Bryan Danielson Reveals Why He is Not Eyeing AEW World Title Run

Bryan Danielson is indeed recognized as one of the top professional wrestlers globally, having competed at the highest levels for many years. However, reports suggest he is set to retire from active competition this year. It also appears he has expressed no interest in pursuing the AEW World Championship.

Bryan Danielson has previously stated that 2024 will be his final year as a full-time wrestler. That’s why he has been facing off against top talent from around the world throughout this year.

Despite being widely regarded as one of the best wrestlers in the world and one of the greatest of all time, Bryan Danielson has never held a championship in AEW despite multiple attempts. Currently, Danielson is competing in the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament, where the winner will earn a shot at the AEW World Title at AEW All In.

While speaking to Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Danielson expressed that he no longer desires to be in the world champion position. He cited the high quality of wrestling in AEW and the physical demands of main-eventing pay-per-views as reasons. Danielson acknowledged that while some fans might want to see him as champion, he feels it is not his place anymore. He also mentioned that he prefers not to involve himself creatively with his own storylines, trusting others to handle that aspect.

“I don’t want to be in that [world champion] position–I don’t feel like that’s my position anymore. The quality of wrestling in AEW is so high, it’s really hard to main-event pay-per-views. That’s not something my body can really do anymore. I know there are a percentage of fans who would like that, but I don’t think it’s my place. And here’s the truth: I don’t want anything to do creatively with my own stuff. I also don’t know where people get the notion that I do. It’s very hard in wrestling to be objective about yourself, so I leave that in the hands of other people.

Danielson explained that even during his time in WWE, he avoided discussing his own creative direction. He emphasized the difficulty of being objective about oneself in wrestling and left creative decisions to others, even when he was part of the creative team.

”That was the same thing in WWE, even when I was part of the creative team. The head writer of SmackDown at the time, Ryan Callahan, asked me what I wanted to do, and I remember saying I didn’t want to talk about what I wanted to do. I don’t think you can be objective about that stuff.”

Fans are undoubtedly excited about his match against Shingo Takagi at the Forbidden Door pay-per-view on June 30th, so we’ll have to see who will end up winning the highly anticipated match.

Do you still feel Bryan Danielson should become the AEW World Champion? Let us know in the comments section below!