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I’ve been a long-time fan of Daniel Bryan, ever since I first read about him in the Apter mags and found out he grew up about 40 minutes north of me. The state of Washington hasn’t produced a huge amount of major successes in pro wrestling, so to see someone tear it up on the indy and international circuits for years before becoming a huge success in WWE is pretty damn cool.

After all the last five years or so, Bryan’s success in WWE has finally earned him the documentary DVD treatment. Thus far, the only other DVD I recall him getting was an entry in WWE’s ill-fated “Superstar Series” line of DVDs, so I was pretty happy to see this DVD come along. The layout is similar to the recent Destruction of the Shield in that, instead of just a sit-down interview with the star, it’s actually recorded as a build-up to a specific match. In this case, it documents Bryan’s road to his pair of matches at Wrestlemania XXX and how he got to that point. Over the course of 90 minutes or so, Bryan documents his career, starting with his time training under Shawn Michaels, working the independents (specifically Ring of Honor), then his hiring/firing/hiring in WWE just a few years ago.

Over the course of Bryan, he doesn’t pull punches about his career and is very honest about everything that has happened over its course. Along with Bryan, we hear stories from his wfie Brie Bella, former trainers William Regal & the aforementioned HBK, Steve Austin, John Cena, Cesaro, Seth Rollins, etc., and they’re just as open and honest about Bryan’s life and career as he is. Rollins and Cena especially heap praise on Bryan, with Rollins actually calling Bryan his hero when they were both on the indy circuit and Cena discussing his full support of Bryan in WWE when not many would (Cena was highly instrumental in getting Bryan rehired after the infamous “TieGate” incident, which is discussed at length). Sheamus also talks about his pair of feuds with Bryan, and how Bryan was so frustrated when he got shafted in two ‘Mania matches with Sheamus. Surprisingly, Sheamus was just as frustrated with those matches, and was exceptionally angry during their ‘Mania match that only last 18 seconds. Apparently, there was a big plan for their match, with the two men discussing at length all they wanted to do in an attempt to steal the show and tear the house down, only to be told at the last minute it would relegated to basically a joke match (they fortunately got to somewhat make up for it the next PPV in an awesome best-of-3-falls match at Extreme Rules).

Over the course of the documentary, what’s somewhat surprising is how humble Bryan is about damn near everything. Despite being a major star in WWE with a worldwide fanbase, he still only cares about the wrestling. In fact, Bryan and his wife both repeatedly mention how uncomfortable he is when doing appearances, media blitzes, etc. Even if fans are excited to see him, by his own admission, he somewhat locks up and gets a bit shy, never really accepting the fame and recognition he’s rightfully earned. He sees himself as nothing more than a wrestler who has just happened to get some lucky breaks, and all he truly cares about at the end of the day in terms of his job is getting out in the ring and doing his thing.

While the documentary is good and pretty informative, much like the aforementioned Shield DVD, it feels rushed. While Bryan talks about all the major parts of his life and career, a lot of the parts are really glossed over and condensed into segments that last only a few minutes. It would have been nice to hear him talk more at length about his time with HBK and on the indies, maybe hear some stories about his favorite indy opponents, matches, and things of the like. It definitely contains some really enjoyable stories from Bryan and others, but I would have liked to hear more. After stellar sets like the ones WWE has put out for Steve Austin, Chris Jericho and Edge, where they get a pretty hefty documentary portion, it seems like they are getting shorter and shorter with some of the newer releases.

Fortunately, there’s still a lot to be enjoyed, and that brings us to the matches. While there’s not a lot on here most current fans haven’t seen, what is here is great. You get Daniel Bryan vs. Chris Jericho from NXT, the triple threat from ‘Mania, his classic with CM Punk at Money in the Bank and his Summerslam match with John Cena when he won his first WWE Championship, to name a few. Also included are one of his matches from Velocity as an enhancement talent with Jamie Noble (remember when Velocity and Shotgun Saturday Night matches featured the roster wrestling local or enhancement talent, and they were super competitive instead of just squashes?), as well as his very first match with WWE, which was recorded prior to a Sunday Night Heat taping and featured him (under a mask as American Dragon) and Shooter Schultz (whatever happened to him?) vs. Spanky and Lance Cade in an all-Texas Wrestling Academy tryout. The match is surprisngly good, especially when you consider all four guys were only a few months into their careers at that point. The lack of commentary makes it kind of awkward, but the crowd gets really into it towards the end, and it was a good omen for most of the people involved.

Overall, the set is really enjoyable, and listening to Bryan’s stories is really interesting and entertaining. What it lacks in content, it makes up for in quality, and is definitely a must-have for any Daniel Bryan fan out there.

Disc 1

“Journey to WrestleMania” Documentary:

The Journey Begins
Chasing The Dream
Shawn Michaels
Independent Scene
Remaining Humble
NXT
The Nexus
Press Conference
WrestleMania XXVII
The History of Yes!
WrestleMania XXVIII
Daniel Bryan: WWE Superstar
The Yes Movement
Kickboxing
Media Frenzy
Training for WrestleMania
Triple H
Occupy Raw
The Movement Grows Stronger
Brie
WrestleMania Axxess
Hall of Fame
WrestleMania XXX
Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H
Triple Threat Match
Champion
Reaching Your Dream
WWE WrestleMania 30 – Daniel Bryan Winning World Heavyweight Championship

DISC 2
WWE – Daniel Bryan vs. Chris Jericho on NXT

Power of Yes

Tryout

American Dragon & Shooter Schultz vs. Brian Kendrik & Lance Cade
Austin, TX [SmackDown Taping] • February 8, 2000

Extra List

Jamie Noble vs. Brian Danielson
Velocity • January 18, 2003

Getting Signed

Daniel Bryan vs. Chris Jericho
NXT • February 23, 2010

Borderline Insulting

United States Championship Match
The Miz vs. Daniel Bryan
Night of Champions • September 19, 2010

Money in the Bank Winner

World Heavyweight Championship Match
The Big Show vs. Daniel Bryan
TLC • December 18, 2011

Champion

World Heavyweight Championship Match
Daniel Bryan vs. The Big Show
SmackDown • January 6, 2012

Redemption Match

2 out of 3 Falls Match for the World Heavyweight Championship
Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan
Extreme Rules • April 29, 2012

Anarchist

No Disqualification Match for the WWE Championship
CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan
Special Guest Referee: AJ Lee
Money in the Bank • July 15, 2012

Team Hell No

WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Kofi Kingston & R-Truth vs. Daniel Bryan & Kane
Night of Champions • September 16, 2012

WWE – Daniel Bryan Winning First World Heavyweight Championship

DISC 3
WWE – Triple H as Referee for Daniel Bryan vs. John Cena SummerSlam Match

B-Plus Player

Gauntlet Match
Daniel Bryan vs. Jack Swagger, Antonio Cesaro and Ryback
RAW • July 22, 2013

SummerSlam Main Event

WWE Championship Match
John Cena vs. Daniel Bryan
Special Guest Referee: Triple H
SummerSlam • August 18, 2013

Great Moment / Short Reign

No Disqualification Match
Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton
RAW • March 17, 2014

The YES Movement

Triple Threat Match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Randy Orton vs. Batista vs. Daniel Bryan
WrestleMania XXX • April 6, 2014

Victory, Injury, & Recovery

Daniel Bryan’s Big Announcement
RAW • December 29, 2014

What’s Next??

Winner Will Face Brock Lesnar At WrestleMania For The WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Daniel Bryan vs. Roman Reigns
FastLane • February 22, 2015

WWE – Daniel Bryan Injury Announcement on RAW

BLU-RAY EXCLUSIVES
He Gave Me A Lot

John Cena vs. Brian Danielson
Velocity • February 8, 2003

Mentor

Daniel Bryan vs. William Regal
NXT • April 13, 2010

Brie

Daniel Bryan & Brie Bella vs. Ted DiBiase & Maryse
RAW • December 6, 2010

Daniel Bryan and Kane Attend Anger Management
RAW • August 2012

The Wyatt Family’s Newest Member

Steel Cage Tag Team Match
The Usos vs. Bray Wyatt & Daniel Bryan
RAW • January 13, 2014

WWE – Daniel Bryan & Bray Wyatt Cage Match with The Usos

Stories:

School of Wrestling
Just A Dude
Memphis Developmental
King of the Indy’s
Stigma
Charisma
NXT Troubles
Fired
Yes / No ?
The Proposal
Giant YES!
Book of Yes
The Beard

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