Bryan Danielson trying to avoid surgery, 50/50 if he’ll ever wrestle again

Whether Bryan Danielson ever wrestles again is a 50/50 proposition.

On Monday, Danielson attended AEW’s Countdown event in Arlington, Texas to promote All In 2025 tickets going on sale. He promised to attend the July 12, 2025 pay-per-view but said he does not know if he will be able to wrestle at the show and does not know if he will ever be able to ever wrestle again.

Danielson spoke to Denise Salcedo at the media event and gave an update on his neck injury, saying there is “maybe” a chance that he won’t need to undergo surgery.

“I’m trying to avoid it,” Danielson said. “I’d like to avoid it as much as possible. The idea to me is that surgery is a last resort, not a first resort. I’m trying some other things, and I’m a little kooky right? [laughs] People who know me, I’m a little kooky. I’m going to try some other things first before going under the knife. And, yeah, that’s kind of my plan now.”

Dave Meltzer first reported in October that Danielson was having stem cell treatment with the hope that it would heal his neck enough to avoid surgery. Danielson ended his full-time career at WrestleDream on October 12 but has not fully retired from the ring.

If WrestleDream was his last match, Danielson is ok with never wrestling again. He told Salcedo that he loves wrestling but also loves getting to be home more with his family.

“If I had to guess right now — I would say it’s 50/50,” Danielson said about wrestling again. “And you know what? I’m ok with that. I loved the time I got to spend doing this, but I also love what I’m doing now.”

A run with the AEW World Championship capped off Danielson’s full-time career. He lost the title to Jon Moxley at WrestleDream and was then brutalized by Moxley and the Death Riders in a post-match angle.