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Bryan Danielson Would Have Treated AEW Star Like A Son If Not For Betrayal

By John Canton • Published 9th December 2023
aew Bryan Danielson with eyepatch

Bryan Danielson says he would have been a father figure to a young AEW star, but a betrayal prevented that from happening.

On AEW Rampage from Montreal, Bryan Danielson faced Daniel Garcia in a Continental Classic Blue League match.

The two men went on to have a technical wrestling classic match that saw Garcia come close to winning a few times, but the veteran Danielson found a way to come back and applied the LeBell Lock for the submission.

Due to the victory, Bryan Danielson has moved to 2-0 in the Continental Classic Blue League while Garcia has fallen to 0-3.

There is a lot of history between Danielson and Garcia in AEW because they have wrestled in the past with Garcia even beating Danielson. However, when Danielson tried to bring Garcia into his Blackpool Combat Club, Garcia refused and was loyal to the Jericho Appreciation Society group led by Chris Jericho. That JAS group is no more while the BCC is going strong.

In an AEW digital exclusive video, Bryan Danielson was shown meditating somewhere backstage when he spoke about his past with Garcia.

“Sometimes, I do things, and I don’t know why. When I come back here and meditate, I figure out why. A lot of stuff comes up when I started that match. A lot of stuff that comes up from last year. Things that I try to forget, but my body remembers.”

“Last year, telling Daniel Garcia that his entire life, he’s wanted to be a wrestler, and not a sports entertainer. Then what happened? When I was facing Chris Jericho in a Ring of Honor World Title match, he completely betrayed me. I get it. I get it. That happens in wrestling. But if he would have joined the BCC, I would have treated him like a son. I would have treated him like a son.”

Bryan Danielson Explains Why He Spit On Daniel Garcia

As Bryan Danielson continued to speak, he spoke about being a father to two kids at home (a daughter and a son) while speaking about spitting on Daniel Garcia during their match.

“It also brings up this fear. I’ve promised my daughter that this would be my last full-time year as a professional wrestler. This fear of, that by the time I go home, when I make that promise, that she doesn’t want me anymore. I couldn’t articulate it when I was out there. But my body felt it.”

“My body felt that fear because eventually, she’s gonna grow up, and she’s not gonna want her dad around. Am I giving up this thing that I love so much for somebody who might not even want me? But then, and I’ve talked about this before, that’s when you have to look deep down to see if you truly understand what love is. I’m gonna stop being a full-time wrestler, and I’m gonna go back and be with my daughter. I’m gonna be with my son, even when they don’t want me there.”

“Even when they don’t want me there, they need me there. You can see in Daniel Garcia. Last year, he didn’t want me there, but a year later, he’s still struggling to find his identity. He needed me there. That doesn’t make the spitting right. If you want to know why I spit on Daniel Garcia, that’s why.”

Next up for Bryan Danielson in the Continental Classic is a match with Andrade El Idolo on the December 9th edition of AEW Collision. The match has already been taped.