Bryan Danielson vs. Colt Cabana 2/3 Falls Gut Check 8/26/06

Yeah, thank god that was over. Two things go against this match. One, Dragon injuring his arm, and two, Colt not selling the leg for shit. Sure the ending was amusing, but did I really have to sit through sixty minutes of rubbish to get there, hell no. Don’t watch.

Austin Aries/Roderick Strong vs. Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal Gut Check 8/26/06

This is a tough one. The beginning was really good with Strong/Sydal, which transitioned well in the middle with Aries ribs. Daniels/Sydal do a good number on Aries ribs, but it really isn’t sold that well. The ending stretch was fine, except that it gets too back and forth at points. I just can’t do it. Honestly, I would rather have a spotfest with no story then a poorly done body part selling clinic story. No.

Briscoes vs. Homicide/Davey Richards Gut Check 8/26/06

It was good. Had the same fun finishing stretch that I’ve seen in most Briscoes matches this year. But if I were to go back to the Anarchy in the UK match with Sydal replacing Homicide, stuff was executed a little bit better, had a hotter crowd, and more insane finishing stretch. I say this because they did a stretch that was somewhat similar to this match. That was 13 days earlier and more fresh. So I dug it, but it is not that high end. No.

Bryan Danielson VS Nigel McGuinness 2/3 falls Epic Encounter 2 8/25/06

Yeah, not what I expected, in a bad way. I get what they were trying to do, Dragon was trying to ware down Nigel with headlocks and chinlocks and zap his energy, and Nigel went after Dragon’s arm. Dragon sold the arm pretty well, Nigel made me yearn for the days when Joe would sell Punk’s headlocks. On top of that, it was not in the least bit compelling. I was expecting chain wrestling, I got a NWA touring Flair broadway match. I just can’t watch this again. No.

Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs Samoa Joe & BJ Whitmer Epic Encounter 2 8/25/06

Meh. There seemed to be potential with Aries having taped up ribs, and the possibility of a Joe/Roderick battle, but it just didn’t work. The match ended up being generic and Joe didn’t really seemed to be putting it all out there. No.

Matt Sydal vs Delirious Epic Encounter 2 8/25/06

It was good but they didn’t seem 100% in sych at points and was a bit back and forth. It has its moments, but I kind of feel this type of match has been done better. No.

Bryan Danielson VS Roderick Strong Anarchy in the UK 8/13/06

Well that was a whole lot of nothing. Felt like a house show effort. No.

Jay & Mark Briscoe VS Matt Sydal & Davey Richards Anarchy in the UK 8/13/06

Pretty crazy. Not great, but the ending stretch was fun. There was no story and some will say it got a little to headdroppy, but it was a pleasant surprise. May not like it as much on rewatch, but it is worth a shot.

Nigel McGuinness VS Bryan Danielson Unified 8/12/06

Out of the three matches these two have had against each other, this may be third. Could be second with the ending, but there isn’t a story here in sight. The first 2/3rds was ok, but it has been done better at WOC and Generation Now. I will give this another shot, but don’t be surprised if they get cut.

Jay & Mark Briscoe VS Austin Aries & Roderick Strong Unified 8/12/06

I really liked this, but it is far from the perfect match people saw it as. The match still cuts a great pace, although I’m having issues with the transitions being a little YTMT. Also, Roderick surviving the Spike Jay Driller and Doomsday Device was a bit much for me. I just feel like this was all done better at Ring of Homicide. I do at least feel this is better then the Destiny match and will rewatch.

Samoa Joe VS Bryan Danielson Fight of the Century 8/5/06

OK, rarely am I as wrong as I am now, but man this match disappointed me. Kind of like there match in 04. The first 15 or so minutes are fine with Danielson getting kicked everytime he tries to get an advantage on Joe and going outside to reset. Eventually we get to Joe’s leg being worked over which was OK. Joe sold the leg well during the beating, but kind of shook it off later which made the leg selling during the muscle buster made me think “Oh now it’s ok to sell.” Also, it feels silly to do a Regal Stretch as a possible finish when it was being used to work over Joe in the middle of the match. Ending was fun, I guess. I think the big issue with this was that it just seemed way to back and forth without much of it being earned. There also just seemed to be a lack of highlights throughout. Even with Daniels bad selling in the second half, I would would rather watch the Punk/Daniels broadway then this match. Sadly, No.

Davey Richards VS KENTA Fight of the Century 8/5/06

Again another Richards match is high end. The best way I can describe this is that they don’t put themselves in any traps to derail the match. They do stick to kicking and restholds which as I watched it was OK. Still, the match lacked story, and there was a fighting spirit spot I could have done without. It is still good enough for a rewatch.

Davey Richards & KENTA VS Jay & Mark Briscoe Time to Man Up 8/4/06

Better then I thought it would be. It was a spotfest, but it was a well worked one. Does have some no selling in the beginning, but if they were going to no sell, then do it in the beginning. And Richards hasn’t irritated me yet, so that’s good. I doubt it will hold up rewatch, but we’ll have to wait and see. Rewatch.

Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness Generation Now 7/29/06

Every bit as good as the first match except for the story. Some stuff could have been cut like the kimura and the MMA elbow trading, but this still had the great mat wrestling and finishing stretch that you come to expect. Rewatch.

Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, Matt Sydal & Jack Evans VS Davey Richards, Jerrelle Clark & Irish Airborne Generation Now 7/29/06

Sweet little spotfest. But as much fun as this was, this did not have the selling to really put it at that other level. This isn’t a “no selling near the end type deal”, this match had no selling all match. It is still good, but consider this elite level. Slight no.

BJ Whitmer vs. Necro Butcher No Ropes Barbed Wire Match War of the Wire II 7/28/06

Man, I am getting Homicide/Necro Butcher flashbacks, except this match went longer. It was brutal as hell although not really hate filled. It also didn’t really have any selling. I mean they are badasses for taking these sickening bumps, but it kind of makes those bumps into afterthoughts. If the match was shorter, I could have bought it, but this is not a match that I feel you should go out of your way to see. And frankly, if didn’t say this now, I would have said it on rewatch. Slight No.

The Briscoes vs. Jack Evans & Roderick Strong War of the Wire II 7/28/06

Good match, but I thought it could have been better. My problem was with Evans. He did have some good escapes when it came to Briscoes trying to go after his leg like in the last match, but his striking was kind of piss poor and kind of hurt my enjoyment of the match. I just couldn’t buy him hurting the Briscoes. It does have the callbacks, but I thought Jack was better in the first match. No.

Austin Aries vs. Bryan Danielson vs. Homicide vs. Delirious War of the Wire II 7/28/06

Fun 4 way. However, it doesn’t really have that story to make it stand out like the Rave/Richards/Delirious/Joe match. It was also kind of a spotfest, which is fine, but this is not essential viewing. No.

BJ Whitmer, Ace Steel, Adam Pearce, Samoa Joe, Bryan Danielson & Homicide VS Claudio Castagnoli, Chris Hero, Necro Butcher, Nate Webb & Eddie Kingston Cage of Death Death Before Dishonor IV 7/15/06

This was insane and it fuckin ruled. From the bumping, to the blood, to the spots, to the storytelling, and the booking, it was everything a blowoff match should be. It also helped that it was in a cage because helped to see the cameras pick up on all the madness. My working #1 right now.

Nigel McGuinness vs Roderick Strong Death Before Dishonor IV 7/15/06

Nice match. I dug the Nigel’s blocking of the chops, Roderick’s arm selling, Roderick trying to always go for the Stronghold, and the ending. However, Nigel not making any effort was terrible, and although cool, that little no selling sequence with the gutbuster, sick kick, and rebound lariat was a bit absurd. Still a keeper for now.

Bryan Danielson vs Colt Cabana Chi Town Struggle 6/24/06

I really liked this. I loved the headgames in the beginning and Dragon eventually smartening up to it to take over. I also liked the face raking, Cabana trying to roll away from trouble, and the finish. The only issue I would have maybe there not being a long term story. Especially the middle with Dragon’s random hodge podge of moves. I still like it enough for a rewatch.

KENTA VS Austin Aries Chi Town Struggle 6/24/06

Another good KENTA match. Doesn’t have the weakness of stuff being no sold, but I don’t see anything that I can grab onto with this match. Perfectly fine, but I’ve seen better. No.

Roderick Strong vs. KENTA Throwdown 6/23/06

Good match, but went too long. Kind of felt like a forced epic. Sure, Roderick chopped hard and KENTA kicked hard, but you had Roderick’s back work not being sold. Too many give it the nod. No.

Dragon vs Whitmer vs Jacobs Throwdown 6/23/06

Good match. I actually dug the 3 way better then the final matchup which was fine, but a bit disappointing. Mostly because I thought Danielson ate too many finishers and time should have been cut from it. Pass.

Jimmy Rave vs Davey Richards vs Delirious vs Samoa Joe Throwdown 6/23/06

That was a fun match. Good comedy, action, and a good story with everybody kicking Richards ass with Rave sneaking in cheap shots. The result surprised me but other then that, this is in the rewatch pile.

Mark & Jay Briscoe vs Austin Aries & Roderick Strong Ring of Homicide 5/13/06

Damn, this was actually pretty awesome. Where the hell did that come from? I don’t remember the Destiny match being this good. Granted it is not a deep match, but everything just flows together. Definenate keeper. And I am also going to rewatch there Destiny match just to make sure my first assessment was right.

Jay Briscoe vs Austin Aries How We Roll 5/12/06

I’m on the fence on this. You have some good agression in the beginning and you have some good arm work and selling throughout. I think I am just not finding that standout moment to really grab me. I feel the match was structurally sound enough to give it a rewatch.