8 Match Star Ratings For WWE Elimination Chamber 2020
7. Daniel Bryan Vs. Drew Gulak
This was fantastic both in itself and because it was so different to the in-house style.
Daniel Bryan is a layout genius. In this very technical grappling match, as he went hold for hold with Drew Gulak in front of an audience unfamiliar with the depths of the style, he seemed to throw or endure a stiff strike or accelerate the speed of his counters, knowing to the very second when that audience might disengage. He engineered a sustained reaction throughout almost unchartered narrative territory. An accessible version of a genre that doesn't tend to resonate in an arena, in which he put over an opponent perceived as comedic foil, if he's even perceived at all, this was both artistic triumph and bittersweet glimpse of a WWE that truly maximises the unique talents of its outrageously stacked and criminally under-utilised roster.
Through the medium of straight-up professional wrestling, Bryan told an anxious, dramatic story premised on a head injury that intensified the atmosphere, framed Gulak as a hard and very capable bastard, and put himself over as wily, spirited babyface.
Bryan was so selfless here - he over-committed with that terrifying shoulder bump - in what was a tremendous, gnarly, entirely believable professional wrestling match.
Star Rating: ★★★★