Christopher Daniels on his backstage role in AEW, his AEW Dynamite segment with MJF, and the ROH relaunch

By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

PWMania interview with guest Christopher Daniels
Interview conducted by Scott Mitchell
Interview available at PWMania.com

On his backstage role in AEW: “I take a lot of pride when they come to me for anything. That’s a badge of honor for me. I’m very happy to give advice. I want to help guys not only succeed but help them to try to avoid the mistakes that I made. I don’t think I know everything about professional wrestling. All I can do is give my experience, and my perception of what I think works for a certain talent. In the end, the talents have been great. I tell them all the time that they don’t have to listen to me. This is just my point of view and how I feel. If they try it, or even if they don’t, it’s their choice. I respect their decision as long as they hear me out. So many of the guys respect my decisions, and it’s a lot of fun to be able to see guys take advice that I give them, and then when it works, they’re happy and decide to keep it in their skillset.”

His segment with MJF on AEW Dynamite: “It was a bit of a surprise. That wasn’t the original plan. There was an idea to do something with someone else from Bryan’s past. At the eleventh hour, it all fell through, and we were in Laredo and scrambled for a backup plan. I remember speaking with MJF and Jerry Lynn, and I told them I’ve known Bryan since 2001, so I could help out. Once I threw that suggestion out, we kicked the idea around. Max and I took an opportunity to go back and forth about what my relationship with Bryan was, and how we would steer this particular segment. I was really happy. I’m always happy to contribute to the on-screen product.”

His hopes for AEW and ROH: “Nothing specific. I want to get Ring of Honor back to the popularity it had right before the pandemic brought everything to a standstill. I would love to see ROH find life back online. I would love to see a crossover audience that loves both AEW and WWE enjoying Ring of Honor. That would be awesome. I would love to see an opportunity for ROH to return to television. But I also understand the situation we are in with AEW and Warner Broadcasting. Maybe in the future when ROH could be on a Warner affiliate that’s not TNT or TBS. But this is just speculation from a guy who falls for a living. If we can continue the upward progress of AEW, continue to grow the fanbase, solidify ourselves, and bring Ring of Honor up to that level as well, I think that would be a great situation for all of us under Tony’s lead.”

Other topics include what Daniels’ time with AEW has been like, how important it is for fans to have a wrestling alternative, the AEW All-Access reality show, Bryan Danielson, and more.