Bryan Danielson arrived in AEW just four months after his WWE career ended in May 2021, and since then he and Tony Khan have developed a strong working friendship. While Danielson is now set to wear another All Elite cap, the story behind Khan’s latest decision to satisfy Danielson loyalists and improve the AEW product has been revealed.
The American Dragon and the AEW-ROH owner have talked highly of each other in the media, and Khan has said he wants Danielson to remain with All Elite Wrestling and Ring of Honor forever. When asked about a return to his previous employer, the former Daniel Bryan of WWE has made it clear he’s happy with the Jacksonville-based promotion, and sees himself there for a while.
Danielson cited family and health as the main reasons he ended his 25-year full-time in-ring career almost one year ago. The 44-year-old has made a few brief returns to the ring since then, while taking on more of a behind-the-scenes role with the AEW creative team. Danielson recently began doing more AEW commentary, and immediately received significant social media praise for his performance. It was announced this past weekend that Bryan is joining the AEW Dynamite commentary team full-time, beginning with this week’s live episode from the former ECW Arena in Philadelphia, which will mark the end of the 2300 Arena residency for AEW’s flagship program.
The recent AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door IV pay-per-view saw Danielson help call the matches, and he went viral at times for what his ringside presence added to the show. Khan recently appeared on the Battleground Podcast and revealed how Danielson came to wear a new hat for his companies. He also commented on what Bryan adds to the TV product.
“As we were preparing for Forbidden Door, I thought Bryan would be fantastic on the commentary team for that show. Knowing the background he has, knowing his insights into pro wrestling, and how prepared he is, and how much research he does on pro wrestling worldwide. Knowing the stars competing at Forbidden Door, coming from different promotions… stars from Mexico and Japan, and traveling from all over the world to compete at that show in London. Also, I think Bryan’s a great star and people want to see Bryan Danielson on television, and hear Bryan Danielson on television, and thankfully, he’s got very intelligent, insightful things to say when he does talk,” Tony Khan said. [H/T to F4Wonline]
Bryan Danielson Set To Host And Commentate For AEW Dynamite
Tony Khan continued praising Bryan Danielson on the Battleground Podcast to promote Wednesday’s live Dynamite, and reiterated how good he did at Forbidden Door.
Khan then revealed yet another cap for Danielson to wear behind-the-scenes. The lifelong fan announced that the former WWE Champion will also serve as a host at Dynamite in Philly tomorrow, not just a commentator.
“So I really thought Bryan would be a great part of the commentary team, and he did a fantastic job on Forbidden Door. I had talked to him maybe after his promotional tour of Australia was complete about Bryan joining us on Wednesday… and it worked out perfect. He’ll be joining us tomorrow night on Wednesday Night Dynamite as a host, a commentator, providing his really, really valuable insights into pro wrestling. I think it’s great anytime we’re able to bring on Bryan Danielson to do anything in AEW, but especially to provide very, very intelligent, insightful commentary on pro wrestling. That’s a great thing in AEW that we have now with Bryan Danielson as a host on Wednesday Night Dynamite starting tomorrow,” Tony Khan said. [H/T to F4Wonline]