wrestling / News
Bryan Danielson On If His Training Has Changed Since Moving to AEW, Being a Heel vs. Babyface
Bryan Danielson says that while he may be working longer matches in AEW than he did in WWE, his training hasn’t changed much. Danielson spoke with WDEL in Delaware for a new interview, and you can check out some highlights below:
On whether he prefers being a heel or babyface: “I do like being booed, I think it’s a lot of fun. But both are good, as long as you’re getting a strong reaction either way, both are good. I think it’s always more fun to be the villain.”
On his time in the ECWA in Delaware: “I spend a good amount of time, and it wasn’t a huge number of shows, but they were very important shows. It was in 2001 when I first wrestled in Delaware for Jim Kettner’s ECWA. When I first came and wrestled for him, I was under a developmental deal for WWE, and I came in and did his Super 8 Tournament. Shortly after that I got fired for WWE, but what that did was get my name out on the East Coast, it wasn’t out on the East Coast at all. Jim brought me in for another couple shows and I wrestled Low Ki with Ricky Steamboat as referee, and when people saw that, other promotors started booking me, and that was the basis for me getting opportunities everywhere after I was fired from WWE.”
On wanting to get back in the ring so much after his health issues: “I legitimately thought I was healthy, and still think that I’m healthy. One of the reasons I was forced to retiree was not because of the concussions, but because I lied about that. You have to understand from WWE’s point of view, I had been wrestling for them for six years, but then all of a sudden they opened this Pandora’s box about lying about his medical history, and now we can’t trust him. A lot of that was building the trust back, but they were also legitimately looking after my health. Going to see doctor after doctor, and doing everything that I could to improve brain function to show above and beyond that my brain was healthy. It’s also my love of wrestling. It felt like I wasn’t really to be done yet. I still needed to come back. I also think there’s a lot left on concussion research to be done, and when you’re seeing the top doctors in the country and they’re all clearing you to do what you love to do, I think you should be able to do that.”
On how his training changed going to longer matches in AEW: “My training never really changes, other than changes to make sure your body doesn’t adapt to a single thing. I didn’t do anything special. I’ve never had an issue getting tired in matches. I also live at high altitude (Lake Tahoe, NV), so it makes breathing easier at low altitude, it’s almost like a breeze. I’m also very, very active. Today I’ve already done a 90 minute workout with weights, I’ll likely do some Ju-Jitsu, and then some kickboxing. I do this several times a week. Doing all of those things keep you in good condition naturally. If you have to worry about your conditioning, you already have one worry before you go out there, and I want to have as few worries as possible.”
On what’s next for him: “One of the things about how AEW presents wrestling is it is a very sporting concept. The records and rankings are important. Kenny Omega doesn’t want to give me a rematch, so I’ll earn a rematch. I’m trying to build up and go through as many people as possible. AEW has a lot of great, great wrestlers that I want to get in the ring with, but I’m not getting into the ring to have a great wrestling match, I want to kick their heads in, and eventually get a shot at Kenny Omega, but this time for the AEW Championship.”
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