8 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (16 Feb)

2. The Old Master II

Speaking of old masters, technical wrestling doyen Bryan Danielson's quest to impart his brand of in-ring violence on AEW's young, impressionable wonder-workers continued when he faced Lee Moriarty in a fantastic match.

This pairing was kind of perfect, given that a perceived need to expand the aggression in his work is a common criticism of Moriarty, as promising as he is. Here, Lee was pulled out of his shell by Cruel Daddy Danielson, who slapped, mocked, stretched, and clawed like he always does. Whenever Moriarty looked to be giving Bryan more than he'd bargained for, Danielson got nasty, cutting off his momentum by virtue of being the bigger bastard. This meant kicks to the chest while Lee was tied up in the ropes, stinging strikes, unnecessary head stomps when the match was already won via Busaiku Knee Kick, and flexing as Lee passed out in the triangle sleeper.

As slick as Zack Sabre Jr. at times in the grappling exchanges, firing up for a late-match striking exchange ultimately hurt Moriarty. He showed plenty of craft and guile but lost the way he should have. Danielson, the father of this style, has been doing this for too long, picking up too many tricks along the way, for Lee to believably defeat him at the moment.

But this is growth. It'll feed into the ongoing storyline and ensure that Lee is stronger the next time he steps out, whether it's with Danielson or against him.