Bryan Danielson Discusses Differences Between WWE’s Vince McMahon and AEW’s Tony Khan

Photo credit: AEW

Prior to his match against All Elite Wrestling World champion Kenny Omega on Wednesday night’s Grand Slam edition of AEW Dynamite, Bryan Danielson discussed his move from WWE to AEW and compared the heads of both companies.

Appearing on WFAN’s Moose & Maggie (h/t WrestlingInc.com’s Eric Mutter), Danielson noted that there are some significant similarities and differences between AEW President Tony Khan and WWE Chairman Vince McMahon:

“I think if you were to speak to both of them, if you were to interview both of them, I think you would be like ‘Wow. You could not meet two more different people.’ But I see a lot of similarities in them. And one of the things I think they would both respect about each other is the hard work. Neither of them sleep much, and they take on so much, and I think that’s incredible. One of the things that’s very different is communicating with them. When you first communicate with Vince McMahon, it’s very intimidating because he’s somebody who speaks deliberately. You ask him a question, he won’t answer right away, and not because he’s trying to impose his will on your or anything like that, just because he doesn’t want to give you a thoughtless response.

“When you talk to Tony, you can feel Tony’s excitement. I don’t remember meeting Tony, but we had met previously several years ago. It was probably just a ‘Oh hi!’ or something like that. But I was walking out right before walking out before All Out, and Tony was like ‘Bryan! It’s so great to see you!’ He gives me a big hug and literally, before I’m about to walk out he’s like ‘Bryan! LET’S GO!’ It was just wild, you know what I mean? I really enjoy talking with Tony on the phone and all that kind of stuff, and all our interactions have been great.”

Outside observers may have the impression that McMahon is a cold, heartless businessman, but Danielson has made it clear since leaving WWE that he doesn’t view McMahon in that light.

In a thank you and farewell letter written to WWE for The Players’ Tribune on Wednesday, Danielson wrote of McMahon, “I wish more people could see you how I see you.”

Danielson also said during his appearance on WFAN that leaving WWE wasn’t an easy decision because of his loyalty and admiration for McMahon.

The five-time WWE world champion said of McMahon: “I have a great relationship with him. I love that man. And he’s done so much for me and my family, and the things I’ve learned, and that kind of stuff. So that was the hard thing.”

While McMahon has essentially always been on the business side of things, it is well documented that Khan is a longtime fan of pro wrestling and existed in that space for many years before helping to found AEW.

Because of that, McMahon and Khan seemingly look at things from a different perspective, and they have both enjoyed immense success in their own ways.

McMahon has built WWE into a global empire, and the company is generating more revenue than ever on the strength of billion-dollar television deals with Fox and NBCUniversal.

Meanwhile, Khan has molded AEW into the clear No. 2 company behind WWE in just two years, and he ran a show Wednesday that packed 20,000 fans into Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City.

Danielson was a huge part of the success of that show, wrestling Omega to a time-limit draw, and all signs point to him being one of the faces of the company moving forward, just as he was during his decade-plus run in WWE under McMahon.

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