WWE legend credits AEW star Bryan Danielson for enabling him to be 'relevant' after his expansive career

Bryan Danielson seems to incite nothing but praise from most of his peers. But WWE legend William Regal took this a step further by claiming Danielson is responsible for his relevancy today.

The two men share quite a storied history, and their first official match against each other dates back as far as 2001. The American Dragon defeated William Regal at Memphis Championship Wrestling. Over the years, their friendship has seemingly endured, with both now finding themselves in AEW.

During William Regal's virtual signing for K & S WrestleFest before AEW Full-Gear, the 54-year-old claimed that Bryan Danielson is his favorite Blackpool Combat Club member.

"No, it’s not a rough question [who’s his favorite member of Blackpool Combat Club]. It’s Bryan [Danielson]," Regal said. "I think a tremendous amount of all of them. Bryan’s been with me. We’ve been friends since 2000, and fortunately, luckily he came into my life. It’s not the other way around when people say, ‘Oh, great you met him.’ No. I wouldn’t be relevant today if it wasn’t for him." (H/T: POSTWrestling)

Bryan Danielson and William Regal 🐐😍 #AEW #AEWDynamite #AEWOnTBS #BryanDanielson #TheAmericanDragon #WilliamRegal #GOAT https://t.co/SwNCvNGmD6

Despite the faction now falling apart, Bryan Danielson still had William Regal's back during last week's AEW Dynamite. Unfortunately, Jon Moxley wasn't as kind as he told him to never come back to the promotion. The altercation fueled rumors of a WWE return for Regal, especially after reports of the promotion showing interest in him again.

Missed out on Dynamite or Rampage? Catch up with last week's AEW results here.

William Regal believes that Bryan Danielson and a top WWE star could have "one of the greatest matches of all time"

The American Dragon has had quite a career, and at 41 it doesn't seem like he's stopping anytime soon. Despite this, Danielson has no delusions when it comes to how long he has left as an in-ring competitor, as the star recently detailed his career plans.

Thoughts on Bryan Danielson's debut at the end of #AEWAllOut? https://t.co/BaIni4g3c6 #AEW

During the same virtual signing, William Regal speculated that Bryan Danielson and WWE Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER could be a great match.

"Have you ever seen Bryan have a bad match? Have you ever seen WALTER have a bad match? Knowing that I’m a big fan of both of them and their styles, if they had the chance, they might have one of the greatest matches of all time." (H/T: POSTWrestling)

Unfortunately, with Bryan Danielson being at the tail-end of his in-ring career, the likelihood of the two athletes wrestling now - especially with them being in two different promotions - is slim at best. But perhaps fans can look forward to a grizzled Danielson vs. a veteran GUNTHER in a few years from now?