Bryan Danielson: My three years in AEW have been a ‘huge, huge blessing’

If this is the end of the road for Bryan Danielson, he’ll always view his time competing in an AEW ring as a blessing.

Danielson spoke with Uproxx Sports ahead of All In, noting that his three years in AEW have been the most fun he’s ever had in his career. Though he loved being in WWE, Danielson prefers the AEW in-ring style. He also loves the creative freedom that AEW offers and how much time he’s been able to spend with his family.

“When I think of this time, this has been the most fun I’ve ever had in my career. For the first time in my life and in my wrestling career, it didn’t feel like I was sacrificing family to do this thing that I loved,” Danielson said.

“I love wrestling and I loved being in WWE. I make no bones about that. I loved being in WWE, but it wasn’t my favorite style of wrestling. In AEW, I’m able to wrestle the style that I want to wrestle. And then on top of that, you have a lot of creative freedom there. And I also get to come home and spend a lot of time with my family. It’s really what I think of these last three years. I think of them as just this huge, huge blessing as far as this cherry on top of of a career that I’m not quite sure I deserved anyways.”

Danielson is challenging Swerve Strickland for the AEW World Championship in the main event of Sunday’s pay-per-view. There’s a stipulation where, if Danielson loses, he will retire as an in-ring competitor.

Despite their on-screen rivalry, Danielson has plenty of praise for Strickland.

“As a human being, he’s just remarkable. He’s an incredible wrestler who really understands what fans want from a wrestling match. He’s just such an incredible athlete and has an incredible mind. But what really sets Swerve apart is his ability to define his own character and come across as different,” Danielson told Uproxx. “As soon as he walks to the ring, you feel like he’s special — because he is. He’s an incredibly intelligent guy. He’s an incredibly athletic guy. He has a great mind for wrestling. He has a great mind for entertainment. He has a great mind for music. And so I think that the character that he’s able to present on TV has really been remarkable.”

Wembley Stadium in London is the venue for Sunday’s PPV. The main card has a start time of 1 p.m. Eastern in the United States. There will be a two-hour pre-show leading into the event.