Daniel Bryan last WWE appearance came on April 30th epsiode of Friday Night Smackdown, in which he lost to Roman Reigns in Career vs. Title match and banished from the blue brand. Later, it was revealed that Daniel Bryan’s WWE contract was expired and he didn’t signed a new contract with the company.
Initially it was reported that WWE is in talks with Bryan to sign the new contract with WWE but there’s no information about how far that talks went. Recently, Mike Johnson of PWInsider reported that internally there were not talks about Bryan’s WWE return and also not listed on WWE Roster.
This report also confirmed that Daniel Bryan is not in the plans for any licensing or merchandise for 2021-22 and that he will not be included in any upcoming action figure releases from Mattel.
“Internally, there has been no discussion of Bryan returning to WWE and he is not listed on the company’s roster,” Johnson wrote. “There have been some in the company who have taken that to mean that Bryan is signing or will sign eventually with AEW, but PWInsider.com has no confirmation that is correct.”
Now, it seems like he signed with rival promotion All Elite Wrestling. According to the reports from Cassidy Haynes of Bodyslam.net, Daniel Bryan is ‘locked-in’ and 100% signed with AEW. It was also noted that Bryan wanted to work less days compared to the money and also ability to work in Japan and creative control over his character.
“In an update as to the future of Bryan Danielson (fka Daniel Bryan), a source I have spoken to has told me that he is ‘locked in’ and has 100% already signed a contract with AEW,” Haynes wrote. “In addition, I was told that Danielson was wanting to work less dates for comparable money, he wanted the ability to be able to work in Japan, and wanted to have creative input on his character, which he got.”
Later, Cassidy Haynes provided an another update about Daniel Bryan’s deal with All Elite Wrestling and his debut. This report states that Bryan’s AEW debut is scheduled for the September 22 episode of AEW Dynamite called Grand Slam, which will take place in Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York.
Haynes further reported that Daniel Bryan’s debut being saved for Grand Slam event, so, that they can wrap up their plans leading into the All Out PPV. It was also noted that this plans could be changed with the recent reports of AEW talks with CM Punk for his in-ring return, like moving up (or back) Bryan’s debut.
