Fans who tuned into the AEW WrestleDream pay-per-view on Saturday night noticed a change at the announce desk, as regular AEW Dynamite commentator Bryan Danielson was not present for the broadcast. Following the event, AEW President Tony Khan addressed the absence during the post-show media scrum. Khan confirmed that “The American Dragon” was not on the show because he had a family commitment that he needed to attend. However, Khan also provided a compelling storyline reason for Danielson’s absence, explaining that he felt it was best for Danielson to be away from the building, given the violent “I Quit” match between his former friend Jon Moxley and his ally Darby Allin.
Khan explained that he didn’t want to put Danielson, who has a history with both men, in a no-win situation at the commentary desk, especially considering what Moxley had planned for Allin.
“He’ll be back. To be honest, there was a couple of things. I think it made sense, given what was happening with the main event. I think it would have been really, really hard for Bryan to restrain himself and now knowing what Jon (Moxley) had planned, I also think it would have been really hard for Bryan to sit there at the desk while Darby is in that position, and since Bryan had a family commitment, I told him, ‘Hey, if you have a family thing tonight, it’s probably the night to go to your family commitment. Because I don’t wanna put you in a position where you might be risking your job if you get up from the desk and interfere in this match.’ So it’s worked out for everybody because Bryan was able to be with his family as planned and we had, I think, one of our very best pay-per-views tonight and Bryan didn’t have to risk his job by being in that position at the desk where he’s in a no-man’s land, right?”
Danielson, who was forced to retire from in-ring competition last year, has been a full-time member of the Dynamite commentary team since September. The main event of WrestleDream saw Darby Allin defeat Jon Moxley after a shocking return and interference from Sting.
H/T to Fightful for the transcription. Thanks for checking out this article. Make sure to follow Jeff Jarrett and all things GFE on Facebook.