Bryan Danielson's story
Bryan Danielson's story
Why people are invested in the main event of AEW All In this weekend.
George Saunders shared a question on his Substack this week that was posed to him by a reader.
What is the purpose of stories in our culture today?
By way of answering that question, Saunders' initial thought also serves as the title of this post: Dang, good question. It seems the conversation will continue there, where a subscription might be required (and encouraged, at least in my mind - seriously, George Saunders has a Substack).
As I pondered the question myself and wrestled with my own inability to get my arms around an answer, I started thinking about Bryan Danielson. And I started thinking about shared experience.
Bryan Danielson tells stories. He is the main character of stories. At various points and under various names, Bryan Danielson (or Daniel Bryan) has provided opportunities for people to cheer, to rally behind him, even to boo him and root for him to be on the receiving end of some comeuppance.
These stories have unfolded over weeks, months, and even years. Danielson is known best for the underdog story. A smaller man among giants, an overlooked wrestler among typical superstars, Danielson works to overcome the odds with the full complement of underdog traits: heart, resilience, a never-give-up attitude, and so on.
The Bryan Danielson versions of these stories are memorable because he connects with people. Fans identify with the feeling that the odds are stacked against them. That's just life, that's figuring things out from one day to the next. Danielson's stories turn that feeling up to the max, and they give fans the space to come together and cheer for the main character to emerge triumphant.
That all might sound a little cheesy. But some of the best stories are cheesy. And I think it gestures towards one possible answer to the question: what is the purpose of stories in our culture today?
To provide a connection point. To create the space for shared experience. To bring people together.
If you aren't familiar with Danielson's work, let me introduce you to the "yes" movement. Known at the time as Daniel Bryan and performing in WWE, Bryan played the role of the underdog trying to win the championship. In his pursuit of that goal and in his efforts to rally people behind his cause as the baby face of the program, he started the "yes" chant.
You don't have to look far to find a clip of the "yes" movement.
When arenas full of people are wildly participating in a chant like this, you know you have people believing.
In his current run with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), likely the final chapter of his career, Danielson is no longer the underdog. He is an elder statesman, a wise veteran who still performs at the very top of his game.
Given Danielson's reputation for in-ring excellence, the pressure was on to deliver "dream matches" with his peers who are also regarded as great wrestlers. A partial list, with names that may or may not be familiar to an average or even an above-average wrestling fan:
Kenny Omega
Kazuchika Okada
Zach Sabre, Jr.
Hangman Adam Page
Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF)
Will Ospreay
Especially with his semi-announced, semi-retirement on the horizon, Danielson has been lining up one of these matchups after the other. Even with the notion of a "dream match" watered down at a certain point, Danielson and his opponents have put together some of the best moments and the best matches in AEW's relatively short history.
To give you a sense of excitement around these matches, listen to the crowd in New York going wild before Danielson’s match with Kenny Omega had even started:
Taken collectively, these matches form an important part of this chapter of Bryan Danielson's story. But they also each tell a compelling individual story. For one example, this match with Omega was purely about who deserved the title of the Best Wrestler. His showdown with Ospreay was a challenge to the up-and-coming superstar to prove it against the guy with the Hall of Fame resume.
The conclusion of that match mirrored the moment in which we find ourselves right now in Bryan Danielson's story. Ospreay and Danielson squared off in opposite corners of the ring. It was a showdown, a duel to see who could hit one final big move. Ospready was one step quicker. He's in his prime, and Danielson is not. Where the American Dragon might have once had the quicker step, he no longer does at this point in his career.
Bryan Danielson is still great. He is still one of the very best. But here we are, at least as the story goes, tagging along with him on the final steps of his journey, watching as he battles, struggles, tries to hang on while also not hanging on too long.
Whatever purpose a story serves, after all, one sure way to turn it into a sad story is to become a story of someone who doesn't know when it's time to let go.
That brings us to the main event of AEW All In this coming Sunday at Wembley Stadium. The biggest match on the company’s biggest show.
The match: Bryan Danielson vs. Swerve Strickland (the champion) for the AEW World Championship
The setting: Wembley, the biggest stadium to ever host a wrestling show. Even if the company isn't bragging about record ticket sales in this, their second year running Wembley, the visual immediately establishes All In as the biggest show on AEW's calendar.
The stakes: AEW's biggest belt is on the line, and as if that weren't enough, Danielson's career is on the line too. If he loses, he must retire.
In the build to this matchup, Swerve has turned back to some nasty tactics. This has established him fully as the bad guy here, with Danielson as the obvious good guy once again.
Part of this one will be different, though. Because Danielson is no plucky underdog. He’s not the guy trying to overcome the odds, not at this point in his career and not against this opponent.
This Bryan Danielson is still one of the best wrestlers in the world. He’s mad, and he’s planning to defeat his opponent in a violent and definitive fashion. As for the fans, we’re cheering for one more big win, a memorable moment for a performer who won’t be doing this much longer.
Even if he isn't the underdog anymore, Bryan Danielson's story gives people something to cheer about. Like so many times in his career, the purpose takes us back to the building blocks of so many stories: rooting for the protagonist as he navigates a conflict. Good versus evil. Those are stories we all know. Danielson is a master at setting them up and telling them.
It's simple, at least at its core. Danielson and Swerve have introduced a lot of nuance into their feud because they are good storytellers. But the purpose goes back to that simple premise: we want to see Danielson be the hero and get the big win.
This whole conversation about stories is fodder for a cynic to swoop in and ridicule. For those people, there might be an instinct to scoff at the appeal of a story that “brings people together.”
That might be the case, but then I dare you to watch tens of thousands of people doing the "yes" chant in Wembley Stadium this weekend and not feel something. At this moment, with all of the garbage out there and all of the reasons people find to fight, that's a rare thing. It's special.
That's the purpose of Bryan Danielson's story.