Bryan Danielson Signs AEW Contract After WWE Exit, Debuts at All Out 2021

Bryan Danielson—previously known as Daniel Bryan to WWE fans—made his televised debut for All Elite Wrestling on Sunday to bring an end to recent speculation over his future in professional wrestling.

His WWE departure came to fruition amid rumors that he was poised to sign with the newer company.

His appearance at AEW All Out on Sunday comes just over five months since the leader of the Yes Movement lost a Universal Championship match with his career hanging in the balance to Roman Reigns on the April 30 edition of SmackDown.

After that match, The Tribal Chief hit Bryan with a con-chair-to, and Bryan's WWE.com profile was moved to the alumni section, which suggested he was potentially done with the company or at least poised to take a significant amount of time off.

Shortly after the loss to Reigns, multiple outlets reported that Bryan's contract with WWE had come to an end, meaning he was free to sign anywhere.

Fightful Select (h/t Felix Upton of Ringside News) later reported that it spoke with multiple AEW sources who were of the belief Bryan would re-sign with WWE. Even so, the possibility of the 40-year-old jumping ship remained.

The thought of Bryan being a free agent was huge since he is one of the biggest stars in wrestling and had been under contract with WWE for the past decade.

While a significant portion of his time in the company was spent on the injured list and even in retirement from in-ring competition because of head and neck injuries, he had been a huge player when active since 2011.

Bryan became the biggest and most popular performer in the business in 2013 and went on to win the World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 30. His run at the top was short-lived since injuries forced him into retirement in 2016, but he resumed being a top guy on his return to the ring two years later.

The five-time WWE world champion was in a marquee match as recently as WrestleMania 37 in April, when he competed against Reigns and Edge in the main event of Night 2.

Vince McMahon and Co. had infinite reasons to want to retain Bryan, especially since it is facing more competition from other companies than it has in years because of the emergence of AEW.

Despite WWE conceivably being willing and able to offer Bryan a huge contract, the legendary performer decided to carve out a new path by joining the burgeoning promotion.

There is a great deal of hype and excitement surrounding AEW since it is still relatively new, and no shortage of intriguing opponents exist for Danielson to face under his new moniker.

In terms of brand-new rivals and wrestlers he hasn't faced in many years, Bryan figures to have the likes of Kenny Omega, "Hangman" Adam Page, Darby Allin, Jungle Boy, PAC, Fenix and Penta El Zero Miedo high on his list.

AEW has signed many high-profile performers who previously worked for WWE, including CM Punk, Adam Cole and Jon Moxley, but bringing in Danielson may be its biggest coup yet.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player below (warning: some language NSFW).