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November 27, 2012
Bryan Danielson’s gimmick in Ring of Honor was very simple: he called himself “The Best in the World.” Night in and night out Danielson went about proving that very fact against every wrestler that ROH put in his way. But one couldn’t be called the best in the entire world while just beating wrestlers from his own country. Over the years, many from around the globe have tried to best Bryan Danielson. This two-disc DVD aptly titled “Bryan Danielson vs. The World” collects his highest-profile matches against foreign competitors. Many of them were “dream matches,” due to the fact that any star from another country being pitted against the best the United States has to offer was indeed just that.
The first two matches are from ROH’s first year, when Danielson grappled with the UK’s Doug Williams. Both Danielson and Williams are known as mat technicians and are highly regarded for their skills. The two first met in June 2002 at Road to the Title in a semifinal match to determine who would go on to the four-way Iron Man Match that would determine the first ROH World Champion. In a somewhat shocking upset, Williams was able to score the victory and move on to the finals. Not to be bested, Danielson challenged Williams to a rematch in November at Scramble Madness. This would be no ordinary match, as the two would collide in a 30 Minute Iron Man Match. After a tense back-and-forth display, Danielson was able to hold on and secure a 1-0 victory and attain satisfaction.
Skipping ahead four years, Danielson then began a high-profile battle with some of the best from Japan. Then the ROH World Champion, Danielson was being challenged by KENTA, whom ROH fans viewed as a legitimate threat to the title. Danielson and KENTA were joined by Samoa Joe for an epic three-way showdown at In Your Face, and KENTA scored the victory by pinning Danielson, setting the stage for a one-on-one encounter with the belt on the line. Before that could happen, Danielson had to defeat another Japanese competitor, SUWA, in an impromptu title defense at Anarchy in the UK. A month later at Glory By Honor V Night 2, with a severely injured shoulder, Danielson stepped in the ring with KENTA, his toughest challenger to date. After a titanic clash, Danielson was able to score the win and retain the title. The bout is still regarded as one of the finest in ROH history.
After vanquishing KENTA, Danielson’s next battles against Japanese foes happened when ROH presented their first-ever shows in the Land of the Rising Sun. On the first night, Live in Tokyo, Danielson took on rising star Go Shiozaki and was able to defeat him. The next night Danielson teamed with the Dragon Gate icon CIMA and NOAH superstar Naomichi Marufuji to battle the No Remorse Corps of Davey Richards, Rocky Romero, and one-night member Masaaki Mochizuki. The star-studded trio was able to defeat the No Remorse Corps at Live in Osaka capping off the two shows on a high note.
Before engaging in perhaps the most violent rivalry of his career, Danielson took on another of the UK’s best, the high-flying PAC. The two did battle at Caged Rage, and as he so often did Danielson was able to ground “The Man Gravity Forgot” and score another win. Danielson then took on ROH World Champion Takeshi Morishima in an effort to become the first two-time ROH World Champion. The two had intense battles at Manhattan Mayhem II and Man Up but both times Morishima was able to retain the title. The next two times they met was Morishima had since been dethroned by Nigel McGuinness, so only pride was on the line. The two traded disqualification wins at Glory By Honor VI Night 2 and Rising Above 2007, but it would take a full year for their feud to be sufficiently settled.
Formerly rivals, Danielson and Austin Aries realized what a potent tag team they could make and began making regular appearances as a team. One of their more impressive victories was at the first night of the Double Feature in Dover, NJ, when they defeated the international duo of Nigel McGuinness & Go Shiozaki. He also defeated Naomichi Marufuji at A New Level.
Danielson would soon add another title to his impressive resume when he defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru for the GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title in a great match at The Tokyo Summit. Five days later he won the international three-way elimination match by defeating both Claudio Castagnoli of Switzerland and Japan’s Go Shiozaki at Driven 2008. The following night he successfully defended his GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title against Katsuhiko Nakajima in another great match.
Finally Danielson was ready to end his blood feud with Morishima when the two met in a Fight Without Honor at Final Battle 2008. After a bloody and violent war, Danielson was able to score the huge victory and vanquish his most difficult foe. Several months later with rumors of an impending departure to WWE imminent, Danielson battled Russia’s Alex Koslov at Supercard of Honor IV and earned another impressive victory.
THE PULSE
From top to bottom this is a really impressive collection of matches against a very diverse group of opponents. The best part of this set is having all the singles matches with Morishima in one place, as those two produced consistently awesome matches. Matches with Doug Williams, KENTA, Naomichi Marufuji, Masaaki Mochizuki, and others would be highlights for most people’s careers, but for Danielson they were just another day at the office. This is an excellent DVD set, and you can pick it up at the ROH Shop.
