Both Daniel Bryan and Shinsuke Nakamura are hailed as amongst the greatest pro wrestlers on the planet, and the styles they've used to gain that accolade are quite similar -- both use hard strikes (especially kicks) and submissions, an approach known in Japan as "strong style." As characters, however, the two couldn't be more opposite, and that would do just as much to make a match between them a classic as their amazing skill would. Bryan is a hard-fighting underdog babyface, clean cut (in attitude if not appearance), and always honorable. The equally-popular Nakamura, though, skirts the line between heel and babyface, mocking his opponents with eccentric, flamboyant displays, regardless of their alignment. Expect a mat-based classic that turns into an all-out brawl (with slaps, knees, and hard suplexes) before going back to the mat, with each man trying to catch his opponent in increasingly obscure submission holds. The only question is whether the match ends with a "Yes!" or a "YeaOh!"
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
