There Must Be A Fallen Angel (Playing With My Heart)

Christopher Daniels (c) VS Danny Dominion - WCW Light Heavyweight Championship Lumberjack Match 5/7/1994

JJZ: When I saw that this match took place in '94 it blew my mind that Daniels has been wrestling for 25 years. I had a lot to consider before I decided to play this forward. First, CD and Jeremy Borash are doing an audio recap over the original commentary. Which means you can't hear the crowd at all. Second, I didn't want to leave you with limited options playing Danny Dominion forward. However. I enjoyed everything about this match so much and knew this is what we are all about over here at PIF. This was from Windy City Wrestling and what I'm guessing was their biggest show of the year, that was a huge venue for an Indy promotion in '94. It was a lumberjack match and unless I missed it they do not mention that at all. Dominion was a really solid heel who worked very well with this PUB (Plucky Underdog Babyface) as you like to say. Hope you enjoy baby cakes.

CJD: This match made me giddy just at the sight of it. I have a Best of Christopher Daniels VHS buried in my parents' basement somewhere that very well may have this match on it. It definitely has one of his ECW matches and other stuff from very early on. But I kind of doubt it has this with just how early in his career it is. That's not to say I'm the biggest Daniels mark in the world but this just speaks to the spirit of discovering the unknown that got us so hooked on this silly hobby in the first place. And that still carries on to PIF decades and decades later! Danny Dominion is a fantastic heel, his stable plays their role perfectly too, although I have to say, Daniels could have been a bit pluckier for my tastes. For what indy wrestling was in 1994 this match was really something. Way ahead of its time while still sticking to strong fundamentals. Now to deep dive into some DD for next week!

Happiness Is Just A Thing Called Joe

Christopher Daniels (c) VS Samoa Joe - TNA X Division Championship Match 4/13/2006

CJD: It's amusing to cross a 2006 TNA match off your bucket list, but that's what I'm doing by playing this match forward. Joe had been in TNA for almost a year at this point, and even reasonable fans who wouldn't watch TNA otherwise had seen a good amount of his highly touted matches with Styles and Daniels. This match on the other hand got a few great reviews from people who were willing to watch Impact! weekly, but in that era there was no easy way to watch after the fact. I tried to hunt the match for years but digging up hidden TNA gems was a futile task. Until this modern era of infinite possibility we live in.

This match didn't disappoint. Except for the god awful, what in the fuck were they thinking, as TNA as possible decision to join the match in progress after two or three key moments had already taken place. At first I was so frustrated that I finally found a version of this match but it wasn't complete. Then I immediately realized "oh wait, this is TNA." Otherwise, this match is spectacularly crisp, fast, violent, and smart. Especially when you consider the careers these two have continued to have years and years and years later. If this match was complete and people had actually watched it it probably would have been in talks a contender for one of the best of the year.

JJZ: Look at you with the JIP. Hot ass start. Joe looks fantastic, like a true monster. I've always been curious how many gems of Joe's I missed from TNA. Daniels' selling is so good in this match. I can't believe this wasn't the main event, the heat was insane. I was biting on every false finish and popped like a bottle of champagne at the end. Great match.