Bryan Danielson has recalled the apathy he felt going into one of his last matches while on the WWE roster.
At WrestleMania 37 in 2021, Danielson and Edge took on Roman Reigns in a Triple Threat Match with The Tribal Chief’s Universal Championship on the line. In the end The Bloodline assisted Reigns in defeating his challengers who he piled on top of one another for a dominant victory.
Bryan Danielson has spoken before about feeling “empty” during the bout, partly because he didn’t think he should have been part of it with his departure from the company being imminent.
Now, The American Dragon has gone one further, saying he “felt nothing” despite it being his first match in front of a live crowd since the COVID-19 pandemic struck.
Bryan Danielson “felt nothing” at WrestleMania 37
Speaking to Sports Illustrated, Danielson recalled trying his best but feeling like he was just going through the motions.
“That was a match people enjoyed. It didn’t mean anything to me. I felt nothing. You have to remember—it was our first time back in front of a live crowd [since the start of the pandemic], and we were in front of thousands of people.
“I felt nothing during that match. I was trying my best, but it felt like I was going through the motions.”
However, those feelings went away during his final match in the company. The bout saw him take Reigns on once more, this time with his career on the line.
Although he came up short, Danielson says he “loved” the match and sees it as a perfect end to his WWE career.
“Then I wrestled Roman in the ThunderDome in front of all these screens, and I loved that match. It was the perfect way for me to end my WWE career.”
Going back to the WrestleMania match, Danielson said he expected the apathy he felt to go away once he stepped out in front of the crowd, but it didn’t happen.
“Putting together the [WrestleMania] match, I could feel a little bit of my apathy, but that’s happened before and then I walk out there and I feel, ‘This is what I live for.’ That was very weird psychologically.
“Something was wrong. It was very glaring to me.”
Following his departure from WWE, Bryan Danielson made the leap to AEW where he is a member of the Blackpool Combat Club alongside Claudio Castagnoli, Jon Moxley, and Wheeler Yuta.
He was most recently in action at Revolution where he came up short against MJF in a 60-Minute Iron Man match for the AEW World Championship.