wrestling / Video Reviews
Views from the Hawke’s Nest: All Daniel Bryan Matches in NJPW
Loading...These were all of the matches featuring Daniel Bryan in NJPW that I could find. I reviewed them all. A lot of them were similar in their lack of interesting qualities. I apologize in advance if a lot of the match reviews seem similar, but a lot of the matches were very similar.
October 6, 2002
American Dragon vs. Wataru Inoue
This was an okay contest. It did not get over in the slightest, they worked a hard pace with some physical action to make it watchable. Dragon won via crossface variation. (**½)
October 14, 2002
American Dragon, Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero vs. Jushin Liger, Masahito Kakihara & Tiger Mask
The gaijin had a great gimmick at this time where they would just randomly scream, “LA DOJO!” Fantastic stuff.
Sadly, that could not make up for the fact that this was a sinfully boring match that went on for way too long. It just seemingly went on and on for no reason, and the crowd did not seem to be invested at all. Liger won the match after a brainbuster on Rocky. (*)
October 26, 2002
American Dragon & Havana Pitbulls (Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero) vs. Heat, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask
This was a Junior Triathlon Survivor Tournament Semi Final Match. Sounds like a 2009 ROH gimmick.
So, this was a mess. As best as I could figure, the “triathlon” gimmick was that the trios teams worked a singles match, a tag match, and then a trios match. None of the matches got time to settle in, and it was hard to get invested in any of it. Liger’s team won 2/3 of the falls to win the whole dealio. Sometimes you can try too hard. (*)
November 30, 2002
American Dragon & Havana Pitbulls (Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero) vs. Masahito Kakihara, Masayuki Naruse & Wataru Inoue
While this went on for too long and did not feature much hot action, the teams worked really hard clearly and provided enough to make this an okay undercard match.The gaijin finally got to win this one after Dragon gave Inoue (I believe) a bridging dragon suplex. (**¾)
March 6, 2003
Koji Kanemoto, Jushin Liger, & Minoru Fujita vs. Tiger Mask IV, American Dragon, & Stampede Kid
The action here was very crisp and executed with urgency. However, they never really settled down into a compelling story. It just felt like both teams trading brief periods of control. I guess that is technically a story, but it’s a really hard story for a trios match. Fujita and Stampede Kid were eventually left alone in the ring, and Fujita finished him with a Michinoku Driver. (**½)
March 7, 2003
Jado & Gedo vs. American Dragon & Stampede Kid
This was a solid battle. Bryan and Kidd had a decent amount of success early on. Gedo and Jado then isolated Bryan on the floor so that Gedo could hit him with a chair. Bryan then got worked over for a bit before the extended back-and-forth sequence that took us home. Bryan and Jado went at it for a bit, but it eventually ended in a time limit draw. Jado and Gedo gave the gaijin a fair amount here. (***)
March 8, 2003
El Samurai & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. American Dragon & Stampede Kid
This match never really got a chance to get properly going, and then it was over before any of it had a chance to set in. They worked a furious pace, but it might have been to the match’s detriment. Bryan made Taguchi tap out with a crossface. (**¼)
March 8, 2003
Jado, Gedo & Minoru Fujita vs. Masahito Kakihara, American Dragon & Stampede Kid
This was pretty dull and lifeless. It just felt like they were trying to jam in as much action as possible, and then it just randomly ended. Nothing built to anything, and there was nothing get you invested in the match. Jado won after making Stampede Kid tap out to a crossface. (**)
March 21, 2003
Koji Kanemoto, El Samurai, Jado & Gedo vs. AKIRA, Heat, American Dragon & Stampede Kid
They packed in a ton of action here, and they all worked to impress. Again though, there was just not much to this match in terms of story or letting things build to a finish. It just felt like a never-ending sequence of things happening with the finish being somewhat random. AKIRA made Samurai tap out with an ankle lock. (**¼)
March 22, 2003
Jado & Gedo vs. Heat & American Dragon
This was quite enjoyable. Heat was worked over for the majority of the match, and then he and Dragon threw everything they had at Gedo/Jado until Heat put Gedo away with a fisherman buster. They worked a blistering pace and packed in a ton of action. Thumbs up! (***)
May 1, 2003
AKIRA & Masahito Kakihara vs. American Dragon & Rocky Romero
This was a real chore to get through. AKIRA and Kakihara did not control the match in an interesting way, and the crowd never got invested in the action. Hard pass on this one. Rocky was forced to tap to Kakihara’s abdominal stretch. (*¾)
November 30, 2003
Jushin Thunder Liger, El Samurai, Wataru Inoue & American Dragon vs. Jado, Gedo, Katsushi Takemura & Dick Togo
This was an elimination match.
While far too long, this was not that bad at all. The elimination structure kept things fresh, and the action never let up without ever feeling like too much. The highlight of the match was the beatdown that Liger gave Gedo which left the latter a bloody mess. On top of that, this match as contested under “FINAL FOUR” rules which I am always a mark for despite my lack of truly liking the Final Four match. The end eventually came when Gedo accidentally hit Togo with a chair and then Inoue caught him with a backslide. (***)
December 14, 2003
Manabu Nakanishi & Tiger Mask vs. Scott Norton & American Dragon
The complete and utter randomness of this matchup really carried it. I could not get over that it was happening and was compelled throughout as a result. It certainly did not hurt that they worked hard enough and had a somewhat lively crowd. The only thing that was annoying (if logical) was that the heavyweights always immediately got control of the juniors. I understand the reasons for it happening, but I did not find it interesting. Tiger Mask won after Bryan took a Pele Kick and a dragon suplex. (***)
February 15, 2004
Koji Kanemoto, American Dragon & Curry Man vs. Heat, Tiger Mask 4 & Masayuki Naruse
This was one of those classic NJPW undercard junior tag matches where they work super hard but have so little to show for it. It is absolutely nuts how consistently poorly crafted and boring these matches are. Curry Man eventually pinned Tiger Mask with the Angel’s Wings (**¼)
March 6, 2004
Heat(c) vs. American Dragon [IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship]
This was solid! They worked a very physical match and really tried to convey a sense of urgency. Some earlier strategies being developed would have been nice, but I did at least appreciate that Heat’s decision to target the left arm of Bryan in the final minutes led to his victory. Heat made Bryan tap out to win. ***
March 12, 2004
Jado & Gedo(c) vs. American Dragon & Curry Man [IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship]
This was a fine battle even if it went way too long. After an energetic start, Bryan got cut off and then had his leg worked over. This was all fine, but he was running around far too much during the back-and-forth sequence to end the match. If they had made that work mean something or kept him on the sidelines more, this would have been better. They at least did a good job of building up the drama so that the title win from the challengers come off like a big deal. (**¾)
March 19, 2004
Osamu Nishimura, Jushin Thunder Liger & El Samurai vs. Scott Norton, American Dragon & Curry Man
This was a good time! Norton was particularly on point as the cagey veteran and mobile big fella. While there was not a fantastic in-ring story holding it together, they managed to keep the match entertaining throughout. Solid stuff! Norton won the match after a powerbomb on Samurai. (***)
March 21, 2004
American Dragon & Curry Man(c) vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Hirooki Goto [IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship]
The broader story here was really good. Bryan and Curry dominated the young lion challengers for a LONG time. Goto and Taguchi kept fight backing. (Goto in particular showed a lot of great fire here.) Bryan and Curry were able to withstand them long enough to eventually put them away cleanly to successfully retain the belts. The match was just too long and dull to be truly enjoyable though. It was a mixed bag. (**½)
May 3, 2004
Koji Kanemoto, Ultimo Dragon & American Dragon vs. Heat, Tiger Mask IV & Naomichi Marufuji
This was pretty terrible. It featured what seemed like an endless heat segment on Ultimo. They then did a ridiculously long back-and-forth sequence to end the match given how not over the match had been up until that point. Ugh. Awful. Bryan won the match after a Regal-plex on Heat. (½*)
May 13, 2004
Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Fujita vs. American Dragon & Rocky Romero
This was a pretty fun match thanks to Kanemoto and Bryan. They really elevated the whole match with their intensity and ability to convey a strong desire to hurt and beat their opponents. Their action together really carried this whole and made the surprisingly long match (15 minutes) fly by. Good stuff. Bryan pinned Kanemoto with a Regal-plex after Rocky hit him with a leaping knee. (***¼)
May 22, 2004
Ultimo Dragon, American Dragon & Curry Man vs. Jado, Gedo & Katsushi Takemura
This was one of those NJPW trios matches that just feels like it goes on forever for no rhyme or reason. It was boring and tedious to get through and not worth watching at all. Ultimo won after hitting Gedo with a standing shiranui. (½*)
May 23, 2004
American Dragon vs. Katsushi Takemura
This was a solid match. It had a good pace and packed in plenty of action. There was not brilliant story being told or anything, but it was fun all the way through. Bryan won with the Fujiwara armbar. (***)
June 5, 2004
American Dragon & Curry Man(c) vs. Jado & Gedo [IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship]
This was done well enough and truly whipped the crowd into a frenzy. It did feel way too long though as the heat segment on Curry Man probably would have been twice as interesting and effective if it was cut in half. Still though, the story of Gedo and Jado dominating large stretches of the match and the champs making valiant comeback after valiant comeback worked. Curry Man eventually fell victim to his injured shoulder being worked over too much and was forced to submit. (***)
June 13, 2004
American Dragon vs. Koji Kanemoto
This was a 2004 Best of the Super Junior match.
This was quite good. Bryan dominated the match (which did sadly telegraph who was actually winning). Kanemoto just made desperate attempts to go after Bryan’s knee as a means of winning. That strategy paid off as Kanemoto applied a wacky leg submission to steal the win. Very nice match. (***½)
July 19, 2004
Naofumi Yamamoto vs. American Dragon
Yamamoto would of course later go on to be known as “Yoshi Tatsu.” Unfortunately, this match felt pretty inconsequential. Bryan seemingly took the majority of the match, Yamamoto sporadically fought back generically, and then Bryan won cleanly via armbar. It was fine. It happened. (**½)
August 17, 2004
Kaz Hayashi & American Dragon vs. Dick Togo & Katsushi Takemura
This was one of the better tag matches that Bryan had during his time in NJPW. The key was that both teams were working with a true sense of purpose and energy. Togo/Takemura seemed like a hell of a junior tag team. Their work on top was energetic and paced basically perfectly. The fire Bryan and Hayashi showed underneath was exactly what was needed to seem credible against them. They were no match in the end though. Bryan managed to apply Cattle Mutilation to Takemura, but a Togo Senton and then an F5 from Takemura put him away. FUN stuff. (***½)
October 10, 2004
American Dragon & James Gibson vs. Jado & Gedo
This yet another strong tag match for Bryan during his NJPW. They did not waste time and had a strong structure. Gedo and Jado dominated and worked to finish their opponents away quickly. Bryan and Gibson fought back valiantly, but Bryan ended up tapping cleanly for the loss. Good stuff. (***¼)
October 24, 2004
Hiroshi Tanahashi(c) vs. American Dragon [IWGP U-30 Championship]
This was disappointing due to how seriously they worked and how the great majority of the action was spent competitively grappling. That really does not play to Tanahashi’s strengths at all. A lot of that work established an intense tone though which was very helpful during the final stretch where both guys desperately went for the win. This was solid overall but clearly could have been more. Tanahashi won with a bridging dragon suplex.(***)
November 21, 2004
Tiger Mask IV & Hirooki Goto vs. American Dragon & James Gibson
This was a fun sprint where both teams clearly worked like they were trying to escape with the victory as quickly as humanly possible. Bryan ended up finishing Goto with a Regal-plex after about six action-packed minutes. This was well done. (***)
November 22, 2004
Tiger Mask IV, American Dragon & James Gibson vs. Minoru Tanaka, Jado & Gedo
This was a dull and unnecessarily long match. Both the heat on Bryand and back-and-forth finishing sequence seemingly went on forever, and there was basically no energy to any of it. It was just a labored way to set up an upcoming junior tag belt match between the champs and Bryan/Gibson. Gibson won after a guillotine legdrop on Jado. (**)
November 28, 2004
Jado & Gedo(c) vs. American Dragon & James Gibson [IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship]
The story here was that the champs jumped out to an early lead and held onto it for a long period of time. Bryan and Gibson were finally able to fight back and threw in a handful of bigger spots to make the match more competitive. Unfortunately for the challengers, Jado forced Bryan to tap out to a crossface in the end. This did not have the energy or excitement needed given the layout, but it was worked perfectly fine. (**½)
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