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Daniel Bryan had been one of the biggest attractions of WWE during his Prime, and he was really close to becoming a megastar in the promotion. He started working in WWE during the early 2010s, and the promotion always wanted to treat him as an upper mid card. Despite winning multiple World titles during his early career, WWE never wanted to promote him as a main eventer.
Daniel Bryan became a fan favourite after he entered his Tag Team storyline with Kane, and his "Yes!" and "No!" chants made him really famous among the WWE fans. In 2014, the same was at the peak, and the fans could not see anything beyond him. He was supposed to have a non title one on one match with Triple H at WrestleMania XXX, but the fans wanted to see him win the World title.
Daniel Bryan reveals why he left WWE to join AEW
Seeing the crazy fan support, WWE officials had no other option but to not only feature him in the World title picture at the mentioned event, but also have him win the title on the main event of the show. But even after having so much success, he decided to leave the promotion in 2021. Recently, he revealed why he left WWE for AEW while speaking with Chris Van Vliet on the Insight Podcast;
Daniel Bryan left WWE in 2021 and joined AEW on the same year
"Yes [his passion for wrestling led him to sign with AEW]. You know, also the idea of wanting to try something new, like I always kind of wanted to push myself. I knew it was probably the last wrestling contract I'd ever sign, you know. I wanted to see — I had watched Cody wrestle Penta, and I used to ride with Cody. He did this, like, they're both standing on the top, and Cody does this top rope Frankensteiner on Penta.
Daniel Bryan is presently semi retired from in ring action
"Like, [I thought] is that what you have to do? Part of it is scary, and part of it is like intriguing, like, 'Oh, can I do this? I used to be able to do this style. Can I still do this style?' And this is the style that I gravitate towards, like a more athletic, sports-based style." said Bryan, regarding leaving WWE for AEW.
Despite being a huge fan favourite, Daniel Bryan could not rejoice in the success for long because he suffered multiple injuries, which kept him out of action for a long time. He even had to retire in 2015; however, he returned to action in 2018. He is still active in AEW, but he is semi retired from in ring action due to the multiple injuries. Chances are very unlikely that he would ever be able to return to action on a full time basis.
