Bryan Danielson makes surprise appearance at Dean Rasmussen tribute show
Bryan Danielson made an unannounced appearance at a tribute show for Dean Rasmussen on Saturday night.
AEW and ACTION Wrestling co-produced ACTION DEAN~!!!2 from the WaterDance Plaza in Glendale, Arizona, one night before AEW presents Double or Nothing from the nearby Desert Diamond Arena. Rasmussen, a well-respected contributor to the DVDVR website, passed away in 2023.
Danielson came out as Hologram and Blue Panther remained in the ring following their team’s win in a ten-man Cibernetico match.
“You can see in the way that Hologram wrestles that he loves professional wrestling,” Danielson said to the live crowd. “And Blue Panther, I’m not even going to say his age, he told me in the back, I’m not going to say it. You know he loves professional wrestling. And this show, Action Dean, is in honor of a man who loved professional wrestling.”
“I was under WWF Developmental,” Danielson continued as the crowd booed the mention of WWE. “There’s no need to boo that, there’s no need to boo that. Then they fired me. You can boo that. And because of Dean and the people who wrote about me, some of whom are back there here at the show tonight, they talked about me and they wrote about me and they wrote about independent professional wrestling with a passion and a love that made new fans of independent wrestling, of shows like this.”
Here’s the entire Bryan Danielson speech from the DEAN tonight. pic.twitter.com/U9TIFrhEct
— Brent Strassburg (@bstrassburg) May 25, 2025
Bryan Danielson showed up at DEAN~!!! 2 tonight meeting both Hologram and Blue Panther.
— Drainmaker (@DrainBamager) May 25, 2025
DRAGON RETURN VERY SOON. 🤞 pic.twitter.com/WYLYlJBwLO
Adam Priest vs. Mad Dog Connelly in a Dog Collar match headlined the show. Before leaving the ring, Danielson referred to Priest as the best independent wrestler in the United States.
Bryan Danielson says @Adam_Priest_ is “the best independent wrestler in the United States” in the fourth video clip below.
— Conrad the Mortgage Guy (@HeyHeyItsConrad) May 25, 2025
That’s a fact, kind sir.
It’s also a fact that if Adam was from the Northeast, he’d already be signed. I’m just saying.
Roll Tide, brother. https://t.co/XDA4MNvYZA
ACTION Wrestling x ROH ACTION DEAN~!!!2 Results
- Rhino defeated Manders
- Josh Woods w/Tom Lawlor defeated JD Drake w/Anthony Henry
- Arez & Gringo Loco defeated Jaden Newman & Tank /Reverend Dan Wilson
- The Beast Mortos defeated Slim J
- ROH Pure Champion Lee Moriarty defeated Matt Mako to retain his title
- Blue Panther, Hologram, Neon, Valiente & Virus defeated Averno, Dr. Cerebro, Euforia, Volador Jr. & Xelhua
- Mad Dog Connelly defeated Adam Priest in a Dog Collar match