Who is Better: Kurt Angle or Daniel Bryan?

[Rocky Austin]

Some time ago i read an interview from Dicksee Carter saying that Kurt Angle was the greatest performance in this business...while i feel offended ( *cough* HBK *cough*) there is no denying that Kurt is a wrestling mashine... so my question is: who is overall better, kurt angle or daniel bryan?


Funny video of Yes Chants in London xD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FS2YHaUwgrg

[Automatic]

Currently Bryan is way better.

[SESAfro]

Currently Bryan is way better.
Yeah, around 10 years ago Kurt had him beat.

[ihearvoices]

If you're talking about right now then Byran but if you're talking about Kurt Angle in his prime vs Byran now then I'm going with Kurt angle. Kurt angle would mop the floor with Byran.

[monctonvike]

If you're talking about right now then Byran but if you're talking about Kurt Angle in his prime vs Byran now then I'm going with Kurt angle. Kurt angle would mop the floor with Byran.


This^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ its true its true.....I mean its real its damn real! lol

[Black Mass Reverend]

Bryan's the better wrestler, but Angle is definitely the better all-around performer. I'd love to see a match between the two today.

[ihearvoices]

Bryan's the better wrestler, but Angle is definitely the better all-around performer. I'd love to see a match between the two today.

This is a lie, Don't get me wrong Bryan is good but not better than kurt angle. Until Bryan wins a gold metal that is not true. Bryan is not better than brock if we talking about real wrestling and not pro wrestling.

[SESAfro]

This is a lie, Don't get me wrong Bryan is good but not better than kurt angle.
Yeah, Kurt has gold to prove it.

[Haruko Haruhara]

Bryan has yet to find his peak. Give it time. Look at guys like DZ. No one would have thought NICKYYYYY!!! would have been as good as he is now. DB in 5-10 years will be a wrestling god.

[jordan1995]

Think its unfair to compare them , Angle 10 year ago when Danielson was making his name , but Danielson now because angle is past his prime.

[AlexWorldOrder]

I've given Danielson so many changes in WWE, but I think it's the fact that his skills are so dumbed down in the company that it makes him bore me at times. When I see Kurt Angle wrestle, to this day, I know I'm In for something; the guy is a fuckin machine.

[Black Mass Reverend]

This is a lie, Don't get me wrong Bryan is good but not better than kurt angle. Until Bryan wins a gold metal that is not true. Bryan is not better than brock if we talking about real wrestling and not pro wrestling.

-_- obviously we're talking about choreographed pro-wrestling & not Olympic style amateur wrestling, considering we're on a pro-wrestling forum... & it is not a lie, it is an opinion. You don't have to agree with it.

[Steve Austin]

I'd say Kurt Angle in his prime is the best wrestler and all-rounder there is and has been.

Bryan better than current angle.

I don't get why Dixie saying Kurt is the best offends you, it's all a matter of opinion.

[ihearvoices]

Bryan has yet to find his peak. Give it time. Look at guys like DZ. No one would have thought NICKYYYYY!!! would have been as good as he is now. DB in 5-10 years will be a wrestling god.

Even when Bryan peaks he will still not be a better "Wrestler" than kurt angle maybe a better "pro wrestler" but never a better "Wrestler. That's like comparing MMA to WWE. One is Fixed and the other is real. Kurt angle is the real deal man, Bryan may can hold his own but never on a Kurt angle type level.

[ihearvoices]

-_- obviously we're talking about choreographed pro-wrestling & not Olympic style amateur wrestling, considering we're on a pro-wrestling forum... & it is not a lie, it is an opinion. You don't have to agree with it.

Well either way Kurt Angle is better, and it does matter because Kurt angles includes amateur wrestling in matches the same way Bryan includes kick boxing and a little MMA in his matches.

[ihearvoices]

SMH I have lost all faith in this site. Just because someone has a good year or two now he is the best. Just a year ago Punk was the best wrestler now its Bryan. Let me guess Bryan is better a tell stories in the ring then guys like HHH & undertaker right? Lol

[akbar]

Bryan has yet to find his peak. Give it time. Look at guys like DZ. No one would have thought NICKYYYYY!!! would have been as good as he is now. DB in 5-10 years will be a wrestling god.
DB is 31, this is his prime...sure he may get a lil better within the next 2 years but in 7-10 years he will not be wrestling as good he is today. His moves and wrestling style is perfect right now, this current state is his prime.

[Black Mass Reverend]

Well either way Kurt Angle is better, and it does matter because Kurt angles includes amateur wrestling in matches the same way Bryan includes kick boxing and a little MMA in his matches.

I still disagree lol. A lot of people use amateur wrestling style moves. Kurt Angle's better than most of them, but it still doesn't mean he's better than Daniel Bryan, & like i said before "in my opinion".

[Rassling_Fan]

At his prime, I don't think there is anyone who could hang with Angle in terms of wrestling. Now, maybe... Probably by a small percentage so small you can't even see it. But that goes to show you how good Angle is now.

[Black Mass Reverend]

SMH I have lost all faith in this site. Just because someone has a good year or two now he is the best. Just a year ago Punk was the best wrestler now its Bryan. Let me guess Bryan is better a tell stories in the ring then guys like HHH & undertaker right? Lol

Daniel Bryan, excuse me Bryan Danielson has been putting on some of the best matches in pro wrestling for a really long time now lol. Now I know why i recognize your name, you're also the guy who came out & tried to bash CM Punk after his whole pipe bomb promo on Raw. I thought it looked familiar. You went on about how Randy Orton was the best or some shit & that CM Punk sucked lolol. You had this whole anti Punk thing going on.

[ihearvoices]

The question was who is overall better, Lets be real Kurt angle mic skills are better than Bryans, In Kurt angle prime he was way over and had the crowd in the paw of his hands. Kurt angle wrestler better than Bryan. If you want ill give Byran the fact he can "Tell a good story" in the ring. Going back to the original question when you put both guys and line up the pros and the cons Kurt Angle will always be on top because overall Kurt is better than Bryan.

[Steve Austin]

The question was who is overall better, Lets be real Kurt angle mic skills are better than Bryans, In Kurt angle prime he was way over and had the crowd in the paw of his hands. Kurt angle wrestler better than Bryan. If you want ill give Byran the fact he can "Tell a good story" in the ring. Going back to the original question when you put both guys and line up the pros and the cons Kurt Angle will always be on top because overall Kurt is better than Bryan.

This is the truth!

[ihearvoices]

Daniel Bryan, excuse me Bryan Danielson has been putting on some of the best matches in pro wrestling for a really long time now lol. Now I know why i recognize your name, you're also the guy who came out & tried to bash CM Punk after his whole pipe bomb promo on Raw. I thought it looked familiar. You went on about how Randy Orton was the best or some shit & that CM Punk sucked lolol. You had this whole anti Punk thing going on.

I never said Punk sucked just that Punk was overrated and seems like I was right seeing how his segments aint doing all that great and his promos are very boring now.

[Krysys]

I'm going to say Bryan. Oh and obviously there is not getting through to some people that these are OPINIONS. Geez..

[Giddy]

I'd say Kurt Angle in his prime is better than DB, but at the current moment DB has Angle beat.

[Black Mass Reverend]

I never said Punk sucked just that Punk was overrated and seems like I was right seeing how his segments aint doing all that great and his promos are very boring now.

It's ok bro, I honestly don't care that much. I just found it really, really funny lol.

[ihearvoices]

Also as far as the statement Bryan being the best wrestler in the world well that comes down to what type of wrestling style you like. Personally I find guys like Bryan very boring and I don't see the whole telling a story thing in his matches.

[Giddy]

Oh and obviously there is not getting through to some people that these are OPINIONS. Geez..
INTERNET IZ SERIOUS BIZZNIZZ!11!11!!!!1d

[Black Mass Reverend]

I'm going to say Bryan. Oh and obviously there is not getting through to some people that these are OPINIONS. Geez..

Quoted because this guy has the right effing idea!

[Amerinaine]

Pro wrestling is more than just what you do in the ring unfortunately any more. You have to be able to wrestle without to many missed moves. You have to cut a promo and have the crowd believe it. Sometimes, you even have to be a "spot monkey".

Kurt Angle is superior in the ring when it comes to putting on a 5 Star Match but is dead when it comes to cutting a promo and doing spots when it is needed. Danielson can put on a 5 Star Match too, maybe not as well as Angle but can still make you believe in his ring ability. He is golden on the microphone and will work a spot to perfection if he is ever called on to do it.

So while Angle is the better in ring performer, Bryan Danielson is the best at pro wrestling in today's age. Especially from a technical standpoint.

I might also add, that Angle really doesn't job to anyone, while Danielson has done it quite a bit.

[Krysys]

Also as far as the statement Bryan being the best wrestler in the world well that comes down to what type of wrestling style you like. Personally I find guys like Bryan very boring and I don't see the whole telling a story thing in his matches.

Have you ever seen any of his ROH matches? If not than you are missing a great deal and the reason why so many consider him "Best in The World"

[Black Mass Reverend]

Have you ever seen any of his ROH matches? If not than you are missing a great deal and the reason why so many consider him "Best in The World"

Don't bother lol. Went down that road once before. It's like a dog chasing it's own tail.

[Krysys]

Don't bother lol. Went down that road once before. It's like a dog chasing it's own tail.

Well, I mean you cannot judge the man's career if you haven't seen where he was the majority of it.

[Black Mass Reverend]

Well, I mean you cannot judge the man's career if you haven't seen where he was the majority of it.

That's what I & several others tried to tell him about Punk, but he didn't care. Just save yourself the headache.

[Black Mass Reverend]

Well, I mean you cannot judge the man's career if you haven't seen where he was the majority of it.

Boy do I wish ROH had TNA's tv deal :[ I loved it when they were on HDnet. The American Wolves are the shit! Sorry, off topic. Just felt like I had to say this.

[SilverGhost]

Pro wrestling is more than just what you do in the ring unfortunately any more. You have to be able to wrestle without to many missed moves. You have to cut a promo and have the crowd believe it. Sometimes, you even have to be a "spot monkey".

Kurt Angle is superior in the ring when it comes to putting on a 5 Star Match but is dead when it comes to cutting a promo and doing spots when it is needed. Danielson can put on a 5 Star Match too, maybe not as well as Angle but can still make you believe in his ring ability. He is golden on the microphone and will work a spot to perfection if he is ever called on to do it.

So while Angle is the better in ring performer, Bryan Danielson is the best at pro wrestling in today's age. Especially from a technical standpoint.

I might also add, that Angle really doesn't job to anyone, while Danielson has done it quite a bit.

This is a solid explanation. Oh and someone needs to relax when someone gives an opinion. When dealing with Danielson v Angle, the standard is NOT on the WWE level.

[ihearvoices]

Have you ever seen any of his ROH matches? If not than you are missing a great deal and the reason why so many consider him "Best in The World"

Yes I have seen his old work because unlike alot of people I like to do my homework on a guy before I jump on his side and become a fan. Daniel Bryan is good as I said before but I'm just not into his style of wrestling I find it very boring and on the mic he is nothing great. Guys like him have 1 or 2 good promos every 3 months, Its not like Jericho where you know when he gets on that mic he is going to give you something great or when he has a match he is going to deliver a great story win or lose. Daniel Bryan had only 2 good matches this year so far him and sheamus and him & punk. In the first match it seem like it was just about doing a bunch of moves and kicking out, the match was long but boring there was no clear story being told beside we're both tough. Cm Punk vs Daniel bryan was a 5 star match but again I didn't see a clear story being told in the match.

[SilverGhost]

Yes I have seen his old work because unlike alot of people I like to do my homework on a guy before I jump on his side and become a fan. Daniel Bryan is good as I said before but I'm just not into his style of wrestling I find it very boring and on the mic he is nothing great. Guys like him have 1 or 2 good promos every 3 months, Its not like Jericho where you know when he gets on that mic he is going to give you something great or when he has a match he is going to deliver a great story win or lose. Daniel Bryan had only 2 good matches this year so far him and sheamus and him & punk. In the first match it seem like it was just about doing a bunch of moves and kicking out, the match was long but boring there was no clear story being told beside we're both tough. Cm Punk vs Daniel bryan was a 5 star match but again I didn't see a clear story being told in the match.

Tough cookie eh? Different styles takes different understanding.

[dashkatae]

I became a fan of wrestling shortly after Kurt Angle joined the WWF and he was the reason I watched wrestling. I was a very avid Angle fan and during his prime, he was the best overall wrestler in the business. He had the mic skills, the charisma and was one of the best technical wrestlers out there. I've seen a lot of replies saying he couldn't tell a story in the ring but that's not true, he could and often times did, but the quality of the other wrestlers he was facing also made that possible. But even guys that were new got their chances with Angle and he was never shy about selling and whatnot.
After Angle got drafted to Raw I pretty much stopped watching wrestling and didn't really miss it. Most of the guys I loved were either gone or on shows I didn't get since I didn't have cable and I didn't come back into wrestling until very recently and that was because of the 18 seconds controversy at Wrestlemania.
I had hear of Daniel Bryan before (thank you Wrestling Roundtable) but never actually watched any of his matches. I knew he was good so I watched his match at Extreme Rules against Shamus and the match at Over The Limit, watched a few of his Raw and Smackdown matches and listened to his mic skills.
Overall, Bryan is a good wrestler. He has the technical skills, the mic skills, etc. But, I was in a vacuum from wrestling for a long time, so my Kurt Angle experience is from his prime, and if Bryan is in his prime now, I would have to go with Angle as the best wrestler overall. Now, I think Bryan can get to the top and be the guy. I just don't see him as better then Angle in his prime as of right now. In fact, I don't see him as a Kurt Angle though. He has the technical skills to be but his overall style is more Dynamite Kid or He we do not speak of. Hell, his mic skills are about the same too.
What actually makes me pissed at WWE though is that they just don't allow the wrestlers to you know, actually wrestle anymore. Kurt Angle in his prime did a one hour iron man match against Brock Lesnar on Smackdown. On Smack down... They don't do these things anymore. Seems like all the matches on tv are like 10 minutes if you're lucky and most of them are just squashes.
WWE needs to bring back quality matches so guys like Bryan can really show what they can do. The match at Over the Limit was amazing to watch and reminded me a lot of Angle vs HBK at Wrestlemania. If WWE started to do better matches, I think I could change my opinion about Bryan, but with such limited knowledge about Bryan except for what I've seen since Wrestlemania, I'm impressed with what he does but Angle overall is better.

[SilverGhost]

At least there is some unbiased opinion here.

[Cabers]

Currently Bryan is way better.

Very accurate point. Currently yes Bryan has him no doubt but in fairness Angle is 43 to D-Bry's 31!!

[Haruko Haruhara]

I'm going to state how I feel about KA. The man has a limit of move sets now and he did back then too. Maybe more moves but they were always the same in all of his matches. Bryan can come out and do new moves and none of his matches are repeats. DB is the better wrestler. KA does have Olympic gold but that does not translate into WWE wrestling. I could be an NCAA champion but that doesn't mean I can "wrestle."

[The Brown One]

The OP wasn't really specific when asking who's the better wrestler. As Amerinaine said, it could be based on a number of factors.
Angle was better on the mic in his prime, making the crowd hate him at will. Bryan isn't that bad though. Hes really improved since his NXT days, and talks like the average person, so you feel like you can relate to him. That's what I like about Bryan's mic skills.

In terms of storylines and telling a story in the ring, Angle has had better. I'd give it some time though, since Bryan's WWE career is still young.

In actual in - ring performance, Bryan has Angle beat. Just from what I've seen from Angle's best WWE matches, Bryan's best WWE matches, and some of Bryan's indy matches. That's just my opinion, but it seems to be the opinion of the "Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards" too. Bryan has been named the technical wrestler for the past 7 years.

At this stage, obviously I enjoy Bryan's work more, but Angle is still ahead. I'm sure that will change in a while.

[magglis]

Kurt Angle is the 2nd best in ring performer(my opinion)in the history of wrestling so he is always better than anyone else except HBK

[JSullivan]

I prefer to watch Bryan.

I'm a pretty big Angle fan, or I was before his Twitter kept getting hacked.

[Lowki]

Never be a better pure wrestler than kurt angle.

[xStraightxEdgexSaviorx]

Let me give my thoughts on the matter:

First of all, I assume the OP meant Kurt Angle in his prime, or Daniel Bryan in his prime, not how they both are at present, but there's a problem that arises with that comparison:

In Daniel Bryan's best matches, he was in the indy's and he obviously wrestled in that style. In Kurt Angle's best matches, he was in the WWE and he obviously wrestled in that style. These are two totally different entities since the indy's allow for far more technicality then the WWE, even in it's most technical time during the entertainment era (the era before PG and after Attitude). In this sense, it's not fair to compare Kurt's best to Bryan's best from a technical standpoint, since Bryan had more opportunity to show off his skills.

****Side Note**** We're obviously talking about PRO wrestling here, not Olympic style.

Now as for the Kurt Angle having sub-par psychology/storytelling point, I'll beg to differ slightly from Dub's point. First of all, we used the terms interchangeably in this thread and at least to me they are not the same thing. Kurt's storytelling is very solid. He can get the crowd to buy into everything he does, and his ability to work a match from point A to point B to point C, etc all the way to the end is very good. He's at least as good in that department as Rock, Cena (when he actually wants to), Hogan, Austin, etc. Where he lacks in storytelling is selling, something that guys like Punk, Benoit, and Bryan to a lesser extent are/were the absolute masters of. Kurt is 50/50 here, depending on who he wants to put over.

Where Kurt isn't great, or at least is inconsistent is, his in-ring psychology. The ability to feed off a crowd and give them exactly what they want to see. THIS is where the arbitrary grapple move in the middle/end match occurs. Sometimes it happens at the worst times too, times where the work rate is typically at it's highest, and Kurt will more or less do a rest hold.

However, when Kurt is at his peak, and everything is working for him, there's no one better (besides Benoit imo, but we won't get into that) and that includes Bryan.

With Bryan, I don't get where he can be considered boring in the very least, especially not coming from an avid Orton fan like IHV (for the record, I quite enjoy Orton, but he cannot compare to DB). Bryan has everything you want. Great storytelling, great moveset, high work-rate, the works. I don't know where someone can claim he's boring, but to each his own I suppose. As for mic work, Bryan's promos are actually pretty damn good imo. WAY better than when he first started, and you can see him getting more and more confident every week in this department. Bryan's also just recently acquired his main event status as well, so let's just wait and see where he ends up on the mic through the years.

The following is solely for IHV if he reads it:

You mentioned that you didn't see the story in the Sheamus vs Bryan match, but it's pretty easy to see if you were paying attention and actually looking for one, which I assume you really didn't. Going off of memory here, but if I recall Sheamus was over confident at the start, he just beat Bryan in 18 seconds, and he decides to play D-bryan's game. Sheamus goes technical, but Bryan is too nice, and Sheamus eventually gives up on it and goes back to his high energy physical style. Problem is, he's using way too much energy for the 2/3 falls type of match, and Bryan wheres him down with grapples and strikes, eventually working the arm to set up for the Yes Lock. Basically it was a match that DB controlled for the most part, as a way to put him over and keep him at main event status even through a loss.

As for Punk/Bryan, there wasn't much of a build for that one, so they basically just went out there put on a show. Bryan did work the back and the ribs, and Punk worked on Bryan's knee, but mostly that match was all about work-rate. Back and forth action to prove that neither one is really better than the other, setting up the rematch. Great psychology and awesome selling gave it the allusion of a story though, and that's all that really matters.

[steveorton]

Atm The Dragon Daniel Bryan

[AlexWorldOrder]

I prefer to watch Bryan.

I'm a pretty big Angle fan, or I was before his Twitter kept getting hacked.

So you change your mind because of his choice of words? Which have NOTHING to do with his wrestling performance..

[xStraightxEdgexSaviorx]

So you change your mind because of his choice of words? Which have NOTHING to do with his wrestling performance..

Like it or not, wrestler's actions outside the ring are always gonna effect how the fans view them in-ring.

Triple H for example. Haitch is an elite mic worker as a face and a heel, and is a damn good wrestler, but a lot of fans hold resentment towards him because of his perceived underhandedness and unwillingness to put anyone over.

Or how about Orton, who's a very good wrestler, but people still think he's a douche for the indecent with Mr. Kennedy.

Countless others as well that I won't even go into.

[Tommy Thunder]

Like it or not, wrestler's actions outside the ring are always gonna effect how the fans view them in-ring.

Triple H for example. Haitch is an elite mic worker as a face and a heel, and is a damn good wrestler, but a lot of fans hold resentment towards him because of his perceived underhandedness and unwillingness to put anyone over.

Or how about Orton, who's a very good wrestler, but people still think he's a douche for the indecent with Mr. Kennedy.

Countless others as well that I won't even go into.

Thing is there (and i can only speak for myself here of course), yeah, I think Orton is an ass hole for the Kennedy incident, but that doesn't mean I don't respect him as an in-ring performer. I still think he's great at what he does.
Same with HHH. I know about his backstage politics, but I still think he's great.

With Angle and Bryan, it's a tough call for me. Angle IMO is the best pure wrestler ever. Bryan is arguably the best in the world right now. On the mic, Angle is great. Bryan has developed great mic skills of his own.

At this moment in time, I'd have to say Bryan's the best. But he's got a long way to go if he's to measure up with Angle career vs career.

[ParagonOfVirtue]

Maybe someone has already addressed this but after reading 10-15 posts all saying around the same thing I stopped reading. Yes, Kurt Angle is the better Greco-Roman wrestler. Yes, he's won a gold medal. But Bryan Danielson is the superior "professional" wrestler, i.e. "Sports Entertainer". Angle puts on a great show, but I have never felt as if I needed or wanted to see him compete. He has never been a "draw" for me. This is, of course, just my opinion. Blurring the lines between realism and entertainment is a poor way to go about it when comparing the two in a "who's the better wrestler" manner. If it's Greco-Roman, i'm quite sure there's no contest in angle's favor. If it's a take 'em both and let the booking sort it out, I would also lean towards Angle, but that's only because we haven't seen the best of Danielson yet. Wait a few more years, let BD get some more titles under his proverbial belt and then ask the question again.