[2006-04-01-ROH-Better Than Our Best] Bryan Danielson vs Lance Storm

[ShittyLittleBoots]

This sure has some beautiful technical wrestling throughout. I like how Bryan tried to get into Lance's head by being mean w/ that slap early on, but to the champs surprise, Lance just shrugged it off & gave him one back. Bryan continues to be lil' nasty as the match goes on by using the lace of his boots to grind on the side of Lance's face, choking him, trashtalk n' slaps. It's very good stuff and it showcased Bryan's frustration very well, because he sure wasn't liking how Storm was hanging w/ him, and even showing him up in their exchanges. If I had to pick one singular moment to point out as my favorite from the match, I'd probably go with the Surfboard bit. Loved how much fight & struggle Lance brought into it, as he never stopped trying to fight out of that thing. It's a real good, borderline great match overall. ***3/4

[ohtani's jacket]

This was one of those interesting matchups the indies sometimes throw at you as Lance Storm came out of retirement to challenge Danielson for the ROH World title, As much as we enjoyed poking fun at Storm for his response to the DVDVR 500, he was in truth a pretty good worker. He was very much a product of the 90s. He reminded me of a cross between Chris Benoit and Dan Kroffat in this match, and was technically very sound, but the bout also reminded me of his limitations, as he simply didn't have the ability to make you care about his title shot. His selling made sense from a wrestling perspective, but it didn't have the intensity that draws you a great wrestling match. Danielson was his rangy self, but I don't get the hype over his heel champ act. Here's a mildly controversial take that very few people will read, but Triple H was a better heel champ than Danielson. Danielson was, of course, the far better wrestler, and I doubt Triple H could have crafted a bout this good with Lance Storm, but Triple H would have pissed the fans off a lot more.