Bryan Danielson is for many wrestling fans – including this writer – one of the best in-ring talents to ever grace the profession.
Having already carved out a career on the independents that would stack up against anybody, he reached heights in in WWE as Daniel Bryan that even surprised him.
The closing image of WrestleMania 30 is Bryan holding the Undisputed WWE championship after becoming one of the most beloved babyfaces in company history.
But then he had to retire. In 2016, Bryan would step away from wrestling and become an on-air personality instead but by early 2018, he was cleared to wrestle again and returned at WrestleMania 34.
He had a great final run as champion in 2019, but in May 2021 his contract expired and he took the decision to leave the company.
Fast forward to September of that same year and she showed up in AEW where although his in-ring career came to an end in 2024, the 44-year-old still does commentary and other outside-of-the-ring work for the company.
So, why did he leave WWE? Sitting down with Chris Van Vilet, the American Dragon explained.
“Yes [his passion for wrestling led him to sign with AEW]. You know, also the idea of wanting to try something new, like I always kind of wanted to push myself.
“I knew it was probably the last wrestling contract I’d ever sign, you know. I wanted to see — I had watched Cody wrestle Penta, and I used to ride with Cody.
“He did this, like, they’re both standing on the top, and Cody does this top rope Frankensteiner on Penta. Like, [I thought] is that what you have to do? Part of it is scary, and part of it is like intriguing, like, ‘Oh, can I do this? I used to be able to do this style.
“Can I still do this style?’ And this is the style that I gravitate towards, like a more athletic, sports-based style,” he said.
Schedules have dramatically changed in wrestling. At the turn of the millennium, WWE was running around 300 shows a year which takes an impossible toll on the body. Live events were a core part of how the business made money.
With the rise in TV deals and such, WWE now runs less live events because they don’t need to depend on them as much.
When AEW arrived on the scene in 2019, they have two days a week where talents are going to work and most talents won’t be on both days. Dynamite on a Wednesday and Collision on Saturday when it’s not pay-per-view – that’s it.
Bryan admits the lighter schedule certainly appealed to him.
“I didn’t know if WWE was going to start doing the live events and stuff again because that schedule, at that point, we had two kids, and I was like, I don’t want to do that schedule anymore.
“Like, at AEW, it’s just Wednesdays — at the time, it was just Wednesdays — and I was like that was a very appealing schedule to me, for my family,” he added.
