Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima: The Feud Review

Takeshi Morishima vs. Bryan Danielson (ROH World Title; Manhattan Mayhem II)

8 months prior, a Homicide Lariat put an end to one of the best title reigns this country had seen in years. On that night, December 23, 2006, Bryan Danielson’s 15 months ROH World Title reign finally fell. Danielson took some much needed time off and repaired a shoulder that was barely hanging on. When he returned 5 months later, things were not as he had left. The man who had defeated him had fallen to a monster named Takeshi Morishima from Pro Wrestling NOAH. Morishima, known for his bear like strength and incredible agility has run through every challenger that ROH had placed before him in his 6 months as champion. Morishima had never faced a challenge like this before though. On August 25, 2007, he defended the title against a man who was getting his first shot at redemption and regaining the title that defined his life for over a year. The match takes place in New York City in the same building where Danielson lost the title. It is the 2007 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Match of the Year.

Danielson is the overwhelming crowd favorite here. His brilliant gameplan is shown within seconds of the opening bell. Morishima had run through the ROH locker room like Kurt Angle runs through prescription meds. No one wanted to admit it, but at full force, no one can take down this behemoth. Danielson is Einstein in between the ropes so he obviously knows this more than anyone. Morishima is like the Titanic, but you know what? The Titanic sunk, and it was all because of a small hole. That’s all Dragon needs…a small hole. That leg is as good a place to start as any.

Danielson starts kicking at the left leg of Morishima. He plays it off as an attempt to get Shima off his game early as he smiles like a dick after it pisses off the monster, and while it could be construed as that, it’s a long term work in progress to chip away at the opposition’s defense. It’s like a Chess master making a move at the beginning of the match while thinking 10 moves ahead. Man, I’m just full of metaphors here. Anyhoo, this works to perfection as Morishima is already showing signs of a chink in the armor. Nothing can go wrong for Dragon early…until Morishima connects with his strikes…

Something is wrong with Danielson. As we all know by now, the huge haymakers from Morishima connected and detached Danielson’s retina. He scrambles on the ground and tries to continue his gameplan, but his kicks have nothing now and Shima smells blood. It almost starts to get out of hand soon after. If it were a boxing match or an MMA fight, the ref would have stopped it by now. Danielson knows that he has no time and as soon as he’s able to get the upper hand, he pushes Morishima into the crowd and connects with his dive. Reminiscent of Joe/Punk III where Punk had a clear objective but became injured and had to go full force. Danielson turns up the legwork by using a chair on said leg of Morishima. He doesn’t have 40 minutes to work over the leg, he has to end it soon. The sympathy Danielson is drawing is amazing. You almost have to root for him. The champion hits the first half of his finishing sequence but Danielson has it scouted. Danielson continues to get manhandled but FIGHTING SPIRIT~! leads to Morishima’s leg morphing into a mass of goo. They trade offense with Danielson attacking the leg like a pitbull and Morishima using his pure strength. Morishima again tries to hit the Backdrop Driver, but he leg buckles. An opening for Danielson! He doesn’t hesitate because he can’t against Morishima. Rapid fire kicks and Morishima crumbles to the ground. A hole in the ship! ICEBERG DEAD AHEAD!!!!!!!!

The crowd is on their feet as Danielson kicks Morishima’s face in and locks Cattle Mutilation. A rope break leads to heartbreak for the New York faithful. A backdrop suplex from the top rope might be the move that wins Dragon the title, but Morishima uses what advantage he has left and shifts his massive weight onto Danielson on the way down. Good God. Danielson still has FIGHTING SPIRIT~!, but Morishima has a lariat that sends reverberations throughout the planet. Danielson is all but dead after that and the Backdrop Driver puts him down for the three.

Standing ovation from the crowd for Danielson. They chant “Best in the World.”, but Danielson takes the mic and proclaims the man with the ROH Title the best in the world. He apologizes for letting them down. He could pretty much piss on Babe Ruth’s grave and he would still get a huge ovation after all of that.

What an emotional rollercoaster. Arguably Danielson’s best performance ever all things considered. I still found myself rooting for Danielson to pull it out even after multiple viewings. I fully expect it to happen the next time I sit down to watch it. The match made Morishima legit and cemented Danielson as the grandest wrestler in ROH history. I’d still “only” put this as my #2 MOTY for 2007 behind Danielson’s match in Philadelphia against Nigel McGuinness for what that’s worth. Classic none the less and a match I’d be proud to show anybody that doesn’t understand why I’m going to watch wrestling for life.

****3/4

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Takeshi Morishima vs. Bryan Danielson (ROH World Title; Man Up)

Danielson cuts a promo about the first encounter from 3 weeks ago while wearing an eye patch. He speaks of his mom taking him to the doctor for surgery and crying the whole time. He also tells us about his sister calling him and screaming that he can’t do this to them anymore. He also speaks about his dad and him discussing his future. Maybe he could go back to school. Maybe he could go back home and work at the mill. But they both knew that this was what Bryan was passionate about. That same passion will guide Bryan to the title tonight. He may not be the best, but tonight, on his night, he will prove that he has more heart than anyone else. Probably the best promo he’s ever done right here.

This is Danielson’s shot at the title that he won by defeating Nigel McGuinness at the last ROH PPV, Driven. In their previous encounter, Morishima injured the retina of Danielson. Morishima promises to not attack the eye in this match out of respect for the title.

Danielson knows he has to end this quickly so he attacks right off the bat. A fight is Morishima’s game though, so the champion dominates to start. But much like their first match, Danielson takes to the air as soon as there’s an opening. This time it’s the Suicide Dive that turns the tide. Danielson is all about learning from his mistakes so he’s able to avoid the butt drop that Shima connected with in New York. Danielson is able to get in some of his token offense on the heavyweight. This is the quickest amount of trouble Morishima has been in so far as champion. Dragon’s really feeling it tonight. That eye has been surgically corrected and as long as Morishima keeps his promise, the title will be his. Morishima is already a little frustrated so he starts trying to throw bombs. Danielson reverses the Backdrop Driver with a small package attempt just like the first match, but Morishima has also learned from his mistakes so he able to counter out of that. Danielson eventually gets the move that cost him the match in Manhattan, the Super Backdrop from the top. The reversal at Manhatten Mayhem II lead to Morishima winning, but now it appears it may lead to a new champion as he locks in the Cattle Mutilation. Morishima is too big though, so he powers out of multiple submission attempts. Morishima gets the Lariat ---> Backdrop Driver combo that has put so many away, Dragon included, but Danielson gets the foot on the rope to save his opportunity. Morishima gets PISSED and starts attacking the eye. The crowd pretty much assumes him to be Satan. Danielson knows this is his last chance so he gets the small package for a huge nearfall. Morishima isn’t phased and he connects again with the Backdrop Driver. He is still pissed the first one connected and didn't lead to a pinfall, so instead of going for a pin, he targets the eye and destroys what’s left of it. This is a message to anyone tha thinks the can beat him. Ref has to stop it to save Danielson’s vision and Morishima leaves to chants of “Bullshit.”

Another damn great match, although not on the level of the first one (not much is). It’s still 13 minutes of a captivating story. Morishima is put over as being a new student of puro. It’s not about respect and honor, it’s just about winning the match by any means necessary. Danielson becomes a martyr for not only the title, but for the true nature of the company. He may not have the belt, but he’s a different kind of champion in many of the fans’ eyes.

****

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Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima (Glory by Honor VI Night 2)

So in the first match, Morishima injured Danielson’s retina and orbital bone. In the second match, Shima again attacked the eye to save his title. Things have changed a little bit since these two were last in the ring together. Morishima is no longer the ROH champion, falling to Nigel McGuinness a month prior. Another change since then is the hatred that these two men now share for one another. The attack on the eye has lead Danielson to not care about the title for the time being. It’s time to escalate the violence. This takes place in the Manhattan Center, the same building where the first match between these two took place.

Danielson comes out with no eye patch this time, signifying that Morishima tried to get the job done and failed. His super focused entrance is a little touch that I like. Remember in the first 2 matches where Danielson connected with a dive early to take control? Well, he does it before the match even starts. He fucking MURDERS him on the outside before they eventually make it back into the ring. Morishima gets in control, but Dragon screams, “C’mon you mother fucker!” He’s challenging Morishima to finish a job that Dragon knows he can’t finish. Morishima is more than happy to oblige and clubs Dragon like a baby seal. This continues until Dragon capitalizes on a mistake and takes to the air. He’s not as strong as Morishima, but 200 pounds landing on anybody will do some damage. Speaking of doing some damage, Danielson looks to inflict damage of the permanent kind as he takes the ring bell hammer and stabs Morishima in the eye, but Shima hits a desperation Backdrop Driver on the floor. Damn. Danielson is knocked stupid after that. Every time he tries to climb back into the ring, Morishima hits him off and taunts him and the crowd. Danielson is busted open. He eventually gets back into the ring with the first successful Sunset Flip on Shima, but no time to celebrate as Shima quickly decapitates him with a Lariat. You know what’s next, but for the 4th time in the series, Danielson counter out of the Backdrop Driver. A vast array or Rolling Elbows, dropkicks to the knee, kicks to the chest and MMA Elbows are able to take down the monster. Danielson is throwing everything in his arsenal at Morishima tonight. Morishima is on the ropes so he desperately goes for Danielson’s eye again. Dragon is now the one in trouble, so he uppercuts Shima’s nuts to save himself from blindness. He then stomps Morshima’s balls to jelly and gets DQ’ed. Dragon couldn’t care less.

After they scrape what’s left of Morishima’s nuts off the mat, Nigel McGuinness comes out and questions Danielson’s motives. He points at the word “Honor” on the ring mat and asks Danielson if he has any left. Danielson is as amped as a guy who just snorted an eight ball and had 10 Red Bulls, so he kicks Nigel’s injured arm and mocks the Jawbreaker Lariat. New York LOVES that. This Bryan Danielson is a different guy who doesn’t care anymore.

Danielson cuts a promo in the back just moments after he walks through the curtain. Danielson says it wasn’t ‘eye for an eye’, it was eye ball for a different kind of ball tonight. Morishima may be a bad ass, but he can’t do what he did to Danielson without repercussions. And if Nigel wants to get in Dragon’s business, then Danielson can get into his by taking the World Title when the time comes.

Another insane match. This one was all about the violence and hate and I’m all for it. Hard to believe they squeezed all of this into 13 minutes as it never slowed down from before the match even started. They made me feel like this was a fight between two guys who want to legit hurt each other. The finish to me is perfect. Danielson wanted revenge and he got it all right. You knew there was going to be another match, and this only threw gas on the fire. Epic in ever sense of the word.

****1/2

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Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima (Relaxed Rules; Rising Above)

We all know the story by now. In match one, Danielson had his retina detached. In match two, Morishima again attacked the eye even though he said he wouldn’t. Match three was all about Danielson gaining revenge, which he did to a degree via nut-stomping. Now here we are again, a month after the 3rd match, again in the Manhattan Center for another ROH PPV. This time it’s under “Relaxed Rules,” which means the referee will be less inclined to stop the match for DQ unless it goes too far. Morishima has publicly stated that he’s here to injure Bryan Danielson for good. Be afraid clam digger.

They brawl before the bell can ring to no one’s surprise. Danielson gets opened up within the first minute. Crowd is rabid for Dragon, but Morishima is dominating so far. Morishima tells the referee to count Danielson down, but Dragon is up at 4. Morishima takes that as an insult and proceeds to ravage Dragon like an animal. Danielson tries to fight back but a Morishima Lariat leads to the Backdrop Driver, which Danielson is unable to counter like he has multiple times so far in the series. He’s basically knocked loopy and he staggers right back up into another soul shattering Lariat for a 2 count. Morishima shows signs of frustration towards the ref. Danielson tries to capitalize by attacking Morishima’s eye, but Shima simply attacks the eye right back. He then plays off the last match by kicking Danielson in the ball and stomps them into dust. Ref doesn’t think that’s a good idea, but Morishima is out of control so he pushes the ref down for the DQ.

After the match, Morishima goes bananas and kills a ref. This got him suspended from ROH PPV forever. In the mayhem, Danielson has been revived and now has the ring bell hammer. He takes the end and drives it into Morishima’s eye in a fit of blind rage. Danielson walks out on his own power while Morishima is attended to in the corner.

More insanity from these two. Easily their worst match together but as it only went 8 minutes that’s no surprise. The structure of the match almost made it look like a squash with Danielson taking a massive shitkicking for the majority of it. The match from Final Battle 2008 probably should have been the match that took place here, but NOAH might have squashed that considering Morishima would win the GHC Title a couple months later and they didn't want him to lose to a junior before. There was really no advancement of story in this one, but it's still a fun inclusion to the feud.

***1/4