Images via: ROck and Roman-Rolling Stone, Danielson-SI
Bryan Danielson’s entire run in WWE seems like a missed opportunity all around. In Danielson we had a possibility to have the next Stone Cold Steve Austin meets Bret Hart and instead we got a lot of comedic bits of storyline with a few epic matches thrown in.
Sad but true, to quote the great James Hetfield.
Danielson has spoken highly of his time in WWE and I can definitely understand that viewpoint, but seeing him in AEW and seeing the caliber of matches he is having right now, there’s no denying that he was limited on that former WWE platform.
He even said as much when he debuted for AEW, stating in a media scrum following his debut (as we reported as well) that he was coddled on that former platform. Well, he isn’t coddled anymore, and the fans of his wrestling style are indeed rejoicing. This is what we wanted all along…to see that Bryan Danielson we had seen at ROH and on the indies…a version we seldom saw in WWE, and that was not his fault.
via Denise Salcedo on YouTube
The entirety of his WWE run was not horrible. He did win championships and many times over, specifically holding the WWE Championship 4 times and the World Heavyweight Championships 1 time.
via WWE on YouTube
His accolades over there speak for himself, and we can even wonder how he would fare in the new direction WWE has taken since Vince McMahon retired, but we can enjoy him on the AEW platform right now.
Danielson was injected into the 2015 Rumble in that number 10 spot and he only lasted for a blink of an eye 10 minutes astonishingly. All this from the former WWE champ; he had won that championship at the previous year’s WrestleMania but needed to hand the title back because of injury.
Roman won that Rumble and all because of The Rock who helped him win it. The crowd of course was not at all happy about that and The Rock got a few boos thrown his way as did Roman. But we can’t forget that Roman, as a face, was constantly booed. He gets more cheers as a heel.
via WWE on YouTube
And about his time in WWE he did mention a wee bit of another mistake made by WWE management during his run there, specifically looking back to the 2015 Royal Rumble. He reminisced with Renee Paquette, telling her:
“I knew, and especially because I had just comeback from neck surgery. When they told me what I was doing in the Rumble in 2015 and that I was only going to be in there for four or five minutes, I told them, ‘I think this is a bad idea. This isn’t necessarily great for Roman.’
They kind of ignored that. Then it wasn’t. Stuff happened. That was that. All of that to say, Roman has done such a great job and now he’s the biggest star in wrestling. He’s performed at such a high level for a long time and he’s done such a great job…”
I guess to the Roman Reigns bit I’d say yes and no; in all honesty I and many others out there believe that Roman Reigns could be doing more. He is a part-timer and he has all the belts.
That’s a monumental error that needs to be rectified. Danielson left WWE in part because there was nowhere else to go. He lost his last match to Roman Reigns—he and Edge both did. Edge is still there, happy to compete in grudge matches and doing well on that front, but Danielson obviously wanted more.
He’s 41 and in epic shape and can still wrestle formidably. He couldn’t wait around on that platform to have a part-timer take all the gold and the glory when his wrestling style is below par…especially with the likes of Bryan Danielson and many talented others on the same roster.
But Danielson is too much of a gentleman to say it, so I’ll say it for him. After all it’s my job and in the end I always take the pro wrestler’s side—the hardworking pro wrestler, as Bryan Danielson quite obviously is.
