When news broke that Will Ospreay was going to wrestle Bryan Danielson in a Pay-Per-View match at AEW Dynasty, expectations were set very high. After watching Ospreay and Danielson consistently wrestle some of the best matches in AEW over their respective tenures, with the former working fantastic efforts against Konosuke Takeshita, Katsuyori Shibata, and Claudio Castagnoli while the latter took on the likes of Hechicero, Eddie Kingston, and Lance Archer, suddenly, fans would get to see two of the best wrestlers in AEW or anywhere work a match one-on-one without commercials to break-up the action, with nothing on the line but the title of the best professional wrestler in the world today.

And yet, despite all of the expectations, the anticipation, and the hype, the duo somehow overdelivered, working a match Bryan Alvarez has already called the best to ever be wrestled on American soil.

Will Ospreay closed the door on the “Best in the World” conversation.

On paper, the match was a simple test of mettle between a pair of babyface wrestlers with mutual respect, but as the effort went underway, the gentlemen's contest rapidly turned into a civil war, with the duo increasingly taking more and more risks with their opponents and their own bodies in the pursuit of a favorable bell either by pinfall, submission, or a TKO.

Taking the audience on a certified Odyssey over the match's 32-minute runtime, momentum switched seemingly on a dime, with Ospreay taking the lead with a flurry of impressive offensive maneuvers, from the Oscutter to the Hidden Blade, while Danielson took it upon himself to dictate the tempo of the match, slowing things down with his signature submission based offense, all the while throwing a few Busaiku Knee to weaken the “Ariel Assassin” and cut into his seemingly endless reserve of offensive energy.

As the action transitioned outside of the ring, the duo exchanged offense on the apron before Danielson was laid out on the floor, leaving himself open as he was checked out by the referee. With Bryce Remsburg on the outside, Ospreay really changed the tenor of the match when he hit a shaken “American Dragon” with a Super Hidden Blade, laying him out as the crowd went wild, forcing Danielson to jump back into the ring at the count out eight to avoid a loss.

In hindsight, that was probably a mistake, as Ospreay continued to dominate the match with each passing moment, countering every maneuver his foe attempted before throwing his own offense back at Danielson in a way even one of the most experienced wrestlers in the world today couldn't have predicted.

Would the match go to a time limit draw? Would Ospreay and Danielson ice each other out, earning the rare no-contest because neither performer could get the decisive W? When the duo dusted each other with a combination of a Busaiku Knee and a Hidden Blade, they seemingly had nothing left in the tank, hitting each other with half-hearted headbutts from their knees but as the momentum grew and the fighting spirit burned brighter, Danielson hit Ospreay with a Suplex, Ospreay followed it up with a Hidden Blade, and after a combination Oscutter Busiku Knee left both men on the floor, they each rose to their feet in the corner of the ring and prepared the crowd for an explosive finish. Ospreay hit the flying forearm, followed by a brutal Tiger Driver, and while the referee called for Doctor Sampson, Ospreay finished his foe off with a Hidden Blade, leaving the clearly injured grappler unable to kick out of the final pin.

With Ospreay the decisive victor, he celebrated the win as his music played but slowly realized that his foe wasn't rising to his feet to raise his hand in victory, as Danielson instead remained laid out in pain, with his shoulder bright red and his face in visible pain. Ospreay's own expression began to change as a result, too, going from elated to worried, as in his quest to prove he was the best, he might have just injured the man he modeled his career after in what was supposed to be a friendly contest to see who was the best wrestler in the world.

If you only watch one wrestling match this week, this should be it. If you only watch one wrestling match this month, this should be it. If you only watch one wrestling match this year, this should be it, as, to quote Dave Meltzer, “Ospreay won with the hidden blade. If you see one match this good in your life as a wrestling fan, you should consider yourself blessed.”