Danielson writes an open letter about his time in WWE.
AEW is running Arthur Ashe Stadium on 9/22 and will be going live on TNT for Dynamite Grand Slam and following the two-hour show, they’ll be recording Rampage Grand Slam which will air on Friday at 10 PM EST.
One of the marquee matches for Dynamite Grand Slam is AEW World Champion Kenny Omega versus Bryan Danielson in a non-title match. Ahead of the bout, Danielson wrote an article for The Players’ Tribune and thanked WWE, their staff and his former colleagues for his time in the company. Bryan tallied up a decade with WWE and won multiple championships in the company.
Below are excerpts from the piece:
Thank you to the many people behind the scenes. The crew in WWE is amazing, from the folks operating the cameras to those in catering. From the producers to talent relations. Thank you to the production team, who always put together such amazing packages, and are such an underappreciated part of the stories we tell. Thank you to everyone involved in creative: for accepting me into the group, for sharing with me the lessons you’ve learned, and for the fun times we had talking about wrestling and non-wrestling subjects alike. It’s a difficult job, writing and producing WWE television, and I’m consistently blown away by your ability to make a seamless production out of such chaos!
Thank you to the Big Man, who I know hates to be acknowledged. I won’t say much, but thank you for the conversations, the life lessons (about both what to do and what not to do), and the best hug I’ve ever received. I wish more people could see you how I see you.
And last but certainly not least: Thank you to the WWE fans. You pushed my career to new heights — heights that I never would have reached for, on my own. Thank you for cheering me enthusiastically into the main event at WrestleMania 30, and thank you for booing me vociferously against Kofi at WrestleMania 35. Thank you for crying with me when I was forced to retire, and thank you for celebrating with me when I was cleared to compete. Thank you for hijacking that show in Seattle — the last time my dad ever got to see me wrestle. He signed his first autograph that night: Buddy Danielson, Daniel Bryan’s dad.
Joining Danielson versus Omega is Ruby Soho challenging Britt Baker for the AEW Women’s World Title, MJF versus Brian Pillman Jr. and to check out the Rampage Grand Slam lineup, click here.
