As previously reported, Bryan Danielson told reporters after making his AEW debut at All Out last weekend that WWE was willing to let him work outside of the company in order to get him to re-sign. However, Bryan ultimately ended up signing with AEW. It was also later reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that during their negotiations, WWE offered Danielson a deal that would’ve allowed him to work dates in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). Some more details on Danielson’s contract talks with WWE and AEW were reported in this week’s edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
According to the new report, WWE gave Danielson a “major” offer to get him to stay under the WWE banner that was said to be similar to the offer from AEW. WWE’s offer reportedly included a “major guarantee” that would’ve made Danielson among the largest paid in-ring talents in the company, limited dates so he could spend more time at home with his family, and permission to work outside WWE.
In the last few months, WWE reportedly made another hard push to sign Danielson to a long-term deal, which is said to have promised him the allowance to work in NJPW. It’s also rumored that Vince McMahon gave Danielson permission to work in the G1 Climax tournament. AEW is said to have made a similar offer to Danielson.
You might recall, there were reports of WWE President Nick Khan being in talks with NJPW earlier this year, with WWE looking to become the exclusive American partner for NJPW. AEW President Tony Khan even cut a promo on these reports last May and called out Nick Khan. Tony Khan apparently made those comments after he was confident a deal with WWE and NJPW would not be made. Meanwhile, AEW continued using NJPW wrestlers throughout and the summer and now into September.
Additionally, the Observer Newsletter reported that in his latest contract talks, Danielson was motivated to ultimately sign with with AEW as he believed it would the best thing for the wrestling industry. Other points the former WWE World champion considered were that if he were to stay in WWE, it would potentially help open up relations between WWE and NJPW. Also, Danielson hoped it would enable some of his friends who are being underutilized in WWE to work with New Japan talents and show that they were better than what they were typically able to do in WWE.
Another point for his talks with AEW is that Danielson wants to move away from encouraging fans to use the “YES!” chants, though he is said to be OK with the idea if fans organically wanted to chant it. Ultimately, a deal between WWE and NJPW was not made by Nick Khan. Later on, Danielson and AEW’s Tony Khan agreed to his contract, which allowed him to take the summer off before debuting in the fall at All Out.
It should be noted that Bryan Danielson will not be working this year’s G1 Climax with the A & B blocks already being set, and the pandemic quarantine restrictions keeping Danielson out of Japan at the moment. However, the Observer noted that NJPW and the G1 were still a major long-term part of Danielson’s negotiations.
