100 Percent Fordified: Ring of Honor Danielson vs. McGuinness

Disc One

ROH World Championship & ROH Pure Championship
Bryan Danielson (ROH World Champion) vs. Nigel McGuinness (ROH Pure Champion)
“Weekend of Champions, Night 2” – Cleveland, OH – 4.29.2006

This match is contested under Pure Title rules. Danielson goes for the Chicken Wing early but McGuinness won’t let him get it on. He goes for the cross armbreaker. McGuinness rolls him into a grapevine which Danielson rolls out of. As they keep each other grounded, Danielson slaps McGuinness in the face twice. He manages to keep McGuinness in a side headlock and then a cravat. McGuinness has to use one of his rope breaks to escape since his own attempts to do so are futile. McGuinness throws a closed fist which the referee doesn’t see. In anger, Danielson throws one of his own which costs him a rope break. McGuinness drives Danielson arm first into the mat. He puts on a modified hammerlock whilst driving his elbow into Danielson’s neck. Danielson uses a second rope break to escape this. McGuinness goes back to the arm. Danielson refuses to use a rope break. He stomps McGuinness’ knees into the mat because his weak arm won’t allow him to put on the Romero Special. McGuinness drives his arm into the mat again and then shoves him to the floor. He delivers a German suplex upon coming back into the ring. He connects with a diving headbutt for two. He puts on the Crossface Chicken Wing. McGuinness uses his second rope break to escape. McGuinness headstands in the corner and baits Danielson into a dropkick. He hits the Tower of London. Danielson uses his third and final rope break to stop the count. Danielson puts on Cattle Mutilation. McGuinness uses his third and final rope break to escape, meaning the ropes are now in play for both participants. McGuinness suplexes Danielson from the apron causing them both to fall to the floor. McGuinness chokes Danielson with the timekeeper’s table in the hopes of getting a count out victory. Danielson manages to get back in the ring just in time. McGuinness throws some uppercuts. Danielson gets two with a backslide. He forearms McGuinness who comes back with the Rebound Lariat. Danielson kicks out and puts on Cattle Mutilation. McGuinness slides out to the floor since the ropes won’t save him. As he’s recovering in the aisleway, Danielson suicide dives onto him. McGuinness charges and Danielson sends him into the crowd. Danielson springboards from the top rope onto McGuinness in the crowd! As he comes down though, McGuinness holds up a chair which hits Danielson is his hurt arm. McGuinness makes it back in the ring but Danielson does not, giving McGuinness the win via count out at 28:34. Since only the Pure Championship can change hands on a count out, Danielson holds onto his World title. This was a brilliant finish to have both men save face and retain their titles. Even though on paper it sounds cheap, it worked out really well in the context of the match. This was just a taste of what was to come and yet still quite excellent. ***3/4

ROH World Championship
Bryan Danielson (Champion) vs. Nigel McGuinness
“Generation Now” – Cleveland, OH – 7.29.2006

Danielson goes after McGuinness’ ankle. They send each other to the corner, each proclaiming that they are the best in the world. Danielson snaps back on McGuinness’ key locked legs. McGuinness works on a top wristlock. Danielson goes for the ankle again and McGuinness grabs the ropes. Danielson dragonscrews the ankle upon release. McGuinness throws his arm into the mat and twists his legs around it. Danielson turns the Romero Special into a Dragon Sleeper. McGuinness gets the ropes to break a leg lock. He snapmares Danielson into a back kick. Danielson backs McGuinness to the corner, but McGuinness headbutts him away. Danielson throws some slaps to the face and some shots to his body. McGuinness baits him into a back kick/clothesline into the canvas combo. McGuinness goes for the Tower of London. Danielson blocks it and gives him a German suplex. He goes up top after a regular suplex. He missile dropkicks McGuinness to the floor and suicide dives after him. In the ring he puts on Cattle Mutilation. McGuinness gets to the ropes. He escapes but gets caught with a corner dropkick. Danielson superplexes him. He delivers a diving headbutt for two. McGuinness’ nose is busted open. Both men throw uppercuts. McGuinness nails a lariat for two. He also gets two with the Tower of London thanks to Danielson getting his foot on the ropes. McGuinness put son a modified Kimura Lock. Danielson grabs the ropes. McGuinness reigns down with elbows to the side of his head. Danielson does the same. After trading some headbutts, McGuinness hits the Rebound Lariat. They both end up fighting on the top rope. McGuinness lariats Danielson off of the top rope! Danielson rolls to the floor and under the ring to prevent himself from being pinned. He comes out from the other side and catches McGuinness with a small package for the pin at 24:25. This was a nice follow up to their previous match, which tied to score in singles bouts between them 1-to-1 and portrayed a different side of both competitors. While the first match was more technical and methodical, this match started that way and then evolved into a more strike based bout. Danielson catching McGuinness off guard played both into his title reign as a whole and into their blossoming rivalry. ***3/4

ROH World Championship & ROH Pure Championship Unification Match
Bryan Danielson (ROH World Champion) vs. Nigel McGuinness (ROH Pure Champion)
“Unified” – Liverpool, England – 8.12.2006

To clarify, this match is in fact contested under Pure Rules. In the case of someone being counted out, the title WILL change hands. An aggressive lock-up is broken against the ropes. Danielson smacks McGuinness in the face. McGuinness armdrags Danielson and slaps him in the face. Danielson digs his elbow into McGuinness’ face. Danielson breaks McGuinness’ wristlock and dropkicks him to the ropes. Danielson twists up his arm. McGuinness snapmares him into a Dragon kick. As they jockey for position Danielson pushes McGuinness to the corner. He whips McGuinness arm first into the mat. Danielson stomps on his elbow. He bends McGuinness’ fingers while applying more pressure to the wrist and shoulder. He delivers a dropkick for two. Danielson butterfly suplexes McGuinness into a cross armbreaker. McGuinness is forced to use his first rope break. McGuinness catches Danielson in the corner with a kick to the back and an elbow. McGuinness drives Danielson’s arm to the mat for two. McGuinness applies a Cobra Clutch after an uppercut. Danielson ducks a clothesline and delivers an enzuigiri. Danielson stomps both of McGuinness’ knees into the canvas. Danielson delivers a superplex. A diving headbutt follows. When that doesn’t get Danielson the pin, he puts on the Cattle Mutilation. McGuinness uses his second rope break to escape. McGuinness catches Danielson climbing the ropes. He delivers the Tower of London. McGuinness breaks the pin by using his first rope break. McGuinness puts on the Cattle Mutilation himself! Danielson uses his second rope break to escape that. They fight spills out to the floor. Danielson throws McGuinness face first into the timekeeper’s table. Back in the ring we get a forearm exchange. McGuinness ducks Danielson’s rolling forearm and delivers a lariat for two. McGuinness does a headstand in the corner. Danielson dropkicks and hits his rolling forearm. He puts on the Crossface Chicken Wing with a bodyscissors. McGuinness uses his third and final rope break to escape. Danielson is very happy about this. Danielson hits a German suplex. McGuinness gets his boot up to block a diving headbutt. Danielson wins an intense slap battle. McGuinness crotches him on the top rope and nails a lariat. Danielson uses his final rope break to stop the pin. Danielson catches McGuinness on the top rope with the Chicken Wing. McGuinness turns it into the Tower of London for a two count. Danielson pulls McGuinness head first into the ring post four times. The impact legitimately busts him open. Danielson dropkicks him into the crowd and springboard dives onto him. Both men make it back into the ring at eighteen. McGuinness is fired up and bloody. He and Danielson throw simultaneous headbutts, as if they were freakin’ rams or something. Danielson counters it the first time, but the second time McGuinness scores with the Rebound lariat. McGuinness crawls over to Danielson and only gets two. Danielson puts on Cattle Mutilation. McGuinness escapes, so Danielson traps his head and lays in a barrage of elbows to the side of his head. The referee stops the match at 26:20, giving Danielson the win and the titles. Easily one of the best matches in ROH history, one of the best matches of both guys’ careers, and one of the most classic matches ROH has had. No doubt about it, if you have not seen this match, you need to. ****3/4

ROH World Championship – 2 out of 3 Falls
Bryan Danielson (Champion) vs. Nigel McGuinness
“The Epic Encounter II” – St. Paul, MN – 8.25.2006

This is McGuinness’ final chance at the ROH World title during Danielson’s reign. McGuinness is much more anxious to get things going than Danielson is. Danielson gets control with a side headlock. He plans to not leave the headlock for 60 minutes. That would put his match with Claudio from PWG to shame. After they each fail at a shoulder block, Danielson goes back to the side headlock. McGuinness arm whips out only to get put back in the headlock seconds later. He gets two with a back suplex. Now that the fans want to see a headlock, he kicks McGuinness in the back and drops a knee. He puts on a chinlock which the fans are also content with. He works over McGuinness’ neck with some strikes as well. McGuinness hammerlocks his arm and drives him into the mat twice. On the floor they both try to ram one another’s heads into the ring post. It ends up with McGuinness throwing Danielson’s arm into it. McGuinness keeps on the arm back in the ring. He tosses Danielson to the floor where throws him arm first into the barricades. More arm work in the ring. He arm whips Danielson twice into the corner. Danielson sends McGuinness to the floor and suicide dives him into the barricades. He gets two with a top rope dropkick and a diving headbutt. He puts McGuinness in the LaBell Lock. McGuinness gets to the ropes. Danielson then puts on the Crossface Chicken Wing. Again McGuinness gets the ropes. McGuinness gets two with a lariat. He headstands into a mule kick for another two count. Danielson throws a few forearms before small packaging McGuinness, picking up the first fall at 35:28. Danielson wisely takes his time before locking up with McGuinness again. McGuinness becomes angry with Danielson’s arrogant approach and his attempts at a chinlock that he picks up his intensity and goes for some desperate pins to tie things up. Danielson grounds McGuinness and gets a cheap shot in on his nose. McGuinness gives him an Electric Chair drop off the top rope. When Danielson kicks out, he puts on the Kimura Lock. Danielson gets the ropes. Danielson missile dropkicks him. McGuinness hits a Rebound Lariat for two, then puts on a headscissor Kimura Lock. Danielson taps at 39:51, tying the match up at one fall a piece.

McGuinness goes right for a key lock and Danielson goes after the ankle. McGuinness puts on Cattle Mutilation. Danielson immediately gets his foot on the ropes. McGuinness does a heandstand in the corner and Danielson headbutts him while upright. Danielson gets two with a superplex. He puts on Cattle Mutilation and now it is McGuinness who gets the ropes right away. They slap each other a few times before Danielson smacks McGuinness’ nose. More slaps to the face are thrown. Danielson blows snot in McGuinness’ face. He dropkicks McGuinness to the floor. He baseball slides McGuinness into the crowd and springboard dives onto him. In the ring, McGuinness lariats Danielson off the top rope for two. Danielson catches McGuinness with a top rope dropkick. He gives him the Tower of London for two. McGuinness gets a knee up to block a diving headbutt. He puts on Cattle Mutilation. Danielson escapes. Danielson also blocks McGuinness’s Tower of London. McGuinness blocks a Cattle Mutilation and then picks up Danielson to successfully hit the Tower of London for two. McGuinness tries for another top rope lariat. Danielson ducks and puts on Cattle Mutilation. McGuinness gets the ropes. He hits a lariat for two, then puts the Kimura Lock right back on. He escapes. Slaps and uppercuts are hurled as both men begin to show signs of exhaustion. Danielson hits a rolling elbow. McGuinness hits the Rebound Lariat again for two. He transitions into Cattle Mutilation. McGuinness hits the Tower of London for two. He goes back to the Kimura Lock. Danielson maneuvers out and reigns down with elbows to the side of McGuinness’ head. Unlike the “Unified” match, he fights out and reigns down with his own elbows. The 60:00 time limit expires and the match is declared a draw. Therefore, Danielson retains his title. There were some cute moments in the first fall, some nice call backs to previous matches, and a pretty exciting ending stretch, but otherwise this was all filler. They wanted to get the magic of Joe vs. Punk or Danielson vs. London and didn’t come close. They knew they were going 60 minutes and bided their time. It goes to show how good the competitors are when even they make a fairly uninteresting match (which the graveyard silent crowd did not help) that goes an hour not seem like a total chore. ***1/4

Nigel McGuinness & KENTA vs. Bryan Danielson & Takeshi Morishima
“Respect Is Earned” – New York, NY – 5.12.2007

Danielson monkey flips KENTA to the ropes. KENTA boots him mid-air. McGuinness and Morishima tag in. Morishima shoulder blocks him down. Danielson tags in and goes for McGuinness’ arm. McGuinness grabs the bottom rope quickly. He takes down Danielson with an uppercut. He places Danielson on the top rope. Danielson fights him off and hits a diving uppercut. McGuinness gives him a headbutt. Morishima clotheslines him from behind. KENTA boots Morishima and Danielson takes him down with a dragonscrew, bringing the bout to a stalemate. Morishima and Danielson wear down McGuinness in their corner until he lariats Morishima and tags in KENTA. He knocks down Danielson with a yakuza kick and a springboard dropkick. He gets two with a leg lariat. Danielson catches him with a backbreaker. Morishima cartwheel splashes him in the corner. He top rope dropkicks KENTA across the ring. KENTA fights out of the backdrop driver but takes a side slam. He powerslams Morishima and tags in McGuinness. He gives Morishima a series of strikes to his throat, ending with a running European uppercut. Morishima boots McGuinness as he comes off the ropes. He comes off the top with a dropkick. McGuinness rolls through and hits a lariat for two. Morishima goes for his cartwheel splash. McGuinness blocks that with a lariat and gets another two count. Danielson takes out KENTA on the floor while Morishima sits on McGuinness’ chest. KENTA whips Danielson into the barricades. Morishima gives McGuinness the Backdrop Driver. KENTA breaks the pin just in time. McGuinness manages to hit the Tower of London for two. Danielson and KENTA throw some hard offense. KENTA comes off the top with a knee to Danielson’s neck. Danielson gives him a Dragon suplex then puts on the Crossface Chicken Wing. KENTA uses the turnbuckles to change it into his own pin attempt. McGuinness powerbombs Danielson to stop his sunset bomb attempt on KENTA. McGuinness lariats Danielson off the top rope. Morishima brings McGuinness to the floor, but it’s McGuinness who hits a lariat and sends Morishima into the crowd. He springboard crossbody’s after him. Back in the ring, Danielson kicks away at McGuinness’ elbow. He goes for a diving headbutt on KENTA. KENTA gets his knees up, then hits the Busaiku Knee for two. He hits the Go 2 Sleep. Morishima breaks the cover and gives KENTA a uranage suplex. McGuinness is taping his elbow up as Danielson and Morishima gang up on his partner. McGuinness saves KENTA from a Doomsday Device. He nails Morhshima with the Jawbreaker Lariat. KENTA brings Danielson off the top rope with a Falcon Arrow for two. They trade strikes after they recover. Danielson brings KENTA off the top with a super belly-to-back suplex. KENTA kicks out so Danielson puts on Cattle Mutilation. He then drives his elbow repeatedly into KENTA’s head. KENTA fights up for Go 2 Sleep. Danielson blocks it and gets two with a Tiger suplex. Back to Cattle Mutilation he goes. Morishima blocks McGuinness from making the save. KENTA taps out at 24:54. That was insanely action packed and had the Grand Ballroom rocking. Some brushing off of bigger moves and lack of cohesion keeps this from being anything truly special or memorable, but this was a really killer 25 minutes nonetheless. ***3/4

ROH World Championship #1 Contenders Match
Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness
Tape Date: “Domination” – Philadelphia, PA – 6.9.2007
(Aired as part of the “Driven” PPV)

Danielson breaks cleanly against the ropes. He bends McGuinness’ arm up on the mat. He key locks the legs when McGuinness tries to put on a headscissors. McGuinness rolls out of a Bow and Arrow and gets a one count. He shoulders Danielson to the corner. Danielson trips McGuinness and takes the guard. McGuinness blocks some strikes. Danielson digs his fist into McGuinness’ face to try and open him up. It does not work. He puts on a Kimura lock but Danielson rolls to the ropes rather quickly. Danielson slaps him in the face after shaking his hand. McGuinness baits Danielson into a headstand mule kick. McGuinness bends Danielson’s arm behind his back and stretches it out. Danielson puts on a Japanese strangle hold. McGuinness sends him to the floor with a short-arm lariat. They trade strikes on the floor. Danielson throws a chair and the timekeeper’s table onto McGuinness. McGuinness uses the ropes to lariat Danielson into the crowd. McGuinness crossbody’s onto him. When they come back ringside, Danielson suplexes McGuinness onto the edge of the barricades! He suplexes McGuinness on the floor before bringing him back into the ring for a two count. He puts on a crossface. When McGuinness doesn’t tap, Danielson decides to do more damage to his face. He fires up when Danielson throws a flurry of slaps. He knocks Danielson down with a lariat but needs some time to recoup. He charges with an uppercut in the corner. Another lariat gets him two. He has some trouble lifting Danielson because of his back. Danielson swiftly kicks him in the side of the head for two. McGuinness trips him on the top rope. Danielson fights off the Tower of London and tries a sunset flip. McGuinness rolls through and gets two with a powerbomb. He puts on a half crab until Danielson gets the ropes. Danielson counters the headstand kick. He superplexes McGuinness and puts on the Chicken Wing. McGuinness uses the Tower of London to escape. He lariats Danielson off of the top rope. He pulls him away from the ropes, but Danielson is able to get his foot on them anyways. He gives McGuinness an enzuigiri. A slap battle turns into them ramming their heads together. McGuinness gives the now busted open Danielson a lariat. Danielson blocks the Jawbreaker Lariat and gets two with a Tiger suplex. McGuinness rolls through Cattle Mutiliation. Danielson elbows the heck out of McGuinness’ head and then puts on Cattle Mutilation. McGuinness is out, and referee Todd Sinclair calls for the bell at 24:29. That was damn near perfect. At this point, both guys had become so familiar with each others’ repertoires that they had to incorporate some new stuff into the fold. They did that while also keeping some motifs that made their previous matches so great. This is at least on the same level as the “Unified” encounter and arguably better. ****3/4

Disc Two

Bryan Danielson & Nigel McGuinness vs. Takeshi Morishima & Naomichi Marufuji
“United We Stand” – Dayton, OH – 6.22.2007

Danielson dropkicks Marufuji to the corner. Marufuji does the same. After some back and forth, they reach a stand-off by throwing stereo dropkicks. McGuinness and Morishima tag in. McGuinness almost gets a quick pin. Morishima forearms him to the corner. He then wins a forearm exchange with Danielson. Marufuji puts Danielson in a strangle hold. Danielson breaks it and gives him a knee in the mid-section. Marufuji dropkicks him to the floor where Morishima throws him into the barricades. This gives the NOAH team the opportunity to isolate Danielson in their corner. Danielson escapes by flipping out of the corner and giving Marufuji a backbreaker. McGuinness lights up Marufuji in the corner. He hits a rolling lariat for two. Marufuji fights off the Tower of London. He hops off the top rope but is caught with a superkick. Marufuji ducks the Jawbreaker Lariat. He hits a lariat and tags in Morishima. He hits a cartwheel splash and a side slam. Danielson comes in with two missile dropkicks. Morishima takes him down with a hip attack. Marufujui lariats him inside out. He and Danielson trade pin attempts. Marufuji drives his knee into Danielson’s face. Danielson forearms him to block the Shiranui. McGuinness mule kicks him into a German suplex from Danielson. Danielson helps him out with a Tower of London. Morishima breaks the pin. Morishima assists Marufuji in giving Danielson the Shiranui. Morishima gives McGuinness the Backdrop Driver. Danielson and Marufuji fight on the floor. He jumps back in to save McGuinness from a top rope Backdrop Driver. McGuinness dives onto Morishima on the floor. He brings Morishima back in for a two count. He then puts on a Half Crab while Danielson has Marufuji in Cattle Mutilation. Morishima makes it to the ropes while Marufuji rolls to the floor. Morishima suplexes both of his opponents simultaneously. Marufuji gives Danielson a coast-to-coast dropkick. McGuinness hits the Tower of London on Morishima and Marufuji breaks the pin just in time. Marufuji superkicks McGuinness, who uses that to hit the Jawbreaker Lariat on Morishima for the pin at 24:14. That was a fun inter-promotional battle that gave Nigel a huge win and a reason to get a rematch at Morishima’s World title. Given the four men involved this probably was not as good as you might imagine, but still really fun and worth watching. ***1/2

ROH Tag Team Championship
The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe) vs. Bryan Danielson & Nigel McGuinness
“Race to the Top Tournament Night 1” – Deer Park, NY – 7.27.2007

Mark and McGuinness start off. McGuinness O’Conner rolls Mark, but Jay runs in and boots him in the face. He dropkicks McGuinness for two. They double shoulder block him to the corner. Danielson offers to tag in so he can take care of things. McGuinness doesn’t like his attitude, but tags out anyways. Danielson puts Mark in a Half Crab. Mark gets the ropes and Jay tags in. Jay puts on a wristlock which Danielson dropkicks out of. Danielson rolls him into a cross armbreaker. Mark makes the save. The Briscoes drop him with a double sit-out uranage and a legdrop/tumbleweed quebrada combo. McGuinness comes in to break the pin. Jay forearms McGuinness to the floor. Mark crossbody’s out onto him. McGuinness gets up to prevent him from diving onto Danielson. He uses the ropes for a Rebound Lariat on the floor. Danielson suplexes Jay onto his head. The Odd Couple decides to beat down Jay while Mark recovers on the floor. To Jay’s credit, he’s able to kick out of a lot. Mark springboards in with a forearm to Danielson. He gets tagged in and misses a crossbody. McGuinness and Danielson double whip him but both get taken down. He gives Danielson a springboard splash for two. He also gets two with a moonsault press. The Briscoes set up Danielson for a Doomsday Device. McGuinness knocks Mark down, allowing Danielson to put him in Cattle Mutilation. He drives his elbow into Mark’s head multiple times before reapplying the hold. Jay splashes Danielson to break the hold. McGuinness sets up Jay in the corner for a running uppercut. Mark cuts him off with a springboard dropkick. McGuinness uppercuts Mark into Jay. He drives Mark into the canvas and hits a rolling lariat on Jay. He lariats Jay off the top rope. Mark breaks the count and prevents McGuinness from hitting the Tower of London. He and Jay hit the Sidewinder on McGuinness for two. He goes for the Jawbreaker Lariat. Mark counters with a Saito suplex. The Briscoes set up for stereo top rope moves on McGuinness. Danielson finally comes in to superplex Jay. Meanwhile McGuinness gets his knees up to counter Mark’s shooting star press. Danielson accidentally forearms McGuinness, allowing Mark to roll him up while Jay traps Danielson for the pin at 17:50. This was a lot like the first match in that it was action packed, told a good story and went about the right amount of time but did not reach the lofty expectations one may have when seeing the names involved. ***1/2

Survival of the Fittest Qualifying Match
Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness
“Survival of the Fittest 2007” – Las Vegas, NV – 10.19.2007

Danielson breaks a lock-up against the ropes. He breaks a wristlock and dropkicks McGuinness to the ropes. McGuinness goes for his foot and Danielson rolls to his feet. Same thing happens when tries for a cross armbreaker. Danielson vigorously goes for McGuinness’ left leg, even taking off his knee pad to make his attacks more effective. McGuinness twists his arm and throws him arm first to the mat. McGuinness decides to go after Danielson’s arms. McGuinness leans his body across Danielson’s arm. Danielson turns into a Half Crab causing McGuinness to grab the ropes. Danielson ties up his legs in a Muta Lock. McGuinness escapes and kicks Danielson’s arm. Danielson throws a few chest kicks before putting on a figure four. Even though it pains him, McGuinness turns it over and makes Danielson grab the ropes. He lariats Danielson in the neck for two. He drives Danielson into the mat with a hammerlock divorce court. Danielson gives him a rolling forearm. When McGuinness comes out for the Jawbreaker Lariat, Danielson kicks his leg out and puts on a Half Crab. McGuinness gets the ropes. Danielson puts on an Achilles tendon hold. McGuinness suplexes Danielson and gives a headstand mule kick. Danielson comes out of the corner with a kick to the chest. With the one minute time limit announced, Danielson throws repeated elbows at McGuinness’ head. He sets up for a belly-to-back superplex. McGuinness slips out and crotches Danielson on the top rope. Just as he sets up for the Tower of London the 20:00 minute time limit expires. Neither guy had their hearts into the encounter. The worked each other on the mat and had some good psychology but abandoned ship on any story they tried telling in the last few minutes. That made sense given the urgency of the match but is sort of annoying in general. This was probably the worst of their matches and yet it’s still solid. ***

ROH World Championship
Nigel McGuinness (Champion) vs. Bryan Danielson
“6th Anniversary Show” – New York, NY – 2.23.2008

Earlier, Danielson vowed to not go after McGuinness’ head since he suffered a concussion a couple months prior. Danielson dropkicks McGuinness’ knee. He puts him in a Bow and Arrow. McGuinness rolls out of it. They trade control in a Japanese Strange Hold. Danielson ducks the first lariat attempt. He puts on a Half Crab until McGuinness grabs the ropes. McGuinness goes for his usual headstand mule kick. Danielson doesn’t buy it, and dropkicks McGuinness to the floor and suicide dives after him. McGuinness takes a suplex and then takes to the apron. He decks referee Paul Turner, who calls for the bell to disqualify Nigel. He of course retains his title. However, a fleet of wrestlers from backstage headed by Austin Aries refuse to let McGuinness walk out on the match. His ultimatum is for McGuinness to head back and defend the belt with honor or to fight him and the rest of the locker room. McGuinness decides to head back in the ring and the match is re-started. McGuinness aggressively goes after Danielson’s arm while yelling at the jeering crowd. Danielson ducks a lariat and kicks McGuinness in the chest. McGuinness suplexes him to the floor. He uppercuts Danielson into the barricades. Danielson whips him back first into them. Danielson ducks a lariat and dumps McGuinness into the crowd. He springboard dives onto him. In the ring, Danielson puts on a triangle choke. McGuinness rolls Danielson up and gives him a rolling lariat for two. He goes for the Tower of London. Danielson bodyscissors him to the floor. McGuinness stops his suicide dive attempts and gives him a Tower of London to the floor from the apron. McGuinness is busted open from the side of his head now, presumably from his and Danielson’s head colliding. He puts on the Cattle Mutilation back in the ring. Danielson rolls over for a two count. He crotches Danielson on the top rope and lariats him. He follows that up with the Tower of London for two. He puts on the London Dungeon. Danielson rolls him up for two and gives him the Chaos Theory. He kicks McGuinness and places him up top. He gets two with a super belly-to-back suplex. He puts on Cattle Mutilation. McGuinness rolls up and Danielson stays true to his word about not aiming for his head. Instead of driving his elbows into the head, he gives him a Tiger suplex and drives his elbow into the ribs. He puts on the Triangle Choke. McGuinness makes it to the ropes. Danielson gives him some body shots and asks Todd Sinclair to count him down. McGuinness makes it up by a count of seven. McGuinness headbutts Danielson away and goes for his bad eye. He hits a lariat and drives his elbow into Danielson’s eye! He turns over into the London Dungeon. Danielson is passed out and Sinclair calls for the bell at 31:37. I’m having a hard time getting over the brilliance of the match. Danielson playing nice and not going for McGuinness’ concussed head only for McGuinness to attack his previously damaged eye was so awesome and an amazing way to make McGuinness’ heel turn official. It was a great role reversal from Danielson’s title reign and the New York crowd was split right down the middle. They wanted McGuinness’ head on a stick and it added a lot to the atmosphere. What an awesome match. ****1/2

We get a clip from “Night of the Butcher 2” (8.16.2008 – Chicago Ridge, IL) where Bryan Danielson & Austin Aries, who had been teaming for a few months at this point, took on Nigel McGuinness & Claudio Castagnoli. Claudio sneak attacked Danielson in New York City just a couple weeks prior, so he had his two biggest rivals standing across the ring from him. Danielson ends up locking McGuinness in the Cattle Mutilation and making him tap out. On commentary, they point out that he had just made the ROH World champion tap out. Certainly this is some credence to get him another title shot down the line.

Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness
“Battle of the Best” – Tokyo, Japan – 9.13.2008

McGuinness busts out Danielson’s own catch phrase when he takes him to the ropes. Danielson key locks McGuinness’ legs and puts on the Muta Lock. He uppercuts McGuinness in the corner. McGuinness gives him his own uppercut to break a lock-up. Danielson puts on a modified Indian Death Lock. McGuinness slaps him in the face and Danielson responds in kind. McGuinness elbows him in the jaw. They trade holds on the mat. McGuinness gives Danielson the headstand mule kick for two. He whips Danielson into the buckles. McGuinness uppercuts him in the corner. He kicks Danielson the back and drives him to the mat. Danielson grabs the ropes before he can be put into a submission. Danielson dropkicks McGuinness when he goes for the headstand mule kick. He dropkicks McGuinness to the floor. McGuinness stops his suicide dive and gives him a dangling Tower of London to the floor. He puts on a half crab in the ring and Danielson gets the ropes. Danielson throws a bunch of shots at McGuinness’ body in the hopes of a knock-out victory. McGuinness uses the ropes to get up at the eight count. Danielson German suplexes him for two. He then drives his elbow into the side of McGuinness’ head. McGuinness turns the Cattle Mutilation into the Tower of London. Danielson kicks out. McGuinness lariats Danielson off the top rope for another two count. Danielson ducks a lariat and O’Conner rolls McGuinness for two. They exchange some quick nearfalls after that. Danielson kicks McGuinness away a couple of times. He catches McGuinness with a small package for the pin at 21:59. Much like the Survival of the Fittest bout, this was solid wrestling without being anything really spectacular or outstanding. This was mostly a showcase match to give the Japanese audience an authentic ROH match. It succeeded in that sense, but it can’t compare to some of their other matches. ***

ROH World Championship
Nigel McGuinness (Champion) vs. Bryan Danielson
“Rising Above 2008” – Chicago Ridge, IL – 11.22.2008

Danielson escapes a wristlock with a suplex. He bends back McGuinness’ hand and stomps on his elbow. He kicks McGuinness in the back for a two count. McGuinness takes a break, then kicks Danielson on the inside of his leg, very close to his groin. Danielson digs his elbow into McGuinness’ upper back and snaps his arm. He drives McGuinness’ knees into the canvas. Danielson stretches out his back while applying a hammerlock. McGuinness rolls to the floor to evade a running boot. Danielson however comes off the apron with a running knee strike. Danielson misses a charge in the corner. McGuinness kicks him in the back and drives Danielson to the mat while his leg is trapped in the bottom rope. McGuinness off course goes for Danielson’s knee which became weakened with the previous attack. Danielson gets to the ropes to break a figure four leg lock. Danielson puts on an ankle lock to stop McGuinness’ headstand mule kick. He German suplexes him and goes for the Chicken Wing. When that fails, he and McGuinness trade quick pin attempts. McGuinness uppercuts Danielson in the corner. He looks to follow up with a lariat, but Danielson ducks and puts on the Chicken Wing. McGuinness gets the ropes. He throws some hard kicks to McGuinness’ back. When the referee gets Danielson off, McGuinness chop blocks Danielson’s hurt leg. He lariats Danielson off the top rope for two. Danielson kicks McGuinness to the aisle way and springboard sentons after him. McGuinness tries using a chair. Referee Todd Sinclair takes it away, and from behind Claudio Castagnoli attacks Danielson and stomps his head into the entrance ramp with a chair. Alex Payne of all people helps drag the helpless, bloody Danielson back to the ring. McGuinness only gets two with a lariat. He puts on a half crab. Danielson gets to the ropes. He charges out of the corner with a running chest kick. He blocks the Jawbreaker Lariat with a cross armbreaker. That turns into the Triangle Choke where Danielson drives his elbow repeatedly into McGuinness’ forehead. When McGuinness escapes, Danielson small packages him for two. Danielson brings him down in a crucifix pin for two. He then reigns down with elbows to the side of McGuinness’ head. He goes for a pin. He only gets a two count so he puts on Cattle Mutilation. He turns that into a Tiger Suplex. He tries to reapply Cattle Mutilation. McGuinness picks him up and hits the Tower of London. He follows up with a lariat which Danielson kicks out of. McGuinness reigns down with his own elbows. Danielson fires up. McGuinness connects with the Jawbreaker Lariat to get the pin at 28:01. This was another fantastic title match that was totally different from the 6th Anniversary Show. Danielson was much more aggressive and proactive in his approach, learning from McGuinness’ betrayal of playing by the rules in their previous title encounter. Both men wrestled smartly and McGuinness had to do some serious wearing down before getting the win with his signature lariat. Just the usually great World title match these guys usually have. ****1/4

Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness
“Glory By Honor VIII; The Final Countdown Tour: New York” – New York, NY – 9.26.2009

Danielson works out of a full nelson. McGuinness snapmares Danielson multiple times but each time Danielson holds onto his wrist. McGuinness twists up Danielson’s wrist himself. Danielson nails a dropkick. McGuinness cartwheels out of an ankle hold. Danielson hammerlocks his arm and stretches the other arm back, grinding his elbow against it. Danielson steps on his arm to get a two count. McGuinness stretches out Danielson’s arm. Danielson smacks him in the side of the head. Danielson stomps his knees into the mat. McGuinness digs his knee into Danielson’s head. McGuinness grabs Danielson’s arm and suplexes him overhead. McGuinness works over the arm in the corner. Danielson comes of the second rope with an uppercut. He knees McGuinness in the stomach when he comes off the ropes. Danielson dropkicks and suplexes McGuinness before going up top. Danielson hits a diving headbutt for two. McGuinness ducks Danielson’s charge. He kicks Danielson in the back and lariats him to the canvas. McGuinness places him on the top turnbuckle. Danielson shoves him off. McGuinness catches his top rope dropkick and goes for a folding press. Danielson turns it into a Triangle Choke. McGuinness gets his foot on the bottom rope. Danielson and McGuinness trade some quick pins with no success. Danielson flips out of the corner and hits a running elbow strike. McGuinness fights off Danielson’s suplex attempt. He dropkicks McGuinness in a tree of woe. Danielson suplexes him off the top rope. McGuinness goes for Cattle Mutilation. McGuinness powers out of it and flips Danielson into the Tower of London. Danielson kicks out. Danielson sends McGuinness into the crowd with a knee strike off the ring apron. Danielson springboard dives onto him. Danielson celebrates on the barricade. This gives McGuinness the opening to shove him face first into the ring post. McGuinness gives Danielson (who is now busted open) the Tower of London off the ring apron. It does some damage to McGuinness as well. McGuinness gets revenge for the “Unified” match by pulling Danielson head first into the ring post three times. McGuinness thinks he has the match won, but Danielson crawls back in before the twenty count. McGuinness almost goes for the Tower of London in the ring but changes his mind. He instead delivers the hold shoulder first onto the ring frame. McGuinness goes for a pin right away but Danielson kicks out. He puts him in the London Dungeon. Danielson grabs the ropes to break it. Danielson ducks a top rope lariat. He hits a missile dropkick which fires him up. McGuinness goes for another Tower of London. Danielson works out of it and hits a running knee strike. McGuinness uses the momentum to hit the Jawbreaker Lariat for two. He puts the London Dungeon back on. McGuinness traps Danielson’s legs and stretches him out over his own legs. Danielson flips out of it, traps McGuinness and throws some elbows. McGuinness switches out quickly and throws elbows of his own. Danielson fires up. Danielson throws rapid elbows. McGuinness O’Conner rolls him for two. In another “Unified” throwback, they throw headbutts at each other. Danielson small packages McGuinness to block the Jawbreaker Lariat and gets a two count. McGuinness hits it on the second attempt. Danielson turns McGuinness’ pin over and applies the Cattle Mutilation. Danielson locks his arms and reigns down with elbows to McGuinness’ head. Danielson stomps McGuinness’ head in while holding onto his arm. Danielson rolls him into the Triangle Choke. Danielson throws more elbows while applying the hold. Referee Todd Sinclair calls for the bell at 28:23.

This match was a great way for both men to leave the company. It wasn’t their best match, but it was a nice “Greatest Hits” bout to play homage to some of their classic bouts. It was a fitting that each men left facing their most popular, and arguably best, opponent one last time. Sadly, the heat for the home stretch could have been much better but I don’t blame either guy for that. Both guys will certainly be missed and contributed a zillion great matches during their ROH tenure. ****

The 411: I mean the title of the DVD tells you it’s an automatic thumbs up. Not everything is totally amazing, but every match is worth watching and some of them are the best ROH matches ever. Some of you may have the majority of these matches in your collections, but if you don’t, picking this up is a total no brainer. You can pick up this DVD from Ring of Honor's store. You can check out all of my ROH, DGUSA, and other reviews over at the 100% Fordified blog.

Final Score:  9.5   [  Amazing ]