Bryan Danielson On The Scariest Part Of Joining AEW

In April 2021, Bryan Danielson left WWE after more than a decade there. He went on to make his AEW debut at All Out that September and signed a contract with the promotion as a full-time competitor. Danielson previously said joining AEW was scary after having been in WWE for so long. During a recent appearance on "One Fall" with Ron Funches, Danielson elaborated on why he felt that way.

"The scary part of it was stepping outside of this comfort zone that I had in WWE," Danielson said. "And also, in AEW, you see them doing some pretty risky things. I was like, I don't know if physically I can do that anymore. Over the last year-plus, I've proven to myself that I can, which is kind of one of the things I was looking for as I was 40 then, I'm 41 now, to see if I can still do some of those things to physically test myself. A lot of people, my wife included, are like, 'Why do you constantly desire to test yourself, to test your body's capabilities?' And I don't know why I have that desire, but I do."

Danielson wanted to explore if he could do new things in the ring and "sustain some of the damage" that comes along with it. He also wanted to see if he could handle the pain that WWE tried to protect him from during his latter years there. Ultimately, Danielson said he finds it rewarding to be able to compete at this level in his 40s.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "One Fall" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.