Bryan Danielson On How WWE And AEW Are Different

Bryan Danielson leaving WWE in May 2021 was one of the biggest news stories of that year. He had been working for WWE for so long and had made a name for himself by winning multiple World Titles and even main-eventing WrestleMania. Fans couldn’t imagine him leaving for a new promotion, but then he surprised everyone.

Although Vince McMahon made an offer for him to stay, Bryan Danielson had by that time made his final choice. He made his AEW debut at All Out 2021, shortly after Adam Cole’s debut.

He’s one of the stars who has achieved major success in two major promotions in North America. During an interview with Fightful recently, Danielson discussed the key differences between WWE and AEW. Here’s what he said.

Bryan Danielson Lists The Differences Between WWE & AEW

Bryan Danielson started off by saying what everyone else has been saying all this time: WWE focuses more on storytelling and presentation, whereas AEW prioritizes good in-ring work.

“I would say, WWE tends to be informed more by drama and outside-of-the-ring action. In AEW, you get more actual in-ring wrestling. The wrestling that you see is more action-packed, it’s hard-hitting, it’s more high-flying. I would say it’s a more exciting style of wrestling. But I’m not going to take anything away from the guys in WWE. Some of the guys do that, or, you know, that sort of thing, but that’s not what they’re going for.” (H/T WrestlingInc)

For many years, especially under the Vince McMahon regime, many fans complained about the lack of wrestling on the weekly shows. Every now and then, there would be social media threads comparing the actual minutes of wrestling on WWE shows to AEW.

Things have changed in the last few years. WWE still focuses extensively on storylines, but fans also get to see stacked cards full of action. Stars like Cody Rhodes, Rhea Ripley, and Seth Rollins have all been consistently giving great performances inside the ring.

But it’s still not up there with the shows AEW consistently puts on. Every match is entertaining, and there may sometimes be too much wrestling, but never the opposite. One could say it’s just how these two companies have positioned themselves in the business. WWE, being a global juggernaut, must cater to audiences of almost all demographics, so it does everything for everyone. On the other hand, AEW is often said to be a wrestling promotion built for wrestling fans.

In the same interview, Bryan also talked about the differences in characters these two companies produce and said AEW gimmicks are “closer to people in real life,” whereas WWE pushes more “cartoony” characters.

Bryan Danielson has been a top guy in both of these wrestling promotions and knows how things work there. The 44-year-old wrestler is no longer working as a full-time wrestler and has transitioned into a color commentator for Dynamite.

Main image credit: McPhail, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons