"Baddest cat on the planet" - Wrestling legend picks Bryan Danielson as 2021's 'Male Wrestler of the Year' (Exclusive)
Diamond Dallas Page chose AEW star Bryan Danielson as 2021's "Male Wrestler of the Year" in the inaugural Sportskeeda Wrestling Awards.
The nominees for this category were:
- Bryan Danielson
- Roman Reigns
- CM Punk
- Big E
- Kenny Omega
The American Dragon didn't just have a great year inside the squared circle, but he also made waves by departing WWE at the height of his popularity. Just days after performing in the main event of WrestleMania 37, he left the promotion, only to make his sensational AEW debut at All Out in September.
Speaking to Riju Dasgupta of Sportskeeda Wrestling, DDP praised Bryan Danielson's time-limit draws against Kenny Omega and Hangman Page in AEW. He also pointed out that despite retiring once, the former WWE Champion is still one of the best performers in the business.
"Let's just forget about the main event in WrestleMania, let's take him to his last two matches. When I saw the match between Kenny Omega and Bryan Danielson, I'm like '30-minutes Broadway.' I thought that was the match of the year, and then I saw him with Hangman, and they went 60-minutes. I think Bryan Danielson is the baddest cat on the planet in that squared circle and you gotta remember, at the height of his WrestleMania run, they retired him because of all his concussions," said DDP. (26:06 - 26:55)
Diamond Dallas Page is one of the expert panelists for the first-ever Sportskeeda Wrestling Awards.
You can join him and other experts in determining the biggest winners of 2021 by casting your vote in the link here.
DDP compares AEW's Bryan Danielson to WWE legend Shawn Michaels
The former WCW Champion cited Shawn Michaels as another example of a performer coming out of retirement to have an exemplary second run. DDP opined that Bryan Danielson is on a similar path in AEW. He particularly praised Danielson's physicality and storytelling aspects in his aforementioned matches with Omega and Page.
"The only other guy I've seen perform at this level was Shawn Michaels. If you remember Shawn was good as he got, and then he blew his back up, and then we all of our big run, and then he comes back, and he has another unbelievable run. That's what Danielson is doing, and man, I get sore watching those matches and just what he's doing out there and storytelling that he's doing in his matches with Kenny Omega and Hangman Page, he's that good." added DDP. (27:20 - 28:08)
Now it is time to reveal our 13 categories of the first-ever Sportskeeda Wrestling Awards.
To honor the Best of the Best in men's wrestling throughout 2021, we have the “Male Wrestler of the Year” category!
#WWE #AEW #IMPACTWrestling #WWENXT https://t.co/KZEDLcQms1
Fans can expect several more great matches from Danielson in the coming months, including a teased dream clash against Jon Moxley at Revolution 2022.
Do not forget to check out and participate in DDP's "Positivity Unstoppable" challenger here.
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