WWE: How Daniel Bryan Is Carving out a Hall of Fame Career

Think about this question: Where was Daniel Bryan exactly two years ago? 

Here are a couple of hints: No, he wasn’t still competing on the first season of NXT, and no, he wasn’t a member of the Nexus. 

He was actually on the independent scene, having just been released by the WWE, reportedly because he broke a company rule when he choked ring announcer Justin Roberts with a tie during the Nexus’ initial attack. 

But my, how things have changed. 

Two years later, Bryan isn’t just back in the WWE—he’s on top of it as one of the most popular stars in the company. 

Just 24 months ago, the chances of this happening seemed next to impossible. 

Bryan’s WWE dream had seemingly ended almost as quickly as it had started, and no one was sure whether or not Bryan would get back to the company, much less have a successful career there. 

Of course, Bryan’s proved a lot of people wrong. 

He’s not only returned to a bigger role in the WWE than he had prior to his release. He’s already carving out one hell of a career. 

In fact, I’d go so far as to say that Bryan—assuming he stays on his current path—is headed for the Hall of Fame. 

In less than two years (a nice chunk of which was spent on NXT), here are the major accomplishments that Bryan has already racked up: one World Heavyweight Championship, one United States Championship and one Money in the Bank victory (2011). 

He’s followed the paths of some of the biggest names in recent wrestling history who’ve used a MITB win to catapult their careers to the next level: Rob Van Dam, Edge, CM Punk and Kane, four guys who rose to the top of the company—and in the case of the first three—only after winning that coveted briefcase. 

Bryan did that, too. 

At the Money in the Bank pay-per-view in July 2011, he shocked the world when he won SmackDown’s MITB match, and he then surprised us once again when he successfully cashed in on The Big Show at WWE TLC in December of that year to win the World Heavyweight Championship. 

In his first full calendar year in the company, Bryan did two things that many fans thought he’d never do. But he only continued to impress us. 

On the road to WrestleMania 28, Bryan held onto the World title and did so in memorable fashion. 

He tore the house down a handful of times on both Raw and SmackDown, when he and Punk competed in Champion vs. Champion matches that will ultimately rank as some of the best matches of the year in 2012. 

Bryan even began to show what many thought would hold him back (a ton of charisma), and his character developed into one of the most intriguing ones in the entire WWE. 

But Bryan somehow even managed to outdo himself with one simple word: “Yes!” 

Bryan’s “Yes!” chants began taking over arenas shortly after his historic WrestleMania 28 loss to Sheamus, somehow getting him even more over with the fans in the process. 

In a roughly four-month span from WWE TLC to WrestleMania 28, Bryan won his first World title, became one of the WWE’s top heels and developed into one of its most popular stars, too. 

At that point just after 'Mania, Bryan was seemingly at the highest point of his career. It looked like there was no way to go but down. 

That was until Bryan became the No. 1 contender for the WWE Championship shortly after WrestleMania and gave us another couple of treats with some more fantastic matches against CM Punk. 

They’ve torn it down on Raw, absolutely stole the show with the potential “Match of the Year” at Over the Limit and delivered one of the best Triple Threat matches in recent memory at No Way Out. 

Now, if Bryan can do that in a span of fewer than eight months, just imagine what the future holds for him. 

Like with Punk in 2011, I have no doubt that Bryan will cool off at some point and that he will not always be at the top of the WWE. 

But since winning Money in the Bank last July, he’s had the type of year that builds Hall of Fame resumes—that MITB win, memorable promos and angles, the “Yes” chants, 10-plus matches that are between four and five stars, etc. 

A year like this tends to make a superstar go one way or the other. 

A guy like Punk used a phenomenal 2011 to make himself the No. 2 star in the WWE while a guy like The Miz had a great 2010 and early 2011, but isn’t even viewed as a respectable mid-carder at the moment. 

The fate of Bryan’s career rests on whether he goes Punk’s way or The Miz’s. 

Luckily for him, though, I think that Bryan is going to follow in the footsteps of someone who’s so similar to him. 

And just like Punk’s headed for the WWE Hall of Fame one day, Bryan will be, too.

Drake Oz is a WWE Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter and ask him any wrestling-related questions on Formspring.