Bryan Danielson v. Zack Sabre Jr (AEW - 10/1/2022)

3rd

Watched this when it was fresh. The description for this at the top is very accurate: it's not really a technical wrestling match. I detested the comparisons to Inoki/Robertson (which was miles better) and it felt really watered down for a crowd that didn't want to actually sit through what a technical wrestling showcase, but instead a sped-up variation that focused more on emoting and fancy transitions. It feels very self-aware in that regard and it majorly puts me off rating this much at all alongside some dodgy underselling and falling for typical main-event tropes like mindless strike exchanges/lack of tension on the mat-work.

If I was to give a run through of all the submissions done in the match, you’d think this was one of the best matches of its kind of all time. It’s so varied and full of obvious knowledge of technique by the two more prolific grapplers of their generations (whether they deserve the rep is debatable) but I couldn’t bring myself to love it. To me, this felt like a love letter to submissions rather than a combative battle between two grapplers trying to prove a point. This was more of a showcase than a fight. A matter of showing off which made a lot of it feel superfluous and lacking in malice. This gained a comparison to Inoki vs Robinson, which works in the sense of two grappling legends going at each other on a big stage, but it severely lacked what that match had: the sense of competition. I could get the sense that Inoki and Robinson were having to earn everything, that they were both concentrated on both applying holds and defending against holds. They were reactive whereas this was more active. Not the worst way to do it but I just wasn’t enthralled by this at all. Certain moments stood out as what I wanted from the bout - a malicious battle, a human chess match - but this was a bit of a let down. The curse of the dream match. Fabulous exhibition of submissions but Inoki/Robinson or Tamura/Han or Street/Breaks this was not. ***1/4