No one in the AEW Continental Classic Tournament possesses the mental toughness that Bryan Danielson has.
Not even his friends and fellow Blackpool Combat Club members.
“The American Dragon” spoke backstage at the Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, PA. on Saturday night after picking up a win over Eddie Kingston in Continental Classic Tournament action on AEW Collision in what was his in-ring return from a broken orbital bone.
“Here we are less than three minutes after I just beat Eddie Kingston,” Danielson said. “My heart rate has already slowed down. I’m here meditating. I didn’t expect you guys to come in here and film me, but I’m glad you did because this is a teachable moment.”
Danielson, who wore an eye protector during the bout, continued, “See there’s a difference between me and Eddie Kingston. Eddie Kingston, physically, is tough as nails. You see it every time — he pours his whole heart [out] every time he wrestles. Where he’s not tough, is mentally. You see, you have to be both in this world. Bad things are going to happen in a tournament like the Continental Classic. Bad things are going to happen. I fractured my orbital bone in two places. My vision is still blurry. I broke my arm in June and I still don’t have full strength in my arm. If you are not tough mentally, you’re going to make every excuse for losing. Last week, Eddie Kingston said, ‘Humble in victory, humble in defeat.’ That’s just setting yourself up for defeat. I will not be defeated.”
Danielson would go on to talk about how this is the final year of his legendary pro wrestling career.
“This is my last full-time year in professional wrestling,” he said. “I come back and I meditate after these matches, so I can seal in every single thing that I feel out there. The one sport that I love more than anything else besides my family. The joy in victory, the pain of getting hit, all that comes in, and all of it’s sealed,” he said. “There is not a man in the Continental Classic, not my foes like Eddie Kingston, not my friends like Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli, there’s not a man in the Continental Classic that is tougher mentally or tougher physically than me.”
EXCLUSIVE: A post-match meditation by The American Dragon @bryandanielson, after his first match in the #AEWContinentalClassic on Saturday Night #AEWCollision pic.twitter.com/G5mPJbBUAU
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) December 3, 2023
(H/T to Fightful.com for transcribing the above quotes)
