Bryan Danielson Says "NO!" To WWE Trying To Ban "YES!" Chants (AEW News)
Celebrated pro Bryan Danielson is locked in a seemingly eternal battle with WWE.
WWE has never really wanted Bryan Danielson to use his popular "YES! YES! YES!" chants elsewhere, and this back and forth has been going on for years. It first popped up when the-then Daniel Bryan left WWE behind and jumped to AEW in 2021. Out of courtesy, Danielson agreed not to hammer home the catchphrase or even really encourage fans on All Elite's side to chant it.
Fightful Select reports that Bryan brought this issue up yet again during a panel appearance at this year's Starrcast fan fest. According to their write-up, Danielson saying that WWE wants him to quit shouting "YES" was taken as something current. They noted that Bryan had been asked to stop, then added: "...which some assumed was fairly recently".
Danielson pretty much avoided the whole "YES" thing during his active (full time) in-ring stint for AEW between 2021-2024, or at least didn't go above and beyond to encourage it or sell merchandise bearing the slogan. This was done due to arguments on WWE's end that doing so "would infringe on their intellectual property". Then, in 2023, Bryan tried to trademark the chant for his own use, but WWE again hit him with the 'infringing on intellectual property' line.
It's curious that this keeps coming up every now and then. WWE clearly don't want Danielson to have "YES", so they keep shouting "NO" whenever he tries to make it his own thing. If that's done out of spite, then it's petty, but the murky legal waters of intellectual property mean this is one fight Bryan probably won't win.
WWE/TKO have deep pockets, so it's probably best to be careful.