WWE drops a major Bryan Danielson (fka Daniel Bryan) reference

AEW star Bryan Danielson recently garnered attention after WWE made a major reference to the American Dragon.

Before joining the Jacksonville-based promotion in 2021, Bryan Danielson (formerly Daniel Bryan) had built a reputation as one of the most popular wrestlers to ever compete in WWE. The American Dragon, regarded as a legend in World Wrestling Entertainment, left the company for AEW to work with newer talent. Currently, the former AEW World Champion has semi-retired from in-ring competition due to complications from a neck injury and has taken on a new role as a play-by-play commentator for the promotion's flagship show, Dynamite. While Bryan is still adjusting to his new role, in a surprising turn of events, his former employers made a major reference to him by releasing an old match of his.

A few days ago, the WWE Vault YouTube channel uploaded a tag team match involving Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre taking on Bryan Danielson and Sheamus. The bout was an unaired contest that served as NXT's pilot match.

Check out the match below:

It's worth noting that the reason behind the Stamford-based promotion uploading footage of this match after all these years might be to cast shade and provide context to the ongoing feud between Rhodes and McIntyre on SmackDown by showing that they have tagged together in the past. Danielson's reference in that case could be coincidental.

Former WWE star Bryan Danielson is accused of corruption by a former AEW personality.

Former AEW coach Sarah Stock recently shocked the world with serious allegations against the promotion's leadership, and the 46-year-old has since involved Bryan Danielson in the discussions. She claimed that the American Dragon was aware of all the backstage corruption but did nothing to stop it.

"Shame on you, Daniel [Byean Danielson]. You knew and you did nothing. You were in a position to put an end to it," she wrote.

Sarah Stock

@SSDarkAngel

Shame on you, Daniel. You knew and you did nothing. You were in a position to put an end to it.

Danielson has not responded to the allegations yet, and it will be interesting to see how this controversy unfolds from here.