On August 5th, 2006, two of Ring of Honor’s greatest wrestlers, Bryan Danielson and Samoa Joe, would do battle at the Fight of the Century event in Edison, New Jersey.
With the Ring of Honor World Championship on the line, the champion and challenger would battle in a match that had to be seen to be believed!
On this night, they displayed unbridled passion, emotion, striking, and commitment to telling a story fans would never forget.
While match ratings are often debatable, fans are assured that a battle between these two wouldn’t be less than four stars. This match would prove to even go above that rating! To watch the match in its entirety, click here.
Bryan Danielson and Samoa Joe –
The Fight of the Century
As we first see, THE CHAMP IS HERE! THE CHAMP IS HERE! Samoa Joe made his way to the ring first, much to the delight of those in attendance. Suddenly, the lights go out.
This would be followed by the familiar sounds of Europe’s The Final Countdown blaring on the overhead speaker. Ring of Honor World Champion Bryan Danielson would then make his way to the ring, much to the chagrin of the ROH fanbase.
As both men are in the ring, chants of JOE IS GOING TO KILL YOU! repeatedly are echoed through the arena. Bobby Cruise makes the announcements of both challenger and champion in preparation of the match.
The raucous crowd didn’t hold back their hopes of what they wanted Samoa Joe to do to the ROH Champion. The two would then meet for the traditional code of honor handshake prior to the match.
But that was just when the honor between the two of them came to an end; the handshake would end, and the competitive nature between the two would kick in.
The Stalemate Between Champion and Challenger
The two would lock up in a test of strength that would see Joe get the advantage early on in the match. After multiple pinning attempts by Joe, Danielson was able to use leverage and hit a back body drop on Joe in the process of their test of strength.
Danielson would then lock in a collar and elbow lock on Joe and take him down in the process. This was transitioned into a headscissors on a prone Joe on the mat.
The two would then stare at each other in what would appear to be a stalemate in the match between the champion and challenger.
But as the two locked up again, a wristlock followed by a bridge and a failed dropkick attempt by Danielson gave the challenger the advantage. Joe hit a forward spin kick to Danielson’s head, taking him down in the process.
Proceed with Caution
The champion would cautiously re-enter the ring, much to the encouragement of the referee. But as Danielson entered the ring, he would be forced back into the corner, facing a series of kicks at the hands of the Samoan Submission Machine.
Despite the champion trying to jockey for position, he would charge into strikes and kicks at the hands of the challenger. A staggered Danielson would be forced to back into the corner on his backside and outside of the ring.
The champion didn’t appear prepared unprepared early on for the kicks and strikes of the challenger. After momentarily regaining his composure, Danielson would approach the ring once again and carefully enters the ring. Or so we thought!
Danielson would jump down off the apron to a chorus of boos by those in attendance. After a moment, Danielson would pace and once again attempt to enter the ring.
When the two would lock up, Bryan Danielson attempts to take Joe down by going low and clutching his legs. But Joe counters this by dropping down, lowering his center of gravity.
Joe would then break free and begin to kick a prone Daniels repeatedly, forcing him to leave the ring. Once back in the ring, Danielson would face Joe’s onslaught again, forcing him to leave the ring and sliding out to the ringside area.
Within minutes of each other Danielson has been forced to evacuate the ring three times with no answer of how to defend Joe’s attack. But on this next occasion, things would be different.
Danielson would enter the ring and after taking a shoulder tackle and kick to the back at the feet of Joe the two would exchange strike after strike.
It had appeared as though Danielson’s ability to retreat would be replaced with a straight-ahead attack on the challenger. But eventually the strikes by Joe would be too much for Danielson to handle. Or so we are led to believe!
An unsuspecting and overly confident challenger didn’t anticipate Danielson clutching his leg while on the mat and taking him down in the process. Danielson would then wrench on the ankle of Joe twisting it repeatedly.
The champion would then transition and apply pressure with his knee on Joe’s knee while continuing to wrench on his ankle. Danielson’s focus was on working on Joe’s leg, removing his ability to kick and his center of gravity. The psychology was evident.
Danielson’s relentless attack would change as he would proceed to give Joe an opportunity to get back up.
For the first time in the match, Danielson appears to be frustrated as he circles the ring from the ringside area. He would kick the barricade in anger with the event of the match.
Once back in the ring, Danielson came in with a new focus and was prepared to get the better of the challenger. Although the challenger would manage to get in offense, the champion would use his crafty nature to draw him in and regain the advantage.
The Champion’s Advantage
The back-and-forth affair between the two saw both get the better of the other at one point in time in this match. At one point, Danielson is seen trying to hype himself up and, in the process, prepare himself to get the better of Joe.
As the match continued on, Danielson tried everything he could to get the better of Joe. Included in the champion’s attempt to was his signature Cattle Mutilation submission hold.
Adhering to the Code of Honor
Both men battle-tested forge ahead, continuing to strike each other with every ounce of strength they have. As Bryan Danielson and Samoa Joe stood in front of each other the two men would throw strike after strike at one another with virtually nothing behind it.
The battle between both men would see the struggle continue until it reached its final moments. As Joe had Danielson locked into a kokita clutch, and his hand was being raised, the time would expire. The match was rendered a draw.
After sixty minutes, the two men would meet in the middle of the ring and shake hands. Despite every strike, submission, and pin attempt, the code of honor was ultimately upheld between them.
