ROH Rising Above 2008 Review

Bryan Danielson gets his last shot at Nigel McGuinness and his ROH World Title.

ROH Rising Above 2008

Chicago Ridge, Illinois 11/22/08

PPV

1.) ROH World Tag Team Title Match - Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe: **3/4

These two have faced off many times before in brutal encounters, but the roles are reversed this time as Kevin Steen & El Generico are the ROH World Tag Team Champions. It was a little shorter than I expected, but it was good for what it was.

2.) SHIMMER Title Match - Mschif vs. Sara Del Rey: ***

Here we get an interesting match up as although Mschif is more of a face (in the fans eyes) in this one, it's a battle of heel factions (The Age of the Fall vs. Sweet 'n' Sour Inc.) Definitely one of the best Women's Matches ROH has ever put on. Pretty good stuff here.

3.) Four Corner Survival - Silas Young vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Sami Callihan vs. Alex Payne: **1/4

I find it funny that this match was on PPV but Delirious vs. Rhett Titus, which was a more meaningful match, was left off as a bonus match. The only thing this accomplished was establishing Claudio as a heel. Nothing more.

4.) Roderick Strong, Brent Albright & Ace Steel vs. Davey Richards, Go Shiozaki & Chris Hero: ***1/4

So if the face team wins, they get Sweet 'n' Sour Inc. in Steel Cage Warfare at Final Battle 2008. This was a fun six man tag. Hero would end up cheating to win for his team, but it would only delay the inevitable Steel Cage Warfare Match.

5.) I Quit Match - Austin Aries vs. Jimmy Jacobs: ****1/4

Here we get the big conclusion to the Austin Aries/Jimmy Jacobs Saga. It was a great match, with lots of violence. Lacey eventually comes down and after several minutes, sides with Aries. Just brutal stuff and a great way to end this bitter feud. 

6.) ROH World Title Match - Nigel McGuinness vs. Bryan Danielson: ****1/2

I'd have to say out of all their encounters, this is in the top three, right up there with their matches at Unified & Glory By Honor VIII. A great match from these two, which is exactly what you would expect. Not much else to say other than it's an awesome match.

Bonus

Delirious vs. Rhett Titus: **1/4

Despite the fact that it was just ok, this match should have been on the PPV given the significance of the story. Again, it was a decent affair.

Samoa Joe vs. Tyler Black (with Allison Wonderland): ***3/4

Here we get a special attraction match as Samoa Joe returns for one night only to face a future star in Tyler Black. It was a great match. Joe looked good and so did Black. A very entertaining match. Afterwords, Samoa Joe puts over ROH.

Overall: 8.75/10

You really can't go wrong with this show. Pretty much everything on here is decent to great. The World Title Match, I Quit Match, SHIMMER Title Match, and the Samoa Joe Match are more than enough reasons to buy this DVD.