Bryan Danielson Names AEW Match That Led To Retirement Decision
Bryan Danielson revealed that one particular match in AEW made him realize it was time to retire as a full-time wrestler.
Over the last 25 years, Bryan Danielson has had a Hall of Fame career in professional wrestling that has earned him a great deal of praise from fans, as well as recognition from those in the business. Danielson was an undeniable talent who became a World Champion in WWE, AEW, and ROH.
Going into 2024, Danielson made it clear that it would be his final year as a full-time wrestler, primarily due to his history of neck injuries. At AEW All In 2024, Bryan Danielson beat Swerve Strickland in a Title vs. Career match to win the AEW World Title for the first and only time.
It wasn’t a long title reign since Danielson lost the World Title to Jon Moxley at WrestleDream in October 2024, and Danielson hasn’t wrestled again since then.
While speaking at the Starrcast event (video via All Elite Hub) during AEW All In Texas weekend, Danielson specifically mentioned a big AEW match that accelerated his decision to retire as a full-timer.
“After the Ospreay match (I knew it was time to step away from the ring). My neck has been bad for 10-plus years. I had a neck surgery in 2014. My neck never really came back to where it was before. I was always kind of in a little bit of pain, and then after I wrestled Will — Will is such an incredible athlete, and I am such a stupid man.
He can do things that nobody I’ve ever wrestled can do, and because he can do things that nobody I’ve ever wrestled can do, I put myself in a position where I didn’t actually know what I was doing and didn’t ask him what I should do, and so then I landed on my head, and then from there, my neck just got progressively worse.
I’d gotten an MRI right after the match with Shingo (Takagi) that was in the Owen Hart Cup last year and the MRI was not great, and yeah, I questioned whether we should even do what we were going to do.”
The match with Will Ospreay took place at AEW Dynamite in April 2024, and it was a dream match that lived up to the hype as one of the greatest matches in AEW history.
Bryan Danielson Wanted To Focus On What’s Most Important
As the father of two young children with his WWE Hall of Fame wife, Brie Bella, Bryan Danielson spoke about how the neck injuries made him focus on what’s truly important in life.
“It was at that point and then I stopped being able to sleep for more than three or four hours at a time and then it just got to a point where I was just like, ‘Okay, I can’t go on like this…’
I have two relatively young kids and when you talk about, okay, where you put your focus, where you put your attention is the most important thing in your life, right? Am I putting my focus and my attention on these kids who need me and who need to be loved by me?”
Bryan Danielson made an unannounced return during the main event of AEW All In Texas when he helped “Hangman” Adam Page beat Jon Moxley to win the AEW World Title in a brutal Texas Death Match.