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Post by TheDutifulWebmaster on Apr 22, 2024 19:16:30 GMT -5
WON rating: 6.5 out of 5 stars.
cagematch user rating at time of writing: 9.72
Duration: 32:28
A wrestling youtuber (who's videos I sometimes watch), who reviews AEW ppvs and Dynamite episodes, says this is the best AEW match to date.
I've been listening to cagematch reviews (via my browser's read aloud function), and around 5 or 6 or 7 of them say that this is the best wrestling match to take place on U.S. soil to date - and I didn't get to the end of the reviews. Brian Alvarez reportedly said the same thing after the match ended. To the credit of these statements, no match which took place outside of Japan has ever received 6.5 stars or higher by the WON.
Recency bias is a possibility, though.
Here's a comment from user 'charliefiction' on said site, which I like: "There are far too many moments to highlight here in a way I would ordinarily do, so I'll just underscore the three that are most unforgettable: (1) the speed at which they executed Danielson ducking the hidden blade while moving straight into the busaiku knee spot was truly a marvel, (2) the tiger suplex from the top rope was such an inherently risky maneuver but these two are among the handful of individuals skilled and brave enough to pull it off, and (3) the use of the Tiger Driver 91 was a brilliant in-ring moment and an even smarter storytelling device (i.e., a move so dangerous that it could be banned or even so dangerous that Ospreay himself "retires it" has such big payoff opportunity in it). None of those spots, however, had the visual effect of the knee strike that Danielson hit Ospreay with when he countered the Oscutter late in the match. I've never seen something executed so well, so late in the match. Just extraordinary stuff".
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Post by elliott on Apr 22, 2024 20:34:36 GMT -5
2nd
It's the least "for me" a match could ever be. Glad for those who enjoyed it.
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Post by microstatistics on Apr 22, 2024 23:18:42 GMT -5
I can't believe the GME-level praise this is getting. Other big matches I might not agree but I can at least see a case based on structure or perceived epicness. I haven't seen Bryan's series with ZSJ but this is likely the worst recent match to receive such a degree of adulation.
A few spots were pretty good in isolation (the opening amateur exchange, Bryan working over Ospreay's ribs with punches, the Busaiku knee counter to the cutter) and Bryan's fundamentals were strong I guess but, ultimately, this was just a loose collection of underdeveloped segments. The tiger superplex being treated like death before immediately being blown off as they transitioned to something unrelated pretty much summed up the malady of disconnected spots.
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Post by enter on Apr 23, 2024 1:19:54 GMT -5
I thought this ruled. Big task but I've learned to look past Ospreay's shitty fundamentals if I want to enjoy any of his matches. Yeah most of it is just surface-level with 50/50 counters and standoffs, it just worked with how rabid the crowd was for these two.
A genuine spectacle.
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Post by tetsujin on Apr 23, 2024 1:55:47 GMT -5
This is the Zayn/Nakamura of this decade: a dream match that feels surreal to see, with a legendary crowd that elevates the whole experience. The first time I saw that match, I thought it was among the best ever, but it took some rewatches over time to settle it as a "pretty god damn great, but not all-time level" match. Maybe this one won't hold up as much with rewatches either, although I'm not saying I feel it as one of the best matches of all time, the best on american soil or dumb things like that.
But I think it was excellent still. The mixed their styles soooo well, everything they did looked wonderful and nasty and, surprisingly coming from Ospreay, calculated. It had a little bit of everything and in the end they told a wonderful story about Bryan not being able to keep up with the younger brand new BITW.
Idk, it's not an all timer but, excluding the Sting retirement and the Tanahashi/White pandemic match (which I'm the only person on Earth Who watched it), this is the best match I've seen since maybe the Shirai/Satomura from 2018. It could be a MOTY in basically any year between 2019 and today, but It just happens that the Sting match is an out of this world unique experience that only a #1 contender could dethrone. But damn, It was very, very, very, very god damn crazy good. As good as any "non all time great" wrestling match can be.
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Post by makaiclub on Apr 23, 2024 6:22:02 GMT -5
Greatest US match ever this is not. But it is pretty great. Minor selling issues but the rest works so well they feel even minor. ****1/4
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Post by elliott on Apr 23, 2024 12:10:57 GMT -5
"We're not worthy" is the worst chant ever
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Post by TheDutifulWebmaster on Apr 23, 2024 15:06:27 GMT -5
"We're not worthy" is the worst chant ever agreed |
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Post by enviousstupid on Apr 23, 2024 22:56:35 GMT -5
Outside of the finish, I only watched highlights of the match. The whole running Busaiku Knee/Hidden Blade bit near the end might be the dumbest thing I've ever seen in a Danielson match.
As far as "the best wrestling match to take place on U.S. soil to date", I do like it when people make it easy to ignore their opinions by parroting other people's outrageous takes.
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Post by timm on Apr 24, 2024 18:46:02 GMT -5
I actually liked that Knee/Elbow spot at the idea. The idea of facing off like a joust is cool and even if it was a little cheesy, Ospreay as the younger man getting the final edge with his superior speed and physicality made sense. As for the match itself, I enjoyed watching it. Would want to rewatch it before giving a final word on it, but my impression was it certainly wasn't challenging for my MOTY.
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Post by gramsci on Apr 25, 2024 10:52:35 GMT -5
Let's not be pretentious. The claim that "it's the best match ever on US soil" doesn't seem so crazy to me. I think we all have worse takes in our own lists. I can understand that someone thinks that way and there's a certain part of the audience that feels this way.
We'll see if it holds up in 2025, but I personally had a great experience watching it and felt like I was watching something special. I don't want to give it any star rating, I'll watch it again before I send in my ballot and see how I feel about it.
Molten hot crowd for a match based in great storytelling, struggle, awesome selling and crazy spots.
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Post by Kadaveri on Apr 25, 2024 17:58:42 GMT -5
Let's not be pretentious. The claim that "it's the best match ever on US soil" doesn't seem so crazy to me. I think we all have worse takes in our own lists. I can understand that someone thinks that way and there's a certain part of the audience that feels this way.
I think the issue with that quote was Bryan Alvarez said this literally a minute after it ended. If someone still thinks that way in 2025 and puts it at the top of their list then fair enough, but I think it's wise give things time to sink in a bit before making such huge pronouncements on all of US wrestling history.
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Post by gramsci on Apr 26, 2024 5:28:12 GMT -5
Let's not be pretentious. The claim that "it's the best match ever on US soil" doesn't seem so crazy to me. I think we all have worse takes in our own lists. I can understand that someone thinks that way and there's a certain part of the audience that feels this way.
I think the issue with that quote was Bryan Alvarez said this literally a minute after it ended. If someone still thinks that way in 2025 and puts it at the top of their list then fair enough, but I think it's wise give things time to sink in a bit before making such huge pronouncements on all of US wrestling history.
Yes, I agree with what you say, but I don't see it as a big deal. We have all said something like this at some point after watching a match that we thought was so good. Some of the responses to Álvarez's tweet seem more exaggerated and hyperbolic to me than his own statement. |
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Post by nintendologic on Apr 28, 2024 12:54:06 GMT -5
Finally got around to watching this. I dug Danielson's body blows and Ospreay countering a triangle choke with a Styles Clash, but it fell pretty flat for me overall. The biggest turnoff from my perspective was the lack of any real strategic focus, which I feel is a necessity for a match of this length. I like when a wrestler either has a clear game plan going in or capitalizes on an opening and the opponent has to adapt and overcome. They hinted in that direction with Danielson targeting Ospreay's midsection after cutting him off with a kick to the gut and later going after the arm to neutralize the hidden blade, but they never fully committed to it. I checked out completely when Ospreay did a fighting spirit hulk-up roughly one minute after taking a tiger superplex. There were a ridiculous number of spots with next to no margin for error that were executed impeccably, so I'll give them that.
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Post by bossrock on Apr 28, 2024 21:32:24 GMT -5
Is it the greatest U.S. match ever? No. Is it the greatest AEW match ever? No. Is it a really strong MOTYC? Absolutely. The Oscutter Busaiku Knee counter is one of the craziest things I've seen in some time. Just impeccable.
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