[2006-12-23-ROH-Final Battle] Bryan Danielson vs Homicide

[Microstatistics]

Bryan Danielson defends the ROH World Title

Right now, this is in my all time Top 50. One of the most overlooked matches in US indie wrestling history. Heel masterclass by Bryan and a focused Homicide performance, which makes his character moment at the end more rewarding. Excellent dueling arm work and consistent selling from both. Great continuity with the past when it comes to previous Bryan title defenses and the finish has 1/20/97 vibes to it. ****5/8

[cactus]

I'm a touch let-down by this given its reputation, but there's still tons to love about this. Danielson puts in one of his best heel performances, his facials and mannerisms here are so god damn smackable. Although I warmed up to him as the match progressed, Homicide didn't exactly set the world on fire for me and it felt like he was coasting by on his natural charisma and likeability. He was rather sloppy and some of the early exchanges were rather rough. I started to come around on him when they got to the many false finishes. I particularly loved the one where he was passed out in Danielson's submission and how he grabbed the referee's leg to stop him from ringing the bell after not being able to respond to the referee's three-arm check. I dug the DQ finish fake-out, Todd Sinclair was the biggest babyface in New York on this night for letting the match resume! The actual finish came out of nowhere, but the reaction to Homicide's win was so emotional and joyful that I can give that bit of criticism a pass. ★★★★

[ohtani's jacket]

This match doesn't getting going until Todd Sinclair orders the restart. After that, it's a fairly intense fight. There are a few miscues, but it's a compelling bout. Danielson's heel performance is overstated. He had one good moment where they had to force a rope break instead of letting him get DQ'ed, but mostly his heel performance was made up of him giving people the finger and hollering that he was the best in the world. The story here was Homicide, win or go home. I have a soft spot for Homicide so I was glad that he won. TBH, the work in the post-match celebration probably tops the work in the match, but I'm sure there were a lot of real emotions mixed in there. I was in two minds about the finish. The nearfall off the Cop Killa was good, but I kind of wish he'd won with the Cop Kila rather than that lariat. The shoulder stuff was pro-wrestling fluff. Danielson did a good job of selling his arm, but you're not gonna win points with me for that. Overall, I thought it was one of the more memorable matches from 2006, but I'm not sure if it was one of the best.