Bryan Danielson Reveals Vince McMahon's Attempt to Sign New Contract Before AEW Debut

Former WWE chairman Vince McMahon made a last-ditch effort to keep Bryan Danielson before he signed his AEW contract.

Danielson told streamer Nick Stav his AEW deal wasn't finalized until a few days before his debut at the All Out pay-per-view in September 2021. His WWE contract had expired that May, but it wasn't until a few months later he decided on his next move.

"I called Vince in early August because I was going back and forth. I wasn't sure," he said at the 9:10 mark. "I had called Vince because he and I had a really good relationship. I called him in early August and let him know OK, I made my decision and I'm gonna do this. He had called me like one time kind of in the meantime and said like, 'Hey, what if we offered you this instead?'"

Danielson said by that point he was committed to joining AEW and had agreed to sign. He didn't want to go back on his word and return to WWE. Danielson said McMahon respected Danielson's decision because he respected Danielson's honor.

"If I was somebody to go back on this, I feel like you have a decent amount of respect for me, would you still respect me? Like, one of the things you respect about me is I honor my word," Danielson recalled saying to McMahon. "Damn it, you're right," responded McMahon, according to Danielson.

The 44-year-old has cited various reasons for leaving WWE, including having a little more creative freedom in matches and the wrestler-first way AEW tries to operate.

A change of scenery also presented Danielson with the opportunity to wrestle the likes of Kenny Omega, Wheeler Yuta, MJF, Adam Page and others he couldn't encounter in a WWE ring.

The former world champion had his last match at WrestleDream last October. He continues to work for AEW and will join the Dynamite commentary team on a regular basis starting Wednesday.