Match #1: ROH World Title: Bryan Danielson © vs. Austin Aries (Enter the Dragon – 10/14/05)
This is an appropriate place to start, as this is Danielson’s first defense. They trade control of a wristlock and repeatedly wrestle to a stalemate. They both attempt to lock in japanese strangleholds and Aries uses the turnbuckles to free himself from the hold. Danielson connects with a dropkick but unfortunately tries to headscissors Austin Aries. Danielson starts working over the right arm and punishes the body part with a back suplex. Aries escapes an early Cattle Mutilation attempt. Danielson drapes him across the top rope and connects with a running knee strike. The champion takes control with a butterfly suplex. Aries makes a comeback with a slingshot corkscrew splash. He hits a scoop slam and drops an elbow. Aries hits a sudden side slam that looks much more effective than a regular side slam. He lands a frog splash and synchs in a crossface. Danielson catches him with a spin kick and both men are down. Danielson lays in repeated kicks in the corner and hits a gutwrench suplex. Aries misses a missile dropkick and finds himself in a surfboard. Danielson snaps his neck across the bottom rope but finds knees on a diving headbutt. Aries looks to hit the 450 but Danielson crotches him on the top rope. Danielson hits a back superplex and applies Cattle Mutilation. He turns it into a pin attempt for a nearfall. Aries counters the airplane spin into a crucifix bomb. They exchange strikes and Aries hits a brainbuster for a two count. Danielson avoids a 450 splash, hits a tiger suplex, and applies a crossface chickenwing to retain his title at 30:20. A strong submission victory to establish Danielson’s title reign. I think this match could have been shorter, though, as the early arm work from Danielson never went anywhere and the crowd’s interest weaved in and out during the thirty minutes. Still, this match set a solid foundation for the new champion and I don’t think the crowd would have bought epic nearfalls in Danielson’s first title defense anyway. ***½
Match #2: ROH World Title: Bryan Danielson © vs. Chris Sabin (Showdown in Motown – 11/4/05)
They start with a feeling-out process. Danielson’s cockiness soon comes to the surface. Sabin hurricanranas him to the floor and then comes off the apron with another hurricanrana. He throws Danielson into the barricade and hits a neckbreaker in the ring. Danielson successfully slows the match down with a backbreaker. He follows with a series of backbreakers and I assume this is a reference to his recent defense against Roderick Strong. Danielson continues to work over the back with a bow and arrow and an abdominal stretch. Sabin comes back with a running sit-out powerbomb. Danielson traps him in Cattle Mutilation and transitions into a surfboard. Sabin avoids a diving headbutt and hits a nice tornado DDT. Danielson responds with a german suplex and both men are down. Sabin elbows out of a crossface chickenwing but walks into a lariat. Sabin hits an arm-capture piledriver for a nearfall. Danielson finds an opening to hit a back superplex and applies the Stronghold to retain his title at 24:19. Sabin presented a unique challenge and the neck work on Danielson was intriguing because it came into play so often throughout the course of the match. Danielson’s digs at Strong were also a lot of fun to watch and for a showcase type of main event, this one delivered. ***¾
Match #3: ROH World Title: Bryan Danielson © vs. Rocky Romero (Steel Cage Warfare – 12/3/05)
They test each other by throwing out a few kicks. They have a nice battle over a knucklelock and Romero almost succeeds in applying an early cross armbreaker. Romero throws a headbutt but Danielson responds with various kicks in the corner. Danielson escapes yet another cross armbreaker attempt and takes out his frustration on Romero with more strikes. Romero escapes a surfboard and locks in an ankle lock. He starts targeting the champion’s left leg. Danielson wins an exchange on the mat and starts targeting Romero’s left leg in response. Romero applies a guillotine choke but Danielson powers out of the hold. Romero connects with a missile dropkick and hits a tiger suplex for a two count. Danielson fights back with palm strikes and they swing wildly at each other with strikes. Danielson traps Romero in a half crab to retain his title at 15:23. The story in this match was simple yet served its purpose on a card where the world title match was happening before intermission. Romero tried to overwhelm Danielson by being the aggressor and ending the contest early. Danielson was able to catch Romero in a moment of aggression and tap him out. Danielson looks dominant and Romero looks strong for being able to stick to a gameplan and almost succeed. ***¼
Match #4: ROH World Title: Bryan Danielson © vs. AJ Styles (Dissension – 1/28/06)
They trade control on the mat. Danielson offers a handshake but Styles just spits at him. Danielson returns the favor and retreats to the floor after Styles charges at him. In the ring, Danielson grabs onto a side headlock. Styles tries to back suplex out of the hold but Danielson doesn’t let go. Styles cartwheels out of a monkey flip. He connects with a stiff kick and hits a backbreaker. Styles follows with another backbreaker and synchs in a muta lock. Danielson escapes the hold and finds an opening to connect with a missile dropkick. Styles back suplexes Danielson over the top rope and to the floor. Danielson sends his challenger into the barricade. Styles uses the barricade as a springboard to connect with a forearm. Danielson cheap shots Styles in the ring and comes off the middle rope with a knee drop. Danielson takes over until Styles blocks a dragon suplex and connects with his pele kick. Danielson falls victim to a saito suplex but fights off a superplex. Styles hits his springboard inverted DDT. Danielson crotches him on the top rope and hits a back superplex. Styles survives Cattle Mutilation and slams Danielson out of a torture rack. Styles lands the Spiral Tap for a nearfall. Danielson fights out of the Styles Clash and goes back to Cattle Mutilation. Styles turns the hold into a pin attempt but Danielson transitions into a crossface chickenwing to retain his title at 31:21. After I watched their outing at Main Event Spectacles I felt as though I had just watched a very well-executed professional wrestling match and I felt the same here. They showcased many different aspects of pro wrestling and it’s highly enjoyable to watch two wrestlers who know their style so well do everything that they can to win a match. I wouldn’t say that these two have underrated chemistry together but for whatever reason, their matches don’t receive much discussion today. ***¾
Match #5: ROH World Title: Bryan Danielson © vs. Jimmy Rave (4th Anniversary Show – 2/25/06)
They battle over a knucklelock and Rave pie-faces Danielson after the exchange. Some would say not the best idea, but Rave continues to hold his own on the mat. Things eventually devolve into a strike exchange, as they take turns kicking each other. Rave takes a moment to regroup. Danielson starts dominating on the mat until Rave sneaks in a cheap shot to take control. Rave uses Danielson’s own surfboard against him. Of course, Danielson knows the way out of the hold and regains control. He comes off the middle rope with a diving uppercut. Rave hits a twisting neckbreaker. Danielson takes him down on a leapfrog attempt and locks in a surfboard. Rave fights off a superplex and attacks Danielson at ringside. He sends the champion into the barricade and tries to use Cattle Mutilation against him in the ring. Rave hits a superplex and goes back to Cattle Mutilation. Danielson reaches the ropes and connects with punches in the corner. Rave charge at him but eats an enzuigiri. Both men are down. Danielson wins a strike exchange and connects with a diving headbutt. He hits a german suplex. Rave avoids the crossface chickenwing and hits a saito suplex. Danielson counters a running knee strike into a half crab. Rave fights back with a sleeper hold and Danielson almost passes out. Danielson responds with Cattle Mutilation but Rave somehow gets his foot under the bottom rope. Danielson hits a back superplex and reapplies Cattle Mutilation. He transitions into a dragon suplex. Prince Nana pulls Todd Sinclair out of the ring. Danielson takes out Nana with a dive. Rave hits a spear along with a running knee strike for a nearfall. Danielson powers out of a pedigree and hits a regalplex. Danielson lays in MMA elbows to retain his title at 32:01. This was an incredibly well-executed match and really made Rave look like a threat. There were a lot of elements at work here, such as Rave trying to steal Danielson’s finishers to limited success and Nana only interfering when absolutely necessary. In fact, Nana’s selective interference made Rave look better and caused some genuine nearfalls down the stretch when Sinclair was pulled from the ring. Everything clicked here on one of the bigger shows of the year. ****
Match #6: ROH World Title: Bryan Danielson © vs. Alex Shelley (Arena Warfare – 3/11/06)
Shelley becomes incredibly preoccupied with the crowd early on and almost uses them as a way to not engage Danielson. The crowd eats it up. Danielson wins the first mat exchange and Shelley goes back to yelling at the fans. Shelley connects with a cheap shot forearm in the corner. Danielson slaps him in return, causing Shelley to take some time to regroup. Danielson applies an abdominal stretch and humorously uses the ropes for leverage. Todd Sinclair eventually figures out what’s going on. Shelley finds an opening to start working over the left leg. He synchs in an indian deathlock but Danielson reverses into a figure four. Danielson hits an overhead suplex and locks in his surfboard. He transitions into a figure four and connects with a diving headbutt. Shelley responds with an enzuigiri and hits a tornado DDT. They trade quick pin attempts to no avail and Shelley connects with a basement dropkick. Shelley adds a superkick and a neckbreaker. He hits a few more neckbreakers as he figures that working over the neck might be a good idea. Shelley really goes to work on the neck in some creative ways. He misses a dive an accidentally wipes out Prince Nana. Danielson throws them both into the crowd and lands his springboard dive into the second row. In the ring, Danielson connects with a missile dropkick. Shelley ducks a roaring elbow but misses Shellshock. Danielson hits a german suplex and applies Cattle Mutilation. Shelley reaches the bottom rope and lands a frog splash. Shelley hits a brainbuster and transitions into a fisherman neckbreaker. He applies the Border City Stretch. Danielson escapes and hits a back superplex. Shelly rolls through Cattle Mutilation for a nearfall. He hits Shellshock for a nearfall. Border City Stretch! Danielson reaches the ropes. Danielson locks in Cattle Mutilation and transitions into a backslide to retain his title at 32:28. This match was all about both men’s ability to adapt in the middle of a match and there was some truly astounding professional wrestling that happened here that easily holds up seven years later. Once Shelley saw an opening to attack Danielson’s neck, he worked the body part over like a madman. The point about adaptability came into play with the finish, as Danielson quickly turned a Cattle Mutilation into a backslide and caught Shelley off-guard long enough to win. There are so many intricacies that you can point out here, but it’s enough to note that this match is worth going out of your way to see. ****¼
Match #7: ROH World Title: Bryan Danielson © vs. Lance Storm (Better Than Our Best – 4/1/06)
They begin with a feeling-out process to establish that Storm can hang with Danielson after deciding to wrestle again. Danielson connects with a dropkick. Storm responds with one of his own and Danielson retreats. You can tell by Danielson’s chest that he had a recent match against Roderick Strong. They battle over a knucklelock in the ring. The crowd chants “you still got it” at Storm. He hits a delayed vertical suplex and goes to work on Danielson’s neck. Danielson finds himself in a half crab and immediately scrambles to the ropes. The action goes to the floor where Storm sends the champion into the barricade. Back in, Danielson is able to knock Storm off the top rope and take control. Storm comes back with a desperation leg lariat and both men are down. Danielson hits a butterfly suplex but Storm responds with an enzuigiri. They exchange strikes and Storm hits a tiger driver. He adds a powerslam and Danielson is in trouble. He catches Storm with a powerbomb and applies a bow and arrow. Storm escapes and connects with a superkick. They battle on the top rope and Danielson hits a back superplex. He locks in a crossface chickenwing but Storm reaches the bottom rope. Danielson misses a diving headbutt and falls victim to the cradle piledriver. Irony! Danielson counters the half crab into a small package to no avail. Storm misses a superkick and Danielson hits a regalplex for a two count. Danielson applies Cattle Mutilation to retain his title at 26:24. It’s no surprise that Storm came ready to impress everyone and the crowd’s willingness to buy into the nearfalls and action in general made this match a success. Though Storm would compete in ROH in the coming years, I think this is his most memorable match with the promotion. ***½
Match #8: ROH World Title: Bryan Danielson © vs. Colt Cabana (Chi-Town Struggle – 6/24/06)
They have an aggressive lockup and Cabana means business. They trade control on the mat and they remain even with each other. Cabana’s last title shot did not go well since he was recovering from a blood feud with Homicide. This match starts off a lot more tentatively as a result. Danielson connects with an uppercut and drops a knee across Cabana’s face. He starts brawling with Cabana at ringside and throws him into the barricade. Danielson takes over in the ring with a butterfly suplex. Cabana shrugs off a superplex attempt and connects with a missile dropkick. He follows with a flurry of strikes and sends Danielson to the floor with a crossbody. Cabana also goes over the top rope. Cabana lands a nice asai moonsault to the floor as the crowd comes alive. In the ring, Danielson hits a german suplex and hangs on for another one. They trade quick pin attempts to no avail. Danielson finds an opening for Cattle Mutilation. Cabana reaches the bottom rope. Cabana charges with a lariat. Danielson escapes the Colt 45 and connects with a roaring elbow. Cabana shrugs off MMA elbows and just punches Danielson. He hits a elevated overhead suplex and lands a top-rope moonsault. Danielson hits a back superplex and locks in Cattle Mutilation. Cabana counters into the Billy Goat’s Curse and transitions into Cattle Mutilation! Cabana hits the Colt 45 for a nearfall. Danielson immediately sneaks in a small package to retain his title at 28:34. The name of the show is appropriate, as Danielson did not have an easy time putting Cabana away. The first half of the match was what you’d expect, but the second half of the match featured an energized Cabana doing whatever he could to win the title. The whole thing was well-done and it was entertaining watching Cabana try to avenge his last ROH World Title shot. ***½
Match #9: ROH World Title: Bryan Danielson © vs. Samoa Joe (Fight of the Century – 8/5/06)
Danielson hits a suplex out of a knucklelock and harasses the crowd. He spends the next minute or so trying to dodge Joe’s various kicks. That doesn’t work out so well and Danielson retreats up the aisle. Danielson has a hard time reentering the ring because Joe keeps wanting to charge him. The champion becomes increasingly frustrated and throws a chair at ringside. Joe connects with an enzuigiri and punishes Danielson for trying to steal his facewash kick in the corner. Joe connects with punches and chops in the corner. Danielson finds an opening to connect with a diving headbutt. Joe responds with a dragon screw leg whip and locks in a figure four. Joe continues the attack by sitting back deep on a boston crab. He hits a samoan drop followed by a senton. Danielson fights off a Muscle Buster and comes off the middle rope with an uppercut. He chop blocks Joe’s left leg and slams it against the ringpost. Danielson even uses a chair until Todd Sinclair takes it away. He continues to work over Joe’s left leg in the ring. Joe fights back with his facewash kick in the corner. Danielson slows him down with another dragon screw leg whip. Joe lands a dive to the floor and connects with an ole kick against the barricade. Danielson returns the favor with an ole dropkick. They battle into the crowd. Danielson reenters the ring and lands a springboard dive into the crowd. In the ring, Joe hits an STO out of the corner. Danielson answers with a dragon suplex but finds himself in the Coquina Clutch. Danielson escapes and locks in Cattle Mutilation after a quick exchange. Joe counters with a half crab but Danielson counters into a small package for a nearfall. They trade strikes and Joe connects with a lariat. Both men are down. Danielson lays in a basement dropkick in the corner. Joe hits a powerbomb and transitions into an STF. Danielson escapes a Muscle Buster and sneaks in a crucifix for a two count. Joe comes off the middle rope with a flying knee for a nearfall. He follows with a lariat and hits the Muscle Buster for a two count. Danielson hits a back superplex and reigns down MMA elbows. Joe applies a Coquina Clutch out of nowhere with under a minute left in the time limit. Before Danielson can tap out, the time limit expires and Danielson retains his title at 60:00. As far as sixty-minute draws are concerned, this one at least made sense on a base level due to Joe’s toughness and both men’s familiarity with wrestling in longer matches. Many make the argument that they could have had a better forty-five minute match, but given how everything played out, this was still pretty great. The crowd being able to buy Joe winning the title in the last minute is a sign of the type of reputation ROH had built and the final minutes of this contest as a whole were epic. If you’re able to sink your teeth into matches like this, Danielson/Joe is definitely worth watching. ****
Match #10: ROH World Title: Bryan Danielson © vs. Roderick Strong (Anarchy in the UK – 8/13/06)
Danielson is coming off his absolute war against Nigel McGuinness at Unified. He begins this match by slapping Strong across the face. Probably not the best move. It does fire Strong up and cause him to get into a few predicaments on the mat. Strong finds an opening with a backbreaker and a belly-to-belly suplex. Danielson’s stitches in his head bust open. He starts applying various surfboards and actually wins a strike exchange. Strong comes back with a falcon arrow. He misses a plancha and Danielson wipes him out with a dive. In the ring, Danielson connects with a missile dropkick. Strong charges but finds himself in Cattle Mutilation. He’s able to escape the hold and hit a backbreaker. Strong hits the Gibson Driver for a nearfall. Danielson misses a diving headbutt but dodges the Sick Kick. Strong comes off the middle rope with a leg lariat and synchs in the Stronghold. Danielson reaches the ropes. They battle up top and Danielson hits a back superplex. He applies a crossface chickenwing. Strong escapes and hits a super gutbuster. Danielson counters the Stronghold into a rollup for a two count. Danielson reverses a gutbuster into MMA elbows and applies Cattle Mutilation to retain his title at 20:07. This was a shorter match but it complemented their previous encounters well. Danielson did not have the energy to wrestle a lengthy match after his war against Nigel, so he set out to goad Strong into making mistakes by being too aggressive. They also threw in some callbacks to their previous outings and the whole match had good energy and was the usual solid work from these two. ***¾
Match #11: ROH World Title: Bryan Danielson © vs. KENTA (Glory By Honor V Night 2 – 9/16/06)
They are not in the business of giving each other clean breaks. KENTA kicks at Danielson’s injured right shoulder and he immediately retreats to the floor. They trade kicks in the ring and Danielson stretches KENTA on the mat. Danielson connects with a dropkick. KENTA dodges a plancha and kicks away at the shoulder. He sends Danielson shoulder-first into the barricade. KENTA takes over until Danielson catches him with an uppercut. Danielson now settles down and showcases his offense while minimizing the work done by his right shoulder. He slams KENTA’s knees into the canvas instead of leaning back with the surfboard. KENTA fights back with a series of kicks and a springboard dropkick. He tries a cross armbreaker but Danielson reaches the bottom rope. Danielson applies a half crab and hits a superplex. He locks in a crossface chicken wing. KENTA reaches the ropes and blocks a diving headbutt. Danielson blocks a springboard maneuver with a dropkick and both men are down. They exchange strikes and suplexes. Both men are down after a discus lariat from KENTA. Danielson baseball slides KENTA into the front row and lands a springboard dive into the crowd. In the ring, Danielson connects with a missile dropkick but gets trapped in an armbar. KENTA hits an ace crusher and goes back to the fujiwara armbar. Danielson makes the ropes and hits a regalplex. Danielson hits a superplex and applies Cattle Mutilation. KENTA escapes and hits the Go 2 Sleep out of nowhere for a nearfall. Danielson tries a quick bridging rollup to no avail. He turns a Go 2 Sleep into a crucifix for a two count. Danielson lays in MMA elbows and synchs in Cattle Mutilation to retain his title at 33:01. It’s hard for me to remember the exact circumstances at the time, but it felt like everyone gave KENTA a real chance to win the title in this match. Danielson was nursing a shoulder injury and KENTA made no bones about going after the injured body part. The atmosphere and drama down the stretch is something that only comes along every few years and this is truly a special match in ROH history. Aside from a few selling issues, it’s extremely difficult to nitpick anything else that this match didn’t do well. ****¾
Match #12: No Disqualification: Bryan Danielson vs. Samoa Joe (Irresistible Forces – 10/28/06)
Joe lands a dive to the floor at the opening bell. He attacks Danielson around ringside and lays in some strikes in the ring. Danielson rolls out of the way of a facewash kick. He finds an opening to start working over Joe’s left arm. Joe catches him coming off the middle rope with an STO. Joe trips Danielson on the apron and swings him into the barricade. He connects with an ole kick and Danielson retreats into the crowd. Danielson cheap shots Joe with a chair and they brawl throughout the crowd while using various random weapons. They return to ringside where Danielson starts swinging wildly with a club. He starts targeting the left shoulder once again. Danielson applies a crossface chickenwing while choking Joe with the club. Joe fights out and hits a back suplex. He locks in an STF but Danielson almost catches him with a rollup. Joe connects with an enzuigiri but finds himself in Cattle Mutilation. Danielson steals Todd Sinclair’s belt and starts whipping Joe when he won’t submit. Joe quickly gets the belt and returns the favor. Danielson slips out of a Muscle Buster. Joe synchs in a belt-assisted Muscle Buster for the win at 21:10. The stipulations were a bit odd while making sense on a base level. After their draw at Fight of the Century, ROH wanted to ensure there was a winner. So the no DQ stipulation didn’t necessarily imply that we were witnessing a blood feud play out. Still, they worked in some weapons and brawling and I think it’s good to have this style of match in the main event to mix things up (perhaps comparable to the recent Steen/Kingston main event at Boiling Point). I like that this match was included along with the Fight of the Century contest. ***½
Match #13: ROH World Title: Bryan Danielson © vs. Homicide (Final Battle 2006 – 12/23/06)
They trade control on the mat and Homicide shows his willingness to play Danielson’s game with him. He makes Danielson retreat into the corner at one point. Danielson finds an opening to lock in a surfboard as the crowd gets on his case. They exchange uppercuts and trade control of a japanese stranglehold. The action goes to the floor where Danielson gets sent into the barricade. Homicide hits rolling suplexes in the ring. He goes for a diving headbutt but Adam Pearce and Shane Hagadorn attack him. They lay out Homicide with a spike shoulderbreaker as Danielson walks away with his title. Todd Sinclair rules that the match WILL NOT end in this way. The crowd pop is huge. Danielson’s reaction is priceless. Homicide connects with a facewash kick and hits an overhead suplex. Danielson hits a shoulderbreaker and starts going after Homicide’s previously injured body part. Homicide comes back by countering a diving headbutt into an ace crusher. Both men are down. Homicide suplexes Danielson to the floor and follows out with a dive. Danielson charges at Homicide but collides with the ringpost, hurting his shoulder as well. He creates some space by coming off the middle rope with an uppercut. Danielson connects with a diving headbutt and hits a german suplex. Homicide applies an arm submission out of nowhere. Danielson anticipates a dive and sends Homicide into the crowd. He lands a springboard dive onto Homicide in the crowd. In the ring, Homicide counters a back superplex with a crossbody for a nearfall. Danielson crotches him on the top rope and succeeds in hitting the back superplex this time. Homicide makes the ropes to escape a crossface chickenwing. Danielson tries to get disqualified but Sinclair won’t allow it. Danielson goes to Cattle Mutilation and reigns down MMA elbows. Homicide dodges a roaring elbow and hits the Cop Killa for a nearfall. He gets frustrated and grabs the ring bell. Sinclair takes the bell. Danielson low blows Homicide and small packages him for a two count. Homicide connects with a lariat to become the new ROH World Champion at 30:37. This match was the culmination of so many subplots. Danielson tried every trick he knew to leave with the title but for once none of them worked. You also had Homicide exploiting Danielson’s recent shoulder problems and fighting himself to not get disqualified. Given Homicide’s short title reign, I think the value was in his chase and as the payoff of his journey for the title, this match was quite the spectacle. This is worth watching for the storytelling alone as it remains once of the best moments in ROH history in my opinion. ****
Overall: Unless this compilation was a complete rehash of previous ones (which it’s not), I cannot see how a compilation documenting Danielson’s ROH World Title reign would not receive a recommendation. Not only is the match quality extremely high, but the match selection gives you a lot of unique opponents from Chris Sabin to Alex Shelley to Colt Cabana. Additionally, I think Danielson’s matches against KENTA and Homicide are required viewing not just for huge Danielson fans but for any fan who wants to better understand the history of Ring of Honor. As expected, this compilation earns a strong recommendation unless you already own most of the matches.
You can purchase this DVD at Ring of Honor’s store right here.