Bryan Danielson On Not Doing ‘Yes!’ Chants: WWE Asked Me To Respect Their Intellectual Property

Fans can still chant “YES!” until their arms are sore, but don’t expect Bryan Danielson to actively lead the chants.

Danielson has cut himself off from doing the popular chant, which ended up taking on a life of their own in WWE and transcending across sports, as he wants to respect what WWE helped create.

“I have done it because it’s an easy way to get a response and to get fans to show the ability of how excited they are about the potential matchup,” Danielson said on Rasslin with Brandon Walker when asked about still leading the crowd into the chant. “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 of, ‘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 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. I’m happy they still get to do that. I’m going to do my best to avoid swinging my arms in the air.”

Danielson noted that WWE fans still do the chant despite him leaving the company and joining AEW.

Danielson is set to make his in-ring debut for AEW against Kenny Omega on Wednesday at AEW Dynamite Grand Slam. Fightful will have live coverage of the show beginning at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

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