Tony Khan says Bryan Danielson is too ‘beat up’ to be on commentary regularly
Since losing to Jon Moxley at AEW WrestleDream 2024, Bryan Danielson has not been in a televised match, although he has maintained appearances doing commentary.
Despite his frequent presence on AEW commentary, Danielson hasn’t appeared in that role for quite some time. He was last seen doing commentary for AEW in April 2026 at Dynamite: Spring BreakThru.
During Tony Khan’s recent appearance on Jeremy Lambert’s 24-hour In The Weeds charity stream, the AEW President shared an update on Danielson and his commentary gig.
“I think Bryan’s [Danielson] incredible at everything he does. Bryan’s beat up, and I’ve been giving him time to rest and recover. I would love to have Bryan (Danielson) out there all the time, but he’s been home and with his family and he’s doing very well. But it’s a lot for Bryan being on the road, and a lot of the utility of Bryan stepping away from the ring and resting is him being home with his family and recovering, and trying to be off the road.
“So, I’ve been trying to take the pressure of the road off Bryan, but when he’s able to travel more and be pain-free, I think it’ll be great. I also think it’s even just sitting in the chair, and moving his head around in the monitor and stuff; it’s hard,” he continued.
“It’s harder than people understand with the injuries he’s had. People don’t realize the toll that this business and this sport has taken on this man. He’s done so much for all of us, so it means the world to have him in AEW and be part of this family, but also, that means now he’s done everything he can in the ring for AEW at this point, and I don’t need to drag him out and beat him up every week even more when he’s hurting.” (H/T Fightful)
Although Danielson’s last time doing commentary was at Dynamite: Spring BreakThru 2026, he returned to action in the main event of All In 2025. Furthermore, his latest bout dates back to a dark match against Max Caster in a June 2025 episode of AEW Collision.
Shounak Chakrabarti is an experienced sports journalist with a lifelong passion for athletics and storytelling. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Journalism from the University of Leeds and joined F4WOnline in 2025.
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