Vince McMahon wanted major AEW star to be involved in the "creative side of things," reveals Eric Bischoff
Recently, Eric Bischoff expressed how he always thought AEW star Bryan Danielson had a knack for creativity, and he revealed that Vince McMahon thought the same, and also saw him as a potential help for WWE creative.
For around a decade, Danielson was with the Stamford-based promotion. At a point, he even became the face of the company, with the "Yes movement". After his sudden retirement in 2016, due to his neck injury, the American Dragon was assigned the role of General Manager of SmackDown Live, which was his first taste at managing and booking a WWE show.
While speaking on his 83 weeks podcast, Eric Bischoff looked back and remembered the times that Vince McMahon spent with Bryan Danielson, and how the boss acknowledged Danielson as a contributor to creative. He saw his potential and wanted to bring him in to help with WWE.
“Vince McMahon was very impressed with Bryan Danielson, his creative. I know that there was some conversation, I don’t know how serious he was at the time, he mentioned to me that he was possibly interested in bringing in Bryan Danielson to be very involved in the creative side of things. Vince is a pretty bright guy, and you can say whatever you want about him, but I think that suggests that there is a lot of great potential there.”
Bischoff then went on to discuss what AEW needed to do to get by, and remarking all this relied on creative, not on superstar power, or returns and debuts. Currently, Tony Khan has given Bryan Danielson a role in creative, and he has been working in this area for some time now.
“I think that if there is anything that is going to move the needle in the next six to eight months, it’s going to be creative. It’s not going to be anything else.” [H/T ringsidenews]
Dutch Mantell says Tony Khan could trust Bryan Danielson with AEW
WWE veteran Dutch Mantell recently mentioned how he thought Tony Khan's choice should be Bryan Danielson, in case he would look for someone to take over running AEW.
In a recent episode of his Story Time podcast, Mantell expressed why he thought this, focusing on Tony Khan himself saying the same. He also gave some reasons for Danielson being the choice, including his knowledge of the industry, and his demeanor.
"I would say the first one in line is Bryan Danielson. Because I think Tony made a statement that he would be a good person for the job, understands it, level-headed, and he does things for the good of the business not to advance himself that much, and I’d say it’s a good choice."
Bryan Danielson has been praised by both WWE and AEW personnel, for his skills not only in the ring, but also with regard to backstage production. If he does decide to retire next year, this could be the next path waiting for him.
Would you want to see Bryan Danielson with a bigger role in AEW? Let us know in the comments section below.