[2010-07-24-Dragon Gate USA-Enter the Dragon 2010] Bryan Danielson vs Shingo Takagi

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Superstar Sleeze]

Bryan Danielson vs SHINGO - DGUSA 7/24/10

No this is not Dragon Gate, but as I was researching matches to watch I came across the fact this finished 3rd in WON MOTY voting and I am always game to see a highly rated Danielson match. This is during Danielson's brief exile from WWE because he choked Justin Roberts out with his own tie during the initial NXT takeover of RAW. This is DGUSA's 1st Anniversary Show and SHINGO is the top heel in the company both stateside and across the Pacific. He just took BxB Hulk's hair in Japan a couple weeks prior. Seeing Hulk without his trademark J-Pop hair in the post-match was very jarring. 

I thought this match was a million times better than the hyped Doi DGUSA match from the previous year. I wonder if that's because it was 97 degrees in the building and the announcers were speculating it must be 110 degrees under the lights. They worked a much more efficient  style with less running and intricate combinations. It made for a much better match. 

Danielson targeted the arm early after winning some early knucklelock tests of strength. SHINGO did a great job playing the heel, taking powders and letting Danielson shine. The powder on the Tiger Suplex as the announcers remind us is the prelude to Cattle Mutilation was so smart. It really put over the spot and how close SHINGO was to his demise. The arm work and general mat torture is Danielson at his best. I think he thinks sometimes flying around million miles per hours is him at his best but I disagree. His instant classic against Gulak at Elimination Chamber remind me I do like Danielson especially when it is on the mat. I really liked how they set up the transition. SHINGO blocked the suplex but he could not muscle Danielson up on the suplex. In the next spot, he had to fight through the pain to execute the suplex. That is NOT no selling. That is establishing an obstacle and overcoming it. Thats awesome! SHINGO unleashed some HELLACIOUS chops on Danielson and whipped him hard into the railing. SHINGO did a great job taunting the crowd and generally grinding Danielson down. I appreciate how much they are letting their work breathe. Danielson begins his normal WWE comeback, the flying knee and elbows. He does add his Indy Springboard Dive into the crowd, which unfortunately he cannot use in WWE, but it is badass. I really liked the transition back to SHINGO. Again, Danielson is going for the Tiger Suplex because at this point he has built up enough momentum to try it again, but SHINGO resists and then switches and on the switch smokes him with a lariat to the back of the head. SHINGO goes with the tried & true strategy of dropping Danielson on his head with Saito Suplexes and then trying to make him submit with head-arm triangles.  SHINGO goes for a shitty move. Danielson lands on his feet and kicks him in the head! YES! I am glad that was countered. They jockey for advantage but after SHINGO cant negotiate the Superplex but instead Danielson hits a Super Back Suplex. He does the Foot Stomps to the head and then the Elbows to the Head. SHINGO Hulks Up! He hits a Super Death Valley Driver through Danielson's elbow. That could have been cool, but it fell flat for me. SHINGO hits his finish with a shitty spinn-y Pumphandle thingy. Thats his nearfall and then a big Lariat. He goes for it again, but Danielson hops out of it and then applies Cattle Mutilation. I am so glad WWE banned this move it sucks. Theres no struggle. The arms go limp and it doesnt look painful  but it is. Anyways, it is not on long, Danielson gets the Tiger Suplex and a Triangle choke with elbows. This is great. SHINGO has been forcing Danielson to change positions but Danielson keeps maintaining his momentum. He eventually applies the YESLock for the the submission win. Awesome!

Very efficient match. It was well-segmented and built accordingly. The transitions were timed well and for the most part made sense. The back end was great SHINGO got a couple big nearfalls. Danielson drove into his finish stretch and never looked back. I liked that he never looked back. SHINGO was still struggling and forcing him to change but Danielson too much man for him to handle that was great! I did not like the transition into the finish stretch. I get that he couldnt use the Tiger Suplex because it was blocked twice so he felt he needed to catch SHINGO unawares but still it just like "Ok, you hit your finish, now it is my turn". Still this is a great match, the third best match of 2010 is a bit of a reach though 2010 was a terrible year for wrestling, but I am glad I watched this. ****

 

 

[G. Badger]

Tank emptying all time classic match for DGUSA. This is basically the match you wanted to see if you're a fan of these guys. This is basically a ROH match dream match in a Dragon Gate ring. I wasn't sure at first but they paced this really well... again bringing this to the absolute pinnacle of what they could do. Frankly if it wasn't so darn hot in the building it may have been even better.