Danielson returned to WWE as Daniel Bryan at SummerSlam, where he was revealed as the surprise seventh member of Team WWE for the seven-on-seven elimination tag team match against The Nexus, the other NXT season one competitors.
At the event on August 15, Bryan was one of the two final members of Team WWE and managed to eliminate two members of The Nexus, but was eliminated by Wade Barrett after The Miz, whose place he took in Team WWE, attacked him.
Despite this, Team WWE won the match.
The following night, he was revealed as part of the Raw roster.
Bryan feuded with The Miz, with both interfering in each other's matches and The Miz being aided by Alex Riley, his rookie from the second season of NXT.
At Night of Champions on September 19, Bryan defeated The Miz to win the United States Championship, his first championship in WWE.

Bryan then successfully defended the title two weeks later by defeating The Miz and John Morrison in a triple threat submissions count anywhere match at Hell in a Cell on October 3.
On October 24, he went on to challenge then Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler to a champion vs. champion match at Bragging Rights as a special attraction SmackDown vs. Raw match, defeating Ziggler in a highly acclaimed match.
On November 21, Bryan went on to successfully defend his title against Ted DiBiase at Survivor Series.
Bryan returned to NXT's season four as the Pro to Rookie Derrick Bateman.

In late 2010, The Bella Twins began competing for Bryan's affection, leading to them supporting him at ringside and competing in mixed tag team matches together.
On the January 24, 2011 episode of Raw, it was revealed that Bryan had been secretly dating Gail Kim, who began accompanying him to ringside.
On the March 14 episode of Raw, Bryan lost the United States Championship to Sheamus, ending his reign at 176 days.
Bryan was originally scheduled to have his rematch against Sheamus for the United States Championship on the main card at WrestleMania XXVII on April 3, but the match was rescheduled as a dark lumberjack match that ended in a no contest when the lumberjacks fought among themselves to trigger the start of a battle royal, which he lost.
Bryan lost his title rematch the next night on Raw, after which he was saved from Sheamus by the debuting Sin Cara.

On April 26, Bryan was drafted to SmackDown as part of the 2011 supplemental draft.
On the May 6 episode of SmackDown, Bryan made his debut for the brand by losing to Sheamus.
Cody Rhodes then started a feud with Bryan by attacking him after losing their match and placing a paper bag on his head.
Bryan then aligned with Sin Cara to feud with Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase.
On June 28, Bryan returned to NXT to manage Derrick Bateman once again.
Danielson returned to WWE as Daniel Bryan at SummerSlam, where he was revealed as the surprise seventh member of Team WWE for the seven-on-seven elimination tag team match against The Nexus, the other NXT season one competitors. At the event on August 15, Bryan was one of the two final members of Team WWE and managed to eliminate two members of The Nexus, but was eliminated by Wade Barrett after The Miz, whose place he took in Team WWE, attacked him. Despite this, Team WWE won the match. The following night, he was revealed as part of the Raw roster. Bryan feuded with The Miz, with both interfering in each other's matches and The Miz being aided by Alex Riley, his rookie from the second season of NXT. At Night of Champions on September 19, Bryan defeated The Miz to win the United States Championship, his first championship in WWE.
Bryan then successfully defended the title two weeks later by defeating The Miz and John Morrison in a triple threat submissions count anywhere match at Hell in a Cell on October 3. On October 24, he went on to challenge then Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler to a champion vs. champion match at Bragging Rights as a special attraction SmackDown vs. Raw match, defeating Ziggler in a highly acclaimed match. On November 21, Bryan went on to successfully defend his title against Ted DiBiase at Survivor Series. Bryan returned to NXT's season four as the Pro to Rookie Derrick Bateman.
In late 2010, The Bella Twins began competing for Bryan's affection, leading to them supporting him at ringside and competing in mixed tag team matches together. On the January 24, 2011 episode of Raw, it was revealed that Bryan had been secretly dating Gail Kim, who began accompanying him to ringside. On the March 14 episode of Raw, Bryan lost the United States Championship to Sheamus, ending his reign at 176 days. Bryan was originally scheduled to have his rematch against Sheamus for the United States Championship on the main card at WrestleMania XXVII on April 3, but the match was rescheduled as a dark lumberjack match that ended in a no contest when the lumberjacks fought among themselves to trigger the start of a battle royal, which he lost. Bryan lost his title rematch the next night on Raw, after which he was saved from Sheamus by the debuting Sin Cara.
On April 26, Bryan was drafted to SmackDown as part of the 2011 supplemental draft. On the May 6 episode of SmackDown, Bryan made his debut for the brand by losing to Sheamus. Cody Rhodes then started a feud with Bryan by attacking him after losing their match and placing a paper bag on his head. Bryan then aligned with Sin Cara to feud with Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase. On June 28, Bryan returned to NXT to manage Derrick Bateman once again.
Daniel Bryan