ROH: Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness: The Complete Collection Review

Match #1: ROH World Title and ROH Pure Title: Bryan Danielson © vs. Nigel McGuinness © (Weekend of Champions Night 2 – 4/29/06)
Both titles are on the line and this match will be conducted under pure rules. They trade control on the mat and Danielson looks for an early cross armbreaker to no avail. Danielson maintains control of a side headlock and transitions into a cravate. Nigel does his best to escape but is forced to use his first rope break. He provokes Danielson to use a closed fist and Todd Sinclair penalizes him a rope break. Nigel goes to work on the left shoulder. Danielson fights back with a german suplex and a butterfly suplex. He connects with a diving headbutt and causes Nigel to use his second rope break to escape a crossface chickenwing. Nigel blocks a charge and hits the Tower of London. Danielson resorts to his final rope break to escape the pin attempt. The ropes are in play for Nigel. Danielson locks in Cattle Mutilation and now Nigel is out of rope breaks as well. The action goes to the floor where Nigel tries desperately to win by countout. He connects with the jawbreaker lariat for a two count. Danielson goes back to Cattle Mutilation. Nigel crawls to the floor but gets taken out by a dive. Danielson then springboard dives into the crowd but Nigel hits him with a chair mid-flight. Nigel makes it back into the ring and wins via countout at 28:32. However, only the Pure Title can change hands by countout, so Danielson keeps his championship. There aren’t many other finishes that could’ve happened. You could argue that this match just shouldn’t have been booked in the first place, but this contest developed Nigel’s character in a tremendous way and did a lot for the Pure Title. The action was fantastic and they played with the pure rules perfectly. As an introduction to what these two could do together, you couldn’t ask for much more. ****

Match #2: ROH World Title: Bryan Danielson © vs. Nigel McGuinness (Generation Now – 7/29/06)
They begin with some chain wrestling and find themselves at a stalemate. Danielson slams Nigel’s knees out of a surfboard position and they stare each other down. Nigel looks to attack the left shoulder again, but Danielson does a good job of fighting him off. Danielson synchs in a surfboard and transitions into a chinlock. They start adding more strikes to their exchanges. Nigel just headbutts Danielson, who responds with a series of slaps. Danielson hits a snap german suplex and connects with a missile dropkick. Nigel retreats to the floor and gets taken out by a dive. In the ring, Danielson comes off the middle rope with an uppercut. Nigel quickly escapes Cattle Mutilation but falls victim to a superplex. Danielson finds a knee on a diving headbutt attempt. They exchange uppercuts and Nigel connects with a lariat. He hits the Tower of London. Danielson locks in a crossface chickenwing but Nigel escapes. They trade headbutts and Nigel rebounds with the jawbreaker lariat for a nearfall. He lariats Danielson off the top rope. Danielson crawls under the ring and catches Nigel with a small package to retain his title at 24:20. This nicely complemented their previous encounter from Weekend of Champions. The action was a lot less mat-based and they began to showcase more of their striking games against each other. Nigel used a tactic last time that was different from the flow of the match (involving a chair), so Danielson did the same thing here, catching Nigel by surprise with a small package out of nowhere. The best part about their series thus far is that it hasn’t really given anything away yet the matches have been very solid. ***¾

Match #3: ROH World Title and ROH Pure Title Unification: Bryan Danielson © vs. Nigel McGuinness © (Unified – 8/12/06)
A mat sequence is punctuated by Nigel slapping Danielson. They trade control of a wristlock and Danielson connects with a dropkick. He finds an opening to attack Nigel’s left shoulder, exactly what Nigel has been doing to him in their previous matches. Nigel blocks a charge and divorce courts Danielson’s left shoulder. Danielson connects with an enzuigiri, insults the crowd, and drives Nigel’s knees into the canvas out of a surfboard position. He hits a superplex and connects with a diving headbutt. Nigel escapes Cattle Mutilation and hits the Tower of London. He uses Cattle Mutilation against Danielson. The action goes to the floor where Danielson uses the ringside table to keep Nigel down, which is what Nigel did to him at Weekend of Champions. Back in, they exchange strikes and Danielson synchs in a crossface chickenwing. Nigel blocks a diving headbutt and lariats Danielson off the top rope. They battle up top and Nigel hits another Tower of London. On the floor, the famous spot occurs where Danielson repeatedly pulls Nigel head-first into the ringpost. Nigel is bleeding from the forehead. Danielson kicks him into the front row and takes him out with a dive. In the ring, Nigel hulks up. They exchange headbutts and Nigel connects with the jawbreaker lariat. Danielson reverses a pin attempt into Cattle Mutilation. Nigel rolls out of the hold. Danielson lays in repeated MMA elbows and unifies the titles at 26:22. If you look at their three matches thus far as a trilogy, this was the epic conclusion. Everything that Nigel did to Danielson in their series was returned by Danielson in this match. Obviously, the atmosphere in the building contributed a lot and this genuinely felt like a huge deal. There were too many memorable spots to name. Nigel being driven into the ringpost stands out, but everything that happened after that point was gold. This is really just a match you have to see to understand the hype. ****½

Match #4: ROH World Title: 2 out of 3 Falls: Bryan Danielson © vs. Nigel McGuinness (Epic Encounter 2 – 8/25/06)
Danielson is hesitant early on. He grounds Nigel by holding onto a side headlock. Danielson hits a back suplex and goes back to the headlock. The action goes to the floor where they tease the Unified ringpost spot. Danielson’s left shoulder meets the ringpost and Nigel starts working over the body part. He drives the shoulder into the barricade and then into the turnbuckles. Danielson fights back with a missile dropkick and a diving headbutt. He hits a superplex. Nigel blocks a kick but Danielson sneaks in a small package to win the first fall. The second fall starts intensely and Nigel is bleeding from the nose. Danielson hits a butterfly suplex and grounds Nigel again. Nigel comes back with an electric chair slam off the middle rope. He locks in a kimura but Danielson reaches the bottom rope. Danielson tries his under-the-ring trick, but Nigel catches him with a jawbreaker lariat. Nigel synchs in another kimura to win the second fall. We’re tied 1-1. Danielson headbutts Nigel during his headstand in the corner. Danielson comes out on the better end of a strike exchange and takes over. Nigel gets knocked off the apron and sent into the front row. Danielson tries a dive but Nigel blocks it with a chair shot. In the ring, Nigel lariats Danielson off the top rope. Danielson hits a german suplex followed by a Tower of London of his own. Nigel responds by locking in Cattle Mutilation. He hits the Tower of London for a nearfall. Danielson applies Cattle Mutilation but Nigel is able to reach the bottom rope. He recovers with a big lariat and locks in a kimura. Bobby Cruise announces that five minutes are left in the time limit. They exchange strikes and Nigel connects with the jawbreaker lariat for a two count. He traps Danielson in Cattle Mutilation and hits the Tower of London. Nigel goes back to the kimura but Danielson counters with MMA elbows. Nigel starts reigning down elbows and the time limit expires at 60:00. I’ve heard this comment made before about this match but it felt like they were wrestling towards a time limit draw. There were stretches of action that never really went anywhere, which is very out of character for these two. The crowd seemed disconnected as well and they couldn’t come close to having as much energy as the Unified crowd, even as this match drew to a close. This is certainly not a waste of sixty minutes, but there’s not much to sink your teeth into. ***¼

Match #5: Takeshi Morishima and Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness and KENTA (Respect is Earned – 5/12/07)
This would be the main event of Ring of Honor’s first pay per view. Danielson and KENTA have a fun exchange out of a knucklelock. Morishima swats Nigel away and Danielson grounds him. KENTA comes to his partner’s aid and all four men stare each other down. Morishima and Danielson isolate Nigel until he connects with a lariat on Morishima and makes the tag. KENTA takes out Danielson with a series of kicks. Danielson slows him down with a backbreaker and now KENTA is worked over after a cartwheel splash from Morishima. KENTA hits a powerslam on Morishima and tags out. Nigel withstands a missile dropkick from Morishima and connects with a lariat. Morishima blocks a sunset bomb by sitting down on Nigel. He blocks a jawbreaker lariat and hits a back drop driver. Nigel responds with the Tower of London. KENTA catches Danielson with a flying knee strike to the back of the head. Danielson hits a dragon suplex and applies a crossface chickenwing. Nigel saves KENTA from a superplex by powerbombing Danielson. He connects with a rebound lariat on Morishima. Nigel sends Morishima into the crowd and takes him out with a dive into the front row. Danielson and Nigel exchange uppercuts in the ring. KETNA blocks a diving headbutt from Danielson and connects with a flying knee strike. He follows with the Go 2 Sleep for a nearfall. Morishima hits an exploder on KENTA and Danielson adds a diving headbutt. Nigel has to tape up his elbow at ringside. He connects with the jawbreaker lariat on Morishima while KENTA hits a top-rope falcon arrow on Danielson. All four men are down. Danielson hits a superplex on KENTA. He blocks Go 2 Sleep and hits a tiger suplex. Danielson applies Cattle Mutilation for the win at 24:54. They eschewed standard tag team formula and delivered a memorable match to close out Ring of Honor’s first pay per view. Any exchange between Danielson and KENTA was tremendous and this helped set the stage for an eventual Nigel/Morishima title match. There were just a few awkward moments due to these four not being apart of regular tag teams, but this was a fun match to look back on. ***¾

Match #6: Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness (Driven – 6/23/07)
The winner will become the #1 contender for the ROH World Title held by Takeshi Morishima. They trade control on the mat and Danielson momentarily applies a bow and arrow. Danielson lays in a series of kicks and slaps Nigel across the face repeatedly. Nigel blocks a charge out of his headstand position. He begins to target the left shoulder but Danielson immediately locks in a japanese stranglehold. The action goes to the floor where Nigel connects with a running uppercut. Danielson throws a chair at him and elevates the timekeeper’s table onto him. Danielson gets sent into the front row and Nigel dives onto him from the top rope. After both recovering, Danielson hits a suplex onto the edge of the barricade. He takes over in the ring until Nigel connects with a discus lariat. Nigel follows with a superkick but gets caught by a knockout kick. Danielson comes off the top with a sunset flip but falls victim to a powerbomb. Nigel synchs in a half crab. Danielson counters a headstand and hits a back suplex. He applies a crossface chickenwing but Nigel incredibly counters into the Tower of London. Nigel lariats Danielson off the top rope. They have a headbutt exchange ending with a lariat from Nigel. Danielson blocks a jawbreaker lariat and hits a tiger suplex for a nearfall. Nigel rolls through Cattle Mutilation for a two count. Danielson lays in MMA elbows and goes back to Cattle Mutilation for the victory at 24:28. Somehow, some way, they were able to top Unified. While some of their matches have been more mat-based and others have showcased striking, this had a perfect mix of both. As a result, the final eight minutes featured some of the best professional wrestling you’ll ever see. If you didn’t think that Nigel was on Danielson’s level after their encounter at Unified, you certainly did after witnessing this match. I discussed this a little bit after the Respect is Earned match, but these two set aside standard formula and showed what professional wrestling could be. This is truly “must see” stuff. ****¾

Match #7: Takeshi Morishima and Naomichi Marufuji vs. Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness (United We Stand – 6/22/07)
Danielson catches Marufuji with a dropkick after a quick exchange. They have another nice exchange and find themselves at a stalemate. Nigel comes pretty close to pinning Morishima despite his size disadvantage. Danielson tries to trade strikes with Morishima to no avail. Morishima takes him to the outside and rams him into the barricade. The NOAH duo work over Danielson until he hits a backbreaker on Marufuji and makes the tag. Nigel catches Marufuji coming off the top rope with a superkick. Morishima takes out Nigel with a cartwheel splash and a side slam. Danielson saves his partner from a back drop driver with a missile dropkick. He runs into a flying hip attack and Marufuji adds a lariat. Nigel interjects himself by knocking Morishima off the apron. He kicks Marufuji into a german suplex from Danielson. They follow with an assisted Tower of London. The NOAH team responds with an assisted sliced bread on Danielson. Morishima hits a back drop driver on Nigel for a nearfall. He attempts a top-rope back drop driver but Danielson sends him to the floor. Nigel dives onto Morishima. In the ring, Danielson synchs in Cattle Mutilation on Marufuji while Nigel traps Morishima in a half crab. Team NOAH survives. Morishima hits a double suplex. Morishima connects with a coast-to-coast dropkick on Danielson. Nigel hits the Tower of London on Morishima for a two count. Nigel connects with the jawbreaker lariat on Morishima for the win at 24:14. This was a huge win for Nigel, as no one else had been able to pin Morishima in Ring of Honor up to this point. The finishing stretch of this match lasted over ten minutes and while the action was never dull, they had a difficult time keeping the crowd’s attention at times. That’s not to say that this wasn’t a good match, but it delivered under expectations for me. Still, it’s tough to disagree with the end result. ***½

Match #8: ROH World Tag Team Titles: Jay and Mark Briscoe © vs. Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness (Race to the Top Tournament Night 1 – 7/27/07)
The Briscoes immediately show off their double team work against Nigel. Danielson is not pleased. Danielson out-wrestles both Briscoes but falls victim to double team offense as well. Mark lands a dive to the floor onto Nigel, who responds with a rebound lariat. Danielson hits a butterfly suplex on Jay and the makeshift team isolates him. They punish Jay quite a bit, with a Tower of London and a back superplex. Mark intervenes with a springboard forearm smash and Jay makes the tag. Mark lands a moonsault onto Danielson. He counters a springboard doomsday device into Cattle Mutilation with a little help from Nigel. Jay breaks up the hold with a top-rope splash. Nigel lariats Jay off the top rope. Mark superkicks him during a Tower of London attempt and the Briscoes hit a flying leg drop-side slam combination for a nearfall. Mark counters the jawbreaker lariat with an exploder but he won’t stay down. The Briscoes follow with more double teaming. Danielson hits a superplex on Jay while Nigel blocks a splash from Mark with knees. All four men are down. Danielson accidentally elbows Nigel and Mark rolls him up. The Briscoes retain their titles at 17:49. Danielson and Nigel had such conflicting personalities at this time that watching them attempt to form a cohesive team was highly entertaining. I remember this being a long show, so eighteen minutes felt about right and they were able to keep the crowd invested for the entire duration. However, I think these two teams had a classic in them and it’s a shame we’ll never get to find out. ***½

Match #9: Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness (Survival of the Fittest 2007 – 10/19/07)
This is a first round match in the tournament. Danielson connects with a dropkick out of a wristlock. He rolls out of a kneebar and we’re at a stalemate. Nigel tries a cross armbreaker but Danielson quickly reaches the bottom rope. Danielson finds an opening to attack the left leg. He ties up Nigel in the ropes and dropkicks the left leg. Nigel, per usual, targets Danielson’s left shoulder. Danielson applies a bow and arrow and transitions into a muta lock. He locks in a figure four. Nigel mounts a comeback with a series of strikes capitalized by a lariat. Danielson escapes the Tower of London but Nigel divorce courts his left shoulder. Danielson applies a half crab but Nigel is able to reach the bottom rope. Nigel blocks a diving headbutt with his bad leg and both men are down. Danielson locks in a kneebar but Nigel powers out and hits a back suplex. Nigel blocks a charge with his headstand mule kick. Danielson charges with a flying kick. Both men are down once again. Danielson synchs in Cattle Mutilation and reigns down MMA elbows. Nigel crawls to the ropes. Nigel avoids a back superplex and is about to hit the Tower of London when the time limit expires at 20:00. Both men are eliminated from the tournament. It’s safe to say that these two could never have a bad match together but this is strong evidence for that claim. They basically had an extended mat wrestling exchange for eighteen minutes followed by them bringing out their big guns in the final two minutes to avoid the time limit. It never felt like they were wrestling towards the time limit like at Epic Encounter 2. This would be their weakest encounter but I think the match accomplished its goal. ***¼

Match #10: ROH World Title: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Bryan Danielson (6th Anniversary Show – 2/23/08)
For really the first time in their rivalry, the crowd is behind Danielson. They exchange control out of a knucklelock. Danielson avoids an early lariat attempt and locks in a half crab. Nigel reaches the bottom rope. Danielson lands a dive to the floor and connects with a missile dropkick in the ring. He hits a back suplex. Nigel takes some time to regroup and attacks the referee out of frustration. He grabs the microphone and insults the crowd. The locker room stops Nigel from leaving and Cary Silken restarts the match. Nigel connects with a soccer kick in the corner and rams Danielson shoulder-first into the ringpost. He continues to work over the shoulder while insulting the fans. Danielson fights back with a flying kick but gets suplexed to the floor. Nigel connects with a charging uppercut. Danielson throws him into the front row and lands a dive into the crowd. In the ring, Danielson applies a triangle choke. Nigel rolls out of the hold and creates an opening with a lariat. He hits an apron-assisted Tower of London to the floor. Nigel synchs in Cattle Mutilation. He crotches Danielson on the top rope and lariats him to the canvas. Nigel hits another Tower of London and locks in the London Dungeon. Danielson gets his foot onto the bottom rope. He hits chaos theory and both men are down. Danielson hits a back superplex and synchs in Cattle Mutilation. He transitions into a tiger suplex and back into a triangle choke. Nigel barely escapes the hold. They knock heads with each other and Danielson grabs his bad eye. Nigel connects with a lariat and applies the London Dungeon to retain his title at 31:36. If you thought that their series was going to become dull, think again. The new face/heel dynamic freshened things up and it was incredible to watch Nigel’s character progression throughout the course of this match. Danielson fighting from behind is always fun to watch as well. This match was the usual great affair between these two with the added bonus of new roles. ****¼

Match #11: Nigel McGuinness vs. Bryan Danielson (Battle of the Best – 9/13/08)
Danielson takes control on the mat and applies a muta lock. Nigel uses his leverage to escape and reach the ropes. They continue to exchange control on the mat. Nigel connects with his headstand mule kick and takes control. Danielson comes back with a butterfly suplex and connects with a missile dropkick. Nigel blocks a dive and innovatively hits a Tower of London to the floor. In the ring, Nigel regains control with a half crab. Danielson unleashes a flurry of strikes in the corner, hits a german suplex, and reigns down MMA elbows. Nigel rolls through Cattle Mutilation and hits another Tower of London. He lariats Danielson off the top rope. They exchange uppercuts and trade pin attempts to no avail. Danielson sneaks in a small package for the victory at 21:57. There wasn’t much play by play – most of the match happened on the mat. This felt like their Survival of the Fittest match in that it seemed like they were just showcasing solid wrestling without raising the intensity all that much. Still, the Japanese crowd seemed invested and they got their point across. ***½

Match #12: ROH World Title: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Bryan Danielson (Rising Above 2008 – 11/22/08)
Danielson stretches Nigel on the mat, creating some painful-looking images. It’s all Danielson early on, so Nigel takes some time to regroup on the outside. Danielson brings him back into the ring and stomps his head. Nigel connects with his combination of strikes in the corner and starts working over the right leg. Danielson blocks a headstand and hits a german suplex. They exchange pin attempts to no avail and Nigel goes back to the right leg. Danielson locks in a crossface chickenwing but again, the right leg stops him from capitalizing. Nigel ties him up in the ropes and just forearms the injured leg. Danielson sends him to the floor and follows out with a springboard dive. Nigel tries to use a chair, but the referee stops him. Claudio Castagnoli comes out and stomps a chair into Danielson’s leg. Alex Payne comes out and drags Danielson back into the ring to beat the count. Nigel connects with a lariat for a nearfall and synchs in a half crab. Danielson reaches the bottom rope. They trade uppercuts and Danielson traps Nigel in a triangle choke. He tries a small package to no avail. Both men are down. Nigel escapes a crucifix but gets caught by multiple MMA elbows. Danielson locks in Cattle Mutilation and transitions into a tiger suplex for a nearfall. Nigel responds with the Tower of London and MMA elbows of his own. Nigel connects with the jawbreaker lariat to retain his title at 28:01. Danielson was not messing around in this match. His trustworthiness at the 6th Anniversary Show allowed Nigel to steal the win and he was not going to let that happen here. Nigel used his resourcefulness to slow down Danielson and his leg work was top notch. Honestly, we’re at a point in this compilation where I’d just be repeating compliments too many times. This was the usual greatness you’d expect from these two. ****¼

Match #13: Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness (Glory By Honor VIII – 9/26/09)
This would be both men’s last match in Ring of Honor. Danielson was on his way to developmental while Nigel was headed to TNA. Danielson stretches Nigel on the mat. Nigel finds an opening to target the left shoulder, as he’s done so many times in the past. Danielson comes off the middle rope with an uppercut and connects with a diving headbutt. They battle on the top rope and Nigel gets sent to the canvas. He blocks a missile dropkick but gets trapped in a triangle choke. Danielson hits a back suplex. Nigel responds with a rope-assisted Tower of London. Danielson escapes a Tower of London to the floor and shoves Nigel into the front row. Nigel uses a security guard to stop Danielson from diving onto him. Danielson knees Nigel back into the front row and follows with a springboard dive into the crowd. As both men recover, Nigel hits a Tower of London to the floor. Nigel drives Danielson head-first into the ringpost, as they switch roles from Unified. In the ring, Danielson is heavily bleeding. Nigel hits the Tower of London onto the apron for a nearfall. He applies the London Dungeon but Danielson reaches the ropes. Danielson connects with a missile dropkick. Nigel responds with a jawbreaker lariat and goes back to the London Dungeon. He leans back on the hold. Danielson reverses into MMA elbows but Nigel answers with MMA elbows of his own. Nigel tries an o’connor roll for a nearfall. They knock heads and trade headbutts. Danielson sneaks in a small package for a two count. Nigel connects with another jawbreaker lariat. Danielson turns the pin attempt into Cattle Mutilation. He lays in MMA elbows for a nearfall and stomps Nigel’s head in. Danielson locks in a triangle choke for the win at 28:23. I got a lot more out of the match this time around, but that is mostly due to the fact that I just watched every one of their previous singles encounters. As a “greatest hits” type of match, this worked perfectly. There were so many callbacks such as Nigel trying to avoid Danielson’s crowd dive and Danielson being on the receiving end of the ringpost spot. Obviously, both men took very different paths since the time of this match but there’s no question that these two are Ring of Honor legends. A fitting conclusion to their ROH careers. The post-match speeches are also included. ****¼

Overall: In my opinion, the best compilations are those that tell a story or follow a feud. Aside from the ridiculously high match quality, the best part about watching Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness together in the ring is that their matches have subtle threads that you can follow throughout the entire course of this compilation. The only question here is how many of these matches you own already. High recommendation.

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