Has AEW's Bryan Danielson Been Cleared To Wrestle?

The American Dragon has been out of action since Double or Nothing.

by Andrew Pollard
Bryan Danielson
All Elite Wrestling

Having been out of action since Double or Nothing in May, many are pondering when Bryan Danielson will be back snapping bones and slapping faces in an AEW ring.

While it's not been disclosed what exactly is keeping Danielson out of action, the American Dragon had to miss a dream match against Zack Sabre Jr. at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door, and subsequently was also unable to compete in last week's Blood & Guts war. In both instances, the Washington native was replaced by Claudio Castagnoli.

When discussing the status of Bryan Danielson on the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said that there is still no news on when the hugely talented star will be cleared to compete.

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Fearing that this ongoing issue could be concussion-related, Meltzer added:

"I know in real life and everything like that, he's fine, he can function, he can do everything. But as far as being cleared to wrestle, no one knows. Getting cleared from a concussion can be any time. There's no timeframe."

Of course, Bryan was forced to retire in 2016 due to neck and concussion issues, with him then making a stunning, shocking return to the ring in 2018.

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Since debuting in AEW at All Out last September, Danielson has continued to prove himself as arguably the best wrestler on the planet, putting on jaw-dropping contests with the likes of 'Hangman' Adam Page, Kenny Omega, Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.