Towards the end of the All Out PPV Event last September 5th, Bryan Danielson made his AEW debut, when he made his way down to the ring and saved IMPACT Wrestling World Champion Christian and the Jurassic Express from a nasty beatdown at the hands of The Elite, which is comprised of the AEW World Champion Kenny Omega, the AEW World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks, the IMPACT Wrestling Tag Champions The Good Brothers and the debuting Adam Cole.
Bryan Danielson then made his AEW Dynamite debut on this past Wednesday’s episode, when he had an in-ring segment with Kenny Omega. The segment would end with Bryan Danielson putting Omega in The LeBell Lock until The Elite entered the ring and laid waste to Danielson. Christian and the Jurassic Express would then make their way down to the ring to help Bryan fight off The Elite, then finish Brandon off with the running knee.
On a recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Radio Program, it was noted that Bryan Danielson’s deal with AEW has him locked in for three years, which means that Danielson is under contract to AEW until the summer of 2025, when he becomes 44 years of age. According to Meltzer, Danielson received similar offers from both AEW and the WWE in terms of money and having him work for NJPW, but Danielson wanted other WWE Superstars who had interest in working for NJPW to working for NJPW as well as that was the biggest factor in Danielson’s decision to re-sign with the WWE, though ultimately nothing came from a potential WWE-NJPW alliance.
Bryan Danielson’s decision to sign with AEW over the WWE was reportedly a difficult one as he admires WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon on a personal level and he has several connections with the WWE as his family is still with the company, specifically his wife and sister-in-law, WWE Hall of Famers The Bella Twins, and his father-in-law, WWE Talent Relations head John Laurinaitis. Bryan is reportedly a huge fan of WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon and if he chooses to re-sign with the WWE once is deal with AEW is up after three years, then he can certainly do so as the door will surely remain open for him.
