[7.0] "Very solid technical wrestling match. Danielson is very young in his career here but knows what he's doing already. They don't go all out because they've both got to get stiffed a bit by Low Ki later in the night but it's all good smooth stuff. ***1/2"
[8.0] "Slower more technical match than their big 3-way the event before. nice to see another side that came a little short in the first one. solid work with minimal timing issues."
[8.0] "Add another terrific theme song to Danielsons theme song history - Self Esteem by The Offspring. Continuing with the theme of the early shows being built around three guys, this continues that further, putting them all against each other in singles matches. The first match with Christopher Daniels vs Bryan Danielson, called American Dragon. The match begins with aggressive technical wrestling as both scramble for control. Danielson is clearly the more skilled but Daniels is smarter and is able to have his time on top in a credible way. Naturally, Danielson wins the battle and decides to work a deep side headlock with Daniels struggling to escape, which he eventually does, working Danielsons neck himself. This is a key point in the match as Danielson also has an injured neck (when hasnt he? ). He works without much finesse unlike Danielson, preferring to snap at the neck and stick with the basic manoeuvres with the occasional eye poke. Danielson keeps plugging away, hitting a diving headbutt in true Harley Race style but Daniels remains the dominant wrestler in the match. Daniels escalated well, hitting a moonsault for a nearfall which also coincides with the pace getting quicker once more. Danielson gets more desperate, chaining submission holds, going from Cattle Mutilation to a rings of saturn in order to get a victory, or simply turn the match in his favour. The neck comes into play once more - and this is where Danielsons selling was great - after a piledriver and Daniels submits Danielson with a crossface submission. The commentators claim that they have never seen Danielson tap, although I didnt think the fans reacted appropriately as that win may have deserved. This was a rock solid opener. I only wish they went more with the form of grappling they began with, instead of settling for the basic pro-style form. ***3/4"
[7.0] "Impressive match, with Danielson executing a great gameplan and Danielson selling really well. Can't believe they each got a match with Low Ki on the same show. 3.5 stars"
[7.0] "I think its a good match that goes a tad long and while the selling is good, the work is focused, it loses me at times. I think I'm judging Bryan and Daniels at a high standard, given their quality, it is 2002 but I also felt like, this is a mini tournament, so its not so easy to judge when you will inevitably, compare them to the other two matches. The little things in this match kept it engaging but think you cut off like 2 minutes and its even better."
[8.0] "Very good match. I thought it would be a mostly technical affair but these guys really pulled no punches. Daniels worked the neck throughout the match and Danielson sold it to a tee and the finish was great end to that story. ****"
[7.0] "Probably my least favourite of the 3 tournament matches on this show, but this was still good. Great technical work from both guys, great work on Dragon's neck by Daniels and some very good selling of said neck by Dragon. Really solid match, but I thought the other ones were better. ***1/2"
[8.0] "Awesome match to open the show. The in-ring action is great, as you'd expect. It's another example of the crisp, smooth, tight style of wrestling that would define ROH. Danielson gets the better of most of the early exchanges until Daniels drops him on his neck/head with a suplex, setting in motion the story of the match, Daniels continues to focus his offense on that area and Danielson fights on bravely. He has some flurries of offense but ultimately succumbs to it and is forced to tap. There are a couple of moments where Danielson goes for a move, can't because of his neck, and immediately transitions into something else. It even plays into the finish and is the perfect way to keep the injury as the focal point of the story, even when Danielson is on top. Daniels is predictably great, but Danielson has absolutely no business being this good at everything so early in his career. Aside from his amazing offense, which includes some beautiful reversals and transitions, his work and selling as the babyface in peril in this match is on point. Two great workers, great in-ring action and a simple but solid and well told story"
[8.0] "This is just straight up great pro wrestling, exactly ROH as intended to be. Daniels and Bryan have a competitive match that largely sees Daniels focus on working over the neck of Danielson. It's a simple story that's executed well and culminates in a logical conclusion while also setting up Danielson battling his own injury in his next Round Robin match. This was the perfect way to start the show, establishing not only the very style that was the foundation of the promotion, but also building the major story for this night's event."
[9.0] "This match was a great wat to start the show, it had great action by the two competitors. It started with some grappling by Dragon, who was applying a lot of headlocks to damage the opoonent's neck. Daniels counters the headlocks with a backdrop that hurt Dragon's neck and would affect him in the rest of the match, also he makes some headlocks of his own to work on that part of the body. American Dragon tries to make a suplex and the cattle mutilation, but he coundn't because of his damaged neck. So Daniels makes a piledriver and a crossface to win the match by submmision. After winning, Daniels makes a great promo in which he continues to stablixh himself as the big hell in te company, mocking Dragon and the Code of Honor. Great work by this two. I give this match a 8."
[7.0] "This was my least favourite of the Round Bin matches, but saying this it was still a really good match. The Round Robin is done very smartly in terms of how it takes the approach of each guy getting a win. Daniels wins the first matchup here and smugly makes Dragon shake his hand after the bout."
[8.0] "This match was pure joy to watch. Two of the best in-ring wrestlers ever having a fast-paced, physical match full of awesome counters and sequences. Christopher Daniels spent the match working over Bryan Danielson's neck and ended up winning with a combination of moves targetting the neck followed by a cross-face submission."
[8.0] "Neuer Kommentar von 7 auf 8 Punkte rauf. Christopher und Bryan hatten und habe geile Matches. Wurde von mir zu niedrig damals bewertet (***1/2)."
[8.0] "I had no doubt that these guys would give a cool match. But the fact that it will be such a cool match... I was surprised. Why didn't Meltzer rate this match? Why the hell is there no rating on the site? earned 4. 25 stars!"
[9.0] "Everyone knows about Dragon's match vs. Low Ki from this same show, but this is quite a gem as well. The early stuff w/ both guys looking to gain true control of one another is some really, really good stuff, and I especially loved how Dragon was so insistent on using that headlock to wear Daniels down. Once Daniels gets a groove going, he pays Dragon's plan of wearing-him-down-by-the-neck back, and he does it oh-so viciously. He is super focused on beating Bryan by dropping him on his neck & slapping on those submissions for good measure. It's a great, compelling-to-watch gameplan, and Dragon's selling of it is really good. Loved him not being able to hit his suplex, and then later on in the match not being able to lock in the Cattle Mutilation, 'cause of the damage done to that neck. Daniels getting the win w/ the Crossface was a great pay-off & ending to the thing, too. Excellent match."
