Tag: Bryan Danielson

Bryan Danielson: Main eventing WrestleMania 30 ‘doesn’t mean that much to me’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Because of the circumstances surrounding the moment, headlining WWE WrestleMania 30 doesn’t mean that much to Bryan Danielson.

Danielson reached the summit of WWE when he won the company’s World Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 30 in 2014. It will always stand out to fans as one of the highlights of Danielson’s career, but the moment does not hold much sentimental value for Danielson.

“I main evented WrestleMania 30 with WWE. And honestly, it doesn’t mean that much to me,” he told Sun Sport in a new interview. “My sister and my niece got to come into the ring, right? But I was about to marry my wife the following Friday and they wouldn’t let her come down to the ring. They didn’t want her to be in the thing. And then on top of that, it wasn’t just that — it was like, I was going through a ton of neck pain and all these other things. So these things that seem like cool moments to a viewer, there’s all this other stuff going on in a wrestler’s life or in a performer’s life that could make that moment not as valuable to them as it is to the people viewing.”

Danielson reiterated that the match that meant the most to him in his career is facing Swerve Strickland in the main event of AEW All In 2024 at Wembley Stadium. Having his wife Brie Bella and their kids Birdie and Buddy there is a big part of what made that night so special for Danielson. He also loved seeing how much Strickland had grown as a performer since the match they had against each other in October 2023.

“So I would say that at All In, it’s the whole circumstance,” Danielson said, “It’s knowing that my career’s coming to an end. It’s knowing that this might be the last time that my kids ever get to see me wrestle. It’s them being there. It’s the crowd reaction. I mean, the U.K. crowds are just the best, right? It’s all of those things. It’s Swerve Strickland’s performance.”

Danielson won the AEW World Championship in that match before later dropping the title to Jon Moxley, who was dethroned by Hangman Page earlier this month at All In 2025. Danielson played a role in that match by helping to neutralize interference by the Death Riders.

Despite getting physically involved in Page vs. Moxley, Danielson says he is not back as an active performer. He’s retired as a full-time wrestler but has not fully closed the book on ever competing again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEpjh8f8Mjc

Bryan Danielson comments on AEW All In performance: ‘No, I’m not back’

Posted on by Ian Carey

Bryan Danielson discussed his appearance at AEW All In Texas on the latest episode of The Nikki & Brie Show.

Danielson got involved in the main event Texas Death match between Jon Moxley and Hangman Page, helping to fend off members of The Death Riders. Brie said she didn’t know Danielson would be on the show at all, let alone that he would get physically involved in the action.

Brie: “I need to know, were you supposed to do the moves you did?”

Danielson: “Well, some of them I had cleared, some of them I did not.”

“But I was feeling it!” he added while laughing.

When he first ran in during the main event, Danielson delivered a Busaiku Knee to Wheeler Yuta, hit a suicide dive on Claudio Castagnoli and Gabe Kidd, and then joined Darby Allin in brawling to the back with the Death Riders.

Brie said: “I knew Doctor Sampson was going to be so upset.”

Danielson: “To be fair, he wasn’t upset.”

Brie: “He just thought you were an idiot.”

Danielson: “He did think I was an idiot.”

Brie also mentioned that many people who saw him on the show may have been led to believe he’s returning to the ring. She added that she wasn’t entirely sure if that was the case either.

Brie: “I got all these text messages. People are like, ‘Is Bryan back?’ And I’m like, ‘Well, to my knowledge no, but we’ll see when I talk to him tonight.’”

Danielson: “No, I’m not back.”

Bryan Danielson has not wrestled since he dropped the AEW World Championship to Jon Moxley at WrestleDream last October. At ROH x CMLL Global Wars last month, Danielson came out to assist Blue Panther, hitting Shane Taylor with a Busaiku Knee. He also answered Max Caster’s open challenge at AEW Collision in Kent, Washington, quickly making Caster tap out to the LeBell Lock.

The full episode of the Nikki & Brie show is available below:

Hangman Page wins World title at AEW All In, Bryan Danielson & Darby Allin return

Posted on by Josh Nason

For the first time since May 2022, Hangman Page can call himself AEW World Champion.

Page defeated Jon Moxley in the main event of Saturday’s AEW All In to reclaim the title under Texas Death Match rules — an incredibly violent match which featured a slew of the main players in the story that began last October at WrestleDream.

The final stages began when Moxley called for a plastic bag to suffocate Page. A video from Darby Allin played, filmed atop Mount Everest where Allin said he was coming to take everything from Moxley. Bryan Danielson then ran into the ring with a Blue Panther mask on, revealed himself, and delivered a running knee to Wheeler Yuta, taking out he and Gabe Kidd. He then took out Claudio Castagnoli to boot as Allin descended from the top of the stadium.

Page then hit the Buckshot lariat on Moxley as he was distracted by Allin who then hit a Coffin Drop on the heels on the outside of the ring. As Danielson and Allin dispatched the Death Riders, Page then hit a Deadeye on Moxley on a table outside of the ring. Moxley nearly couldn’t answer the ten count and had to be assisted by Marina Shafir.

The Young Bucks then appeared, superkicked Page, and hit an EVP trigger. Moxley and Shafir brought out a bed of nails from the outside of the ring, hitting a curb stomp on it followed by a Paradigm Shift. Page was able to stand up at the count of nine and Moxley demanded Shafir grab the briefcase and leave. She then got handcuffed by a hidden Prince Nana and out came Swerve Strickland with a chain to take out the Bucks, assisting his old rival.

Strickland then tossed the chain, given to him by Page on Thursday’s Collision, back into the ring. Page then used it on Moxley, wrapping it around his neck. Page hit a Buckshot lariat on Moxley who landed on the bed of nails. Page then tossed Moxley over the top and hung him with the chain in a callback to their previous Texas Death Match. After struggling, Moxley tapped out to a thunderous ovation.

An emotional Page then got the key to the briefcase and revealed the World title belt that had been hidden since last October. Fireworks went off and an exhausted Page celebrated, closing a pay-per-view main card that began at 3 PM Eastern and finished six hours later.

***********

As expected, the blood began in the first few minutes when Page pulled out a fork and stabbed Moxley in the head repeatedly. That was followed by Page getting busted open when Moxley used barbed wire across his forehead. The violence continued throughout with more barbed wire usage, a bucket of broken bottles, as well as tables: both with barbed wire and without.

Chairs were also used as Moxley got powerbombed from the corner onto the top of two put back-to-back. Later, Moxley suplexed Page from the ring apron through two tables covered in barbed wire.

Shortly after, the first run-in happened when Yuta hit Page with a chair and then was taken out himself. Shafir, at ringside for the entire match, then jumped on Page’s back only to get driven through a ringside table with a death valley driver.

Castagnoli then ran into attack Page, joined by Yuta. That brought out Will Ospreay who was followed by Kidd. Kidd then piledrivered Ospreay on the floor and Castagnoli put his head through a chair, delivering a running stomp similar to what he did to Samoa Joe in the night’s opening match. Like Joe, Ospreay was then stretchered out.

**********

It’s Page’s second win over Moxley in a Texas Death Match with the first coming at March 2023’s Revolution. Page is now 5-1 under the rules all-time.

The loss ends Moxley’s fourth World title run that began at WrestleDream when he defeated Danielson to end his full-time in-ring career.

Bryan Danielson answers Max Caster open challenge after AEW Collision

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: AEW

Bryan Danielson somewhat made his return to the ring following Wednesday’s AEW Collision taping in Kent, Washington.

In a dark segment after the taping, Kyle O’Reilly was about to speak to the fans when he was interrupted by Max Caster who then issued a Best Wrestler Alive open challenge. To everyone’s surprise, including Caster’s, Danielson answered the challenge.

He and Caster went face-to-face when Adam Cole landed a superkick on Caster, leading to Danielson locking on the LeBell Lock, ending the bout in less than ten seconds. Danielson then put over O’Reilly and said for one night, he was joining Paragon as “Kyle Danielson.” The crowd then sang along with “The Final Countdown” to end the night.

Danielson is originally from Aberdeen, Washington, which is roughly two hours driving distance from Kent.

This marked Danielson’s second in-ring appearance in a week as he appeared at Arena Mexico last Wednesday to aid Blue Panther during ROH x CMLL Global Wars which followed AEW Grand Slam Mexico. He last wrestled at this past October’s WrestleDream, losing the AEW World title to Jon Moxley and retiring as a full-time wrestler.

VIDEO: Bryan Danielson appears, gets physical at ROH x CMLL Global Wars

Posted on by Josh Nason

As part of Wednesday’s AEW Grand Slam Mexico at Arena Mexico, there were several matches taped before and after the broadcast for a future Ring of Honor vs. CMLL Global Wars show.

The big headline coming out of the proceedings was an appearance by former AEW World Champion Bryan Danielson who came out to aid Blue Panther at the end of the final match, video of which is below.

Danielson was in the crowd with Chris Hero during Tuesday’s AEW & ROH vs. CMLL show. It was his first appearance since losing the AEW World title to Jon Moxley at last October’s WrestleDream.

These spoilers come courtesy of PWInsider.

  • ROH TV Champion Nick Wayne vs. Titan went to a draw
  • CMLL Universal Amazons Champion Persephone & Thunder Rosa defeated ROH Women’s World Champion Athena & ROH Women’s TV Champion Red Velvet
  • Blue Panther defeated ROH Pure Champion Lee Moriarty (with The Infantry & Shane Taylor) in a non-title match

After Panther’s victory, The Infantry and Taylor beat down Panther. As Taylor was about to deliver a top rope splash, Danielson came out to lead the way for Hologram and others to make the save. Danielson closed out the save by nailing Taylor with his running knee strike, hugging Panther afterward.

Danielson faced Blue Panther twice in the spring of 2024, once in an eight-man tag match and then in a singles submission match — both at Arena Mexico.

Danielson addressed the crowd, thanking them and saying AEW loves Mexico and he loves Blue Panther. Before he left, Justin Roberts said they wanted the fans to have a final singalong and “The Final Countdown” played to close the night.

Bryan Danielson makes surprise appearance at Dean Rasmussen tribute show

Posted on by Ian Carey

Bryan Danielson made an unannounced appearance at a tribute show for Dean Rasmussen on Saturday night.

AEW and ACTION Wrestling co-produced ACTION DEAN~!!!2 from the WaterDance Plaza in Glendale, Arizona, one night before AEW presents Double or Nothing from the nearby Desert Diamond Arena. Rasmussen, a well-respected contributor to the DVDVR website, passed away in 2023.

Danielson came out as Hologram and Blue Panther remained in the ring following their team’s win in a ten-man Cibernetico match.

“You can see in the way that Hologram wrestles that he loves professional wrestling,” Danielson said to the live crowd. “And Blue Panther, I’m not even going to say his age, he told me in the back, I’m not going to say it. You know he loves professional wrestling. And this show, Action Dean, is in honor of a man who loved professional wrestling.”

“I was under WWF Developmental,” Danielson continued as the crowd booed the mention of WWE. “There’s no need to boo that, there’s no need to boo that. Then they fired me. You can boo that. And because of Dean and the people who wrote about me, some of whom are back there here at the show tonight, they talked about me and they wrote about me and they wrote about independent professional wrestling with a passion and a love that made new fans of independent wrestling, of shows like this.”

Adam Priest vs. Mad Dog Connelly in a Dog Collar match headlined the show. Before leaving the ring, Danielson referred to Priest as the best independent wrestler in the United States.

ACTION Wrestling x ROH ACTION DEAN~!!!2 Results

  • Rhino defeated Manders
  • Josh Woods w/Tom Lawlor defeated JD Drake w/Anthony Henry
  • Arez & Gringo Loco defeated Jaden Newman & Tank /Reverend Dan Wilson
  • The Beast Mortos defeated Slim J
  • ROH Pure Champion Lee Moriarty defeated Matt Mako to retain his title
  • Blue Panther, Hologram, Neon, Valiente & Virus defeated Averno, Dr. Cerebro, Euforia, Volador Jr. & Xelhua
  • Mad Dog Connelly defeated Adam Priest in a Dog Collar match

Bryan Danielson: AEW doesn’t approach other companies in a ‘warlike’ fashion

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Bryan Danielson likes how AEW handles itself in competition with WWE.

Speaking with Talksport for an interview published this week, Danielson said that — while he doesn’t know the right strategy — he likes that AEW doesn’t approach other companies in a “warlike” fashion. That approach is a natural fit for Danielson’s personality, but he doesn’t know if there will be a point in the future where AEW needs to go more on the offensive.

“We don’t, at least it seems like to me, we as a company don’t approach other companies in a warlike fashion, right? We don’t feel like we’re in a war with anybody,” Danielson said. “But that’s not the same as the other side. So we have to — we’re constantly kind of on the defense in that. I don’t know the right strategy. I like the way Tony Khan handles things, because that in my mind, it makes us the good guys, right?

“But I don’t know if at some point we need to go more on the offensive. I’ve had friends bring that up to me like, ‘Oh, you guys should attack.’ I’m like, wait a second. Like one, that’s not my personality. Two, that’s not Tony Khan’s personality. And I think that’s one of the things that drew me to AEW.”

Danielson explained that AEW’s Brodie Lee memorial show in 2020 was something that drew him to the promotion when he was still with WWE. Danielson loves that Tony Khan is a wrestling fan who cares about the wrestlers and the fans.

“It touched something in me and in my mind I was thinking like, ‘Oh, these are the good guys of professional wrestling.’ There’s going to be times where we make wrong, [or] bad decisions, that happens everywhere,” Danielson said. “But one of the things that I like to think about AEW is that we try — and we don’t market ourselves as this — to be good.”

Though he can’t predict the future, Danielson believes AEW should continue growing as a business.

“I think, obviously we can’t tell the future, but I think there’s going to be a lot of growth for AEW,” he said. “I think there’s a tremendous opportunity right now in the media landscape to put a wrestling product out that is the kind of focus that Tony likes to put into AEW. So if I were to guess, I would say that we’re going to grow, but it’s impossible to tell.”

Danielson has been on a media tour to promote AEW & NJPW’s Forbidden Door pay-per-view that’s being held in London this August. Addressing his own in-ring future, Danielson has not officially retired but said he has no desire to wrestle right now.

“I have no inclination right now, and no desire to wrestle right now. The last six months of my career built up to that actually, I look at it now as a blessing,” he told The Metro. “Because the six months leading into my last match were so hard and my neck was so bad. And, I mean, there’s things that I couldn’t physically do.”

Bryan Danielson says he has ‘no desire to wrestle right now’

Posted on by Ian Carey

Bryan Danielson discussed the possibility of returning to the ring during recent interviews with Metro and Daily Star.

While the 43-year-old has been careful not to say he’s officially retired, he explained that the pain he endured during his final run has led him to be at peace with no longer wrestling.

“I have no inclination right now, and no desire to wrestle right now. The last six months of my career built up to that I actually, I look at it now as a blessing,” Danielson said. “Because the six months leading into my last match were so hard and my neck was so bad. And, I mean, there’s things that I couldn’t physically do.”

One of Danielson’s final matches was against Kazuchika Okada on the October 2, 2024, edition of AEW Dynamite. The rules of the match had Okada’s Continental Championship on the line for just the first 20 minutes, but Danielson says he was unable to wrestle the match the way it should have gone.

“What the story should be in that scenario is I’m pushing and pushing and pushing and pushing him, trying to get this fall done in the first 20 minutes,” Danielson said. “That should have been the story, but my legs just couldn’t do it. So it was to the point where I was like, ‘Oh, I’m not physically able to do some of the things that I should, that this story requires me to do.’”

Danielson was asked about the chances he would be back in the UK this summer for Forbidden Door 2025 at the O2 Arena in London. He responded that he’s almost certain he won’t be wrestling on the show, but a situation could arise where he does.

“I’m like, 95% chance no,” Danielson said. “But the reality is that, say you have a big main event and something happens where somebody gets hurt, and Tony says, ‘Hey Bryan, we need you for this thing, is there something you could do?’ Yeah, there’s something I could do. I just have to be careful. But I mean, it’s one of those things where there’s ways to work around it. But you just can’t do it all the time.”

Danielson has not gotten neck surgery in the months since his final match at WrestleDream on October 12. Dave Meltzer reported shortly after the event that Danielson’s plan was to treat his injuries with stem cell therapy in an attempt to avoid surgery.

“I’m making progress, but that still doesn’t mean I won’t have to get neck surgery. I’m trying to avoid it,” he told Metro.

In a separate interview with the Daily Star this weekend, Danielson spoke about his current role in AEW.

“I’m just kind of a consultant for AEW now,” he said. “People may think it’s creative, some of it is, but it’s very little of it.”

He joked that he had nothing to do with the well-reviewed AEW Spring BreakThru episode on April 16.

“I didn’t have a single thing to do with that show,” he said while laughing. “One of the best wrestling TV shows ever, one of the best TV matches of all time with the Ospreay Takeshita match and yeah, I didn’t have a single thing to do with that show.”

As for what Danielson focuses on aside from wrestling these days, he says he spends a lot of time thinking about how he can contribute to a better world.

“Most people who are doing things to make the world a better place, you’re never going to hear about… I’m actively working on doing stuff outside of wrestling, there are things that I care about… You just want to do them for yourself, or the people around, the people you love.”

Danielson’s full interview with Metro is available here.

Bryan Danielson on potential AEW in-ring return: ‘It’s risk vs. reward’

Posted on by Ian Carey

Bryan Danielson isn’t completely closing the door on returning to the ring, but he’s comfortable saying “enough is enough.”

Danielson was in London for yesterday’s Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Conor Benn weigh-in and spoke with JNMedia’s Jamal Niaz. He was asked if there’s a chance he will return to AEW to challenge Jon Moxley and responded, “Yeah, but my neck is wrecked.”

When asked if there was any chance of him returning to the ring at all, Danielson continued:

“So, it’s not ‘no chance’ but it’s risk versus reward, at this point. I want to be able to live comfortably with my wife and kids. One of the things our society has a real problem with is realizing when enough is enough and I’m very satisfied with my career and I think enough is enough.”

Eubank Jr. vs. Benn takes place today at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in North London. Earlier in the interview, Danielson spoke about how the build to the fight resembles a wrestling storyline.

“I’m a fan of (Eubank Jr.) but I’m also a fan of the build to this fight,” Danielson said. “It’s like better than a pro wrestling build. It’s like they took so many elements from pro wrestling into this thing – the rivalry between the fathers, even the intrigue about Chris Eubanks Jr’s dad, that they’re not really in good connection – there’s so much drama and intrigue into this fight, but I’m a Chris Eubanks Jr. guy.”

Following his loss to Jon Moxley at WrestleDream last October, Danielson said he is hoping to avoid neck surgery. Dave Meltzer reported at the time that Danielson planned to undergo stem cell treatment in an effort to avoid going under the knife. In December, Danielson stated that the chances of him returning to the ring were “50/50.”

Danielson’s full discussion with JNMediaUK is available here:

JNPO wrestling year in review series: Do you remember September?

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: AEW

In the latest entry in the pro wrestling year in review series on Josh Nason’s Punch-Out, we arrive in September and I guess a little earth, wind and fire if I can shoehorn that reference in.

Davie Portman of POST Wrestling and Poisonrana rejoins us for the third straight year to look at a fun 30-day stretch as we headed into fall.

Amongst our many topics discussed:

  • AEW All Out which saw an extremely violent cage match between Swerve Strickland and Hangman Page, and the Blackpool Combat Club turning on Bryan Danielson
  • The debut of the Mr. McMahon docuseries on Netflix and all the fallout from that including an outpouring of sympathy for Shane McMahon
  • Even more TNA/NXT crossover
  • Hundreds of other headlines and news from WWE, AEW, NJPW, TNA and the rest of the wrestling world

Click here to listen

Here’s the rest of the series thus far:

JNPO wrestling year in review series: AEW All In, WWE SummerSlam & a very busy August

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: AEW

The latest entry into the Punch-Out 2024 wrestling year in review series has arrived with a stop in August.

Joining me for her yearly appearance is Fightful’s Kate Elizabeth as we go 90 minutes dissecting a very busy 31 days which included:

  • AEW All In which saw Bryan Danielson stave off retirement and win the AEW World title amid growing concerns about his physical state
  • WWE SummerSlam which saw the return of Roman Reigns, setting up the beginning of the latest chapter in the years-long Bloodline storyline
  • The beginnings of rumblings the Lucha Bros were WWE-bound
  • The passing of Sid Vicious and Kevin Sullivan
  • The big news from TNA, ROH, NXT, Japan and the rest of the world

Click here to listen

Here’s the rest of the series thus far:

Bryan Danielson trying to avoid surgery, 50/50 if he’ll ever wrestle again

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Whether Bryan Danielson ever wrestles again is a 50/50 proposition.

On Monday, Danielson attended AEW’s Countdown event in Arlington, Texas to promote All In 2025 tickets going on sale. He promised to attend the July 12, 2025 pay-per-view but said he does not know if he will be able to wrestle at the show and does not know if he will ever be able to ever wrestle again.

Danielson spoke to Denise Salcedo at the media event and gave an update on his neck injury, saying there is “maybe” a chance that he won’t need to undergo surgery.

“I’m trying to avoid it,” Danielson said. “I’d like to avoid it as much as possible. The idea to me is that surgery is a last resort, not a first resort. I’m trying some other things, and I’m a little kooky right? [laughs] People who know me, I’m a little kooky. I’m going to try some other things first before going under the knife. And, yeah, that’s kind of my plan now.”

Dave Meltzer first reported in October that Danielson was having stem cell treatment with the hope that it would heal his neck enough to avoid surgery. Danielson ended his full-time career at WrestleDream on October 12 but has not fully retired from the ring.

If WrestleDream was his last match, Danielson is ok with never wrestling again. He told Salcedo that he loves wrestling but also loves getting to be home more with his family.

“If I had to guess right now — I would say it’s 50/50,” Danielson said about wrestling again. “And you know what? I’m ok with that. I loved the time I got to spend doing this, but I also love what I’m doing now.”

A run with the AEW World Championship capped off Danielson’s full-time career. He lost the title to Jon Moxley at WrestleDream and was then brutalized by Moxley and the Death Riders in a post-match angle.

Bryan Danielson will attend AEW All In 2025, in-ring status uncertain

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Bryan Danielson will be in the building for AEW All In 2025 — but whether he’ll be able to compete in the ring is a different matter.

Though he’s been absent from AEW programming since his loss at WrestleDream, Danielson attended the company’s Countdown event on Monday to celebrate All In 2025 tickets going on sale. The pay-per-view is being held at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas on Saturday, July 12. Danielson addressed what his involvement in the event could look like.

“As for my participation at All In [next] year, I don’t know what that looks like,” he said. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to wrestle at that point. I don’t know if I’ll be able to wrestle again, to be quite honest. But there’s one thing that I can tell you for certain: I will be here. There is nothing that you could do to make me miss All In at Globe Life Field.”

Danielson ended his full-time wrestling career by losing the AEW World Championship to Jon Moxley at WrestleDream. After the match, there was an angle where Danielson was brutally attacked by Moxley and the Death Riders. Danielson has not fully retired from the ring, but he has a neck injury that could require surgery. When or if Danielson can return will be determined by the status of his neck.

All In 2024 was headlined by Danielson defeating Swerve Strickland for the AEW World Championship. That was Danielson’s favorite moment of his career because he had his wife and children at the show watching him.

As for All In 2025, Danielson will do whatever Tony Khan wants him to do. Danielson joked that he could call the show with Tony Schiavone.

“Whatever Tony Khan wants me to do, whether it’s — you know, I could commentate with you,” Danielson said. “Or even just helping backstage. I’m going to be there live to watch it, because this is going to be incredible.”

AEW’s first two All In PPVs were held at Wembley Stadium in London in 2023 and 2024. It’s now coming to Texas next year before returning to Wembley in 2026.

The Latest: AEW Full Gear media scrum notes, Bryan Danielson on wrestling future

Posted on by Denise Salcedo


Welcome to another episode of The Latest with Denise Salcedo breaking down the biggest wrestling news headlines of the week so far.

TOPICS:

— AEW Full Gear media scrum notes: Tony Khan on WWE ID, Kenny Omega, Ricky Starks

–AEW reveals full list of participants for Continental Classic tournament

— Bryan Danielson addresses future in wrestling: ‘I was cautious not to say retirement’

Bryan Danielson addresses future in wrestling: ‘I was cautious not to say retirement’

Posted on by Ian Carey

It’s unclear if Bryan Danielson will wrestle again, but he doesn’t consider himself retired.

Danielson appeared on The Nikki & Brie Show recently, more than a month after his full-time career ended with a loss to Jon Moxley at AEW WrestleDream. Danielson clarified that he was careful not to use the word “retirement” in the lead-up to the match.

“I was very cautious to not say ‘retirement,’ except for the match where if I lost, I’d retire (At All In vs. Swerve Strickland). But after that, it was all, ‘the end of my full-time wrestling career.’ But honestly, I feel – we don’t know what’s going to happen with my neck – but it honestly feels like I have a bobblehead.”

Brie mentioned that Danielson needs neck surgery. Last month, our own Dave Meltzer reported that Danielson hoped to avoid surgery through stem cell treatment. His return to the ring depends on whether he needs surgery and how well the surgery goes if he does.

Brie also mentioned that she wanted to create a celebratory post after his last match, but Danielson said he would prefer if she didn’t, saying, “As wrestlers, we’re never fully retired.”

Danielson continued:

“I realized this with my last retirement, which was forced. I didn’t want to retire but they weren’t going to let me wrestle again. But what I found is, people are sad for a bit, they are sad for like this much, but then everyone just moves on and it doesn’t matter.”

Shortly after Danielson’s loss to Moxley at WrestleDream, our Dave Meltzer provided an update on Danielson’s health in the October 21, 2024 edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Meltzer wrote:

“As far as what happens with Danielson involves the state of his neck. He is going to have an MRI done to see the damage. He had an MRI done not too long ago and it showed damage all the way down his neck. What happens next depends on if the level of damage is the same as it was or if it has worsened, and if [so], by how much. The hope is that he won’t need surgery and can heal up strong enough with stem cell treatment therapy. But if not, he’ll have to undergo surgery. If or when he can return to the ring depends on how well all of this goes,” Meltzer wrote. “They and he had always said regarding this match that it would be the end of his full-time career, and not the end of his career.”