Unfortunately for Bryan Danielson, he was simply too injured to work a match at Wembley Stadium at AEW's All In.

He didn't get to enjoy wrestling in front of one of the biggest crowds in wrestling history, didn't get to throw down with… whomever he was internally slated to throw down with, be that Zack Sabre Jr., Rick Starks, or even Ring of Honor legend-turned-commentator Nigel McGuinness, and ultimately didn't get to throw himself between CM Punk and Jack Perry as they threw down in the backstage area between their respective matches on the Pay-Per-View.

Sitting down for an interview with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Danielson reflected on the firing of his former WWE Tag Team partner and how the decision has a chance to bring the locker room together just as much as it could tear them apart.

“In any job, when you lose somebody who's very important, or you lose somebody you really like working with, that's hard,” Bryan Danielson told Sports Illustrated. “But everyone keeps doing the job. And any time there is loss or controversy or struggle inside an organization, it's a chance to bring people closer. It's also a chance to divide people. So you have this thing where you can use struggle to make your life worse, or you can use struggle to make your life better. When I lost my father, I came out on the backside. I was worse. Struggling with my depression, I've come out of it better. So how you approach something and how you learn from something, that's what makes the difference.”

Will the AEW locker room come together after Punk's firing, continuing to work incredible matches like the entire All Out card in Chicago, Illinois? Or will pro-Punk performers like Brody King struggle to deal with the firing of their friend? Fans will have to keep tuning into Dynamite, Rampage, and even Collision to find out.

Bryan Danielson is proud to see Ricky Starks' development in AEW.

Later in his interview with Justin Barrasso, Bryan Danielson turned his attention from All In to All Out, where he wrestled a fantastic strap match against one of AEW's bright young stars, Ricky Starks.

After watching Starks' presumed match against Punk get thrown out due to his suspension and eventual firing in the hours before All Out, Danielson complemented “Stroke Daddy” for working such a compelling match in Chicago, before noting how it could help to elevate his career even higher.

“He's been on the cusp for so long. I think why he hasn't crossed over that barrier is because he needs the opportunities where he can cross that line to go from upper mid-card to the main event. He's had opportunities, but we haven't been great with the follow-through. In his promos, you can see the frustration, and it's a very real frustration. I can understand that frustration, I've been there. He lets his heart bleed out on the screen, which is really important. He's great at that, too,” Bryan Danielson told Sports Illustrated.

“Look at what Ricky did in that strap match. I loved the physicality. That's one of the things that draws me to pro wrestling, the idea that it's physical. I like being in physical matches. I wasn't sure if he would enjoy being in that physical of a match. But that's one of the interesting things about being in the ring with somebody. Although it's entertainment, there's a lot you don't know. A lot of the interactions and the fire-ups, those are very real. It was really fun for me to see his reactions to some of the things I was doing, and he was able to see my reactions, too. Those were visceral reactions, and I was very pleased with it.”

Will Starks be able to overcome the loss of his top Collision dancing partner, Punk, to become one of the true stars of the Saturday Night show? Will AEW continue to push Starks strong now that he's arguably the top solo heel on Collision, or will he, yet again, have to return to the drawing board and look for something new to do in AEW before his contract expires, leading to fans wondering if he will soon join Cody Rhodes in WWE? Either way, AEW, Danielson, Starks, and Tony Khan found a way to make the most of a bad situation on short notice and give fans one of the best matches on an incredibly loaded card. If this doesn't make Starks into an “Absolute” star in AEW, then he'll probably never be a star in AEW.