10 Best Wrestling Matches Of 2021
2. Hangman Page Vs. Bryan Danielson - AEW Winter Is Coming
Holy sh*t what a masterpiece this was.
Bryan Danielson, Broadway specialist and gleeful sadist, gave Hangman Page a condescending lesson in big match sh*thousery before Page came of age as a true, credible World Champion in the old-fashioned way. The timeless way: by going an hour in a seminal classic that never lost once a rabid audience. The storytelling was incredible. How different does Page feel as AEW World Champion?
It only took an hour for him to ascend, and it seemed to only take minutes for the hour to pass. This was match themed on Page's learning curve in the Ace role. Consider the two attempts at repeated moves. Page twice went for the Orihara moonault. On the second attempt, Danielson countered by murdering him back-first on the apron which, incidentally, was one of several expert breaks designed to accommodate the rules of television. When a hubristic Danielson attempted a second avalanche backdrop suplex, Page - in a moment that was less "Holy sh*t" and more "No f*cking way" - backflipped out of it. That was incredible. The placement of the spot in the match, how it encapsulated the story, the actual athletic execution: incredible.
Danielson was such a master strategist that he was prepared for the most low-level threat of the Dead Eye, which he countered almost before Page barely positioned him for it in just one of several moments that induced thudding palpitations.
Phenomenal match, great, attentive choice to do an hour-long draw at this specific branded show, on which the precedent of a rare, monumental shocker had been set.
Every wrinkle of drama worked.
Every second ruled, and there were 3,600 of them.