Given Danielson’s success in WWE, at first glance, it feels comical to argue that it was anything other than, at worst, a very good ten years for him in WWE. So why would anyone think it ruined his WWE career? The only logical argument would be that, despite all of Danielson’s good work in WWE, it was largely a result of WWE having to be dragged kicking and screaming to give it to him. One example is WrestleMania 28, when Danielson lost the World Heavyweight Title to Sheamus in mere seconds; it was a move designed to get Sheamus over and make Danielson look ridiculous, only the fans viewed Danielson as a victim of bad booking, leading to a groundswell of support for him. 

This would become the common theme of Danielson’s WWE run; the promotion would move him to the side, the fans would react poorly to this, and eventually WWE would have no choice to push him. The build to WrestleMania 30 served as the apex of this, as WWE tried desperately to go with someone other than Danielson, only for the fans to not be denied, and WWE pivoting to give Danielson his WrestleMania moment. Is that enough to say WWE ruined Danielson’s career? Admittedly, it’s still a bit flimsy, because he still did end up winning World Titles and having massive success. Perhaps the better argument is that, despite all of Danielson’s WWE accolades, none of it came easy, and most of it came against WWE’s wishes. That is a stark contrast to Danielson’s AEW and Ring of Honor runs; in both cases, each company wanted to push Danielson as a top star, always put him in marquee situations, and treated him accordingly.