Bryan Danielson came out of retirement for one night only on the September 30 special PAC Tribute edition of AEW Dynamite.
Wednesday night’s show from the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, PA, closed with a 10-man tag-team main event featuring the Death Riders against the Don Callis Family.
The Don Callis Family was represented by Wardlow, who made his return to action, along with Mark Davis, Lance Archer, Josh Alexander and Jake Doyle.
On the other side, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Daniel Garcia and Gabe Kidd initially emerged for the Death Riders. The group stopped at the chair positioned at ringside in honor of PAC before heading through the crowd toward the ring.
With Jon Moxley joining the commentary team, the Death Riders appeared to be one man short as the main event prepared to get underway.
That changed when the Death Riders’ entrance music hit for a second time.
Bryan Danielson then made his surprise entrance, coming out of retirement for one night only to serve as the fifth member of the Death Riders. Danielson joined Castagnoli, Yuta, Garcia and Kidd in the ring before all ten competitors immediately broke into a brawl to start the match.
The surprise appearance marked Danielson’s second appearance of the evening. Earlier in the PAC Tribute show, Danielson returned following Jon Moxley’s Continental Championship victory over Orange Cassidy and shared an emotional embrace with his longtime Blackpool Combat Club stablemate.
Danielson had not wrestled since retiring from full-time in-ring competition, making his unexpected participation in the PAC Tribute main event an especially notable moment.
The same match also featured the long-awaited return of Wardlow for the opposing team, joining The Don Callis Family in the high drama unadvertised main event of the PAC tribute edition of AEW Dynamite in “The Steel City.”
Danielson and the Death Riders would go on to win the match. Danielson appeared on the same episode earlier in the show in a special emotional embrace with Jon Moxley after the first match of the evening.
The Death Riders make their entrance for our main event, as Mox heads to the commentary desk.
Watch #AEWDynamite A Tribute to PAC on TBS & HBO Max pic.twitter.com/yMmbtGTgg3
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) October 1, 2026
BRYAN DANIELSON IS TEAMING UP WITH THE DEATH RIDERS TO HONOR PAC!
Watch #AEWDynamite A Tribute to PAC on TBS & HBO Max pic.twitter.com/sHfsD6k2bn
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) October 1, 2026
Bryan Danielson in perfect sync with the Death Riders (!!!) … and then, it's time to swing!
Watch #AEWDynamite A Tribute to PAC on TBS & HBO Max pic.twitter.com/xEWIxRAPl9
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) October 1, 2026
Wardlow has made his return to AEW as he joins the Don Callis Family to battle The Death Riders on #AEWDynamite
We pay homage to PAC live on TBS and HBO Max pic.twitter.com/2VONbFbTp8
— AEW on TV (@AEWonTV) October 1, 2026
