Eddie Kingston and Bryan Danielson are the measuring stick against which many of today’s stars are tested, so when the two titans of independent pro wrestling were given carte blanche to have the slappingest, fightingest, King’s Roadiest match they could possibly have, the results were simply electric. Kingston is seemingly destined to hoist the AEW Triple Crown Championship, but if there was ever someone that could crush dreams and end destinies, it’s a wounded, desperate Bryan Danielson, and that’s exactly who Kingston faced in the Blue League Finals of the Continental Classic.

The two men punished each other for the better part of 20 minutes, with one exchange of chops lasting for an entire commercial break. It was, quite simply, everything that I love about professional wrestling: Ttwo ornery, violent men testing their mettle against the other, with no regard for their own health and safety, chopping, kicking, and punching away at each other with reckless abandon. It was sweaty, bruising poetry and at the end, Kingston struggled to lift Danielson for a powerbomb, but through Kingston’s sheer grit and the will of the enraptured fans, Kingston’s destiny manifested and “The King of the Bums” slayed “The American Dragon.” It was a match that could’ve closed any PPV or even served as a fitting finale for the tournament, but on its own, it was one-of-a-kind.

Written by Ross Berman