Bryan Danielson has confirmed that WWE did contact him regarding the use of his signature “YES!” chants in AEW. Speaking with Tony Schiavone at Starrcast, Danielson discussed the situation.
“I think it’s odd, I just got a text message yesterday… I wouldn’t say threatening legal action. But, like, ‘Hey, you know if you…’” Danielson said. “I’m not somebody who tends to criticize people. Everybody has their different values, and they have their own values. They’re just different from mine and that’s fine.”
He also explained how he gets around the restriction while still engaging with the fans, who often do the chant on their own.
“Yeah, yeah (I knew there was no way to stop the ‘Yes!’ chant when I got to AEW) … And it’s also something like, am I not allowed to raise my fingers in the air?” he explained. “When I do it, nobody notices but I never say ‘yes!’ when I do it. I always just do this (raise my fingers in the air) and the people — so am I not allowed to do that? I don’t know.”