This review was commissioned by James over on my Ko-fi account. As of this writing commissions are still open, they’re going for $10 a pop. If you want to seek out my specific thoughts on a match that I haven’t gone into yet, this is the way to do it.
Quite simply, it’s ROH at the peak of its power. Just looking at the line up for the first ever Survival of the Fittest final, it’s clear why it’s so well remembered. We’ve got a murderer’s row of distinct characters, all operating at an extremely high level, in a company that’s booking is as razor sharp as any has ever been in the history of the game. It’s sort of astonishing just how well all the pieces of this puzzle come together and the different dynamics they’re all able to highlight.
Samoa Joe’s the unstoppable champion of the field, everyone fears him but also wants the glory of taking him out. Danielson plays this real smug, time-biding stretcher. Aries positions himself as this very cocky and explosive up and comer. Homicide’s the dirty cheat who can’t help but antagonize everyone around him. Colt Cabana’s not a goofball per se in this match, he’s more focused on playing things straight with his fundamentals in this bout. And Mark Briscoe’s a ragdoll getting bounced around by the rest.
It’s Mark that’s the key to the success of the first segment of the match. Once everyone in the match has had the chance to get their nose wet with some ring time, the match settles into an extended segment where Mark just gets thrashed by all of his opponents. On this rewatch, it became clear that part of what makes the first half of the match feel so damn comfortable is that it basically turns into a southern tag match for much of it. Everyone plays the heels, and Mark Briscoe is the lone face-in-peril, a task well suited to the tag team specialist.
Hot tag in this case is Samoa Joe. Much like the babyface on the apron in a southern tag, the other competitors make an effort to stifle Joe’s momentum by keeping him from entering the ring as much as possible. When he’s finally unleashed though, it’s an absolute whirlwind of action with the participants diving left and right. In a rush, Cabana’s able to turn a planned Asai moonsault into a rolling sunset flip to pin and eliminate Joe.
It feels appropriately massive. Joe’s basically untouchable in ROH at this point, and commentary makes a point of emphasizing that Cabana now has a clean pinfall over the ROH World Champion, something that his tag partner CM Punk couldn’t achieve with 60 full minutes to play with. Also, Cabana’s celebration just feels so earned. “Fuck yeah!” he exclaims repeatedly, one can’t help but get caught up in the joy of it too.
The second act of the match is probably its weakest as the rest of the participants clear out to leave things open for the finalists. This section moves quickly, and the eliminations are mostly purposeful. If I had to nitpick, I’d say that Mark and Homicide going out on a double pin feels like a missed opportunity to have Aries grab a fall on one of them, but they do well to sell it. Mark’s taken such a beating for so much of the match that I can buy his neck giving out on a bridge when hitting a German suplex. The best thing I can say about that middle section is that it does breeze by, and nothing in it is too offensive.
And that leaves Dragon and Aries.
The final section between these two is perhaps the best remembered portion of the match. It has the same kind of reputation as the Undertaker/Shawn finishing stretch of the 07 Rumble as this kind of match within a match. The difference of course being that I can’t imagine the Undertaker/Shawn Rumble finish could be better than this (I haven’t watched it back, if you want me to, we can talk on my Ko-fi).
This kind of performance from such a young Bryan Danielson just blows me away. Mechanically sound as he’s ever been, and an underrated striker even at this point of his career. He’s yet to include the kicks that would become his trademark later on, but the man is throwing some absolute heater elbows in this finishing stretch. That’s not even mentioning the European uppercuts so stiff they legitimately cut open Aries on the chin.
The mechanical aspect of his work combines with this brilliant sense of pacing and structure. Most of his early attacks on Aries consist of smothering and stretching him down on the mat. In that way, Danielson effectively stifles Aries’ explosive power and it’s a real struggle for Aries to get any momentum going. It’s notable that in the moments when Aries does get to turn things around, it comes in this big setpiece bouts of action–dropkick Danielson on the top turnbuckle and getting him caught hanging on the ropes, suplexing Danielson out of the ring and to the floor where he buckles his knee.
But really, there’s a sense of inevitability to Danielson’s work here.
It’s not the same as a Samoa Joe whose power and force make defeat feel inescapable. Danielson moves with the patience and erosive strength of the ocean tide. Every time Aries thinks he’s found purchase, Danielson finds a way to wash over him and drag him into the depths. It’s genuinely astonishing to watch how well he cuts off Aries, and how simple he makes it look. Perhaps my favorite were a series of short leaping headbutts to the gut as Dragon worked to weaken Aries’ midsection.
I love too that the escalation Danielson has so patiently built to is a series of body slams. My god, does he make those body slams look good. It’s a simple plan, just keep dropping Aries to the mat, wear the body down. Repetition allows for Aries to occasionally sneak in a counter, but there’s no defeating the tide. Danielson switches the game up at the last second and locks in a bear hug. Again–stifling, restrictive.
The GOAT ends things by modifying the bear hug into what’s almost a Boston Crab variety, basically just bending Aries in half to force the submission.
Just an absolute powerhouse of a match. Filled to the brim with talent working in their physical primes, leaving their mark on history in real time. As far as Survival of the Fittest, it never gets this good again. With a match this great, how could it?
IS IT BETTER THAN 6/3/94? Both have their weaker segments in the second act before picking right back up again for a momentous third. It’s actually a very close call just speaking on the mechanics of it all. What cinches the deal here is the booking. There’s a greater charm to ROH here, all the booking feels propulsive and forward-moving, as opposed to Baba’s famously glacial storytelling. Cabana gets set up as a challenger, Aries skyrockets to the top in defeat, Danielson secures himself a shot at Joe. All things that pay off in the months to come. This win goes to ROH.
