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#2. Bryan Danielson vs. Naruki Doi – Dragon Gate USA Untouchable
Last time the name ‘Naruki Doi’ was mentioned, it was in that epic 6-man Dragon Gate match in 2006. In this match, he found himself alone against Bryan Danielson, arguably the best technical wrestler alive. That led to a dream match of sorts, pitting the ‘Ace of the indies’ against the Ace of Dragon Gate USA.
Yet unlike previous Bryan matches discussed in this series, Bryan was the veteran here and not the underdog. It was Doi who had to prove himself against the best wrestler on the independent circuit. He did this by withstanding Bryan’s seemingly-never-ending onslaught of kicks, elbows and painful submission holds. While Bryan dominated most of the contest, Doi showed that typical never-say-die attitude and kept coming back, even though the crowd was overwhelmingly cheering Bryan. Doi showed his own technical skills and ring psychology, wearing down Bryan’s legs to the point that those trademark kicks of his nearly lost all effect.
In the end, Doi pulled off the upset victory, much to the dismay of the pro-Bryan crowd. Yet that victory did wonders in elevating Doi as a credible singles wrestler and helping him break away from the tag-team-centric matches he was often put in beforehand.
