Bryan Danielson has been dealing with neck issues for a very long time and it’s clearly affected his everyday life. Unsurprisingly, Danielson has now revealed how his neck issues have made traveling difficult for him as well.
While speaking on Wrestle Radio Australia, Bryan Danielson revealed that his neck feels fine at times but can also be painful. Staying home has helped, since he mostly only travels for AEW pay-per-views and is usually backstage without appearing on camera. Doctors told him to avoid training or heavy exercise for three to four months and focus on rehab, which improved things for a while.
However, long flights make his neck worse. After a 15-hour trip from San Francisco to Sydney, he got off the plane in pain. Despite no longer needing to wear wrestling gear or maintain the same appearance, he still trains hard.
Recently, Danielson did heavy squats on leg day even though he was already hurting. His wife often reminds him to rest, but he sticks to his set workout schedule and refuses to skip planned exercises like deadlifts.
“How’s my neck? So, good—except when it’s not. When I’m at home, it’s been a blessing. I’ve mostly stayed home, only coming out for AEW pay-per-views. I’ve been backstage at almost all of them, even if I haven’t appeared in front of the audience. They told me not to train or exercise for three or four months, just rehab. I started to feel pretty good. But then you take these long flights—like a 15-hour flight from San Francisco to Sydney—and I get off the plane like, ‘Oh no, this is bad.’ And for some reason, even though I don’t have to wear spandex tights and show the world my body anymore, I still train like I do. On Thursday, I was in the gym doing leg day and heavy squats while in pain. I kept asking myself, ‘Why am I doing this?’ But I’m militant about my routine. My wife will say, ‘You’re hurting and only slept four hours,’ and I’ll say, ‘But this is my program. It says deadlifts today, so I have to do them.’”
Danielson stated that long flights add to the strain. Sleeping with his head against a plane window for hours leaves him sore and wishing someone could adjust his neck. Overall, Bryan admits his neck often feels bad, but he has learned to live with the discomfort and simply accepts it as part of life.
“Those long flights make it worse—sleeping with your head against the window for six hours. You wake up and it’s like, ‘Oh no.’ I wish a flight attendant could just pop my neck back in place. So yeah, generally my neck feels pretty horrible, but like anything else in life, you just get used to it. You learn to live with it.”
Bryan Danielson is still exploring alternatives to neck surgery, since he really doesn’t want to go under the knife. Nonetheless, it’s clear that Danielson is still managing through the pain and we don’t know how bad it can get considering the fact he has to constantly travel now due to his full-time commentary gig on AEW Dynamite.
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Do you think AEW should adjust Bryan Danielson’s travel schedule or provide better accommodations to protect his health? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.
September 13, 2025 1:41 pm
