During an interview with WrestlingInc.com, WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle commented on the reports of Daniel Bryan going to AEW:
“I’m really surprised at that. I never thought that WWE would let him go. Daniel was a big part of the company for the past ten or so years. He was literally the top babyface in the company for a few years, so, I’m really surprised they let him go. But Daniel is probably happier in AEW for whatever reason. I don’t know if it was money or if he wasn’t happy with the direction of his character, but it had to be something that made him leave.”
Angle also commented on how WWE is marketed differently from AEW:
“I don’t think they (WWE) can because they’re publicly traded. I think that the shareholders put a lot of pressure on the big man and tell him ‘keep everything PG rated. Gear it more for younger kids, that’s where the merchandise is.’ The WWE, their theory is, ‘if the kids are watching it, the parents are watching it too. And the parents are going to pay for the merchandise for the kids, and they’re going to pay to go see the events.’
“So they do have the right theory on it, but they’re losing the young adults. The 18 to 40 years olds that WWE had during the Attitude Era, that’s more the way AEW’s direction is right now. They’re swearing on the air, they’re putting up the middle fingers. It’s more of an Attitude Era attitude.”
You can check out the full interview below:
