“I Was Gonna Say”: Bryan Danielson Reveals CM Punk ‘Stole’ His Inner Monologue in Tony Khan’s AEW During Debut Promo

Bryan Danielson has spent two and half years under Tony Khan’s stewardship and is now close to wrapping up his run as a full-time wrestler. Despite earning his stripes in the promotion, Danielson doesn’t seem to be seeking a championship reign at all as he prioritizes putting over youngsters. Funnily enough, Danielson said that Punk had stolen the words right out of his mouth during his AEW debut back in 2021, a month before Danielson himself debuted at the promotion.

Bryan Danielson and CM Punk were on the same wavelength at the time of their debut

During a recent appearance at the SXSW film festival, the 42-year-old elaborated on his wishes at the time of his debut, saying, “When I came to AEW, CM Punk had just debuted several weeks before and he had talked about wanting to help the younger talent, all that kind of stuff and I watched his interview and I was like, ‘That’s what I was gonna say.”

While Danielson has managed to do just that with his stint at AEW, at the time, it seemed like a better decision to go the other way in order to not come off as riding on Punk’s coattails. ”So then, when they asked me about it, ‘What’s your goals here in AEW?’ I was like, ‘Ah, I’m gonna come in here and kick everybody’s heads in. I don’t care about pushing younger guys to the top, all that kind of stuff. I’m just gonna stomp them in the face and show them that I’m the best.’ But that’s actually not the reality as somebody who’s 42 years old and who has two kids.” he said.

This revelation comes as Danielson is set to end his time as a full-timer at the promotion. As Danielson has avoided saying that he will be retiring, it seems that his role as a wrestler will be shifted towards being a part-timer. Previously, Danielson had also said that he doesn’t plan on retiring fully from wrestling and hopes to achieve all that hasn’t been able to during his career, including performing at All In.

Coming back to Punk’s and Danielson’s debuts, the two wrestlers have had very different stints at the promotions. While Danielson seems to be a well-respected entity at the promotion, Punk was fired from the promotion for his involvement in backstage altercations.

Bryan Danielson was reportedly involved in CM Punk’s AEW firing

Several reports have emerged suggesting Danielson’s strong role behind Punk’s abrupt AEW termination last year. He was rumored to have spearheaded the investigating committee following the infamous AEW All-In scuffle, which led to Punk’s eventual departure from the promotion. While he has rejected the reports, he couldn’t deny the fact that he was there among the core committee members even if not as an instrumental decision maker.

Later, the former WWE star wished his long-term peer the very best for his WWE endeavor. What’s your take on Punk and Danielson’s mindset going into AEW? Do you think they managed to achieve that goal?

Read more: Exploring All the Latest Major Details on CM Punk’s Rumored Return to WWE