Bryan Danielson on the State of the BCC Book Club: ‘It’s Kind of Fallen Apart’

Danielson also shared details about how he spent his 43rd birthday

In the prelude to his Anarchy in the Arena match this past Sunday, Bryan Danielson celebrated his birthday–and treated himself to a getaway.

Except, for Danielson, he did not lavish himself at a five-star hotel or dine out. His birthday wish was to test himself, which he did by fasting for a day before going for a challenging hike.

“I was fasting for over 24 hours,” said Danielson, who turned 43. “Meanwhile, I drove from Bakersfield [California] to Las Vegas, got in at midnight, and was up by 5:30 for a five-mile hike.”

Danielson’s birthday was last Wednesday, where he wrestled in the main event of Dynamite against Satnam Singh. He brought out the best of Singh before taking part in the outrageous Anarchy in the Arena match that closed out the Double or Nothing pay-per-view on Sunday night. Perhaps it was lost amidst the chaos of the match, but when Jack Perry got the winning pin fall–the most significant victory to date of his young career–he did so by pinning Danielson.

Bryan Danielson at Double or Nothing / AEW

Last night on Dynamite, Perry and the rest of The Elite reasserted their control throughout AEW. A rematch against Danielson, FTR, and Darby Allin will surely be coming, possibly in the Blood and Guts match that Danielson missed last year due to injury. But in the meantime, he has plenty to do–especially considering he is behind in his reading.

Danielson took pleasure in hearing that people enjoyed learning about the BCC’s book club. The group, which also consists of Jon Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli, Wheeler Yuta, and emeritus member William Regal, is a force in the ring, gym, and library.

“Mox just recommended a book to me,” said Danielson. “He gave me a book by an amateur wrestling coach, and it was fantastic. It’s something like Chosen Suffering, and that’s very apropos for both me and Mox and the BCC–choosing to suffer is what we enjoy.”

The Blackpool Combat Club / AEW

Unfortunately for fans of the book club, Danielson shared that while their passion for gripping literature remains undaunted, their competing schedules have caused the group to fall into a reading rut.

“I don’t know what the next book is going to be,” said Danielson. “It’s kind of fallen apart since Mox won the IWGP championship in New Japan. He hasn’t been at a lot of AEW shows. Wheeler’s been hurt, so he hasn’t been at a lot of AEW shows.

“And I’m a horrible texter. I hate looking at my phone–so I’m really bad at responding to texts. The last six weeks, we haven’t been as deep into it as we were.”