Bryan Danielson chose AEW over 'lifetime job at WWE'

We're entering the final months of Bryan Danielson's career as a full-time wrestler. The AEW champion has been vocal about stepping away from the full-time grind at the end of 2024 and is currently working without a contract in place. He's said on programming that once he loses his AEW championship, he will step away from his in-ring duties.

For now, though, Danielson is stringing together a run of memorable matches to ensure he goes out on a high note. On Wednesday, shortly after AEW's fifth anniversary of Dynamite went off-air, Danielson addressed the crowd in attendance. He thanked Tony Khan for making AEW possible before detailing why he chose to join the company rather than work toward becoming a WWE legend.

"First of all, I’d like to thank Tony Khan without whom, AEW wouldn’t be here," Danielson said. "You wouldn’t have an alternative. It is better that AEW exists for the wrestlers, for the production people, and for professional wrestling fans...And last but certainly not least, I want to thank all of the men and women in the back because they’re the ones who made this place so great that I had a lifetime job at WWE and I chose – I chose – to come here because there were the best wrestlers in the world, the best fans in the world, and this is the best wrestling company in the world."

Danielson is currently involved in a fierce storyline with Jon Moxley, who is another big-name defector from WWE despite being in his prime. The pair will go toe-to-toe at WrestleDream with the AEW title on the line. Moxley has been embracing his reputation as a physically imposing street fighter and the clash of styles should make for an enthralling match with Danielson.

What's interesting is that Danielson isn't wrong about how his future could have turned out in WWE. He was a main event talent. He was among the most popular wrestlers on the roster. And he could have continued to scale the heights that WWE has to offer had he chosen to remain with the company rather than jump to the young and developing challenger brand.

Nevertheless, Danielson has earned himself legendary status within AEW. He was one of the first major names to openly choose to work for Khan and helped bring a level of legitimacy to the company. Since then, he's been a major ambassador to the brand and will undoubtedly hold a behind-the-scenes role once he bows out of his full-time in-ring career.

Still, WWE fans can only help but wonder how things could have turned out for Danielson in WWE. He is, after all, one of the most talented wrestlers in the world and his impending retirement will be a loss to the industry as a whole.