Danielson says he is stepping away from full time wrestling next year, but isn’t retiring completely

Screenshot 2023-09-13 at 3.09.15 PM — Bryan Danielson (photo credit Wade Keller © PWTorch)

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Bryan Danielson says he is planning to step away from being a full time wrestler next year to prioritize time with his family, but he isn’t retiring completely.

“I don’t think I’ll ever reach a point where I declare I’m absolutely done,” Danielson tells Sports Illustrated. “I want the ability to show up when I want to show up. Terry Funk is someone I always admired. He retired a million times, but he loved it so much he couldn’t help but keep doing it. And he did it when he wanted. For me, it might be a couple times a year, or it might be years between matches.”

His timeline is stepping back around August next year.

“In my mind, it’s around August of next year,” Danielson says. “My daughter will say, ‘Daddy, are you going to be done wrestling when I turn seven?’ And I’ll respond, ‘Well, not exactly when you turn seven, but I’ll be on the home stretch.’ … My daughter turns seven in May, so it’s a good time to close down the shop.”

He says his AEW contract expires around that time anyway.

One reason he’s circled August is he wants to be part of All In in London, England at Wembley Stadium next year.

“I didn’t get a chance to do All In this year,” he says. “I would like that chance next year. We have a show, WrestleDream, this October 1 in Seattle where I’m wrestling Zack Sabre Jr. If we have another next year in Seattle? Maybe it will be then.”

Danielson also said mounting frequency of injuries is contributing to his decision. Danielson has only wrestled three singles matches in the last six months.

“There is the realization that over the past year, I’m getting hurt after every big match I have,” he says. “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 (MJF), 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.”

He said the broken arm he suffered in his match against Okada contributed to his mindset.

“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.”

If he continues to wrestle sporadically, it won’t necessarily be at the biggest events against the biggest names.

“I always thought I’d wrestle until the day I die,” he says. “But it’s not going to be this regular, weekly wrestling. I don’t even know if it’s going to be wrestling at big shows. I’ve always wanted to wrestle for DEFY in Seattle. How easy would it be for me to call the promoter and pop in some weekend? They wouldn’t even need to promote me. I could come in, surprise people, and do my thing.”

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