Bryan Danielson has discussed what the future holds following his impending retirement from in-ring competition.
Bringing his legendary career to an end at some point in 2024, The American Dragon will leave a lasting legacy when all is said and done and will finally get to retire on his own terms after having his career taken away from him back in 2016. While fans will be sad to see Danielson go, the AEW star knows it is time.
Appearing on The Nikki and Brie Show, Danielson told Nikki and Brie Garcia that if he does lose to Swerve Strickland at All In in the title vs. career match, he is ready to accept what comes next:
“So I’ve been in AEW now for three years and I’ve never won a championship. The story is, I’m wrestling this match, it’s career vs title. If I lose, I’m forced to retire. It’s something I’m ready for, I’m kind of ready to be done.”
Continuing, Danielson added that family commitments have grown in the past few years and it is something that he wants to be there for:
“I’d rather be at home. I don’t wanna miss out. There’s this small portion of our kids lives where they actually want us there, right? I see it with my friends and my sister and all of that kind of stuff. All of the sudden, Birdie, she’s seven now, she’s going to turn into a teenager and she’s gonna have other things. Now, she wants daddy there all the time and so it’s like, I wanna be there for that.”
“My Body Is Broken Down”: Bryan Danielson
It’s no secret that Danielson has dealt with a number of injuries throughout his careers in ROH, WWE and AEW. Addressing the extent of his current condition, Danielson admitted that he would require surgery and that unlike in the past he can now see a scenario where wrestling is not a part of his life:
“Also it’s like, my body is broken down. The odds are I’m probably going to have to have neck surgery before the end of the year. I’ve got all of those kind of things. This pro wrestling thing, it’s been incredible and it’s hard to imagine my life without it for the past twenty five years but it’s a lot easier to imagine my life going forward without me wrestling. It’s hard for me to imagine me keeping doing this, especially with the last year.
I’ve had herniated discs in my back, tore the labrum in my shoulder, then I broke my arm which required nine screws, then I had two fractures in my orbital bone. I just recently hurt my neck really bad and that was in April, so it’s all of these things. When I started AEW, I was like, I’m invincible! Then it turns out maybe I’m not so invincible. It does but I’m not saying to feel bad for me. This is a blessed life, it really is. It’s fun and I still love it 25 years in, it’s just now I have things that are more important to me.”
In a previous interview, Bryan Danielson gave a health update.
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H/t to Fightful.