Tony Khan has explained the decision to have Bryan Danielson become a part of the AEW commentary team moving forward.
Over the past weekend, Khan made the announcement that The American Dragon would be joining the commentary desk beginning with the September 10 episode of Dynamite, which will also be the promotion’s final show in the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia as part of the residency.
This is ot Danielson’s first time in the announce booth as the former World Champion has provided guest commentary for multiple matches in AEW and previously in WWE, most recently at Forbidden Door in London. While appearing on the Battleground podcast, Khan stated that Danielson was a great fit for the crossover show in London:
“As we were preparing for Forbidden Door, I thought Bryan would be fantastic on the commentary team for that show,” Khan said. “Knowing the background he has, knowing his insights into pro wrestling, and how prepared he is and how much research he does on pro wrestling worldwide. Knowing the stars competing at Forbidden Door, coming from different promotions — stars from Mexico and Japan and traveling from all over the world to compete at that show in London.”
“People Want To See Bryan Danielson On TV”: Tony Khan
Continuing, Khan stated that as Danielson is a fan favourite, people still want to hear from him on weekly TV. Additionally, Khan put over Danielson’s knowledge and skills as a wrestler and announcer:
“Also, I think Bryan’s a great star and people want to see Bryan Danielson on television and hear Bryan Danielson on television. And thankfully, he’s got very intelligent, insightful things to say when he does talk. So I really thought Bryan would be a great part of the commentary team, and he did a fantastic job on Forbidden Door. I had talked to him maybe after his promotional tour of Australia was complete about Bryan joining us on Wednesday. And it worked out perfect. He’ll be joining us tomorrow night on Wednesday Night Dynamite as a host, a commentator, providing his really, really valuable insights into pro wrestling.
“I think it’s great anytime we’re able to bring on Bryan Danielson to do anything in AEW, but especially to provide very, very intelligent, insightful commentary on pro wrestling. That’s a great thing in AEW that we have now with Bryan Danielson as a host on Wednesday Night Dynamite starting tomorrow.”
It is currently unknown if Danielson will announce the whole show or just a portion of it. There has also been no update on whether one of the other announcers has been removed from the desk as a result of the change.
The former World Champion has now been with AEW for over 4 years after making his surprise debut at All Out 2021, capping off a night of surprises on the show. In a recent interview, Danielson admitted that shortly before he became All Elite, there were conversations with Vince McMahon and WWE about a possible return.
Bryan Danielson’s full-time in-ring career came to an end following a loss to Jon Moxley in the main event of Wrestledream, which was followed by a beatdown from The Deathriders shortly afterwards. The American Dragon has yet to compete in a full match since, but has made some cameo appearances on AEW and ROH TV.
H/t to F4WOnline for the use of transcriptions.
Featured image: AEW
