Former WWE Champ Brian Danielson Apprehends Burglar

A burglary was thwarted last month by professional wrestler Brian Danielson â€" known to WWE fans as Daniel Bryan â€" after he unknowingly interrupted two robbers who were in the process of burglarizing his home in Pheonix, Arizona.

Thinking quickly, the four time World Champion chased down one of the suspects and applied a chokehold, subduing the would-be thief until police could arrive.

"Unfortunately, he wasn't in very good shape so it didn't take much." Said the 33-year-old former WWE Champ, who headlined the company’s 30th annual WrestleMania event last April and successfully defended the WWE Championship at May’s ‘Extreme Rules’ Pay Per View event.

"Its probably not the best thing to do, because you don't know what's gonna happen," Danielson confessed to interviewers. "I just reacted, and that's what most people do."

Upon returning home and disturbing the attempted robbery, Danielson and his wife Brie Bella â€" also a WWE wrestler â€" were mostly concerned for the safety of their dog, Josie.

"Our main concern was for Josie, so we came in, Brie went looking for Josie, I saw the guys running out the back, I chased 'em, I caught one of 'em, and kept him until the police got there," said Brian Danielson, somewhat matter-of-factly, at a press conference held by the couple the next day.



According to Danielson, the suspect was winded by the time the Champ caught up with him "Exhaustion makes cowards of us all, and he was very, very tired, and it literally took zero effort to take him down," he said.

When some reporters teased Danielson that his on-screen wrestling rivals ‘The Authority’ may have been behind the robbery, he joined in with a few tongue-in-cheek comments of his own.

“Who knows, maybe Triple-H (whom Daniel Bryan defeated at WrestleMania XXX) is behind this whole thing?" Brian joked.

Last week it was reported that police in Pheonix had uncovered three further suspects believed to have been involved in the break-in. The three have been linked to multiple burglaries in and around the local area.

Danielson has wrestled for many wrestling companies, including Ring of Honor (ROH), where he held the ROH World Championship and was known as ‘The American Dragon’.

By the way, the dog was fine. In fact, she joined the couple at the press conference (no, really).

Brian Danielson is presently recovering from serious neck surgery and has been inactive in the WWE since June. We wish him a speedy recovery.