Wrestling veteran points out one major difference between Bryan Danielson and his mentor Shawn Michaels (Exclusive)

Current AEW star Bryan Danielson is widely regarded as one of the best wrestlers in the world. Danielson's in-ring acumen is second to none, and he has a wide variety of moves in his arsenal. To become the name he is today, the 44-year-old was mentored by some of the best names in the business.

WWE legend Shawn Michaels, NJPW founder Antonio Inoki and Danielson's former manager in the Blackpool Combat Club, William Regal, all served as the star's mentors. However, wrestling veteran Vince Russo claimed that there's one major difference between the AEW star and the former DX member.

Talking about the former AEW World Champion on Writing with Russo on Sportskeeda WrestleBinge, Vince Russo claimed that Michaels had charisma that Danielson didn't, expressing that the WWE Hall of Famer was much more than just a wrestler.

"Shawn who's freaking charisma, man. I mean, that's big to me, man. I mean, when you think about Bryan Danielson, you think about him being a great wrestler. There's a lot of great wrestlers. You know, Shawn was much, much more than that," Russo said. [From 7:44 onwards]

While Russo believes Danielson has all the qualities of a top performer, he questions his charisma.

"When you're talking all around performer, I think Shawn Michaels was the best. So what are the boxes that a wrestler would need to check in order to be eligible for the greatest restaurant? Well, obviously in, in ring work, you know, promo skills, believability, charisma, the It factor, you know. When I say charisma, can I really check the Bryan Danielson docs when it comes to that?" Russo said. [From 7:11 onwards]

While he might not compare to his mentor in terms of charisma in Vince Russo's eyes, Bryan Danielson is still considered to be one of the greatest wrestlers of all time by many.

Wrestling is an extremely subjective sport, and those who hold more weight to in-ring work will always consider the American Dragon to be among the best.

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About the author

Faiz is a WWE writer at Sportskeeda Wrestling. He is a BBA graduate who is passionate about sports and wants to make a career in that field. This passion led to a postgraduate degree in Journalism, which helped him pivot into becoming a sports writer. When writing, he puts the utmost importance on accuracy and thorough research.

Faiz has six years of work experience across four companies. He started his career with Zomato and then moved to Amazon. He shifted to becoming a football writer at TV9 Digital and is now with Sportskeeda. He covered the Wrestling Xtreme Mania event in Gurgaon in 2025, where he had the opportunity to interview Raj The Maharaja, fka Jinder Mahal. At the same event, he also got quick interviews with former WWE Superstar Dijak and Japanese Joshi legend Emi Sakura.

When it comes to his favourite wrestlers, Faiz has two names in mind. He loved to watch Triple H before the current WWE CCO retired, and he is a huge fan of Roman Reigns. Being a loyal fan since the Tribal Chief's SHIELD days, Faiz credits Roman's mic skills and unmatched in-ring storytelling for his mega success. When he was young, one in-ring story left a lasting impression on his mind and eventually got him hooked on WWE. That match was Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair at WrestleMania 24. Apart from that, he is also a fan of RAW.

When Faiz is not writing for Sportskeeda, he loves to keep up with other sports. He is an avid cricket and football fan, a huge gamer, and loves playing some RPGs on the PlayStation.

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Edited by Brandon Nell