AEW star Bryan Danielson was recently interviewed by podcaster Chris Van Vliet, where he spoke about his time in WWE. One of the stories that Danielson shared was about winning his first World Title in the company and how he wasn’t even supposed to win it then.
Bryan Danielson Says He Wasn’t Originally Supposed To Win
“This was at the TLC pay-per-view in 2011. Mark Henry gets hurt. I wasn’t scheduled to be at the pay-per-view. I had a Walmart signing that same day in Baltimore with Kelly Kelly, and came over to the building because Brie was there; I think Brie had a match on the show. So I was there, and then Vince found out that I was there, and then Daniel Bryan’s here, and then it’s like, oh! Because I had been involved in this thing with Mark Henry and Big Show. Okay, well Mark Henry’s hurt, so they had to do like a real smoke and mirrors type chair match, and then Mark gets mad at Big Show. And then, just because I happened to be there, it’ll be shocking that Daniel Bryan comes in and cashes in on Big Show. So even that was just a circumstance. If I hadn’t been booked, if Walmart hadn’t asked to have two WWE wrestlers sign at that on that particular day, that whole thing would have never happened. And Vince’s direction to me was go out there and celebrate like you just won the Super Bowl. Then that’s how the yes thing happened.” (h/t: WrestleTalk)
Bryan Danielson Won More Gold
Though this wouldn’t be the only time he held the title, there would be two other times. In his WWE career, Danielson was also a four-time WWE Champion. Danielson would leave WWE in 2021 for AEW. His last gold in the company was the SmackDown Tag Team Titles with Erik Rowan. Other titles Danielson held were the WWE Tag Team Titles with Kane, the WWE United States Championship, and the WWE Intercontinental Title.
Elsewhere in the interview with Vliet, Danielson revealed that he will never be fully retired. He has mostly stepped away from the ring and has been doing commentary work. Danielson’s last televised AEW match was his loss to his then Blackpool Combat Club stablemate Jon Moxley for the AEW World Title at WrestleDream 2024. It was the only title he held in AEW.
