Former WWE Champion says he's at "peace" with the idea of finally retiring
Former WWE Champion Bryan Danielson recently admitted that he's at peace with retiring from the squared circle. The American Dragon will lock horns with AEW World Champion Swerve Strickland in a Title vs. Career Match at All In 2024.
Danielson's contract recently expired, and he has been honest about his in-ring future amid health issues and concerns. The 43-year-old recently made very telling remarks about being at home vs. being on the road for the Jacksonville-based promotion.
Speaking with BBC Radio ahead of his showdown with Strickland at Wembley Stadium, the former WWE Champion said he's at peace with retiring if he fails to capture the AEW World Championship this Sunday.
"Yeah, I am. If I wasn’t at peace with it, we wouldn’t have done that, right? [laughs] I also think that I’ve been wrestling for 25 years at this point. To me, it’s now or nothing as far as winning the AEW World Championship. I came in, and I said I was going to kick people’s heads in and win the AEW World Championship. I’ve kicked a lot of people’s heads in, but I haven’t won a single title," Bryan Danielson said.
The legendary wrestler also revealed that he had not won a title match in his previous 19 attempts. Notably, Danielson was forced to retire from in-ring duties in 2016. Reflecting on the same, the veteran revealed that he wasn't ready to retire at the time. But now that he has a ''wonderful family,'' he's excited about spending time with his kids and wife.
"Even going back to WWE, I haven’t won a title match in my last 19 attempts. So it’s like, I’m at peace with it. My life is different now. When I was forced to retire, I wasn’t ready. 2015 was kind of my last match, but I was forced to retire in 2016. At that point, I’m 35 years old, and I’m just like, ‘This doesn’t feel right!' I also didn’t have anything else to put my attention and focus towards, and now I do. I have a wonderful family that I’m excited about spending time with and everything,'' he said. [H/T: wrestlingnews.co]
AEW stars predict All In main event featuring former WWE champions
Bryan Danielson and Swerve Strickland are set to headline AEW All In 2024 at the Wembley Stadium in London this Sunday.
Ahead of the duo's blockbuster showdown, the promotion released a video in which several AEW stars gave their predictions for the Title vs. Career Match.
Jim Ross, Roderick Strong, Renee Paquette, Claudio Castagnoli, Lee Moriarty, Paul Wight, Sonjay Dutt, Kyle Fletcher, and Jerry Lynn predicted that The American Dragon will dethrone the former NXT North American Champion at Wembley.
Meanwhile, Willow Nightingale, Shane Taylor, RJ City, Nigel McGuinness, Dax Harwood, and Johnny TV predicted Strickland will retain at All In.
It will be interesting to see if the former WWE Champion claims the AEW World Title this Sunday.