3 AEW stars who took shots at Vince McMahon and 2 who praised him - Former WWE Champion, Former member of The Shield

#2. AEW star who praised Vince McMahon:

Bryan Danielson

Bryan Danielson is killing it in AEW right now, but a majority know of the wrestler from his highly successful run in WWE as Daniel Bryan.

Danielson was the top babyface of 2010s and his storyline with The Authority led the wrestler to one of the best WrestleMania moments of modern times. The "Yes! Movement" storyline carried him all the way to the main event of WrestleMania 30.

The American Dragon credits a ton of his success with spending time in Vince McMahon's company, and the two reportedly share a close bond. It wouldn't have been outside the realms of possibility to assume that Danielson would have stayed a WWE lifer as he was mostly treated very well in the company.

When AEW came calling, Bryan made it a point to leave WWE on a positive note. In a recent edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said the current AEW star doesn't like criticizing WWE because of his love and respect for Vince McMahon.

Meltzer even noted that Bryan had made a notebook when he first stepped foot in the sports entertainment juggernaut back in the day:

"Bryan Danielson doesn't like to knock WWE publicly because he loves Vince McMahon. I don't know if I've ever said this, you know, I think I have though, you know, he's got like [a] Vince McMahon book. He has made a book ever since he went to WWE, which is years and years ago. He has compiled of all the things that he's learned by and from Vince McMahon."

Bryan leaving the WWE was simply because he wanted a new challenge. By leaving on amicable terms with Vince, it leaves the door open for the AEW star to one day return to his former company. His stellar WWE career deserves a Hall of Fame recognition for sure.