AEW Star Bryan Danielson Details His Experiences With Depression

In a recent interview with the "Getting Over" podcast, Bryan Danielson was asked to share his thoughts on GUNTHER and Ilja Dragunov, two wrestlers who've taken the WWE by storm over the past year or so. In response, Danielson noted that he could foresee having great matches with them, but would rather not hypothesize about it since he's currently working for a different promotion, AEW.

"As somebody who regularly experiences depression, I try not to focus on things that are necessarily reality-based," Danielson said. "That's not great for my mental health. Because I would do this [think about dream matches] when I was in WWE ... 'If only I could wrestle this guy or under these circumstances.' For example, this New Japan circumstance where you're doing these matches without TV breaks, and you're not given a specific time to do a match. Or sometimes, in WWE, you're given three-and-a-half minutes [laughs] or whatever it is."

Reflecting on those WWE experiences, Danielson says he "couldn't appreciate what I was doing at the time" since he was constantly yearning to wrestle in different circumstances. "I was very happy in WWE, but my mindset wasn't as focused and as in the present as it is now, which is just better for the overall appreciation of your life."

"The American Dragon" clarified that dealing with depression has affected his day-to-day personal life but never compromised his in-ring work. "I never experience depression when I'm out in the ring — ever. And it usually won't come back well into the next day, because wrestling matches happen late at night, and after that, you're just exhausted and get to bed." 

Danielson's struggles with mental health were well-documented during his appearance on "Total Bellas" alongside his wife, Brie Garcia. In subsequent years, the legendary wrestler opened up about how his battles affected his family life, causing him to nearly check into a mental health facility at one point.