The relationship between Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso.
History[]
Daniel and Johnny first met in 1984 when joint saw Daniel bonding with his ex-girlfriend Ali. He believed that Daniel was making the moves on Ali when in reality he was just trying to get to know her. The boys sound the first half of the movie messing with each other and Johnny bullying Daniel. However, the two fought each other in 1984's All Valley Championship as a way to settle their fued over and for all. During the fight, Johnny was told by John Kreese to "sweep the leg" underneath Daniel, whose leg had been broken during his high with Jimmy. Johnny was disturbed by this but went with it until Daniel took Johnny out with a crane kick. Afterwards, Johnny told Daniel he was alright before handing him the trophy. After the tournament, Daniel and Miyagi exited from the building, where they were horrified at the sight of Kreese verbally abusing Johnny for coming in second place and later putting him in a chokehold. Fortunately Mr. Miyagi fought John off of Johnny, leading everyone to turn against Kreese, including Johnny and eventually leave his dojo.
Over the next three and a half decades, Daniel and Johnny's lives went separate ways and their lives took different turns. Daniel became a very successful car salesman in the future, is happily married to a woman named Amanda and a loving father to two children Samantha and Anthony. Meanwhile Johnny's life has fallen in a downward spiral. Feeling defeat from Daniel in 1984 caused him to live in a lowly apartment and a damaged relationship with his son Robby.
In Cobra Kai, Daniel and Johnny's rivalry is the centric relationship of the series, highlighting how they went from enemies to friends in the course of the six seasons. The two reunited for the first time in 34 years when Johnny's car was bright into Daniel's body shop. Unlike Johnny, Daniel was actually happy to see him and greeted him like an old friend, even offering to fix his car for free. However their rivalry reignited once Daniel learned Johnny reopebed Cobra Kai and was unconvinced that Johnny was going to change it for the better. Despite their rivalry with each other, Daniel wished their rivalry would end then and there. The two men started to mend their rivalry after spending the whole day together and realizing they have many things in common. However with the revelation that Robby was secretly training with Daniel, who was unaware that Robby was Johnny's son, Johnny becomes more resentful towards Daniel. He becomes more upset with Daniel when he sees him standing in Rocky's corner during the 2018 all Valley Championship and the fact Robbie just moved in the Russo's. Daniel tries to make amends with Johnny, only to find Kreese is still alive and the two have been reconciling and Daniel swears it isn't over yet.
However, a turning point in their relationship is when Daniel and Amanda encounter Johnny and Carmen at the same restaurant. Despite the tension between the two men, they actually have a good time together. However, when the two were initially alone, Daniel and Johnny nearly fought, with Daniel scolding him for re opening the Dojo and for allowing himself to be manipulated by Kreese again, seeing that he tried killing Johnny in the past.
Another turning point in their relationship is in Season 5, where Johnny becomes surprisingly supportive and very protective of Daniel as if a family member was attacked. When Daniel comes to Johnny's apartment, they give each other advice dealing with their respective families. A few days later, Johnny becomes worried about Daniel after he was severely beaten by Terry Silver and Johnny vows to make Silver pay for what he did to Daniel. Johnny also becomes somewhat protective of Daniel in the latter half of Season 5, when he grabbed Daniel's arm and stopped him from assaulting Kreese after the latter mocked him for losing his fight to Silver.