Bryan Danielson’s full-time wrestling career is over. After winning the AEW World Championship at AEW ALL IN: London in August, Danielson declared that his full-time wrestling career would be tethered to his title reign, meaning as soon as he lost the gold he would hang up his weekly wrestling boots. Danielson had successful defenses against Jack Perry and Kazuchika Okada but ran into a wall in the form of former stablemate Jon Moxley. At AEW WrestleDream, Moxley defeated Danielson in front of the American Dragon’s hometown crowd, viciously choking him out to secure the victory before adding insult to injury with an uncomfortable post-match beat down. “The Final Countdown” on Danielson’s full-time career expired with a deflating whimper, as instead of riding off into the sunset, he was stretchered out of the Tacoma Dome.
While this conclusion makes it feel like Danielson will be back for at least a couple of one-off matches at some point in the future, his days of wrestling on weekly television have ended, capping off his AEW run at just over three years. AEW largely did justice to Danielson’s talents, booking him in dream matches against the likes of Okada and Will Ospreay, but the company also left a number of high-profile bouts on the table.
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Raucous Rematch Against Kenny Omega
Danielson’s first AEW match set the tone for his run with the company. He debuted at AEW All Out 2021 and confronted then-AEW World Champion Kenny Omega, setting up a non-title singles clash between the two at the first-ever AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam, a show that, at the time, held AEW’s attendance record.
Danielson and Omega put on an instant classic, but time expired before a decisive winner was determined. The two men went to a rare 30-minute time-limit draw. Everyone inside Arthur Ashe Stadium expected this result to be the seed that eventually sprouted into a pay-per-view headlining rematch, but it never came to fruition.
Renewed Rivalry With CM Punk
AEW was the hottest company in professional wrestling in August 2021, and it was all thanks to two blockbuster signings: Bryan Danielson and CM Punk. AEW appropriately spread the wealth upon their arrivals, but it was always assumed that the two former Ring of Honor and WWE Champions would cross paths when the time was right.
The time was never right.
Punk spent two years in AEW, only being an active member of the roster for 13 of those months. Injuries and backstage issues plagued the post-honeymoon period of his wrestling comeback, and he was fired from the company before he and Danielson could ever come together. Ironically, Danielson was partially responsible for Punk’s AEW firing.
Comeback Contest Against Adam Copeland
Professional wrestling’s two greatest comeback stories shared locker rooms on two occasions, and never once did they meet in a singles match.
In 2018, Bryan Danielson defied science, gaining medical clearance from what was thought to be a series of career-ending concussions. Two years later, Adam Copeland returned to the ring for the first time in nine years, also defying science by gaining medical clearance from what very much was a career-ending neck injury. While they did meet in the main event of WWE WrestleMania 36 in a triple threat match that also included Roman Reigns, Danielson and Copeland never got that one-on-one contest in this stage of their wrestling careers. When Copeland joined AEW in October 2023, the bout was seemingly back on the table, but their paths never crossed.
Sizing Up With Samoa Joe
Much of AEW’s spirit echoes the early days of Ring of Honor. AEW President Tony Khan has paid tribute to AEW’s spiritual predecessor on numerous occasions, even buying the promotion outright, but never renewed one of its most famous rivalries.
Bryan Danielson and Samoa Joe went to battle seven times in Ring of Honor, often fighting with the ROH Championship on the line. The two even fought to a legendary 60-minute time-limit draw in 2006. Joe had the slight advantage over Danielson in ROH, holding a 3-2-2 record against him.
While both men have had sporadic injuries throughout their AEW tenures, AEW had plenty of opportunity to rekindle the Danielson vs. Joe rivalry, even if just as a one-off on AEW Dynamite. There was also opportunity to run this bout back in WWE, which the sports-entertainment giant did, just on non-televised live events.
Striking Gold Against Jay White
Bryan Danielson has only shared the ring with Jay White on one occasion, when two did battle in eight-man tag action at AEW Worlds End 2023. The two even shared the inaugural AEW Continental Classic together, but competed on opposite blocks.
While Danielson and White do not have the history that the other pairings on this list possess, their in-ring styles would have made for a worthy clash. Beyond that, there was a ready-made numbers game for a full-on feud between Danielson’s Blackpool Combat Club and White’s Bullet Club Gold.
