ShittyLittleBoots Posted April 11, 2018 Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 A thing of beauty. Just a fantastic back & forth contest w/ a real feel of struggle & urgency to it. Bryan's arm targeting was an absolute joy to watch - as was AJ's leg targeting. And the best thing about this match is that it's just a little preview of what these 2, the best in the goddamn world, are capable of together. **** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richeyedwards Posted April 11, 2018 Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 This was a really good TV main event, and a shorter more condensed version of a big match between the two. They went out there and had a simple match not busting out anything big outside of the forearm plancha. A little limb work that was sold well and most importantly consistently, it was never ignored or sold like death it was sold pretty much the same by Bryan throughout. The nak ending was very much expected and was the correct way to go as this match had no buildup and neither should beat the other yet. ***3/4 would love to see these two go 20-25 on a big show could be amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cactus Posted April 11, 2018 Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 This was a great TV match, but that come as no surprise to anyone. These guys click so well together and it's hard to believe it's been over a decade since they last fought each other as they have such natural chemistry . The way the countered each others spot felt so slick. Every time Bryan sold a body part, I got worried although that could because I still feel like the guy could end up retired again with one wrong move and not necessarily great selling. Nakamura ending this prematurely was a great way for him to generate some heat for himself. Bryan and AJ are going to tear the roof off the building once they square off again for a longer PPV match. ★★★¾ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superstar Sleeze Posted April 11, 2018 Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 As soon as I found out on Twitter, this match was happening, I immediately sat down and watched Smackdown live, which I never do. So that shows you how much of a draw this was. Great chain wrestling early and I loved Daniel Bryan's Dean Malenko-esque escape to injure the arm of Styles. Everything was snug good Euro Uppercut by Daniel Bryan, good dropkick by AJ. AJ gets the forearm plancha to the floor. AJ ends up targeting the leg. I thought they did a great job with dueling limb psychology without going to overboard. AJ was targeting the leg after Daniel jammed it and going for his Calf-Slicer. It was Daniel attacking the arm with armbreakers and the YesLock, AJ must have been watching a lot of Stephanie based on how well he blocked that cross-armbreaker. Daniel Bryan was still flying around and having AJ shift his weight and land on Bryan's head on a super back suplex was stupid. Nakamura interfering was the right call. I way more excited for a Nakamura heel run than a face run. Terrific TV wrestling. ***3/4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted April 11, 2018 Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 That bump looked brutal, but if he builds to one big bump per match like that over the long haul, he should have some nice longevity. I thought it was an excellent teaser for an even bigger match in the future. I'm not sure what flying around Sleeze saw. I'd also go 3.75*. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KawadaSmile Posted April 11, 2018 Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 That Knee+ into Styles Clash into Yes Lock sequence gave me life. Everything between those two seems so fucking natural, it's magic. They manage to build tension without resorting to disgusting bumps or anything risky, which is not only a breath of fresh air, but also safe. I hope they can revisit this sometime. What we got was just so damn good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap Posted April 11, 2018 Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 I am high vote on this. Two dudes just casually going out and having a great match when everyone knew we were getting a run in finish. I thought they laid this out wonderfully. The counters and the reversals were really well timed. Everything had urgency and was laid in well. They did a lot with the time they had and really established Dragon as an immediate main event player if they want. ****1/4 Edit: Rethinking this it was a really great TV match and probably topped out at **** to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim Posted April 11, 2018 Report Share Posted April 11, 2018 I loved this match so much. Not a wasted second and every single thing looked great. They were able to use a short amount of time to still gradually build up a match to a quick but great homestretch and get the crowd really into it. These guys are on a different level to everyone else in wrestling, or very, very nearly everyone else. Who else is going out there and having such a technically good, compact match and making it exciting and engrossing without recourse to huge spots or over the top nearfalls? Not guys like Okada or Kenny Omega, though I like both a lot. I like Zack Sabre a lot but his mechanics aren't this good. I like Will Ospreay more than a lot of people here but he might as well be a backyarder compared to these two; same goes for the likes of Finn Balor or Seth Rollins, and I like Seth a good bit too. This match was a joy to watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShittyLittleBoots Posted April 12, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2018 This was already fantastic on the first time watching it, but on the 2nd watch it became a classic. Right from the get go as they lock up, this becomes something special. Their lock up has a real intensity to it that I haven't seen in the WWE in AGES. Real fantastic back & forth after that - after a bit of that, Bryan gets the control by starting to target AJ's arm. His work over the arm of AJ is brutal; now I am a someone who loves ZSJ - I think he's the most consistent wrestler in the world when it comes to putting on ***1/2+ matches, BUT comparing his usual arm work to that of Bryan's here? The difference in brutality is huge. Just something that came to my mind while watching this - the focus & the brutality of Bryan's attack towards the arm is amazing. AJ of course sells it like the champ that he is. A couple of great momentum swifts when AJ gets his brief, but big, comeback in w/ that beautiful, also violent Dropkick, followed by another beautiful & also violent Springboard attack to the outside. Back in the ring Bryan gets the control back to his hands, though. Bryan is now fired up after AJ got to unleash some offense on him - he runs wild on him for a while, but AJ gets that amazing Dragon Screw counter to the YES Kick sequence. After that, Bryan's leg becomes the main target of AJ's attack; it's Bryan softening his arm for the YES Lock & AJ softening his leg for the Calf Killer. Bryan's selling is fantastic. That AJ striking combination rush countered into the Danielson Special = beautiful stuff. Loved Bryan's escape counter to the Calf Killer too, and goddamn it was great seeing him do that classic sell of his, of the Lariat once again. Another great sequence in the finishing stretch w/ the Busaiku Knee attempt -> Styles Clash attempt -> YES Lock. The counters in that sequence weren't "beautiful", but they were goddamn gritty. Just as they should be. Real struggle in a pro wrestling ring, in display there.Such a great, great match. Exactly how I like my rasslin; full of physicality (w/ some great selling), urgency & struggle. It's amazing how big of a difference there is between AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan & the rest of the wrestlers in the world, basically. There's lots of wrestlers that I love like Matt Riddle, Trevor Lee, Zack Sabre Jr, WALTER, Sami Zayn, Roman Reigns etc, but honestly they just aren't on the same league as these 2. Two of the best ever. ****1/2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Childs Posted April 12, 2018 Report Share Posted April 12, 2018 Come on, that match was not a classic. It was two all-time great workers riffing on television for 10 minutes. And don't get me wrong, that's a wonderful thing. It's a match I have time for any week of the year. But there were no stakes. The match was designed to set up Nakamura rather than to pay off on its own terms. Perfect for what it was but it was designed to top out in the *** to ***1/2 star range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmartMark15 Posted April 12, 2018 Report Share Posted April 12, 2018 We are a spoiled, spoiled bunch that we can get something like this on free television. Bryan on his second match back showing that he's still one of the fastest, hardest hitting, and simply most talented men in the world today. And he goes in with the best wrestler the company has seen in the last two years. Of course this was going to be fantastic. It was going to be good at the very least. But they went and did just a little extra with the limb targeting along with the smoothness of everything. Shinsuke going for the back of the head Kinshasa to Bryan was a greet heel move, and that's not even getting into his promo earlier in the night. ***3/4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingedEagle Posted April 12, 2018 Report Share Posted April 12, 2018 This was an absolute blast. I was concerned when the match was announced that it would simply be a backdrop for a Nakamura angle. While that eventually played out, they got a solid 12 minutes where Bryan showed some smooth, crisp mat work as a new addition to his game before building to a couple big spots without giving away the big match these two undoubtedly have in them. I really liked the spot where Bryan escaped the double wristlock by kicking away at AJ's arms, as well as the dragon screw counter to the windup Yes kick. No complaints on the finish or booking as it protected everyone while setting the table for bigger and hopefully better to come. ***3/4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmare007 Posted April 13, 2018 Report Share Posted April 13, 2018 Undeniably good. 12 minutes of the two best wrestlers on the planet doing a simple match were pretty much everything mattered and meant something, I don't ask for more in my wrestling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boss Rock Posted April 17, 2018 Report Share Posted April 17, 2018 This was a hell of a sprint and further proof that Daniel Bryan is indeed back. How he looks like he's only taken a week off when it's really been three years is something I'll never know, but I'm grateful for it. Loved the urgency between the two and the back-and-forth submission attempts. Bryan selling the knee after doing a backflip off the turnbuckle is the kind of selling a lot of wrestlers overlook for the sake of getting to the next spot, but that's why Bryan is one of the greats. The interference by Nak furthers the feud with A.J and sets up future matches for Bryan against A.J. and Nak down the line. I can't wait. ***3/4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DG9 Posted May 9, 2018 Report Share Posted May 9, 2018 This may one of my favorite matches just because of the meaning behind everything done in the match. I love a simple wrestling match where every move has meaning. From the early lock up and Bryan getting off shots on the arm for the later Yes Lock to Styles getting damage off to Bryan's leg so he couldn't do the back flip. All of this leads up to the Running Knee / Styles Clash / Yes Lock sequence which was just so refreshing. The Nakamura interference makes sense, and keeps the champ and the returning Bryan looking strong. Lovely stuff. **** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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