Danielson and Ospreay won’t be headlining AEW Dynasty.
On April 21st at AEW’s newest edition to their pay-per-view lineup ‘Dynasty’, Bryan Danielson will take on former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay, with the pair both looking to definitive prove themselves as the best wrestler in the world.
Undeniably a dream match, the clash between ‘The American Dragon’ and ‘The Aerial Assassin’ is worthy of main eventing any card, however this won’t be the case at Dynasty, as in a new interview with Sports Illustrated, Danielson revealed that the pair won’t be headlining the show and teased that the rest of the card is shaping up to be something truly special.
“Me and Will Ospreay won’t be the main event at Dynasty. That tells you what type of show it will be. I have an inkling of some of the things that are lined up, and I think people are going to be really excited.”
-Bryan Danielson
Ospreay comes into the match off the back of an impressive official AEW debut performance against Konosuke Takeshita, whilst Danielson most recently took on NJPW legend Katsuyori Shibata during last Saturday’s Collision in a match few would have ever expected to happen.
Speaking on his recent run of matches, Danielson noted that he’s loving the variety of opponents he’s been able to mix it up with as of late.
“I love what I’m doing. Wrestling all these different opponents, like [Shibata], Eddie Kingston, and Shane Taylor, it’s incredible.”
-Bryan Danielson
Danielson has long been considered by many to be the greatest professional wrestler of all time, although Ospreay has more than inserted himself into the “best in the world” category over the past few years.
On the development of Ospreay, Bryan claimed that his upcoming opponent is the current best in the world in the mind of modern fans, and revealed that he doesn’t believe he could wrestle an Ospreay-style match, whilst he feels Ospreay could absolutely wrestle a Danielson match.
“He’s obviously always been dynamic, but now he’s putting together the entire package of what a modern professional wrestler should embody. He has such a great grasp of what the modern professional wrestling fan wants. There are people who criticize him, and I think they are mostly from the older guard. When I see him, I think he’s the best wrestler in the world for modern wrestling fans, as far as what they enjoy. I’m not married to the idea that my take on professional wrestling is the best. I’m really interested in what the younger generation thinks about professional wrestling and what inspires them. Will Ospreay is the evolution of professional wrestling. If Will Ospreay wanted to do a Bryan Danielson match, he could. If I wanted to do what Will Ospreay does in a match, I couldn’t. I don’t think there is anybody else in the world who can. That makes me super excited for this match.”
-Bryan Danielson
Whilst Danielson admits that Ospreay is capable of things he couldn’t pull off at his age, one area he believes he has him beat is in his ability to tell stories inside the ring, with this being something Danielson feels he’s developed over time.
“There’s a great Arthur Brooks book, From Strength to Strength, and it talks about finding success. In physics, most people have their standout work before they turn 40. A lot of that is complete original thinking, and your brain changes as you get older. Yet historians, they tend to peak in their 60s and 70s. So when you say that Ospreay couldn’t do a Bryan Danielson match, he can do every move I do. As I get older, what I’ve found is the story of telling a match, that’s where I’ve got better. That’s not something Ospreay can do now. It’s not something I could do when I was 30 years old. When I was 30 years old, I also couldn’t do that Will Ospreay can do now.”
-Bryan Danielson
To close, Danielson emphasised once again his excitement ahead of the bout, believing that the match will go a long way towards establishing Dynasty as a must-watch event for years to come.
“We have a chance to really stamp Dynasty as the newest brand in the AEW pay-per-view system. I’m really excited to be wrestling Will, especially in a historic wrestling city like St. Louis.”
-Bryan Danielson
Elsewhere on the AEW Dynasty card, the vacant AEW World Tag Team Championship will be on the line, with a tournament currently ongoing to determine the challengers.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on future plans for AEW Dynasty as soon as we hear more.
