Ric Flair vs Daniel Bryan

[elliott]

The 2016 #1 vs who I think is the overwhelming favorite for 2026's #1. Who ya got?

[Boss Rock]

Gotta go with Bryan, but it's close as Bryan is a number 1 contender and Flair is a top 10 contender. There are still a ton of 80's Flair matches that I haven't seen, but I think (as of now) Bryan beats him in longevity and volume. I do think Flair's best match (Funk GAB) is better than Bryan's best match (Nigel Unified), but I would put the rest of Bryan's peaks over Flair's. Selling is very close and I would probably give bumping to Flair. This may change the more Flair I watch, but Bryan will still probably have a better chance at the top spot for me.

[MoS]

This is arguably THE most significant versus poll and the most important  one for 2026 GWE purposes. Right now, in my working list, I have Bryan number one and Flair number 5, so for me, right now, it is Bryan. But it can change any day and I really do want to explore this question in as much detail as I can. Again, as I said, it might be the most significant comparison for GWE 2026 

[kid dracula]

Yeah I can't vote in this one, because this is the number one question I have to answer between now and 2026!

[Cap]

I presently have both in my working top 10, but still feel fairly comfortable voting for Bryan at this point.  Taking just a few quick points off the top of my head...

Flair probably has the best match between the two, but I think Bryan's top 5 or top 10 hold up really well. That extends out to top 20 or 30 as well. I think they are really close on top matches, but I'd probably argue that Bryan pulls a bit more of the weight in his top matches. Bryan's top matches are with quality opponents, but my guess is when you take the average position of Flairs... say.... top 5 opponents vs Bryans, Flair's are going to do much better.

I much prefer Bryan's offense

I also prefer how he puts a match together. I don't subscribe to the notion that Flair had a bland formula, but I do think Bryan provides a little more variety, especially if you start thinking about their top 30 matches or so

Both rank highly in consistency, but I can't think of a bad Bryan match really.  He always goes out and maximizes minutes in the ring.

Bryan did more with less in terms of card positioning often as well.

Flair is probably the better bumper, but overall selling might be a bit close. Bryan is pretty good at consistent selling and generally dropping it when it makes sense. Flair works and sells for the cheap seats a bit better, but I think Bryan's approach to wrestling is more varied on the whole so I think he does subtle stuff pretty well.

 

This is something that I will ponder a good bit, but right now it is Bryan.

 

 

[Mantaur Rodeo Clown]

This remains THE question going into 2026. I believe it is what people will be forced to debate. 

Daniel Bryan Danielson has all the benefits of recency bias. He wrestled the modern style, doing “”””bangers”””” with guys like Ospreay and Omega and has been consistently marketed as the greatest wrestler of his generation. He has a passion and understanding for the business that is peerless in the modern era. He has reached the top of the card in every single place he’s ever worked, and that achievement cannot be understated. 
 

But I still don’t know if it will get him past the Nature Boy. Ignoring the fact that years of Flair’s career have been lost to time. There will simply never be another like him. The look. The promo. The work ethic. The drawing ability. The matches. Oh, the matches. 
 

They can both wrestle on the mat. They can both brawl and go hardcore. They can work sprints and they can work broadways. They can work tags. They can work heel and babyface equally well. There will be a generational divide in the voting between these two, and in these cases, youth and recency seems to win out. 
 

I’ll need more time to consider. 

[Kain]

It's Flair for me. If you'd ask me who my favorite Guy out of ROH is, the Answer is Bryan Danielson. When I stopped following WWE he was a Guy at least tried to pay Attention to. But if I were to rank all the Matches I've ever seen pretty much everything that has Flair vs. Steamboat, Windham, Savage, Jumbo, Funk ... would be there before Bryan has his first Appearance on that list. There'd probably be even more when I really put my mind to it, Bryan is likely the better Person, he's a great Wrestler for sure, but there aren't many I'd have over Flair when it comes to being the greatest Wrestler ever. The Candicates for that would be Chigusa Nagayo, Bret Hart, Terry Funk & Jumbo Tsuruta.

[El McKell]

10 minutes ago, Kain said:

But if I were to rank all the Matches I've ever seen pretty much everything that has Flair vs... Savage... would be there before Bryan has his first Appearance on that list. 

I have to believe if you sat down and watched the two mediocre Savage-Flair matches from December 1995 (the Starrcade match and the one from Nitro a few days before), you couldn't possibly say that either of them were better than every single Danielson match, surely

[Kain]

Perhaps. But that would still be exceptions.