[2007-12-29-ROH-Rising Above] Bryan Danielson vs Takeshi Morishima

[ShittyLittleBoots]

This time it's Morishima's turn to jump Danielson during the entrances, and that certainly set the pace for the rest of the match. Morishima absolutely destroys Danielson for most of it - Danielson's bladejob is sick & Morishima's offense is absolutely brutal. Bryan's selling is tremendous & his big comeback was great; he shows great fire in it & gets to stun Morishima for a little while - just for a little while indeed, because very quickly Morishima shuts that comeback down w/ an absolutely vicious looking lariat. The finishing stretch is superb; some really great callbacks to their previous meetings there. Excellent, brutal sprint. ****1/2

[Edwin]

In the midst of Bryan Danielson 30+ minute main events, he switches it up and is involved in a brutal hot 6 minute bloody brawl. Both guys come to fight from the start and both play their parts fantastically in this. All that is required from Morishima here is to throw big clubbing blows and Danielson carries the rest as he bleeds like crazy, sells incredibly for the early attack from Morishima and then puts together a blitz of offense like a madman who is out to get revenge. Great match and great result as it left a lot on the table to follow up with.

[ohtani's jacket]

This was OK, I guess. It kind of showed an alternative universe where Morishima was a classic pro-wrestling heel instead of a working big man. I don't know if either version is truly satisfying. This was one of those matches where Danielson's goofy selling reminds me of Backlund except Backlund never had the vicious offense that Danielson dishes out.