Bryan Danielson talks about his passion for grappling and the underutilized legitimate holds that could still play a role in professional wrestling today.
Bryan Danielson has always respected the true art of professional wrestling as a form of entertainment. However, Danielson is equally passionate about legitimate grappling and enjoys it when the two styles merge and legitimate holds are utilized in the predetermined world of the squared circle.
Speaking with Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp ahead of AEW All In 2024, Danielson touted his belief that underutilized holds from catch wrestling and grappling should absolutely be used in professional wrestling and can add to matches. He also shared a story about Mike Rotunda putting him in a Full Nelson to show why the maneuver is banned in amateur wrestling.
"Every hold, really. A lot of holds have gone...because of the action-oriented nature of wrestling in modern times, we don’t put a lot of emphasis on holds. I was talking to Mike Rotunda about this because he was a great amateur wrestler, but also knew some of the mean amateur wrestling stuff. ‘Why was the Full Nelson banned from amateur and collegiate wrestling? I know why, it’s because it’s dangerous, but how would you use this to pin somebody?’ He showed me, and, one, it was incredibly painful and felt like it was going to break my neck. Two, it was a really cool thing that we could use in pro wrestling, but we just don’t."
Danielson then compared the world of wrestling to that of music. He said that while many people claim that music isn't what it used to be, he believes music is better than it's ever been and enjoys seeing people learn and execute different styles and philosophies.
"There is a lot of that. You see now, it’s like music now. My wife and a lot of people say, ‘Music isn’t what it used to be.’ No, music is way better than it’s ever been," he said. "There are great people doing all these different styles. If you look at Zack Sabre Jr on one spectrum as far as how he uses holds and legitimate grappling techniques, but you also look at people like Timothy Thatcher or Charlie Dempsey or Lee Moriarty or Hechicero doing these different grappling techniques with these holds where a lot of them have legitimate training and they are putting in entertainment aspects of it. It’s really cool. In modern TV wrestling, it’s hard for people to even try to put on a hold for an extended time for fear of losing the audience."
Charlie Dempsey is the current NXT Heritage Cup Champion and also happens to be the son of William Regal, whom Brian Danielson considers a mentor and friend. Danielson, on his last run as a full-time wrestler, made sure to have matches with Zack Sabre Jr. and Hecheciro. As for Lee Moriarty, he currently holds the ROH Pure Title, a belt once held by Danielson. Danielson also touted Moriarty as a young talent he would like to mentor back when the Blackpool Combat Club was first formed.
Now, Danielson must entirely focus on AEW All In. His entire career could come to an end at the event if he fails to defeat Swerve Strickland for the AEW World Title.
Fans can check out the full card for AEW All In here. Fightful will have live coverage of the event on August 25.
