It's been just over six months since Bryan Danielson debuted for AEW at the All Out pay-per-view.
In the main event of All Out, Kenny Omega successfully defended his AEW World Championship against Christian Cage. At the end of the show, former NXT superstar Adam Cole made his surprise debut for the company. Cole received loud cheers from the crowd, but he quickly turned heel by aligning himself with The Elite.
Just a few moments later, however, Danielson was introduced as AEW's other blockbuster signing. Danielson came in and helped Jurassic Express and Cage fight off the heels. Danielson made his AEW match debut on the Sept. 22 Grand Slam special edition of Dynamite, wrestling Adam Cole to a time draw.
During an interview with Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t WrestlingNews.co), Danielson shared one of the key reasons why he wanted to leave WWE for AEW. When Vince McMahon questioned Danielson's decision, the 40-year-old wrestler told the WWE chairman it's because he wants the freedom to "bleed" in matches.
"I don’t like to divulge my conversations with Vince at all because I know he’s a very private person," Bryan explained. "But I will say this, one of the things….when I finally made my decision I’m like, 'Okay, I’m set on this decision', and he was kind of asking me why (leaving WWE for AEW) and I said, ‘You know, there’s part of me too that just wants to be able to bleed’ and he immediately said, 'Well, I’m sorry I’ll never be able to give you that.' So yeah, it’s not like I want to do it all the time. There’s something, I don’t know, incredibly life-affirming about it, as strange as that sounds."
RELATED: Bryan Danielson Calls WWE 'Generalized Entertainment', Says AEW Is 'Pro Wrestling'
Danielson recently revealed that his AEW contract is a three-year deal. He's coming off a loss to former AEW World Champion Jon Moxley at Sunday's Revolution pay-per-view.
Bryan Danielson's Final WWE Match
Danielson's final WWE match took place on the Apr. 30 episode of SmackDown. He lost a Universal Championship match to Roman Reigns, and per the match stipulation, Danielson was "banished" from SmackDown. Danielson had also lost title matches to Reigns at Elmimination Chamber, Fastlane and WrestleMania 37 (a triple threat match that also involved Edge).
His contract with the company expired soon after, and though WWE reportedly pushed for an extension, Danielson ultimately decided to explore a new chapter in AEW. It's worth noting that some people within WWE believe that the door is open for the wrestling icon to return to the company down the road.
