Why Bryan Danielson Doesn't Do The "Yes" Chant In AEW, Explained
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In WWE, Bryan Danielson’s rise to glory and prominence between 2011 and 2014 was truly special. A big part of why he gained the steam he did was due to his great character work, all of which started with the use of the “Yes” chant. When he won the World Heavyweight Championship in 2011, his incessant shouting of “Yes!” led to a heel turn which made him a main eventer. From there, the popularity of the “Yes!” chant helped to elevate him to being one of the top babyfaces on the roster, and in many ways it existed as a rallying cry against the authority of WWE. Since moving to AEW, Danielson hasn’t used the popular chant, and some people may wonder why this is the case.
Bryan Danielson Arrived In AEW Without The "Yes" Chant
When fans think of Bryan Danielson WWE, they will very likely think of the “Yes!” chant. Even today, fans across the wrestling world now use it in the same way they use the “what?” chant made famous by “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, with it being a staple of the professional wrestling business nowadays. Every time Bryan would make an entrance, his arms were up in the air leading a chorus from the crowd, and it helped to make his entrances special. Particularly during his babyface push in 2013 and 2014, the crowds were in a frenzy with this chant.
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In 2021, Danielson made his AEW debut at the All Out event. He walked out, did his usual side jog to the ring, stood up on the ropes and soaked in the crowd. It was all traditional Danielson, but the “Yes!” chant was missing from the entrance, and it has continued to be absent. Only once has Danielson led the crowd with the chant, and it came before hitting the running knee in his Iron Man match against MJF this year. Aside from that, it has been absolutely nowhere to be seen.
Bryan Danielson Wanted To Respect WWE’s Intellectual Property
Following his All Out debut, Danielson appeared in the media scrum and explained how there are some issues regarding the copyright behind the chant itself, and he went on to further explain this in an interview with Brandon Walker on Rasslin’, "I'm not doing it myself because I respect WWE's intellectual property. I don't think anything legally...they haven't threatened anything legally. I had a great conversation with Kevin Dunn before I debuted with AEW. I was very up front with WWE on 'I want to let you guys know I'm leaving. This is my debut date.' They asked me, politely, to respect their intellectual property even on some things that couldn't be legally enforced. I'm trying my best to do that. There are also certain expectations fans have of me that they want to be able to do and I'm happy they still get to do that. I'm going to do my best to avoid swinging my arms in the air." (h/t F4WOnline)
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Even if Danielson was free to do the chant without any fear of ramifications from WWE’s end, it is very likely that he wouldn’t do it anyway. Danielson has gone back to his roots, focusing more on his aggressive side and in-ring work, and doing the chants to force chants out from the crowd would be out of character. Danielson explained on The Sessions with Renee Pacquette that he felt forced in WWE to do it. “I’ve never had the knee-jerk reaction to do the yes! I either purposely did it on my own thinking that this was really funny and fun, or I was forced to do it. That picture that they have got behind me, that is from the main event of WrestleMania 30 where I have two titles. My neck was in really bad shape and the people at ringside went ‘Keep yes-ing! Keep yes-ing!’ I was like oh this sucks.” So, don’t expect it to show up in AEW. (h/t Inside The Ropes)
