36-year-old star admits his work is heavily influenced by AEW's Bryan Danielson
Bryan Danielson is one of the most popular professional wrestlers of the current era. He has had a fantastic run in multiple wrestling promotions and is bound to be an inspirational character for upcoming wrestlers who are still learning the business.
One particular young wrestler definitely looks up to the founder of the Yes Movement. The wrestler in question is Zack Saber Jr., who will take part in a six-man tag-team match at the NJPW special Power Struggle that'll take place in Osaka.
His team, T.M.D.K. (Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls), will challenge Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Tomohiro Ishii for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Title.
In an interview with NJPW1972, Zack spoke about his experience wrestling AEW's Bryan Danielson:
"I’m still grateful to Triple X for giving me an opportunity I was nowhere near ready for at that time. And for Bryan (Danielson) as well- he could easily have phoned it in, gone through the motions, but he treated me as someone deserving of all his energy. I bought the first Ring of Honor tape back in the day, so I don’t think there’s another American wrestler who’s had such an influence on me, directly and indirectly." he said. [H/T: NJPW1972.com]
Every veteran wrestler eventually mentors up-and-coming stars, and Danielson seems to be going down the right path.
Tony Khan was worried Bryan Danielson's career was over
Bryan Danielson is currently out of action because of an injury to the orbital bone, something occurred during his last match with Orange Cassidy and Kazuchika Okada. While the verdict on when The American Dragon will return to the ring is unclear, Dave Meltzer recently revealed that Tony Khan felt that Bryan's concussion last year was a career-ender.
The American Dragon is one of the rare professional wrestlers who can generate an organic pop from the audience, which led to one of the most iconic WrestleMania moments when he won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania 30.
What do you think? Will Bryan Danielson return soon to the ring? Tell us in the comments section.