Daniel Bryan is not All In. But that didn't stop the former WWE champion from praising his peers for what they will accomplish on Sept. 1.
Speaking to ESPN's Arah Markazi, Bryan gave his thoughts on All In and how Cody and the Young Bucks built the biggest Independent show in history.
"The independent scene is incredible now. I'm so proud of Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks, for example. They have built themselves up. When you look at the way New Japan uses them, they don't treat them as main event guys. Ring of Honor has started treating them as main event guys but they built themselves up through their YouTube channel and through other and just going out there and performing at a certain level and understanding what the audience wants more than anyone else.
Being The Elite has become appointment YouTube television for many wrestling fans and has helped push the Independent scene to new heights. Along with a successful YouTube show, the Young Bucks have cornered the market at Hot Topic with their merchandise. When Cody left WWE, his social media checklist showed he was serious about getting the most out of his Indy run.
The current health of wrestling excites Bryan, who is quite possibly the sport's biggest fan.
"What's awesome in this time period is you can see the evolution of wrestling happening in all these guys and you see it in WWE. It's this really cool wrestling world where everyone is uniquely connected. You go to a WWE show and you see Bullet Club shirts or you see Young Bucks shirts. Or you go to a Ring of Honor show and you see a Daniel Bryan shirt. Now there's this great mix of fans who are just watching everything and as somebody who loves wrestling in every shape, that's awesome."
Elsewhere in the interview, Bryan praised the work of Kenny Omega and Zack Sabre Jr., who he says has surpassed him as a mat-wrestler.
All In takes place on Saturday, Sept. 1. Fightful will provide full coverage of the event.
