4 Ups & 4 Downs From AEW Dynamite (5 Jan)

1. Page vs. Danielson II: A Perfect Sequel

Bryan Danielson and 'Hangman' Adam Page couldn't have done a better job of delivering a second match that was cut from the same cloth as their sensational first outing, but sufficiently different, making it a clear, perfect progression.

Their first match went 60 minutes. This one? 29. This is primarily down to the difference in intensity. Danielson and Page working another hour-long match at this clip wouldn't have been believable. While the first wasn't exactly lacking vigour, the sequel took it to the next level. A knockdown, brutal, attritional fight, it was soaked in claret as both men were busted open, with the wrestlers' increased urgency established when Hangman went for the Buckshot Lariat within the first minute or so.

The Buckshot was key to the story. It took Page 60 minutes to hit Danielson with it the first time, leading, surely, to the pinfall. But the time limit elapsed. Here, Page identified it as the key to victory, going for it on several occasions, while Bryan attempted to nullify its impact by working Page's arm over. Bryan knew that the Buckshot meant doom for him - so he tried to take it away from him.

When Page was busted open, Danielson focused on the wound instead. He dropped Hangman face-first and hammered away on it with cruel blows, but was eventually hoisted from his own petard. When attempting to recreate the grim brutality of Nigel McGuinness' skull being pulled into the ring post in their ROH Unified 2006 classic, Danielson was scouted. He became Nigel as Page brutally yanked him into the steel - and Page became Danielson.

Bloodloss-induced exhaustion came into play as the match progressed. Bursts of energy and fire became more precious, and a tough, gruelling struggle that was somehow twice as exhausting as the first (despite being twice the length) concluded, as it should have, via Buckshot Lariat.

Page retained following a sensational World Title match, and an early clubhouse leader for Match of the Year 2021. The first bout was the making of him as AEW World Champion. Here, both he and Danielson demonstrated clear growth, building on what they'd learned in their first encounter, with Page evidently learning a bigger lesson than his opponent.