A WWE Hall of Famer made exaggerations about Bryan Danielson to help him get signed by the promotion.
After a year on the independent scene, Bryan Danielson was signed to a WWE developmental contract in 2000. He spent a year in the Memphis Championship Wrestling, the promotion’s developmental territory at the time, before being released and resuming his career in independent companies, including Ring of Honor and PWG.
He was brought back to WWE in 2009 and worked his way up to become one of the top stars in the company, thanks to the fans getting behind him despite Vince McMahon’s initial reluctance to push him to a top level.
On The Undertaker’s Six Feet Under podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry discussed his role in getting Danielson hired in the first place. The World’s Strongest Man explained that he saw the star on TV, and immediately started making the case for him in the promotion.
“I didn’t train Bryan Danielson, I just saw Bryan on TV and said ‘hey y’all need to get this dude.’ Because I saw a match he had and I was like ‘this dude is as good as people we’ve got in WWE’.”
At the time, WWE was more interested in larger-than-life stars, and Henry says he exaggerated Danielson’s size to get the company to look at him.
“And I lied, I told them he was like six feet tall because they wanted bigger guys, like 200 lbs, and Bryan’s 5′ 11” maybe. To have somebody that’s a Hall of Fame-calibre wrestler that you can hang your hat on is pretty damn cool.”
Will Bryan Danielson Return To The Ring?
In 2024, Bryan Danielson retired as a full-time wrestler after being defeated by Jon Moxley at AEW WrestleDream. However, with The American Dragon recently joining the Dynamite commentary team and giving no hints about a return to the ring, many have wondered if his retirement is more permanent than first thought.
In a recent interview, Bryan Danielson seemed to confirm he was unlikely to wrestle again, dismissing thoughts that it could happen as “delusions.” He explained that this was because he wanted to avoid neck surgery, and getting back in the ring would likely lead to further damage to it. However, while he doesn’t believe he will ever wrestle at a high level again, Danielson did leave the door open to “fun” matches, although he doesn’t think they would ever be seen on TV.
H/T to F4WOnline for the above transcription.
