Serious health update on Bryan Danielson after retiring from AEW - Reports

Bryan Danielson dropped the AEW World Championship almost fifty days ago and has not wrestled since. The legendary grappler was forced to end his full-time in-ring career after losing the WrestleDream main event to Jon Moxley. Danielson spoke openly about his health issues in the lead-up to and after his full-time retirement, but new details have revealed a potential look at the former WWE Champion's future.

The American Dragon's injuries have been well-documented over the years, especially his neck, which has been in bad shape for a while. Danielson once retired in WWE, but defied experts and was able to return. As of early November, he was still acknowledging his body is broken down, and that odds had him going under the knife before 2024 ends.

Bryan still wants to avoid surgery, and the hope within AEW and his circle is that stem cells will allow him to focus on just rehab. A recent MRI confirmed damage down Bryan's neck, and the hope then was that stem cells would strengthen the neck enough to avoid surgery, so a second MRI was scheduled to get an update on the damage. Danielson recently confirmed continued uncertainty surrounding his neck, noting that it still feels like he has a bobblehead.

On the same podcast, Brie Bella confirmed that her husband still needs the operation, but did not provide any timeframe. The Wrestling Observer notes that neck surgery is still an option, but the 12-time Slammy Award winner will be looking at a one-year-plus of recovery before he can wrestle again.

The potential timeframe of more than one year could be longer, as time is not exactly on Danielson's side these days. Other deciding factors would be the type of surgery required and the damage he's incurred. However, the 43-year-old would likely be able to return to the ring much faster if stem cell treatments were the way to go.

There's still a feeling that Danielson will likely wrestle at least some in the future. However, he is not expected to have any sort of lengthy feud, but more like a one-off program with a reduced, limited presence in the storylines and on AEW TV. There are no immediate plans for any sort of return as Danielson remains focused on health and family right now, not returning to action.

The Submission Specialist will need to receive the stem cell injections for a set period of time before doctors can determine the impact. It wasn't clear what sort of timeline Danielson will be under if he still needs surgery after the treatments, but regardless of what he says about family, it seems like the wrestling bug is out to get the ROH Hall of Famer. He has admitted that he still wakes up in the middle of the night with wrestling ideas.

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Matches set for AEW Winter Is Coming specials

AEW will present its fifth annual Winter Is Coming Dynamite on December 11 at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, MO. The December 13 Winter Is Coming edition of Rampage will also be taped.

The AEW Women's World Championship will be up for grabs at Winter Is Coming. Officials have announced that Mariah May will defend against longtime friend and foe Mina Shirakawa after the champion turned at Full Gear. No other matches are official for the Winter Is Coming Dynamite as of now, but Jon Moxley, Darby Allin, Kris Statlander, Orange Cassidy, Bobby Lashley, and Mercedes Moné are advertised.

AEW will then tape the second annual Winter Is Coming edition of Collision on Thursday, December 12 at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis, to air on Saturday. The only match confirmed as of now is Jamie Hayter vs. Serena Deeb or Willow Nightingale with the winner earning a spot in the International Women's Cup Fatal 4 Way at Wrestle Dynasty.