Bryan Danielson Leaves Open the Possibility of Him Returning to the Ring

It's been over a year since Bryan Danielson last had a real professional wrestling match in AEW.

Danielson retired from full-time competition in October of 2024 due to a batch of injuries, including a neck issue that he had been battling for years. Danielson's final match was an AEW World Championship defense against Jon Moxley at AEW WrestleDream.

Jon Moxley defeated Danielson in the match and went on to have a long run with the world title. The run didn't end until Adam Page beat Moxley for the belt at the AEW All In event over the summer in 2025.

Danielson made his AEW debut in 2021 and had dream matches with Kenny Omega, Will Ospreay, Kazuchika Okada, and others.

He went on to become the AEW World Champion by beating Swerve Strickland at the 2023 All In event inside Wembley Stadium, but only held the title for a couple months before losing it. He hasn't competed since his loss to Moxley, save for a brief 8-second squash victory over Max Caster in a dark match this past June.

But... Is Bryan Danielson looking to return to the ring?

Because of lingering injuries and neck problems, Danielson has maintained that he's retired from in-ring competition on a full-time basis. In a new interview with Justin Barrasso, Danielson left open the possibility of a return. Although, he said the effects of traveling on the road as a commentator were more of a challenge than he'd originally thought.

“I don’t close it off," Danielson said of a return to the ring. "In April of 2025, Adam Copeland sent me to his physical therapist. He said the guy was a miracle worker. This guy worked on me for two days in a row, six hours each day. After the first night, I slept nine hours straight. After the second night, I slept eight hours straight. After that, I was sleeping seven or eight hours almost every night. That’s a game changer for how you feel.”

Adam Copeland isn't a stranger to neck injuries. Copeland was forced to retire from wrestling in 2009 and didn't return until the Royal Rumble in 2020.

Now, like Danielson, Copeland is in AEW, though he hasn't been seen in the company since the summer. Copeland and Christian Cage reformed their historic tag team and feuded with FTR. FTR took out Copeland's wife and WWE Hall of Famer, Beth Phoenix, and Copeland hasn't returned to AEW since.

As for Danielson, he's a semi-regular in the commentary booth for AEW Dynamite, but has taken some weeks off due to the aforementioned effects of travel.

AEW has a big week ahead. Not only is the regular Dynamite show on Wednesday, but the company will present it's Grand Slam Australia event this weekend. That show will featured MJF vs. Brody King in the main event for the AEW World Championship.

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