Vince McMahon told Bryan Danielson he could participate in the G1 Climax if he stayed with WWE.
Upon arriving to AEW in 2021, Bryan Danielson was very vocal about his intention to wrestle to Japan and possibly compete in NJPW's G1 Climax tournament.
Despite the fact that he will probably not get the chance to compete in the tournament, 'The American Dragon' has fulfilled part of his dream, wrestling in Japan on three occasions throughout 2024.
In a an interview with Inside The Ropes, Danielson confirmed an old rumor floating around about Vince McMahon potentially letting him compete in the G1 Climax tournament if he would have stayed with WWE in 2021.
“So, I don’t know for sure if he would’ve let me. The last conversation we had where I told him I was gonna go to AEW. I told him, once I make my decision, i'll tell you. It was around August of that year, my contract expired the last day of April in 2021. It was early August is when I finally decided and called him and told him. He kind of asked me why and I said, well, this that and the other, one of the things I want to do is I want to work with New Japan and do the G1. He did say in that moment, I don’t know if it would have actually ever come to fruition, ‘I’d let you do that’ or whatever it is. So, yeah. I think maybe.”
Danielson was then asked if Vince McMahon even knew what the G1 Climax was.
“I don’t know. I’m not sure. He definitely knows what New Japan is and all of that kind of stuff. I had told him of my desire to do the G1 before cause I kept pitching G1 style tournaments in WWE. I said, I’d really like to be able to do this thing, so yeah.”
After rumors of a potential partnership with WWE, New Japan Pro Wrestling entered a working relationship with AEW. In 2024, WWE began working with TNA Wrestling.
Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, and PAC turned their backs on Danielson at AEW All Out. Learn more about the segment by clicking here.
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