5-Star Match Reviews: Bryan Danielson vs. Will Ospreay – AEW Dynasty 2024

Few wrestlers have served as a better example of artificial praise to push a specific idea than Will Ospreay. If you were an outsider looking into the strange and colorful world of professional wrestling and saw how much praise Ospreay has gotten from (the closest thing to objective) journalists without context then you’d take his whopping 38 5-stars-or-higher matches and think, ‘wow, this guy has had had a more impactful career than everyone since about 1980. Then you’d notice that all of this over-the-top praise doesn’t sound all that organic or natural.

While there have been some great Will Ospreay matches over the last eight years or so, it’s ridiculous to claim that he’s the best in the world right now. Granted, the pro-wrestling fandom is one that’s super prone to hyperbole and losing one’s mind in the moment. But if we take a step back and look at something after the initial excitement dies down, we can look at things with a more balanced view and judge whether or not something really is worthy of such overwhelming praise.

The Story

Though there was several weeks’ worth of build to this match it didn’t make all that much sense from a kayfabe perspective. Ospreay wanted to challenge Danielson because Danielson was considered the best wrestler in the world. However, Danielson held no titles and had lost most if not all of his most important matches in AEW so his claim as BITW was at best self-proclaimed. But wins and losses didn’t matter to Ospreay; he knew Danielson by reputation and he still wanted to beat Danielson on his home turf that he was the better man. And so another dream match was set.

The Match

This took place on April 21, 2024. It was rated ******1/2 by the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer, making it the second-greatest match ever according to him (behind only Okada/Omega IV) and the greatest match to take place on American soil since 1980…supposedly.

Lots of loud cheering and some “holy shit” chants to start things off. The crowd chants “both these guys” as the hold exchange begins. Fans chant “YES” as Danielson takes Ospreay to the mat and keeps him there. A bow-and-arrow hold ends with a stalemate and more cheering. Ospreay pulls a Jun Akiyama by countering a Greco-Roman Knuckle lock and reverses the pressure onto Danielson’s wrists. Some of the movement during this part is unusual and cooperative as they lock hands like they’re salsa dancing. Sure, why not.

Danielson works Ospreay’s left arm (i.e. not the one he elbows with) but Ospreay wrestles back into a headlock and then into a stalemate. Danielson takes him back down and hits his head and face with a free hand while Ospreay is grounded. A long choreographed counter sequence ensues with a few close calls and last-second escapes which leads to a standing ovation and an “AEW” chant.

Ospreay takes a page out of Zack Sabre Jr.’s playbook with a quick leg sweep and starts working Danielson’s ankle. Rather than show urgency and control, Ospreay just holds his ankle with such little pressure that Danielson can just flip him off while hopping on one foot. A quick chop exchange ends in an ankle pick from Danielson. The crowd chants “Fuck Don Callis” for no apparent reason as Ospreay fights out of a cravate hold. Danielson reapplies the hold and maintains it despite more attempts from Ospreay to escape. Danielson adds some knees to Osprey’s face but when he goes for a snapmare Ospreay lands on his feet and dropkicks Danielson’s face.

Danielson reverses an Irish whip but Ospreay counters with a running headscissor. Things slow down with some chops from Ospreay but when Danielson chops back Ospreay does the delayed sell and crumples to the mat. Danielson follows with kicks and uppercuts but Ospreay holds onto the ropes to avoid a roundhouse. Ospreay hotshots Danielson and drops him with a boot and then dives to the floor with a plancha.

Ospreay tosses Danielson back into the ring and goes for a springboard dropkick but Danielson roundhouses him out of the air. Danielson follows with knees to Ospreay’s midsection for a one-count. Danielson applies a deathlock on Ospreay’s legs and uses his arms to hit Ospreay’s face and torso. Danielson switches to an octopus hold but Ospreay rolls to the ropes. Another standing chop exchange occurs and Danielson just pulls Ospreay into a corner without much effort. Danielson hits more body shots and goes for a corner whip but Ospreay reverses. Danielson backflips out of a corner and goes to start his usual comeback but Ospreay shuts him down with a handspring enzuigiri.

Ospreay lands a running corner boot followed by a springboard forearm for two. Danielson blocks a powerbomb so Ospreay lands Kawada kicks until Danielson catches his foot. Danielson lands more standing strikes and goes to the ropes but Ospreay hits first with a step-up flipping enzuigiri that sends Danielson to the floor. Then Ospreay dives off the top rope with a twisting corkscrew press to the floor, which leads to another “holy shit” chant.

Ospreay hits a diving elbow to the back of Danielson’s neck in the ring and goes for the Hidden Blade but Danielson hits first with a roundhouse. Danielson hits a bridging Tiger Suplex (Misawa would be proud) for a two-count and hammers Ospreay’s collar with elbows with more power behind them than usual. Danielson applies his Cattle Mutilation submission hold but Ospreay gets another ropebreak. Danielson lands a barrage of strikes to Ospreay’s arm and torso in a corner and sets him up on the top rope. There appears to be some apprehension in what Danielson’s doing here but, still, he goes for a Super Frankensteiner…only for Ospreay to land on his feet. That’s still impressive and all but don’t let it distract you from the fact that Danielson lands on his own fucking head from his own move.

Ospreay’s all fired up and he answers a charging Danielson with a hook kick to the face and a (standard) Tiger Driver for a two-count. He goes to the top rope but Danielson crotches him on the top rope. Then Danielson does the unthinkable and lands an avalanche release Tiger Suplex. OK, now I’m mildly impressed. Danielson crawls over and covers…but Ospreay gets his foot on the ropes.

Danielson roundhouse kicks Ospreay’s chest but Ospreay waves him off. He goes his own version of the Undertaker sit-up and fires up even more. Didn’t he just take a sickening neck bump from the top rope a minute earlier? Anyway Ospreay exposes himself for a strike, Danielson winds up and…bitchslaps him, to which Ospreay answers with a brutal elbow strike. Ospreay’s angry now as he peppers a prone Danielson with kicks and punches. He teases another Tiger Driver, this time from the apron, but Danielson blocks and hits more roundhouse kicks. Ospreay blocks one kick and lands a hook kick followed by an Os-Cutter onto the apron. Both guys land badly as the crowd chants “we’re not worthy”. God, these people are obnoxious.

Danielson gets up but Ospreay lands a Hidden Blade elbow from the apron. They do the long ring-out count an Danielson makes it back in just in time for Ospreay to land a diving dropkick and a kneeling powerbomb for a two-count. Ospreay follows with more hook kicks as the crowd now shifts to a “this is wrestling” chant. Is it, though? Ospreay tries another Os-Cutter but Danielson blocks and attempts the crossface. Ospreay rolls out and deadlifts Danielson into the powerbomb position. Danielson counters into a guillotine choke. Ospreay tries to suplex him out. Danielson counters with a Mistico-style headscissor into a crossface. The crowd chants Ospreay’s name as he pulls himself towards the ropes. He reaches out with one hand but Danielson pulls it back. Ospreay tries to reach with his free foot but Danielson’s pressure is pulling his entire body backwards. Still he pushes through and gets a break, much to the crowd’s delight.

Danielson lands more roundhouses and goes for his Busaiku knee. Ospreay catches him and tries a powerbomb but Danielson lands a snap Frankensteiner that would make Scott Steiner smile. One, two, Ospreay kicks out. Danielson tries a dragon suplex but Ospreay counters with a roll-up for two. Ospreay lands on his feet on a German suplex attempt and goes for the Hidden Blade. Danielson ducks and lands the Busaiku knee but only gets a two-count. The crowd chants “YES/NO” as Danielson does his armtrap stomp spot. Ospreay resists getting locked in another crossface with all his might so Danielson switches to a triangle choke. Ospreay counters with a one-arm powerbomb but Danielson doesn’t relinquish the hold. Ospreay counters again with a one-arm Syles Clash to finally free himself.

We get a NJPW-style head-butt and then forearm exchange followed by more Kawada kicks from Ospreay. Danielson hits back with bitchslaps and a Regal-plex. Ospreay lands on his neck but no-sells it completely and hits the Hidden Blade. He goes for another Os-Cutter…and Danielson knees the back of his head.

Both men end up in opposite corners staring daggers at each other. Danielson does his YES chant as Ospreay pulls off his wrist/elbow pad. Both guys charge…and only Ospreay connects. But he’s not done. Tiger Driver ’91! Danielson does the seizure sell. Ospreay swings one more time and connects with a Hidden Blade. One, two, and three! Ospreay beats Danielson!

Winner after 32:40: Will Ospreay

Post-match, the referee frantically motions for doctors to check on Danielson right away as it looked like he landed badly on the TD91. Ospreay celebrates for a moment but his music cuts off and he kneels next to the ref and the doctors who are still checking on Danielson. With each passing moment Ospreay looks to be losing his euphoria over winning and is filling with dread as a look of “what have I done?” creeps over his face. It was later reported that Ospreay was so concerned over this that he has vowed to stop using the TD’91.

Review

Now that the dust has settled and the initial hoopla has died down we can look at this match a bit more carefully…and when we do we can see that it was nowhere close to being as great as its diehard defenders have said it is. It was a fine match but a flawed one as well. It was better than many of Will Ospreay’s other recent big matches simply because he had Bryan Danielson to fill most of the holes in Ospreay’s style. But not even Danielson could make this into a truly perfect match. He did his best to replicate the high-impact, self-indulgent style that Ospreay and his AEW and NJPW predecessors encouraged. He served as a grounded and somewhat believable counterweight to Ospreay’s constant attempts at pushing the match as far into surrealism as possible. And while both guys had the crowd from start to finish, there were times when the live audience shifted attention onto themselves with some of the dumbest chants that you won’t find in any other sport or entertainment medium. So to call this the best match in AEW history, the best match of either Danielson’s or Ospreay’s careers, the best match of the year, or to give it any other sort of top-of-the-list praise is premature at best and myopic at worst.

For one thing this match wasn’t serious: Bryan’s Cheshire Car grin, the ‘let’s all have fun’ atmosphere and the complete lack of urgency from both guys it was clear that both guys were showing off rather than focusing on beating each other at certain points. The first eight minutes or so had this ho-hum pacing that set the tone for the rest yet accomplished very little. Add to this an unshakable sense of choreography that clouded the match and the fans were left with a performance that came across as less real and therefore less believable. It created motion but not movement, action that impressed for a second but was quickly forgotten moments later.

Second issue is a flaw of Ospreay’s that has been touched on many times before, that being his horribly inconsistent selling. Either he no-sells something or he oversells it depending on the move and depending on where things are in the match. He did more of the former in this match, as he took nasty bumps from Danielson only to sprint around moments later at full speed. Once again, when he does this he doesn’t create any sense of struggle or challenge in his fightback; by brushing off his opponent’s offense so often and so much he kills his own credibility and makes it harder for people to believe he’s in any genuine danger.

This problem was compounded by how both guys wrestled: they both hit these ridiculous and crazy moves but no one believed any but the established finishers would end the match. Yes, some of those big bombs drained and exhausted both men, but again, since the selling and pacing kept shifting between ‘both guys down’ and ‘mad dash in and above the ring’, these big moves ended up meaning much less. Imagine of Ospreay struggled to move for minutes on end and only regained his strength towards during the final ten minutes after enduring more of Danielson’s attacks to his arm and neck. Imagine if Danielson actually out-wrestled Ospreay so often and so effectively that Ospreay actually expressed concern and apprehension at locking-up. Imagine if the match wasn’t a constant 50/50 until the very end and Ospreay actually stood a chance of losing against the supposed BITS who, need I remind you, held no title and hasn’t won a major match since WrestleDream (which was also inconsequential to AEW’s booking).

Then there’s the other elephant in the room in the crowd. Yes they cheered and made plenty of noise but there’s a difference between crowd noise and crowd heat. It was as if cheering and clapping was beneath them and they tried to go one-up one another with absurd and attention-grabbing chants they could come up with. It’s a problem that has persisted for almost ever a decade: ever since the crowd at NXT TakeOver: Dallas began chanting redundant nonsense just to be heard other promotions and AEW in particular have followed suit. Now if you were to compare this match to other legendary time-honored classics with great crowds (almost any big match involving Hogan, Steve Austin, The Rock, Kenta Kobashi, Hiroshi Tanahashi, or even Kenny Omega from 2016 to 2019 in New Japan), then they have crowds screaming, cheering, applauding, and in some cases stomping their feet out of sheer excitement. Here, though, as with many more recent matches, you get these fans who just can’t seem to sit still and must cheer random nonsense, like the pro-wrestling version of that one theater-goer who must interject randomly during a movie.

All of this being said, there is one thing that Ospreay is very good at: hitting lots of impressive offensive moves. He’s like a glass cannon, one who puts all his stats and attention into hitting as hard as possible but nothing into defense. On that front he’s exciting, but a wrestling match isn’t just the constant spamming of individual moves separated from one another. There’s flow from move to move, changes in control, and a sense of back-and-forth from both sides. Danielson tried to include some of that when he was on offense and when he was doing his counters but Ospreay just didn’t sell anything for more than a few minutes at a time.

So what we were left with was a 33-minute self-indulgent split of a match between one guy who was trying to tell an extensive match-long narrative (Danielson) and another guy who was just executing individual moves independent of one another with some vague outline of a story (Ospreay). The clash between them made this decent and exciting in only a few places whereas most of it had already been done before and better.

Final Rating: ****1/4

You can look at this match from a variety of different viewpoints and almost all of them will lead you to the same conclusion: that this is NOT the greatest match of all time. Not even close. Both guys have had better matches; hell Danielson had a significantly better one only two months prior. As for Ospreay, he’s had better matches against guys who either shut him down and force him to actually fight upwards or in matches where he actually serves as a genuine underdog. But Ospreay just doesn’t excel in battles of equals’ and this perpetual statement was proof.

Was it compelling? Sure but it wasn’t anything that either wrestler hadn’t shown before. It was filled with the typical big bumps, high-flying, and explosive out-of-nowhere craziness that makes it a spectacle for some fans but a turnoff for many others, despite Danielson having pretty solid chemistry with Ospreay and trying to give Ospreay a new sort of challenge.

Was it competitive? Yes in terms of execution but not in terms of story. At no point was it believable that Ospreay would lose. He hit harder and showed better conditioning than Danielson and only seemed to be in danger on a handful of occasions. Since he did his usual Ospreay ‘selling’ (read: he either no-sold or oversold depending on the move and the moment), nothing Danielson did actually made it seem like Ospreay was genuinely in peril.

Did it make sense? Barely: These two wrestlers fighting so hard for the invisible title of BITW buried the company’s actual titles. It also didn’t make any sense for Ospreay to want to face Danielson at this point since Danielson has been on a big match losing streak (at least on AW programming) and the singles wins he did rack up meant very little. And with this win…where does Ospreay go here? There’s no way he can be anything but a babyface after this reception and this performance. Meanwhile, their new top champion Swerve Strickland is also a babyface and he got over much more organically.

And besides, what would both guys have done had the opposite result happened? Danielson wasn’t being positioned as a world title guy; instead he was copying his former tag partner Kane and wants to do what the company asks of him without having too much of the creative built around him. Ospreay, on the other hand, is clearly being positioned as the company’s potential new (F)ace so there was no way he was going to lose here, no matter how big of a dream match it was promoted to be.

At the end of the day, though the match had its moments, it’s not going to be remembered for anything special six months from now, much less any length of time later.

Thanks for reading.