that this is probably the weakest of the Team Hell No videos available in this collection. While Shelby does manage some good passive aggressive humor, the whole thing quickly devolves into fairly standard audience participation with an arena-wide hug fest. It’s far from boring, but I’d only really recommend watching this if you feel compelled to complete the set.
CENA AND BRYAN ON MIZTV – AUGUST 12, 2013 (20:19)
This Miz TV segment was the final build for the epic WWE Championship match between John Cena and Daniel Bryan at Summerslam 2013. Prior to this, the IWC was especially restless at Bryan’s treatment leading into the event. The whole story seemed obsessed with proving that Daniel Bryan wasn’t worthy of being WWE Champion or “the face of the company”. Then this promo happened.
Both men showed a lot of passion, but the challenger in particular really made people take notice. After weeks of finally being short-changed, the former Ring of Honor champion insisted that he be taken seriously. He wasn’t just a plucky underdog, but a true wrestler who felt he could run rings around the flashy “sports entertainment” Champion. This passionate outburst was just what Bryan needed after being part of a comedy relief tag team for the better part of a year and turned what seemed like a foregone WWE Title defense into something truly must-see.
If you plan to watch the WWE Championship match this segment is hyping anytime soon, be sure to watch this first, as it sets the stage perfectly.
And there we have part 2 of this collection review! If you’re looking for pure workrate, this third of the collection may not interest you so much. However, if you enjoy promos and comedy, these 7 videos really demonstrate how versatile a performer Daniel Bryan was. Join me soon at The WWE Network Chronicle for the conclusion of this review, which wades into the thick of the “Yes! Revolution” and WrestleMania 30!