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Post by jetlag on Jan 16, 2019 11:04:40 GMT -5
Probably the greatest matwork in a US indy match ever. Both guys were incredibly vicious here: Danielson would crossface Low Ki really hard aswell as drop knees on the ground, not to mention just trying to pull Kis head off when working facelocks. Kis focus was basically to create openings using his knee strikes etc. Ki was pretty outmatched, but still came up with a few brilliant counters. While this was largely uncooperative, they came up with a few great holds such as Ki trying to split Danielsons legs or Bryans crazy head and leg stretch. Bryans using the modified surfboard to set up the Cattle Mutilation is the greatest use of that move aswell. Then Ki is able to get out of that too. Ki picking up Danielson and ramming him into the buckles before collapsing was another great comeback. Danielson slapping Ki only to get clocked with a head kick was another all time moment. Danielson moving to the corner as seen as Ki kneed him was a smart use of ring positioning. Danielson crawling to the apron and just taking a bump to the floor when Ki hit him instead of doing some elaborate apron spot was a brief of fresh air compared to current day apron spot obsessed pro wrestling. The match lost a bit of it's greatness when they were fighting on the floor and I thought they could have done a better job with the finish. By all logic, the whole thing should have ended with the 2nd Cattle Mutilation. I don't want to nitpick though, because this was a seriously great, inspiring match.
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Post by KB8 on Jan 16, 2019 18:34:19 GMT -5
Easy second. C&P from whenever I wrote about it:
Truly awesome, unique match. The first time I watched it I thought it was about as close to RINGS as I'd ever seen in the US, but this time I thought it was equally derivative of Battlarts (whether it was intentional or not). It's a mash-up of the two and it sort of invites you to run wild with the comparisons. An American juniors version of Ishikawa v Ikeda with Dragon as Ishikawa and Ki as Ikeda? Danielson as Otsuka and Ki as Usuda? Sure, why not. Danielson was incredible in it and I think it's my all-time favourite performance of his. Some of the grappling might legitimately be the best I've ever seen in America; slick and fluid in parts then rugged and gritty in others. It was like Volk Han if Volk Han ever worked Battlarts, and I realise how preposterously hyperbolic that sounds but it's a pretty good indication of where I was at with Dragon here. Those crossface forearms were filthy as all get out and he was determined to take an arm or leg home with him as a trophy. There is absolutely no chance he'll get to stretch out and do anything like this now that WWE's cleared him to wrestle again, but I really wish it was the approach he took more often. Ditch the headbutts and crazy bumps, just twist people into pretzels. It's not like anybody in WWE hits like Low-Ki either, so he could probably manage to parley this sort of match into another five years' worth of work without having to worry about cauliflowering his brain. Ki wasn't simply a passenger in this, he held his own on the mat and his striking was obviously good, but it was hard not to look second best on the night. To say he was a poor man's Ikeda isn't an insult. Maybe he was actually a poor man's Takeshi Ono and that's not an insult either. But Danielson was the richest poor man's Ishikawa you could've asked for.
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Post by shodate on Jan 16, 2019 20:56:09 GMT -5
Thirded. ALL time great matwork indeed the best us type ever.it had all the holds executed properly without sitting in a hold for too long actual struggle and deeping at the holds meaning to kind of rip opponents during holds which is always good not some great techinque or skill so not like RINGS.but a lot of urgency the strikes were clean executed well and good with violence. The matwork and strikes felt violent and it never felt dull.the matwork builded and good finish too imo.up there with any us mat based match a solid contender 87 percent.
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Post by superstarsleeze on Feb 24, 2019 13:06:51 GMT -5
This was like Fujiwara vs Joe Malenko but with more drama! Incredibly, compelling, gripping chain wrestling and I loved how organic it all was. Enjoyed how the strikes were incorporated. Great finish! Low-Ki vs Bryan Danielson - JAPW 6/7/2002 Submission Match Everyone focuses on Danielson (who was great), but I thought it was Low-Ki who made this match work. I have seen a lot of reviews focus on how great Dragon is in this match, but I think they are conflating how Danielson was on offense for most of the match with him being better. Low-Ki was great in this match because he made Danielson earn all his offense. Low-Ki looks just as proficient at catch-as-catch-can grappling as Danielson, but it is on defense where he is excelling. Watch where he puts his knees to keep Danielson at bay. Danielson looks like a wizard on the mat also the way he works into the Dragon Clutch. My point is not Low-Ki was better than Danielson in this match, but they were every bit equals. Also, I don't agree with the point that this falters in the face of high-end RINGS or BattlArts. I think in comparison to BattlArts the narrative is a lot stronger than many of the Ishikawa vs Ikeda matches. There are few matches as brutal as Ishikawa vs Ikeda so forgive them for not stiffing each other in the face. There are RINGS matches better than this, but to claim this would not even make Tamura's Top Twenty smacks me as silly. Even Tamura & RINGS has it deficiencies. I think what this match does better than a lot of RINGS matches is in the struggle in the grappling in the mat not leading to a submission and using the ground & pound effectively. Also, this match abandons the RINGS formula of standup->takedown->grapple->rope break->repeat. I like this because it gets you in a unique groove for RINGS, but it breaks the rhythm of the match. If instead on a rope break, you pounce on your opponent and are doing a full court press that can be just as interesting. I am just saying a different look at shoot-style is interesting here. It does not rely on the scoring system to tell its story. I am a proponent of the scoring system, but it can be a crutch. These two had a classic just a couple months prior in Ring Of Honor which was a brutal stiff-fest and a big bomb throwing match down the stretch. This match could NOT be more different. The vast majority is ground work with the strikes being used in ground & pound or to set up submissions. There were all sorts of great takedowns and wrestling. I loved how Low-Ki was focused on the cross-armbreaker early and then how Danielson slid into the STF. It was a deep STF. This was what Danielson was the best in this match organically applying submissions. Another great example later on in the match of Danielson's organic nature in this match was how he worked his way into the Rocking Horse. I didnt get the Volk Han comparison at first from other reviews but now I see it watching the match back a second time. What Volk Han does so well is organically find himself in exciting submission holds. Danielson was doing the same here. Ki gets the ropes and Danielson pounces on him with the knees. Danielson was suffocating Low-Ki with his full court press. I really enjoyed them each stealing the other's submission in the first ten minutes of the match. What I thought was so amazing about Low-Ki in this match was his ability to hit strikes from the most ridiculous angles. He was hitting short range chops and kicks from short gaps where he should not have had the leverage to hit fully only absolutely crack Danielson. A good example of this is that Danielson has a sort of inverted figure-4 and Ki contorts his body to hit a stiff chop to Danielson's leg. Nasty. Another one is Low-Ki is using his feet as a guard from his back and somehow manages to hit kicks to the midsection that sound like gunshots. Another feather in the cap is how everything flowed organically in this match. That is a testament to both men's chemistry with each other. Danielson's second STF was incredible in how Low-Ki was desperately countering and then Danielson's countered his counter by clawing at the nose! WOW! I love the grit and urgency. Danielson gets a rear full mount and rains down the clubbing forearms. Some people have called this Danielson's best performance, I still think the Morishima match is a better example, but he is vicious in this. I love how Ki lifting Danielson from the mat and driving him in the turnbuckles is a HIGHSPOT. Ki does a great job selling his exhaustion and then rallying to hit a bunch of brutal strikes. Cattle Mutilation is my least favorite part of Danielson's matches. It does not look great. The bridge is the only cool part but it leaves you in a precarious position. Danielson is trying to balance but his opponent is wriggling and thus causing Danielson to lose his balance. People's arms are always floppy. It is hard to sell in that particular position. It is almost as the Anklelock and how easy it is to free yourself from the hold. To put it quite simply, I HATE CATTLE MUTILATION! I thought Ki released himself from the hold way too easily. I liked them changing it up and going to the outside. Low-Ki wanted a change of pace. He had been on the losing end of the mat battle but Low-Ki felt he could win the stand up game and that's exactly what see as Low-Ki is able to use his striking proficiency to gain the advantage then use a legsweep to gain control on the mat and get a variety of chokes. Down the stretch, we see more highspots as they build to the finish. Dragon gets his big hurrah with two German Suplexes, a Dragon Suplex and then Cattle Mutilation. Low-Ki fights the hold and Dragon cracks him with a chop on stand-up. We finally see an Irish Whip, for shame! Ki hits a couple of this big running Kawada big boots in the corner. Ki wanted the Ki-Krusher. Danielson struggles and shoots him off into the ropes. KI WRAPS HIMSELF AROUND DRAGON AND FLYING ARMBAR! FLASH SUBMISSION! INSANELY GOOD FINISH! This match has everything I want struggle, urgency, and organic, High IQ wrestling. Amazing finish! ****3/4
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Post by Cap on Aug 12, 2020 12:46:35 GMT -5
From my rewatch project on 8/7/2020 Bryan Danielson vs Low Ki (Submission Match – 6/7/2002) Current Rank: 85 Trending: Up Man… this match is so god damned good. I’ll just copy what I said in the comparison thread between this and Funks v Abby/Sheik, because I think that sums up this watch best. I think of Dragon's 2002 (and surrounding years) like a great band's first album. It isn't as polished as their later work, but there is something so unique and compelling about it that always stands out. his work with Ki at this time really exemplifies that. I think the best part of early to mid 2000s indy stuff in America is that the people who would become the major players were really pulling from a lot of places and the influences ebbed and flowed depending on what and who you were watching and when. This match has a ton of shoot influence and it is really well placed. They aren't Tamura and Han or anything, but they strike a sort of singular balance between the shoot logic in grappling and transitions and the broader American pro structure. The transitions here are fantastic. This looked great in the early 2000s golden era of indie wrestling. It looks great next to the late 2000s western resurgence of shoot. This likely wont jump their match from Round Robin Challenge I, but it is probably moving up. Full Post: gweproject.freeforums.net/post/8263
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Post by dkuchler31096 on Jan 18, 2021 19:47:10 GMT -5
This match is really really great. Bryan is so smooth with his transitions and his technical prowess even in 2002 he was the kingpin at this style. Man I would have paid to see him wrestle Benoit before 2007. Ki is right there with him providing a lot of the dynamics and the counters that work well with Bryan's style. This was freaking phenomenal, if the crowd was a 2004 ROH smark crowd and not a 2002 JAPW charity show crowd I would have gone the full 5 but it is what it is. ****3/4
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Post by elliott on Sept 20, 2023 17:05:42 GMT -5
I've generally found that this rivalry doesn't hold up for me but this one is the exception. Awesome match.
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