Remember Daniel Bryan for what he did, not for what he didn't get to do

It would be easy to look at Daniel Bryan's career and think, "What could have been?"

Just as he was reaching the zenith of the wrestling industry in 2014, his body began to fail him.

Despite a comeback attempt in 2015, his body failed him again.

What could have been? There could have been a chance for him — and the fans — to enjoy a real run at the top of WWE.

What could have been? There could have been a chance for Bryan — real name Bryan Danielson — to have classic matches with a litany of opponents in WWE. How many more classics could he have had with John Cena or Roman Reigns? What would have happened if he faced Brock Lesnar, Kevin Owens, AJ Styles, Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, Shinsuke Nakamura and the list goes on and on and on and on.

When Bryan announced his retirement from WWE Monday, a lot of fans probably thought this way. What could have been?

But what about what he actually did? What about everything he actually accomplished?

What about the fact that Bryan made a name for himself in the wrestling business despite being the same height as most of the fans that adored him?

What about celebrating the fact that he even made it to WWE to begin with? Bryan, like many others, sacrificed his body on the independent scene for years before ever receiving a phone call from WWE. He eventually got that call.

But despite the fact people thought he was talented, no one thought he would have been successful in WWE, as his lack of size did not fall in line with the vision of what WWE typically saw as a superstar.

Despite that notion, he succeeded. He not only succeeded, he exceeded what anyone thought he could achieve.

The same little guy that wrestled in front of probably 50 people in the parking lot of a gas station won the United States, Intercontinental, Tag Team and WWE World Heavyweight titles in WWE all while enthralling fans of more than 50,000 on multiple occasions.

All while defeating names like Cena, Triple H, Randy Orton and Batista — all of which perfectly fit the mold of what is generally seen as a WWE superstar.

So how will you remember Bryan's career? Well, that may depend on your outlook on life in general.

Are you a glass half-empty person or a glass half-full person? Are you an optimist or are you a pessimist?

I don't fancy myself as the most optimistic person in the world, but I'm going to look on the bright side on this one. Instead of crying at the prospect of never seeing Bryan never wrestle again, which is undoubtedly sad, I'm going to fondly remember being some of the good times.

The first wrestling show I ever attended in person was in July of 2010 for Monday Night Raw. It was the final episode of before Money in the Bank and Nexus was running roughshod over the show.

It was on this show that the group attacked some legendary figures in the wrestling business, including Ricky Steamboat, who suffered a serious injury as result. One of the original members of Nexus that was not there was Bryan, as he had been released from WWE after the group's violent debut.

Bryan stepped over the line, according to WWE, and was apparently left with no other choice but to let him go. Bryan eventually came back, but on this show in 2010, he was still an ex-WWE wrestler.

Although Bryan only had a proverbial cup of coffee on WWE's main stage, he had a legion of fans in Philadelphia that were familiar with his work on the independent scene. With persistence, those fans chanted Bryan's name throughout the event with hopes of maybe opening some eyes within WWE.

Those fans chanted so much that it angered some of the younger fans that weren't all that familiar with Bryan other than what they saw on NXT and his brief moment on Raw. The kids even went as far as to yell "Sucks!" every time Bryan's name was chanted.

I can recall this competing interaction angering my former girlfriend, who was pregnant with our daughter, at the time. Dealing with an angry pregnant woman was no fun, but I also remember thinking that maybe Bryan had caught on more than I originally thought.

I was one of those fans that knew of Bryan's work outside of WWE. I distinctly remember watching him HDNet wrestle for Ring of Honor right before he signed with WWE, but I didn't think that many fans were outraged at his departure.

As it turned out, that wouldn't be the last time the fans rallied behind the Aberdeen, Wash. native.

Four years later, my daughter is born and can walk and talk, I graduated from college and began working for philly.com, and I got the crazy idea to start a wrestling blog on the site.

Although I had attended the event the year before, the first WrestleMania I covered for my blog was WrestleMania 30 in New Orleans.

I sat high atop the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in the press box with more than 100 other members of the media. More than 70,000 fans joined us in hopes of seeing one thing: Bryan become WWE World Heavyweight champion.

The fans had rallied behind Bryan once again, but this time on a much larger scale. This time, there were much higher stakes. For whatever reason, fans just got behind Bryan. Maybe it was his in-ring style, maybe it was smile, maybe it was his genuine demeanor, who knows? What we do know was there were 70,000 people screaming "Yes!" as confetti rained down upon them when Bryan won the title and savored in a moment that every wrestler dreams of having.

I can recall standing in the press box and watching all of this play out. I remember the confetti. I can remember the fireworks. I also remember the genuine feel of joy I had of seeing Bryan win on that night.

Even though I thought it was going to happen, even though it was obviously scripted to happen and even though I'm supposed to be an unbiased journalist, I was really happy for him. And I wasn't just happy for Daniel Bryan the character. I was happy for Bryan Danielson the man.

That night signified that even guys who toil on the independents and don't necessarily fit the mold could capture the imagination of wrestling fans like Hulk Hogan or Steve Austin once did.

I wasn't there when Hogan beat the Iron Sheik or when he defeated Andre the Giant. I wasn't there when Dusty Rhodes finally beat Ric Flair. I wasn't there when Bret Hart defeated Yokozuna. I wasn't there when Austin defeated Shawn Michaels, but I can say that I was there when Bryan's defining moment.

Knowing this, I remember closing my eyes and taking it all in.

Bryan did the same thing Monday night. He closed his eyes and took in all of the love from the fans that pushed him to the top of the wrestling business. Before opening his eyes to commence his speech, he smiled.

That's what I'm going to do when I think about Bryan. Smile.