[2009-05-01-wXw-Dead End Alpha] Bryan Danielson vs Claudio Castagnoli

In the early stages Claudio overwhelmes Bryan, which leads to Bryan taking his time on the apron, waiting for a good time to come back in & strike w/ a sneak attack. After that it's Bryan in control doing great work over Claudio - Claudio makes some absolutely terrific comebacks, LOVED him constantly going back to that Boston Crab, too. Such good storytelling. As the match goes, it becomes more 50/50 with both guys delivering big strikes & bombs to each other. Claudio got a couple of very nice nearfalls there. The finishing stretch & the finish = excellent. This was a beautifully paced & structured 40-minute epic - Claudio was a WONDERFUL babyface, all of his offense looked terrific as usual & his selling of Bryan's offense was amazing. Bryan was absolutely amazing as the heel too w/ that brutal offense of his & sneaky tactics. Amazing match & the post-match is so great as well - it's so satisfying seeing Bryan with the wXw Championship, throwing it around & spitting on it while talking shit to the fans. ****1/2