"I feel bad" - Bryan Danielson finally opens up on WWE legend getting booed after huge win

Current AEW star Bryan Danielson reflected on a former WWE World Champion being booed following a big win years ago. Bryan also tried to explain how it was not because of him.

Bryan Danielson recalled WWE legend Batista being booed after he won the 2014 Men's Royal Rumble. The Animal returned before the Rumble but was heavily booed after he won the high-profile bout because fans wanted to see Danielson in the main event of WrestleMania 30, who was not even in the 30-man contest.

Fans continued to boo Batista for the next few months. Speaking with Chris Van Vliet on Insight, the erstwhile Daniel Bryan admitted that he felt bad for Batista, who was booed despite making a comeback. Bryan also explained that it was not due to him, giving examples of Dolph Ziggler's and Kofi Kingston's rise in WWE.

"When Batista won that Royal Rumble. I feel bad for Batista because he worked hard to come back and all that kind of stuff. You do that with Batista now; he gets a great reaction, or any other year. I don’t think it was necessarily me. It was okay. The crowd had gotten behind a Dolph Ziggler, the crowd had gotten behind a Kofi Kingston, and they got up to a certain level, and then they were during that era, it was like, okay, then they would always kind of be pushed back down, or whatever it is," Danielson said. [H/T: ewrestlingnews]

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Bryan Danielson's current role in AEW

After achieving so many accolades during his time in WWE and AEW, Bryan Danielson announced his retirement from full-time wrestling following his match at WrestleDream 2024 against Jon Moxley. Danielson has yet to make his televised in-ring return since then.

Nevertheless, The American Dragon has taken up the role of a commentator on Dynamite every Wednesday and for special events as well. Fans will have to wait and see if Danielson will make his return to in-ring competition in the near future.