Bryan Danielson Details How Wrestling Culture Has Shifted Since His Debut

Bryan Danielson believes the lengths that wrestlers go to in order to take care of themselves has been the biggest change in wrestling since his debut.

Speaking with ABC Action 6 News, Danielson said: "I think the biggest change is, from a wrestler standpoint, it’s the focus on health amongst wrestlers and the decreased drug use, like when it comes to steroids, painkillers, all that kind of stuff.

"You look at AEW, I don’t think Kenny Omega drinks or doesn’t drink very much. I don’t think the Young Bucks drink or drink very much. CM Punk is straight edge. I’ve never drank in my life. You have all these top guys who not only not do steroids, do not do painkillers, or whatever it is, they don’t even drink. 

"Obviously, there’s nothing wrong with drinking, but, that’s a huge culture shift from what wrestling was. And I think a lot of us saw the decline of past wrestlers and the early deaths.

"You talk to a lot of the guys, and a lot of them now have kids, and what their goals are. We want to be healthy, not only healthy dads, but we want to be healthy grandparents. So that’s a major culture shift and it’s a major cultural shift in the sense of how we take care of ourselves. When I first got into wrestling, you would see guys do a couple squats and then just go out there and wrestle. Now, I’ll start warming up an hour before my match.

"But you see the same thing in the NFL; you see the same thing in the NBA. That’s why Tom Brady is able to perform at such a high level (at age 44) or LeBron James is able to perform at such a high level at (36 years old.) We’re all taking care of our bodies and our minds better so that we last longer, but so that we’re healthier when we’re done wrestling."

H/T Wrestling Inc.