Daniel Bryan’s New Book Worth Every Penny for Wrestling Fans

Daniel Bryan's new book "Yes! My Improbable Journey to the Main Event of Wrestlemania" was much better than expected and one of my favorite reads.

I've been following Bryan Danielson's (AKA Daniel Bryan) career since 2004. I found a copy of the first Ring of Honor show "The Era of Honor Begins" which featured the main event of Low Ki vs. Christopher Daniels vs. "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson. I knew of Low Ki and Daniels, but never heard of this Danielson kid. I was quickly blown away.

Danielson explains that he found his interest in wrestling at a young age when a friend of his gave him a tape to watch. He wanted to go to wrestling school, and he found one with Shawn Michaels' Texas Wrestling Academy. He goes into detail about his early stages of his career, and his first few tours of Japan.

His time that was covered in Ring of Honor was my favorite part of the book. Danielson is very critical of his work, and some of the matches he said were slightly disappointing in his eyes are among some of my favorite matches ever. He details his matches with Austin Aries, Nigel McGuinness, Samoa Joe, Tyler Black (Seth Rollins), and goes into detail of his over one-year run as Ring of Honor Champion. It was shocking to read his thoughts on his overall reign and things that he would do differently.

Back in 2006, I made a trip to Minneapolis for my first Ring of Honor show. Danielson wrestled McGuinness to a 60 minute draw. For me, it was one of the best displays of athleticism and heart (both guys battled injuries including McGuinness getting legit knocked out) that I've seen in a wrestling match. Danielson described it as "everything we did was regrettable that night." Quite the difference in feeling.

Danielson doesn't hold back on any of the details of his life in the WWE, and that does include his 2010 firing for choking ring announcer Justin Roberts as part of the Nexus invasion. From getting booted off the Wrestlemania XXVII card, to winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania XXX, Danielson takes you on a ride through the good times and bad.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I impulsively bought the book. Any expectations that I did have were immediately blown away by his details and humor. Is it the best wrestling book ever written? That honor stays with Mick Foley for me at this point. It is however one of the best autobiographies that I have ever read.

If you have any interest in his career, or even any interest in reading a great story of someone following their dreams, this is easy to highly recommend.

Because it's wrestling, I might as well rate it on a 5-Star ranking. Danielson easily pulls a ****1/2 on this book.