Christopher Daniels Should Stay an On Screen Authority Figure

Christopher Daniels may have reached the end of his in ring career, but would make a great on screen General Manager.

Feb 20, 2025

Christopher Daniels started his in-ring wrestling career in 1993 and has wrestled for Ring of Honor, Total Nonstop Action, New Japan Pro Wrestling, All Elite Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Federation (now known as WWE) among other promotions. He also works backstage in AEW as the Head of Talent Relations. He took an on-screen authority role for the second half of 2024 as an interim Executive Vice President. At the World’s End pay-per-view in December of 2024, he announced he had relinquished the position. Was there more fuel in that creative tank? Should Christopher Daniels stay on as an on-screen authority figure/General Manager in AEW? Let’s dig deeper and look at some reasons why it could be a smart move.

Christopher Daniels as an AEW General Manager

He is Retired from In-Ring Competition

Shortly after he relinquished the interim EVP position, Daniels feuded with Hangman Adam Page. Following their Texas Death Match on the January 18^th edition of AEW Collision, he announced retirement from in-ring competition. This opens a great opportunity for Daniels to stay on as an on-screen authority figure as he has no kayfabe interest in inserting himself into key matchups.

By removing himself from the ring he can be completely impartial and unbiased for kayfabe purposes when making decisions and booking matches. In the audience's eyes, this makes him the no-nonsense, straight to the point, do what is fair for everyone hero. This can all change should he want to take on a heel persona.

If he did take on a heel persona down the road, he could put those he is allied with into key matchups to retain the heel aspect of a general manager without ever stepping between the ropes.

There is also the potential to have him come back out of retirement for a high-stakes matchup to make the match feel more intense and high-profile. This gives him the opportunity to re-enter the ring if he chooses without having to get physical in the build-up to the match. If he is portraying a babyface persona he can be the missing link that saves the babyface team. Or if he goes in as a heel, it would give the chance for the fans to see him get what is coming to him for screwing over the babyfaces in his decision making process.

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Fans are Familiar With Him

As mentioned above Daniels is a veteran of the wrestling industry and has been part of many different wrestling promotions. Regardless of what style of wrestling or promotion you are a fan of, chances are you have heard his name and seen him in the ring.

That familiarity and veteran knowledge of the business gives him an immediate credibility boost with the fans. This is similar to how Nick Aldis and Adam Pearce present themselves on Friday Night Smackdown and Monday Night Raw respectively.

He has a history with some of the wrestlers on the roster both inside and outside of AEW. This could play into storylines where his unbiased intentions are called into question to add fuel to a storyline or rivalry.

He Can Counter the Elite’s Heel Presence

As Daniels stepped down from being an on-screen interim Executive Vice President, he reintroduced Kenny Omega as a wrestler and EVP. Omega returned from a long layoff due to complications from diverticulitis. Omega is currently portraying a babyface character, but he has not always done so in AEW. Omega has been a heel character alongside the Young Bucks (when all three team up they have been known as The Elite) who are also Executive Vice Presidents. When portraying heel characters, The Elite have used their power to get an unfair advantage over opponents.

If Daniels did take an on-screen authority/General Manager role he could counter the Elite and be the babyface decision maker that keeps things fair. On the other hand, he could also be a heel decision-maker if The Elite turns face down the road to stack the deck against them. Regardless of who is portraying the face or the heel, Daniels can balance the scales as storylines play out on AEW television.

Christopher Daniels AEW GM = Speaking for Tony Khan

Tony Khan rarely makes kayfabe decisions himself live on the air. Normally those are announced by Tony Schiavone or Excalibur to those watching at home or in the arena. One aspect of Daniels's screen position could be making announcements on the air for Tony Khan. If he were to take on a position, he could eventually be the one making the decisions on camera, making a match announcement from Ton Khan rare and making it feel like a marquee match.

Imagine if Daniels is the one announcing key matchups and stipulations and Khan is effectively phased out from a kayfabe perspective. Then before Double or Nothing or All Out, Khan announces a marquee matchup. That match is going to feel different and more important because it came from Khan himself, and completely bypassed Daniels. This would give more creative options for AEW, especially as they build toward main event pay-per-view matches.