Bryan Danielson Compares the AEW Product to WWE Programming, Thinks Characters in AEW Are Not as Cartoony

During a recent interview with Downunder the Ring, AEW broadcaster and former WWE Superstar Bryan Danielson compared the AEW product to WWE programming, and how the characters on AEW TV are closer to people in real life. Below are some highlights (via Fightful):

Bryan Danielson on the AEW product compared to WWE programming: “I would say WWE tends to be informed more by like drama and like outside of the ring action. In AEW, you get more actual in-ring wrestling. The wrestling that you see is more action-packed, it’s more hard-hitting, it’s more high-flying. I would say it’s a more exciting style of wrestling, although I’m not going to take anything away from the guys in WWE. Some of the guys do that sort of thing. But that’s not, that’s not what they’re going for, right?”

On how the characters in AEW TV are closer to people in real life: “Also, wrestling is character-based. One of the things I like about AEW, and that I loved working there, is that the characters you see on TV are closer to people in real life. It’s not quite as cartoony. [AEW wrestlers] have a little bit more nuance when they do things, and you have to say, there’s always going to be exceptions in both companies whenever you say these types of things, and people will say, ‘Oh, Brian’s bashing WWE.’ I’m not saying that at all. There are different ways of doing things, right? But I think it’s more genuine, and I think the people within AEW, because of how Tony runs it, are closer to the characters that they want to be, the characters that they desire to be. So, yeah, that’s what I would say about that.”