AEW superstar Bryan Danielson recently joined Sports Illustrated for an in-depth conversation about the injury he sustained at this year’s Forbidden Door 2 pay-per-view, where the American Dragon defeated Kazuchika Okada in a dream showdown via submission.
Danielson begins by saying that he was super proud of being able to not only finish the match, but come away with the victory.
Hindsight? I think I had more fun because of it. During the match, I turned to the referee and said, ‘I think I fractured my arm.’ I’m in the ring with someone whose English isn’t his first language, and we didn’t even know for sure what it was to communicate. Even after the match when I was in the press conference, I didn’t realize how bad the break was. This is where you look at what is really satisfaction. Satisfaction and pleasure are not the same thing. Satisfaction comes from doing something hard and accomplishing it. So the satisfaction came from doing the hard thing and seeing it through to completion.
However, he later admits that the arm break was the single-worst injury he’s ever had in his career, adding that he was unable to be there for his kids the way he wanted to.
Although I talk about the satisfaction of completing the match against Okada with the broken arm, it’s actually the singular worst injury I’ve had,” admitted Danielson. “My neck injury was worse, but that was the result of years of abuse on my neck. It’s the same with the concussions. No single concussion was worse than the break of my arm. And because of that, it put me at a point where I couldn’t be there for my kids the way I wanted.
Later, Danielson recalls the epic Iron Man match he had with MJF earlier in the year and how he seems to sustain injuries in every big match he has recently had, a sign that he thinks his in-ring days are close to ending.
There is the realization that over the past year, I’m getting hurt after every big match I have. That’s a sign. I love wrestling, but I do not want to wrestle at the expense of my long-term health. I did the Iron Man match with Max, and then I didn’t wrestle again until Anarchy in the Arena, and even that was a lot of smoke and mirrors. Then I wrestle Okada and I break my arm. The injuries are starting to pile up. At what point is that worth the risk? Especially when my kids want and need me at home.
Speaking of being done, Danielson spoke about that very topic at a different point in the interview. You can check out what he had to say by clicking here.