THE MOSS COVERED THREE HANDLED FAMILY CREDENZA
ARTICLE #52
SEPTEMBER 9, 2002
Ki-Daniels-Dragon: Setting the Standard of Honor
2/23/02: American Dragon vs Low Ki vs Christopher Daniels
Dragon kicked Daniels in the leg, then Dragon and Ki traded leg kicks. Ki and Dragon elbowed and chopped Daniels. Ki and Dragon locked up but Daniels dropkicked them both. Ki gave Daniels a great roundhouse kick to the head but Dragon caught Ki with an elbow. Ki chopped Dragon. Daniels punched both opponents and slammed Ki but Dragon elbowed him. Ki dropkicked Dragon but Daniels gave Ki a back suplex. Dragon and Daniels countered suplexes but Daniels ended up dumping Dragon upside down in the corner. Ki then gave Dragon a sliding kick to the head. Daniels elbowed Ki but Ki responded with a koppo kick. Ki gave Daniels a couple roundhouse kicks. Dragon went for the cattle mutilation on Ki but Daniels kicked him. Daniels slammed both opponents and slammed Dragon onto Ki. Daniels atomic dropped Ki, who legdropped Dragon in the process. Daniels applied a Boston crab on Dragon and a modified camel clutch on Ki AT THE SAME TIME! Daniels elbowed Dragon but Dragon fought back with a couple kicks. Dragon attacked Daniels's arm but Ki attacked Dragon with a series of kicks to his head and back. Daniels suplexed Dragon and covered Ki for a one count. Daniels dropkicked Ki and gut wrench suplexed Dragon. Daniels chopped Ki in the corner but Ki responded with stiff chops of his own. Daniels missed a clothesline and Ki chopped him down. Ki elbowed Daniels but Dragon elbowed Ki and chopped both opponents. Dragon ducked an enzuguiri and applied a modified Mutolock on Daniels, hooking his arm like a chicken wing instead of his neck. Ki kicked Dragon's leg hard and kicked his face. Ki delivered another kick to Dragon's face but Dragon countered a third and gave Ki a northern lights suplex for a near fall, all while maintaining the leglock on Daniels. Dragon turned the leglock over and gained a near fall on Daniels. Fans gave the wrestlers a standing ovation. Ki and Dragon traded hard chops. Dragon elbowed Ki for a near fall. Daniels attacked Dragon but Dragon fought back and gave him an armringer. Dragon hammerlocked Daniels but Ki kicked him from behind. Ki snapmared and punted Dragon's back but Dragon stood right up. Dragon then snapmared and kicked Ki, and Ki stood up. Daniels then snapmared and kicked Ki, and Dragon shoved Daniels. Dragon and Ki traded kicks on Daniels's back. Ki and Dragon delivered two simultaneous roundhouse kicks to Daniels's chest and back, but Daniels ducked a third time and Dragon and Ki kicked each other's leg. Ki chopped Dragon and headbutted him. Daniels went after Ki and gave him a modified neckbreaker. Daniels then did the same to Dragon. Daniels applied a Boston crab on Ki until Dragon elbowed him. Dragon and Ki went for a suplex but Daniels countered. Daniels then gave Ki a neckbreaker and Dragon a DDT in the same move in another really cool spot. Daniels gained a near fall on both opponents. Dragon and Ki caught Daniels on the top rope and gave him chops, then slammed him to the mat. Ki and Dragon gave Daniels a double high kick. Dragon gave Ki some kicks to the leg and knees to the face for a near fall. Ki caught Dragon with a kick to the head and Daniels gained a near fall on Dragon. Daniels belly to belly suplexed Dragon for a near fall. Ki and Dragon chopped Daniels. Daniels caught Ki and went for a tilt-a-whirl slam or something but threw Ki in the air and Ki gave Dragon a mid-air tornado DDT in another breathtaking three-way spot. Ki caught Daniels with a second rope spin kick I think was called a tidal wave for a near fall. Ki chopped Dragon and placed him on the top rope. Dragon elbowed Ki to the mat. Daniels caught Dragon on the top rope and applied an abdominal stretch on the top rope! Ki then kicked Daniels and gave him a dragon clutch of sorts called the hanging dragon on the top rope! Ki gained a near fall on Daniels. Daniels caught Ki and went for an inverted suplex, Ki countered but Dragon caught Ki. Ki countered a tiger suplex and gave Dragon a great enzuguiri. Daniels gave Dragon a blue thunder powerbomb for a near fall. Ki gave Daniels a roundhouse kick but missed his handspring spin kick in the corner. Daniels placed Ki on the top rope and gave him a brutal chop. Ki countered a superplex and knocked Daniels to the mat. Dragon caught Ki on the top rope and went for a superplex but Daniels hit him from behind. Daniels then gave Dragon a back superplex AS Dragon superplexed Ki!!! Another well deserved standing ovation. Dragon caught Daniels and gave him a snap DDT, then gave him a dragon suplex. Ki went for a fisherman buster but then applied the dragon clutch on Dragon. Daniels punched Ki to break the hold. Daniels and Ki traded blows, but Daniels then gave Ki an STO. Daniels gave Ki his version of a triple jump moonsault (second, top rope, backflip) for a near fall. Dragon punched Daniels but ran into a clothesline. Ki gave Daniels a roundhouse kick to the head, then hit his handspring spin kick in the corner. Dragon elbowed Ki and knocked him out of the ring. Dragon gave Daniels an elbow to the bakc of his head and applied the cattle mutilation but Ki then gave Dragon a phoenix splash to break the hold. Ki gave Daniels a Ki crusher (death valley driver with the legs crossed) and pinned him at 20:08. A lengthy standing ovation took place immediately. Innovative and beyond stunning. You could give this ***** and I wouldn't think you're crazy. I just won't let overzealousness take over and will TRY to be realistic as to where this match rates. I've never seen so many innovative and such sharply executed three-way spots. I mean, the execution was almost rediculously sharp given the setting and size of the crowd (400 or so). Daniels was really in his element here, not doing much high flying but chipping in one innovative spot after another as well as using common moves in unusual ways. Ki had one of his best days in terms of execution, and that says something, as his offense was really sharp and stiff throughout. Dragon was also so smooth in his work, chipping in lots of cool spots but with such a manner that reminded you this was still somehow a pure wrestling classic event though it was a three-way match. Fans gave several standing ovations during and after this match, and each one was well-deserved. If you're a fan of innovative spots and great action of just about any kind, then your collection cannot be complete without this match. Ring of Honor could not have possibly asked or hoped for a better christening of their product than this, and just think that this match would be topped with their second show. A match that could make just about everyone proud to call themselves a wrestling fan. ****1/2
3/30/02 Round Robin Challenge: American Dragon vs Christopher Daniels
Daniels landed some punches and dropkicked Dragon. Daniels missed a clothesline and Dragon gave him a forearm. Dragon took Daniels down but Daniels held his own on the mat. Dragon mounted Daniels and applied a sleeper briefly. Dragon took Daniels down on a test of strength but Daniels then tripped Dragon while maintaining the knuckle lock. Daniels mounted Dragon, who bridged. Dragon countered and applied a modified crossface, then bent Daniels's neck with his leg for added impact. Dragon took Daniels down with a headlock. They did a criss cross and Dragon tackled Daniels. He took Daniels down with a headlock again. Daniels countered with a headscissors but Dragon turned him over again and went back to the headlock. Daniels tried to counter with a back suplex but Dragon flipped to his feet. They did another criss cross and Dragon dropkicked Daniels for a near fall. Daniels fought back with a back suplex and stomped Dragon. Daniels headlocked Dragon and snapmared him. Daniels attacked Dragon's neck and kneedropped him for a near fall. Daniels rammed Dragon into the corner. They traded stiff chops, then Daniels clotheslined Dragon. Daniels back suplexed Dragon for a near fall and applied a chinlock. Daniels continued to work on Dragon's neck but Dragon countered and clotheslined him. Dragon went for a back suplex but Daniels countered and gave him a neckbreaker slam of sorts for a near fall. Daniels snapmared Dragon and applied a half nelson while attacking his neck. Dragon telegraphed a backdrop, Daniels went for a backslide but Dragon then gave him a great overhead belly to belly suplex. Dragon chopped Daniels repeatedly and elbowed him. Dragon gave Daniels a kneelift, chop and elbows. He gave Daniels a running elbow in the corner but Daniels blocked a suplex. Dragon landed another elbow and DDTd Daniels. Dragon hit a top rope headbutt for a near fall. Dragon missed a roaring elbow and Daniels gave him a Rock bottom. Daniels then hit a triple jump moonsault for a heated near fall. ragon scored with some kicks to Daniels's leg and gave him a roaring elbow for a near fall. They traded chops again, and Daniels knocked Dragon for a loop with a lariat for a near fall. Daniels gave Dragon a blue thunder powerbomb for a near fall. Dragon ducked a lariat and applied the cattle mutilation, but couldn't hold it. Dragon then seamlessly maneuvered around and applied a modified but more brutal looking rings of Saturn. Daniels reached the ropes and countered a dragon suplex. Daniels piledrove Dragon for a near fall and gave him a roll of the dice/Test drive (swinging diamond cutter of sorts). Daniels applied a crossface and made Dragon submit at 14:24. This is the kind of opening match that a booker could usually only dream of. A perfect way not just to get fans into the show, but to set an early standard of quality that's high yet reachable. A near perfect match for these two given the circumstances, and so close to ****- maybe a near fall or two shy. Aside from their usual sharp execution, both men showed a sense of restraint and maturity. They busted out some great moves, but not nearly as many as the 2/23/02 match. Instead, they set out to work a storyline, namely Dragon's neck, and used many great spots and submissions centered around that attack. Dragon's selling of his neck was really solid, both on defense and on offense as he would hesitate or sometimes fail to execute moves based on his injured neck. Definitely enough good near falls and submissions in the second half to make this a terrific stand-alone match. ***3/4
3/30/02 Round Robin Challenge: Christopher Daniels vs Low Ki
Daniels refused a handshake and Ki chopped him. Ki landed a couple punches but missed a tidal wave (handspring spin kick) in the corner. Ki then scored with a great roundhouse kick to Daniels's head for an early near fall. Ki punted Daniels hard in the back and gave him a stiff chop. Ki scored with a koppo kick for a near fall. Ki gave Daniels a European uppercut and a headbutt. Ki landed a couple chops but missed one and Daniels gave him a kneelift. Daniels tackled Ki but Ki took him down and applied the modified crossface (actually not a crossface, Ki wrapped his arms around Daniels's neck and bent his arm back). Daniels countered and rolled up Ki for a near fall. Ki scored with some great brutal roundhouse kicks for a near fall. Ki applied a chinlock and bent Daniels back. Ki applied a front facelock but Daniels backed him into a corner. Daniels punched Ki on the top rope but Ki caught his arm and applied a cross armbreaker while hanging from the top rope in a neat tarantula-esque spot. Ki punted Daniels hard in the ropes but Daniels took him down with a modified Rock bottom. Daniels gave Ki another STO and elbowsmashed him. Daniels gave Ki a lariat for a near fall. Daniels vertical suplexed Ki for a near fall and gut wrench suplexed him. Daniels applied a modified chinlock and rubbed his elbow in Ki's face. Daniels dumped Ki gut first on the top rope and knocked him to the mat with a top rope legdrop for a near fall. Daniels applied a half crab and then an STF. Daniels held onto Ki and applied a modified bow and arrow submission. Daniels gave Ki a falcon arrow for a near fall and then gave him a Rock bottom. Daniels missed a triple jump moonsault but landed on his feet. He missed a lariat and Ki hit a spectacular spin kick off the second rope. Ki went for a Ki crusher but Daniels countered. Ki chopped Daniels but Daniels caught Ki coming off the top rope with a dragon sleeper. Ki flipped back, chopped Daniels but Daniels caught Ki on the top rope with a palm strike. Daniels gave Ki a modified iconoclasm, holding onto Ki's neck instead of his arms, for a near fall. Daniels gave Ki the angel's wings (spinning pedigree) for a near fall. Daniels went for the angel's wings but Ki countered, flipped over and gave Daniels his Ki crusher. Ki hit a tidal wave in the corner for a near fall. Ki went for a Ki crusher but Daniels countered. Ki blocked an angel's wings but Daniels went for a dragon sleeper. Ki turned the move around and caught Daniels in a dragon clutch for the submission win at 11:02. A tough match to rate because it was technically outstanding on many levels but also something was missing. Fan heat was not as even and as strong as it was for Daniels-Dragon, and the psychology of this match wasn't as relevant and deep either. Lots of cutting edge moves and counters as you would expect, and from a workrate standpoint neither man disappointed. It just seemed like the match lacked a sense of urgency or drama as it built during the body, and perhaps the closing segment with the near falls and submissions should have been longer or given more time to develop (as in cut out some of the early work to go to a longer closing segment). Still, the match never dragged and they were always doing something interesting. Daniels didn't look like the gem of a worker he did against Dragon, perhaps because Dragon is that smooth in the ring. I'll give this 1/4* less than the previous match, but the gap was actually a bit bigger than that. ***1/2
3/30/02 Round Robin Challenge: Low Ki vs American Dragon
Ken Shamrock came out and asked to be the guest ref for this match, and put over both participants in his brief speech. He became the ref and that added to the already special aura surrounding this match. Ki landed a kick to Dragon's leg but Dragon responded in kind and took Ki down. Dragon went for a cross armbreaker but Ki countered. Dragon went after Ki's neck on the mat but Ki turned him over and landed some punches from the mount. Ki mounted Dragon again and then applied a bodyscissors. Ki landed some headbutts and applied a sleeper while gripping Dragon's body with his legs. Dragon countered with a modified surfboard. Dragon applied a sleeper while wrapping his legs around Ki. Ki escaped and landed more punches. Dragon applied a head and arm lock and cranked Ki's neck back. Dragon used some heelish tactics pulling at Ki's face, then landed clubbing blows. Dragon applied a sleeper again on Ki. Ki countered and applied a front facelock. He landed some knees to Dragon's head while maintaining the facelock. Dragon backed Ki into the ropes and threw an elbow but Ki blocked it. Dragon blocked a roundhouse kick to his head from Ki. Ki took Dragon down and landed more punches from the mount but Dragon countered and went for a cross armbreaker. Dragon did apply a modified cross armbreaker with Ki facing the mat instead of upwards. Ki flipped over, escaped and kicked Dragon in the head. Dragon reached the ropes, Ki didn't break, but Shamrock pulled them towards the middle of the ring. Ki went after Dragon's arm but Dragon lifted him and slammed him to the mat. Ki went back to going for Dragon's arm and neck on the mat, and attempted a cross armbreaker. Dragon flipped over Ki and hooked his legs and back in somewhat of a side STF until Ki reached the ropes. Ki landed a great kick to Dragon's face from a prone position on the mat and Dragon tumbled out of the ring, selling the kick as if he was nearly dead. Ki went for a waistlock and took down Dragon. Ki bridged and gained a near fall. Dragon hooked Ki's legs and applied a double surfboard as well, then turned Ki over on his shoulders to gain a near fall. Dragon went after Ki's leg and applied a legbar but Ki countered with a couple kicks to Dragon's head using his free leg. Ki scored with more kicks and several knees to Dragon's head as he attacked his eye. Dragon slumped out of the ring and his eye area began to bleed. Dragon applied a cross armbreaker but Ki quickly reached the ropes. Ki landed more knees to Dragon's face as they locked up. Dragon hooked Ki's leg and rolled him up for a near fall. Dragon applied an armlock and went for a chicken wing. Dragon applied a full nelson and back suplexed Ki for the first true wrestling spot of the match. Dragon snapmared Ki and punted his back. Dragon chopped Ki in the back of the neck for a near fall and went after his arms again. Ki countered with knee strikes to Dragon's head and scored with a kick to his face. Ki chopped Dragon twice, snapmared him and punted his back very hard. Ki snapmared Dragon and gave his back a loud chop. Ki applied a double chicken wing on the mat and punted his back again. Ki went for a dragon clutch, couldn't apply it but still gained a near fall. Ki applied a cobra clutch and wrapped his legs around Dragon. Ki applied a sleeper but Dragon reached his feet and they both tumbled through the ropes to the floor, with Ki maintaining the hold. Ki maintained the sleeper outside the ring and gained a near fall back in the ring. Ki gave Dragon two foot stomps. Dragon countered a Ki crusher and gave him a roaring elbow. Dragon gave Ki a dragon suplex for a near fall. Dragon gave Ki a snap DDT and hit a top rope headbutt but Ki's knee appeared to connect with Dragon. Ki then gained a near fall. Ki hit a tidal wave in the corner but nearly trapped himself in the ropes. Ki gave Dragon a quick dragon suplex for a near fall and applied Dragon's own cattle mutilation. Dragon then seamlessly countered with Ki's own dragon clutch. Dragon wrapped his legs around Ki but Ki reached the ropes. Dragon cranked on Ki's neck and gave him what looked like a snapmare suplex for lack of a better description and gained a near fall. Dragon hit an elbow in the corner and a northern lights suplex for a near fall. Dragon and Ki traded loud chops. Dragon landed some sharp elbows. Ki jumped to the middle rope and went for a second rope spin kick but Dragon dropkicked him in mid-air for a near fall. Dragon attempted a suplex but Ki countered with a kick to Dragon's leg and a brainbuster for a delayed near fall. Ki landed some knees to the head and some stiff kicks to Dragon's chest and head. Ki gave Dragon a Ki crusher for a great near fall. He gave Dragon a backbreaker and went for a phoenix splash but crashed into Dragon's upstretched legs. Dragon gave Ki a dragon suplex for a near fall. Dragon placed Ki on the top rope and hit a top rope back superplex for a near fall. Dragon placed Ki on the top rope again but Ki fought back with chops. Ki elbowed and pounded Dragon, then gave him an amazing top rope Ki crusher for a huge pop. Ki sold the impact of the move himself as Dragon fell out of the ring. Ki gained a near fall one minute after the Ki crusher. He kicked Dragon and landed a couple chops. Ki went for a tidal wave but Dragon caught him with a full nelson. Ki countered a dragon suplex but Dragon caught him and gave him a half nelson cradle back suplex (anyone have a name for this???). Dragon then applied the cattle mutilation. Dragon released the hold and reapplied it in the middle of the ring. Ki finally passed out at 32:11 after a dramatic struggle and Dragon won. A very lengthy standing ovation took place after the bell. If you are a diehard wrestling fan like myself, chances are you've experienced a certain emotion. Your voice doesn't give way due to excessive shouting in jubilation, nor do your eyes redden from a huge volume of tears. Rather, you develop a lump in your throat, and are perhaps rendered speechless over what you have just seen. After a while, the words start coming out and the superlatives are seemingly endless. Emotionally speaking, I've had this reaction about 15, maybe 20 times in my 14 years as a wrestling fan. And this was one of them. Funny, because like some of the other occasions it's not even in reaction to one of the top 50 matches of all time. But so rarely do two wrestlers, or two teams, or any number of combatants come together and jell with such a seamless chemistry and understanding of each other's movements so as to produce the absolute best possible performance they are individually capable of. At this point nether man has/had wrestled for more than three years. Neither. That has to be emphasized, because there are many other matches on a similar quality level where one pro of 3 or fewer years would join with someone with far more experience to produce a gem. In fact, has there ever been a smoother pure wrestler at this experience level than American Dragon? Okay, one of you is probably yelling out Kurt Angle's name. Let's see Angle try to pull off this kind of work for over 30 minutes. Juventud Guerrera? Sure he was an amazingly smooth lucha wrestler three years in, but that's an entirely different style. Simply put I could not think of a 2-3 year pro more effective when it came to giving mat wrestling not just an aura of excitement, but one of believability, and I mean the type that you could show to a non-wrestling fan and have them take much more time than the average American to realize it's a show. And if you want to go with more "traditional" pro wrestling, highspots included, Dragon still rates very highly. Then you have Low Ki. Slightly more experience than Dragon, and more well-known as a prodigy in the ring. A worker who plays the role of the iceman better than Dean Malenko. A wrestler as smooth on the mat as almost anyone and who can keep up with anyone. And a stirker, especially with his kicks, who virtually redefines what stiffness is all about. Combine that with the ability to do a flying spots such as a phoenix splash, a move very few wrestlers worldwide attempt, and you have one of the most unique workers stylistically in recent wrestling history. I did bring up their chemistry, but there were also a few rough spots. However, they really didn't shape the match like you would expect. Instead of taking away from the flow, they added a tone of credibility to it. What those rough moments (minor ones mostly) communicated was a sense of urgency and such intense competitive fire that the wrestlers scrambled to use their moves on their opponents in a way to maximize effectiveness. Think of the greatest football game you ever saw. No fumbles? No interceptions? Come on, get real. Or have you ever seen a basketball game with not one missed shot? Or a baseball game without one bad pitch or one lousy swing of the bat? Even the best of battles often include a couple rough spots. So where does this match rate? That's a very tough question, and one that only each viewer individually could answer. There have been very few strong style matches such as this one, particularly combining shoot style action with traditional pro wrestling and some great highspots. This is a unique genre, especially in the U.S. I don't think it's the greatest match in the history of any genre, but it has established at least one standard. American Dragon vs Low Ki, 3/30/02, Ring of Honor, Philadelphia, PA is the one match against which all future hybrid strong style/traditional pro wrestling matches in the U.S. shall be judged. Maybe the best match since the start of the new millenium. ****3/4
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