ROH Final Battle 2006 Review

Homicide's Big Night Finally Arrives

*This show is available to watch for free (Ringside Members) at rohwrestling.com*

ROH Final Battle 2006

Manhattan, New York 12/23/06

1.) Four Corner Survival – El Generico vs. Jimmy Rave vs. Davey Richards vs. Christopher Daniels: ***

A Four Corner Survival opens up the final show of 2006. Allison Danger is dressed as a Girl Scout, so the crowd chants "We Want Cookies". The match itself was pretty good. A solid opener.

2.) Adam Pearce vs. Ricky Reyes: *3/4

Nothing really much here. Pearce taking out Reyes & Smokes just builds drama for the Main Event.

3.) Jimmy Jacobs & Brent Albright vs. BJ Whitmer & Colt Cabana: ***

Here we have a grudge match as both Whitmer & Cabana have issues with Jimmy Jacobs. This was another good match. The last half especially had good action.

4.) The Kings of Wrestling vs. The Briscoe Brothers: ****

Larry Sweeney accompanies the Kings of Wrestling to the ring. This was a pretty awesome match. Lots of fun stuff here. The Briscoes pick up the win. Afterwords, Claudio gets the mic and says he'll be staying in ROH (This was believed to be Claudio's last match before going to WWE) and that the Kings will continue to wreak havoc in 2007, but Larry Sweeney has other plans, saying that the Kings are done, and he & Hero have plans that don't involve Claudio. A nice set up for whats to come.

Samoa Joe comes out next and talks about the NOAH guys coming to ROH, and the challenge he issues to the NOAH guys. He mentions Nigel which leads him to come out and accept Joe's challenge (since he spent a lot of time in NOAH in 2006). Jimmy Rave comes out and attacks, leading Joe to suggest the two have a match later that night, which happens right after intermission.

5.) Jimmy Rave vs. Nigel McGuinness: ***1/4

Jimmy Rave wrestles his second match of the night here. This is definitely the best match between these guys so far. Rave gets Nigel to tap for the third time in the last month.

6.) Dragon Gate Rules - CIMA, Shingo & Matt Sydal vs. Delirious, Austin Aries & Roderick Strong: ****

This match is held under Dragon Gate Rules, which means no tags are necessary to enter the ring. This was by far the best match of night. There were some slow parts where Aries got isolated, but overall the match was a great display.

7.) ROH World Title – Bryan Danielson vs. Homicide: ***3/4

This was the match everyone had been waiting for. Homicide's last chance to win a title in ROH. Although it did have some strange moments (like the initial DQ finish) and was slow at times, the intensity & the crowd definitely contributed to the action. Homicide got a big reaction for his win and the locker room came out to celebrate. Danielson shakes Homicide's hand and presents him with the ROH World Title.

Overall: 8.5/10

Ring of Honor always finds away to end the year with a bang. This is just a continuation of that trend. The action was pretty good, with the intensity picking up as the show progressed. The Dragon Gate Rules Match, KOW/Briscoes & Homicide's Title Win are reason enough to get this show. It's also available to watch online for free on rohwrestling.com (that's how I got to see it). Definitely check this out.