The following was sent to us:
Bryan Danielson recently sat down with Kenny McIntosh from Inside The Ropes and discussed how likely a spot in the G1 Climax Tournament would have been had he remained with WWE.
Exclusive: Bryan Danielson Addresses If Vince McMahon Would Have Let Him Compete In The G1 Climax Tournament Had He Stayed With WWE
In the summer of 2021, Bryan Danielson chose to not renew his contract with WWE and instead explore other opportunities. Hoping to participate in the G1, reports began to circulate claiming that Vince McMahon would have granted the request to Danielson if he did remain with WWE, which would have been unprecedented at the time given that contract WWE stars did not compete in other promotions at that point. Danielson noted that while he wasn’t sure if the request would have been granted, McMahon did make the offer:
“So I don’t know for sure if he would have let me. The last conversation that we had where I told him that I was going to [leave], because I told him I was going to go to AEW. I told him once I make my decision, I’ll tell you. And so it was around August of that year, my contract expired the last day of April of 2021, it was early August when I finally decided and I called and told him.
Then he kind of asked me why and I said well, this, that, the other… One of the things I want to do is work with New Japan and do the G1. And he did say in that moment, I don’t know if it would have actually ever come to fruition, [but he did say] I’d let you do that, or whatever it is. So I think maybe?”
Danielson was also asked if McMahon knew what the G1 was and that it lasts for 6 weeks:
“I don’t know. I’m not sure. He definitely knows what New Japan is. So he definitely knows what New Japan is and all that kind of stuff. I told him of my desire to do the G1 before because I kept pitching G1-style tournaments in WWE and I said I’d really like to be able to do this thing.”
