8 Ups & 2 Downs From AEW Dynamite (Nov 30 - Review)

7. Fantastic Match, Tremendous Foresight

Bryan Danielson Vs. Dax Harwood was a sumptuous professional wrestling match in and of itself, and it existed as a signpost of yet more brilliance to come.

The minutiae even within an early submission exchange was liquid professional wrestling. Rarely will you see the balance of fight and theatre struck so well; Dax teased the Sharpshooter just long enough for the audience to register it before Danielson, selling it big, frantically struggled out of it. They made every small detail matter with millisecond precision. Without ever abandoning its dramatic principles, they effectively obscured that they were working a match.

At Dax's urging, the match descended into a chop-heavy battle, which might have scanned as a pale comparison to last week's main event if the sound of smacked flesh wasn't so harrowing. Dax didn't account for the willing masochist within Danielson, who stepped forward with each blow. Danielson didn't account for the determination within Dax, a man who simply will not be told, ever, that he isn't the best wrestler on the planet. Their defiant nose-to-nose, headbutt-for-headbutt exchange was electrifying. Danielson won, as he often does, by suddenly cinching in a submission. He is the master who can get it done against anyone at any point in storylines. This will prove useful in a few months.

MJF made pointed reference to Danielson later in the evening. The Dragon is being set up a for a major attraction at Revolution, so expect more TV dream matches booked to remind you just how much of a genius he is.