brian danielson he is known for being one of the best technical wrestlers in professional wrestling history, but even that status does not preclude him from receiving a number of major injuries throughout his career. Unfortunately, Danielson has had a fighting career that has been plagued by injuries at times, even leading to an early (but temporary) retirement for a couple of years.
The professional wrestling industry can really be a dangerous place at times, with performers putting their bodies on the line every night, and even the best of the best sometimes feel the pain of business risks. Danielson is someone who has sometimes been told that he is injury prone, though many of his biggest injuries have spread over time.
6/6 Shoulder Split In Ring Of Honor
During a great reign as ROH World Champion, Bryan Danielson faced Colt Cabana at the ROH Gut Check event, with the pair battling it out in a thrilling 60-minute Iron Man Match. However, early in the match, Danielson was aggressive with his attacks and headbutted Cabana in the midsection.
Unfortunately, Danielson would fall during this flurry and separate his shoulder, tearing two tendons there and tearing another one in his chest as well. Somehow, Danielson managed to continue the fight, although he had to fight with only one arm, which added more tension to the fight. Danielson would take a month off, but then return to action, continuing his title reign of over a year and fighting through the pain until the final ROH battle, where he would finally lose his belt to KENTA. Danielson then took some much-needed time off to fully heal his shoulder.
5/6 Detached Retina In Ring Of Honor
One of Danielson’s most unique and terrifying injuries came against Takeshita Morishima at ROH Manhattan Mayhem 2, which ranks right up there with Danielson’s best world title fights. The pair were very brutal in their match, resulting in a very violent and physical encounter, which was heavily influenced by an MMA style.
During the fight, and due to the stiffness of the blows, Danielson’s face severely deteriorated and he suffered a retinal detachment, in which the retina separated slightly from the tissue underneath. This required surgery, and had it not been done as soon as possible, it could have caused Danielson to go blind.
4/6 Stinger and nerve damage in WWE
During his time in WWE up to this point, Danielson had experienced a natural rise on the card, building his way over time to winning several titles on his way to becoming one of the most popular babyfaces in WWE history. In an episode of Raw in which he fought Randy Orton, the first threats to his passing through WWE began.
Danielson suffered a “stinger” during the match, which often occurs in other contact sports, and also often occurs in wrestling, with head or neck injuries. Because of this, Danielson couldn’t feel his own arms. The referee would end this match, although the injury did not keep him out of action for long, but it may have been a precursor to more serious injuries.
3/6 Neck injury in WWE
Due to his intense style, and perhaps due to his earlier nerve issues, Danielson continued to struggle with arm strength, with various nerve issues. Unfortunately, this came to a head after Danielson won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a euphoric moment at WrestleMania.
Danielson was required to undergo surgeries, which would ultimately help restore his arm strength, but would keep him out of action for most of the year, until he returned once again to win at WrestleMania, this time being crowned. as Intercontinental Champion.
2/6 Concussions throughout his career
While fans were very happy to see Danielson back, there was some hesitation from WWE to put pressure on him due to his injury issues, and they were right to be concerned as he was once again stripped of a title and out of action. Danielson had suffered from concussion issues that were determined by an MRI.
However, in terms of concussions, it was something that had been an ongoing burden for Danielson, as he revealed to ESPN that he had suffered at least 10 concussions throughout his career, some of which he had hidden from the public. WWE in order to continue his career. career, but it was to the detriment of his time in the ring, as these problems forced him to retire early. Among these problems was a brain injury, which would lead to seizures.
1/6 Another concussion in AEW
After two years out of action and countless medical evaluations, Danielson was deemed fit to return to in-ring action. He would wrestle for WWE for a few more years, before leaving in 2021 and joining AEW. It had been quite some time since he had suffered any kind of serious injury, so things were looking up. However, during a match at AEW Double or Nothing 2022, he would suffer another concussion, which appeared to stem from a belly-to-belly suplex on the ramp by Jake Hager.
The extent and severity of this concussion has not been revealed, although the fact that it returned two months later is an indication that it was perhaps not an extra serious one. However, it does make some fans question if Danielson should be in the ring right now, and if more fights are worth risking. Unfortunately for Danielson, he would miss AEW’s Blood & Guts show and the Forbidden Door pay-per-view, but the precautionary measure to keep him out of action until he was 100% okay was the best option.