Bryan Danielson made a surprise return to the AEW ring in Pittsburgh on the September 30 episode of Dynamite, a special edition billed as A Tribute to PAC.
Fightful Select reports that Danielson is not part of AEW’s television plans beyond the tribute show. In other words, despite the reaction to his return, there is no indication that his match on the show kicked off a new regular TV run.
Danielson’s appearance came about under special circumstances. Dave Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio that Tony Khan rebooked nearly the entire Dynamite card after Benjamin Satterley, who wrestled as PAC, died on September 27. According to Meltzer, Danielson was one of the wrestlers who asked to compete on the tribute show. Danielson teamed with Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, Daniel Garcia and Gabe Kidd to defeat the Don Callis Family in the main event.
🚨🚨 ÚLTIMA HORA 🚨🚨 AEW no estaría planeando nada para Bryan Danielson de cara a los próximos meses. Fightful informa que la aparición de Danielson en el tributo a PAC se debió a una situación especial. ¿Te gustaría verlo de nuevo a tiempo completo? #aew #wwe #bryandanielson #wrestling #luchalibre
— Planeta Wrestling (@Planeta_Wrest) October 6, 2026
Danielson also made peace with Jon Moxley during the show, bringing a symbolic end to the storyline that began at WrestleDream on October 12, 2024, when Moxley beat him for the AEW World Championship. That loss ended Danielson’s career as a full-time wrestler. The September 30 main event was his first televised match since then, though he did wrestle Max Caster in a dark match in 2025.
Danielson and PAC wrestled only one singles match against each other in AEW, a 2024 Owen Hart Foundation Tournament semifinal won by Danielson.
In July, AEW President Tony Khan said Danielson was physically worn down. Khan explained that Danielson’s travel schedule had been scaled back and that even work at the commentary desk could be difficult because of Danielson’s injury history.