[2005-02-19-ROH-Third Anniversary Celebration] Homicide vs Bryan Danielson (Taped Fist)

[ohtani's jacket]

A taped fist match is one of the coolest stipulations in the history of professional wrestling, but they couldn't replicate the atmosphere of an old-school territory match here and instead worked a weak 90s walk around the arena, no-DQ brawl. Danielson bleed for the first time in ROH, but it didn't amount to anything. They worked some nearfalls during the finishing stretch, which is lame in a taped fist match, and the finish was pure sports entertainment. What happened to ROH being a flagbearer for the anti-sports entertainment sect? They should have watched some old Mid-South tapes and worked a 10 minute bout to a blood stoppage. They could have even done the shitty sports entertainment finish if the in-ring drama had been better. Weak bout. 

[ShittyLittleBoots]

The 2nd match in their best of 5 series. Kind of an anti-climatic finish, but I enjoyed this a lot. It's not quite as excellent as their submission match from the previous show, but it's really good. The crowd brawling is very fun in its chaotic nature, and it fits both guys really well. Lots of great punches thrown throughout the match - I say hell yeah to that, brotha. Awesome airplane spin counter by Homicide. I can see people wanting this to be more heated/wild, but I thought they brought the feeling of dislike into the thing quite well, even when things got more "traditional" once they hit the ring. ***3/4