With AEW All-In Officially, there is one question that fans of professional wrestling have to choose sides on: Bryan Danielson versus Swerve Strickland; who do you have?
For some, the answer is obvious: Strickland’s run with the top title has been very good, and a win over Danielson would only make him even more of a star in the future.
… but then again, this is Danielson’s big moment, isn’t it? With the chance to forever etch his name in the AEW World Champion lineage while also getting a few more big matches in before his anticipated finale at Wrestling, dream in October.
Discuss who will be in the main event of Everything included on his Extreme life Podcast, WWE legend Matt Hardy made the decision clear: He believes Danielson’s time has come.
“Swerve had a really good run. Swerve had a really good run as champion, but it’s time for the American Dragon. It’s time for Bryan Danielson to win the AEW World Title. It’s really fitting,” Hardy said of PW Mania.
“I mean, I think if you asked Tony Khan who his true right-hand man is, who he believes in and trusts more than anyone else, who would he take advice from? It would be Bryan Danielson. He’s really been the heart and soul when it comes to AEW. I think he’s somebody that deserves a run at the AEW world title and I think that’s happening because I think he’s really excited to retire, but it’s not all over yet. It’s not time yet. It’s going to be a little bit later on, and I think we’re going to get a significant and really beautiful run here from Bryan as he really winds down his career, especially in that last stretch of the career. It feels very similar in some ways to John Cena saying, ‘I’m retiring.’ I think John Cena is going to have a great run and retire at some point. I think Bryan Danielson is going to have a fantastic year, especially if he can stay healthy.”
On paper, this fight could go either way, but considering that a loss means Danielson will never be able to wrestle again, either in or outside of AEW, that probably tips the balance in the American Dragon’s favor, as he has long stated that he wants to compete in matches every now and then for the rest of his life, even if he never wrestles full-time again.
Matt Hardy believes Cody Rhodes has replaced Bryan Danielson
While Hardy believes that Everything included is Danielson’s time to finally become the face of AEW, this is not the first time that “Version 1” has complemented the “American Dragon”, as on his Extreme life Podcast, he explained that for a while he was the best wrestler in the world, even though his time was almost over.
“He’s one of the greatest of all time. He’s one of those guys from the size class that opened a lot of doors for a lot of smaller guys,” Hardy said of 411 Mania. “It’s extremely commendable and something we’ll remember for a long time. He’s just special, man. He’s really one of a kind and there’ll never be another Bryan Danielson.”
So if Danielson’s impending retirement means he’s no longer one of the best wrestlers in the world, who does Hardy think has taken that spot? Unsurprisingly, that honor goes to Cody Rhodes, because he is, to put it simply, the biggest star in the biggest professional wrestling company in the world.
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“Yeah, my number one is Cody Rhodes. And I’m pretty sure you guessed that because whenever I’ve answered you, my answer after seeing your question about who the best wrestler in the world is, was Cody Rhodes. Because he’s the guy that’s the face of WWE right now. And in the year that he’s been through, so many people were upset when he lost at WrestleMania last year. And then he had this journey when he made it to WrestleMania 40… He won the Royal Rumble and was going to be turned away, but then the fans demanded that they go ahead and do the whole Cody thing, which just shows how much support he has and how popular he is,” Hardy noted.
“So yeah, Cody was automatically the right one. Because he’s the face of WWE, and you’re right. He circles around the Cena territory where he’s a big star. I would say he’s a lot less polarizing than John Cena. So Cody is universally liked in a lot of ways, he’s great at what he does. He’s a great promoter, he’s a great character. And as crazy as it sounds, the year he didn’t win the title also got him a lot more sympathy from diehard fans because they thought WWE messed up and they should have done it a year ago. And they’re not wrong in that opinion, you’re not wrong in that opinion. I completely understand that and I understand where that’s coming from.
“But at the end of the day, Cody Rhodes is the top guy in pro wrestling right now. Especially because he has a full-time schedule. He does so many things right in terms of his promos, what he says and how he understands the context of the program that he’s in. All the Make-a-Wish stuff that he’s doing right now. He does so much where he goes out of his way for his fans and tries to give them something. Or he sees something on social media and reaches out to people and makes sure they can come to the show. Whatever it may be… so charitable and does so much good. Cody is in an incredible position right now. And he’s definitely at the top because he has the biggest platform as well. He’s the WWE Champion. He’s probably the biggest full-time active star in the world right now.”
You know, it’s hard to really argue with Hardy on this point, since Rhodes is the top champion in WWE, sells the most merchandise of any contracted Superstar, and has accomplished more in 2024 than many other wrestlers could dream of in their lifetime. While some will quibble about Rhodes’ actual in-ring performance by calling him the “best in the world,” since he’s not even the best pure wrestler in WWE – that belongs to Gunther or Ilya Dragunov – when you look at the total package, there really isn’t even a 1B.
