Spotlight: Bryan Danielson’s UK Mini Media Tour for AEW All In

Bryan Danielson has spent two days in the UK promoting AEW All In, where he will put his pro-wrestling career on the line in an AEW World Championship match against Swerve Strickland.

Typically, major promotions dispatch their stars for a day or two, coordinating ‘media days’ through Public Relations (PR) agencies to maximize interview opportunities while making the best use of the talent’s time. This can be challenging for PR folk, as media tend to operate on their own schedules, not those of the company or star seeking promotion. However, when a star of Danielson’s caliber is involved, these challenges tend to fall by the wayside.

Danielson is a highly attractive guest for media outlets, happy to discuss a wide range of topics beyond All In. This is the trade-off in such engagements: while media get to explore juicy topics that will generate clicks, AEW secures valuable promotion.

Bryan was ready for the inevitable questions about Shane McMahon's recent interactions with Tony Khan, Becky Lynch's retirement, Vince McMahon, and everything in between. Being both a seasoned pro both in the ring and in media interviews, he handled it all beautifully.

Danielson's Schedule and Media Coverage

Given Bryan Danielson’s stature and the significance of his upcoming match, AEW’s PR team likely had the luxury of selecting media outlets for interviews. Danielson probably had his own preferences as well.

Therefore, I was somewhat surprised to be able find only a few interviews. Considering he traveled a long way and is such a prominent star, I would have expected his schedule to be packed with media engagements. However, without being involved, it's difficult to draw any definitive conclusions about the reasons behind this. There very well maybe a good explanation.

Gorilla Position

Upon arriving in the UK, Danielson's first stop was an interview with Gorilla Position at their central London studio.

Gorilla Position is a popular podcast that primarily focuses on WWE, so it's logical that AEW would want to reach its listeners. Bryan Danielson seemed to be in good hands with hosts James Delow and Mekz, who managed to ask some tough questions but in a professional and respectful way. At one point, they even inquired about his wife's well-being given the sexual abuse legal case against her stepfather, but quickly moved on when Bryan chose not to comment on her behalf.

Work would have gone in to making sure the interviewers were the sort of people AEW wanted to put Bryan in front of. For his part, Bryan was comfortable answering questions on a variety of topics unrelated to All In, which made for compelling listening.

Direct Coverage: Bryan Danielson: All In concerns, Shane McMahon in AEW, relationship w/ Vince, CM Punk & WWE HOF!

Other media then ran stories based on the content of the interview, choosing their own lead angles. Indirect coverage included:

• WrestleTalk: Bryan Danielson Comments On Shane McMahon Potentially Joining AEW
  

• Inside The Ropes: Bryan Danielson Addresses Shane McMahon AEW Meeting & When Tony Khan Broke The News To Him
  

• Figure Four Online: Bryan Danielson discusses changing feelings toward Vince McMahon
  

• Post Wrestling: Bryan Danielson describes how his feelings have changed on Vince McMahon
  

These news stories all promoted All In, but those new to PR might be disappointed that they did not lead with that promotion. In my 15+ years in media relations, I've encountered a number of clients that have been disappointed that journalists did not lead their coverage with promotion, and it takes some explaining that such pure promotion is far more the realm of paid advertising.

The blessing and curse of PR is that it is not a highly controlled environment, but rather a case of a journalist extracting the most interesting angles and stories. The result is that far more people are likely to read or watch genuinely engaging stories (and see the promotional plug) than they would with an advert. The PR professional's job is to make the preferred 'message' as compelling as possible so that it naturally becomes a focal point.

TalkSport 2

TalkSport is a national sports radio station with a strong history of covering pro wrestling. Bryan Danielson was interviewed by presenter and wrestling fan Will Gavin, who covered a wide range of topics beyond All In while ensuring the event received ample promotion as well.

Direct Coverage:

• John Cena’s would-be brother-in-law reveals bizarre reason he hasn’t contacted him since retirement announcement

  
  

• Wrestling star tells talkSPORT Brock Lesnar was ‘afraid’ of hurting him and gave him incredible reply

  
  

• I went from wrestling in front of 60 fans in Coventry to winning WWE title in WrestleMania main event in an epic transformation

Again, some might be upset that the focus was not solely on All In and that it was on TalkSport 2 and not the main TalkSport channel, which has a larger listenership. However, more people are likely to listen to a broader range of topics and therefore be reminded of All In than if it were purely a professional puff piece akin to an AEW-produced event advert. Moreover, presenter Will Gavin, the best person to do the interview, might have been presenting on TalkSport 2 that day due to scheduling logistics, rather than any slight to Bryan or AEW of being on the 'secondary' station. More people are likely to listen via the YouTube clips of the show that the show itself anyway.

Virgin Radio

While not a huge name in broadcast, the appearance was probably arranged because TalkSport and Virgin Radio are in the same building, making it easy for Bryan to do both.

Direct Coverage:

• Bryan Danielson's Dream Match and FIRSTS 🤼 AEW All In London

  
  

• AEW star Bryan Danielson reveals how he missed his dream match with a WWE legend

Conclusion

And that was it as far as I can tell. I would have expected Bryan Danielson to be more prominent in the media, including national print publications like The Mail, The Sun, and The Mirror, as well as additional broadcast outlets. However, not being part of the AEW PR team, I cannot comment further as I simply do not know the circumstances, logistical challenges, etc.

I would have liked to see a little more emphasis on the possibility that this could (and probably will) be his last-ever professional wrestling match. However, if that's not the case, the PR team may have deliberately avoided pushing this too hard (which is a stretch as I highly doubt they know booking plans).

Bryan did a great job, and his appearances generated a significant amount of 'smart media' coverage. The challenge in the coming weeks will be to really push All In and move tickets amongst casual fans.