Spotlight on Bryan Danielson - American Dragon
The American Dragon is one of the best wrestlers in the world today, and that comes from being trained by one of the best of all time. Enrolling in the Texas Wrestling Academy in 1999, The Dragon found himself getting trained by former WWE champion, "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels. He found himself training alongside athletes like Shooter Shultz, Spanky and Lance Cade, who you know as Garrison Cade on WWE Raw.
Shortly after making his debut in the ring, The Dragon embarked on a small tour of Japan in December 1999. He went on tour with the other students of the Academy. They were brought over because Shawn Michaels asked they be a part of it while he was there to referee a match for the now-defunct Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW). In one of the more prominent matches that The Dragon competed in, he teamed with Lance Cade to lose to the team of Hisakatsu Oya & Yoshinori Sasaki. But that didn't matter, as The Dragon would return there in the future achieving greater success.
Michaels was also running the Texas Wrestling Alliance (TWA) with fellow trainers Rudy Boy Gonzales and Paul Diamond. This was a good way for the students of the Academy to get their feet wet. The Dragon began teaming with Spanky and were set to go after tag team gold. On March 21, 2000, the duo defeated Jeromy Sage & Ruben Cruz for the TWA Tag Team Titles in San Antonio, TX. The reign was short-lived, as the dropped the titles back to Sage & Cruz on April 4.
After four months of wrestling professional, The Dragon signed a developmental contract with WWE. He was assigned to then-developmental territory Memphis Championship Wrestling (MCW). The Dragon continued his training there with more of some of the best in the business: former WWE Intercontinental champion William Regal, former WCW/NWA Tag Team champion Bobby Eaton and former NWA US Tag & ECW Tag champ Tracey Smothers.
In the summer of 2000, The Dragon began feuding with fellow Academy graduate, Spanky. On August 12, 2000, The Dragon defeated Spanky to win the vacant MCW Light Heavyweight Title in Jackson, MS. He lost it back to Spanky on September 22 in Vicksburg, MS.
They reformed their partnership later in the year and defeated Seven & Thrash, representing The Triad, for the MCW Southern Tag Team Titles in Manila, AR on December 1, 2000. The Dragon was not involved in losing the titles as Shooter Shultz filled in for him and lost the MCW Southern Tag Titles to The Dupps on January 13, 2001. Soon after this, The Dragon found himself released from his WWE contract.
Getting a contract from WWE was great for Dragon, as it opened doors for him on the independent scene. He ventured to Jim Kettner's East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA) and teamed with Low Ki on April 7, 2001 to defeat Charlie & Russ Haas in Wilmington, DE to win the ECWA Tag Team Titles. As the new champs, friction was visible in future defenses by The Dragon & Low Ki.
The Dragon continued to make strides in North America, and this time went to Canada to compete in National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) Canada. He defeated Chance Beckett on October 12, 2001 in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada to win the NWA Canadian Junior Heavyweight Title. He would hold on to the title until December 26, when he dropped it to Disco Fury in the same city he won it in.
While out in the West Coast, the American Dragon was invited to compete in the All Pro Wrestling (APW) King of the Indies tournament in Vallejo, CA on the weekend of October 26 & 27. The Dragon made a big impression that weekend, winning the tournament impressively. He defeated Spanky, Doug Williams, Donovan Morgan, and Low Ki to win it all.
2002 was looking to be the year The Dragon really got noticed. He went back to ECWA on January 18 to challenge for the ECWA Title. He competed in a 5 Way Match against Christopher Daniels, The Amazing Red, Mike "The Shooter" Kruel, and Low Ki and unfortunately came up on the short end of the stick as Daniels walked out as the new champion.
Ring of Honor (RoH) began running shows on February 23, 2002. The Dragon was a major part of the RoH staff in launching the promotion. He competed in the main event of the first show in Philadelphia, PA and lost in a Triple Threat Match against Low Ki & Christopher Daniels, which was won by Low Ki. The Era of Honor had begun.
In RoH's second show, "Round Robin Challenge" on March 30, Low Ki, Christopher Daniels and The Dragon competed in a series of matches against each other. In the opening match, Daniels made The Dragon tap out. The main event of the show saw The Dragon defeat Low Ki by submission.
Throughout all this, Low Ki & The Dragon still bickered with one another while holding the ECWA Tag Team titles. On April 6, 2002, they teamed up against Christopher Daniels & Xavier. Even though they won the match, they lost the titles. The stipulation stated the winner of the fall would be allowed to choose a new partner to be the champs. Low Ki pinned Xavier and even named Xavier as his new tag team championship partner.
RoH held the Heartbreak Gauntlet Series on their April 27, 2002 show. It was a series of matches involving students of Shawn Michaels. In the finals of the series, Spanky defeat The Dragon. It was after the match that Spanky and The Dragon declared they would be the next RoH champion, which brought out most of the locker room disputing the claims.
On October 6, 2002, The Dragon made his New Japan debut defeating Wataru Inoue. Three days later, he defeated the legendary El Samurai, which helped show that The Dragon was the real deal. He was involved in another big match on the tour, teaming with The Havana Pit Bulls and losing to Jushin "Thunder" Liger, Tiger Mask IV and Masahito Kakihara at the Tokyo Dome on October 14. The Dragon continued teaming with The Havana Pit Bulls on the tour, and they lost a Triathalon Survivor Match to Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask IV and Heat on October 26.
On Februay 8, 2003, RoH made their only Elks Lodge appearance in Queens, NY for their First Anniversary show. On the card, The Dragon scored a victory against the current RoH champion Samoa Joe.
Even though he had been released from his WWE contract, talent scouts continued to keep their eyes on The Dragon, hoping he improved his work, which he did without a doubt. On November 10, 2003, he was brought in to work a dark match at the Raw taping. He defeated New England wrestler Arch Kincaid. The next night, he was used in a match taped for Velocity. Wrestling under his given name, Bryan Danielson, he teamed with "The Hurricane" John Walters and lost to the team of Spanky & Paul London.
RoH teamed with All Japan Pro Wrestling to promote a joint show in Philadelphia. The American Dragon scored a victory on the monumental night over Jay Briscoe. Other matches on the show saw AJ Styles defeat former World Championship Wrestling (WCW) star Kaz Hayashi, Homicide lost to Satoshi Kojima, and The Great Muta & Arashi successfully defended their All Japan tag titles against Dan Maff & Christopher Daniels in the main event.
The Dragon competed in several shows for Major League Wrestling (MLW). In one of his notable matches, he lost to the controversial Teddy Hart on January 9, 2004 at MLW Reloaded #1. On January 25, he traveled to Pro Wrestling Guerilla (PWG) and was a part of the tag team tournament held that night in Santa Ana, CA. He teamed with Super Dragon and the defeated The Havana Pit Bulls and Scott Lost & Joey Ryan before losing to Homicide & B-Boy in the finals.
February 2004 saw The American Dragon once again invade New Japan. On February 1, in Sapporo, Japan, he scored a huge victory over Tiger Mask IV. Two weeks later at Sumo Hall, he teamed with Koji Kanemoto and Curry Man aka Christopher Daniels to beat Masayuki Naruse, Heat & Tiger Mask IV.
On March 12, The American Dragon teamed with Curry Man to defeat Gedo & Jado in Tokyo, Japan to win New Japan's International Wrestling Grand Prix (IWGP) Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles, which has become one of his biggest victories to date. Continuing his impressive overseas journeys, in April 2004, New Japan held the American Super Junior Tournament. The
American Dragon defeated former WWE European & Tag Team champion X-Pac, Chad Collyer and Rocky Romero of the Havana Pit Bulls to win the tournament.
The American Dragon continues to make a name for himself and has completely pulled out of the shadow of Shawn Michaels. His skills continue to be sharpened and has no problem finding work anywhere. Whether it's in Japan, the United States or Europe, he keeps wowing fans with his tremendous ring work and athleticism. It is highly recommended that you check out a show in your area if "The American Dragon" Bryan Danielson is booked on, as your are almost guaranteed in seeing a great match.
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