Bryan Danielson was a recent guest on AEW’s panel at SXSW, and he discussed WWE’s initial reaction to AEW launching in 2019, and more.
You can check out some highlights from the panel below:
On watching AEW: “I see Cody [Cody Rhodes] wrestling Penta [Penta El Zero Miedo] on Dynamite and he does a top rope hurricanrana. Both men are standing on the top rope and Cody jumps and puts his legs on Penta’s shoulders, and flips him off the top. Knowing Cody, at first I was like, ‘Holy sh*t. This is what Cody is doing now?’ This is what you have to do. My reference point for that was not ‘this is what AEW guys are doing,’ my reference point was, ‘I don’t know if I can hang.’ That was the thought.”
On the reaction to the company’s launch in WWE: “Going back to the awareness in WWE at the time when AEW started, everybody was aware. Different people had different takes on it. The same thing whenever there is some kind of challenge or start up happening. You have some people who want them to fail right away. Just to prove whatever it is. ‘There’s only one way to do this’ and that sort of thing. Most of us, most of the wrestlers, wanted AEW to succeed. That’s better for everybody. You look at any industry, if there is just one bring on top and there is no competition, that’s not good for talent, that’s not good for people working on the creative side. It’s not good for a lot of people. For a lot of us, we were watching and hoping that it would succeed. Little did we know, any of us, four years in, they’d sell 81,000 tickets to Wembley. Everyone was watching it, and everybody had different opinions.”
Bryan Danielson, also known as Daniel Bryan, recently appeared on AEW’s panel at SXSW and shared his thoughts on WWE’s initial reaction to AEW’s launch in 2019. During the panel, he discussed his experience watching AEW and the reaction within WWE to the new company.
One of the highlights from the panel was Danielson’s reaction to watching AEW matches. He specifically mentioned a match between Cody Rhodes and Penta El Zero Miedo, where Cody performed a top rope hurricanrana. Danielson expressed his initial surprise and admiration for Cody’s high-risk move, stating, “This is what you have to do.” He also admitted that his reference point for such moves was not what AEW wrestlers were doing, but rather his own ability to keep up with the competition.
When discussing WWE’s reaction to AEW’s launch, Danielson acknowledged that there were various opinions within the company. While some individuals wanted AEW to fail immediately, believing that there was only one way to succeed in the industry, most wrestlers actually wanted AEW to succeed. Danielson emphasized that competition is beneficial for everyone involved, including talent and creative teams. He explained that having only one dominant company in an industry is not advantageous for the overall growth and development of the industry.
Danielson further highlighted the impact of AEW’s success by mentioning their ability to sell 81,000 tickets to Wembley Stadium in just four years. This achievement demonstrated the widespread interest and support for AEW from both fans and industry professionals. Danielson concluded by stating that everyone within WWE was watching AEW and had their own opinions about it.
Overall, Bryan Danielson’s appearance on AEW’s panel at SXSW provided insight into WWE’s initial reaction to AEW’s launch in 2019. His comments shed light on the diverse perspectives within WWE and the importance of healthy competition in the wrestling industry. As AEW continues to grow and succeed, it will be interesting to see how it impacts the landscape of professional wrestling and the reactions of other companies.