There’s no love lost between Bryan Danielson and Eddie Kingston, but “The American Dragon” respects “The Mad King” as a competitor.
Danielson has commented on Kingston a few times in the past; he once stated that the fan-favorite star could be incredible if he put in the extra effort. It’s safe to say they’re not best friends, but the two stars will join forces in the Anarchy in the Arena Match at AEW Double or Nothing.
In an interview with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Danielson previewed the bout by noting that he’s excited to work with a diverse lineup of talent in the bout. He praised both his opponents and his teammates, and while he called Kingston “a piece of garbage”, he noted that “The Mad King” is talented.
“I like the variety of the people I’m teaming with, but I also like the variety of people on the other side, too,” said Danielson. “It’s a great mix of experienced guys with younger guys. You’ve got a guy like Daniel Garcia, who is fantastic. You have Proud & Powerful, who are such an amazing tag team. And you have Eddie Kingston, who is a piece of garbage—but he’s good at what he does. It’s a lot of fun.
Danielson, Kingston, Jon Moxley, Santana and Ortiz will face the Jericho Appreciation Society on Sunday. “The American Dragon” worked with Jericho for several years in WWE, and they’re back on the same roster in AEW. When asked to name what he admires most about the former world champion, Danielson described how he appreciates the way Jericho still enjoys wrestling and remains passionate.
“One of the things that I really enjoy about Chris is that he still enjoys doing this,” said Danielson. “For someone like me—I’m 41 and have been wrestling for 22 years—it’s fun to see the guys who have been around for so long and still love it. He’s still so passionate about it. Chris brings everything he has into this, and you can feel that. His heart is still in it.”
But this respect doesn’t mean that Danielson has any intention of joining Jericho’s stable any time soon; he made it clear that he doesn’t want to be a sports entertainer.
“Absolutely not [laughs],” said Danielson. “If you asked me two weeks ago if I’d rather be around Chris Jericho or Eddie Kingston, I would have said Chris Jericho. But I do love a nice ideological battle, which we have here with the battle between sports entertainment and professional wrestling. I’m really into that. As Bryan Danielson, I don’t want to go back to being a sports entertainer.”
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