AEW's Daniel Garcia Discusses Being Mentored By Bryan Danielson & Jon Moxley

AEW star Daniel Garcia has had the privilege of not only sharing the ring, but being mentored by some of the biggest stars of the modern era. Two in particular hold a special place in Garcia's heart, the founders of the former Blackpool Combat Club, Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley, the latter of whom took owner ship of the group, transformed it into the Death Riders, and made Garcia an official member in September 2025.

Garcia opened up about both men during a recent appearance on the "Thrive" podcast, where he revealed that Danielson eventually overtook The Undertaker in becoming his favorite wrestler growing up. "He's my childhood hero. He's still like a really important mentor to me. I've wrestled him a bunch of times. I feel like I've had so many moments like that in my life where there's just people that I grew up really, really appreciating and that I had such an admiration for, and now I get to call them mentors, friends, and I get to perform with them and you know, have an actual relationship with them."

As for Moxley, Garcia couldn't say enough good things about the leader of the Death Riders, even stating that he has made him a better person outside of the ring. "Jon Moxley, like he's somebody who has helped me so much. He inspires me to just do better and be the best version of myself, in wrestling and in real life. He has a great family, and you know, I could talk about Mox all day like he's one of my favorite people on the planet." Garcia has previously credited Moxley with turning AEW around in late 2024 as the company was going through a down period, and looks up to him in many aspects in life.

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