Bryan's in my top 10 ATG for all the reason you listedBryan got injured but the year leading in, he out worked everyone. Including the WWE Champions at the time and his WM XXX performance blows away all time performers easily. Taker or Bret have never had to work as hard as Bryan did in early 2014 and at WM XXX.
As a champ though he unfortunately didn't get a chance to shine