Every WWE Release Of 2021 - Where Are They Now? (Five Years Later)

Then: Daniel Bryan's final WWE match was predictably scorching. He stared at the lights for Roman Reigns on the 30 April 2021 edition of SmackDown following 27 minutes of pulsating work. It was Bryan at his best, almost like he was saying: 'Goodbye, WWE. You will have a job on your hands finding a babyface who can follow this'.

Management reportedly tried everything they could think of to tie Bryan down to another contract, but he was having none of it. The window was closing on Danielson wrestling elsewhere against a litter of opponents outside the WWE bubble, and he knew it. So, he let his deal expire in May and started looking beyond Vince McMahon's walls.

Now: Of course, Danielson's sensational arrival in AEW at All Out 2021 that September shook the foundations of the industry to its core. He'd headlined that year's WrestleMania 37 alongside Roman and Edge, and now here he was flying the flag for Tony Khan's upstart revolution. It was huge, and helped put AEW firmly on the map as a true alternative to WWE (at least in terms of major money and as a viable place for want-away stars to work).

Around 3 years later, Bryan was calling time on his career with a job to another ex-member of The Shield: Jon Moxley. He has technically worked another match since (an 8 second comedy spot vs. Max Caster on the 26 June 2025 Collision), but Danielson has found a home behind the announce desk and as a mentor/coach behind the curtain.

He has a lot of knowledge to give younger stars. A lot.