[2020-03-08-WWE-Elimination Chamber] Daniel Bryan vs Drew Gulak

[ShittyLittleBoots]

This being a 15-minute WWE PPV match is pretty mindblowing. And it was exactly everything I would expect from a match between these two outstanding individuals -- to put it simply, it just LOOKED like how a Bryan vs. Gulak match should look like + the storytelling was superb throughout; the whole story leading up to this was Gulak informing Bryan that he knows the weaknesses in his game, and they played up to that story here pretty much perfectly. Even when you look at it without paying attention to the smaller details, it's mostly Gulak just dominating Bryan in every department & that's exactly how it should've gone. They do an amazing job with Gulak countering any & every move or hold Bryan went for, and one of my favorite things about the match was the whole head-scissors deal; at first, Bryan escapes Gulak's head-scissors w/ a little headstand, right? Well then when Gulak puts on the head-scissors for the 2nd time a bit later on & Bryan tries to do the same, Gulak does the little short-piledriver to stop that from happening! So good.
This is easily my favorite match of 2020 up to this point & the first match since Bryan vs. Kofi from Mania that's actually made me want to re-watch it a couple of more times the day it happened. Bless this match for being a thing that happened. ****1/2

[KB8]

What a cool little match. When I heard these two were getting a run out together on PPV I was hoping for something a bit outside the box, and for a WWE PPV this was very much outside the box. It was rough and niggly and uncooperative and nothing like anything else on the card, which I actually ended up watching almost in its entirety. At this point everything the company does feels rehearsed and hardly anything comes off as being properly organic. Liv Morgan about got her head whipped through Plexiglas on this show and it seemed less brutal than a few of these elbows. Right from the start it felt like two guys actually fighting over holds and jockeying for positions and none of it looked like they'd planned it out to the letter beforehand. Those kicks when they were fighting over the kneebar ruled, the way they laid them all in and continued to lay everything in from there. Gulak was awesome in this and in a just world it'd lead to an actual series of matches between them with logical progression and they'd maybe get twenty minutes at 'Mania to stretch the life out each other. His neck work on Bryan was so great, the mini-piledriver to start it, the nasty cravates, the hangman's neckbreaker where he spun around like he was trying to pop Bryan's head off, all of it. Obviously Bryan sold it all great and I like that he was clearly taken aback by how Gulak was dishing out so much abuse. I don't know if he intended to take the German suplex the way he did or undershot a flip, but I wouldn't be surprised given his track record and holy christ did he go full Kobashi with that. Maybe the teased countout was too perfect for it to have been an ad lib. Bryan rolling out some big bombs of his own was cool too. I barely watch any WWE these days, but it feels like it's been ages since he hit a dragon suplex and that was one of the meanest Yes Locks I've seen. Give these two the Benoit/Angle Workrate spot and let them do whatever the hell they want. Or maybe not WHATEVER they want in case Bryan ends up shelved for another four years, but at least let them push the boat out. Or just let them do this again, I guess. I'd be more than happy.
 

[Jmare007]

Everyone that knows these two knew coming in that if given time, this was going to be a clinic. And a clinic it was. The build up was simple: Gulak supposedly knows Bryan's flaws in his game and was challenged to show it. Not only did I love this for having the minimalistic aproach that I LOVE in my wrestling, but because they had the match they should've had for the feud they are having. Bryan tries some shit, Gulak finds a way to end up on top. Bryan realizes it's gonna be a tough match so he umps up the intensity, Gulak is right there with him and finds a way to end on top. But what Gulak didn't see coming was Bryan finding the weakness on HIS game, so he ends up reversing the dragon sleeper into a vicious LeBell Lock for the W.

This was fucking awesome. Every move and strike mattered, they worked their feud into the match, expanded on it once the bell rang and told a neat, clever story.

Only "bad" thing was how dead the crowd was, specially for an opener. But to be honest, I found it hilarious how a 2020 WWE had no fucking clue how to react to a match without a ton rope running, a barrage of flippy moves and finisher kickouts. The moment these two stayed on the mat it was like the fans were thinking "what kind of sorcery is this?!"

 

 

 

 

 

[Makai Club #1]

This was super good. The only thing the match lacked was much interest from the crowd initially. The rest made for a very tight and compact match. They escalated from duel mat wrestling, starting from wrist locks into Gulak working on the famously injured neck of Bryan and into some scary suplexes. Gulak slamming Bryan’s head into the mat when Bryan tried to do the WOS handstand counter was great. He locked on some great moves but his focus was also very suplex heavy. Bryan hit a great looking Dragon Suplex which Gulak matches by launching Bryan on his neck. Bryan’s selling was pretty good - a little too realistic at times with him feeling his fingers. The finish with the Gu-Lock counter into the Yes Lock was a great explanation point to finish the match off with. ****

[SmartMark15]

At this point, it’s almost embarrassing how much Daniel Bryan can achieve with an inconsistent midcard push compared to how others make use of full blown main event support. On back to back pay-per-views, Bryan’s created something out of what seemed like nothing. Whereas at the Rumble, the nothing he worked with was an overwrought character with very little actual substance to back up all their razzle dazzle, here the nothing comes from a complete lack of storyline and heat. Drew Gulak is far from a nothing performer, he’s the kind of nerdbait great worker that’s gotten accolades from a lot of people I respect but that I simply haven’t gone out of my way to see much of. Here, Gulak gets to work with the best dance partner of them all and someone he’s clearly admired for a long time. You have Gulak outworking Bryan to start, forcing Bryan to take a step back to reconsider his opponent. That translates into great moments of reversal like Gulak getting the Romero Special on Bryan instead of vice versa. Stuff like that enhances all the connective tissue that makes this match such a joy to unfold.

And hey, if you get bored with mat-based technical wrestling, Bryan also does a few suicidal bumps because he’s the best. The angle and height that Bryan took that German on is the kind of next level dedication that makes him the most exceptional worker in history. For him to follow that up with one of the most convincing ten count sells since Naito’s in the Dome makes it an even better structural piece of the puzzle. Not merely a dazzling spot but one that’s followed through and considered with its appropriate consequences. Bryan’s selling, in general, is beautifully on display in this match up. From having tingles in his fingers from being dropped on his neck to the emotional expressions of being surprised by the level of Gulak’s ability.

What an amazing match, a top two match in the WWE so far this year (which let’s be honest isn’t hard to do given the level of quality that WWE cranks out). Happy that both these guys got the space to craft something so lovingly considered and thought out. We’re all the better for it.

https://josephmontecillo.wordpress.com/2020/03/09/daniel-bryan-vs-drew-gulak-wwe-elimination-chamber-3-8-20/

****1/4

[cactus]

This is a super physical match with phenomenal yet simple storytelling. Gulak goes after Bryan's injured neck by hitting him with some horrific looking suplexes. One German sees Bryan landing violently on his neck. He sells his injuries by having tingles in his fingers and he worked me good. I remember watching this live and feeling extremely concerned for him. Bryan gets the win after a nifty display of submission attempts. Even the naff crowd couldn't harm this. If you are partial to technical wrestling and a nasty suplex or two, this is the match for you. 

★★★★¼

[ShittyLittleBoots]

Still stands as one of the true highlights of the year, even if I would lower my rating from ****1/2 to ****1/4.

[EnviousStupid]

Felt the 2nd half was a big improvement on the story being executed. The early grappling and matwork seemed less like Gulak had been scouting Bryan in advance and more that he was just able to hold his own, which still took Bryan by surprise as he had taken this whole ordeal for granted beforehand. The only instance I remember thinking otherwise was Gulak countering the Romero Special, and is genuinely one of the rare times I've ever seen that happen in a Bryan match. Fortunately, Gulak's main offense targeting the neck really helped draw me in to the drama. We all know Bryan's history of head and neck injuries, which he plays to when selling suplexes very well. The finish is also a neat thing of note: Gulak trying to rain down elbows like Bryan used to prior to his WWE career, and it leads to Bryan rolling through another attempted Dragon Sleeper, retaliating with some rough hammerfists before locking in what might be the grossest looking Yes Lock he's ever applied. Great stuff.