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[2002-02-23-ROH-Era of Honor Begins] Low Ki vs American Dragon vs Christopher Daniels


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  • 1 year later...

 

Low Ki vs. Bryan Danielson vs. Christopher Daniels

Largely a spotfest, but a fantastically, intelligently executed one. While not on par with the Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Benoit matches, this is one of the greatest threeway matches of all-time, and for good reason. There is NEVER a dull moment in this match, with combinations of maneuvers not yet seen at that point by a large portion (if any) of the audience. Everything done in the match serves a purpose while also being dramatic and entertaining, whether it's a submission, strike, takedown, or highspot. The ending is brilliant and does a great job of setting up the first major storyline and next show. These three were given the opportunity by Eddie and Crazy to go out and have the best match of the night, and they delivered in spades. A match that still holds up ten years later.
Rating: ****1/2
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  • 1 year later...
  • 6 months later...

I really enjoyed this match. As pointed out, I really liked how there weren't long periods of someone resting outside the ring. I also like the All Japan influence I saw with the Misawa neck chops, the overall stiffness, and the Kawada kicks from Bryan. Overall, I thought this was really fun. It's a pretty fast paced match, but I think they accomplished what they were going for and then some. I think the historical significance it played for the company adds to the aura of it. I may not be as high as everyone here on it overall, but I do think it was great.

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  • 3 months later...

I gave this a re-watch after years and it holds a bit -- but it's not as good as I originally thought it was back then and I didn't like it as much as you guys. It's pretty much a showcase main event match, albeit a very good one. Daniels bores me -- I would've preferred if this had more Ki v. Dragon interactions and less interactions with Daniels. Ki and Dragon's face kicks on each other looked excellent and them taking back kicks on Daniels was pretty great. Very good match, but not a great one and far from what the commentators made it out to be.

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  • 2 months later...

I want to take a moment to note what a great feel good moment this match is. In ECW's old stomping grounds of Philadelphia, Eddie and Super Crazy stepped aside to let these 3 young guys go out in the main event of the beginning of the ROH experiment and the biggest indy show since ECW closed almost exactly one year ago. And they tore the house down with a breathtaking display of athleticism, receiving standing ovations from the crowd at various points of the match. As has been noted, the main strength of this match is how these guys go all-out from the opening bell with nothing resembling down-time or a botch to be found. There's way too many great spots to list, many of which are just as amazing to watch today as they were all those years ago when this match took place. The most spectacular of which happened near the end, when Low-Ki hit a beautiful phoenix splash on Danielson while he had Daniels in a Cattle Mutilation. I'd always heard this described as a spot-fest, but there was a surprising amount of structure to be found. Ki was the Kung-Fu master with the world's hardest kicks, Danielson, was the submissions guy trying to prove he could kick as hard as Ki, and Daniels was the dark horse. It was more or less built around Ki and Danielson trying to one-up each-other while Danielson's role varied between that of a punching bag and a spoiler. The one big problem I had with this match was the lack of escalation. As impressive as it was what these guys did, there's not much room to accelerate when you're going max speed right from the start and never slow down. I felt it hurt the drama that they just kept throwing out spots at lightning speed up to the closing bell with no one slowing down. If it makes sense, when Ki won the match it just felt like he hit a move that happened to have been what they planned as the finish rather than something that was organically built up. Despite all that, this is still an incredible match that's aged amazingly well and really something every fan should watch at some point. A very important match that delivered in spades. ****1/4

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  • 1 month later...

Great match, still holds up. No tropetastic 3-way spots with one guy on the outside taking a breather leaving the other 2 to have a singles match, rinse repeat.

The various "set pieces" are all creative and pulled off well. I also enjoyed how most of each man's signature moves are hit, but pin attempts are all broken up by the third man. Same with submissions. There's a feeling that whoever wins will be the one who timed their spot just right, which happens when Ki is able to take out Dragon while he's got Daniels in the Cattle Mutilation. Reminded me of wrestling video game multi-man logic. Stun the guy who's just hit his finisher, then hit your finisher as well as on the third guy. Even Daniels taking the fall doesn't hurt his aura at all as he does enough (and is frequently put in 2 on 1 situations) to make the finish seem less of an indictment of his ability compared to the other two.

Set the stage for a promotion to keep eyes on back in 2002, although Corino and Gargiulo go overboard in declaring this to be the best match they've ever seen, even before the ending. Certainly by far the standout of this first show and it's gotten me excited to see the Round Robin followup.

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  • GSR changed the title to [2002-02-23-ROH-Era of Honor Begins] Low Ki vs American Dragon vs Christopher Daniels
  • 9 months later...
  • 2 months later...

Historical significance aside: this was a super high workrate 20-minute match- literally the only time it stopped for a few seconds was for the triple down near the end. No rests outside, no restholds, go-go-go. Too many moves to list. Pretty much a video game on turbo mode.

Does it hold up? Well, sure considering this spotfest is pretty much standard practice now, and only the most athletic workers can still work like this. The real question is if today's stuff holds up to what these three guys did.

I was not blown away but can tell that the moves and spots were innovative and risky. Prolly just had to be there at the time like that hot crowd.

I felt the scramble of trying to pin a man first by breaking up pins.

Ultimately I feel this style does more damage than good. No time to really sell the moves, so nothing had meaning. American Dragon at least was the most professional when it came to selling and working. It's like a Michael Bay flick and the whole kitchen sink was thrown out there. Hard to remember the flow and spots. I have no idea how they did in the ring, either. Three- way dances are...chaotic to say the least.

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  • 8 months later...

The perfect way to finish off this historic show. Three hungry wrestlers going out there & giving the fans 20-minutes of non-stop action. That said action is compelling from bell-to-bell -- each man involved got plenty of time to shine & showcase their styles; Low Ki with those deadly strikes & explosiveness of his, Dragon with also his vicious strikes + terrific submission-game, and then Daniels with his great subtle veteran-shtick. Some highlights for me were Bryan's submission where he looks to be going for the Muta Lock, but instead he chickenwings the both arms of his opponent, Ki going ham w/ those Kawada Kicks on Bryan's face, the submissions on the top rope -- abdominal stretch by Daniels, Ki with that hanging Dragon Sleeper. So much submission & striking greatness in this! Also loved the bit where Bryan & Ki try to one-up one another by repeatedly kicking Daniels. Oh and of course there's also the legendary spot of Bryan having Daniels locked in the Cattle Mutilation, only for Ki to climb up & Phoenix Splash him to break the hold. It is largely a "get-your-shit-in" spotfest, but that is to be expected from 3-ways, and it still stands out in 2020 as a truly phenomenal one. The Era of Honor has indeed begun! ****

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  • 1 year later...

This was a really good three way. I liked the way they continually focused on the psychology of the triple threat match by having spots where all three men squared off, as well as the inevitable double teams and saves. They managed to deliver an outstanding main event while also setting up matches for the next show. The flow was extremely good as well. The match never dragged and it didn't outstay its welcome. The commentators went overboard about how good the match was, but the workers delivered on the pre-match hype. Good stuff. 

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  • 1 month later...

In 2002, I was a senior in high school and way more interested in punk rock than I was wrestling.  I wish I could go back and show myself this, I would have been blown away.  21 years later, this is still a fantastic three way.  There was a "standing room only" feel with the crowd standing along the walls and even into the hallway that made this feel like a must-watch match. 

Danielson came out to The Offspring, making me a fan immediately.  Unless I'm mistaken, none of the guys even leave the ring, everyone stayed involved throughout the match.  I can't speak for how well known any of these guys were in Philadelphia at the time, but they did great in showcasing what they had to offer.  Low Ki had some brutal strikes, Danielson some crazy submissions.  Daniels got beat up a lot and became the first heel in ROH post match by refusing a handshake.  Going in to the second show, you had three stars with well defined characters.

I really enjoyed the commentary.  I get frustrated with some indie shows where the commentary does very little to explain why a match is important.  They just name moves.  This match didn't have that.

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  • 1 year later...

A historic match not only for it's significance in establishing Ring of Honor's reputation, but also because it's one of the best triple threat matches of all-time. It's fast-paced, hard-hitting, with tons of innovative sequences that were groundbreaking at the time, and while this match has merits on its athletic accomplishments alone, there's layers to the action beyond the impressive physical execution that elevate this into something more memorable than your standard spotfest. 

****1/2

 

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