WWE Legend Credits Bryan Danielson For Career Boost
A legendary WWE superstar is thankful for his career crossing paths with Bryan Danielson.
When Bryan Danielson chose to go AEW in the summer of 2021, he did so after carving out a legendary career in WWE as Daniel Bryan. Leaving WWE likely wasn’t easy for Danielson, who liked being part of WWE and had a lot of success as a multi-time World Champion and main event performer.
The Daniel Bryan run in 2014 will be forever remembered as one of those periods where Danielson was as popular as any WWE superstar of all time.
What’s incredible about Bryan’s run in WWE is that five years after his WrestleMania 30 triumph, after he lost over two years of his career due to injury, he would go on to be one of the most hated superstars in the company as well.
Kofi Kingston is a WWE legend with over 15 years in the company and is a future Hall of Famer just like Danielson. At WrestleMania 35, Kofi Kingston became WWE Champion for the first time when he beat Danielson in a match that was praised for being great, but also giving fans the memorable “KofiMania” moment.
While talking to Baby Huey on the In The Kliq podcast, Kofi Kingston credited Bryan Danielson for helping Kofi become the WWE Champion.
“Daniel Bryan, I think, is one of the greatest. He’s got to be top-five of all time for a lot of different reasons. His resiliency. He’s a guy who broke his neck and came back when people said that he wasn’t going to be able to do it, you have to admire someone that can do that.
On top of that, too, he’s somebody who doesn’t really seek any credit, you know what I’m saying? He does a lot of things. He had a lot to do with why I was even in that position.
I know he had gone to bat for me to be in that position, because that’s what the people wanted. So I know he was a very big advocate of that, and he’ll never tell you that, he’ll never brag about that, because that’s not what his like purpose in doing that was. It was just about doing the right thing, and I’m always grateful for that.”
Kofi Kingston Says He Couldn’t Have Had A Better Opponent Than Bryan Danielson
As Kofi Kingston continued to reflect on his memorable WrestleMania 35 victory, he went on to praise Bryan Danielson for the man he is and for Danielson’s resiliency.
“On top of that, from a storyline perspective, the fact that he was in the same shoes that I was in a couple of years ago when the corporate mega heads were telling him that he wasn’t good enough, that he wasn’t he was a B-plus player, and now he’s on the other side as a champion, saying all those naturally things to me.
So from a storyline perspective, when you’re able to complete a circle like that. When you’re able to have continuity in that way and you see it unfold in front of your eyes in a WWE ring, it’s just beautiful. That’s what wrestling is all about, man. Those stories that continue through different generations.
I know we’re not different generations, per se, but different eras, the Daniel Bryan ‘Yes!’ era, the ‘Yes!’ Movement, to the KofiMania movement. It was like a seamless handoff. I couldn’t have had a better opponent than him.
He’s amazing in the ring, super smooth, a high-class performer, stand-up guy. Like I said, very, very resilient, though, coming back from a neck injury and being able to, you know, go out there and still do it, and now getting to walk away, he’s earned it.”
While Kofi Kingston remains a big part of WWE programming in The New Day, Bryan Danielson’s days as a full-time wrestler are over for now. As for the future, Danielson doesn’t know if he can continue as a part-timer due to how serious his neck injury is.