Career vs Title stipulation spoils outcome of Swerve Strickland vs Bryan Danielson

Bryan Danielson versus Swerve Strickland is a big match for All Elite Wrestling. On one hand, Strickland has been a champion on a mission to prove that he belongs at the top. On the other, Danielson is widely recognized as the greatest in the game, but he’s missing a huge accolade in his back pocket. This is a match where both men have much to gain and lose. At this point, the career versus title stipulation spoils what will be a big moment at All-In.

Danielson promised that if he loses to Strickland he’ll never wrestle again. That’s quite a statement from the man that many would claim as their Greatest of All Time. Danielson’s run in AEW has been everything fans thought it would be when he stepped through the curtain back in 2021. He’s elevated names while putting on several candidates for match of the year. Danielson was already standing on a Hall of Fame career. This run was just icing on the cake.

But as it became clear that his time was coming to an end, there was a rumbling to see him pick up more wins on the way out the door. Much of Danielson’s run in AEW featured him taking defeats to help shape others along the way. That makes sense for someone who cares so much about the future of the industry. But there’s something of value within the short term, and that short term calls for Danielson to win AEW’s main title at least once before he walks out the door.

That school of thought makes it clear that Danielson must win this bout. Will he retire at some point? Sure, but that point doesn’t seem to be at All-In. Even as Danielson’s body is seemingly breaking down, leading to him to perhaps retiring sooner than he’d like, it would almost seem like a travesty to see him lose such a moment. Many expected Sting and Darby Allin to lose the tag team championship during the former’s retirement, AEW did the right thing and allowed Sting to go out on top. It would be a massive failure if the same treatment weren’t given to Danielson, even if the company had to do it with him kicking and screaming.

It would be hard to find someone this generation that has given more to professional wrestling than Bryan Danielson. He gave all that his body could give, almost going even beyond that. As his career winds down, it makes sense to see him pick up the AEW World Championship at least once. This career versus title stipulation puts a spoiler on his upcoming match against Swerve Strickland. But it’s a spoiler that everyone should be OK with knowing.