Bryan Danielson Says He’d Return to the Ring But on One Big Condition

Bryan Danielson may have stepped away from in-ring competition, but he’s not closing the door completely.

The former AEW World Champion, who lost the title at AEW WrestleDream 2024 and promised to retire afterward, is now a member of the AEW Dynamite commentary team. Still, in a new interview, he admits that a return could happen—just not like before.

While speaking with Wide World of Sports, Danielson revealed he gave serious thought to retiring on the biggest stage possible—Wembley Stadium at All In 2024.

“Yeah 100 percent – that was definitely a thought that I had,” he said. “One of the things that I thought was that regardless of if I win or lose this match, it was being able to celebrate the end of my career with my family. If I win, great, I celebrate the title win with my family. If I lose, celebrate this incredible journey that I have been on, with my family, in the middle of the ring.”

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He added that the moment itself, win or lose, would’ve been a moment of gratitude more than anything else.

“Both things would have been great and the idea is that if it was going to be my last match, you want to give everything you have and don’t leave anything on the table. None of us necessarily deserve any of these things, I haven’t done anything to deserve 50,000 people in a stadium and my family being able to be there and main eventing the show … that’s how I look back on it, from a gratitude perspective.”

But when asked if he could ever wrestle again, Danielson made it clear: maybe—but not on the same level.

“It’s interesting, because you never say never – but there’s not an appeal to me to go out there and do that type of match that I did with Swerve Strickland,” he explained. “Sure, there’s the part when I’m watching it, I get super excited and think I would love to get back in there – but then it’s like, what are you talking about? My body physically can’t do some of those things anymore.”

Danielson noted that if he ever returns to the ring, it has to come second to his new top priority—being a dad.

“If I tried to do some of the things I did in my last year with AEW right now, I don’t think I’d be able to go back and hold my kids. Anything that I would do moving forward has to be with that in mind, because that is now my number one priority. Stay healthy, be at home and play with my kids and coach my son’s tee-ball team.”

While fans would love to see The American Dragon return for one more classic, it’s clear that if he ever steps back into the ring, it’ll be on his own terms—and nothing comes before family.