Bryan Danielson on Swerve Strickland: ‘Who would ever let go of this guy?’
Bryan Danielson believes that Swerve Strickland’s success in AEW is a testament to the benefits of having two major wrestling companies in the United States.
Danielson praised his All In opponent during a recent interview with Justin Barrasso for the debut edition of Barrasso’s new Substack page. Swerve, Danielson says, wasn’t given the opportunity to be his “best self” during his 2019-2021 run with WWE.
“Swerve was perfect at All In,” said Danielson. “I mean, he’s incredible. He just signed a new contract with AEW–and that is one of the benefits of having two mainstream wrestling companies in the United States. WWE didn’t see value in him, and they let him go.”
“You watch him and ask, ‘Who would ever let go of this guy?’ He just wasn’t given the opportunity to be his best self. And that goes both ways–I don’t want it to sound like, ‘Oh, evil WWE, they don’t let their talent be their best selves.’ Some people will thrive there. Some people will thrive here. There are people who will thrive in both places, there are people who will be underutilized. That’s the benefit of having two major companies in the United States. If someone doesn’t see value in you, you can try somewhere else.”
“And Swerve, he is the most professional of the professionals. Him, Claudio, [Samoa] Joe–anything you need them to do, they do it without hesitation. The way he’s been able to show everyone how skilled he is of a professional wrestler, I’m so impressed. I can’t say enough about him as a professional wrestler or a human being.”
Danielson vs. Strickland at AEW: All In 2024 went 26 minutes and was given a rating of five-and-one-quarter stars by our own Dave Meltzer, tying it for the fifth-highest-rated match of Danielson’s career and was the second-highest-rated match of Swerve’s.
Up next for Danielson, provided he is medically cleared in storyline, will be a match against Nigel McGuinness at next week’s AEW Grand Slam. Meanwhile, Strickland is taking time off following his lights out steel cage match against Hangman Page at All Out. There is no timetable for his return, and Meltzer writes that his participation at WrestleDream in Tacoma, Washington next month is not certain.
“The next PPV is WrestleDream on 10/12 at the Tacoma Dome. As of the last word, Strickland, who is from Tacoma, was not certain for the show. The term we were given was “might not” as to his appearance,” Meltzer wrote.