Yes: My Improbable Journey to the Main Event of WrestleMania

In this David vs. Goliath life story, little Aberdeen, Washington boy Bryan Danielson gets hooked on wrestling from watching The Ultimate Warrior, Bret Hart, Chris Benoit, and Dean Malenko on TV. He became so passionate about it that after graduating high school, he got in his car and traveled to San Antonio, Texas to learn how to wrestle. He went from wrestling in Wal-Mart parking lots to the Tokyo Dome, from high school gyms to reputable American arenas, from English carnivals to his ultimate destination, the New Orleans Superdome, where he won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship by defeating three future Hall of Famers in one long, grueling night.What makes this life story so amazing is that nobody expected the now christened Daniel Bryan to make it as far as he did. There are hundreds of thousands of wrestlers all over the world and only a select few of them achieve universal fame and fortune. Daniel Bryan is way under six feet tall, only slightly north of 200 lbs., and has more facial hair than a Serengeti lion. Against much bigger opponents, Daniel seemed like the ultimate underdog. He took a lot of beatings and suffered many horrific injuries along his path to success, but that’s what paying your dues in the wrestling industry is all about. Not only had Daniel Bryan paid his dues, but he paid 100% interest.Daniel is the kind of person you want to see succeed and part of it is because of his personality. If you were to approach this man on the streets, you would find him to be a friendly, laidback, humble human being. He knows wrestling doesn’t owe him anything, in fact, he owes wrestling everything. Underneath all of that modesty is a fiery passion that pushes him through the worst obstacles in his life. Whether those obstacles are amassing a ten match losing streak on a boring WWE sideshow or losing his father and crying relentlessly because of it, Daniel Bryan will not stay down for anything. He’ll tell you everything’s okay one minute and burst into passionate flames the next. It’s part of his Gemini Syndrome, or his dual nature as most people call it.If you’re in an absolute hurry to get through this book, don’t worry, it’s a fast read. It may not feel that way with Craig Tello’s play-by-play introductions at the beginning of each chapter, but over time you get used to having an extra writer there to narrate the action. Daniel Bryan’s own writing style is no-nonsense and to the point, which is a style most fast-paced writers employ. However, with too little description and liberal use of the word “very”, it’s easy to tell that Daniel Bryan doesn’t write for a living. I’m not saying this is a badly written book, because it’s not. But if you’re expecting a celebrity memoir, you’ve got one.I’ve been a Daniel Bryan fan ever since I started paying attention to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards in 2008. I hadn’t seen one Daniel Bryan match prior to NXT in 2010, but apparently he’s famous in the online community for being the Best Technical Wrestler, Most Outstanding Wrestler, and having a Match of the Year. The first two awards he won multiple times over many years and eventually became the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Decade for 2000-2009. It also helps matters that Daniel Bryan is an environmentally conscious animal lover who rubs shoulders with poor people. The fact that a mere hungry man like Mr. Bryan can accomplish so much through hard work and passion is a story that epics are made of. We love the underdog story and always will.

One of the better autobiographies from a WWE superstar - and I've read a lot of them. You get to hear about Bryan's family life growing up, how he got into the wrestling business and was trained by some of the best in the world including Shawn Michaels and William Regal. You hear about his proving himself in the indies and his ups and downs with the WWE. He talks about how he got the "American Dragon" moniker, the maroon tights the facial hair, and the "Yes!" chants. I appreciated some of the stories of the dojos and backstage. What I wasn't thrilled with in this book was the Rolling Stone style narratives that the co-author started each chapter with. They were well written and at times insightful, but they were all leading up to Wrestlemania XXX and rather than being put in chronological order, were spread out throughout the book which was annoying to me. You get a little bit of Bryan's clashes with Vince, but not as much as you may have gotten if this was written after his retirement. It's definitely not a tell-all, but a great wrestling story of one average guy's rise to fame.

I love pro wrestling. The art of the dance of choreographed violence makes my brain spark with enjoyment and at its best sends chills down my spine. But as much as I love pro wrestling, I love a first hand account of the backstage happenings of pro wrestling, and Yes delivers on that front.On top of Daniel Bryan’s life story of being a boy dreaming of a pro wrestler, you get a sweet helping of the backstage dirt about memorable moments of his WWE career. The choking incident during the inception of Nexus, the pure joyride of team Hell No, and even his infamous match with Randy Orton on a random Raw in which some of Bryan’s body shut down on him, Daniel Bryan doesn’t shy away in detailing his emotions and backstage ordeals in these somewhat famous events. And it’s absolutely entertaining.The deeper your knowledge is with wrestling the more I would recommend this book to you. The book is fun, seemingly honest, and full of insight of the niche culture of pro wrestling.

Daniel Bryan is hands down my favorite wrestler not named The Undertaker. I've followed his career from high school gyms with 50 people to the main event of Wrestlemania. To me getting this book was a no-brainer and luckily I wasn't disappointed.Although it was a fairly quick read it still found myself wrapped up in his story. His memoir combined with the description of his Wrestlemania prep was a bit confusing for the first few chapters but nothing you can't overcome. Overall I was very pleased with this book and would recommend this to anyone wrestling fan.

Reading about the life and struggles of one of the most influential people to me personally, and one of the most over wrestlers in the WWE is one of the best pleasures in the world. Reading about his life growing up, his time training under Shawn Michaels, Ring of Honor and various independents, and his signing, release, and re-signing by the World Wrestling Entertainment has given me a brand new respect for the living legend known as Daniel Bryan. I highly recommend this book for all people that are either casual fans of wrestling, not wrestling fans at all, or are looking to join the industry.

I've read some wrestling bios in my day, and this is up there with the best. No drunken hijinks or pill-fueled adventures, just a guy who loves wrestling. The Craig parts are fairly embarrassing (we know Brie is attractive, you can stop reiterating that), but Bryan's stories more than make up for it.

This book is just a wrestling fans inside look to an amazing superstar. It made me happy, sad, and just overall it felt like I was on the ride with him. Amazing!

Great story, great book. I am a Bryan Danielson fan. I say that because I stopped watching WWE many years ago, then one day when I was channel surfing I can across the Wrestling Channel. which was showing some company called ROH (Ring Of Honour). There in the main event between 3 incredible but little known wrestlers. Christopher Daniels, Loki and of course Bryan Danielson. This match blew me away. Loki with hard hitting high flying attacks, Bryan with mat based wrestling that we never see anymore, and Daniels bridging the gap between them. I was hooked. I kept me a wrestling fan for a few more years. Even though Bryan Danielson joined the WWE and became Daniel Bryan, I still would do a quick internet search of how he was doing in a land where size and promo skills were prized, much more that the wrestling aspect. All of this is documented brilliantly in this book in Bryan's own words.The book is honestly written, and much like Bryan's Yes man characters written without ego. What I mean by this is Bryan is always showing respects to wrestlers he was working with in how far they were ahead of him in terms of skills, or calling him matches ok to good, when to me and many of the fan who saw those matches would probobly be calling them the best matches we had seen, and definitely the best matches of the night.He talks openly about his early family life, to becoming a wrestling fan and knowing this is what he wanted to do with his life. Starting out, learning the ropes and about life in general, then homing his craft to making a name for himself in the Indi scene, to his two runs in the WWE. Because of his honesty I really empathised with his. I felt his passion for wrestling, his frustration for not being appreciated for his work, and I was over the moon for him when his hard work finally paid off. He does not accuse anyone of maliciously trying to hold his down, but felt he was not given the chance to show what he could do.I have 2 small criticisms about this book. The first is that the intro to each chapter was written from a media perspective about Daniel Bryan the character the week leading up to Wrestlemania, I thought was completely unnecessary. Bryan was perfectly capable and did pass that information on better in his own words. The second is there are no colour photos in the book not even a page in the middle of the book where people like to have photo pages this does not. The are a few pictures throughout the book do that is not a big thing for me. My kids did like the flip book style of Bryan doing his yes chant in the bottom right hand corner that was pretty cool.This is a great and honest account of Bryan's accomplishment and the physical and political obstacles Bryan had to endure to reach the top. If you are a fan of his Indi work like me, this is huge section of the book. WWE fans will love it as well.

This book is stunning !! I know it’s cliche but it literally takes you on an emotional rollercoaster as well as in the mind of a man who started by wrestling in what WWE calls “Bingo Halls” to having a match at wrestlemania in which he won the most prestigious titles in ALL Ago proffesional wrestling. Read in Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson in real life)’s own words how he went from wrestling with a detached retina to marrying a beautiful twin and wwe personality named Brie.Also the last chapter is one of the most HEARTBREAKING I have ever read and made me want to cry at points ! The feelings Daniel feels about his family and in particular his Dad are so strong and heartfelt that they almost transcend the page. This is not your typical wrestlers book or even sports biography ! This is a MASTERPIECE which I finished in less then a week due to it being a brisk read at around 300 pages but also due to the fact I could not put it DOWN.5 stars isn’t enough so this is my first 6 STARS Review. If you like me wasn’t a big Daniel Bryan fan in his wrestling days (I prefer Roman Reigns , Shawn Michaels ETC) you will become a BIG fan after reading this incredible book.

This book was exactly as you expected it to be, Quality! Daniel Bryan is by far my favourite wrestler so this book is essential reading, and as you can imagine it doesn’t disappoint at all. Bryan regails us with his entire career and personal life moments of obvious importance, all encased with the progression of the WrestleMania week and the festivities leading up to it.Every chapter begins with a brief excerpt from Bryan's Wrestlemania week that cleverly ties together with whatever Bryan subsequently’s talks about in that chapter, until eventually the two meet at the climax to tell the story of that Wrestlemania night. There is nothing here that isn't insightful or of great interest as a wrestling fan, or enjoyable if you aren't. For me this is clearly one of the best books I have read in years, Sure it’s a WWE release and thus is drentched in the framework of the WWE narative and their family “WWE Universe” which can be a tad sacarine sweet at times, But it actually works with this tale of being the underdog who fought the odd’s too make it to the top of the company, But if you’re not a wrestling fan it still hit’s home as the tale he weaves is one of a determined everyman fighting for a greater role in not just wrestling but life, though the book does a comendable job to explain wrestling culture and jargon to non wrestling people so the tale isn’t lost on outsiders.I would easily recommend this to a non-wrestling fan as it’s such a solid story that you can’t help but route for Daniel Bryan, but if Daniel Bryan is your favourite like me and you know the wrestling culture then without a doubt this is the story for you.

This book is best thought of in two parts. The first part is the ridiculous (and at times, insulting to your intelligence) portion of the book that starts every chapter following Daniel Bryan around for the week building upto Wrestlemania 30. Trying to make you believe that all the storylines you've ever witnessed in WWE are real and that Bryan and other wrestlers hold grudges from a forgotten angle 3 years ago.The second part of the book is an excellent autobiography about Daniel Bryan's struggles from trying to find a wrestling school to making it into the WWE and then onto headline Wrestlemania.It's certainly worth reading, but you can cut out the first chunk of each chapter as it's just nonsense.

Released in July 2015, Yes! My Improbable Journey to the Main Event of WrestleMania is Daniel Bryan's behind the scenes story. From his beginnings as a child wanting to wrestle, to his ten years on the circuit before finally making it in WWE, this book chronicles all the hard work, values, influences, unique life choices and more leading to his watershed week at WrestleMania 30.The book is 320 pages divided into 26 chapters with each chapter typically ranging from 15-20 pages long. This is an official WWE-sanctioned release, so the use of WWE photographs has been allowed in addition to photos of Bryan's independent circuit days and ones of a more personal nature too.The story is essentially made up of two separate voices. There is the third-person viewpoint which opens each chapter, and then the second (and bulk of the book) is Daniel Bryan in first-person. Each voice also takes place in different time frames, with the third-person starting a few weeks prior to WrestleMania 30 and Bryan's starting from his birth and upbringing.The third-person viewpoint observes the short-term "journey to WrestleMania" part of his story, following him around press events, signings, hotel rooms, and even what he goes shopping! The first-person sections, on the other hand, detail the long-term part of the journey—how he learned his skills, rose up through the independents, fought around the world, got to WWE, got let go, went back around the world, back to WWE, got let go, back around the world, and finally back to WWE.Unsurprisingly, Daniel Bryan's own voice is the most interesting aspect of the book. The third-person part offers a nice insight, but obviously has heavy WWE editing, so it reads a little more like a PR magazine release at times. However, that being said, WWE has not been as intrusive for Bryan's side of the story, for there is a surprising amount of swearing and references to acts that are anything but PG! All of this helps to make it read as a more realistic and gripping tale.As Bryan spent ten years on the independents, and five (consistent) years in WWE, there is understandably a greater emphasis on the indy side. There are lots of great road tales here and plenty that made me laugh, but occasionally, he can spend a little too long describing almost every move that went into some matches. Unfortunately, this grates after a while, and I found myself wishing he would hurry up and get to the more "political" backstage goings-on of WWE. Deny it all you want, but fans love this part as much as the sport itself.Once Daniel gets to WWE full-time again, he does manage to cover near enough everything I can remember of him. His NXT days, the United States title reign, the Bella Twins love triangle angle, feuding with CM Punk over AJ Lee, Team Hell No (which he wanted to call Team Friendship!), and of course, the YES Movement are all detailed.However, a surprising omission is cancer patient Connor "The Crusher" Michalek. Given how much of an impact they appeared to have on each others' lives, I can only conclude out of respect for the family, he did not wish to be seen as exploiting it. Nevertheless, it still seemed strange to have not included him in the story.Bryan does give a good balance between personal and professional, though, and provides plenty of insight into his own family life, relationship with wife Brie, his beard, diet, and general outlook on life. So, you will leave it feeling you understand a great deal more about the man he is today and what he is all about.While it just falls short of the heady heights of the wrestling author alumni — Mick Foley, Bret Hart, and Chris Jericho—I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and if anyone was to ask me if I recommended it? YES-YES-YES!HIGH SPOTS+ Detailed account of his indy and WWE career to date+ Cohesive well constructed narrative+ Funny+ Good balance between professional and personal lifeLOW BLOWS- The 3rd person segments aren't as interesting by comparison to the 1st person- No Connor The Crusher mention?- Occasional dragging when describing matches