NXT is such a different beast today that the notion of Bryan Danielson kicking off the first episode of the show with Chris Jericho sounds like a mini-dream match in the making. Instead, his debut as Daniel Bryan is notable for basically laying out the arc of his first few years with the company. He comes out to healthy applause and cuts a promo on his assigned pro mentor, The Miz, and Michael Cole's commentary abruptly switches from a matter-of-fact listing of Bryan's accomplishments into a sudden, overwhelming and complete burial of everything that Bryan did on the independent scene for a decade. The Miz comes out and accuses Bryan of having no charisma even as his ostensible protégé immediately wins the crowd over with some taunts about Miz's fake career trajectory. The dichotomy of Bryan's immediate rapport with the audience clashes violently with both the commentary's disrespect and the on-screen talent's dismissal in an eerie forecast of things to come.
But when Jericho himself comes out, it's obvious that he at least knows of and respects Bryan, and the two get into a sweet match that makes the most out of their insultingly brief six minutes. Nonetheless, what might otherwise have been just the first step of WWE's squash of Bryan instead turns into a fun little sprint in which Jericho gives up a great deal of offense to the new signee. Bryan works surprisingly sloppy here and there, including a tope suicida that is headed straight for Botchamania until a quick-thinking Y2J manages to catch Bryan just well enough to pass off Dragon's crash and burn into the announce table as Jericho's own counter. Elsewhere, the two submission wrestlers work some fine reversals and holds, legitimizing Bryan's mat game to the extent that Jericho must switch gears and hit a Codebreaker to sufficiently rattle Bryan to lock in a Liontamer for the tap. Even factoring in the mistakes, this was good, solid ring work with healthy heat, which only makes the consistent commentary burial all the more dissonant. Still, as a demonstration of both Bryan's ability and the kind of crap he'd have to endure for years, a fitting intro the wrestler.
Match Rating: **1/2
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