Bryan Danielson Says Wrestling Kenny Omega Was ‘Pure Joy’, Compares it To His Wrestlemania Appearances

In an interview with The Dallas Morning News, Bryan Danielson spoke about wrestling Kenny Omega at Arthur Ashe Stadium and how it compares to his Wrestlemania matches. Here are highlights:

On his matches at Wrestlemania and his match with Omega at Arthur Ashe: “This is my perspective on it – other people may feel differently. But to me, the perspective is always different based on where you’re at in your life. The WrestleMania settings for me, like WrestleMania 35 when I lost to Kofi Kingston – that was pure joy. I had just been cleared to wrestle the year before, it was a lot of fun. WrestleMania 30, which is what most people associate me with, I have a little bit of a harder time with because I was in a ton of pain with my neck and shoulder, barely sleeping, and then my dad passed away and all that kind of stuff – Brie and I got married like six days after. So, there’s like a lot of ups and downs that has a lot of like weird feelings to me. It’s funny looking back on it now, but I had just won the title at WrestleMania 30 and I’m exhausted and I’m tired and all that kind of stuff, but I feel great, right? And then I’m holding up the belts and the camera guys keep telling me ‘Keep Yes-ing, keep Yes-ing.’ And I’m like, I can barely lift my arm and I’m holding these two titles. To me, the match with Kenny Omega, the difference was that was just pure joy. Being able to feel and experience an incredible moment. And also as I’ve matured, I’ve been able to enjoy wrestling more, especially since I’ve come back from my retirement. Progressively, the last several years, it’s been every time I wrestle it feels just kind of like a blessing. You never know when this is going to be taken away, so I tend to enjoy those moments just a little bit more.”

On what Ring of Honor means to him: “As far as the future, who knows? I don’t even know what they’re thinking or how they’re going to restructure or anything like that. The wrestling industry is a hard industry to be profitable in, and especially with WWE and AEW already taking up so much of the wrestling fans’ mental space, you know, it’s interesting to see where a company like Ring of Honor fits in. … I hope the best for them, especially because of how much they meant for my career. I was on their first show in 2002, and I had made a little bit of a name for myself a year before, but Ring of Honor is where most people for sure had heard of Bryan Danielson, obviously before WWE. But they not only gave me a ton of exposure and opportunities, but they gave me a platform to work against some of the best wrestlers around that time. You look the legacy if people who have come through there and how successful some have been – Seth Rollins, Samoa Joe, CM Punk – that’s just some of those who have just been uber-successful thanks to the opportunities Ring of Honor gave. I think one of the cool things too is that it served a fan base that now AEW serves, which is that fan base that wants wrestling, that wants more in-ring action, as opposed to more the soap-opera style of entertainment. So, yeah, Ring of Honor holds a special place in my heart.”

On Jonathan Gresham wanting to wrestle him: “I’d love to wrestle Jonathan Gresham. I love his style. He’s got a great mat-wrestling style. I think he’s one of the guys who have really carried on the tradition of real ‘technical wrestling’ wrestling, and I think that match would be a lot of fun.”

On who could tell the best story with him in AEW: “That’s a really hard one. I think a really interesting one – this would be, if you’re talking about a dream scenario, it would probably be with Darby Allin and that match would happen in Seattle. We’re both from there, and just telling a story of two guys kind of from the same place but are completely different. One is young and on the rise and already a superstar, one is aging and this is the twilight – that sort of thing. That, I think, would be a pretty cool story.”