Let me just preface this short article by saying this is not a review. This is more just a bit of a personal ramble than anything else.
I received the Danielson vs. McGuinness set yesterday as part of an order from Ring of Honor. I ripped the parcel open like a rabid animal. I should not be this excited for a DVD nevermind one where I've seen all of the matches before. That and the fact that I felt like the world was against me yesterday as the flu I've been struggling with for the past three weeks rendered me bed-ridden (and at times unconscious) for the great majority of the day meant my excitement should have been quelled somewhat. It was not.
The feud that Bryan Danielson (WWE's Daniel Bryan) and Nigel McGuinness had in Ring of Honor is second only to Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock as my favourite feud of all-time. It was a feud that sprawled across three epic years of RoH. From their first meeting at 'Weekend of Champions: Night Two' all the way through to their mutual final match in RoH at 'Glory By Honor VIII: The Final Countdown' everything they did was amazing. In fact when I was watching this DVD back I was acutely aware that the worst singles match they had was probably the 60 minute time-limit draw at Epic Encounter II and even that was a good match that bordered on a great one.
As I watched the DVD every single match was as good as I remember it being. From matches I've seen many, many times such as their unification clash at 'Unified' and their match at 'Rising Above 2008' to matches I was seeing for only the second time like the match-up at 'Generation Now' and the breathtaking battle from 'Driven' everything was still amazing. It actually shocks me that these two could have so many big matches that are different enough and exciting enough that each match on its own is legitimately amazing.
Another thing that amazes me about their matches is that if I was to compile a list of my favourite matches of all-time I know their matches would feature on numerous occasions throughout the list. To this day their unification bout from Unified remains my favourite match of all-time, it's hardly ever been under threat since I first saw that match in late 2006. They themselves threatened it at Driven in 2007 and then again at the 6th Anniversary Show. They even managed to hold off the efforts of two bona fide wrestling legends when Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker had one of the greatest matches of all-time at Wrestlemania XXV. That in itself is testament to the greatness that ensued whenever Danielson and McGuinness clashed. I've been watching wrestling avidly since the first show I ever watched (Wrestlemania 13). That means I've been watching for just over fifteen and a half years now and it's not even as if my experience of wrestling matches is limited to things that occurred after I started watching wrestling. I've watched a lot of matches that preceded my introduction to wrestling, from Sting vs. Flair to Steamboat vs. Savage I've seen my fair share of amazing matches. So despite the fact that I am just one no-name wrestling fan in England, I still like to think that my opinion means something. You can call it naivety, you can call it arrogance but it's how I feel. So I think the fact that I am praising their matches and their feud so highly speaks volumes about how amazing it actually was.
Danielson vs. McGuinness is not a feud many wrestling fans would put up their with the greatest of all-time. Hell, it's not even a feud a lot of wrestling fans actually know about. There are a lot of people out there who think that WWE is the only wrestling company in the world or at the very least the only one worth watching. That's great for them but it kind of makes me sad that more people won't be able to appreciate this feud in all of its glory. One criticism that a friend of mine, who is also a huge wrestling fan, levied at the McGuinness vs. Danielson rivalry is they didn't have the, as he described it, "end of the world" feel that a Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant did or a Hulk Hogan vs. Sting had or The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin had. I'd argue that point but to an outsider I kind of understand, if he'd been swept up in the emotion RoH fans were at that time though I think he'd see that "end of world" feeling. When you're wrestling a match that the majority of fans of this sport, or whatever you wish to label it as, will never see it's hard to have that "end of the world" feel. What their encounters did have though, and this is undeniable was a "this will be amazing" feel to them. You knew if a card featured a match between Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness that they were going to tear the house down, and you were never disappointed. That to me is unbelievable.
This ramble turned out to be a lot longer than I had initially planned but there is another interesting point I want to make before we conclude this not-so-brief musing of mine. Danielson and McGuinness had that unique spark that you only glimpse every so often in wrestling. Hogan and Sting had it, Rock and Austin had it, Joe and Punk had it, Styles and Daniels had it. What all of those feuds had in common is no matter what the situation if you put those two together you knew you'd get something special. You could put them in singles matches, multi-man matches, tag team matches against each other or tag team matches with each other and no matter what, they would deliver - in spades. The reason I bring up this point is when I was watching the DVD I was astonished at how well Danielson and McGuinness worked together in the tag team match against Takeshi Morishima and Naomichi Marufuji. That's what led me to thinking about how if two wrestlers have such an exciting connection it doesn't matter what situation you put them both in, they will make it mind-blowing.
Anyway I've babbled for long enough. However, I would like to end just by saying this DVD is nothing short of tremendous. If you are a long time RoH fan you should really purchase this set and relive the glory days that were the Danielson vs. McGuinness clashes. Even if you are someone who is new to Ring of Honor or a wrestling fan that had never even heard of the company before I would definitely suggest getting this DVD. It shows off great match after great match and wouldn't be out of place in any wrestling fan's collection.
If you do want to buy the DVD you can get it and any other Ring of Honor merchandise from their shop.
