[2000-02-26-ECWA-Super 8] Christopher Daniels vs Scoot Andrews

[soup23]

This is a very workman’s type match. Scoot has some solid work on the leg and Daniels sells it well. It is kind of worked a bit weirdly in the fact that Daniels is clearly the heel in the first round but here is the sympathetic face. I really enjoyed Daniels selling the leg after the triple jump moonsault. Daniels is able to hit the rolling DDT and win which is deserved because he presented himself as a star for the stuff we saw. He shakes Scoot’s hand afterwards and celebrates with his trophy. ***1/4

[Loss]

I liked this match a lot. Built slowly and had the feel of a big tournament final that felt fitting for the moment. Lots of grounded body part work with some escalation near the end without too much excess. Scoot Andrews has impressed me in everything I've seen from him so far. I also like Daniels at this stage. The finishing stretch seemed like it was just about to go into overkill, and they walked all the way to the very, very edge wrapped it up right before it got there. Not the most exciting match in the world, but good work that seems like an updated take on an Arn Anderson match, just with a little more high flying toward the end. ***1/2

[Tim Evans]

I also liked the match. Both guys are not much charisma wise but they are pretty good wrestlers. Especially Daniels who held this together well. Liked the leg work and Daniels selling the leg after the moonsalt. Surprised this was the finals as it seemed worked like a 1st round match. Got a kick out of shark boy at the end in his mask and slacks. Good match.

[Migs]

This was fine. Matwork didn't feel like it really went anywhere and in the context, I had a good sense it wasn't leading to the finish, So I found myself bored and waiting for the finishing sequence, which was indeed pretty solid.

[Moonsault Marvin]

Everything was competently worked, and Daniels sold well throughout. Daniels is a guy that plays a character in his introductions but drops it in the match, and that has always bothered me about him. Solid match.

[GSR]

This is the final of the ECWA Super 8 tournament. Opening few minutes sees them work the match around a hammerlock as both men try to gain the early advantage. As Daniels comes out on top, he goes to work on Andrews’ arm including a nice single armed DDT. Irish whip, Scott ducks the clothesline though and a dropkick to the leg takes the ‘Fallen Angel’ off his feet. Scoot then focuses all his efforts on weakening that leg. Daniels counters a suplex with a small package for the first two count of the match. Nice Northern Lights from Scoot before he’s back at that leg with a single legged crab after Daniels misses an enziguiri. Tully Blanchard-style slingshot suplex by Scoot and they’re ramping up the pin attempts and two counts. Daniels blocks a tornado DDT and levels his opponent with a palm strike. Spinebuster for the closest near fall yet. Uranage followed by the ‘Best Moonsault Ever’, however Daniels hurts his worn down leg on landing and can’t make the cover straight away. By the time he drapes an arm over Scoot it’s given him enough time to recover and he’s able to roll a shoulder. Backslide from Scoot can’t bring the three and neither can a Daniels small package. They run through a fairly choreographed looking section and Daniels with the ‘Roll the Dice’ for the win and he’s crowned the 2000 ECWA Super 8 champion. All the other participants enter the ring to congratulate him post-match and he and Scoot shake hands.

 

This was almost like a proto-ROH match. I thought it built very well indeed, slow to start off with some focussed limbwork by both men, before ramping it up with the two counts and near falls in the final third. Daniels did a tremendous job selling the leg all the way through and not just forgetting about it. Andrews was someone who I never cared for when I watched ROH back in the day but he looked good here. The finish looking a bit too choreographed for my liking is the only criticism I have.

[Edwin]

I thought this was a pretty cool match, however I wasnt particularly blown away by it. I usually find Christopher Daniels boring, but I wasnt bored during this.

 

Thought the finish was perfectly timed and didnt think they went overboard which was neat.

[Stiva]

Really enjoyable, simple pro wrestling match with good performances from both guys. I thought the big spots and near falls were earned after some strong work in the opening and the final stretch wasn't rushed to or through; it all felt like a natural scale upwards. The one thing that really frustrated me through it all was the ref. The dude was counting like he was a heel special ref who was trying to get his buddy a cheap win for every single fall. It's hard for there to be any real drama in a near fall if the ref is counting at lightning speed. That's a minor nitpick though and it doesn't take away from a really well constructed match.