Tony Khan wants to keep Bryan Danielson with AEW for the long run, as his full-time days in the ring are closing this year.
Danielson will continue to wrestle a handful of matches per year. His deal is also coming up this year. AEW World Heavyweight Champion Swerve Strickland vs. Danielson is expected to headline the AEW All In event on Sunday, August 25, at Wembley Stadium in London, UK.
While appearing on the Rich Eisen Show, the AEW President talked about Danielson’s future.
On the leaders of AEW: “It’s great having so many great stars. You mentioned so many of the top names, and those are all great ones, absolutely. When you have all those great people here at any time, I can go to them and ask them for their thoughts, their ideas, their feedback. We have so many great captains on this team, and that’s what’s really exciting. We have great leadership. Great people here, and nobody greater. I think it’s fair to say Bryan Danielson is a huge part of the company.”
On how much time Danielson has as a full-time star: “Swerve has said this will be Bryan’s final countdown (at All In). I can’t say how much time Bryan has left in the ring, but he has said this will be his final year, and this is gonna be the year Bryan hangs them up from up full-time wrestling. At that point, it’s gonna be a sad day for pro wrestling and for me personally. But it’s great to be able to have Bryan that I can call and talk to and have in the locker room with us every week.”
On wanting to keep Danielson around: “Absolutely, 100%. I hope Bryan will stay here for the rest of his life, and I know he’s planning to stay with us for a long time going forward as part of the company. I would want Bryan to stay with us as long as humanly possible.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit Rich Eisen with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.