#200: Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre, Jr., NJPW New Beginning in Osaka (2/11/2024).
This is my #1 Match of 2024.
So, first of all, holy shit! I just hit 200 match reviews on this blog! I’ll just pat myself on the shoulder for a moment.
Okay, back to work. So, at AEW WrestleDream in October of 2023, Bryan Danielson and Zack Sabre, Jr. faced off for the first time since 2008. Though it wasn’t their first meeting, it was deserving of its moniker of a Dream Match, since both men had come extremely far since then. The match delivered big time in my eyes, as it was one of the smoothest technical wrestling matches I’d ever seen. That night, Bryan ended up as the victor after resorting to his hard striking ability.
Zack did not take this loss kindly, as he mocked Bryan for turning away from technical wrestling in order to find victory. To the leader of TMDK, nothing was settled. Fast forward to January, and the two are on opposite ends during a tag team match at the New Year Dash event. They scrambled in the ring again, which the Japanese crowd loved. Soon after, the highly anticipated rematch was announced for the New Beginning in Osaka.
Bryan was ready to find his next victory over the Frontman, while Zack was hellbent on proving that he was the better technical wrestler, and that unlike his opponent, he’d beat him with technical wrestling, not strikes.
The bell rings, and the fans seem split to start out. A lot of Yes chants for Bryan, though. They circle one another, and look for wrist control right away. Neither man is giving the other the chance for an opening. Zack looks to shoot in on the legs, but Bryan is prepared with a quick heel hook. Zack is back up, and we have a stalemate. Bryan grabs the wrist, but Zack takes control of the arm. Bryan slips out, and they back up again.
They lock hands near the corner, and Bryan uses an MMA clinch to bring Zack to the mat. He takes the back, and looks to trap the leg in a submission hold. Looks like an Indian Death Lock variation. Zack transitions to an arm bar attempt, and Bryan is having none of that. He’s back to his feet quickly, and they separate. No advantage from either man just yet. They lock hands again, and Zack uses his head to force Bryan back. Bryan does the same, and they go to the mat. They continue to lock hands, not breaking eye contact. Bryan goes for an arm bar again, and Zack is able to use his body to escape.
Bryan takes the full guard position in the corner, and Zack grabs the ropes. Bryan has the legs, and he backs away for a clean break. Five minutes in, and these two are still playing Chess. Zack grabs the right arm, and bends the fingers backwards. He torques the wrists around, until Bryan uses his boot to break that hold. He takes Zack’s hand, and brings him to the mat. He twists the wrist around. Zack bounces off the turnbuckle into a guillotine choke. Bryan quickly escapes, and goes back to the legs, tying them up into a Muta Lock of sorts.
Zack grabs the neck and cranks on it, while his legs are still trapped. Bryan breaks the hold, and they separate. Both men lock eyes, and they seem frustrated. Neither man has found an opening yet. The tactics and strategy early on has to be admired. Zack uses wrist control to triangle Bryan’s arms around his neck. Bryan spins around, and does the same to Zack. He digs his knee into the spine as well, and then Zack uses his body to slide under Bryan’s legs to escape. Another stalemate.
Zack goes for a guillotine, and Bryan sends him away, causing his leg to whiplash off the ropes. Zack looks to be hurt. He sits in the corner for a moment, and limps around the ring. He finds Bryan in the middle of the ring, and they lock wrists. Bryan takes the side headlock, and uses that to dropkick Zack’s injured leg. He slams it off the mat, then he goes for the Indian Death Lock. Zack uses his free leg to block it for a moment.
Bryan locks the legs around his, and he eggs Zack on to grab the ropes. Zack says he doesn’t need to, so Bryan drives Zack’s knees into the mat. He kicks the injured leg a few times, right in the thigh. Zack sits in the middle of the ring, inviting more kicks from the American Dragon. Bryan heel hooks the leg, and rolls Zack around the mat. He twists it against the bottom rope, then he drops all his weight on the stretched leg. Zack limps away, as Bryan backs away from him.
Bryan with a nasty Dragon Screw Legwhip, one that would make Hiroshi Tanahashi proud. Zack is back up, but he eats another. He’s back up, and Bryan goes for another. Zack counters it, but gets caught in the Ankle Lock. Zack slips out, and puts the Ankle Lock on Bryan, who counters THAT, and hits a German Suplex. Bryan traps the legs in his again, and grabs at the nose, pulling his head back. Bryan closed fist punches the spine, then grabs the wrists. He pulls Zack’s arms behind him, and locks in the Surfboard Lock.
15 minutes in, and not one single pinfall attempt. Zack escapes the submission, and uses his feet to twist at the neck of Bryan. Zack kicks Bryan away a few times, and dropkicks his head. The crowd are starting to get behind Zack, as he approaches Bryan. Crovat to the neck is next, and Bryan forces him to the corner. He slaps him repeatedly, then connects with an uppercut. He ties and twists the injured leg in the ropes, then follows with a dropkick right to the knee.
Running dropkick to the head by Bryan, and Zack explodes out with an abdominal stretch. He transitions from that to the Octopus Hold. Bryan counters that by trapping Zack in a Heel Hook. Zack looks to do the same to Bryan. They argue with one another on the mat, as Zack lands his first real strike of the match – a slap to the face. He slaps him again, and Bryan spits in his face. Multiple slaps to the face, and Bryan spits at him again.
Bryan kicks him in the jaw, and Zack does the same. Nice little pissing match! They continue to kick each other, as both men release their submissions, only for Bryan to reapply his. Zack is able to roll both of them to the apron, and they continue their kicking/slapping contest. Bryan gets the upper hand by applying hard pressure to the leg, sending Zack to the floor. Took them over 20 minutes to leave the ring. Bryan dives off the apron with a running knee to the face.
Back in the ring, Bryan dives off the top rope, only to be caught in a triangle choke. Zack quickly changes to an arm bar/Brutalizer combination. Bryan tries to use his legs to get to the ropes, and Zack traps them in a Figure Four. Bryan crawls, and grabs the ropes to break the submission. “This is awesome” chant from the Japanese fans. That’s rare! Bryan avoids the Zack Driver, and kicks at the injured leg. Zack won’t relent, and he uppercuts Bryan in the chest. Bryan responds with one of his own.
Good and stiff exchange of uppercuts between both of these wizards. Zack starts to uppercut Bryan’s previously injured arm. They both slap one another, with Bryan landing a definitive roundhouse kick to the head. Bryan drags Zack to the ropes, and drops all his weight on the extended leg. He goes to the top rope, and Zack cuts him off with a headbutt. Zack goes to the top rope, and Bryan sends him back to the mat. Zack will not stay down, and he headbutts him again. More headbutts connect, with Zack taking the lead. He stands up, and Bryan slips through his legs, and trips him. Bryan goes back up, and hits a massive back suplex to the mat! Bryan makes the first pinfall attempt all match, and Zack kicks out. Bryan drives his elbows into the chest, and transitions into Cattle Mutilation. Zack quickly rolls to his feet, and hits a German Suplex. Bryan is right back up, and Zack connects with the Zack Driver out of nowhere! He covers, and Bryan is able to kick out.
Zack hits a nice kick to the chest, and another. Bryan catches the next one, and Zack quickly turns his counter into a Triangle Choke. Bryan sits up, and throws punches and forearms to Zack’s chest and jaw. The ref looks to call the match, but Zack assures him that he’s okay. Bryan grabs the wrists, and stomps on Zack’s head. He goes from that to the LeBell Lock, but turns that into a double arm lock. Bryan pulls back on the injured leg, a Haas of Pain of sorts. Zack uses his good leg to get to the ropes.
Bryan connects with a roundhouse kick to the chest of Zack, who collapses to the mat. Zack wants more, and Bryan provides it. Zack won’t back down, as he demands more. Bryan spits in his face again, and kicks him one more time. Zack goes for a roll up, and Bryan counters with a sleeper. Zack counters that, and we get a nice sequence on the mat for control. Zack gets a nearfall off of that. He hits a nice PK to the chest, and he falls in the corner.
Uppercut by Zack, and a kick to the leg by Bryan. They repeat this sequence a few times, until Bryan goes for a back slide pin. Zack rolls out of it, but can’t avoid the Busaiku Knee. Bryan goes to the corner, and goes for it again, but Zack counters into the Gedo Clutch. More roll up attempts on the mat, until Zack catches Bryan with a side backslide pin for the 3 and the win! Zack beat Bryan with a technical wrestling counter! He didn’t have to rely on strikes like in the first match to win.
Post match, Zack scoots to Bryan, and offers his hand out for a shake. Bryan shakes his head, and goes to leave, but he quickly turns back around, and shakes Zack’s hand and raising his arm up. Class act.
What an unbelievable match. The undisputed best match of 2024, and in my eyes, it wasn’t even close. I adored their WrestleDream match, but this blew that completely out of the water. I stayed up super late to watch this live, and by the time the match was over, I had my arms up in the air because I was so into it. This might be the best technical wrestling match of all time, and it has to be in the conversation for one of the best submission based matches of all time.
It had a super simple story coming in that was executed to near perfection. Zack wanted to win, but he wanted to win with wrestling, not strikes. So, for the first 15 minutes of this match, it’s just grappling, and world class at that. Incredible, smooth transitions and sequences from both men. This is a match that I’ll use in the future as an example of how pro wrestling can be just like art. The chain wrestling and limb work was beautiful, and I expect nothing less from the two masters of the craft.
As the match wore on, strikes came into play, as both men realized that the strategy they had coming in wasn’t going to work, so then it went from a Chess match to a pissing contest. Both men sold frustration at the other, and their strikes were very stiff. There weren’t many nearfall attempts in this match, and there were none at all during the first 25 minutes of the match. Being able to do that at a high level like New Japan is nothing short of impressive.
The closing sequence of the match brought things full circle, as both men went back to technical wrestling and counters. And it was Zack Sabre, Jr., who stuck to his word, who outwrestled Danielson long enough to hold him down for a 3 count. Though he would later express disappointment that he couldn’t get the win via submission, he was able to out wrestle the best wrestler in the world, and prove that he was the superior technical wizard. Danielson, ever the humble guy, said in later interviews that he believes Zack has surpassed him as the best technical wrestler in the world, and with his retirement seemingly beginning this past October, I’d say that’s a fact now.
This match was the beginning of what would end up being a banner year for Zack Sabre, Jr. He would go from this incredible match to regain the NJPW World Television Championship for a 2nd time, and then he’d enter the G1 Climax 34, and become only the second foreigner to win Japan’s biggest tourmament. And from there, he’d call his shot at King of Pro Wrestling, winning the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship from Tetsuya Naito. And it all started when he beat the American Dragon at his own game.
I don’t have enough high praise for this match. It’s beautiful, it’s technically flawless, and it tells a very simple story in such a profoundly deep way. The phrase “wrestling is art” was thrown around a lot this year, but when I think of examples of wrestling being art, this is exactly what I think of: two masters of their craft, painting a grappling portrait in the middle of the ring, only for it to escalate briefly into violence, and come full circle back to grappling. It took two foreigners to embody New Japan’s original message of “Strong Style” to the furthest degree in 2024. It’s all about the Tekkers.