Welcome back for another edition of the Dark Match Dungeon! As always, this is the feature in which I spin the ever-risky roulette wheel known as the internet in search of forgotten footage of today’s wrestling stars. Sometimes, I find nothing, and other times I find unspeakable horrors. Why was I even looking on DeviantArt in the first place?
I’m going to keep the intro to a minimum and fast-forward to the good part. Ask yourself, “Would I like to see a match between Finn Bálor and Daniel Bryan today?” Now, let your heart rate get back to normal resting levels, and breathe easily in the knowledge that such a match actually exists. In a video that only recently surfaced, here is your new NXT champion Finn Bálor (also known as Fergal Devitt) going one-on-one with the American Dragon. You’re welcome.
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What To Look For:
- Ninety people, tops. There can’t be more than 90 people in this audience. I want to do a Who Do You Think You Are-style documentary on these lucky few who can say they were present for this match, before Fergal Devitt became a demon prince.
- In an interesting coincidence, the announcer mentions that Devitt advanced to this match by defeating Mikey Nicholls three weeks earlier, because everything I write about happens in a shared universe.
- “Brass Monkey.” I was not ready in the slightest.
- UPSIDE-DOWN SLAP FIGHT.
- Good old-fashioned joint manipulation. At this point in history, Devitt has just graduated the New Japan dojo, and Bryan is showing people why Mr. Small Package is the best in the world, so there is some damn fine chain wrestling happening here.
- An early Pele kick sighting.
- You’re still thinking about “Brass Monkey,” aren’t you?
This match was part of a tournament in mid-2007 for the vacant NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Bryan would ultimately advance to the final, but he ended up dropping out after detaching his retina during a match for the Ring of Honor World Championship against Takeshi Morishima. (Yes, of course he finished that match, because he’s the American By-God Dragon.) As for the other man in this video, he eventually discovered light-up jackets, body paint and the WWE Performance Center. Sometimes it’s good to let your inner demons win.
