Tony Khan wants Bryan Danielson around more. He just won’t put the American Dragon’s body through it.
Speaking on Jeremy Lambert’s 24-Hours In The Weeds charity show, the AEW president said he’d love to have Danielson out there all the time, but the former world champion is beat up, and Khan has been protecting him from the grind. Danielson last wrestled at WrestleDream 2024, dropping the AEW World Championship to Jon Moxley, and was moved to AEW’s broadcast team on the roster page earlier this year.
I think Bryan’s incredible at everything he does. Bryan’s beat up, and I’ve been giving him time to rest and recover. I would love to have Bryan out there all the time, but he’s been home and with his family, and he’s doing very well. But it’s a lot for Bryan being on the road, and a lot of the utility of Bryan stepping away from the ring and resting is him being home with his family and recovering and trying to be off the road.
Khan stressed that even commentary is a heavier lift for Danielson than fans realize.
I also think it’s even just sitting in the chair and moving his head around in the monitor and stuff; it’s hard. It’s harder than people understand with the injuries he’s had. People don’t realize the toll that this business and this sport has taken on this man. He’s done so much for all of us, so it means the world to have him in AEW and be part of this family, but also, that means now he’s done everything he can in the ring for AEW at this point, and I don’t need to drag him out and beat him up every week even more when he’s hurting.
