Driven
It's a number #1 contender match for Morishima's World Title. It is their 2nd most famous match against each other. And for a good reason! It's just an all out war. Pure brutality with Bryan delivering nasty blows to Nigel's nose, that suplex onto the guardrail, slaps & headbutts galore. Action-packed to the fullest with it being incredibly compelling in its brutality from start to finish. ****3/4
Survival of the Fittest 2007
First round match-up in the SotF 07 tournament. It is a 20-minute time limit draw. Bryan's gameplan of wrecking Nigel's leg is extremely fun to watch, Nigel's selling is very good + his counter armwork is great & all the matwork in the match is just excellent. I could say that the match is a bit of gem, given that no one really ever talks about it. The time limit draw finish is definitely quite anti-climatic, but it is still a great match even with that. ****
6th Anniversary Show
They are at it again for the ROH World Championship, but this time with Nigel as the defending champ. It can be intimidating/scary going back & re-watching matches that you thought were your favorites. What if it doesn't hold up or make you feel the same way it did at some point? Well, this match has never had that problem with me. I get sucked into it every time. Bryan is the perfect babyface ace in the companys big anniversary show, honoring the special rule about not attacking Nigel's head. The way the match builds with Bryan completely owning Nigel, to Nigel taking over & then getting owned again, leading to THAT moment of him unleashing the headbutts on Bryan in what may be my favorite single match moment of all-time. The whole thing just feels like pro-wrestling euphoria to me. Pure bliss. Whenever I hear the question "what is your favorite match of all-time?" my mind always instantly goes to this one, and it's been like that for years now. It is perfect to me. *****
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