Christopher Daniels – Ring of Honor World Champion (Ring of Honor)

For over 20+ years, Christopher Daniels has done it all, except win a World Title in a major promotion. “The Fallen Angel” got what could have been his final chance for glory at Ring of Honor’s 15th Anniversary PPV last night. The 45-year old Daniels walked into Las Vegas with one thing in mind: Win. Before his “destiny” could become a reality, Daniels would have the match of his career against champion Adam Cole.

Leading up to the 15th Anniversary show, Christopher Daniels won the Decade of Excellence Tournament to become number one contender. It was fitting that one of the “founding fathers” of the company would win. That meant he would main event a show celebrating all of the companies accomplishments since 2002.

It was a rough road to Vegas for Daniels. His tag team partner, Frankie Kazarian, betrayed him and joined the villainous Bullet Club stable (or so we thought). No help was provided beforehand, and time was not on his side. It also didn’t help that he was 0-8-1 in Ring of Honor World Title fights. What followed was a series of passionate promo’s that proved why he was one of the best wrestlers out there today. Speaking to ESPN before the match, Daniels discussed his long career and the moments leading up to the title fight. He stated:

“I look at my career, I look at how much I realistically have left and it’s something that I never really thought about. I didn’t put a date on what’s left in my career. I didn’t say by the time I’m 46, or 47, or 48, or by the time I’ve been in wrestling for 25 years or 26. I just said I was going to keep doing it as long as I could, and as long as I was still having fun… Once that bell rings, all I can do is perform at the best of my abilities and at the top of my game. I’ll find out, we’ll all find out on [Friday night] if that’s enough.” 

As the bell rang last night you could feel something in the air. Daniels gave it his all, and then some. Very early in the match, he started bleeding after being pushed (and superkicked) into the ring post. That didn’t stop him, as he fought every chance he could, even performing a Styles Clash on Cole (a move that he borrowed from his friend A.J. Styles). Cole would not give in though, and berated Daniels until the last closing minutes.

The ref got knocked out (because its pro wrestling), and then the fun began. Kazarian came into the ring, and it looked like he would attack his former friend. With the title in his hand he was about to take his shot. Just before he did anything, he dropped the title and removed his Bullet Club shirt to reveal Daniels’ “Destiny” shirt underneath. The crowd went wild, Cole was stunned and Daniels rose up with a smile on his face. After mounting an epic comeback, Christopher Daniels hit three BME’s (his finisher, the Best Moonsault Ever) and pinned Adam Cole to finally became Ring of Honor World Champion.

After winning a title that has eluded him his entire career, Daniels was lifted up by his peers, the Ring of Honor roster. He also held up the current ROH Title and the old version of the belt. It was a celebration fitting for a man of his caliber.

With this loss, the theory that Adam Cole is WWE bound has been brought out into the open once again. I would not be surprised if that was one of his farewell matches. However, for now, the spotlight remains on Christopher Daniels.

In a night filled with great matches, only one resulted in a moment where time seemed to stand still. Congratulations to “The Fallen Angel” on reaching his goal. It will be very interesting where he and Ring of Honor go from here.

httpss://twitter.com/facdaniels/status/840461950572093443