WWE Hall of Famer claims Vince McMahon tested former World Champion before he joined AEW (Exclusive)

Former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon once had complete control over the daily operations of the Stamford-based promotion. As the CEO and Chairman of the company, he would always be at the center of any decision regarding the product, including the hiring of wrestlers.

WWE Hall of Famer Teddy Long, who worked under Vince for many years, recently stated that McMahon tested a former World Champion before he made the move to AEW. Tony Khan has several stars working for him, one of them being 4-time WWE Champion Bryan Danielson.

Danielson recently revealed in an interview that Vince McMahon called him shortly before he debuted for AEW. He informed Vince that he would be joining the All Elite promotion as he'd already given Tony Khan his word. Speaking on The Wrestling Time Machine on Sportskeeda WrestleBinge, Teddy Long claimed that the phone call from Vince was a test for The American Dragon.

"Well, Vince was testing you, that's all. That's a test, I mean, if he'd have done it, Vince would have never forgot it," Teddy Long said.

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Bryan Danielson debuted for All Elite Wrestling at All Out 2021, just a few months after his contract with the Stamford-based promotion expired. During his time in WWE, he won a total of nine championships and became a grand slam champion.

Ever since moving to AEW, he has been enjoying his time under Tony Khan. He won the 2024 Owen Hart Cup and also became a World Champion that year when he defeated Swerve Strickland to win the title. He would eventually retire from being a full-time wrestler at WrestleDream 2024, after losing the belt to former stablemate Jon Moxley.

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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 Faiz Ahmed