Bryan Danielson Opens Up About Life Away From AEW

Bryan Danielson can’t quite leave pro wrestling behind.

At WrestleDream, Bryan Danielson brought down the curtain on his full-time career in stunningly brutal style. After losing the AEW World Championship to Jon Moxley, Danielson was suffocated with a plastic bag by Wheeler Yuta and left the arena on a stretcher.

Since then, Danielson has been trying to adapt to life outside of the ring, and he’s admitted it’s something he’s struggling with.

While appearing on the latest episode of the Nikki & Brie Show, Danielson explained that he’s yet to find something to fully scratch the creative itch in the same way that wrestling did.

“That’s one of the things I haven’t found something for, for that part of my brain, to use that creative part of my brain and coming up with things. I still, it’s been over a month now since my last match, and I still wake up in the middle of the night and think of wrestling things. ‘This is not useful. I wish I would have thought of this a few years ago.’ That’s been the part that’s hard, but I anticipated it,”

Bryan Danielson Heading For Neck Surgery

During the same conversation, Bryan Danielson admitted he doesn’t know what’s going on with his neck, but said he feels like he has a “bobblehead.” Brie went on to say that the American Dragon will be undergoing surgery despite previously hoping to avoid it.

In the weeks after WrestleDream, it was reported that Danielson would be undergoing stem cell treatment to help heal up, but it seems more drastic action needs to be taken.

Despite his well-documented injury problems, Danielson noted he was careful to avoid the word “retirement” when he stepped away after losing the World Championship to Moxley in Washington. Throughout 2024 he’s repeatedly stated he’d like to wrestle again, just not on a full-time basis.

H/t to Fightful