Bryan Danielson publicly bashes WWE; makes huge claims about Cody Rhodes and CM Punk

Bryan Danielson, Cody Rhodes, and CM Punk were all in AEW at one point [Photo: allelitewrestling.com and wwe.com]
Bryan Danielson, Cody Rhodes, and CM Punk were all in AEW at one point [Photo: allelitewrestling.com and wwe.com]

Bryan Danielson has recently spoken about WWE and addressed one area within the company that has been a topic of conversation. He also briefly talked about Cody Rhodes and CM Punk, making a bold claim about their careers.

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Recently, the wrestling juggernaut has been clashing with AEW about their show dates. Several of their PLEs and other events have been on the same weekend or day as the Jacksonville-based promotion's PPVs. To many, this seemed like they were counter-programming the competition.

Bryan Danielson addressed this during his interview with Jon-Bernard Kairouz. He could not fathom the decision-making behind this, as he felt that AEW was not a big enough threat. He also wondered why, since the current state of the wrestling world benefited wrestlers from both companies.

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"But it’s interesting, because we’re not at the point of being a threat. It’s one of the things where people who really crave power and a lot of money play these weird games that I don’t understand. It’s like, okay, we’re going to run all the competitors that might be competitive with us out of this business. Why? It’s good for the wrestlers both in AEW and WWE."
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He then discussed Cody Rhodes and CM Punk, and how, due to their time in AEW, their careers turned out the way they did. Danielson sought to tap into the knowledge of those in WWE to gain insight into their decision-making process.

"It’s been good for them like—okay, if AEW wouldn’t have started, would Cody Rhodes be where he is right now? No. They have a megastar because AEW exists. Would CM Punk ever have come back? Probably not,— The people in WWE, a lot of the people I know, are great people. So I’d be interested to know what’s the decision-making process in this? But, you know, it’s not my monkey, not my circus, whatever the line is for that, you know what I mean?” said Bryan Danielson. [H/T WrestlePurists on X]
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Bryan Danielson talks about his AEW debut at All Out 2021

In 2021, Bryan Danielson was part of one of the best moments in AEW history, which saw a double debut take place before the end of the All Out pay-per-view. Adam Cole started this off and revealed that he was aligned with The Elite, but to the surprise of many, Danielson would also debut that night.

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While speaking to Nick Stav, the American Dragon talked about how the double debut at All Out had only come together a few days before, as he had just signed right before the weekend. He was unsure whether the same could be said of Cole.

"When people say it was always the plan, the truth is I hadn’t actually signed my contract until like two or three days before that. That’s just the pro wrestling business. I want to say Adam Cole didn’t even sign until that day, the day of. Maybe he had agreed to come, but you never really know what’s going to happen, you know?” said Danielson.
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Bryan Danielson is one of the biggest names in AEW history, and despite no longer wrestling, he still does his part in supporting the company.

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Edited by Enzo Curabo
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