Bryan Danielson had to deal with the WWE when trying to secure a new trademark.
The origin of the YES! chants came during his time as Daniel Bryan in the WWE. The American Dragon flings his arms into the air, pointing his fingers to the sky. As he does, he yells out the word “Yes!”, which is something the crowds soon coopted as a chant for the wrestler.
The AEW Champion has used them sparingly since debuting in the company in 2021. He brought out the Yes! Chants for the first time at AEW Revolution 2023, where he lost to MJF in an incredible hour-long Iron Man match.
They followed him throughout his run, culminating in his victory over Swerve Strickland at Wembley Stadium.
Bryan Danielson spoke with Luke James Chats on the run-up to AEW All In at Wembley Stadium. He was asked about some legal difficulty when attempting to get the trademark for the chants, which Bryan Danielson revealed that he was actually awarded the trademark.
He applied for the trademark for “Yes! Yes! Yes!” back in July, but revealed that he received “some sort of legal action” from the WWE soon after. By the sounds of it, he abandoned the trademark as he had no intention of selling anything with that phrase on in AEW.
“So it’s weird. I applied for it, but then I got it.” Bryan Danielson said. “It wasn’t necessarily a cease and desist; they got some sort of legal [action] from WWE. It’s really weird because my manager just texted me and said, like, ‘Hey, this thing is available. Do you want to get it?’ I was like, ‘How much does it cost?’ And it wasn’t that much, so I was like, ‘Okay, sure.'”
“Then shortly after that, I got an email from WWE saying, like, ‘Oh, this is infringing on this or that or whatever.’ And I’m like, ‘Dude, I’m not trying to sell anybody anything. I just… yeah, I just do my thing.'”
