AEW's Bryan Danielson Reveals The Biggest Thing He Lost By Joining WWE

When you are as successful as Bryan Danielson is, life can be hard when the majority of time is spent on the road away from friends and family. This applied even more so during Danielson's run in WWE where his lengthy spells on the road took away precious time with his family, which he opened up about in a recent discussion with his wife, the former Brie Bella, on "The Nikki and Brie Show."

"On the independents, I had a lot more free time and freedom to be with my family," Danielson said. "I lost time that I would have had with my dad, and then he passed away. When I thought when I was done with all this, when my schedule slowed down and all that kind of stuff, I'd be able to get to spend more time with him and that sort of thing. So I thought, 'When I'm done with this run, I'll be able to do this,' and then I wasn't. In the last years of my life, I barely got to see my dad."

Danielson's father Donald passed away in April 2014 while the AEW star and his wife were on their honeymoon, which the couple took after Danielson won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 30. Family has played a big part in Danielson's life throughout his career, with his own children being the reason that he will stop being a full-time wrestler by the end of 2024. 

He announced on an episode of "AEW Collision" in September 2023 that when his daughter Birdie turns seven, he will turn his attention to being a father rather than a wrestler.

Please credit "The Nikki and Brie Show" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.