Bryan Danielson Not Bothered About Being The Top Guy In AEW

AEW star Bryan Danielson is not bothered about being the promotion's so-called 'top guy'.

In an interview with Sports Illustrated, the American Dragon said: "For me, it's not about being the top guy. I don't care about that. And it's not about leading the locker room. You can be a leader without the title. I like the feeling of big championship matches. Championship matches are my favourite kind of matches to wrestle. It's a different feeling from anything else".

Danielson beat Chris Jericho on last night's episode of AEW Dynamite, setting up a match with Jon Moxley (who defeated Sammy Guevara earlier in the show) for the vacant AEW World Title on next week's Grand Slam edition of Dynamite.

Though he is widely regarded as being one of the best professional wrestlers in the world, Danielson doesn't feel the pressure to live up to his reputation.

"I don't worry about being the best. I try to be the best wrestler I can be, and I try to fulfil the vision of what I would like wrestling to be. This is a joy. I gauge matches on whether I enjoyed them, whether I was in the moment or felt how much fun it was to wrestle in front of thousands of people. A day or two later, that's when I watch the match and pick it apart and see where I need to improve - but also to be proud of what I did well".

Continuing, he said that being a 'lifelong learner' and challenging himself in the ring helps him continue enjoying what he does.

"The idea of being the best, it's so subjective. To me, that's focusing on the wrong thing. Wrestling is a mirror to improve yourself. It allows you to get better at public speaking, for example. William Regal talks about a quarter-turn in a headlock. That little tweak makes the headlock infinitely better. I think I could work a 15-minute match exclusively using a hammerlock. That's a mental challenge, the kind that makes me go deeper with every single thing I do. I love being a lifelong learner, and that makes me enjoy this even more".