Battle of the Best
"ROH's greatest rivalry has come to Japan!" - a fun tagline by Prazak there. It is a very fun match! Nowhere near their best, but it didn't need to be. Lots of fun work on the mat by Danielson early on, as he busts out some awesome, vicious looking creative holds. The match very naturally builds with its intensity too, as by the end they're trading some terrific big strikes & bombs. I fuck with this match quite a lot. More so than I remembered. It lowkey feels like a touring version of their big match, which combined with the unique atmosphere of it being in Japan makes it a very charming deal all around. ****
Rising Above 2008
Nigel defending his ROH World Championship here. It is a great match. I do not love it as much as I used to, but I do still think it's great. Nigel's legwork is a good twist to his usual arsenal - he isn't as naturally vicious with it as he is with his signature armwork, but he still brings it in terms of nice focus & moments of nastiness. Bryan's selling for the most part is pretty great, as he spends most of the match fighting from underneath after Nigel starts targeting that knee, but I do think that he could've sold that said knee a bit more in a couple of key moments. His comebacks are great, especially the one towards the end where he delivers those fiery slaps to Nigel. The blood added quite a bit to that & the entire finishing stretch. ****
Glory By Honor VIII: The Final Countdown
The perfect ROH farewell for both men. I love this match. All the nods to their previous battles are so much fun, Danielson rocks the crimson mask brilliantly & the match kicks up to an excellent 2nd gear once he starts bleeding. Nigel gunning for the kill while literally yelling "DIE" at multiple points, that's that shit. It is not their best match, but it is a terrific way to cap off their legendary ROH rivalry. ****1/4
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