Bryan Danielson started the year in WWE and headlined WrestleMania 37, but left the company when his contract expired in April and joined AEW in September.
AEW has signed the likes of Danielson, CM Punk, Malakai Black, Andrade El Idolo, and more during 2021 as the landscape has shifted in wrestling.
Speaking to Scott Fishman of TV Insider, Danielson discussed the current landscape of wrestling.
"I don’t ever focus on if something didn’t happen that already happened. But I think this is a natural reaction to what has gone on. What we do know is people who were paid regular contracts will not have them anymore. For WWE, I think there was an overreaction when AEW started. Even when Ring of Honor got real hot with Cody and the Young Bucks. WWE felt they needed to sign up all the talent. They realized, “our business is fine.” AEW is catching up. They’ve done incredible for a company that has been around for less than three years. WWE is still making a billion dollars, so they don’t need to hoard all these talents," he said.
Danielson continued by saying, "The Young Bucks, I give a lot of credit to their YouTube show, which brought a lot of people to independent wrestling. There is the same chance again where independent wrestling can become bigger. If independent shows can draw bigger names and people, we just have a healthier industry. Although, the hard part is the lost guaranteed jobs. Corporate America baffles me oftentimes."
Danielson previously opened up about the WWE releases, saying things like that led him to AEW. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
