A Dragon's last breath is the one filled with the most fire.
I would like to specify before going into my thoughts regarding the match that I won't be touching on the post match angle, nor be evaluating this with the view of what the Death Riders has become. This is a match that doesn't deserve to be looked back on with perceptions skewed by what happened following it as none of it really matters in the context of the match itself.
Coming into this match there was a sense of dread, a thick fog of fear surrounding this match that it would be the last of the American Dragon's. Less than 8 weeks after the pure euphoria of his victory against Swerve Strickland at All In, Bryan Danielson returns home to defend his championship, his career and god knows, maybe even his life against Jon Moxley. This is a war best summed up in it's opening 5 minutes; the challenger as always with no pomp and circumstance, Moxley is coming into this knowing what needs to be done, knowing he needs to slay a dragon in it's own backyard and then, there's the dragon itself. As always for occasions like these, the familiar melody of The Final Countdown is playing throughout the arena as Bryan Danielson marches to the ring, unfortunately for the champion, Moxley isn't here for the grandiosity of it all, striking Bryan down as he is about to soak in potentially one final countdown from his people.
As always with Moxley, chaos ensues. This isn't either competitor's first time against each other, both men know exactly what the other will do and is capable of, Moxley getting the jump on Danielson is just his way of accelerating the punishment; Moxley doesn't want to have to drag this out, he wants to give Danielson a mercy kill. Unfortunately though, if there's one man who isn't going to accept that it's Bryan Danielson, everything Mox throws at Bryan here, the Dragon gives it right back, both men nailing each other with big shots: for Moxley it's lariats, for Danielson it's kicks, choking each other with a camera cable before finally both men enter the ring as The Final Countdown continues to play throughout the arena, Danielson getting the upper hand on Mox at his own game, rallying the crowd behind him as referee Bryce Remsburg *finally* calls for the bell. It's such a simple beginning to a match but it feels so perfect, the circumstance, the place, the people; it all truly feels like you're watching a final battle between the longest of rivals and just for a moment all that dread and fear is dispelled, burned away by the Dragon himself and whilst he may be broken, he isn't ready to die yet.
If there's one thing Jon Moxley is truly perfect at doing, it's killing hope. Even immediately, there's signs of it, stepping back instead of committing through as Danielson goes for his signature turnbuckle flip and grabbing a hold of a standing Bulldog Choke (which, as is key through this match, Danielson was ready for, planting Moxley with a Backdrop Suplex to escape). A thing that I love about this match is it never really feels like it goes through phases, whilst yes obviously there's points where you feel like the tide is shifting, there's never the realisation that you're entering a period for Mox offense or Bryan offense specifically, it feels like a true struggle (as wrestling should). From minute 1, Bryan gives and throws everything towards Moxley, a Busaiku Knee incredibly early followed up by a Somersault Plancha to the outside, there is no deliberation here, there isn't any measurement, this is not a typical Bryan Danielson performance because he cannot afford to hesitate, he's never beaten Moxley, Danielson knows this and in this do or die scenario, The American Dragon isn't going to die easily.
It's Moxley who's the patient one tonight, he knows Danielson is going to risk it all, to a fault even, so as long as he can withstand the early flurry, there'll be an opportunity to strike and begin to wear down Danielson and where better to do that on the Dragon than the neck. A Piledriver on the announce table is the deciding factor here really, it's the first real piece of offense Moxley gets since the bell rings but in one move, all the hope and belief that had been built up is sucked entirely out of the arena. It's following this we get the start of one of the things that truly elevates this match from great to special, the commentary of Nigel McGuinness. Nigel and Bryan's history shouldn't have to be explained, even to casual AEW watchers, you knew there was distain (to say the least) between the two yet following the Piledriver on the table, Moxley decides to swipe Nigel's headset off of him before dragging the body of Danielson into the ring. It's here really Mox settles into being the slow aggressor of the match, inflicting as much punishment as he can on Danielson, using the Hammer & Anvil Elbows as well as the Danielson Stomp against him, each kickout from Danielson angers Moxley, making him deal even more punishment to Bryan's neck, throughout all of this though, you hear nothing from Nigel McGuinness. Where you would usually get the jabs of "Brittle Bryan" when Mox is working over the neck, now it is replaced with silence. It isn't until two and a half minutes after his headset is hit off by Mox until you hear him again, answering the rhetorical questions Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone are having about Remsburg stopping the match, it's a stern tone, almost a concerned one in a sense yet also, like everyone else in the arena, there is a tinge of belief. Throughout the course of the match, McGuinness almost is commentating *for* Danielson, willing and supporting him on and while he never outright says it, you can tell who Nigel's heart is with, it's something which to me adds so much, the fact that everything Mox has done, is doing, is enough to make the career rival of Danielson, the man who hates him arguably as much as any other to *support* him is a testament to how good he is.
Moxley's striking in this match is superb, each forearm, each chop, it all pierces the skin of Danielson, it stings, it hurts and to any other man, it would kill. Bryan Danielson is no ordinary man though. These strikes bring life, they bring fire, they embed Danielson (and as such the crowd) with a second wind, time and time again, Bryan fights back but time and time again, Moxley shuts him down and focuses the neck again, punishing the champion for not taking the mercy kill that was offered, showing Danielson first hand that this is Jon Moxley's world now. Moxley decides it's time to put the nail in the coffin, ordering Marina Shafir to remove the protective pad on the outside of the ring, looking for yet another Piledriver to the exposed concrete floor. Danielson though, somehow, someway gathers the strength to reverse it into a back body drop and finally, for the first time since being Piledriven onto the announce table, Bryan Danielson has an opening. This time, it's Danielson using Mox's tricks against him, gouging the eyes, biting the head, both men use things they have learned from each other through all of their time against one another.
The key of this match though always comes back to Danielson's overzealousness, it feels warranted, Bryan has to try everything because he can't hesitate but he also can't plan out his assault, it's a perfect ploy by Moxley, Bryan is damned if he does, damned if he doesn't and all Moxley has to do is survive. Through everything Danielson can muster up to throw at him, whether it's a Piledriver of his own, the myriad of strikes he lands or a number of Busaiku Knees, Moxley survives. That sense of hope is built up again though, the longer the match goes, the more Danielson finds his second wind, the more the crowd believes and although the match is just 1 on 1, there are 8000 people firmly on the side of The American Dragon. Once again though, Moxley is the best at killing hope, after narrowly escaping a LeBell Lock, Moxley rolls out to the floor, right where the concrete is exposed and when Danielson, as he has done all throughout the match, throws caution to the wind one more time, it backfires, being caught out of the Tope Suicida and nailed with a Death Rider on the floor and within seconds, all the noise and hope in the arena evaporates and reality begins to set in.
There is one last gasp of hope for Danielson, climbing the ropes and jumping off whilst Moxley has a Rear Naked Choke synched in on him, using the opportunity to lock in another LeBell Lock, this time though, Moxley is prepared, not allowing Bryan to fully sink it in, leading to a transition to a Triangle Choke, nailing Mox with elbows whilst he's trapped. Again though, this is a situation Moxley has seen before, he's learned how to escape, transitioning into a Cross Armbreaker but before he can even lock it in, Bryan Danielson goes backs to his roots, relying on the man who brought him into this business, nailing Moxley with a Regal-Plex before one more Busaiku Knee but still, through everything, Jon Moxley survives. It's at this point Bryan leans on the crowd one final time, "Yes" chants echoing throughout the arena as Moxley is measured for one more Busaiku Knee, it's in this moment though, with the camera on Bryan you see the true scars of not just this match, but Bryan's career. Even though he's on top, he looks defeated, beaten, tired and as he launches up into the air, Moxley nails him with a huge lariat, still though, Bryan kicks out, one more Death Rider doesn't do the trick either, with Bryan powering out of that at 1. The final acts of defiance from a dying dragon, Moxley reminds Danielson once more that this never had to happen, it was Bryan who made Mox do this and with the last remaining bit of energy left, Danielson spits into the face of Mox, he can't fight anymore, he knows he can't, Bryan has given everything to not only Mox, but professional wrestling as a whole. No matter how much Moxley offered the mercy kill, no matter how much Bryan knew he was fighting a losing battle, he was never taking the easy way out and so following on more Piledriver, Mox finally locks in the Rear Naked Choke and much like how Moxley entered, he ends it the same way. There is no pageantry, there's no honorifics, Jon Moxley simply chokes the life out of Bryan Danielson, the one true king reclaims his crown.
This match is incredibly special, even without the context of it being (potentially) Bryan Danielson's full time match, the pure content within it is magical. It goes nearly 30 minutes yet at no point does it ever feel tiring or as if it's dragging on. This is simply the two best wrestlers the United States has to offer doing what they do best. Professional Wrestling. A match that I truly believe is AEW's best pure singles match. Excellence.
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