7 Bucket-List Items for Bryan Danielson Before His Full-Time AEW Run Ends

The latest chapter in Bryan Danielson's iconic career will come to a close when his contract with All Elite Wrestling expires in the fall of 2024.

Per Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, the 42-year-old signed a three-year deal with the promotion in September 2021. He announced this past summer that he wishes to wind down as a full-time competitor at the end of this run.

That doesn't necessarily mean he'll be retiring from the ring but rather that he won't be wrestling as regularly. While he'll likely remain with AEW in some capacity, it's equally possible he entertains an offer from WWE to return or enter free agency and wrestle whenever and wherever he pleases.

His AEW run so far has been nothing short of stellar. From debuting in exhilarating fashion to putting on a wrestling clinic with Zack Sabre Jr., he's accomplished quite a bit in his two years with the company but still has plenty more he can do.

These are the seven bucket-list items Danielson should attempt to cross off before he steps away from the squared circle on a full-time basis.

Compete at Wrestle Kingdom

As soon as Danielson left WWE in 2021, fans expressed interest in seeing him journey to New Japan Pro-Wrestling and work with the top talent there.

In fact, The American Dragon told the In The Kliq podcast in October 2021 that he informed WWE prior to his departure of his desire to compete in Japan. The WWE-NJPW working relationship never materialized, but AEW already having one made that the most logical landing spot for him.

The pandemic and injuries prevented it from happening sooner, but he's set to finally make his Wrestle Kingdom debut on Jan. 4 in a rematch against Kazuchika Okada.

The two originally faced off in an excellent outing at Forbidden Door 2023, AEW's second joint show with NJPW, and Danielson emerged victorious. Now he's out to avenge the injury he suffered during that dream bout and beat the former IWGP world heavyweight champion for a second straight time.

That could well be his first and only appearance at Wrestle Kingdom, but hopefully he can have more matches in Japan over the next year in between his AEW obligations.

Dream Match with Will Ospreay

Before Danielson's rematch with Okada was officially announced for Wrestle Kingdom 18, there was a hope among fans that he would wage war with Will Ospreay in a first-ever encounter instead.

Since then, however, the Englishman has declared himself "All Elite" and revealed that he'll be starting with AEW full-time at the onset of 2024, significantly increasing the odds of an eventual match with Danielson while the latter is still active.

It might be tempting for AEW president Tony Khan to book the bout on the sooner side, potentially as early as Revolution, but it should be built up as the big deal it deserves to be.

Regardless of the outcome, you can expect a gem of a contest when they inevitably cross paths. Nothing needs to be at stake as the battle of two of the best in the world would be enough to generate buzz and sell tickets.

One can even argue it'd be worthy of being Danielson's swan song at Wembley Stadium in London at All In next August, but more on that later.

Headline an ROH Pay-Per-View

In March 2022, Tony Khan announced his acquisition of the Ring of Honor promotion, almost 20 years removed from its first-ever pay-per-view.

The inaugural event was headlined by a Bryan Danielson vs. Low Ki vs. Christopher Daniels Three-Way match, and over the next seven years, The American Dragon became a household name in Ring of Honor and proved himself against the industry's most elite athletes.

Despite ROH falling under the AEW banner for the last 20 months, Danielson has yet to wrestle on an ROH-sanctioned show. He challenged Chris Jericho for the ROH World Championship three times in 2022, but all of those matches took place on AEW programming.

Danielson is currently competing in the Continental Classic, where the winner will walk away with ROH's most prestigious prize along with the NJPW Strong Openweight and Continental Classic titles. If he comes out top, that would virtually guarantee he'd be in action at an ROH event.

Even if that doesn't happen, it would still be surreal to see him take on ROH champ Eddie Kingston at Final Battle next month, if not a one-off ROH return at Supercard of Honor likely in the spring.

Another double retirement match with Nigel McGuinness would be the best-case scenario.

Win AEW Gold

It's almost egregious Danielson has yet to hold gold of any kind in AEW, but it's not for a lack of trying.

One of his first feuds in the company was with Adam Page over the AEW World Championship, and although they delivered two tremendous matches, the veteran failed to capture the belt both times.

He also failed to take the title from MJF at Revolution 2023 as well as the TNT Championship from Christian Cage recently on Collision. Of course, he doesn't need gold to feel special, but his stint in AEW won't be considered complete without at least one title run.

Having him reign as AEW world champion (if only briefly) would be ideal, but he could just as well excel as the TNT titleholder, International champion or as one-half of the World Tag Team champions.

He'd have to stay injury-free and go back to wrestling on the regular, but it's definitely doable. The eventual moment when he becomes a champion will be worth the wait and make for a memorable moment, to say the least.

Have a Proper PPV Rematch with Kenny Omega

Danielson's in-ring debut for AEW being against Kenny Omega at the first Grand Slam edition of Dynamite in September 2021 was a brilliant move. Unsurprisingly, it lived up to the lofty hype and is still one of the best bouts in AEW history to this day.

Amazingly, the rivalry has never been revisited, at least not yet. Danielson continued to pursue the AEW World Championship after Omega lost it to Adam Page while The Best Bout Machine took nearly nine months off for injury-related reasons.

Per Fightful Select, Danielson vs. Omega II was at one point considered for All In 2023 before Danielson suffered an arm injury and was forced to miss the PPV entirely. Omega instead teamed with Page and Kota Ibushi against Konosuke Takeshita and Bullet Club Gold.

Both are babyfaces at the moment, but that shouldn't stop them from mixing it up again in 2024, this time on PPV. The long-awaited rematch belongs on a big stage and have no time limit to ensure there's a proper winner.

Danielson vs. Omega is arguably one of the biggest money matches AEW can do right now, and they shouldn't wait too long to run it back before it's too late.

Compete Inside Blood and Guts

Of the three Blood and Guts matches AEW has done to date, Danielson was scheduled to take part in two of them.

Unfortunately, injuries sidelined him both times. Blackpool Combat Club beat the Jericho Appreciation Society inside the two cages in 2022 but lost to The Elite a year later.

Danielson isn't afraid to go to the extreme in AEW, and Blood and Guts is right in his wheelhouse. The only concern should be that he doesn't do anything too dangerous to jeopardize the rest of his run.

No match makes sense to do inside Blood and Guts at this exact moment, but that's because we're still many months out from when it would happen. AEW has held them in the summer months in recent years, which would be right before he has what could be his final bow at All In in August.

If Blackpool Combat Club remains intact through the summer, Danielson should be protected at all costs to guarantee his involvement in the next installment of AEW's most barbaric matchup.

Wrestle His Swan Song at All In

It's been alluded to many times while discussing our other bucket-list suggestions, but Danielson's final match as part of this run with AEW—assuming this is the end for him as a full-time wrestler—must take place at All In.

The 2023 event sold out and was an unforgettable experience, but Danielson was sidelined for it. The crowd singing along to Europe's "Final Countdown" would have been surreal, but it can still happen in 2024.

The PPV has been announced already with tickets on sale soon, and The American Dragon belongs in a marquee match on the card. Previously discussed adversaries including Kenny Omega, Nigel McGuiness are all prime candidates to face him.

It isn't imperative that he's in the main event or fighting for the AEW World Championship that evening. A swan song befitting of one of this generation's greatest wrestlers is all that's necessary and Danielson can do the rest.

He's had his fair share of moments in front of capacity crowds in the past at WrestleManias, but it will be difficult for anything to compare to the electric atmosphere inside Wembley, especially considering the circumstances.

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Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.