CM Punk made his first Dynamite appearance on Wednesday night, being interviewed by Tony Schiavone. As he discussed potential future opponents, the Milwaukee crowd would begin chanting “Yes! Yes! Yes!” which saw Punk respond by saying, “That’s someone else’s schtick, and you might have to be a little more patient.” That comment seemingly confirmed that Daniel Bryan, known for the Yes Movement, has signed with AEW.
Bryan last wrestled on the April 30th episode of SmackDown against Universal Champion Roman Reigns. The stipulation was that if Bryan lost, which he did, he’d be banished from SmackDown. It was assumed that this was booked to move Bryan to either Raw or even NXT. However, it would later be confirmed his contract had actually expired at midnight following the show. The belief is WWE was so keen to have him re-sign that WWE’s Nick Khan began negotiations with New Japan so he could wrestle for both companies. Although, nothing materialized, and it was reported Bryan had instead signed with AEW.
As neither AEW nor Bryan has publicly commented on this story, it isn’t known when the former WWE Champion will appear for Tony Khan’s promotion. Still, various sources have claimed that the September 22nd episode of Dynamite, which takes place at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York, has been considered for his debut.
