Bryan Danielson returned to AEW television on Wednesday’s Dynamite, a special tribute episode for PAC held at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh.
Jon Moxley retained the AEW Continental Championship against Orange Cassidy to open the show. Tony Khan announced the match a few hours before airtime as a tribute to PAC, since Moxley was his Death Riders stablemate and Cassidy one of his biggest AEW rivals.
Danielson made a surprise appearance after the match, walking to the ring in a PAC tribute shirt. He embraced Moxley in the center of the ring to a strong reaction from the crowd.
The embrace was meaningful on two levels. Moxley beat Danielson at WrestleDream 2024 in what remains Danielson’s last match, and the Death Riders attacked him afterward. Before Wednesday night, Danielson had appeared during the All In pre-show in August.
The episode was dedicated to PAC, who died Sunday at the age of 40. His final match came a day earlier at All Out, where he faced Andrade El Idolo for the AEW National Championship.