Bryan Danielson: I Never Consider Myself Fully Retired, But The Bryan Danielson That I Used To Be Doesn’t Exist Anymore

Bryan Danielson provides the latest update on his in-ring future.

‘The American Dragon’ has been out of action for well over a year at this point, last wrestling against Jon Moxley at the WrestleDream pay-per-view in 2024. Danielson has been open about his future in interviews, ruling out a full-time return while still being unsure about making a return for even one or two matches.

Speaking with Chris Van Vliet for a new interview, Danielson provided a detailed description of his neck issues and how he’s trying to avoid surgery.

“So I have degeneration from C1 all the way down to T2. [Your entire neck?] Yeah. So it’s like I’m on the cusp of needing surgery. It’s this weird line. I’d like to avoid surgery as much as possible. So my last neck surgery, I never fully recovered from it in the sense of getting back the strength gains and the mobility and all that sort of thing. So I’d really like to avoid it as much as possible, especially because my son is a menace. I had a broken arm, you have a big cast, I’m in a sling. I was like, ‘Buddy, you can’t touch daddy’s arm.’ And he’s jumping on my arm and all this kind of stuff. And I’m just like, Oh no, if I get neck surgery, it’s not like you wear a neck brace, not like you walk around in a neck brace. He’s pure boy. No matter how many times Brie tells him, and I tell him, but not as forcefully as Brie does, but Brie is, like, ‘Get off of daddy’s neck!’ And he just can’t not do it. It’s just like a boy thing. Our daughter is super good about it, but he’s all boy.”

Van Vliet proceeded to ask Danielson if he’s retired from the ring.

“I hate the R word because I was forced to retire before. So I never consider myself fully retired. This is how I think, and this is how a lot of wrestlers think, Well, I think I could do this in this situation, if needed, or called upon, or whatever it is. But effectively for the Bryan Danielson that I used to be, yeah, that guy doesn’t exist anymore.”

Bryan Danielson currently appears on weekly episodes of AEW Dynamite as a commentator.

If you missed anything from Wednesday’s episode of Dynamite, catch up on the show by clicking here.

Special thanks to Chris Van Vliet for the quote(s) provided in this video.