Daniel Garcia: AEW’s Arc Resembled My Character Arc Over The Past Year

Daniel Garcia says that the recent arc of his character mirrors the recent trials and tribulations of All Elite Wrestling as a promotion. 

Daniel Garcia was once viewed as somebody who was going to quickly climb through the ranks of AEW. In 2022, he defeated Bryan Danielson and also captured the ROH Pure Title. 

In 2023, Garcia went through an identity crisis and during his participation in the inaugural AEW Continental Classic Tournament, he struggled to get a victory until the very end of the league competition when he defeated Brody King. 

Speaking with Adrian Hernandez, Garcia reflected on how his character’s ups and downs reflected the identity crisis AEW faced in 2023. 

“It was great. I feel like AEW was in a transition period over the past couple of months,” he said. “It almost resembles my character arc. AEW’s arc resembled my character arc for the past year. Everybody knows my story, I was transitioning from a pro wrestler and then became a sports entertainer. I was stuck in limbo between being a sports entertainer and pro wrestler and finding my way. 

“I feel like that was the past six months for AEW,” he continued. “AEW kind of went away from its roots for a little bit and was seeming a little sports entertainmentish. Then, the Continental Classic fully brought it back into a pro wrestling product, sports-based product. With the promos and competition based around matches, I’m a fan of a very stripped-down product in wrestling. The Continental Classic brought that back to AEW. It was bare bones, ‘these people are competing for this.’ Super easy to follow, super easy story. It was a shot in the arm we needed, and I was glad to be part of that. If you notice, everyone started doing those backstage interviews after I did it. I’m not trying to say everyone is copying me, but I definitely think that was the catalyst for it.” 

Garcia also recently discussed tribalism amongst wrestling fans. Read his comments here. 

Garcia will team with FTR against The House of Black in a Steel Cage Elimination Match on the January 27 AEW Collision. Learn more here 

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