Beating the Pants Off Teddy

Bryan Danielson vs Teddy Hart, MLW Reloaded Tour, Orlando, 9 January 2004 (Major League Wrestling)

Bryan Danielson introduces himself spectacularly to the Major League Wrestling crowd in 2004, but in my opinion his greatest accomplishment here is to beat the pants off 23-year-old muscle-hunk Teddy Hart. Ultimately, Hart wins this one by tap-out. The promotion for this battle cashed in on the controversial "Montreal Screwjob" in 1997, an unscripted non-kayfabe episode at WWF in which Shawn Michaels (Bryan's trainer) applied MMA stiffness to a hold on Bret Hart (Teddy's uncle). The ref stopped the match due to Shawn's dangerous and reckless assault on his opponent, who refused to tap out. Many believed, with Bret Hart among them, that Vince McMahon ordered the hit job. So six-plus years later, Hart's demolition of Danielson was publicized as revenge.

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