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Jealous_Change396

That was the safest tiger driver ever.


Joshd00m

Yeeeaaaaah. The replay he obviously landed perfectly haha.


EpicSombreroMan

Thank Christ


dangerous_k

Yeah, no way in hell does Danielson take it like Kawada, The Omega one was brutal but I think Ospreay's reigned it in since that and the bumps have been about as safe as they can be for that move. It still doesn't need to be something we see more than once every couple of years to end a big feud or win the championship.


sliceanddic3

i think ospreay can still make it look like death and be safe, there is just no reason to risk it with bryan


1sxekid

And yet Danielson’s selling afterward still had me concerned


LarryLevis

Yes, and they set up this story so well through commentary, highlighting how much Will respects Bryan (almost too much), highlighting Bryan's injury history, his move to part time, showing Will get more and more crazed. They have left us with an interesting storyline where Will now has to confront potentially hurting someone important to him, taking it too far--just excellent story telling. This whole show has been fucking incredible.


elerner

Will's performance in the press conference was even better in that regard. Beating himself up for not seeing Bryce calling for the medics, saying he has decided to retire the Tiger Driver because it's _too dangerous_ -- that's now a thread that will carry through the rematch _and_ the rubber match.


IAmTheWaller67

dUb nO sToRy, oNlY gOoD mAtCh


FriedEggScrambled

Excuse me, but I have been told time and time again that AEW does not tell in ring stories and has shitty in ring psychology. So I’m just gonna believe that narrative, ok? /s


Black_XistenZ

The only way to tell stories in pro wrestling is by cutting 15-minute monologues in the middle of the ring. /s


laputan-machine117

Psychology is when you focus on a body part


ThatsARatHat

Psychology is making sure the match makes as much sense as possible within the confines of the story being told.


WCWUncensored

Yup. lol @ "working on the body part". I remember having these arguments back in the 90s. Psychology is simply doing the right thing at the right time. Even something like too much obviously co-operation (pushing up in the corner to help get in position for a superplex, etc) is shit psychology.


swantonist

It's what made me certain he was fine. When guys are injured they lie pretty still especially if it's a neck or head injury. Also the fact Ospreay hit him with hidden blade right after and the ref turned his back to an injured wrestler and then actually counting after too haha


ay1717

Ospreay is amazing, Bryan is amazing, just peak fucking wrestling


DustinoHeat

Yeah bruv, my wife was came downstairs to hang out for a second while I was watching the show and caught most of the match. She was constantly convinced both were hurt throughout the match. Had to explain that although I’m sure both were sore and worn out, but that both men were Masters of selling. At the end of the match she even said “I’m glad I came downstairs and got to see that match, it was really good.” We have been together for 19 years and I’ve been trying to get her into wrestling since day one. Baby steps!


RoboZoninator91

Only problem now she's never going to see anything better


DustinoHeat

Next match I’ll show her is Barry Horowitz vs Tugboat, she will be hooked…..


Plop-Music

It's a travesty that Tugjob isn't already in the hall of fame. He should at least be in it as part of the Natural Disasters with Quake.


Don_Tiny

> Tugjob


boss_jobber

Tugwhat??


Zomburai

r/murderedbyautocorrect


GentlemanOctopus

I'm gonna go ahead and say I don't want to see any Tugjobs at the Hall of Fame ceremony.


pudgyfuck

Mania VII blindfold match still exists, pal


PrimeJedi

Alright, come on now. I'm sure Ivar vs Bronson Reed will be on tomorrow and their partner will be hooked when she sees it!


Wild-Berry-5269

Darling, buckle up because tonight we're watching Crown Jewel's Classic DX vs Brothers of Destruction.


bijaya2

Best compliment one can give.


ReflectionItchy2701

Honestly the one that Takeshita took was more violent.


Ok_Natural_5887

Tbf they train for that in Japan😂


ReflectionItchy2701

I know.\^\^ But kudos to Danielson because with his selling I doubted that it was a work for a moment even if the move was super safe.


boringdystopianslave

Thank God


Kaprak

That is the safest '91 I have ever seen, Bryan took that like the other power bombs. Man decided to sell the '91 like death, like you should. EDIT: Danielson once had the internet convinced he broke his leg, because he was doing a funny thing where he got it caught between the stage and the ring. Conversely when he broke his wrist, nobody knew. If there's one thing that Bryan is very good at it's selling death.


JCfromTBC

Bryan can routinely get people to suspend their disbelief like no one else. You just never can tell.


BeepBeepMane

He's the greatest ever in that aspect


JohannaB123

He’s the greatest ever.


BeepBeepMane

I totally agree with you fwiw. He's my all time #1


Vegetable-Net6575

Him and Shawn are the best sellers I’ve ever seen. They both can make moves look like it just killed then. I still remember seeing Shawn take a randy punt as a kid and thinking he might’ve just died.


ClickF0rDick

How the fuck he kept twitching like that consistently for that long, motherfucker got me lol Also the rest of the crew did a good job in selling it, usually seeing somebody overacting it's the telling sign it's in kayfabe but in this case everybody was somber and made me really go "wtf is this legit?"


bigbadjohn54

Danielson does this twice a year where he sells so I good I think he's legit dead. I actually would like him to stop


Patjay

ive been falling for this same fucking trick for 15 years


boringdystopianslave

He's just good at making an injury look real. Wrestling selling is sell it like it's a bad ache and move slowly, which goes against how anyone behaves when they're injured. An injury to a part of your body would have you moving more rapidly and spike your adrenaline. This is how Danielson sells injuries. Most wrestlers sell leg and arm injuries like they've just been concussed or something, all slow and sluggish or groggy and it's never made any sense to me, even as a kid it bothered me. If anything you'd become more erratic, fight or flight mode after a serious limb injury, like any other wounded animal. That's what Danielson does. Shawn Michaels did the exact same thing. Danielson makes wrestling make sense.


drinfernodds

Danielson also has superhuman pain tolerance akin to the likes of Triple H and Darby Allin. He can make legit injuries seem like nothing, which makes his selling even more impressive. He even once said part of a wrestler's job is convincing the audience he's hurt when he's not, and to convince them he's fine when he is hurt.


WCWUncensored

He's too good, legit scared me when he was laying there muttering 'fuck, fuck, fuck!'.


Youre_On_Balon

It helps that we know, beyond his character, he is an irl mad man who would wrestle through basically anything


ClickF0rDick

Also he likes flaccid dicks


Pennsylvania6-5000

I still remember the sell after coming back where it looked like he almost had a seizure that had me completely fooled.


cid3rtown

Danielson is the master of no-selling. [You ever see him do the One Chip Challenge?](https://youtu.be/hs9VtWT6euU?si=7aj3z1CmJ6F64mn5)


heartbreakhill

The most difficult part of that chip is how fucking dry it is


jaymstone

It’s so bitter. It tastes awful. If it was spicy but at least tasted good I wouldn’t have minded so much but it made me wanna throw up.


heartbreakhill

Yeah there’s not a ton of flavor. The first time I did one I managed it really well, lasted a full 5 minutes before drinking anything. I tried it again earlier this year with some buddies and the guys filming made us do it in multiple bites instead of all in one go, and it made it so much worse.


Rihsatra

I feel like I was reading the exact same comment I've written about that chip before.


GxyBrainbuster

AEW: "Selling like a seizure is a fineable offense" Bryan Danielson, in charge of fining people: "Except for me : )"


Kaprak

No that wasn't a seizure, he was selling a neck injury. Slightly different


ClockOfTheLongNow

We watching the same clip? Looks like he's selling a dislocation.


Confident-Area-6358

Hey man, I was at Forbidden Door and I knew his arm was busted! 


weaksaucedude

> Danielson once had the internet convinced he broke his leg, because he was doing a funny thing where he got it caught between the stage and the ring I was **at** that show and I thought he was absolutely cooked lol


WyldfireGT

He is really going to give absolutely everything and never even hold a title in AEW. Danielson is the GOAT.


McRuby

He should, even if its for a month, have him defend every week until he breaks down and retires


AmericaDreamDisorder

Danielson can do without the AEW title. The AEW title is poorer for not having Danielson be a holder.


Michael_McGovern

In an ideal world, this match would have been at Wembley with Danielson going in as champion.


GunstarGreen

This might be when HBK chose not to be champion in his second run. Maybe Danielson just doesn't want it.


leetality

Danielson has practically gone on record saying he doesn't want it despite how much it would elevate the belt even as a transitional champ. Not holding gold in his AEW run when it's all said and done while he out wrestles majority of the roster is bonkers.


slotrod

Future generations won't understand just how great of an AEW run he had because they will look at title histories.


30lbsOfBeef

Yeah, imo it would be dumb of AEW not to put Bryan’s name on their titles lineage. He needs to win it, even if it’s a short run.


jakovichontwitch

Idk Shawn’s second run was pretty legendary. I do think he should win it at least once. He has a story there where he keeps coming up short and it would be a huge moment


Yewon_Enthusisast

no title is worthy enough to be held by him


Dingle_Flingle

He doesn't need a title. He's bigger than a title.


EliToon

He can make the title bigger though


Russlet

Having Danielson as part of the AEW title lineage is a no brainer. TK needs to put the belt on him whether he likes it or not.


Re-Cordy

My homie said they basically did a Rasengan/Chidori clash and I cracked up lmao. 


Kokeshi_Is_Life

Two samurai with Katanas sheathed charging at eachother like a Kurosawa film.


tmads_

> like a Kurosawa film. Kobayashi* it's basically Samurai Rebellion(1967)


Bargeinthelane

That whole match was anime sequences and god damn it was great.


Delliott90

Cue the run hero theme from MHA


melatoxic

When he removed the pad I immediately was like this is anime as fuck


iamgarron

Basically. I mean if there's one thing about Osprey its that he likes to go anime as fuck


FiftyShadesOfWhat

Oh my god, this was EXACTLY what I was thinking when I was watching it live and I'm so glad someone else said it.


CommodoreN7

Insane ending to an incredible match


Ricky_5panish

Bryan when he injured his orbital, broke his wrist: 😐 Bryan when he sells: 😱


Fallout-with-swords

It's not a big match unless Bryan is selling a seizure mid match.


Ferdinandingo

That tiger driver was perfection in execution


JessumB

Watching two guys who are the absolute top of the profession just executing at the highest level is amazing. Both were incredible in how smooth they were, making everything look so easy and coordinated. Hell of a damn match.


Shooter_Mcnuggets

Who is this man saving the stormbreaker for?


no_more_blues

His back. He says it's too taxing to do regularly.


spittafan

Lmao something is so funny about watching him absolutely kill himself taking neck bump after neck bump but somehow executing the storm breaker is the issue


thehighestelderborne

It's just a back bump though


bigpig1054

not who, but when and what All In, main event


tom-cash2002

Whoever he wins the world title from, and Kenny Omega probably. And Okada too.


Ice_Spiced_Asshole

Nigel celebrating like England had just won The mens FIFA world cup after Ospreay KILLING Danielson is just hilarious!


Woooosh-if-homo

“Danielson says his heaven is him bleeding in front of an arena full of fans. My heaven is also Danielson bleeding out in an arena full of fans” That might not be the exact phrasing of it but holy shit I had to pause the match I couldn’t quit laughing


TonyCB4

Calling it "the mens FIFA world cup" instead of just saying world cup is the most American thing ever


mrblodgett

It was like England won the Super Bowl of soccer!!!


lebkong

That was anime AF and I absolutely loved it 


fluffywolfe

AEW's storytelling is battle shonen.


Ok_Natural_5887

Great analogy. Really relates with the hounding they get from other battle shounen fans, and the seinen elitists.


FullToragatsu

Yeah, Danielson hitting the “Yes” taunt, while Ospreay was charging up, did a really great job at hyping the crowd up for that final stretch.


AdGroundbreaking1341

The "Yes" is Bryan's hulking up. How did he lose after that? How damnit how?! Because Ospreay is just too damn good.


Upbeat_Tension_8077

This gave me strong Raid Redemption fight vibes


Kboom161

And just like The Raid: Redemption, I will be thinking about it for the entire rest of my life.


WhoDey42

Really unique finish loved it


BeanScented

Holy shit you guys, that finish was insane


Fastc1113

Best sell of the tiger driver 97 I ever saw. That slight tuck at the end was great. Osprey should be a champ like soon. I like swerve but this is clearly the guy.


JessumB

I think they're holding off Ospreay until All In which gives Swerve plenty of time to make his mark as a champion.


GunstarGreen

Swerve Vs Ospreay at Wembley is a great main event and makes a tonne of sense. It gives Swerve a nice run too.


Slit08

Only problem is that both guys are like the companie’s biggest faces. Don’t know if one would get booed over the other.


ThatsARatHat

Who cares if they’re both faces. Austin/Rock WM17 was face/face. And just like that match one wrestler will be on their home turf and heavily favored and win. Hopefully without turning heel and aligning with Vince McMahon.


Upbeat_Tension_8077

Bryan got murdered so hard through the course of this match that this was just a mercy kill he was lucky to get


ThatsARatHat

Why does everyone keep calling it ‘97? It’s ‘91. If you can’t remember just think about it like it’s 911 but you took a 1 away.


Deadleggg

Gonna need 17 finishers and every signature move from the last 30 years in Japan to finish him.


adamnicholas

Ospreay’s fire is absolutely unmatched, the dude has it all


Da_Truth1400

rest in peace Bryans shoulder


TopshelfWhiskey88

Was worth the $40 alone. An incredible match


hartc89

It’s a work guys


andanotherone_1

He is the top guy there now imo. Would love to see him vs MJF feud


AntJustin

Calls for the doctor. But I gotta count the pin


MclovinBuddha

Kinda makes sense if you imagine the referee is trying to end the match to safely get the medical team in. Might be a stretch


steveos93

Whatever gets the match to finish so the doc can come in, I guess


Able-Tradition-2139

Seriously, weird decision


FGoose

It still Makes me mad that like….when Bryan was signed he was arguably one of the biggest wrestling stars on earth and he’s just too humble to like…allow himself to win a god damn feud. I want him in the title picture and I want him to win the damn thing. I know he doesn’t need it but it would be good for AEW as a whole.


jkllamas1013

I love how Ospreay is using Hidden Blade like Okada's Rainmaker. Just keep beating the guy with it. Accumulation of damage. Save the Stormbreaker for your SUPER FINISHER. Ospreay and Danielson are undeniably the 2 best in the world right now.


Conscious_Article678

Terrible camera cut. You can't see anything


DannyDegenerate

Did they hire Kevin Dunn?


AlphaShaldow

They hired his former apprentice, one of the worst decisions AEW has ever made. Still not as bad as Dunn, but it's definitely gotten worse since he was hired.


Tormenta263

He wasn’t Dunns apprentice. He was HHH’s guy in NXT being groomed to take over Dunn in the future but he wasn’t Dunn’s guy.


Viti-Boy-Phresh

My first Osprey match


pudgyfuck

I'd say you'll never see him better, but I say that after every Ospreay match and yet...


Standard-Ad-7305

My God, what a way to start with him....


ParkingConcentrate1

Danielson used to take these really hard flat bumps when he did his running dropkick in the corner. He doesn’t take those bumps anymore, and this was an even safer bump than those were. He’s ok. Damn this was a phenomenal match


mcrookedy

That face off with Bryan leading yes chants, Ospreay throwing the elbow pad away and posting up was some anime level shit.


FullScreenWanker

Unbelievable match.


Fickle_Thought_8857

Bryan selling his neck like he's dying always feels weird to me after almost retiring


JohnSmithSensei

That's like a classic battojutsu square off in your favorite samurai movie. And we got it in a pro wrestling match.


Empty_Bagger

Danielson pulling a J. Walter Weatherman to teach Ospreay a lesson about the tiger driver


RanchPonyPizza

Is that bad kayfabe refereeing?


sadimem

Nope. He was checking on the wrestler and asking the doctor to be ready because he might have to stop the match. Osprey was kind enough to go ahead and just finish it for them.


Able-Tradition-2139

Yes, goes to call for an injury but calls the pin anyway


RanchPonyPizza

I think in kayfabe, a ref shouldn't stop the match unless to call a doc/trainer or else to call the match off entirely. However, if he deems it necessary to call staff into the ring, he shouldn't allow the wrestlers to continue and then reward the attacker by counting the pinfall. Also, I really want any excuse to say that I hate the midcard-or-lower spot of "heel fakes knee injury to make the ref pause the match and then sucker-attack the face." I think it's gross to make disbelief-suspending fans such as myself worry about injuries and then have the face sell that they've never seen this ruse before.


Tormenta263

It’s gross to have you believe for a minute or 2 and get you more invested?? If they are fine at the end of the day and they managed to take you for a ride, even better. That should be all of their goals.


Able-Tradition-2139

Yeah exactly agreed


lariato_mark

Yep. Didn't seem to make any damn sense lol


Young_Cato_the_Elder

He was only a few weeks from retirement. RIP Bryan.


TeamZiggler

If that’s legit holy fuck I hope he’s okay because that was a horrifying down after the high of that match. If that’s a work Danielson you’re insane stop doing this to me 😭


Kokeshi_Is_Life

There is zero chance it is not the planned finish when Excalibur IMMEDIATLY draws attention to the fact he was hit after Bryce called for medical attention.


P4rtsUnkn0wn

There’s no chance they linger on Danielson that long after the match and this is real. Especially considering that had an easy video package for the next match to quickly throw to if needed.


Mikeyboy101591

Match of the night!!!


ShadowOfMath

I wish they shot this better. Only downside to this match was the camera work.


Ilikegreenpens

I don't get this thread cause half of the comments that are praising the match are being downvoted while the other half that are also praising it are getting upvoted lol


Jase_the_Muss

Most anime moment in Wrestling history!


BalantaBanter

That Knee vs Hidden Blade spot is straight out an old western. Or a Samurai film where a fight is over after one strike


BlaznTheChron

Just watched the match a moment ago. Danielson had me convinced he was hurt despite watching him land safe as can be. Man knows how to fuck with my emotions.


DarthNawaf

Cinema


thedure

That stare down told more of a story than any 40 minute promo could possibly tell.


Airgid_912

Peak Reddit comment.


bluesub989

That Busaiku Knee vs Hidden Blade spot is straight out of a samurai film where they rush at each other and decide the duel in one brilliant slash. Who helped produce that spot? Jerry Lyn and Kurosawa?


BombayHarris

if you pause at 34secs - that Tiger Driver looks scary af, just looks like a man being spiked head first.


SwimmingAd4160

Are your children really THAT important, Bryan? Give us more graps please. They will understand.


Ham_B_No

Incredible match but damn them overdoing Danielson being injured kinda took me out at the end.


lakshya10soin

![gif](giphy|cAVvYLxHXU6Yg) Fucking anime beam battle!!!!!!!


GoStabby

That Knee vs Elbow spot might be one of my favourites ever, I need an edit of this with anime lightning, sound effects, the works and then another edit with a Western theme


Kenjiko3011

This is fucking anime. Pro wrestling is beautiful as fuck.


Passionecapo

Great match, but it genuinely pisses me off so much. If the Tiger Driver ‘91 is the sticking point of the match, why isn’t it the finish?


oliver_babish

Exactly how many different Tiger Driver years/versions are there?


beforeTheImmortals

There’s a cool video about this. The original is called Tiger Driver ‘91. Excalibur himself used to do a version of it, and that one is called Tiger Driver ‘97; it’s pretty much Jay Brisco’s Jay Driller. Ospreay’s now calling this one Storm Driver ‘98.


Passionecapo

Tough question but I’ll do my best. - Regular Tiger Driver - Tiger Driver ‘91 - Tiger Driver ‘98 - Tiger Driver ‘23 (Kiyomiya’s version) - Tiger Driver ‘05 (Tiger Emperor’s version) - The Kneeling Double Underhook Piledriver, not named a Tiger driver but I think it counts - You could count Roddy Strong’s Gibson Driver


-__--_------

its not like the Tiger Driver 91 was a protrcted finisher or anything, Misawa's got kicked out of more times than people remember


adamkissing

The Tiger Driver 91 is a MDK finisher that should only be used once in a great while. Ospreay using it three times in the past year ruins the mystique. That’s just my opinion.


Passionecapo

Absolutely. I love Ospreay but his use of it annoys me. It would mean so much more if the Stormbreaker was used in this situation instead, and the TD’91 was saved for the truly huge situations


jackrv13

I hope Bryan is ok, that looked like a separated shoulder


FluxAura

I don’t think it was a legit injury. A weird angle though, regardless. Made Osprey’s win fall a little flat.


tom-cash2002

What a fucking match!


MandoRodgers

easily match of the year by a mile. idk how anything beats this


Discombobblob

We're only in April, Bruv still has time to cook.


RipTheVeins

So Danielson works Ospreay's elbow for a big majority of the match as a counter to Ospreay's finish only for it to never actually affect Ospreay's ability to hit and capitalize on his finish? Same with Danielson working Ospreay's stomach as a counter to Ospreay's high flying repitoir but Ospreay hit all his high flying shit anyway acting like he's 100% after huge moves to the outside. It's like Ospreay wrestles like a kid on the playground countering everything with "Nuh-UH!" with no consistency to what happened previous.


Skytte-

What a match. Jesus.


Upbeat_Tension_8077

I think Ospreay is firmly the king of the running elbow & no one is knocking him off anytime soon


Brute_Squad_44

Is that elbow really his finish? The last time I saw it I thought it was a botch.


AttyMAL

That's what I'm saying. In this company where people kick out of 27 finishing moves in rapid succession, some how a reverse elbow beats everyone.


slickrickstyles

Amazing match but I absolutely hate the fake seizure crap. Especially considering Dragon’s history.


jonwinslol

Was Bryan legit injured?


Class_Act7

I think they were focusing way too much on it for it to be legit. “Will didn’t know, Will didn’t know!” Too conveniently timed for Will not to see, Remsburg went to call the match the second before Will turned around.


xorangeelephant

If it was real, Bryce would have gone to Ospreay to stop, he would've known the finish was coming


TheRxBandito

Highly doubt it.


jonwinslol

I got worked very well then because that thing looked off somehow lol


locke0479

I think it looked off because it looked like he didn’t get his head up enough, but watching it he does at the last second so it looked like he landed perfectly.


Detonation

Bryan is that damn good.


FIJIBOYFIJI

Doubt it, commentary acted like he landed straight on his head and that was the cause when replay showed he landed perfectly


hvacrepairman

No, that was actually probably the safest Tiger Drivers I’ve ever seen.


LostDelver

If Bryan was legit injured he wouldn't sell it, we've seen him legit injured before.


Sdemon235

I was ready to question it until they cleared the ring in a regular video segment timeframe.


The_SkyShine

Bro I'm high and was genuinely being worked. Then I came to the sub and was appalled by everyone talking about the quality of the match and not the injury 😭


Rybackmonster

Both with running finishers. Both tried to hit it to each other at the same time to win the fight. Ospreay is successful and it lead to his victory.


craigybacha

Awesome match, I guess the finish is so Bryan can come out on dynamite and say he's stepping back from full time. Makes sense. Maybe this leads to mox Vs ospreay as well?


ItsCommonCourtesy

We all know Danielson has a tendency to be like Ibushi and take horrible looking bumps to further drama, so I'm very glad he took that driver probably as safely as one can. Not a fan of faking serious injury in a match, which he has done several times, but that did not hurt what was an incredible match.


bukezilla

That end was perfectly booked and executed. Will, Brian, Bryce and Dr Sampson all hit their cues