A recent Bryan Danielson spot drew the ire of both fans and those backstage alike, so much so that it has now been banned entirely in AEW!
With AEW reportedly expected to sign a new deal with Warner Brothers Discovery in the near future, the promotion has taken steps regarding talent and audience safety to ban or require approval for certain moves and in-ring spots. The list, which was revealed in a leaked document, contains spots like all variations of the piledriver, unprotected chair shots to the head and any injury angles.
Now, Dave Meltzer has given more insight into the banned moves list and how those backstage have reacted to the move.
Speaking on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer confirmed the report and drew specific attention to an injury spot at Forbidden Door which saw Bryan Danielson convulse during his match with Kazuchika Okada.
Those backstage are said to have not supported the spot’s inclusion and have since banned Danielson from ever doing it again.
“I actually have heard from a lot of guys. I asked a lot of guys, the story’s obviously true. You know, I mean, everything that you read and everything like that. I mean, there’s a list and all this, but like, it’s really, like aside from the fact that Bryan Danielson did the convulsing thing once, that nobody really thought was a good idea, so it will never be done again. Whether they had a rule against it or not, it still wasn’t gonna be done again.”
Meltzer also detailed the backstage reaction to the list, claiming that most of the spots had already been banned and that ultimately, no one is concerned or thinks negatively of the move.
“I mean as far as like talent-wise, it’s like people were going like, you know, ‘What does talent think?’ And it’s like, they don’t really…no one’s mad. It’s kind of like the banned stuff has already been banned for the most part other than the spitting. And of course, we can go without spitting. Right. Or bleeding and bleeding on fans, which is never a good idea or, you know, whatever. Or stealing drinks from fans, which, you know, there’s what value of entertainment do you lose by not doing that?
So, it’s not something that anyone’s concerned over or anyone thinks is negative. It’s pretty much. I think everything’s gonna be largely the same. I think some people want to go, ‘Oh man, it’s like they’re, they’re now they’re really cracking down’ and it’s like, kind of always been, most of these rules have already been there for a long, long time.”
Kazuchika Okada Would Break Bryan Danielson’s Other Arm In Rematch
Whilst Danielson’s convulsion spot was simply him selling, his right forearm injury revealed at the post-Forbidden Door media scrum is very real and will keep him out of action for six to eight weeks.
Kazuchika Okada didn’t seem too concerned about the injury when asked about a potential rematch with The American Dragon, claiming he’d injure Danielson once again if it meant picking up the victory and evening the score.
h/t to WrestlingNewsCo