Bryan Danielson Compares Main Eventing WWE WrestleMania 30 & AEW All In 2024
By Craig Ballantyne on 23 July 2025
Bryan Danielson has explained why his main event against Swerve Strickland at AEW All In 2024 meant more to him than WrestleMania 30.
Bryan Danielson’s victory over Batista and Randy Orton at WrestleMania 30 has gone down as one of the biggest moments in WWE history as it marked the culmination of Danielson’s ‘Yes! Movement’ and rise to the top of the company against all the odds. However, while fans look back fondly on the moment, it didn’t mean that much to The American Dragon himself.
Speaking to Sun Sport News, Danielson explained that WWE wouldn’t allow his soon-to-be wife, Brie Bella, to come to the ring to celebrate with him. On top of that, he was dealing with nagging injuries at the time.
“I main evented WrestleMania 30 with WWE. And honestly, it doesn’t mean that much to me. My sister and my niece got to come into the ring, right? But I was about to marry my wife the following Friday and they wouldn’t let her come down to the ring. They didn’t want her to be in the thing.
“And then on top of that, it wasn’t just that — it was like, I was going through a ton of neck pain and all these other things. So these things that seem like cool moments to a viewer, there’s all this other stuff going on in a wrestler’s life or in a performer’s life that could make that moment not as valuable to them as it is to the people viewing.”
AEW All In 2024 Main Event Is Bryan Danielson’s Favourite Wrestling Memory
Turning to AEW All In 2024, where he defeated Swerve Strickland to win the company’s World Championship, Danielson said the “whole circumstance” came together to make it his favourite wrestling memory.
“So I would say that at All In, it’s the whole circumstance. It’s knowing that my career’s coming to an end. It’s knowing that this might be the last time that my kids ever get to see me wrestle. It’s them being there. It’s the crowd reaction. I mean, the UK crowds are just the best, right? It’s all of those things.
“It’s Swerve Strickland’s performance. and being in the ring with somebody who is… I had wrestled him a year before, and seeing him coe into his full power, you see him command the audience, and that’s just a cool thing to be in the ring with someone like that. You’re seeing the growth that he had within the span of a year.
“It’s all of those things that make it, I think, my favourite wrestling memory.”
Which match meant most to you as a fan? Was Danielson’s AEW run better than his time in WWE? Let us know your thoughts below!
H/T to F4WOnline for the above transcription.