[2020-06-12-WWE-Smackdown] Daniel Bryan vs A.J. Styles

[SmartMark15]

I’m kind of running out of ways to talk about how the Greatest Wrestler of All Time and the unofficial Wrestler of the Year is incredibly good at his job.

This match rules because of course it does. These two have been having bangers against each other for nearly two decades now. The last time we saw this pairing put on a great championship match was at TLC 2018 when the roles were reversed. Bryan came in as the malevolent heel champion whereas AJ played the standup babyface. Here in the finals of a tournament for the vacant Intercontinental Championship, Bryan took the longer route—refusing a bye and fighting an extra match in the semi-finals–whereas AJ took advantage of circumstance to slip right into the final.

One blemish we can find on this match comes from before the bell even rings. AJ’s quick loss to Gulak last week pretty much telegraphs the result that we’ll be getting here tonight. It is, decidedly, the worse possible result so that puts a damper on proceedings. But luckily, the greatest wrestler of all time is at work and his magic can often surpass something as trivial as bad booking.

This was a pretty lengthy match extending over multiple commercial segments on Smackdown. This is the first time in a while that Bryan’s been able to stretch his legs in an extended setting instead of working the incredibly efficient and concise television matches that have made up the bulk of his case for 2020. But here we see that his instincts for pacing and structure are as strong as ever.

Much of this match builds itself around dueling limb psychology. In the opening goings, both men target each other’s arms. While AJ makes a decent show of it to start, his offense doesn’t really have the kind of nuance to make that kind of extended arm work interesting. AJ gives up on it pretty fast which allows Bryan to take the lead and show him how it’s done. There’s a lot of great work by Bryan on the arm ranging from the blatant like ramming AJ’s shoulder into the ringpost to the more subtle of jamming his knuckles into the elbow. AJ does well enough selling it for the second act of the match but it’s a thread that gets lost towards the finishing stretch.

AJ responds in kind however by moving to some leg work on Bryan. It’s nothing nearly so intricate but there’s strong moments of brutality here. The best spot comes from AJ tying up Bryan’s legs in the ropes and just going after it before leaving Bryan to hang there and overextend his knee. It’s good stuff and while this is mostly done in service of a Calf Crusher submission tease, the GOAT makes the most of his limb selling here. Again, Bryan displays the range of subtle work before moving to the very edges of overblown vanity selling here. There’s the difficulty keeping his weight while laying in the YES Kicks. Then there’s the straight up crumble spot from his flip off the top ropes. Delightful to see a master at work.

The finishing stretch was incredibly effective at playing off of the really big offense that these guys can bring. AJ busts out a nasty brainbuster and they follow that up with a wonderful exchange of bridging German Suplexes. There’s a small moment amidst all that big offense of Bryan busting out the same pinning combination that Gulak used to beat AJ last week to only get a nearfall here. It’s that kind of subtle nod to the character dynamics outside of the match that display what makes someone like Bryan a true master of the craft.

But probably Bryan’s best work in the finishing stretch is just his body language. He’s spent a decade refining the physical manifestation of his babyface fire and it again displays such a wide range of dynamics. For me, it’s at its best when the determination is merely bubbling up on the surface. It feels like a powerful force that Bryan might actually be trying to restrain but it’s growing more powerful every moment. It’s near impossible not to be swept away and root for this man to cave in a flat earther’s face.

The finish is a shame as the wrong man wins here. But that’s fine. It’s at least accompanied by the beautiful Running Knee into a Styles Clash counter that probably should have ended things but they at least didn’t waste it by burning a nearfall on it. Another excellent outing on the resume of the greatest performer in the sport’s history.

Not that he needed it.

 

LINK: https://josephmontecillo.wordpress.com/2020/06/13/daniel-bryan-vs-aj-styles-wwe-smackdown-6-12-20/

[ShittyLittleBoots]

Same week when WWE is promoting a PPV match between Edge vs. Orton to be the "Greatest Wrestling Match Ever", they give two of the actual best in the world, two of the greatest of all-time 30+ minutes. And what we ended up getting is one of the best TV-matches ever. Thought that's quite funny to think about, and shows what a giant rib that whole marketing line for Edge & Orton is.

This was unsurprisingly amazing. Bryan is in the lead for the WOTY 2020 race by a pretty big margin at this point, and while AJ hasn't been in too many stand-out matches lately, he is still who he is, and he is the 2nd best wrestler in the world. The two have had an amazing, competitive chemistry with one another ever since their very first singles meeting in 2002, and here we are, 18 years later & they still bring that fantastic feeling of competition out of each other. Every single thing they do in the match matters & goes perfectly with the story they are telling -- it's two guys who operate at a higher level than everyone else going at it. The MEAT of the match is the dueling bodypart-targeting; it's something that has been present in their matches for a loooong time, and as always, it's amazingly compelling to watch & follow. Both guys are nasty & vicious as hell bringing the hurt to one another, and the selling is great throughout. Everything looks phenomenal, there's no wasted motions as mentioned, and the body-language by both guys is sublime. Comparing this to their previous matches, this honestly doesn't offer much new, but it doesn't need to. Their rivalry has always been about two of the best wrestling the fuck out of each other, and that's what they did once again here, producing a real clinic & a stone-cold pro-wrestling TV classic. ****1/2

[kas]

Yeah, this was exceptional. I've not really kept up with wrestling in the empty-arena era, but I had to make an exception for two of the greatest of all time. The duelling limb work was great, and Bryan's selling, in particular, was magnificent. The finish was simple and brilliant. Their best WWE match together and 2nd best match together overall.

[PhilTLL]

This was excellent and worth seeking out if you are a lapsed fan, but four commercial breaks was production malpractice. I'm pretty sure the extra-long TV matches they used to do in the 2000s didn't have four commercial breaks.

[Jmare007]

Not a lot more to add to the case of this match being great. Just want to reiterate that the finish was fucking great. No finisher trading, not a bunch of nearfalls, just 1 dude being able to put together his two finishers in a row after an incredible back and forth match that had almost zero excess. The fact they did it in front of a bunch of NXT guys hopefully help some of them to understand that you don't need a bunch of excess to have an awesome match.

[Makai Club #1]

This was pretty great once they got kicked into another gear and AJ began attacking Bryan’s leg. All the technical wrestling up-to that point was a bit too showy with not much struggle to it but once the duel-limb work aspect got added to the match, the work from both, Bryan especially got more snug and heated. I thought AJ’s selling was very strong and was the constant quality that carried through the match from start to finish. Bryan’s selling was decent but I didn’t really buy his pain unlike AJ's. The finish itself was pretty great as well. The counter from the running knee to the styles clash was super slick and impressive. ****

[SmoothS]

I thought the world of this match. These 2 living legends used simple psychology, fantastic structuring, and a huge amount of time to paint a masterpiece, and they produced the greatest WWE TV match since John Cena vs. CM Punk in 2013. This is pretty much the closet thing that North American Mainstream wrestling will see to King's Road besides the Kenny Omega vs. PAC 30 minute Ironman match. A legit 2020 Match of the Year Candidate. *****

[KawadaSmile]

Really, really good match. Their best encounter in recent memory, and probably AJ's best match since his series against Roman.

While Bryan might be the one wrestler with the most freedom in the entire company, it does make me wonder if this match would be well received by live audiences. The work itself was excellent, but crowds are conditioned to react to a specific structure, and this deviated considerably from it, which is exactly what made it stand out so much.

[Jmare007]

On 6/14/2020 at 5:16 PM, KawadaSmile said:

Really, really good match. Their best encounter in recent memory, and probably AJ's best match since his series against Roman.

While Bryan might be the one wrestler with the most freedom in the entire company, it does make me wonder if this match would be well received by live audiences. The work itself was excellent, but crowds are conditioned to react to a specific structure, and this deviated considerably from it, which is exactly what made it stand out so much.

Depends on the city, their match at TLC showed it can get a big reaction. They had them with a half crab that time.

[cactus]

Bryan and Styles doin' Bryan and Styles stuff. This didn't quite live up to my insanely high expectations, but it's still two of the best ever working a technical masterclass. The grappling, selling and submission transitions are all great. I popped big for Styles catching Bryan for the Styles Clash when Bryan went for his Flying Knee. This goes 38 minutes and it felt like 15. 

★★★★

[paul sosnowski]

I loved this match.  It is a great match.   But there is no way in hell that this match went over 38 minutes.   This match was taped 4 days in advance.   There are four commercial breaks, without picture-in-picture on any of them, at least not in the NY/NJ area..   I see a match that goes 24:26.   In the June 22, 2020 Wrestling Observer, Meltzer has it going 26:36.   I don't know where he got the extra two minutes and ten seconds from, unless he got PIP during one commercial break.    

[shawmic]

7 hours ago, paul sosnowski said:

  This match was taped 4 days in advance.   

For some reason this match was taped weeks earlier on 5/26, at the end of the taping for the 6/5 episode of SD. The match wasn't part of the taping for the rest of the 6/12 episode (taped on 6/9).

[cactus]

On 6/25/2020 at 8:18 PM, paul sosnowski said:

I loved this match.  It is a great match.   But there is no way in hell that this match went over 38 minutes.   This match was taped 4 days in advance.   There are four commercial breaks, without picture-in-picture on any of them, at least not in the NY/NJ area..   I see a match that goes 24:26.   In the June 22, 2020 Wrestling Observer, Meltzer has it going 26:36.   I don't know where he got the extra two minutes and ten seconds from, unless he got PIP during one commercial break.    

Ah, I was just going by what's on Cagematch. That makes a lot of sense and it didn't feel anywhere near 38, even with the commercial breaks. 

[paul sosnowski]

Definitely wasn't blaming you, Man.  Its cool