NXT Season 1 Elimination #2: Daniel Bryan
The second individual to be eliminated from NXT was the independent darling – Daniel Bryan. Bryan was accompanied by WWE pro The Miz, whom he would manage to have serious disagreements with throughout the entirety of the season. Bryan’s first match on NXT took place on February 23, 2010, where he would suffer a loss to WWE pro Chris Jericho. Bryan would go on to amass 10 losses with no wins before his elimination from the show.
Just like Michael Tarver, Daniel Bryan managed to eliminate himself from the product as well. On Week 11 of the show, Bryan was asked who he believed should be eliminated from NXT. Bryan would respond, stating: “To be quite honest, I’m the only guy here who hasn’t won a match. If there’s anybody here that should be eliminated next week – it should be me.” Striker would announce that Daniel Bryan was eliminated from the contest.
After his elimination, Daniel Bryan would return alongside the rest of NXT’s original cast as a member of The Nexus. However, on the day of Nexus’s debut, Bryan would choke out former WWE announcer Justin Roberts with his own tie. This would lead to Bryan being released from WWE four days later – with WWE claiming they “had sponsors they had to deal with”. Following his release from WWE, Bryan would go on to work the independent scene before being brought back to the company two months later.
On August 15, 2010, Bryan would return to WWE to join Team WWE in the fight against The Nexus at Summerslam 2010 – which he would win. Surely, I don’t need to explain what Bryan would go on to do.
Bryan would remain in the company for a little over 10 years, winning a multitude of titles and overcoming every single obstacle placed in his path. He wrestled his final match with WWE on April 30, 2021, in a losing effort to the WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns. The Leader of the Yes! Movement would let his contract expire that night, and there is no word on if Bryan will return to the squared circle or not.
