Bryan Danielson is jealous of Jade Cargill

A few weeks back, my man Sean Rueter passed along word that Tony Khan asked Bryan Danielson to work with Jade Cargill, becoming something of a mentor to her. Fast forward to today and Danielson has nothing but glowing praise for the young star.

From his interview with The Masked Man Show (transcription via Fightful):

“Pro wrestling is very unique in the sense that anybody if they work hard enough, can get pretty good at this. Whether you make a living from it, that’s a different thing, but can get pretty good at the technical aspects of professional wrestling. Again, I think that comes down to a certain discipline. In my short time working with her, she works very hard. She…can I say that I’m jealous? [Laughs]. In the sense that, she’s been wrestling a little over ten months, maybe now 11 months, and she comes out with more presence and looks like more of a star than I have ever looked in my entire career. When I work with her too, she’s so athletic and strong and when it’s time to work, she works. I’ve been really impressed by her in general and her attitude. It’s easy to come in and if you get a big push, to get a big head, and she’s not like that at all.

I’ve been impressed by that. When Tony asked us to work together, I’ve been very impressed with how quickly she learns and how hard she works. Anybody who gets pushed like she does, initially, there is going to be a lot of people who are hard on her and, I’ve never had that pressure. I really haven’t talked to her about this, but there is a certain pressure to being on national TV with less than five months’ experience and going out there and having to do a 10-minute match. I can’t even imagine. The first time I ever did a live TV match, I had been wrestling for over ten years. I was completely comfortable. It’s a completely different ballgame and she’s handled it very well.”

There may be a grain of salt to take with this, considering it’s been Danielson’s job to help her grow and he’s got every incentive to promote her this strongly. But if you’re going to take someone’s word for it, it would be his, right?