Danielson vs Aries (ROH S01E03)
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Now, it's no secret that I've developed somewhat of a healthy mancrush on Aries lately, and it's also no secret that Danielson is the second best in the world at what he does (after Chris Jericho, of course). These two have also faced off several times in the past, as noted by our crack announce team of Mike Hogewood and Dave Prazak. By the way, they're doing no favors to their fed with their amateur-sounding announcing. Prazak would be alright with someone to work with, but Hogewood needs to go. Imagine if Matt Striker were allowed to announce that caliber of wrestling without the anchor that is Josh Matthews and without a production assistant chirping in his ear?
Aaaaaaanyway, as with most ROH action, the match started off with them feeling each other out after Aries hammed it up pre-match, trying to get out of the traditional handshake. If you're not a fan of old-school wrestling, this match isn't for you. Luckily for me, I love wrestling of all kinds, and old-school is way up there for me. Danielson was bringing mostly the submission and strike game. A lot of elbows (and now that Misawa's gone, I expect his elbow usage to go up exponentially out of tribute when he recovers from his staph infection), a good amount of MMA submissions thrown in (with a key mention from Prazak about that). Aries went all old-school heel, breaking out the sucker punch, the back rake, the Vulcan neck pinch and the... FISHHOOK~! Seriously, I marked out where I sat when I saw that. Oh Austin, my hero.
What I liked most was the finish. It was a good submission finish with a move that wasn't pimped as one of Danielson's finishers, the triangle choke. It was great to see a finish that wasn't predictable but also wasn't a flash pin either. Then again, this is ROH, Americanized puro. I also liked how it was a drawn out process before Aries had to tap out, and how the move wasn't just Aries sitting there and trying to get to the ropes. The 'E could learn a few things watching ROH matches and teaching their younger guys how to really work a submission finish.
Great free TV match, and it really makes me want to check out their earlier stuff. Of course, by then my mancrush on Aries will reach insufferable, Jericho levels, and well, you'll all have no choice but to become indoctrinated into the cult of Aries or die resisting... AHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAH~!
