Tony Khan reveals former WWE star refused to win the AEW World Championship

AEW wrestlers have famously enjoyed a lot of creative freedom in Tony Khan's company, but at the end of the day, the All Elite Chief has the final say. Khan recently addressed the legendary Bryan Danielson's resistance to winning the AEW World Championship.

Bryan Danielson joined All Elite Wrestling in late 2021 and experienced a career resurgence. The former WWE Superstar competed in acclaimed matches and quickly rose through the company's ranks, both on camera and behind the scenes.

With The American Dragon's full-time career winding down in 2024, Tony Khan was determined to put his promotion's top title around the veteran's waist. However, Danielson didn't feel like he needed to be the champion. Speaking on the Way of the Blade podcast, Khan revealed that Danielson tried to talk him out of it multiple times:

"With Bryan, he’s another person – much like with Sting – […] it was another time I felt strongly that I wanted to do something and have a moment with somebody and their family and all the fans. Bryan tried to talk me out of it many times along the way, that I shouldn’t give him the moment – that he didn’t need a moment like that, but it just – to me – is something the fans will always look back on." [H/T: ewrestlingnews]

Expand Tweet

Bryan Danielson confirms backstage roles in AEW

The American Dragon may have finished up his full-time wrestling career, but he remains signed with AEW, and he's staying involved backstage. Bryan Danielson recently revealed that he still had several roles in the company.

The 43-year-old is notably the head of the promotion's disciplinary committee. He's also part of the creative team, although he recently downplayed his role in an interview with the Daily Star:

"People may think it’s creative,osome of it is. But it’s very little. Like, we had that awesome Spring BreakThru show, which had that incredible Ospreay/Takeshita match, the Opps winning the Trios Titles, and this incredible show. I didn’t have a single thing to do with that show [laughs]."

Danielson has refused to say that he's retired, although his chances of returning to the ring in 2025 seem slim at best. Whether The American Dragon competes for All Elite Wrestling again remains to be seen.

About the author

Jacob is an AEW contributor and editor at Sportskeeda Wrestling. He has edited and published over 8,000 articles for Sportskeeda Wrestling in just over two years, and subsequently donned the hat of a contributor, demonstrating his commitment to continuous learning. His experience goes beyond wrestling, with five years as an editor for several independent publishing houses and three years as a captioning specialist.

Jacob's first memory of pro wrestling dates back to Sting vs. Ric Flair for the World Heavyweight Championship at Great American Bash 1990. He later began writing for a newsletter and blog at the University of North Texas, and his love of wrestling naturally led him to seek opportunities in the media.

His favorite wrestler is The Icon, as he feels Sting has evolved throughout his career on a parallel path with his own growth as a person. He was Jacob's childhood hero and teenage idol, and now he makes him less afraid of getting older.

Jacob ensures relevance and accuracy in his articles by working hard to maintain his ideals and objectivity without sacrificing his unique voice, inspiring other writers in the section to follow suit.

Jacob’s non-wrestling interests include Anime, video games, and fantasy novels.

Know More

Edited by Jacob Terrell