Bryan Danielson is just here to have fun.

“The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson pleasantly surprised AEW fans last year when he arrived at All Out. Since then, he went on to become one of the company’s top stars, most recently competing in a four-way match at Full Gear for the ROH World Championship. There, his efforts came up short, but overall, Danielson just wants to enjoy his remaining run in professional wrestling,

In 2016, Danielson — then under the ring name Daniel Bryan in WWE — was forced to retire from the sport due to a long series of concussions, and reported post-concussion related complications, including seizures. Two years later, Danielson received medical clearance, and returned to the ring. Now, he finds himself as a major player in All Elite Wrestling.

Danielson’s contract with AEW will extend through 2024, as he signed a three-year deal with the company back in 2021. Upon completion of his contract though, the former WWE Champion plans to take a step back from a full-time schedule. In speaking on One Fall with Ron Funches, Danielson discussed what his potential plans were in a post-AEW life, including his possible final match in professional wrestling.

“When my AEW contract is up, that’s pretty much me being done being a full-time wrestler,” he said. “But I like the way some people like Terry Funk and Jerry Lawler and those kind of guys do it where they do it for fun, right? And don’t do it all the time, they do it here or there, that sort of thing.”

By 2024, Danielson will be 43-years-old, with a hope to just have fun doing his passion. “It’s something I wanna continue doing for the rest of my life,” he said, barring any physical pain or injuries.

Staying Grateful

Danielson’s initial retirement announcement came almost 10 months after he last competed in a ring. In April 2015, he teamed with John Cena to defeated Cesaro and Tyson Kidd on an episode of SmackDown. It wasn’t until two months after that, that WWE told him he might never wrestle again. With that realization set in place, Bryan adopted a grateful mindset, because as in life, one never truly knows when it might be there last day, or in Bryan’s case, his last match.

With that mentality, Bryan doesn’t have a clear picture of what he wants his final match to look like, but would ideally wrestle up until two weeks before he dies. “But as it is now, it’d probably have to be like at least two weeks, if not a little bit before the day that I die,” he reiterated.

Danielson continued on to joke that his final match may end up “at some local indie in front of 300 people” that “just turns out to be my last match.” No matter how he ends his career though, “The American Dragon” declares every opportunity has he has to wrestle as “beautiful.”

Sammy Guevara was in no mood for sportsmanship after this week’s AEW Dynamite wrapped up filming.

This week’s Dynamite took place from the Aggannis Arena in Boston, Massachusetts, and saw the promotion continue on the road to Full Gear.

Guevara and Danielson

In the main event of this week’s AEW Dynamite, Sammy Guevara faced off against Bryan Danielson in a two-out-of-three falls match.

The first fall saw Danielson get a DQ victory after being hit in the face with a steel chair by Guevara.

A rising knee strike to a bloodied Danielson quickly tied the score, with one victory each.

The tiebreaker fall saw Danielson win the match via submission, locking in the former three-time AEW TNT Champion into a double arm-bar submission.

After the show, Danielson offered his hand in a sign of respect, but Guevara did not shake back.

Instead, the Spanish God flipped off Danielson and stormed off to bring the show to an end.

Facing off Again

Guevara didn’t get the win this week, but will get another shot at Danielson at next week’s AEW Full Gear 2022 Pay-Per-View.

The pair will be joined by Claudio Castagnoli and Ring of Honor World Champion Chris Jericho in a four-way match for the Wizard’s title.

This week’s Dynamite also saw Saraya confirm that she is medically cleared and will also compete at Full Gear where she’ll face Britt Baker DDS.

AEW Full Gear will be headlined by AEW World Champion Jon Moxley defending against MJF, who earned a title match by winning the Casino Ladder Match at All Out.

Bryan Danielson debuted in All Elite Wrestling last year at AEW All Out and most fans thought he’d have a title run with the company by now.

Former WWE writer Freddie Prinze Jr. hasn’t been a fan of Danielson’s run in All Elite Wrestling and shared his opinion on the Wrestling with Freddie podcast. Freddie stated that Danielson has lost more matches than he has needed to lose and has been under-serviced as far as character development.

H/T: Wrestling Inc

Danielson debuted at All Out 2021 after Kenny Omega defeated Christian Cage in the main event to retain the AEW World Championship. Adam Cole had made his debut minutes earlier and aligned with Kenny Omega and The Elite.

Danielson went on to have feuds with Kenny Omega and Hangman Page for the AEW World Championship but came up just short. Bryan also reached the finals of the Tournament of Champions this year at Dynamite: Grand Slam at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.

He battled his stablemate in the Blackpool Combat Club for the vacant AEW World Championship in the finals but once again came up on the losing end of a title match. Danielson remained persistent and challenged Chris Jericho for the ROH Championship on Dynamite then AEW visited Toronto on October 12th.

Once again, it wasn’t meant to be for Danielson and he lost another title match. Danielson and Jericho were in a war over Daniel Garcia and whether he was a sports entertainer or a wrestler.

Daniel Garcia ultimately decided he was a sports entertainer, betrayed Danielson and re-joined the Jericho Appreciation Society. Jericho will defend the ROH Championship against Bryan Danielson, Claudio Castagnoli, and Sammy Guevara in a 4-Way match at AEW Full Gear on November 19th.

Bryan Danielson battled Sammy Guevara on last week’s episode of AEW Dynamite.

The American Dragon picked up the victory but there is some friction brewing within the Blackpool Combat Club.

Danielson recently battled Chris Jericho for the ROH Championship but lost after Daniel Garcia betrayed him. The storyline was that Danielson and Jericho were battling over whether Garcia was a sports entertainer or a professional wrestler.

Garcia opted to be a sports entertainer and aligned with the Jericho Appreciation Society. Wheeler Yuta of the BCC confronted Danielson backstage and mocked him for not seeing the attack by Garcia coming.

Danielson and Yuta had a shoving match before former ROH Champion Claudio Castagnoli broke it up. Danielson smacked Yuta in the face during the argument. Bryan later defeated Sammy Guevara in a singles match on Dynamite.

Jim Cornette on Wheeler Yuta Yelling at Bryan Danielson

Wrestling legend Jim Cornette reviewed the verbal exchange between Bryan Danielson and Wheeler Yuta on episode 455 of The Jim Cornette Experience.

Cornette said that he hopes this leaves to Danielson turning heel but suggested it is more likely that AEW President Tony Khan thought the argument would be a good segment.

Co-host Brian Last questioned how into Wheeler Yuta AEW fans are and if he should be the one shouting in Bryan Danielson’s face. Cornette noted that there is an established section of fans that are into everything AEW does.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit The Jim Cornette Experience with a H/T so SEScoops for the transcription.

AEW star Bryan Danielson is currently a member of the Blackpool Combat Club with World Champion Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, and Sir William Regal.

Danielson recruited Wheeler Yuta to the group and brought in Claudio Castagnoli as his replacement at AEW Forbidden Door.

The American Dragon and Wheeler Yuta have been arguing as of late on Dynamite. Danielson has come up short in every title match he’s been a part of in AEW and recently lost his ROH title match to Chris Jericho due to interference from Daniel Garcia.

Bryan had been trying to convince Garcia that he’s a professional wrestler but ultimately Daniel chose to be a sports entertainer in the Jericho Appreciation Society. Yuta questioned how Danielson didn’t see the betrayal from Garcia coming and seemed disappointed in him.

Bryan Danielson Considered Going to Ring of Honor in 2018

It was announced in March 2018 by WWE that Bryan Danielson was cleared to return to the ring.

In a recent interview with Inside The Ropes, Danielson revealed that his contract with WWE was coming up around that time and he considered going to Ring of Honor. He was in contact with Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks but discovered that their deals with ROH were also coming up around the same time.

“It was really interesting. My contract with WWE was up in 2018 and I was considering going to Ring of Honor and I was talking to The Young Bucks and I was talking to Cody [Rhodes] just to kind of see — all their contracts were up with Ring of Honor and I was like, ‘What are you guys gonna do?’ Because even my lawyer, who doesn’t know anything about pro wrestling, he said, ‘Hey, I don’t think you’d wanna sign with Ring of Honor if these Young Bucks aren’t going because they’ve got this YouTube show.

I don’t know if you’ve heard of it, called Being The Elite’ and it’s essentially the driver for the popularity of Ring of Honor at the time, right? And so those guys go away, we don’t know if Ring of Honor will nearly still be as popular and then with Cody’s contract coming up, if they leave and Cody leaves, what will Ring of Honor’s popularity be like? So that was a part of the discussion.”

Danielson added that AEW World Champion Jon Moxley, The Elite, and Chris Jericho are the heart of All Elite Wrestling.

“It’s cool for me that Mox is where he’s at. To me, there was that excellent interview segment with CM Punk and Jon Moxley and he talked about being the heart and soul of kind of AEW and I see him as that as well. Him, Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks is kind of like — and Chris Jericho, you know what I mean?

But I see those kind of people as the guys, right? And it’s cool that when I first wrestled him, it was in front of like 75 people on a Wednesday show in the middle of nowhere. Mox actually knows exactly where it was but I don’t even remember so it was like, all of that kind of stuff is just neat.”

H/T: Post Wrestling

Bryan Danielson debuted in All Elite Wrestling last year at All Out.

He arrived just after Adam Cole made his debut with the company as well. Danielson stood by Christian Cage and former AEW Tag Team Champions Jurassic Express’ side and battled The Elite to end the PPV. Danielson has had some tremendous matches in All Elite Wrestling but some fans were hoping for more for The American Dragon in the promotion.

Here are the 3 ways Bryan Danielson has been underutilized in AEW:

Zero Title Reigns

Bryan Danielson arrived in All Elite Wrestling with all the fanfare a wrestler could imagine. His match AEW World Championship with Kenny Omega at Dynamite: Grand Slam last year was legendary. The crowd in Arthur Ashe popped just because the bell rang. Omega and Danielson had a tremendous match that ended in a time-limit draw.

Speaking of time-limit draw finishes, Bryan Danielson wrestled Hangman Page to a 60-minute draw at AEW Dynamite: Winter is coming on December 15th, 2021. It was another great match, but the build-up to it was what was special in my opinion.

Danielson had morphed into a heel and was doing some of the best work of his career. Hangman Page had just defeated Kenny Omega at Full Gear in November 2021 and had the crowd behind him. Danielson used the time-limit draw as a way to get another match for the title a few weeks later on Dynamite.

Hangman went on to defeat Danielson in just under a half hour to retain the AEW World Championship on the January 5th Dynamite earlier this year. In the past month, Danielson has lost his two other opportunities at a championship. He lost the finals of the Tournament of Champions at this year’s Dynamite: Grand Slam to Jon Moxley. Danielson battled Chris Jericho for the ROH Championship on this past Wednesday’s edition of Dynamite and once again was on the losing end.

There have been multiple opportunities to elevate Bryan Danielson to a higher status on the roster. The timing may not have been right to put the title on Bryan during his feud with Hangman. However, in hindsight, he probably would have gotten a lot more out of a feud with Adam Cole than Hangman did in his forgettable rivalry with him earlier this year.

Just A Part Of The Group

In the months after losing both title matches to Hangman Adam Page, Danielson entered a rivalry with Jon Moxley. They battled at AEW Revolution and Moxley picked up the victory. Bryan was still a heel at the time and wanted to form a partnership with Moxley. Jon wasn’t interested until the two bled together. After the match, Danielson and Moxley continued to fight until the legendary William Regal arrived and thus began the Blackpool Combat Club.

Following Revolution, Danielson & Moxley wrestled as a tag team for three episodes of Dynamite in a row (3/16, 3/23, 3/30) and then that was it. They didn’t go after the tag titles, instead, they expanded their group. Wheeler Yuta joined the Blackpool Combat Club, followed by former ROH Champion Claudio Castagnoli. Claudio debuted in AEW as Bryan Danielson’s replacement at Forbidden Door on June 26th.

Blackpool Combat Club entered a rivalry with Jericho Appreciation Society that I thought culminated in the Anarchy in the Arena at Double or Nothing in May, but is somehow still going on. The Anarchy in the Arena match pitted Jon Moxley, Bryan Danielson, Santana, Ortiz, and Eddie Kingston against Chris Jericho, Jake Hager, Matt Menard, Angelo Parker, and Daniel Garcia.

The finish of the match saw Bryan Danielson pass out due to being in the Walls of Jericho and being choked out by Jake Hager at the same time. Danielson’s last victory at an AEW PPV came at Full Gear last year in November against Miro in the finals of the World Title Eliminator tournament.

He then went on to defeat members of the Dark Order until losing to AEW World Champion Hangman Page twice. Somehow Bryan Danielson has found himself as a role player in Blackpool Combat Club and Moxley is firmly established as the biggest star of the group.

Ignoring Today To Build The Stars Of Tomorrow

The storyline between Chris Jericho and Bryan Danielson revolved around Daniel Garcia. The 24-year-old is a phenomenal talent in the ring, and the idea of wrestling icons Chris Jericho and Bryan Danielson arguing over the direction of Garcia’s career sounds great on paper.

Garcia’s struggle over deciding whether he’s a “sports entertainer” or a “professional wrestler” was entertaining, and prompted the “AEW Galaxy” to chant “you’re a wrestler!” at Daniel several times.

Jericho Appreciation Society wears ridiculous outfits, is flashy, and parodies Vince McMahon’s “sports entertainment” vision for wrestling. The issue is Vince McMahon resigned from WWE three months ago and the goofiness has already started to fade from RAW and SmackDown. So who are they parodying at this point?

There’s no doubt that Daniel Garcia will benefit from being in Jericho’s group, and would have been a great addition to the Blackpool Combat Club. One has to wonder if there was a better way of telling the story without handing Danielson additional losses.

Cody Rhodes exited All Elite Wrestling because he didn’t want to be a “gatekeeper wrestler”. The American Nightmare put himself into a bit of a box by stating that he wouldn’t challenge for the AEW World Championship again as an EVP if he lost to Chris Jericho at Full Gear 2019. Cody lost the match after MJF threw in the towel on his behalf, and hit Rhodes with a low blow after the bell.

Now, it appears that Bryan Danielson is penciled in as a role player, or a storyline device in All Elite Wrestling. He’s referred to as the “best wrestler on the planet” by AEW World Champion Jon Moxley, but just can never seem to defeat his fellow Blackpool Combat Club member. Or anyone for that matter when a title is on the line.

There is plenty to love about AEW and there is also a lot to criticize. The same could be said for any promotion on the planet. However, the missed opportunities for Bryan Danielson are starting to mount and who knows how long The American Dragon has left inside the squared circle. It would be nice to see Danielson have a moment or two in AEW before it is too late.

Chris Jericho is eyeballing a marquee matchup in AEW with one of the company’s biggest legends.

The Demo God and current Ring of Honor world champion was the latest guest to join the AEW Unrestricted podcast, where he spoke about his desire to face off against the Icon Sting, a star that he’s never stood across from inside the squared circle. Sting has been one of the most dominant talents on the AEW roster, but has only competed alongside Darby Allin (and others) in tag team action.

Jericho Is Willing To Bring Out The Painmaker For Sting

When the topic came up in the interview Jericho wasn’t shy of calling out the Stinger as a dream opponent.

“Whenever there’s a Sting-Jericho match which there has to be because Sting and I have never been in the ring together ever, except for when Keith Mitchell retired and we had that after-ceremony. Never been in the same ring ever. Ever, ever, ever. “

That’s not all…Jericho is already drumming up ideas about a potential scenario with Sting. He’s even willing to resurrect his Painmaker gimmick, an act that Jericho created during his NJPW run between 2019-2020.

“There has to be a Sting and Jericho match in whatever way we decide it and that would be a great time for ‘Painmaker.'”

Jericho recently defeated Bandido on Dynamite, his first successful defense of the ROH title since winning it from Claudio Castagnoli. He has since challenged Bryan Danielson to a showdown at the AEW debut in Canada, where the ROH title will once again be on the line.

(Quotes via Post Wrestling)

Jon Moxley vs. Bryan Danielson headlined the 2022 AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam event on Wednesday night from New York City at Arthur Ashe Stadium with the Vacant AEW World Championship on the line. 

The match got plenty of time, with MJF watching from the grandstands and laughing as the match ended when Moxley choked out Danielson with a rear-naked choke. 

• What Happened With Jon Moxley After AEW Dynamite Grand Slam Went Off The Air

How We Got Here

On last Wednesday’s Dynamite, Moxley and Danielson won the AEW Grand Slam Tournament of Champions semifinal matches. With their victories, they advance to the finals.

In the opening match of the show last week, Moxley defeated Sammy Guevara. Following Jericho’s crossface submission, Danielson defeated Jericho in the main event. Moxley entered the ring after the contest, and they exchanged looks. Danielson then offered his hand, and Moxley shook it as the show came to a close.

Following CM Punk’s suspension from the organization for a backstage brawl between himself & Ace Steel and Kenny Omega & The Young Bucks that occurred after AEW All Out, the AEW World Championship was declared vacant. Punk was also recently sidelined after undergoing surgery for a torn tricep. 

The betting odds for the matches that will take place at the AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam event has been released.

The card for the show that takes place tonight is finalized, with five championship matches confirmed. AEW will also tape Friday’s two-hour version of Rampage after Dynamite. 

Bryan Danielson is favored to win the AEW World Heavyweight Title over Jon Moxley. Oddsmakers also expected to see The Acclaimed (Max Caster & Anthony Bowens) dethrone Swerve In Our Glory (Keith Lee & Swerve Strickland) as the Tag Team Champions. 

Punk won the AEW World Heavyweight Title from Moxley in the main event of All Out but was stripped of the title because of his involvement in the All Out fight with Ace Steel, Kenny Omega, and The Young Bucks. 

AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam Betting Odds

Here are the betting odds, courtesy of Bet Online:

AEW World Championship Match Winner

• Bryan Danielson -400 (1/4)
• Jon Moxley +250 (5/2)

AEW Interim Women’s Championship Match Winner

• Toni Storm (c) -900 (1/9)
• Britt Baker +450 (9/2)
• Serena Deeb +650 (13/2)
• Athena +1600  (16/1)

AEW World Tag Team Championship Match Winner

• The Acclaimed -700 (1/7)
• Swerve In Our Glory (c) +375 (15/4)

AEW All-Atlantic Championship Match Winner

• PAC (c) -700 (1/7)
• Orange Cassidy +400 (4/1)

ROH World Championship Match Winner

• Claudio Castagnoli (c) -800 (1/8)
• Chris Jericho +425 (17/4)

Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley will collide this Wednesday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium for the vacant AEW World Heavyweight Championship. And with that, Tony Khan has a big decision to make.

Not just because he’s crowning a new world champion. There’s more. Khan needs to add legitimacy back to a title which has seen very little stability in 2022 due to multiple injuries and a backstage brawl. This after the first three years of the company were spent with long championship reigns, each title switch coming with great fanfare.

Just look at the length of every AEW World Championship reign prior to CM Punk’s victory at Double or Nothing: Chris Jericho (182 days), Jon Moxley (277 days), Kenny Omega (346 days), and Adam Page (197 days).

In addition to solidifying the title’s credibility once more, the new champion will also play an important role in passing the baton to the next major star for the promotion — everyone assumes that MJF is the champion-in-waiting. But even with MJF hovering in the shadows, the new champion crowned on Wednesday night needs to be more than a transitional champion.

The champion-to-be will be adding stability back to a main event scene that has seen too much fluidity over the summer. And with that, there could be no better choices than Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson.

But who on earth do you put over here? Both choices certainly have a lot of positives to them, leading to a lot of unpredictability heading into Wednesday’s broadcast. That’s what will make this such an interesting viewing experience.

That and the fact that Moxley and Danielson are two of the absolute best in the world right now and are sure to tear the house down.

Jon Moxley as AEW Champion Again?

Moxley has been the hottest singles star in AEW for the last several months. He was a fantastic interim champion given the circumstances, and you almost hated to see him lose the title at All Out. However, the way the match was setup (with the quick victory over Punk on Dynamite) and with the PPV in Punk’s hometown, it was a move they had to make at the time. Really, it was the only logical result.

Of course, nobody could have foreseen what was about to happen backstage, nor could we predict that Punk would injure his left triceps and be out of action once again, this time for at least six months, after the match. Either way, the title was going to be vacated once again.

Now, you could move the title back to Moxley and make him AEW’s first three-time world champion. Nobody would have a problem with it given how great he’s been of late; well, except maybe Moxley since he was supposed to be going on vacation prior to the backstage fight in Chicago. But I digress…

AEW has clearly been setting up Moxley vs. MJF on television, and most expect that match to occur at Full Gear. Are they telegraphing the winner of the tournament in doing so?

Well, maybe not. Perhaps that will end up being a non-title match and you delay MJF using his “chip” for further down the line. Or maybe it comes sooner, more on that in a second.

If Moxley and MJF was for the title at Full Gear, you’ve got to figure that MJF wins. Do you want Moxley to have another short title reign? That’s a tough decision.

Bryan Danielson as AEW Champion for the First Time?

Danielson has become a living legend. It has become a near-indisputable fact that the American Dragon is one of the top ten in-ring workers of all time. The large majority of fans and his fellow wrestlers themselves seem to share this opinion, including Moxley who has stated on numerous occasions that he believes Bryan to be the greatest ever.

There’s no denying that Danielson holding the AEW World Championship would be well-deserved and a great moment. Similar to Moxley, you would hate for it to be in only a transitional spot, with a possible championship loss to MJF at Full Gear.

If Bryan captures the title and they do Moxley/MJF in a non-title situation at Full Gear, you give Bryan a six month or so run as champion, with an eventual loss to MJF at Revolution. Or you could do it earlier at Winter Is Coming in December, giving him a three month run; not great but better than the less than two month scenario that a loss at Full Gear would be.

There is risk in this scenario, though. As pointed out earlier, the AEW title has become a hot potato in recent months due to outside events. Bryan has already suffered an injury this year that kept him out of action for a significant period of time; you’d hate to see AEW lose their world champion once again for an extended period. And if it were to happen, please oh please, no interim champion this time.

While it is a risk, a Bryan title run would solidify the title again by putting the belt around the waist of arguably the most-respected performer of his generation. Yes, there’s inherit risk. But to me, the reward outweighs the risk.

Then again, there’s one more possibility…

MJF Walks Out of AEW Dynamite Grand Slam the World Champion

There’s a distinct possibility that MJF could walk out the world champion this Wednesday night. Don’t underestimate the shock value factor here as AEW could look to do something that could shock the audience, giving them some much-needed momentum after most in the industry feel WWE has seized the moment recently. This is the option that would make for the flashiest headlines, by far.

Plus, putting the title on your hottest young star could hardly be seen as a bad thing. And an MJF reign would almost certainly be lengthy, stabilizing the title once again, one of the most important aspects for the next champion.

So how does it happen? MJF could add himself to the match early in the show, informing the audience he’s cashing in “the chip” and making it a triple threat on short notice. In a triple threat scenario, he could defeat Bryan in order to build intrigue to a match with Moxley (“you never beat me”).

MJF could also pull a WWE Money In The Bank style moment by using his title shot immediately after the main event. Either way works, but one scenario avoids yet another short-term title change.

Either way, Tony Khan has a big decision to make. With television contract negotiations looming next year, the impact of how Wednesday night turns out could be felt for a very long time. It has the possibility of leading to some very hot television for the next several months at a time when the company very much needs it.

• MJF Calls Out WWE Star For ‘Playing Top Guy’

What do you think? Let me know in the comments or give me a shout on Twitter @ryandroste.

More from Ryan: Check out the Top Rope Nation wrestling podcast for your weekly dose of pro wrestling talk featuring interviews, analysis and exclusive news. Apple – Spotify – YouTube. 

AEW delivered another banger for the main event of this week’s episode of Dynamite. The match saw Bryan Danielson going up against Chris Jericho in the semi-finals of the tournament of champions.

At one point during this bout, Danielson got suplexed on the floor. The doctors checked on the AEW star after this spot and it looked like Bryan hurt his ankle.

The ending of the bout saw Bryan Danielson trying to roll up Chris Jericho. Jericho countered and hit a dragon screw on his opponent.

This allowed Y2J to put the Figure Four leglock but it didn’t last for long. Danielson transitioned it into the LeBell Lock. He forced the former AEW champion to submit to win the match.

After Bryan Danielson’s win, the other tournament finalist Jon Moxley came out and confronted the fellow BCC member. The show ended with the two shaking hands and exchanging words.

What Happened After Dynamite

While both Mox and Jericho went back to the locker room after this, Bryan Danielson took some time. The crowd applauded him as he got out of the ring.

Danielson stopped by the AEW world title that was at the ringside. He picked up the championship belt to a huge pop from the crowd.

The former WWE star re-placed the title before heading to the back. William Regal came forward to help him but Bryan declined the support. He went to the locker room on his own while selling the injury:

This week’s AEW Dynamite came hot off the heels of All Out 2022, and the explosive media scrum and backstage fight that has overshadowed the Pay Per View.

During the scrum, CM Punk had harsh words for the Elite, Colt Cabana and ‘Hangman’ Adam Page, and fought with the Elite backstage, in a brawl that included Punk’s trainer Ace Steel.

The Elite have since been suspended from AEW, and there are talks that Punk and Steel could be fired, if not already.

The Meeting

Mere weeks after hosting a talent-wide meeting to discuss reports of conflict in AEW, another meeting was held prior to this week’s Dynamite.

Instead of Tony Khan, this was led by Bryan Danielson, Chris Jericho and Jon Moxley.

Fightful reports that talents were complimentary of the meeting, noting that Danielson, Moxley, and Jericho were the right people to lead.

What was said?

Talent were told to “keep their personal issues personal” and solve their problems backstage instead of leaking news.

The issue of stories of problems getting out to the media was also a topic of discussion during the previous meeting in August.

Wrestlers were encouraged to leave AEW All Out 2022 in the past and move on.

One source noted that it was the “best backstage meeting” the talent have had

CM Punk

A large topic of discussion during the meeting was CM Punk, who’s future with AEW is unclear at this time.

The meeting was said to be not “anti-Punk,” and that wrestlers left in a better mood than the day before.

Danielson was commended as a “calming” presence during the meeting, while Jericho has been praised for his professionalism throughout his time in AEW and especially during this recent period.

Moxley was said to be “adored” during the meeting, with wrestlers agreeing with his promo about being “the answer” to AEW’s problems.

AEW will crown a new World Heavyweight Champion on the September 21st edition of Dynamite: Grand Slam from Arthur Ashe Stadium. 

Punk became the World Champion when beating Jon Moxley in the main event of All Out, but was stripped of the title following a backstage fight involving Punk, The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, and Ace Steel.

Tony Khan confirmed during Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite that Punk has been stripped of the AEW World Heavyweight Title and a Gran Slam Tournament of Champions began on this same show. 

In first-round matches Bryan Danielson beat Hangman Page and is slated to take on Chris Jericho in a second-round matchup next week as Jericho received a first-round bye. Jon Moxley will face Sammy Guevara next as well, after the Spanish God bested Darby Allin on Rampage.

AEW World Championship Tournament Winner

Fans who actually bet on wrestling have selected Bryan Danielson as their favorite to walk away with the AEW World Championship on September 21st.

Here are the current betting odds for the four remaining participants in the tournament, courtesy of BetOnline.ag:

• Bryan Danielson: -130.
• Chris Jericho: +150
• Jon Moxley: +450
• Sammy Guevara: +650

BetOnline is also gauging whether or not fans think Maxwell Jacob Friedman will hold the AEW World Championship before the end of 2022. As of this writing, things are looking good for MJF.

• Yes: -300
• No: +200

The main event of this week’s Dynamite from Buffalo saw the crowning of a new champion. Danial Garcia beat Wheeler Yuta to become the new ROH Pure champion.

After the match, Yuta’s BCC teammate Bryan Danielson came out to congratulate Garcia. Chris Jericho also came out and stood at the ramp.

Once the cameras stopped rolling, Danielson hyped up Danial Garcia’s hometown crowd over his title win.

When the new ROH champion started celebrating with Bryan, Chris Jericho asked ‘What are you doing?’ The Buffalo crowd then chanted ‘You’re a wrestler’ to Garcia.

Garcia seemed torn between Jericho and Bryan for a moment but he shrugged and continue celebrating his title victory with Danielson. This led to Jericho storming back up the ramp while shaking his head in disapproval before leaving.

Rapper WESTSIDEGUNN who is also from Buffalo then came out in the ring to celebrate with Danial Garcia. Garcia cut a promo and said that it’s a big night for both AEW and wrestling and sent the crowd home happy.

Garcia wasn’t the only new champion crowned during the night. AEW also crowned new Trios Champions after the suspension of The Elite.

Daniel Garcia has been with AEW for less than a year, but has made a name for himself working with several top stars.

Garcia has proven he can hold his own against the likes of Bryan Danielson, as well as facing Jon Moxley and Sammy Guevara.

In addition to working with All Elite Wrestling, Garcia competes for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, where he is the reigning PWG World Champion.

The Greatest of All Time

Daniel Garcia may be an established member of the Jericho Appreciation Society, but the first-ever AEW World Champion is not the greatest ever.

In a Q&A with Bleacher Report, Garcia was asked about working with Bryan Danielson, and had nothing but praise for the American Dragon.

“I think Bryan is the greatest wrestler of all time. I think his body of work speaks for itself. His longevity, the matches he’s had across different countries, different promotions, different areas; it really speaks for itself. And being able to share the ring with somebody with that wealth of knowledge, and in a style that I’ve always appreciated so much, is really special to me.

“I think Bryan [Danielson] is the greatest wrestler of all time.”

Daniel Garcia.

Garcia added that he is content if he never wrestles Danielson again, as he is still learning from the matches he’s already had with the former WWE World Champion.

Still part of JAS?

Last week’s AEW Dynamite opened with Garcia speaking about the prior week’s show, where he, Danielson and Jericho had a segment.

That segment saw the two veterans plead their case as to why Garcia should side with them, but the young star left without making a clear decision.

When asked, Garcia confirmed he is still part of the Jericho Appreciation Society.

“”It’s not something that you just say that you’re in or out of. It’s a brotherhood.”

Daniel Garcia.

The segment between the three led to a match between Jericho and Danielson being confirmed for this Sunday’s AEW All Out.

Bryan Danielson confirms that he and The Miz “legitimately” don’t like one another.

Danielson was recently interviewed by Renee Paquette, where he discussed a multitude of topics, including his WWE run. During the interview, Danielson discussed his issues with The Miz.

Miz was Danielson’s mentor on WWE NXT. This eventually led to a storyline feud between the pair. Years later, things came to a head on an episode of Talking Smack, where things got personal.

Danielson explained that both men were frustrated and wanted to make a solid segment out of it. He admits that he and Miz “legitimately” don’t like one another. However, he definitely respects Miz.

“Miz was very frustrated. He was Intercontinental Champion and wasn’t being put on TV too much. I was very frustrated that they weren’t clearing me to wrestle despite numerous doctors having cleared me to wrestle and, you know, I understand why, but that’s a long story anyway.

“So just getting to the point of my frustration, so we came up with this thing, the original plan that Mike and I had come up with, was I was going to f*cking deck him. We wanted to get under each other’s skin so much that it was plausible that I would legit be angry enough to punch him, and so that was the intent.

“The idea was either they’re going to fire me, or it’s going to make people want to see the match so much that they’re going to have to clear me to wrestle. But then Mike did such a great job, intuitively, I felt it was better to walk off because it was also like, this is so good.

“Leave him with his heat. He was so good. Mike and I don’t like each other, legitimately, but Mike is also somebody that I respect a lot for working very, very hard.”

Now, both men currently work for different promotions. After getting medically cleared to return to the ring, Bryan Danielson had a bit of a run before deciding not to re-sign with WWE.

He signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and made his debut in September of last year. As for Miz, he’s still with WWE, where he has remained for nearly 20 years.

He’s currently aligned with Ciampa on Monday Night RAW, feuding against AJ Styles and Logan Paul.

Quotes via WrestlingNews.co

When Bryan Danielson decided to leave WWE, many thought that going to AEW was the only thing in his mind. Though the former world champion was also considering a third option – not being a full-time wrestler anymore.

The AEW star joined Renee Paquette for a live episode of The Sessions podcast at Starrcast V. Speaking about his decision to leave WWE, Bryan revealed the third option he was considering. He also joked that his wife Brie Bella wanted to kill him for it:

“People think I had two options between WWE and AEW. The reality is that I was considering three options, which was WWE, AEW or just not being a full-time wrestler anymore.” said Bryan Danielson, “Just being more of a full-time dad.

When I told that to Brie with the money that each company was offering me, I think she wanted to kill me? She might have wanted to kill me.”

Bryan then explained that his decision came down to a lighter schedule, creative freedom, and the itch to bleed in front of an audience:

“Really it came down to a little bit schedule, A little bit of creative freedom and also just this idea of I’ve been there for so long. Maybe something a little bit new would be fun. I also kind of wanted to bleed.”

More Originals From SEScoops:

• What Eric Bischoff Has To Say To Veterans Who Complain About Everything
• Eric Bischoff Believes AEW Is ‘Mom And Pop Hamburger Stand’ Compared To WWE
• Chris Jericho Reveals Similarity Between Wrestling And Star Wars Fandom
• Bryan Danielson On What Vince McMahon Thinks About His Vegan Lifestyle
• Big E Reveals How He Feels About Ridge Holland After His Neck Injury

If you use any quotes from the article, please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription

Bryan Danielson isn’t shy of sharing the conversations that are had in a pro-wrestling locker room.

The AEW superstar appeared on a live recording of Renee Paquette’s The Sessions at this past weekend’s Starrcast V event in Nashville to give details on the subject, which included Paquette asking the American Dragon about the rumors that he enjoys messing with people backstage.

“I’m not fucking with people,” Danielson jokingly states before admitting that he does enjoy the occasional rib. He continues his rant by exclaiming that he spent too much time in WWE with guys who were just staring at their phones all day.

“Everybody was on their phones in the locker room. That’s not what I want. The last three years of my career, I don’t want to spend in the locker room with a bunch of young guys looking at their phone.”

It was here that the former world champion detailed the types of conversations that are had, including an in-depth chat about a topic Danielson seems to really enjoy.

“So, we start….we talk about flaccid penises, asexually. We are not talking about anything that would be considered perverted. It’s just amongst the boys. It’s the boys talking about flaccid penises. It is a blast.”

Danielson’s spirit to ignite fun into locker rooms continues to live on. The Dragon only returned to in-ring action on last week’s AEW Fight for the Fallen, his first match since May’s Double or Nothing pay-per-view, where he sustained a minor concussion.

H/T: Fightful

Bryan Danielson is a known supporter of the vegan life. He adopted the lifestyle in 2009 and has stuck with it since then. It appears the former world champion has even managed to change the mind of Vince McMahon regarding it.

The AEW star was part of the Starrcast V. He spoke to media during the convention. When asked about his conversation with Vince McMahon regarding veganism, Bryan told a funny story of how the boss reacted to it at first:

“It’s interesting because I remember Chris [Jericho] telling me. When I first had that NXT match with Chris. He came to the back, and he says [to Vince McMahon] ‘You got something with this kid.’ [Vince replied] ugh, he doesn’t even eat meat'”

There’s something to It

Though Bryan Danielson revealed that things have changed since then. According to him, McMahon has started accepting the benefits of veganism in recent years, even if he doesn’t believe in going full vegan:

“But the conversations I’ve had with him in the last several years, He’s said there’s something to that for health and for longevity, for that sort of thing. I don’t think that he’s a believer that you should be entirely vegan, but I think he believes now that there are a lot of health benefits to doing it. Especially if you’re doing it purposefully on specific days or whatever.”

You can check out Bryan Danielson’s media interaction below:

More Originals From SEScoops:

• Big E Reveals How He Feels About Ridge Holland After His Neck Injury
• Big E Reveals Immediate Reaction To His Neck Injury
• Becky Lynch Opens Up About Battle With Depression During Wrestling Hiatus
• Joey Janela Discusses Jim Cornette Fans Harassing His Family Members
• Rey Mysterio Reveals What Vince McMahon Wanted Before His WWE Debut

If you use any quotes from the article, please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription

Bryan Danielson has a history of concussion-related issues that have once forced him to retire from in-ring action. That’s why fans started worrying about his future when he recently suffered another concussion. According to the former world champion, he himself thought that doctors were going to tell him to retire after his latest injury but his brain scan changed things.

Danielson opened up about his injury while speaking to Renee Paquette for a live episode of her The Sessions podcast at Starrcast V. He revealed what the doctor had said to him before his return:

“He said, ‘After you start feeling better, we’re going to have to have a serious talk about your long-term health.’ I thought what that meant was, ‘After you feel better, I’m going to talk to you about not wrestling anymore.'”

• ‘He’s A Judgemental Prick’: AEW Star Blasts Bryan Danielson

What Changed Things For Bryan Danielson

However, things changed after the result of his brain scans came out. Per Bryan, he has been putting extra work to keep his brain healthy, and it helped him:

“Then my brain scans came back so goddamn good that not a single person could say anything about it.” said Bryan Danielson, “I do put a lot of work and effort into keeping my brain healthy and doing things outside of normal stuff to keep my brain healthy. I think that’s paying dividends a little bit,”

Danielson later explained that he has done 100 sessions of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. It is a procedure where they put you in a tube with 1.5 atmospheres of pressure and flood your brain with a lot of oxygen. Bryan Danielson suffered the injury in the Anarchy In The Arena match during Double or Nothing in May. He returned to ring during the July 27 Dynamite.

Quotes via Fightful

The July 27 episode of AEW Dynamite had a surprising conclusion and here’s the aftermath once the cameras stopped rolling.

This week’s edition of Dynamite was held inside the DCU Center in Worchester, MA. The show featured an interim AEW World Championship match between Jon Moxley and RUSH.

Fans also witnessed two FTW Title matches with Danhausen failing to defeat Ricky Starks for the gold but HOOK succeeding.

Afterward, a massive babyface turn took place and it was caused by the break up of a tag team.

Post-Show

The main event of Dynamite featured the return of Bryan Danielson, who didn’t have a match since Anarchy in the Arena back in May due to injury.

Danielson shared the ring with Daniel Garcia and the match was very well received. It also had a shocking ending.

Jake Hager ended up holding Danielson’s leg, allowing Garcia to capitalize with a piledriver. He then locked in a Sharpshooter and Danielson passed out from the pain.

That’s right, Daniel Garcia defeated Bryan Danielson.

SEScoops correspondent Jaychele Nicole was in attendance and she captured footage of what transpired after the TBS broadcast went off the air.

Welcome back to the Bryan Danielson show.

Danielson has been out of action since late May. The top AEW star competed in an Anarchy in the Arena match during the Double or Nothing PPV.

It is believed that Bryan suffered a concussion during the match. While Danielson was feeling fine physically, AEW President Tony Khan left no stone unturned in ensuring that Danielson would wait until he was 100 percent ready to get back inside the ring.

That day has come.

Bryan Danielson Returning

During an appearance at the San Diego Comic-Con Convention, Bryan Danielson announced that he medically cleared to get back in the ring.

Furthermore, it was announced during the ROH Death Before Dishonor PPV event that Danielson will take on Daniel Garcia on a special Fight for the Fallen edition of AEW Dynamite this Wednesday night (July 27).

The Danielson vs. Garcia matchup seemingly confirms that the rivalry between Blackpool Combat Club and the Jericho Appreciation Society will continue.

We’ve updated our Wrestling Injuries Tracker to reflect Bryan Danielson being medically cleared to wrestle.

AEW continues to receive good news after going through a wave of talent injuries. It was reported that Kenny Omega is expected to be back sooner than later. The target for Omega could be at the All Out PPV on Sept. 4.

• AEW Fight for the Fallen Preview

AEW could be getting even more good news soon as two popular stars seem to be on the verge of returning.

Kenny Omega has been out of action since Nov. 2021. Following his AEW World Title loss to Hangman Page at Full Gear, Kenny was shelved to heal from injuries that had been lingering for quite some time.

Bryan Danielson hasn’t been performing since the Anarchy in the Arena match at Double or Nothing back in May. It’s been reported that he suffered a concussion and while he feels fine, Tony Khan isn’t taking any chances.

Omega & Danielson Returning Soon?

Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio is reporting that Kenny Omega is hoping to be back in the saddle for the All Out PPV on Sept. 4. It had been reported by Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful that Kenny will be returning sooner than expected.

Meltzer also noted that this is probably the target return date for Bryan Danielson as well. Danielson missed his scheduled Forbidden Door match with NJPW technical master Zack Sabre Jr.

Danielson also missed the Blood & Guts match.

In addition, All Out could also mark the return of AEW World Champion CM Punk. The question remains, can his foot heal in time for the event, which will take place in his home city of Chicago.

AEW has been hit hard with injuries but the tide seems to be turning. During the July 20 episode of Dynamite, Jungle Boy made his return. He had been dealing with an injury following a ladder match at Road Rager.

During a recent discussion with SEScoops correspondent Steve Fall for NBC Sports Boston, Claudio Castagnoli talked about how his AEW debut came together and what it was like the day of. 

At AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door, Claudio Castagnoli made his promotional debut against Zack Sabre Jr. He replaced Bryan Danielson in the match as Zack’s mystery opponent. He was also named Bryan’s replacement for the Blood & Guts match.

As Claudio’s debut was a secret, Claudio now says that he was hidden and had to have a private plane fly him in for the show.

The new Blackpool Combat Club member revealed how his debut came together.

Being Hidden During Forbidden Door

Castagnoli said:

“Yeah, so yes, on a special flight, no, on a hotel, kind of right to the arena. And I was kind of hiding. Well, they were like, ‘well, we put you on,’ like, I’ll just go to the locker room.

“They’re like, ‘No, no, you can’t do that.’ I’m like, ‘okay,’ so I was kind of in hiding, but I saw a lot of the guys. And a lot of the friends that came said hello. So it was pretty cool.”

Claudio Castagnoli on being hidden during Forbidden Door

He added, “Yeah, I mean, I, you know, they said maybe some vague texts to some good friends. Like, you know, maybe you come over here, you know? Because I know you, I wanted to say hello. And some people had an idea. So they came and say hello. So it was great. Yeah.”

Claudio was then asked about having to go through the airport and trying to have his location remain a secret. 

The former Cesaro revealed, “Yeah, I may not have been at a public airport. So I didn’t have that problem.

“No, yeah, no, I was, it was kind of a private thing. And then I was whisked to the arena. And then I was there for the rest of the day. It couldn’t have worked out any better I thought.”

Acting As Bryan Danielson’s Replacement

At Forbidden Door, Claudio served as Bryan Danielson’s replacement. He spoke about how the debut and match came together and his feelings regarding being the replacement. 

“Yeah. And, yeah, obviously very, very sad and upset to hear about Bryan being hurt. But I’m very flattered to be I mean, you know, if it’s somebody who plays Bryan, and you think of me, I’m like, it’s a very flattering compliment.

“And also, you know, Bryan is a very good friend. So of course, I jumped in at a heartbeat, you know, help him and Blackpool Combat Club, which are all my friends anyway. You know, fits perfect again, just worked out.

“So perfect. I was very excited that that was the beginning,” Castagnoli said.

Claudio was also asked if his Forbidden Door debut was the original plan or not.

He responded, “It was not. There was something in the works. But then it was like, ‘Can you start next week?’ That kind of thing. And I was like, ‘Yeah, of course. That’s … I’m a professional, right?”

Hugging Tony Khan

After the AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door pay-per-view, at the post-show media scrum, Claudio and AEW Owner Tony Khan shared a hug. Many wrestling fans had opinions on the hug, but Claudio thinks that people will always find something to complain about. 

He said:

“It’s so strange because that was after Forbidden Door, the press conference. And it was literally like, it was like a quick hug.

“It was just like, I was done and it was just like, you know when you like see your friend and you give like a high five and then like a pat on the back kind of hug? And like it was screen captured.

“And I guess people remembered it. Hey, it’s just a few bros hugging you know. 

“… If people want to complain, they’ll find something to complain about the picture or whatever.“

Believes It Should Just Be Taken As A Positive

“And if people like it, they’ll hopefully find something you like about because but I would rather be somebody that appreciates something and says something positive and likes it you know?

“Like, that was a great picture. It was a great night, there was a great view, we hugged awesome, right? Like, isn’t that great? Right?

“Yeah, successful show successful pay-per-view in Chicago, New Japan and AEW coming together, who people didn’t think that was going to be possible, and so many awesome matches on that show.

“I was just watching the whole show like what I could and it was fantastic. So just take a positive here.”

Watch Steve Fall’s full conversation with Claudio Castagnoli right here:

SEScoops recently got to speak with Wheeler Yuta. Jaychele Nicole spoke to him about Claudio Castagnoli making his debut and joining the Blackpool Combat Club. You can read about that here.

AEW wrestler Bryan Danielson has been out of action for over a month after sustaining a concussion. There is now another update on his status and recovery.

Danielson’s Injury History

Last week, Dave Meltzer described Danielson’s concussion as “very concerning” considering his history of head injuries.

As many remember, the former four-time WWE Champion was forced into early retirement in 2016 as a result of his injuries. However, was cleared to wrestle again in 2018.

The Update

Dave Meltzer provided an update on his original report. Luckily, this time he has more positive things to say about Danielson’s condition.

Dave appeared on the Saturday Night’s Main Event podcast, and said:

“What I can tell you is Bryan is fine but he’s not cleared to wrestle yet and Tony Khan is not going to rush him back.”

Fans are reasonably concerned about Danielson and his status due to his history of head injuries. So, it is a relief to hear that he’s fine.

However, we still don’t have any indication that he’ll be returning soon, but once we do, SEScoops will keep you in the know.