Bryan Danielson on Neck Issues Update, Not Considering Himself Fully Retired from In-Ring Career, History of Concussions Injuries, Weekly Travel Being Difficult For His AEW Commentary Role, & Differences Between Preparing for Match and Commentary

A recent episode of the Insight with Chris Van Vliet podcast featured Bryan Danielson as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Danielson providing an update on his current neck issues situation and him being hopeful he can avoid surgery.

“So I have degeneration from C1 all the way down to T2. [Your entire neck?] Yeah. So it’s like I’m on the cusp of needing surgery. It’s this weird line. I’d like to avoid surgery as much as possible. So my last neck surgery, I never fully recovered from it in the sense of getting back the strength gains and the mobility and all that sort of thing. So I’d really like to avoid it as much as possible, especially because my son is a menace. I had a broken arm, you have a big cast, I’m in a sling. I was like, ‘Buddy, you can’t touch daddy’s arm.’ And he’s jumping on my arm and all this kind of stuff. And I’m just like, Oh no, if I get neck surgery, it’s not like you wear a neck brace, not like you walk around in a neck brace. He’s pure boy. No matter how many times Brie tells him, and I tell him, but not as forcefully as Brie does, but Brie is, like, ‘Get off of daddy’s neck!’ And he just can’t not do it. It’s just like a boy thing. Our daughter is super good about it, but he’s all boy.”

Danielson also gave thoughts about the future of his in-ring wrestling career.

“I hate the R word because I was forced to retire before. So I never consider myself fully retired. This is how I think, and this is how a lot of wrestlers think, Well, I think I could do this in this situation, if needed, or called upon, or whatever it is. But effectively for the Bryan Danielson that I used to be, yeah, that guy doesn’t exist anymore.”

Danielson also gave his thoughts about his history of concussion injuries throughout his wrestling career.

“So I’ve had 13 documented concussions. [Is the actual number more?] Who knows? I don’t know. It’s just weird, because when I started in 1999 the idea was, Oh, you just got dinged. You got your bell rung. So, with all the stuff that they’ve discovered about concussions since then, it’s probably too many. I would say it’s probably too many.”

Danielson also gave his thoughts about how the weekly travel for shows has been the most difficult part of his transition to a commentary role in AEW.

“It’s been interesting because I wasn’t anticipating being a commentator. So I was at home, and then they asked me to come in because Taz was getting shoulder surgery, and to come and help out a little bit. But traveling has been difficult for me. That’s one of the things I didn’t expect, because I’ve traveled my entire adult life. It’s no big deal. But with my neck as bad as it is, all of a sudden, it was almost, gosh. It was like eight or nine months where I was only traveling maybe once a month. I’d go to the pay-per-views and all that kind of stuff. But yeah, the weekly travel has been a lot, and it’s just been made sleeping hard and that sort of thing.

It’s also just lugging luggage around. So I typically just have a carry-on in a backpack, or whatever it is. But then it’s like being uncomfortable in the chair. I’ve made some adjustments, so I have a cervical pillow now that I travel with me, because for a while I was just sleeping with one of those hand towels underneath my neck, just so it’s not being pushed up or anything like that. But it’s impossible. I live on the West Coast, and then I also live an hour and a half to two hours from the airport, so it’s impossible for all these cross-country flights to stay in good posture the whole time, that kind of stuff. And then, heaven forbid, I fall asleep and I do this, and then I wake up like, oh no, I can’t feel my hand.”

Danielson also gave his thoughts about the differences in preparing for a match and preparing for commentary work.

“It’s way different. From a performer’s perspective, I really just need to know what my match is, what they’d like for a finish, how much time you’ve got, and then it’s like, okay. Then you talk with your opponent, whatever it is, and then it’s the physical preparation. I would take 30 to 45 minutes to warm up for a match. I learned that from Randy Orton. Randy Orton was the best guy at warming up in WWE. He would do all these things, and if he had to do something on short notice, he’d get pissed. He’s like, ‘I don’t have time to do my shoulder routine’, or whatever. Just think of how many matches Randy’s done. His entire career has been in WWE, and during that time where they’re doing tons of live events every year and all that kind of stuff, so his body’s been through a lot. So he prepared it, and I would see it, and I had my own 10 to 15 minute warm-up. But then as I’ve got older, it became much more like, Okay, I need 30 to 45 minutes to warm up. So yeah. But now from a commentator perspective, I tend to go around and talk to people about their matches. I tend to be in Tony’s office trying to understand what the main story is that we’re trying to tell throughout a match, or whatever it is, and then I write a bunch of notes. This is the thing, with most things, you write a bunch of notes, most of them you don’t ever use. But there have been times where I’ve sat there and Excalibur asked me a question, and I just go like this [blank face]. So I found out I was doing full-time commentary while I was doing a media tour of Australia, I found out it was like, ‘Okay, starting this Wednesday…’ And I was like, Oh no, I have to get from Brisbane, Australia all the way to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and then I have to do commentary and all this kind of stuff. I was so jet lagged and tired when I got [there], there were a couple times during that, obviously Taz and Excalibur carried the bulk of the thing. There was one time Excalibur asked me a question, and I just went like this. I didn’t even say, ‘Er?’ And then Excalibur just goes, ‘Well, Taz?’ But it’s been good and fun. Commentary is a skill, so it’s something that you have to learn. I’ve been really lucky and grateful to have Taz and Excalibur and then Tony. I asked Tony Schiavone when he’s not busy backstage, and he’s super busy, and said, Can you give me some tips? Because it’s not something that I’m naturally good at.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com 1, 2, 3, & 4