The American Dragon is #AllElite.Independent wrestling legend Bryan Danielson, known in WWE as Daniel Bryan, officially made his All Elite Wrestling (AEW) debut at this year's iteration of the promotion's All Out pay-per-view. Bryan's debut came immediately after that of Adam Cole, who arrived in AEW to rejoin The Elite following Kenny Omega's title defense against Christian Cage. Bryan took a stand against The Elite, siding with Cage and the Jurassic Express (Jungle Boy and Luchasaurus).
Danielson, who had been a mainstay of WWE television since 2010, wrestled what would be his final match for the company to date earlier this year on the April 30 episode of SmackDown, putting over Universal Champion Roman Reigns in a "championship versus career" match. Several days later, it was reported that Danielson's WWE contract had expired and that the company was pushing for him to sign a new deal -- evidently to no avail.
In July, Bodyslam.net reported that Danielson had inked a deal with AEW, with tentative plans calling for him to debut on the Sept. 22 episode of AEW Dynamite at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City. Bodyslam.net later updated its information, reporting that Danielson would actually debut at All Out.
A legend of the indie scene, the American Dragon has wrestled for numerous promotions since his career began in 1999, most notably Ring of Honor (ROH). After brief stints with WWE in the early 2000s, Danielson re-signed with the company in 2009, debuting on television as Daniel Bryan in 2010 as part of the first season of the original NXT. He then made his Raw debut as a member of the Nexus faction.
Danielson was initially fired by WWE following the Nexus' debut due to the company's sponsors taking issue with his on-screen acts of violence. However, he returned to WWE at the SummerSlam PPV later in 2010. Danielson went on to become one of the company's most beloved superstars of all time, with unwavering fan support helping to catapult him to main event status, culminating in a WWE World Heavyweight Championship victory over Randy Orton and Dave Bautista (aka Batista) in the main event of WrestleMania XXX in 2014.
Danielson was forced into early retirement in 2016 due to injury, though continued to appear on WWE TV as an authority figure. After continued tests and evaluations, he was medically cleared to compete and returned to in-ring competition in 2018.
Source: Twitter