Bryan Danielson is one of the most famous vegans on wrestling, even though he was forced to abandon his diet for health reasons.
Upon his debut in the WWE, Michael Cole derided him constantly on commentary, calling him a “nerd” and claiming he could never get a girlfriend due to his vegan diet.
However, he overcame these deficiencies to become one of the most popular wrestlers in the world, main eventing WrestleMania twice – in 2014 and 2021.
Is Bryan Danielson Still A Vegan?
Bryan Danielson had to stop being a vegan in 2012 because he developed a soy intolerance, which many meat-alternatives contained.
This made it very difficult for him to eat a completely meat-free diet, while still getting all the necessary vitamins, minerals and proteins while working on the road with the WWE.
To improve his protein intake, he drinks vegan protein shakes as well as eating fish, like Salmon, although he tries to eat a plant-based diet whenever he can.
I try to stay mostly plant-based. Although, especially with my concussion history, I’ve started eating more fatty fishes and stuff like that. Once or twice a week, I’ll do salmon, or something similar. I do a lot of vegan protein shakes.
Bryan Danielson on eating fish, along with his plant-based diet.
Why Did Bryan Danielson Become A Vegan?
Bryan Danielson turned vegan in 2009 because he suffered from three staph infections, and his body was using so much energy processing the meat he was eating.
His immune system was compromised, so to save energy he switched to an all-vegan diet to help supplement his recovery.
“My immune system is really weak and the idea was that meats take more energy for my body to process. So if you stop eating meat then you have more energy to fight of bacteria.”
Bryan Danielson on why he became a vegan
The AEW star also did so on a moral level, wanting to save the lives of as many animals as he possibly can.
He used this veganism to craft his “planet’s champion” character in WWE, using his militant veganism as a stick to beat his opponents with and make the crowd boo him (despite im being correct).
In every bite of meat you should hear the screaming of innocent animals in agony,”
Fellow AEW wrestler Kenny Omega is also rumored to be Vegan, as well as following the straight-edge lifestyle employed by CM Punk and Darby Allin.