Bryan Danielson Says Cody Rhodes AEW Spot “Demoralized” Him

Bryan Danielson opened up about his decision to leave WWE for AEW in a recent appearance on Throwing Down With Renee & Miesha. Despite being happy in his previous place of employment, Danielson saw new opportunities in AEW.

"I think AEW's done a really great job. So much so that I was very happy where I worked before, right, and still chose to go to AEW," Danielson said. "I think that speaks a lot for the product they've been producing already. I'm trying to create my wrestling paradise, right? It's like if wrestling could be how I envisioned it, it would be like this, and that's what I want with me and Jon [Moxley].

"So that would be really the only thing. I think we have a great amount of diversity in the sense of different styles of wrestling and different styles of acts. You know, you come in and it's like a mix of all these different things. I think that's a lot of fun."

Bryan Danielson left WWE at the top of his game with his final match coming against WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns. However, even with his main event status solidified in WWE, Danielson still chose to make the move to AEW.

"There wasn't one specific aha moment. There was the fact that I had to make a choice eventually. To be fair, both options would've been really fun. You know what I mean? I was looking at, you know, we only get this one life, so I wanted to go explore, I wanted to test my limits. I think that when I was watching AEW, it really kind of scared me a little bit in the sense of, 'could I hang with some of the stuff that these guys are doing?'"

For Bryan Danielson, it was one moment, in particular, that gave him trepidation about joining AEW. It wasn't about his in-ring ability, but instead, it was regarding a specific move taking place in an AEW ring. It was a move so daunting that even a skilled pro like Danielson was unsure about being able to execute.

"The fast pace. The action. There's more and more daredevil moves [In AEW]. I was actually watching one thing that really demoralized me and made me think like 'oh I'm not gonna go to AEW'. Cody [Rhodes] wrestled Penta, right? All of a sudden Cody, who I traveled with in WWE, he's doing a top rope Frankensteiner where they're both standing on the top rope. I was like 'oh my gosh. Am I gonna have to do that?' I don't think I can. I'm 40. It was one of those things where it scared me a little bit but also excited me. There's something so appealing about that, about living your life on the boundaries of what you think you can do and what you know you can do."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Throwing Down w/ Renee & Miesha and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription