On April 30th 2021, a popular WWE wrestler by the name of Daniel Bryan lost a WWE Universal Championship match against the champion Roman Reigns. The stipulation - if Daniel Bryan lost, he had to leave Smackdown. So he did.

On September 5 2021, a popular wrestler by the name of Brian Danielson debuted in AEW at the close of the All Out show. Since then, he has put together an impressive body of work, wrestling 12 singles matches, winning 11 of them, the other being a time limit draw against the then AEW World Champion Kenny Omega.

The point of discussion I would like to raise is Brian Danielson's performance, presentation and booking in AEW, and how it compares to his long tenure in WWE.

The Brian Danielson we see in AEW is closer to the Danielson who dominated Ring of Honor in the 2000s. However, he has not lost the more light-hearted, happy-go-lucky persona he developed with Daniel Bryan, and as recent events have shown he has not lost the ability to effortlessly switch between babyface and heel, doing so in an authentic manner, in contrast to the cartoonish heel turns we are accustomed to in WWE.

Danielson has especially impressed me in the ring. The match with Minoru Suzuki was a real standout. Suzuki has a justified reputation of being a tough bastard who can take ten of your best show and knock you out with a single blow. Ruthless, violent, tough as nails. Moxley battled with Suzuki in AEW in a pretty disappointing match. Danielson's match was the complete opposite - it was exactly what I wanted from a Minoru Suzuki match in America.

Although Moxley has a tough guy persona, which I find to be quite convincing, The American Dragon is able to convince me more that he is a real tough guy in the ring. It's not even a matter of convincing, he simply is a tough guy. Which is especially impressive since he was generally not a "tough guy" wrestler in WWE. He brought back that side of himself without effort. His natural personality is friendly, jovial, but when he gets serious, looks a wrestler in the eye and says he will kick his ass, he means it. He knows he is the toughest guy in the room despite his lack of stature and strength. This is evident in not only the Suzuki match but every match he's wrestled in AEW. Also noteworthy is the lack of a single finisher - something the commentators are making very clear, probably instructed by Danielson himself. This is clearly awesome. The concept of a wrestler having exactly one move that can win a match is seriously outdated and needs to go away.

After having these exhibition matches as a pure babyface and fan favourite, he wins the Eliminator Tournament and strolls out to the ring to confront newly-crowned babyface champion Hangman Page. With a few carefully chosen words and a condescending tone, he instantly turns the fans against him. His effortlessness at transitioning from babyface to heel is the same as how easy it is for him to be a tough guy. Danielson is a master of this craft, and his AEW run is proving it yet again.

Well said, Danielson has really made a point to mix things up and isn't going to pidgeon hole himself. What I liked about the Hangman segment is that it wasn't completely out of the blue and he did come off as a prick in the build-up to his match with Kingston.

I haven't had a chance to watch his Infinito stuff on Dark but it's certainly something I plan to check out in the future. I like that he has an outlet to experiment in the ring without warping the perception of Bryan Danielson - the guy who just loves to wrestle.

Infinito is basically bits from RoH face Bryan so far. Not much shown but he did his old monkey flips he used in the Nigel feud.

The guy is the highlight of Dynamite, up there with Reigns for the best thing in wrestling. I totally agree with Emperor's point about the tough guy persona, he's completely convincing as a killer. Moxley is good in that way but it is performative. Danielson is almost anti-performative, and this makes it work all the more. Best wrestler in America today. Don't know if there's an NJPW guy better but there ain't anybody in the West touching this guy.

Dec 2, 2021 13:06:07 GMT Todd said:

he's completely convincing as a killer... Danielson is almost anti-performative, and this makes it work all the more.

Todd, can you elaborate on his point? It struck me as particularly interesting, especially the anti-performative killer concept.

The Daniel bryan retirement tour has lost its lustre. I need a reason. And.... wrestling the guys from dark order because their Adam's bud's before I wrestle Adam isn't enough of a reason. I need a fuckin promo. Like anything, just give me something

Dec 2, 2021 14:22:38 GMT 🤯 said:

Dec 2, 2021 13:06:07 GMT Todd said:

he's completely convincing as a killer... Danielson is almost anti-performative, and this makes it work all the more.

Todd , can you elaborate on his point? It struck me as particularly interesting, especially the anti-performative killer concept.

It's not a knock on Moxley because wrestling is by definition performative. But it's supposed to reflect real-life when possible for suspension of disbelief. Myself and everyone else reading this, we all have an idea of the toughest guy we've ever met. And he (or she) isn't a guy that goes strutting around and putting his middle finger and furrowing his brow. He just has a quiet confidence that if anyone starts anything, it's game over. That's what Bryan represents to me in this run. Nothing wrong with doing it the Moxley way, but Danielson can get away with doing it this way. I think Dean Malenko was similar in many ways.

Bryan is so good at smirking ever so slightly. Presenting himself is such a scumbag without definitively being one. He's great.