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Bryan Danielson has become a major force in AEW, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes. The American Dragon was heavily involved in the company's investigation and termination of CM Punk last year, and he's now opened up about the last time he spoke with The Straight Edge Superstar.
Major scrutiny was on CM Punk after his highly publicized altercation with The Young Bucks following All Out 2022. When the 45-year-old started another fight—this time against Jack Perry—at All In 2023, Tony Khan put together a disciplinary committee to investigate the situation and possible avenues forward.
The committee was comprised of several lawyers, with Bryan Danielson installed as the liaison between them and the locker room. Danielson interviewed several AEW talents and witnesses before giving Tony Khan his official recommendation: the firing of CM Punk.
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Punk's termination was announced on September 2, 2023. The Straight Edge Superstar ultimately returned to WWE at Survivor Series last year, and Bryan Danielson has now spoken about the subject on the Gorilla Position podcast:
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"Honestly, I haven't spoken to him [CM Punk] since before the decision was made," said Danielson. "As part of the disciplinary committee, I was told it's best not to reach out to him because...any sort of thing like this, there's legal stuff, and I'm not a lawyer. I'm not even, I don't even have a college degree, right? So that's kind of the last...we had talked, maybe, I wanna say the week before All In last year is the last time that we talked, and maybe just a little bit before that." [From 40:16 to 40:56]
Bryan Danielson gives his thoughts on Shane McMahon potentially signing with AEW
The wrestling world was shaken last week when news emerged of a secret meeting between Tony Khan and Shane McMahon. A picture later leaked onto the internet, sparking conversations about the former WWE star potentially signing with the Stamford-based company's biggest rival.
Bryan Danielson doesn't seem to think it was that big a deal, however. In the same interview with Gorilla Position, The American Dragon said that he's open to working with anybody:
"I'm open to working with anybody. I don't have beef with anybody. 100%,'' Bryan Danielson said.
Tony Khan recently addressed the meeting, claiming that he and Shane had a nice conversation. Whether Vince McMahon's son ultimately signs with AEW remains to be seen.
When using quotes from this article, please credit Gorilla Position and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription
