Normally, when a wrestler wins a world championship, they want to have a big, boisterous celebration to cement the moment into history forever, but after having arguably the biggest moment of his career in front of 50,000 fans at All In, Bryan Danielson was going to âaddress his futureâ on the following edition of AEW Dynamite, with some fans worrying that the âAmerican Dragonâ could call it a career on the spot.
On paper, it makes sense, right? Danielson's AEW contract has already expired, he famously needs neck surgery, and after having a perfect moment with his family at Wembley, why risk imminent bodily harm if it's all downhill from here?
Taking the ring in the final segment of the show, Danielson broke down where his body and mind are at the moment before officially announcing his retirement⌠eventually.
âYou know, after trying and failing, and trying and failing, and trying and failing, and trying and failing, finally, Bryan Danielson, the âAmerican Dragon,' is AEW World Champion! In front of over 50,000 people in Wembley Stadium, in front of my family who got to sit front row. And when I got to the back, my daughter said, âDaddy, this was the best day of my life.' Now granted, earlier in the day, she went on a Peppa Pig double-decker tour bus, so that may have played a big role, but you know, I knew it even before she said that; I knew it when I got to the back, and I saw my peers congratulating me, and I knew it: that's the favorite moment of my entire career,â Danielson declared.
âBut then, when I got to the press conference at the end of the show, they asked me the question: what's next? My contract with AEW expired on August 1st, I'm going to be needing neck surgery sooner rather than later and my family's ready for me to come home. So I've had a lot of thinking to do since Sunday and when I first got to AEW, one of the first things I said was thank you to the people who started this place, because if you're here in the building tonight, you probably agree with me: AEW is awesome.
âI have loved professional wrestling my entire life, and the fact that AEW even exists makes pro wrestling better and has made my life better. So when I think of all the things that the people who started AEW did and when I got to the back and I looked at all of my peers who are wrestling for AEW now and then when I think of all the people who are going to wrestle in AEW in the future, I realized it's probably time for me to go home⌠but not yet! I will not retire as AEW Champion; I am goign to fight for this championship as much as I possibly can. And now granted, as soon as I lose this, my full-time career is over but that's not going to be any time soon because I still have a lot of heads to kick in!â
Welp, there you go, folks; Danielson's next championship loss in AEW will be his last as a full-time professional wrestler, making each forthcoming match, including his bout with Jack Perry at All Out next weekend, potentially his last, and as his body breaks down further and further with each passing week, each match will become all the more compelling. All in all, these next few months are going to be incredible.
Bryan Danielson's announcement won't go over well with Eric Bischoff
While the âAmerican Dragonâ is clearly excited about the prospects of a gauntlet retirement tour where he leaves it all in the ring on the way to his ultimate exit, some fans, like WCW personality Eric Bischoff, won't be too pleased with Danielson's announcement, as he declared on 83 Weeks that All In was the perfect swan song for his career.
âI hope it is for Bryanâs sake, and for his familyâs sake. Bryanâs an amazing athlete. He was an amazing athlete before he ever got into professional wrestling. Heâs a real athlete, and heâs mentally tough and physically, obviously, very tough,â Bischoff explained via 411 Mania. âBut there comes a point when youâve achieved so much â just stop while youâre healthy and you can spend the rest of your life being grateful for it without hobbling around or in a wheelchair, or worse. Kids are still so young. Heâs made a ton of money. Itâs not going to be an issue for him for the rest of his life. Dude, enjoy it. Get closer to your kids. You have an opportunity, Bryan, that very few people have at your age. So I hope he makes the most of it.â
When it comes to professional wrestling matches, you will rarely see a bout as compelling as Danielson's win over Strickland at All In. The crowd was incredible, the near-falls had the IWC on the edge of their seats, and and when the âAmerican Dragonâ secured the win, there was hardly a dry eye in the building. While only time will tell if Danielson is able to match, if not overcome, his efforts at All In over the next few months, it's safe to say he'll do everything in his power to make that happen.