In an industry as fast paced as professional wrestling, sometimes it’s hard to live in a moment for longer than a few passing beats. I believe it’s important to slow down sometimes and appreciate a match, a show, or even a career, because you truly don’t know when things will change. This past weekend was one of those moments for me, as we saw Christopher Daniels compete in what is believed to be his last wrestling match before fully transitioning to his backstage responsibilities. The January 18th episode of Collision saw the ‘Fallen Angel’ face off against Hangman Adam Page in a Texas Death Match, and the match is something I would consider to be the perfect swan song for a talent like Christopher Daniels.
Before I delve into the match itself, I want to take a moment to reflect on Daniels’ career. As many of you will be aware, I previously covered his career in a feature in 2023, celebrating the fact he had reached 30 years of working in the business. There was no way I could cover everything notable he’s ever achieved in it, and I won’t be able to here either. I do however want to speak candidly on Daniels as a performer, and his impact on my enjoyment of professional wrestling.
Christopher Daniels is one of those guys who I don’t remember when I was introduced to them in wrestling – he’s always just been a staple of the business, someone I was able to see on a match graphic or show poster and think “hey, that’s a face I recognise”. He was a constant, familiar presence, someone I knew that I was almost guaranteed to enjoy the work of during a show. As I got older, the last five years or so especially, I truly began to appreciate what an impressive feat it is for someone to have a career as rich and long as Daniels has had. Almost 32 years of active in-ring work through eras where the business was so unforgiving is incredible to see on paper, let alone actively follow for even just a portion of it.
Even to this day, I wholeheartedly believe that the career that Christopher Daniels has had goes under appreciated. It baffles me how someone can achieve so much across the globe, be someone future generations consistently credit for their involvement in the industry, and yet still be overlooked for their contributions to the wrestling business. Daniels was an innovator before people wanted progression in wrestling, and set the bar of consistency so high that many still chase it. He deserves his flowers now and forever, because his retirement may be a quiet one, but his career should be heralded just as much as other legends of the business. I truly think that anyone that likes wrestling even a little bit, or is thinking about getting involved in wrestling in any capacity, should take some time to study Daniels’ career. There is an endless gold mine of footage and information around him and his work that individuals should be tapping into.
Back to his final match, I think it is important to highlight a few things surrounding it before talking about the match itself. First of all, the choice of opponent; Hangman spent a lot of 2024 on a downward spiral from a development perspective, with his performance at All Out against Swerve Strickland firmly cementing his character. The following months weren’t the most desirable of follow up (that’s a conversation for a different article), but within a few short weeks of building this match, Christopher Daniels made Hangman feel like one of the most dangerous men in AEW again.
Hangman’s character work in the build was phenomenal as well, with the promo he cut on the 11th January episode of Collision being one of the most effective pieces of media I’ve seen in a while. Hangman highlighting Daniels as someone who recognised Hangman could be someone in this business so many years ago really emphasised the importance of this match beyond just the current story. Hangman saying “CD you have made your bed, and next Saturday I lay you down in it – forever” as a closing statement was so foreboding, and is a promo line that will stick with me for a long time.
As well as the build and the work the men put into it, the choice of stipulation for this matchup was perfect. Hangman does some of the most compelling work of his career in Texas Death Matches, and using it here felt like the perfect send off for Christopher Daniels. I struggle to put into words why it struck me as such a fantastic choice here, but I genuinely don’t think any other match stipulation would’ve lived up to the weight of being the last match the Fallen Angel competed in. I think it may be because the situation has me reminiscing heavily about the 2021 bout between SCU and the Young Bucks, where the defeat saw the end of SCU as a tag team. Christopher Daniels left that match a bloodied mess, and it added new heights to the all-timer title reign the Jacksons were having. The stipulation just added new weight to an already momentous occasion for Daniels and Hangman alike.
The match itself was some of the most beautiful violence that professional wrestling has to offer. Hangman thrives in the TDM environment, and this was no different. He had an outstanding performance in this matchup, which will come as a surprise to no one.
I do want to spend more time focusing on the work that Christopher Daniels did in this bout, because I think it is a performance that should be celebrated long after the conclusion of the bout. Even though I knew Hangman had the victory on lock from the beginning, there is just something about Daniels that made me believe, just for a split second, that he might be able to best Hangman. He made me want to see him do just that, too. Daniels made Hangman look like possibly the most violent man in wrestling in this match, and the decisive ending was genuinely gut wrenching. I both wanted the men to keep going, and also for Daniels to just stay down to end Hangman’s endless onslaught.
The level of crimson mask that Daniels produced in this match as well is a visual I may never forget. I consider myself someone who is not all that squeamish when watching deathmatches, but watching the blood poor down his nose is a constant stream as they got deeper into the match genuinely made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I did not doubt that the Fallen Angel would leave absolutely everything in the ring in his final match, and he did just that. This was the performance of a lifetime, celebrating damn near 32 years of incredible work, and I feel truly blessed to have been able to watch it.
Nigel McGuinness referred to Hangman as the ‘angel of death’ on commentary during the match, and I think this is a moniker that should stick. As well as that, the screams of horror that rang out when Hangman stormed the ring to deliver a final Angel’s Wings is a sign that Hangman should adopt the move as his own, now he was the one to close the book on Christopher Daniel’s in-ring career. A poetic piece of wrestling media that I know that I will be revisiting for years to come, and consider a landmark in Hangman’s own career.
Summing up someone’s career in a closing paragraph is always hard to do. There always feels like there’s something I’ve missed, potential to explore more, highlight achievements that go under the radar in such a long career. I can’t even dream to capture the importance of Daniels’ career in full, even across two articles now, so instead I leave you with this:
Live in the moment. Take time to appreciate the professional wrestling that means something to you. Celebrate the work of those who you connect with, and talk about it loudly and proudly. Always give the flowers when you can. The wrestling business will always move faster than it feels possible to keep up with, and it is up to us to take the time to celebrate the talents, the matches, and the moments that make us feel beyond anything else.
Thank you to Christopher Daniels, not just for your illustrious career and contributions to the wrestling business, but for being someone who reminds you to live in the moment. I will always remember the Fallen Angel.
