Hangman vs. Danielson Discussion Thread

[Dub H]

I feel like the fact that Hangman didnt beat Bryan is gonna haunt him for a while,wouldnt be surprise if one of the last matches of his title reign is against Bryan,if he doesnt has a rematch right away

[Fade]

Dec 16, 2021 1:08:33 GMT -5 The Summer of Muskrat XVII said:

Dec 15, 2021 23:46:59 GMT -5 "Evil Brood" Jackson Vanik said:

They can't call Rampage the fastest 60 minutes in wrestling anymore because it belongs to that match.

My buddy said “I think they’re doing a broadway, it’s 9 minutes to the hour” and I had no f***ing clue the match had gone anywhere near that long

It absolutely flew by. Just paced perfectly. It built and built and built to that final incredible buckshot lariat.

[Dragonfly]

This was one of those "I'm a kid again" matches for me. By the end, I found myself yelling "use your left arm, Hangman!" at the screen.

[Mozenrath]

I like that they went the draw route.

A big part of this feud has been Bryan shitting on Page's work ethic, that Hangman denied him a classic with Omega by not losing to him, always coming up with excuses why he couldn't or shouldn't face Hangman yet.

Hangman, instead, went the distance with Bryan, and for all of his bluster, Bryan doesn't have the title belt because he misjudged Page. It's almost more embarrassing than if he had outright lost, since he could blame some kind of fluke, but no, he was saved by the bell. I'm guessing he'll be embarrassed and try to wrangle a rematch, and that someone else will probably get a chance first.

[eJm]

Dec 16, 2021 1:44:55 GMT -5 Fade said:

Dec 16, 2021 1:08:33 GMT -5 The Summer of Muskrat XVII said:

My buddy said “I think they’re doing a broadway, it’s 9 minutes to the hour” and I had no f***ing clue the match had gone anywhere near that long

It absolutely flew by. Just paced perfectly. It built and built and built to that final incredible buckshot lariat.

Yeah, when they were talking about it being about 40 minutes in, I checked my phone and I was like “Jeez, that’s about right, isn’t it?”

[Mozenrath]

Dec 15, 2021 22:45:43 GMT -5 fw91 said:

Dec 15, 2021 22:39:40 GMT -5 EoE: Well There's Your Problem said:

No, I don’t think it is fair. Like what’s the issue, is it a moveset thing, is it a cardio thing… I didn’t notice either being a problem.

one comment. (Again Not Me I didn't see it)

"Hangman needed to be fired up. Instead, he took a rest after every move he landed- even before he was selling exhaustion/pain. Bryan has been disrespecting him, and abusing his Dark Order friends, yet I never got the sense Page was trying to kick his ass."

They must've been taking a nap during spots like Page kicking the shit out of Bryan's leg in the guard rail. That's definitely not the kind of thing Page, or most wrestlers, would do in a regular exhibition.

[Mid-Carder]

I was disappointed with the draw but that's to be expected. Upon a second viewing, the draw won't matter at all.

[eJm]

Watching the YT clip, Hangman landing on his feet on a back suplex attempt and hitting a Brodie Lee-style discus lariat is title reign defining stuff and it’s his first defense of the belt.

[Deleted]

Good finish. You don't want Danielson having a decisive loss this early and battling him to a draw makes Hangman look stronger than a rollup win out of nowhere would have.

[lavelleuk22]

Amazing match, didn't feel even close to an hour, I feel like every week Danielson has a match where you think "that adds to the argument for him being the GOAT"

People talk about ratings a lot, but I'll take 800k people watching a wrestling show that has hour long draws over a show that hits a million viewers that changes its style to try and attract the 90s style "casuals" I see guys like bischoff mention. Sometimes it genuinely feels AEW is geared to exactly what I want to see lol

[Rumble McSkirmish]

A fantastic SSS tier match that not only firmly established Hangman as a worthy choice to carry the belt, but also reestablished Danielson as the very best wrestler in the world today.

[This Player Hating Mothman]

This story was an incredible piece of work for so many reasons down to its distinct 'chapters' where entirely different focuses of attacks got used that all led to the final climactic minutes, but what I love most is that it continued Hangman's story in a very important way. Getting the title hasn't changed him or made him invincible. He's not a prodigy or a world class anything. He's good, even at his best, he's not so good that he doesn't have weaknesses and can't be picked apart by someone like Bryan. But he has heart. Oh my god he has so much f***ing heart. To get back up, to keep fighting, to avenge his friends, and to hold onto this title.

When Omega and Danielson fought to their draw, they were still on their feet, they looked like they could still go. When the match ended, Hangman had Bryan dead to rights, but also, they were both compeltely drained and broken down by that point. Totally different situation across a much different scale of match. It feels like less of a "Who can win?" question than the Omega draw did, and more like "can Hangman get the job done on time" for the rematch, which vitally, continues the story of Hangman and his doubts. Even his first title defense was a brutalizing that he didn't technically win. I don't think he goes into another despair spiral here and I don't particularly want him to, but the follow-up being a clear-headed Hangman who knows what he needs to do and who finds the push to answer those questions? That's what the good cowboy shit is made of. That's the kind of champion Hangman needs to be, and I love the idea that this can continue on in directions that will continue his story instead of just leaving his anxieties at the door now that he's beat Kenny.

As far as if Hangman can 'hang' in a 60 minute match or not? Man, I remember the first ten minutes of every Omega/Okada match in the title feud period except for the G1 match where Kenny explicitly came out screaming and intentionally put Okada away as hard and fast as he could because of the lower time limit for G1 matches. If you're going an hour, you're going to pick your spots and take it slow, even in the early goings. That doesn't say anything bad about Hangman. Dude delivered and hit some really big spots really late into the match. Go watch Impact's Rebellion this year and see Kenny carry Rich Swann's corpse to a twenty three minute match if you wanna see someone who can't keep up.

[Deleted]

A brilliant match - wonderful storytelling, exhilarating action and expertly paced to the point where it didn't remotely feel its length.

I'm torn on the ending, even after sleeping on it. I understand the rationale for a draw, but I think a Hangman win would've meant a lot more for him and solidified him as a tip-top guy. Your champion should be THE man to beat in the company, and while introducing that element of doubt makes sense for Hangman's character, it makes his role as champion feel a bit more tenous.

["Evil Brood" Jackson Vanik]

I also love the fact that Bryan prides himself on his cardio so much that he nearly cost himself the match by feeling the need to show off and skinning the cat 59 minutes into the match.

[Fade]

Meltzer & Alvarez glowed about it. Talked about how it didn’t feel like an hour. Alvarez talked about the multi-phase structure of it. Meltzer’s only negative was the commercial breaks. Alvarez noted that although the crowd smattered boo’s when knowing time was almost up (and it would almost certainly be going to a draw) they had them absolutely enthralled in the peak of the match thinking it could end. They brought up the two following matches struggled for heat because of the first hour but MJF/Martin brought them back up.

[Jindrak Mark]

This match was so good that as I was watching it I started expecting Danielson to win and was fully on board with it when beforehand I would have thought Hangman losing his first defence would be the dumbest thing ever. Danielson is just too damn good.

[simplydurhamcalling]

Great match and I predicted a time limit draw (albeit 30 mins) in the prediction thread so go me!

[thirteen3]

Was underwhelmed and bored by it. I knew it was gonna end in a draw 20 minutes in.

Do not want to watch a rematch, it'll either be a an Iron Man match or a 2/3 falls. I hate long matches.

[polarbearpete]

Great match. The draw was a bit of a deflater, especially going back to the well right after Omega and Bryan did the time limit draw not too long ago, but the match itself was fantastic, albeit it did drag a bit in some portions, especially with the commercial breaks.

Bryan continues to prove he’s the best in the world. He’s had so many 4 star matches this year, on many different shows- AEW PPVs, Dynamite, Rampage, Smackdown, WWE PPVs.

Curious whether they do a rematch or not. I would guess they do the rematch at the PPV with Hangman picking up a big win or two on the way there.

[Macho Pichu]

Dec 16, 2021 4:28:42 GMT -5 Dragonfly said:

This was one of those "I'm a kid again" matches for me. By the end, I found myself yelling "use your left arm, Hangman!" at the screen.

I was doing that, too, and that was mere minutes after I realized that it was going to be a draw. They had me believing in it, despite the fact that I had already sussed out the finish, which is by far my favorite part of wrestling.