Exclusive: Chris Daniels Discusses Independent Wrestling Renaissance

In 25 years of professional wrestling, and just as many major championships, Christopher Daniels may be the godfather of independent wrestling. The current Ring of Honor star joined us in our studio and did not hesitate to share his wisdom on professional wrestling.

If you haven't noticed, independent wrestling is in the middle of a renaissance. The Bullet Club, the Young Bucks and of course, Cody Rhodes have drug the independent stigma out of high school gyms and into American pop culture. However, compared to WWE, they are unknown to most of this John Cena centric world.

Our host, Chris Killian asked Daniels about the relationship between WWE and the thriving independent scene:

"Well, in the past, professional wrestling lived and breathed off of the success of WWE. Because that was the monolith. Everybody knew what they were. Because of Hulk Hogan. Because of Stone Cold Steve Austin. Becuase John Cena. They sort of became bigger than pro wrestling at certain points in their career," he said.

However, Daniels believes that we may be in the middle of a shift. In the past, smaller promotions couldn't help but be compared to WWE, as it was the globalized standard. But now, Daniels, like many, think that promotions like Ring of Honor and New Japan are carving out permanent niches in the wrestling market.

"Indy wrestling is becoming popular on its own. And that has a lot to do with act likes the Young Bucks. Acts like Cody Rhodes. Acts like the Bullet club. Because they don't have the WWE machine behind them. They 've on a grassroots level have become popular. Like the Young Bucks are the number 1 selling t-shirt in Hot Topic," illustrated Daniels.

While lesser known promotions are surging, Daniels doesn't foresee a turf war, instead, he just hopes fans can appreciate the new options.

"I'll never tell a WWE fan don't watch WWE. But in indy wrestling, you can widen your gaze and see stuff that's not in WWE. For all of its positives, it's somewhat a formulaic, because they have a certain style," he said.

WWE has certainly branded its own style over the course of several decades. And while they do have a time-tested formula, places like Ring of Honor are trying to develop their own identity.

"But if you're looking for something outside of the norm, you can look something like ROH. Because we're not the machine we have the freedom to take risks and do different things," said Daniels.

Even though these younger promotions are hungry, according to Daniels, the idea isn't to replace WWE but to maintain healthy contributions to wrestling's ecosystem.

"There's no desire to become a competitor that WWE. I think it's about becoming an alternative, becoming a different flavor. Everybody knows what McDonald's is, but you cant eat it 365 days a year," reasoned Daniels.

2018 may be a landmark year for indy promotions. Considering the attention that New Japan received for the Wrestle Kingdom 12, and the support that Cody Rhodes' "All In" event has already garnered, fans may be in for one of the most delectable eras in wrestling history.