A former WWE star recently shared how he never wanted to be on Total Divas, but did it to help his wife.
Total Divas was World Wrestling Entertainment’s foray into reality TV that was greenlit due to relationships between the Bella Twins (Nikki Bella) and their real-life partners.
Bryan Danielson (fka Daniel Bryan) was a part of the recurring cast on the reality show along with his wife. The other divas on the show were the aforementioned Nikki Bella, Naomi, Natalya, Cameron, Eva Marie, and Jojo Offerman.
Recently, Bryan opened up saying that he took part to support his wife, and it was hard for him to be in front of the camera all the time, along with sharing details of why he disliked the experience.
Bryan Danielson Reveals Real Reason Why He Chose To Be On WWE Total Divas
Speaking on the Ned and Josh Podcast, the former AEW World Champion shared that while he did not enjoy being on camera constantly, he did it because his wife, Brie Bella, was a part of the cast. He stated that he was on the show, knowing that it would shine a spotlight on the women’s division.
He continued, saying that Total Divas and Total Bellas were instrumental in inspiring a whole new generation of women to choose wrestling as a career:
“Yeah, I mean, it was never something that I ever desired. I took part in it to help my wife. It was good. It was good for her. Absolutely. To be supportive of her. Because listen, at the time, for women’s wrestling, they weren’t the focus, right? And one of the things that I, it was really hard for me doing it.
I didn’t enjoy doing it, but one of the things that I really appreciate is how much it helped my wife and specifically, like, women’s wrestling, you know, in the sense of, like, my wife, you know, you’ve got lots of women’s wrestlers today who are getting big opportunities who got into wrestling because of Total Divas [or] Total Bellas or whatever that is.”
Elaborating on his own experience, the former WWE Intercontinental Champion shared that he disliked being on the show because he valued his privacy and never desired that level of fame or recognition, which would mean he had to be on camera all the time.
He continued, stating that the latest book he was reading made him realize his life’s desire is to live peacefully and privately, adding that he never thought he would be this popular when he started wrestling. He has now realized that getting privacy is hard for him, and he has no desire to put his life on camera for others’ entertainment:
“And so I think that’s super cool, and it’s a super cool part of my wife’s, you know, if you talk about, if there is, is there even a real thing such as legacy, you know? If there is, this is, you know, one of the… It’s like, but it was something that was really hard for me, because, yeah, it would be, I don’t, I don’t desire fame, right, and I don’t, and I don’t desire wanting to be recognized. I like my privacy.
Like, so it’s, I’m actually in the middle of reading a book called Solitude. And this guy spends a year alone in the Patagonian wilderness, right? And it’s like the insight and, like, that is what my desire is.
Unfortunately, when I graduated [from] high school, I had no idea what I wanted to do besides being a professional wrestler. So, I ended up in this entertainment industry, not even thinking I was going to be successful at it, but here I am.
And then now it’s like, oh, getting privacy is really hard now. And that’s the one thing that I desire most. So, that’s why it was hard for me with the, with the, with the, um, the reality [show]. I don’t want all of my life to be for other people’s entertainment.”
You can hear Bryan Danielson’s comments in the video below:
In related news: Bryan Danielson shares a bold take on WWE counterprogramming AEW.