Bryan Danielson left WWE and signed with AEW to compete in the sort of matches Vince McMahon would have never allowed on his programming. A great deal has changed since then, of course, and it's now Triple H calling the shots.
Thanks to The Game, we've seen a greater focus on in-ring action but does the American Dragon have any regrets about not sticking around in WWE and being part of the "Triple H Era"?
"Oh, No. Not at all. No, I think how I view it is, obviously, things have changed for the better there, substantially," he says in the video below. "But how I view it is: one, I’ve had an incredible time doing what I’m doing...I think I’m one of these people who prefer the style in AEW. It’s more wrestling-focused as opposed to the drama-focused or whatever it is, but I like the idea there’s an alternative."
"I was never somebody who disliked WWE," Danielson added. "I’ve tried to never say anything bad about them because I really enjoyed my time there and the people I work with and the people still there are my friends, but one of the things I really wanted was to participate in this thing that makes wrestling industry better for everybody involved. And I think the fact that AEW exists is better for all of us."
Talk soon turned to the horrific sexual trafficking and abuse allegations made against former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. As we're sure you're aware, Danielson's father-in-law, John Laurinaitis (who is married to Brie Bella's mother), has also been caught up in the claims.
"First and foremost, I want to say that people who have been hurt are, in a way, worse position than I am. My empathy goes to them," he said. "It’s not just the Vince piece. It’s also my father-in-law and maybe ex-father-in-law...you think of somebody in some way, and then something happens, and it changes, right? That’s always hard."
Finally, Danielson was asked about potentially reuniting with Shane McMahon in AEW. Much has been said about his recent meeting with AEW President Tony Khan and the two worked closely together when Shane was SmackDown Commissioner and the former WWE Superstar served as General Manager.
"I’m open to working with anybody. I don’t have beef with anybody. So yeah, 100%," he teased. "One, if I knew, I would not tell you. Two, I don’t know. It was interesting because Tony mentioned to me after the photo came out, ‘I didn’t want to tell you this before, but I met with Shane McMahon.’ I didn’t say this, but I was like, ‘Yeah, I know. The picture is everywhere.’"
You can watch the full interview below.