Bryan Danielson Reveals Vince McMahon Tried To Get Him To Go Back On Agreement To Leave WWE For AEW

Bryan Danielson recently sat down with Nick Stav from The Early Kickoff for an in-depth interview covering all things pro wrestling.

“The American Dragon,” who is about to begin his run as a full-time commentator for AEW Dynamite starting this Wednesday, spoke during the discussion about the double-debut in AEW that featured himself and Adam Cole showing up on the same night after their respective WWE contracts expired.

“I hadn’t actually signed my contract until two or three days before that,” Danielson said of his debut at AEW All Out at NOW Arena in Chicago, Illinois on September 5, 2021. “‘Always the plan,’ was Tony (Khan) thinking it? Did he have it in the back of his mind? I want to say Adam Cole didn’t sign until that day. Maybe he agreed to come, but you never know what’s going to happen.”

According to Danielson, after informing WWE of his intentions to let his contract expire and sign with AEW, he was called by Vince McMahon just days before his AEW debut about the possibility of staying with WWE instead.

“When WWE found out I hadn’t signed yet, they said, ‘Is there anything we can do,’” Danielson recalled. “I called Vince (McMahon) in early August because I was going back and forth. I called Vince in early August and let him know, ‘I made my decision. I’m going to do this.’ He called me one time in the meantime and said, ‘What if we offered you this instead.’ I hadn’t signed my contract yet, it was maybe five days before the pay-per-view, and he called me. I told him, ‘Sir, I already agreed to this thing. If I were to go back on this, I feel you have a decent amount of respect for me. One of the things you respect me for is that I honor my word.’ It was a great conversation. He said, ‘Damnit, you’re right.’”