Daniel Bryan and Shinsuke Nakamura Wrestle For The First Time Inside A WWE Ring After SmackDown Live

Daniel Bryan’s first bout against Shinsuke Nakamura in WWE came in the form of a dark match after SmackDown LIVE went off the air last night in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

The match actually happened after 205 Live went off the air, with Bryan winning the match via disqualification. Bryan was hitting Nakamura with “Yes” kicks when “The King of Strong Style” gave him a low blow to cause a DQ. Bryan stood tall after the match by hitting a running knee as Nakamura was going for the Kinshasa.

The match lasted about 10 minutes.

.@WWEDanielBryan facing @ShinsukeN in a dark match after tonight's #205Live @WrestlingInc pic.twitter.com/VoW63lBYxC

— Raj Giri (@RajGiri_303) May 2, 2018

Daniel Bryan goes for the #oui kicks but Nakamura hits the shot to the balls and gets DQ'ed #WWEMontreal #sdlive pic.twitter.com/iXCVPB6jGd

— Steven Wilson (@Rockamaniac00) May 2, 2018

Nakamura should of just kept going…. #wwemontreal #sdlive pic.twitter.com/elWNe05qhL

— Steven Wilson (@Rockamaniac00) May 2, 2018

Bryan and Nakamura (and UFC fighter Lyoto Machida) were roommates at New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Los Angeles dojo in the early 2000s. Although Bryan and Nakamura crossed paths in tag team matches in Japan previously, they had never clashed in a singles match until Tuesday.

Bryan had said on multiple occasions that Nakamura was the opponent he most wanted to face, and after it was announced Bryan had been cleared to return from a head injury in March, Nakamura tweeted the following:

This is great news. No one needs to wish anymore. They can see it with their eyes. #NakamuravsBryan

— Shinsuke Nakamura (@ShinsukeN) March 20, 2018

Bryan didn’t appear on SmackDown LIVE last night, with the storyline explanation being that he wasn’t cleared to compete due to his chest being damaged in the Greatest Royal Rumble Match. Big Cass brought a little person dressed as Bryan out to the ring, made fun of him, and then gave him a big boot.