In a surprising revelation, AEW star Bryan Danielson has stated that his iconic main event victory at WWE WrestleMania 30 “doesn’t mean that much” to him personally. In a new interview, he explained the personal and physical struggles that surrounded what many fans consider to be one of the greatest moments in WrestleMania history.
While speaking with SunSport, Danielson explained that personal circumstances backstage soured the experience for him. He revealed that while some family members were allowed in the ring to celebrate his championship win, his soon-to-be-wife, Brie Bella, was not.
“My sister and my niece got to come in the ring. But I was about to marry my wife the following Friday and they wouldn’t let her come to the ring, they didn’t want her to be in the thing,” Danielson said.
In addition to the personal slight, Danielson was also dealing with significant physical pain at the time, which further diminished the moment for him. He used the experience as an example of how a performer’s reality can be very different from what fans see on screen.
“It wasn’t just that, I was going through a ton of neck pain, and all these other things, so these things that seem like cool moments to a viewer, there’s all this other stuff going on in a performers life, that could make that moment not as valuable to them as it is to the people viewing,” he stated.
Danielson’s reflection on the personal toll of his biggest career moment comes as he is in a period of his life focused on family and community. As previously reported, Danielson has been on an extended hiatus from wrestling and has been training to become a volunteer firefighter. Though he made a surprise appearance at AEW’s All In pay-per-view, he has since confirmed he is not yet ready for a full-time return to the ring.