Bryan Danielson details why he no longer uses a popular catchphrase in AEW
Top AEW star Bryan Danielson has been nothing short of miraculous every time he has stepped into the ring so far in All Elite Wrestling. However, one thing that hasn't followed him to his new job is his famous "yes" chant.
After reverting back to his American Dragon persona upon his arrival in 2021, Danielson left his famous chants in WWE and has instead opted not to use any catchphrases at all.
The closest thing to a catchphrase he has used in AEW is his old catchphrase of "I'm going to kick their f***king head in," which he used during his time in Ring of Honor in 2000s.
Bryan Danielson
- Doing the Cattle Mutilation
- Saying he has till five
- Has the crowd chanting "you're going to get your smurfing head kicked in"
AMERICAN DRAGON BRYAN DANIELSON IS BACK
But what led to this change? Speaking at a media scrum during the Starrcast V event, Bryan Danielson compared his AEW persona to that of famous musician Bob Dylan, in the sense that he wants his fans to expect the unexpected.
"When you buy a ticket to a Bob Dylan concert, you might want him to play certain songs, but you know going in, heās gonna play whatever the f*** he wants, and thatās kind of what I want my wrestling career to be now. I want people, āAh maybe I hope that he does this,ā but theyāre gonna be happy with kind of whatever, just me being creative and doing what I love to do,ā said Danielson. [H/T Fightful].
The American Dragon even went as far as to say he felt like he was being pinned down by the use of a catchphrase rather than helped out by it.
"So itās interesting, one of the things that Iāve tried to avoid is doing any sort of catchphrase. The reason why is, it came to become a crutch, and when people expect something of you, and you need to give that to them, that almost feels like it pins me down more than it helps me," Danielson added. [H/T Fightful].
Bryan Danielson was inspired to do the "YES!" chant by famous UFC fighter Diego Sanchez
It was a chant that became so popular it inspired an entire movement within WWE, however Bryan Danielson had to give credit to someone else for creating the "YES!" chants.
The man who created it was UFC legend Diego Sanchez, who would chant "yes" over and over on his way to his fights. Bryan spotted this and began using it after his loss to Sheamus at WrestleMania 28.
@JayScottSmith @WWEDanielBryan He got it from Diego Sanchez, who got it from Tony Robbins. Itās most def. a Robbins thing; heās gotten hundreds of thousands ppl to chant āyes!!ā since the 80ās. https://t.co/HxfRxJW6Mo
The tribute didn't go unnoticed by Sanchez, who sent Bryan his best wishes when the former WWE Champion was forced into retirement due to injuries in 2016.
Did you know about the history of the "YES!" chant? Let us know in the comments section down below!