Tag: daniel bryan

WWE fan backlash altered creative plans before, so is Pat McAfee next? | Opinion

Posted on by Rosanne Raphael

Pat McAfee’s involvement in Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes’ feud for WWE WrestleMania 42 has stirred much debate among fans and the wider wrestling community.

His sudden addition to the storyline and siding with Orton has questioned narrative relevance. Fans and wrestlers alike have expressed dissatisfaction with the situation. However, WWE is yet to proceed in the creative direction amid growing concerns. 

This isn’t the first time fans have pushed back on creative decisions or forced WWE to alter the direction of feuds. Over the years, several moments have provoked protests from fans, both online and at arenas.

Here’s a few notable instances when it happened: 

Daniel Bryan’s ‘Yes Movement’ implodes in 2014 

In 2013 to 2014, Bryan had become a fan favorite. Arenas erupted with ‘Yes’ chants every time he appeared. 

So, it came as no surprise when his absence from the 2014 Royal Rumble sparked an uproar. When Rey Mysterio entered as the 30th entrant, the crowd reacted with heavy boos despite him being a face. 

It became worse when Batista won the Rumble to secure his spot at WrestleMania XXX against Randy Orton for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. However, the backlash was so severe that it forced WWE to add Bryan into the fold. 

Bryan was then given the ultimate hero’s challenge to earn his spot in the WrestleMania main event. He had to defeat Triple H earlier in the night with the stipulation that if he lost, he would not be added to the main event. Bryan not only defeated Triple H, but also won the WWE World Title later that night. 

CM Punk chants taking over arenas after WWE walkout 

CM Punk’s 2014 departure triggered one of the most ruthless crowd protests in WWE history. 

While 2014 seemed to peak with fans unhappiness on WWE’s creative booking surrounding Bryan, Punk’s exit worsened it — although his situation intensified the overall sentiment among fans. 

Punk walked out of WWE in January 2014 due to creative differences and lack of respect among other reasons. A few months later in June, he was fired by WWE on his wedding day.

The dissatisfaction of his absence in the ring led arenas to chant for Punk at almost every WWE event for years. Even if major stars were featured on the card or competing in the ring, his name would still be heard from the crowd.  

Punk was viewed as a representative of the fanbase. His departure sparked a rare moment in wrestling history which created sustained pressure on how deeply audiences were invested in his presence. 

Punk eventually returned to WWE at Survivor Series 2023 to a thunderous reaction at the Allstate Arena. 

John Cena hatred at ECW One Night Stand 2006  

At ECW One Night Stand, Cena walked into one of the most hostile wrestling crowds in history. 

ECW was revived in 2006 after being purchased by WWE a few years earlier. To promote the merger WWE produced ECW’s second edition of their One Night Stand pay-per-view. But it turned out to be more chaotic as WWE stars were featured on the match card which drew strong negative reactions from hardcore ECW fans. 

The main event featured Rob Van Dam against Cena for his WWE Championship. The reaction was brutal and the atmosphere at Hammerstein Ballroom was intense. The champ walked out to boos, obscene gestures and jeers. 

This event featured the viral ‘If Cena wins, we riot’ poster along with explicit laden chants directed at him.

Edge’s interference in the match did not go in vain. After the referee was knocked out, Paul Heyman took over and counted the pinfall which made RVD the new WWE Champion that night. 

Given that Cena was positioned as WWE’s babyface at the time, this moment remains a notable example of fan reactions determining the crowning of a new champion. 

#WeWantCody taking over social media 

Cody Rhodes won the 2024 Royal Rumble and chose to face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania that year to ‘finish his story’.

Despite facing off in the WrestleMania 39 main event, Rhodes was still on a mission – to win the undisputed WWE Championship. 

On the February 2, 2024, edition of SmackDown, The Rock returned and confronted his cousin. For quite a while, it was marked a blockbuster match by many for Rock to battle Reigns at WrestleMania.

The Rock shook hands and embraced Rhodes who gestured for him to proceed in his confrontation indicating that he was stepping down from his Mania match.

Fans were baffled and instantly expressed discontent at the next few events and online. Almost instantly, #WeWantCody began trending worldwide on social media. 

This forced WWE to adjust plans and re-align Rhodes in his coveted spot in the WrestleMania 40 main event. 

It steered the rivalry into Rock and Reigns uniting against Rhodes. And eventually led to Seth Rollins backing Rhodes for having a common enemy in The Bloodline. 

R-Truth’s 2025 Money in the Bank return  

On June 1, 2025, R-Truth announced on social media that he was released from WWE, ending his 17-year association with the company. It instantly received a jarring reaction online and on the following editions of Raw and SmackDown. 

At Money in the Bank, Cena teamed up with Logan Paul against Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso. During the bout, Paul hit a moonsault on Uso through the announcer’s table while Cena and Rhodes were in the ring. With the referee distracted, Cena grabbed the WWE title belt and hit Rhodes with it. A hooded figure jumped into the ring and attacked Cena and later revealed himself – it was R-Truth. 

Everyone at the Intuit Dome were on their feet, rooting and embracing the return of their beloved star. And it all transpired within a week. 

Later, reports revealed that the overwhelming backlash forced Nick Khan to step in and renegotiate Truth’s WWE contract for a return. 

Final Thoughts

These examples prove the influential role fans play in WWE storytelling. While creative decisions lie in the hands of the promotion, sustained negative reactions and protests can detour the original plans. WWE history has shown a consistent pattern of altering feuds and storylines based on fans pushing back. It also proves that audiences are not just reacting to it but also actively shaping it.

This trend could be reflected in the ongoing discussions on McAfee’s integration in Rhodes and Orton’s WrestleMania 42 clash. The growing retaliation could sway WWE’s creative booking.

Two matches announced for next week’s WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Two matches have been announced for the July 15 episode of WWE SmackDown. 

In a championship contender’s match, Natalya will face SmackDown Women’s Champion Liv Morgan. That match was set up on this week’s episode when Natalya interrupted an in-ring promo segment involving Morgan and Michael Cole. 

Natalya then lost a match to Ronda Rousey on this week’s SmackDown by submission. 

Also announced for next week, Money in the Bank briefcase holder Theory will take on Madcap Moss. On this week’s show, Moss said that he would like to try to shove Theory’s briefcase in his mouth. 

Theory is set to face Bobby Lashley in a United States Championship match at SummerSlam on July 30, a rematch from Money in the Bank, where Lashley defeated Theory for the title.

Here is next week’s lineup: 

WWE SmackDown, Friday, July 15 —

  • SmackDown Women’s Champion Liv Morgan vs. Natalya in a non-title championship contender’s match
  • Theory vs. Madcap Moss

Bryan Danielson, Chris Jericho appear on WWE Raw, congratulate John Cena via video

Posted on by Bryan Rose

AEW stars Bryan Danielson, Chris Jericho, and Paul Wight appeared via video on Raw tonight congratulating John Cena on the 20th anniversary of his debut.

Danielson and Wight, who appeared under their WWE names Daniel Bryan and The Big Show, were the first to congratulate Cena. Later, Jericho appeared in another segment, also congratulating Cena.

Others that appeared throughout the night to congratulate Cena include Trish Stratus, John Bradshaw Layfield, Kurt Angle, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Randy Orton.

Cena appeared at the start of tonight’s Raw, with the roster appearing backstage to congratulate everyone. He also appeared in backstage segments with The Street Profits and later Theory, who ran down Cena. He attempted to take a selfie with Cena, but he walked away before Theory could take the photo. He later appeared in an in-ring segment thanking the fans.

Cena made his televised main roster debut on the June 27, 2002 episode of SmackDown, where he faced Kurt Angle in his debut match.

We’re Live, Pal: More forbidden door, AEW & WWE true or false, viewer questions

Posted on by Garrett Gonzales

It’s a brand new episode of We’re Live, Pal.

Andrew Zarian and I are back for our first show without Denise to talk about who Tony Khan may have up his sleeve for his surprise on Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite.

We play a game of true or false with WWE and AEW storylines.

We then take questions from viewers about AEW’s next TV deal, Jeff Hardy, and more.

Enjoy the latest We’re Live, Pal in podcast form or on YouTube.

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Bryan Danielson: WWE wrestlers should have 90-day notice clause

Posted on by Skylar Russell

AEW’s Bryan Danielson spoke publicly for the first time on the recent WWE releases in addition to discussing his own contract with AEW — one he said will likely be his last.

Speaking with Ariel Helwani on the MMA Hour, Danielson said he believes that if WWE can release wrestlers with a 90-day clause, wrestlers should also be able to give a 90-day notice.

“One of the things I have always had a hard time with, and I’ve been fired from WWE twice so I kind of get this, is that it’s one thing if somebody does something bad. But, for example, if you’re under contract with WWE and you’re not happy, or you’re not happy with the company, or whatever it is, if they can fire you and give you 90 days, you should be able to give them 90 days to be released from your contract. I just think that that’s fair”.

Danielson said he doesn’t think it’s right that WWE is releasing talent and claiming they are due to budget cuts when they are more profitable than ever.

“They signed a lot of people to high-end contracts when AEW kind of started to keep people from going to AEW or whatever it is. But then they realized that AEW can’t sign all these people. So now, the people who have too many high-end contracts….if they feel like they’re getting paid more than they should be getting paid, then they’ll let them go. But you offered them a contract to be with you for three years or whatever. If you overpaid them, that’s your bad. And, you’re still a very profitable company,” he explained.

Danielson said he is under a three-year deal with AEW, confirming he is able to work in Japan as long as he gets clearance from AEW and that the company is his top priority in terms of dates. Chris Jericho is the only other wrestler to compete in Japan while under an AEW contract, primarily due to the pandemic restricting overseas travel. 

Previously, Danielson called the next three years the “climax” of his in-ring career.

WWE SmackDown video highlights: Final build to Extreme Rules

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Image: WWE

The final build to Extreme Rules took place on last night’s SmackDown from Philadelphia.

Two days before his Universal Championship defense against “The Demon” Finn Balor, Roman Reigns was in action against Montez Ford in last night’s main event. After getting his knees up when Ford went for a frog splash, Reigns used a guillotine to get the submission win.

Paul Heyman then counseled Reigns to beat down Ford as a way of showing both Balor and Brock Lesnar what happens when Reigns takes it to the extreme. Reigns attacked Ford with a steel chair and slammed him through a table at ringside. Ford’s tag team partner Angelo Dawkins couldn’t make the save because it was said that Dawkins was attending a friend’s wedding and wasn’t at last night’s show.

The lights went out after Reigns put Ford through the table. When they came back on, Balor was standing on the top rope dressed as The Demon. Balor took out Reigns and The Usos with a crossbody to the outside, then started hitting both Usos with kendo sticks.

Reigns cut Balor off and threw him into the ring. But when he went to attack Balor with a steel chair, Balor hit a slingblade and used the chair himself. Balor hit Reigns and The Usos with the chair and then took out Reigns with a dive to the outside.

More coverage from last night —

WWE SmackDown video highlights —

Bianca Belair hits the KOD on Becky Lynch

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Apollo Crews for the Intercontinental title

Seth Rollins demands that Edge show up on SmackDown next week

Liv Morgan vs. Zelina Vega

The premiere edition of Happy Talk

Nikki A.S.H. vs. Natalya

Dominik Mysterio blames Rey Mysterio for his last two losses to Sami Zayn

 Naomi challenges Sonya Deville to a match, gets escorted out by security

Roman Reigns vs. Montez Ford

“The Demon” Finn Balor gets extreme ahead of Extreme Rules

SmackDown fallout: Zelina Vega stopped Liv Morgan in her tracks

SmackDown fallout: Riddick Moss makes Happy Corbin laugh

SmackDown fallout: Nikki A.S.H. & Rhea Ripley are ready for Shotzi & Nox

Bryan Danielson clarifies WWE’s stance on ‘Yes’ chants

Posted on by Josh Nason

In communications with Dave Meltzer, AEW’s Bryan Danielson clarified some of his statements regarding WWE and the use of the “Yes!” chants he made during an interview with Barstool Sports, blaming himself for not explaining himself well when doing the media rounds.

In the Barstool interview, Danielson said he did the chant because it was an easy way to get a crowd response and to get fans to show how excited they are about a potential match:

“I’m not doing it myself because I respect WWE’s intellectual property. I don’t think anything legally…they haven’t threatened anything legally. I had a great conversation with Kevin Dunn before I debuted with AEW. I was very up front with WWE on ‘I want to let you guys know I’m leaving. This is my debut date.’ They asked me, politely, to respect their intellectual property even on some things that couldn’t be legally enforced. I’m trying my best to do that. There are also certain expectations fans have of me that they want to be able to do and I’m happy they still get to do that. I’m going to do my best to avoid swinging my arms in the air.”

Danielson explained to Meltzer that WWE has never spoken to him about the chants and that his meeting with Kevin Dunn was about intellectual property, but mainly music. He said Dunn never brought up the chants and that there has never been a threat, discussion or even a legal letter regarding anything.

He is fine with fans doing the chants, but doesn’t want to encourage them in the same way he did while in WWE as he wants to differentiate the Daniel Bryan character from Bryan Danielson.

Danielson will make his in-ring AEW debut Wednesday against Kenny Omega on Dynamite Grand Slam from Queens, New York.

AEW’s Bryan Danielson thanks WWE in Players Tribune post

Posted on by Josh Nason

As he prepares for his first-ever AEW match Wednesday, Bryan Danielson wrote an extensive thank you letter to WWE on the Players Tribune Tuesday.

The premise was that as Danielson is preparing to embark on this new run, he is feeling excited but also had some other emotions as he will wrestle somewhere other than WWE for the first time in more than a decade.

He thanked Vince McMahon (who he called The Big Man) “who I know hates to be acknowledged. I won’t say much, but thank you for the conversations, the life lessons (about both what to do and what not to do), and the best hug I’ve ever received. I wish more people could see you how I see you.”

He thanked the wrestlers for “Savate-Kick Saturdays and locally roasted coffee,” for being a family when they are away from family, making him look good when he didn’t feel good, for making him laugh, having deep conversations and pointless debates, and for “all the small things that make life as a wrestler just a little bit more fun.”

He thanked the production people, producers, talent relations, everyone behind the scenes, and creative “for accepting me into the group, for sharing with me the lessons you’ve learned, and for the fun times we had talking about wrestling and non-wrestling subjects alike. It’s a difficult job, writing and producing WWE television, and I’m consistently blown away by your ability to make a seamless production out of such chaos!”

He also thanked the fans for “pushing his career to new heights,” for cheering him at WrestleMania 30, for booing him against Kofi Kingston at WrestleMania 35, for crying with him when he retired and for celebrating when he was cleared to return.

“Thank you for hijacking that show in Seattle — the last time my dad ever got to see me wrestle. He signed his first autograph that night: Buddy Danielson, Daniel Bryan’s dad,” he wrote.

While he hoped fans would follow him to AEW, he understands if they don’t.

“I loved my time in WWE. Needless to say, it changed my life. I met my wife, had unbelievable experiences and made great friends. Some of you, I may see again…. and I hope that I do. But these last two years have taught us not to take that for granted. So I just wanted to tell you all how much you’ve meant to me. I’m grateful that you allowed me into your lives, and that you came into mine. I’ll cherish these memories forever,” he wrote.

Danielson faces AEW World Champion Kenny Omega in a non-title match at AEW Dynamite Grand Slam Wednesday at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York.

SmackDown Tag Team title match added to WWE Extreme Rules

Posted on by Joseph Currier

A SmackDown Tag Team title match is the latest addition to the card for Extreme Rules.

WWE has announced that The Usos will defend their SmackDown Tag Team titles against The Street Profits at Extreme Rules on Sunday, September 26. The pay-per-view is taking place at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

A Tag Team title match between The Usos and The Street Profits headlined last week’s episode of SmackDown. The Street Profits were on the verge of getting the win after Montez Ford hit a frog splash on Jimmy Uso, but Roman Reigns interfered to cause a disqualification.

Reigns put Ford in a guillotine after last week’s title match. The show ended with Finn Balor’s “Demon” character making its return as Balor came out to the ring and had a staredown with Reigns. Balor is challenging for Reigns’ Universal Championship at Extreme Rules.

A non-title match between The Usos and The Street Profits on SmackDown two weeks ago also ended with The Street Profits winning by DQ. After Ford hit a frog splash on Jimmy near the end of that match, Jey Uso broke up the pin, attacked Ford, and wouldn’t leave the ring. The Street Profits got the better of a brawl with The Usos after the match.

Here’s the updated card for Extreme Rules:

  • Universal Champion Roman Reigns defends against “The Demon” Finn Balor
  • SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch defends against Bianca Belair
  • United States Champion Damian Priest defends against Sheamus
  • Raw Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair defends against Alexa Bliss
  • SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos defend against The Street Profits

Bryan Danielson could have worked G1 Climax if WWE re-signed him

Posted on by Josh Nason

As part of a major push to get Bryan Danielson to remain in WWE, Vince Mahon gave him permission to compete in New Japan Pro Wrestling’s annual G1 Climax tournament.

Dave Meltzer first reported the news in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Meltzer said that Danielson got a “major offer” to stay in WWE and got a similar one from AEW. WWE would have granted him the ability to also work in New Japan with McMahon giving the go-ahead to work in the G1. However, Meltzer said, “It’s most likely McMahon had no idea what it was when he said that.”

WWE president Nick Khan attempted to make a deal with New Japan for exclusivity, but was unable to do so. Had the deal been done and Danielson still signed with AEW, he would have been unable to work there.

“Both AEW and WWE offered similar money. WWE was willing to allow him limited dates to give him time home, a major guarantee (among the largest in the company) and the ability to do outside stuff. AEW offered similar,” Meltzer wrote.

The WWE contract for Danielson (then Daniel Bryan) expired on April 30th, making him a free agent. Like CM Punk and Ruby Soho, he had verbally agreed to a deal but hadn’t put pen to paper until the last two weeks prior to All Out.

Bryan Danielson says desire to ‘push limits’ led him to AEW

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Bryan Danielson said that no one thing led to his choice to join AEW, but ultimately a desire to physically push his limits was a driving force. 

“I hate to say this, but… Vince [McMahon] and I have a great relationship. And I love him, I do. Sometimes he’s overprotective of me. And I want to be able to push my limits,” Danielson said at the post-All Out media scrum. Danielson debuted for AEW in the show-closing segment of All Out. 

“That’s one of the things that I love about this, is the physicality of what we do and being able to push my limits.”

Danielson stated that a desire to have a portion of his life be “wild” also contributed to his decision. 

“I don’t know how many of you are married or have kids. When you’re married and you have kids, your life becomes a little bit tame. I love it, but it’s a little bit tame,” Danielson said. 

“I need one part of my life that’s a little bit wild.”

Danielson also revealed that WWE was going to allow him to do things outside of the company, but did not specifically state if that would have entailed wrestling elsewhere. Perhaps to that end, Danielson expressed a desire to do some work in NJPW and also in Mexico.

“WWE was so gracious to me as far as the offer that they gave me. They were going to let me go do some other stuff outside,” said Danielson. “I really battled back and forth, because there’s a lot of people there that I consider family, that actually are my family, and people that I love there. So, it was a really tough decision.”

Danielson said that there was no one tipping point that led to his decision to leave WWE, but pointed to AEW’s Brodie Lee tribute show as one of the first things that got him thinking of making a move to AEW. 

In response to a question about the possibility of his wife Brie Bella joining AEW, Danielson downplayed the possibility. 

“That would be very difficult. It was hard for me to go, because I have so many ties within WWE. She’s happy there, she has so many business connections there, so I don’t know,” said Danielson. 

Bryan also addressed the possibility of not leading his signature “Yes!” chants, as he wants to make certain that doing so would not in any way be a snub to WWE.

I respect the people that I have worked for before and their intellectual property,” Danielson said. “The fans doing it is great, but I’m not sure if I’m going to do it. ” 

Tony Khan discusses Danielson, future touring locations, WWE

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Tony Khan has spoken out on a number of topics, including future acquisitions, Bryan Danielson, touring in England and California, and more.

AEW’s President and CEO joined Dave Meltzer and Garrett Gonzales on Wrestling Observer Radio. When Bryan Danielson’s name came up, Khan said he couldn’t answer the question.

“I can’t answer that question,” he said. “It’s fair for you to ask. Nothing I can address on the Observer today. He’s one of the all-time greats.”

When asked about future acquisitions, Khan said “Definitely going to make multiple additions in the next 4-6 months. Will be some activity in the near future. I can’t specify exactly what it is but I don’t think people want me to.”

In the interview, Khan also expressed interest in going to England and California.

“I do want to come to England. It’s a huge part of my life,” he said. “It’s a great thing we have with ITV. It’s been amazing for us. We have great wrestlers from the UK, male and female. I can’t announce exact dates, but I want to bring AEW to Craven Cottage. I think all the new additions would be the best home for AEW.”

When asked about touring in California, he said that  if things stay on track and Double or Nothing goes to Vegas next year, they may go to California during that timeframe.

Elaborating on comments he made earlier this week on WWE’s new mentality of recruiting, He said it may be good for AEW, NJPW, and other promotions, but also mentioned Mick Foley and Dax Harwood as people that might have been skipped over through that kind of mentality.

“There are people who look great but will never be good at this,” Khan said. You can pick 100 good looking people and you might find zero that are great at what wrestlers really do.”

AEW’s next pay-per-view event is All Out, which will take place next Sunday, September 5, in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

CM Punk drops Daniel Bryan hint during AEW Dynamite promo

Posted on by Josh Nason

During his promo on AEW Dynamite Wednesday, CM Punk dropped a hint that Daniel Bryan might indeed be on his way to join him in his new home.

As Punk was talking about his All Out match with Darby Allin and saying he has to personally answer the questions of whether he can still be the best in the world, the Milwaukee fans started chanting “Yes! Yes! Yes!” like Bryan’s famous catchphrase.

“That’s somebody else’s schtick and you might have to be a little more patient, ok?,” he said, making a face before returning back to his promo.

During Dynamite, Punk also shared an image on his Instagram stories of him shaking Bryan’s hand from a 2004 Ring of Honor match.

The same week Punk was rumored as coming to AEW, rumors also emerged that Bryan, also a free agent, could be joining him at some point. Like with the Punk rumors that turned out to be accurate, there has been no acknowledgment or denial of his signing or impending signing.

Bryan’s contract expired after his April 30th loss to Universal Champion Roman Reigns on WWE SmackDown where the stipulation was that if he lost, he would be banished from the brand.

Bryan has said in past interviews that he wants to wrestle for New Japan and CMLL in the future which an AEW deal would likely allow him to do. WWE reportedly tried to do their own deal with New Japan in part to make something happen, but were unable to come to terms.

AEW’s Tony Khan says ‘no comment’ to CM Punk, Daniel Bryan rumors

Posted on by Josh Nason

In an interview with the New York Post to promote Wednesday’s Fight for the Fallen edition of AEW Dynamite, Tony Khan declined to comment when asked about either CM Punk or Daniel Bryan coming to his promotion.

When asked directly if he had signed either man, Khan said, “I have no comment on those, but those are good questions but I can’t comment on those.”

To a follow-up about hypothetically what it would mean for a company to sign both, he said, “I can’t comment on those two guys, but I think there are certainly a lot of exciting rumors right now.”

Those rumors first came to light last week with speculation that Punk could debut during AEW’s September run in Chicago for All Out week with Bryan slated to make his debut at their Queens, New York, Dynamite at Arthur Ashe Stadium. 

“I think we are now in as strong a position as we’ve ever been and I do think the next few months will be a very important time in the history of AEW. Right now we are writing a really important chapter in our legacy,” he said.

Khan also was asked about the process of bringing in Nick Gage against Chris Jericho as part of the Five Labours series involving MJF. He said he was working on it before with MJF and the Five Labours idea came up. He has no hesitancy putting him on TV with his past as he has “demonstrated that he has changed a lot. He’s built a strong reputation as a hardcore wrestler and he’s been fulfilling his dates and commitments and he has a lot of support from the company.”

He also addressed why there hasn’t been more crossover with Impact, saying part of the issue is that they tape their TV a month at a time while they are live every week so a lot is already set in place. He added that he thinks there’s going to be some interesting collaborations with them.

He said the idea to pair Vickie Guerrero with Andrade El Idolo was Idolo’s idea as he wanted a connection to the Guerreros, but “as we went on, I wanted to add something to the presentation and I couldn’t put my finger on what. Then I saw Chavo (Guerrero) on an independent show and I just had a light bulb moment.”

Kenny Omega on possibility of CM Punk, Daniel Bryan in AEW

Posted on by Josh Nason

Image: AEW

During an interview on Wrestling Observer Radio, AEW World Champion Kenny Omega spoke on the possibility of working with CM Punk and Daniel Bryan in the near future.

“It’s cool for me to think I am going to get in the ring with them possibly,” Omega said. “Because they were so prominent in WWE…for me, as exciting as the wrestling part is, the ability to tell a story is more exciting for me.”

Omega said both are different performers that he respects in different ways. He called Bryan “incredibly intelligent and smart” as it relates to pro wrestling and put over how he was able to create the Yes Movement while in WWE. He said Punk has a different line of thinking than the average performer and that he has created a dedicated fanbase that believes he’s the best in the world. 

“Two extremely intelligent people who found a way to, I don’t want to say cheat the system, but it was a system that was not created for them there,” Omega said.

Omega has never wrestled Punk while he and Bryan shared the ring three times in 2008-09, twice in Ring of Honor and once in PWG. They have only wrestled in a singles match once in those three times with Bryan picking up the win at PWG One Hundred.

Rumors emerged last week on the same day that the two free agents were in discussions with AEW, possibly as part what is looking to be a record September with their debut in New York and New Jersey in addition to All Out week in Chicago.

During the two-hour conversation, Omega also said how he hopes Rampage will feature more women’s wrestling, how “The Belt Collector” character came to be, who he watched to help prepare him for this run, and why would he would never say it’s impossible that WWE could open their doors to other organizations.