Bryan admits that his final year in wrestling ‘really hasn’t worked out for me’

Bryan Danielson has said this is his final year as a full-time pro wrestler, and it will be the “most epic” year of his career. The kayfabe results indicate otherwise, as the American Dragon has lost all of his AEW and NJPW pay-per-view matches so far in 2024, while also dealing with some injuries and failing to win the Continental Classic tournament in late 2023.

Those failures are clearly on Bryan’s mind during this promo he cut on Shingo Takagi following last night’s (June 26) episode of Dynamite, where Bryan had to save fellow BCC member Wheeler Yuta from a post-match attack by Takagi. Danielson lost respect for Shingo as a result of what happened, and in general it sounds like Bryan is done with this respectful attitude that has led to all of these losses in what was supposed to be an unforgettable final year for him.

Shingo will see a different side of Bryan when they compete in the first round of the Owen Hart Foundation Tournament this Sunday (June 30) at Forbidden Door:

“What he did to Wheeler Yuta, especially with Wheeler coming off of injury, makes me lose a little bit of respect for Shingo. And now I realize, this attitude that I have of like, ‘Yeah, okay, I respect this guy. I want to go out there and wrestle, and I want to see who’s better!’ You know what, quite frankly, the last year that I said was gonna be the most epic year of my career, that really hasn’t worked out for me, has it? It really hasn’t worked out for me, has it?!

So Shingo, you want to try to take out a guy who just came back from injury, who’s part of the BCC, who I personally took under my wing. He’s like my child! He’s like my son! And you want to try and take him out just to get at me? Well, guess what? This Bryan Danielson who’s just going out there and happy to just compete and wants to wrestle the best wrestlers, that’s not the guy that you’re gonna see on Sunday. Shingo, I’m tired of it. I’m tired of all of it. I’m tired of your disrespect. I’m tired of you trying to hurt the people that I love. And you know what else I’m tired of? I’m tired of getting in these big matches, I’m tired of losing. I’m tired of disappointing my fans, disappointing my family, disappointing myself. Sunday, Forbidden Door, that ain’t gonna happen. And Shingo, you’re gonna get the worst of it.”

Bryan is determined to redeem his final year by winning the Owen Hart Tournament and winning the AEW world championship in the main event of All In in London’s Wembley Stadium.

Do you think that’s where this story is headed, or will someone like The Elite’s Wild Card add another disappointing loss to Bryan’s ledger later in the tourney? Give me your predictions in the comments below, Cagesiders.