4. VS Paul London (RoH's Epic Encounter)
Taking place on April 12th, 2003, this is easily the oldest match on the list. At the time of the match, Ring Of Honor had only been around for just over a year, and Bryan Danielson had only been a professional wrestler for less than three-and-a-half years. London had just hit his three-year mark as a pro, so he had even less experience. You just didn't know what to truly expect, even though both men had been involved in entertaining matches in the early days of the company, but with the Two-Out-Of-Three Falls stipulation attached to it, it could have gone anywhere, really. The first fall featured some nice ring psychology, with Danielson wanting to keep things on the mat, wearing London down with hold after hold, draining his energy. At some point, after trying to stay on the mat with him, London tries to take things to the air, in an effort to win the fall. Can't win two falls in a match when your opponent has worn you down to nothing, after all. Danielson begins to get cocky and abandons his strategy, deciding to take it to the air, too, and that's when he makes a mistake that costs him the fall. The great psychology continues in the second fall, with Danielson pissed off that London barely squeaked by, and he takes it out on him with a ruthless, heel-ish physical attack. It's a much different approach than he had in the first fall, and the already worn down London is forced to tap out a good six or seven minutes into the fall. After working the knee in the previous fall, Danielson was like a shark smelling blood in the water here, going back to the knee immediately in the third fall. London doesn't have that one-fall advantage anymore, so he's fighting with much more desperation, trying to avoid dropping another fall and taking the loss. It's fun to sit and watch both men approaching this fall like that, and it built to a frenzied finish, allowing both men to come out of the match looking strong.