“The American Dragon” will be “#AllElite” for some time to come, even if his full-time in-ring career is winding down this year.
Tony Khan spoke at length about his relationship with Bryan Danielson and the future of the pro wrestling legend in AEW during an in-depth interview on The Rich Eisen Show.
“We have so many great captains on this team, and that’s what’s really exciting,” Khan said while talking about the number of legends on the AEW talent roster. “We have great leadership, great people here, and nobody greater, I think it’s fair to say, Bryan Danielson is a huge part of the company.”
When asked how much time the Blackpool Combat Club member has in the ring, the AEW and ROH President didn’t seem to have a definitive answer.
“I can’t say how much time Bryan has left in the ring, but he has said this will be his final year, and this is gonna be the year Bryan hangs them up from up full-time wrestling,” Khan noted. “At that point, it’s gonna be a sad day for pro wrestling and for me personally. But it’s great to be able to have Bryan that I can call and talk to and have in the locker room with us every week.”
Although he is wrapping up his active in-ring career, Danielson will still be working within AEW on some level for quite a while, according to Khan.
“Absolutely, 100%. I hope Bryan will stay here for the rest of his life, and I know he’s planning to stay with us for a long time going forward as part of the company,” he said. “I would want Bryan to stay with us as long as humanly possible.”
Check out the complete interview via the YouTube player embedded below. H/T to Fightful.com for transcribing the above quotes.