ROH Suffocation Review

A grudge match headlines Ring of Honor's return to Dayton...

ROH Suffocation

Dayton, Ohio 10/27/06

1.) Non-Title Match - Bryan Danielson vs. Sal Rinauro: **

So basically Danielson is facing Rinauro in the opening match here so as not to aggravate the injury he suffered at Gut Check. For what it was, this was actually decent. Danielson can get have a good match with anyone. 

After the match Jimmy Rave abuses Sal Rinauro and calls out Shingo for the next match...

2.) Shingo vs. Jimmy Rave: **3/4

This was a fairly decent match. Nice to see Shingo go over here as he would become a regular player in ROH over the next few months.

3.) Colt Cabana & Jimmy Jacobs vs. Irish Airborne: **3/4

Again, this is another fairly decent match. Of course the storyline with Jacobs & Cabana continues with the teams loss in this one.

4.) Christopher Daniels vs. Brent Albright: ***

I believe this is Albright's ROH debut. He's coming off being released from WWE after spending some time in OVW and a brief run in WWE as Gunner Scott. This was actually a good match. I think it was good to put Albright up against a guys like Daniels here.

5.) Four Corner Survival - Chris Hero vs. Roderick Strong vs. Mark Briscoe vs. Tank Toland: **1/2

I enjoy Four Corner Survivals, so I was looking forward to his. Mark Briscoe makes his first appearance since losing his two front teeth (which Jimmy Bower explains as Mark losing them in a bar fight). It was a decent match, but nothing really special.

After the match, the Kings of Wrestling attack Strong, which leads to Austin Aries coming out and getting our next match started...

6.) Austin Aries vs. Claudio Castagnoli: **3/4

This was a fairly decent encounter, but I felt like it could have been a little better. 

7.) Davey Richards vs. Jay Briscoe: ***1/2

This was a very entertaining match that picked up a good deal as it went down the stretch. Very entertaining. 

8.) Delirious vs. Matt Sydal: ***3/4

Delirious & Sydal meet once again & less than a month after their clash in the Survival of the Fittest Finals. This turned out to be a very good match with lots of hard hitting, fast paced action. Both guys are slowly making their way up the ROH Ladder.

9.) Homicide & Samoa Joe vs. Steve Corino & Adam Pearce: ***1/4

Cornette, Pearce & Corino cut a promo before the match gets going. I personally enjoyed this. It was an entertaining brawl that furthered the whole Homicide/Cornette feud.

After the match Joe drags Hagadorn away and Cornette calls out the Briscoes to beat down Homicide. Corino wraps a plastic bag around Homicide's head (hence the title of the show). It takes Aries, Strong, Delirious, Sydal & Richards to send Cornette's crew packing and save Homicide.

Overall: 6.5/10

Aside from Delirious vs. Matt Sydal and maybe Davey Richards vs. Jay Briscoe there isn't really anything stand out about this show. The rest of the card was really just ok to average and I don't think the ending of the show came off as big as they were trying to make it.

ROH Motor City Madness 2006 Review

Samoa Joe & Homicide go to war with The Briscoes while Austin Aries gets a shot a Bryan Danielson's World Title...

ROH Motor City Madness

Detroit, Michigan 10/7/06

1.) Delirious vs. Zach Gowen: *3/4

So Delirious goes from winning the Survival of the Fittest Tournament the night before to facing Zach Gowen in the opening match...Whatever. This was just there, nothing really to write home about.

Cornette comes out to announce the WrestleMania Weekend Shows in Detroit, and then proceeds to say that due to an injury from the previous show, Roderick Strong cannot compete (bummer). This brings out Strong, and then Homicide, who chases Cornette off.

2.) Allison Danger & Lacey vs. Daizee Haze & MsChif: **

 A decent SHIMMER exhibition. That's all I got on this.

3.) Claudio Castagnoli vs. Davey Richards: **3/4

This was a fairly decent match. An enjoyable encounter.

4.) Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal vs. Colt Cabana & Jimmy Jacobs: **1/2

This was a decent match, but the storyline between Cabana & Jacobs got more of the spotlight here than anything else. After the match Daniels challenges the Kings of Wrestling to a World Tag Team Title Match, but Sydal challenges Chris Hero (who was supposed to wrestle Roderick Strong) to a match right now!

5.) Matt Sydal vs. Chris Hero: **1/2

Hero jumps Sydal before the bell. This turned out to be a decent Mid-Card Match. It obviously set up future encounters between the teams...

6.) Six Man Mayhem - Jimmy Rave vs. Pelle Primeau vs. Dave Crist vs. Jake Crist vs. Shane Hagadorn vs. Matt Cross: **3/4

I was actually excited for this, since it's the first Six-Man Mayhem that I ever saw. It was a decent match. You had a good amount of high-flying spots that you'd expect in a match like this, and it proved to be entertaining.

7.) ROH World Title - Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries: ***3/4

Danielson & Aries still do not have their gear, so they're using the goofy gear they wore the night before. This was a very good World Title Match. Not the best encounter between the two, but a good match nonetheless.

8.) Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Homicide & Samoa Joe: ****

This was a crazy match. An all-out brawl that went out of the place so you if enjoy these kind of matches, you're gonna love this. Mark Briscoe hitting a Shooting Star Press off the top of the Ryder Truck was INSANE!!! Just a really fun match

Overall: 7.0/10

Save for the Main Event and the World Title Match the rest of the card is pretty average. Not as good as Survival of the Fittest from the night before, but still a pretty decent show. 

ROH Survival of the Fittest 2006 Review

Ring of Honor's Annual Tradition Returns...

ROH Survival of the Fittest 2006

Cleveland, Ohio 10/6/06

1.) Survival of the Fittest Qualifying Match: Davey Richards vs. Matt Sydal: ***

The was an enjoyable opener between two young ROH Stars and a good way to kick of the Qualifiers.

2.) Survival of the Fittest Qualifying Match: Delirious vs. Jimmy Rave: **

I'd say this would be the the worst of the Qualifiers on this year's Survival of the Fittest. I just could not get into the match. I'm not sure what it was, but this match is definitely disappointing.

3.) Survival of the Fittest Qualifying Match: Austin Aries vs. Christopher Daniels: ***1/4

Apparently Aries lost his luggage & had to borrow Pelle Primeau's tights. I think that this is the first time ever these two have met one-on-one in ROH. It turned out to be a pretty good match. Nothing outstanding, but enjoyable.

4.) Survival of the Fittest Qualifying Match: Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Homicide & Roderick Strong: ***

Jim Cornette cuts a promo before the match, basically similar to (but I think a little shorter than) the one he cut at Gut Check. This is a Tag Team Match with both men from the winning team going to the finals. Why Homicide is teaming with Roderick Strong here, I'm not sure. Anyway the match was enjoyable, nothing special.

5.) Survival of the Fittest Qualifying Match: Bryan Danielson vs. Samoa Joe: ***

Danielson is in the same boat as Aries, but the tight's Dragon is wearing are a little....odd...any goofy. These two go to a draw in a match that was ok but nothing like their previous encounters. After the match they tease five more minutes but Danielson attacks Joe.

6.) ROH World Tag Team Titles: Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli vs. Colt Cabana & Jimmy Jacobs: **3/4

So the story behind this is (if I got it right...) is that Lacey is trying to get Cabana to join Lacey's Angels, and at the same time Cabana has been getting "close" to Lacey, all of this of course bothering Jimmy Jacobs. Before the match Lacey comes out & demands that Cabana's music be played for their entrance. This is also the first defense for the Kings of Wrestling. This was a decent title defense, nothing really spectacular, but solid.

7.) Survival of the Fittest Elimination Match: Matt Sydal vs. Delirious vs. Austin Aries vs. Jay Briscoe vs. Mark Briscoe: ****

So here we have a 5 Man Finals instead of the traditional six man because of the Time Limit Draw with Danielson & Joe. This was actually a really exciting match. The Briscoes showed their dominance early  by sending Aries out of the match first. This gets Sydal & Delirious to team up and eventually eliminate both Briscoes, leading to another classic Sydal/Delirious encounter. I feel like this is one of the better Survival of the Fittest finals. It was a great match from start to finish.

Overall: 7.25/10

So essentially you had a bunch of decent/good matches on here and one great match. You can say this is a one match show, but for Survival of the Fittest, that's not entirely a bad thing. Overall I thought the card was pretty enjoyable, and I recommend it, especially for the main event.

ROH Gut Check Review

Colt Cabana comes home to Chicago to get his final shot at Bryan Danielson's Title!!

ROH Gut Check

Chicago Ridge, Illinois 8/26/06

1.) Nigel McGuinness, Jimmy Rave & Sal Rinauro vs. Delirious & Irish Airborne: **3/4

Nigel goes from challenging the World Title the night before to the opening match on this show. This was fine little opener. An enjoyable contest to get the crowd going.

2.) BJ Whitmer vs. Jimmy Jacobs: **3/4

The BJ Whitmer/Jimmy Jacobs feud reignites in this match. This turned out to be a decent match. Not their best, but good. They hit the usual big spot that they're known for (this time Jacobs gave Whitmer a Hurricanrana from the top rope to the outside. Afterwords Jacobs attacks Whitmer and hits a senton from the top rope with Whitmer's ankle sandwiched between two chairs.

Before the next match, Cornette comes out with The Briscoes and pretty much explains why he did what he did at Death Before Dishonor IV, and announces his personal vendetta against Homicide, enlisting the Briscoes to help. This plays out in the next match... 

3.) Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Homicide & Davey Richards: ***1/4

Again....Davey Richards in 2006 was a Tag Team Whore. Regardless, this was a good tag team match that made everyone look good.

4.) Samoa Joe vs. Claudio Castagnoli: **3/4

This was decent, but nothing really special between these two.

5.) ROH World Tag Team Titles - Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal: ***3/4

This was a very fun and entertaining contest for the World Tag Team Titles. Very cool stuff.

6.) ROH World Title - 2 Out of 3 Falls: Bryan Danielson vs. Colt Cabana: ***3/4

Some people might think I'm overrated this a bit, but I enjoyed most of it. I liked that Cabana got a decisive fall in the first five minutes of the match. The fact that Danielson toughed it out after suffering the shoulder injury early on bumped it up about a quarter star for me, because that just shows how tough Dragon is. I especially liked the finish. Cleverly Booked & Smartly Wrestled.

Overall: 6.75/10

This was still a relatively bland show, but their are some things that make it stand over Epic Encounter II. You had a continuance of the Cornette/Homicide Storyline, a great tag team title match, and a World Title match that, while not excellent, was well done and showed off why Bryan Danielson is one of the Best in the World.

ROH Epic Encounter II Review

ROH World Title & ROH World Tag Team Titles are on the line and long-time opponents clash once again...

ROH Epic Encounter II

St. Paul, Minnesota 8/25/06

1.) Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Irish Airborne: ***

This match came about when Irish Airborne surprisingly eliminated The Briscoes in an Ultimate Endurance Match at Fight of the Century. It was a good opening match, but I think their match at Death Before Dishonor IV was a little better.

After the match Jay gets a microphone and says The Briscoes will take on anyone.

2.) Homicide vs. Jimmy Jacobs: **1/4

They have an issue with the lights here as this match gets underway. It was an ok match. Just there to be honest. After the match The Briscoes attacked Homicide.

3.) Christopher Daniels vs. Claudio Castagnoli: **3/4

This match has a bit of a back story behind it. Claudio was the first person to shake hands with Daniels in ROH, but it was the same night Claudio turned on ROH and joined CZW. This was a decent match between these two, nothing really special...

4.) Colt Cabana & Davey Richards vs. Jimmy Rave & Sal Rinauro: **1/2

So I guess Richards is challenging Matt Sydal here for the title of Undisputed ROH Tag Team Whore of 2006. This was ok. Moving on....

5.) Delirious vs. Matt Sydal: ***1/4

These two had their first ROH Match against each other, and these guys have been matches with each other for years so this should be good, and it was. Nothing outstanding, but enjoyable.

6.) ROH World Tag Team Titles - Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Samoa Joe & BJ Whitmer: ***1/2

I think this is Joe & Whitmer's reward for their sacrifices in the CZW feud. The match started up slow, but definitely picked up by the end and proved to be exciting at times.

7.) ROH World Title - 2 Out of 3 Falls: Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness: ***1/2

Here we get the usual "if challenger doesn't win he doesn't get another title shot as long as the current champion is champion" story with Nigel, who's coming off the amazing match he had with Danielson in England at Unified. This was a good wrestling match, but nothing compared to any of their previous encounters. The fact that it ended in a draw didn't help, as the match tended to drag.

Overall: 6.50/10

I don't know why but this whole show just was.......there. There were some decent matches, but their was nothing really anything on here that stood out. For a show that was called Epic Encounter II, it certainly didn't live up to the hype.

CHIKARA High Noon Review

Little bit of a back story...I really started to hear about CHIKARA around the time this iPPV took place. Didn't know much about them, but I heard their iPPV was good. Then I started to really look into CHIKARA after their involvement in ROH's Homecoming show in Philly this past January. I found it to be pretty interesting, and entertaining. They have a great host of characters and intriguing storylines (some of which were years long). Finally I decided to pick up some of their stuff. I got their 2 iPPV's as well as the show that was part of Synergy Weekend with ROH. I'll be doing the three in order by date

CHIKARA High Noon

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 11/13/11

Pre-Show

1.) Jigsaw vs. El Generico: ***

Since El Generico was an ROH Regular, he wasn't allowed to be on the iPPV (I presume...), so he's wrestling here on the Pre-Show against Jigsaw. This was a pretty good match (for a pre-show match). Entertaining and got the crowd hyped for the iPPV.

iPPV

1.) The Young Bucks vs. The Colony (Fire Ant & Soldier Ant): ***1/2

So if the Young Bucks had a 1-Year Contract (apparently) with ROH (which I guess started in October of 2011), how come they were allowed to compete on the iPPV when El Generico couldn't?....hm....Anyway, the opening match puts The Young Bucks up against The Colony, being represented by Fire Ant & Soldier Ant. This was a very solid opener for CHIKARA's first iPPV, a very enjoyable contest.

2.) Sara Del Rey vs. Jakob Hammermeier: *1/2

Hammermeier really annoys me for some reason. Would have preferred if Sara Del Rey killed him in under a minute, but Sara still kicked the poop (gotta keep it kid friendly folks, it's CHIKARA) out of Jakob and won the match so I'm happy.

The Osirian Portal come out to discuss the future of the team, since Amasis can no longer wrestle after suffering severe injuries in a car accident earlier in the year. This leads to Ophidian turning Rudo (or Heel) by spitting mist in his long time parter's face and later removed his mask in the ultimate sign of disrespect. I liked the segment. It effectively ended the Osirian Portal, and started the singles rise for Ophidian.

3.) Green Ant vs. Tursas: ***

This is the conclusion of the story within the story of the BDK vs. CHIKARA feud, which rehashes the Lex Lugar/Yokozuna storyline from 1993/4 with Green Ant & Tursas playing their respective roles. I gotta say...Tursas is huge!! The match was a pretty decent one. Nothing outstanding, but the story was more important here.

4) Colt Cabana vs. Archibald Peck: **3/4

This is another story driven match, with Colt Cabana trying to free Colt Cabunny from the clutches of Archibald Peck. This was a decent comedy match, but again, this match was story driven, with added more to the match. Both guys are great...they certainly have their moments.

5.) Gregory Iron vs. Icarus: **1/4

Icarus, a CHIKARA original and leader of F.I.S.T. (That's Friends In Similar Tights), takes on the Handicapped Hero of Wrestling, Gregory Iron. I gotta say this was probably the worst match on the show, and it was just ok. I think it was a time thing. The match went I think 12 Minutes (which was too long for this anyway) but it felt like 20 when I watched it....it just dragged. After the match, Gran Akuma comes out and tries to attack his former partner, but accidentally hits Ion instead.

6.) Lucha de Apuesta – No Disqualification - 
The Spectral Envoy (UltraMantis Black & Hallowicked) vs. Die Brüderschaft des Kreuzes (Ares & Tim Donst): ***1/2

This is the conclusion of the UltraMantis Black/Aries portion of the BDK/CHIKARA feud, with their respective right-hand men by their side in this match. If Mantis/Hallowicked get pinned, the one pinned loses their mask while if Aries/Donst get pinned they lose the Eye of Tyr/Hair respectively. This was a pretty entertaining No DQ Match. With the BDK falling apart it was clear from the start that Donst wasn't very high on following Aries' orders. This comes to a head when Donst bails on his partner, leaving him to be pinned by UltraMantis Black who regained control of the Eye of Tyr. Again, a very entertaining match and a good way to end the feud.

7.) CHIKARA Grand Championship – Eddie Kingston (with Tommy Dreamer) vs. Mike Quackenbush: ****1/4

This is the finals of the 12-Large Summit Tournament. Kingston comes out with Tommy Dreamer in his corner, but is wrestling with an injured knee. This was a great match. You had the Founder of CHIKARA taking on one of the Toughest Guys in Indy Wrestling. The whole vibe surrounding the match just made it that much bigger. The whole roster coming out and the friends & family of Larry Sweeney (who committed suicide earlier in the year & whom the Tournament was named after) presenting the belt to Kingston, who was a friend of Sweeney's. Everything just came off perfect.

Overall: 8.0/10

If you're going to do your first ever iPPV, this a great way to do it. All of the matches were good to great (with the exception of one), with the storylines only adding to the action. Everything was just awesome. CHIKARA definitely won me over with this show. I'd say definitely get this, especially if you're new to CHIKARA

ROH Time To Man Up Review

The night before their World Title Match, Bryan Danielson & Samoa Joe face off in separate singles matches. Plus, KENTA & his American Protege MAN UP!

ROH Time to Man Up

Long Island, New York 8/4/06

1.) Bryan Danielson vs. Jack Evans: ***

Weird seeing the World Champ being in the opening match, but it's a non-title match so that's fine. These two met back at Survival of the Fittest 2004 (I believe...) and I heard that match was good so I expected a good match. It did turn out good, with Danielson stretching Jack Evans in ways the human body shouldn't be stretched. Of course, since it was the opener, it was just good, but still enjoyable.

2.) Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal vs. Irish Airborne: ***

How many different partners has Sydal had at this point?? Anyway, this was a pretty decent tag team contest, on par with the opener in my view.

3.) Colt Cabana vs. Claudio Castagnoli: **3/4

This was a fun little match. Nothing Special. The match ends on an exchange of pin-falls, which kind of came out of nowhere. The match was still fun though.

4.) ROH World Tag Team Titles Ultimate Endurance Match - Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Homicide & Ricky Reyes vs. BJ Whitmer & Adam Pearce vs. Jimmy Rave & Sal Rinauro: ***1/4

So if I got the rules right, the first elimination must be by pin-fall, the second by submission, and the third is just two on two for the belts. It was an interesting & decent match. Pearce & Homicide went right after each other (since Pearce helped Cornette beat up Homicide at Death Before Dishonor IV). It comes down to The Rottweilers & Generation Next but Steve Corino comes down & hits Homicide with a roll of quarters, costing him the match. There were several odd points in this match (such as the submission part of it not even mattering because of a DQ) but it was still decent.

After the match Aries talks about how someone stole their belts. He suspects The Briscoes & demands they be returned by the next show.

Steve Corino interrupts a match before it began & calls out Homicide. This leads to Homicide, Pearce & Whitmer all coming out. This was a good way to integrate Corino back into ROH (and in the Cornette/Homicide feud) and set up things for the future.

5.) ROH Pure Title Match - Nigel McGuinness vs. Delirious: ***

This was a good Pure Title Defense. One of Nigel's better ones, in my opinion.

6.) Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. KENTA & Davey Richards: ***3/4

Although this could have been a little better, it was still a very good hard hitting bout. Match of the Night.

7.) AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe: ***1/2

This is the last ROH Match for AJ Styles, as he goes to focus more on TNA. This was a little shorter than I expected, but it was still pretty good. This made Joe look good going into his World Title Match the next night. 

Overall: 7.0/10

This was a step up from the last Long Island show. Although there is nothing must-see on here, it's a good night of wrestling, without a single bad match. I wouldn't go out of your way to get it, but it is still a good ROH show.

ROH Generation Now Review

Generation Next teams for the last time in their full form, Christian makes his second ROH appearance, & Bryan Danielson defends his title against Nigel McGuinness

ROH Generation Now

Cleveland, Ohio 7/29/06

1.) Claudio Castagnoli vs. Delirious: **3/4

This was a pretty decent opener. Nothing really special or stand-out from these guys, but it was still a good opener.

2.) Jimmy Rave & Sal Rinauro vs. Colt Cabana & Ace Steel: **1/4

The Embassy teams up with the Cabana/Steel incarnation of the Second City Saints. The comedy in this match is ok, but this match is just there, nothing really special.

3.) Jay Briscoe vs. Jimmy Jacobs: ***1/4

Lacey comes out as she can't find Jacobs. The lights go out & Jacobs appears on the balcony and proceeds to sing The Ballad of Lacey on his way to the ring. I thought the whole Jacobs/Lacey interaction during 2006 was great. The Ballad of Lacey is a great touch to the storyline (I actually have this song on my iPod oddly enough). But anyway, we go to the match as Jacobs takes on Jay Briscoe. This turned out to be a pretty good match. Nothing really outstanding, but an entertaining contest nonetheless.

4.) Mark Briscoe vs. Homicide: ***

Mark gets a jump start on the match by attack Homicide before the bell. This was much like the match before...it wasn't really outstanding, but was still a good match & proved to be entertaining. The Briscoes attack Homicide following the match.

5.) Generation Next's Last Stand - Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, Jack Evans & Matt Sydal vs. Davey Richards, Jerrelle Clark & Irish Airborne: ****

So here we got all four members of Generation Next teaming for the last time (as the full four man unit) against some Rising Stars in ROH. This was a very entertaining match. Generation Next pulled out all the stops as well as their opponents. Very entertaining and a great send-off for the stable.

After the match Generation Next lays their T-Shirts in the ring, which leads to the Briscoes coming out wiping themselves with them in a sign of disrespect. This leads to Generation Next coming out to chase them off, but Homicide sneaks up behind the Briscoes & attacks them with a chair.

6.) Special Challenge Match - Christian Cage vs. Christopher Daniels: ***

Before the match Daniels asks for a 5-Second Pose with himself, Christian & Allison Danger, which he gets. That was pretty cool. As far as the match itself, it turned out to be a good match, but nothing special.

7.) ROH World Title - Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness: ****

Danielson defends his title here against ROH Pure Champion Nigel McGuinness. The match started a little slow but the match picked up as it progressed. I thought the finish was good, as Danielson got a cheap roll up win, setting up a future encounter.

Overall: 7.75/10

This was a good show. You had two four star matches here that really raised the value of the card, but the fact that while the rest of the matches were good but average kind of brought it down a little bit. Still, this show is quite entertaining and if you're looking for a solid wrestling show I'd say pick this up.

ROH Death Before Dishonor IV Review

The War between ROH & CZW comes to a violent conclusion...

*SPECIAL NOTE: I actually got this DVD off the old rohvideos site so I actually don't have the case & everything just a dvd of the show that I put on a disc once I got it from rohvideos. This is one of three shows I got off the site. It's a shame they shut it down because it was a good place to get ROH shows that were out of print.

ROH Death Before Dishonor IV

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 7/15/06

1.) Seth Delay vs. Delirious: **1/4

This was a pretty average opener, nothing really special here.

2.) The Embassy (Jimmy Rave & Sal Rinuaro) vs. Colt Cabana & Jay Lethal: ***1/4

Here we get the big reveal of The Embassy's new member, who turns out to be Sal Rinauro (not exactly a "big" reveal). This would also be one of Jay Lethal's last ROH Matches until his return to ROH in 2011. This actually turned out to be a pretty good tag team match. I was pleasantly surprised.

3.) ROH Pure Title - Nigel McGuinness vs. Roderick Strong: ***3/4

FINALLY!!! A Pure Title Defense from Nigel McGuinness that's actually worth watching!!! No surprise it's against Roderick Strong. It was a hard hitting bout & really fun to watch.

Jim Cornette comes out to hype up the main event and make some announcements about future shows. Bryan Danielson comes out and convinces Cornette to put him in Cage of Death, which he does.

4.) Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Irish Airborne: ***1/2

Another good tag match on this show with both the Briscoes & Irish Airborne getting to showcase their stuff here. Nothing much else to say, it was pretty good.

5.) Davey Richards vs. AJ Styles: ***

This was ok, but given the guys involved I expected it to be a little better. I'll cut it some slack though, since Davey was still an ROH Rookie at this point. I have a feeling this match would be a lot better if it happened today

6.) ROH World Title - Bryan Danielson vs. Sonjay Dutt: **3/4

This turned out to be an decent title defense. Didn't know Sonjay wrestled in CZW at one point.

7.) Cage of Death - Team ROH (Samoa Joe, *Bryan Danielson, BJ Whitmer, Adam Pearce, Ace Steel & Homicide) vs. Team CZW (Chris Hero, Necro Butcher, Claudio Castagnoli, Nate Webb & Eddie Kingston): ****1/2

I was kind of confused when I first saw the cage, in terms of how it was set up (surrounding the ringside area as apposed to being on the ring apron) but after watching the match the set up made sense. This match was really violent and had a lot of great story telling, which included Joe dominating early, Danielson getting into the match only to screw Joe over, the ROH team being in peril until Homicide enters the match and saves the day. It was really a great match and fun to watch.

The ending segment with Homicide & Jim Cornette was great. I love it when ROH does this....they end one angle in a big way, and got right off to the next one. A "One Journey Ends/Door Closes/Chapter Ends but another Journey Begins/Door Opens/Chapter Begins" kind of deal, which I think ROH is really good at doing.

Overall: 8.25/10

This was a really fun show to watch. While the Cage of Death is obviously the reason to pick up this show, their is some other good stuff on here as well such as the Pure Title Match and the Two Tag Matches. I would say this is a definite pick up, mainly for historical value.

ROH Chi-Town Struggle Review

Colt Cabana gets his chance to redeem himself against Bryan Danielson in his home town, Austin Aries battles KENTA, and the ROH/CZW feud draws closer to it's conclusion.

ROH Chi-Town Struggle

Chicago Ridge, Illinois 6/24/06

1.) Irish Airborne vs. Shane Hagadorn & Trik Davis: **

Poor Shane Hagadorn. Nobody likes him, and he can never catch a break. This match goes pretty much as the same as the match from the previous show, so not much to say...

2.) Roderick Strong vs. Jimmy Jacobs: ***1/2

This match actually turned out to be pretty good. Strong & Jacobs put out a hard hitting, entertaining contest. This should have been the opener, in my opinion.

3.) Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Jimmy Rave & Conrad Kennedy III: **3/4

So Shelley had a shoulder injury & couldn't wrestle. The promo beforehand where he said this would also be his last as an ROH regular. CK3 becomes an honorary member of the Embassy for one night to battle for the Briscoes. Doesn't turn out to well for CK3, as the Briscoes pick up the win in a decent tag team match

4.) Samoa Joe vs. Delirious: ***1/2

This was an interesting match up as you had two fan favorites going at it. It turned out to be very entertaining. Joe's line when he hit the STJoe was priceless. Overall a very fun match to watch.

Afterwords the CZW guys distract & then attack Samoa Joe. This brings out the ROH Calvary and leads to our next match.

5.) ROH (BJ Whitmer, Adam Pearce & Ace Steel) vs. CZW (Necro Butcher, Claudio Castagnoli & Nate Webb): ***

Much like the wild brawl on the previous show, this was a good hardcore brawl. The barbed-wire crown was a violent yet interesting touch. CZW continues to pick up wins against the ROH guys.

6.) ROH Pure Title - Nigel McGuinness vs. Homicide: ***

While this was another average defense by McGuinness, the story here was more important as Homicide tried once again to win his first ROH title but was screwed over by a questionable finish. The match was good, but I feel like the story here was the bigger deal. Afterwords Homicide throws a fit & leaves out the front door in frustration.

7.) KENTA vs. Austin Aries: ***3/4

Much like his match the night before, KENTA delivers another hard hitting contest, this time with Austin Aries. While I'd say the match from the night before was better, this was still good, and the Match of the Night.

8.) ROH World Title Match: Bryan Danielson vs. Colt Cabana: ***1/2

Cabana looks to redeem himself here after losing in 5 Minutes to Danielson at The 100th Show. This was an entertaining contest, but I feel like given it's place on the card it could have been better. Until the last few minutes of the match, this really didn't feel like a main event match. The match itself, however, was still good.

Overall: 7.5/10

There was a lot of good stuff on here (and it provided a good night of wrestling) but aside from Aries/KENTA this was just an above-average show. I'd give this a mid recommendation,

ROH Throwdown Review

KENTA Battles Roderick Strong, Bryan Danielson defends against bitter former tag team partners, and CZW continues their crusade against Ring of Honor

ROH Throwdown

Detroit, Michigan 6/23/06

1.) Irish Airborne vs. Shane Hagadorn & Keith Walker: **

Nobody likes Shane Hagadorn. This was ok, nothing really special.

2.) ROH Pure Title - Nigel McGuinness vs. Conrad Kennedy III: **1/2

Another ROH Show, another relatively average Pure Title defense from Nigel McGuinness. Like the first match, this was ok, nothing really stand-out about this one.

3.) Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Colt Cabana & Ace Steel: ***

This was a pretty good tag team match. Nothing really outstanding, but a solid match-up nonetheless.

4.) Four Corner Survival: Jimmy Rave vs. Samoa Joe vs. Delirious vs. Davey Richards: ***1/2

I'll probably say this a million times, but I really like these Four Corner Survival Matches. They can prove to be really entertaining when you get the right people involved. Here you got a mix of veteran talents and newcomers. Delirious gets the upset win in a very exciting match.

Necro Butcher & Claudio Castagnoli come out during intermission and run down the fans. This leads to Adam Pearce coming out & we got a fight on our hands!

5.) Falls Count Anywhere - Adam Pearce vs. Necro Butcher: ***

This wasn't anything outstanding, but it was a decent, entertaining hardcore brawl (The kind we regularly saw throughout this whole feud). The match ends up getting thrown out, which is odd since it's a No DQ Match.

Claudio & Necro beat on Pearce afterwords which leads to Homicide coming out & getting our next match underway!

6.) Homicide vs. Claudio Castagnoli: ***

This match continued the trend of Homicide being the "CZW Killer" aka the only ROH guys who was able to decisively beat the CZW guys on a regular basis. It was nothing special, but decent.

7.) ROH World Title Three Way Elimination Match: Bryan Danielson vs. BJ Whitmer vs. Jimmy Jacobs: ****1/4

This was held under three way dance rules which means that two guys have to be eliminated in order to win. It turned out to be the best match on the card. Whitmer being out first made sense with Danielson & Jacobs double-teaming him, but the match as a whole was very good. Even the last part with Jacobs vs. Danielson turned out to be good.

8.) KENTA vs. Roderick Strong: ****

Although the World Title Match slightly beat it out for Match of the Night, this was pretty close as well. These two had a hard hitting battle that went just over 20 Minutes. It proved to be pretty entertaining.

After the match the Briscoes attack Strong but KENTA fights them off.

Overall: 8.0/10

Most of this card turns out to be pretty average, but the Four Corner Survival as well as the two Main Event Matches delivered and definitely raised the value of this card overall. It's a good, solid night of wrestling, so I'd say pick this one up.

PWG Steen Wolf Review

Over the past year or two, I've been hearing a lot about PWG. I knew they used a good number of ROH guys but I didn't know what the promotion was all about. After reading about the shows and watching those 5 Minute Highlight Videos of their shows on Youtube, I've quickly become a fan. I wanted to pick up a PWG Show and I figured since it got rave reviews, the best choice for my first PWG Show would be Steen Wolf. So here goes nothing!

(This DVD cover is awesome by the way...)

PWG Steen Wolf

Reseda, California 10/22/11

1.) Peter Avalon, Freddy Bravo & Ray Rosas vs. Chris Kadillak, Famous B & Candice LeRae: ***1/4

So the only person who I had any really knowledge of going into this match was Candice (mainly because of the feud she was having with Joey Ryan at the time) but I was looking to keep an open mind with these other 5 guys. I gotta say they put on a pretty good opening match. Really got the crowd going.

2.) TJ Perkins vs. Rocky Romero: **3/4

It was said on commentary that these two have apparently known each other for awhile & have been wrestling each other for many years. I gotta say I miss Rocky Romero. Wish ROH could bring him in again, but I'm fine seeing him here in PWG. The match wasn't anything special, but it was still pretty decent.

3.) The Fightin’ Taylor Boys vs. The RockNES Monsters: ***3/4

Apparently one of the RockNES Monsters (Johnny Goodtime) is from Scranton, PA so a big shout out to the local guy!! (I'm from the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Area). This was a pretty great tag team match. The Monsters are pretty good and holy crap Brian Cage (or in this case I guess Cage-Taylor) is a freakin' machine!! Very entertaining.

4.) Willie Mack vs. Davey Richards: ***1/2

I've been hearing A LOT about this Willie Mack guy and I gotta say I'm impressed. For a guy of his size he's very agile & athletic. Sadly, I think that size is going to hold him back from climbing up the proverbial wrestling ladder (Like for instance I think WWE would look down on him because of his physique despite his ability. Same thing happened, I think, to Takeshi Morishima when he got a WWE try out match a few years ago). It's a shame because Willie Mack's got a lot of talent, and he proved it here by having a good showing against Davey Richards.

5.) Lucha Rules – The Dynasty vs. Los Luchas: ***1/4

So here we got the one & only Joey Ryan teaming with his Dynasty Partner Scorpio Sky (aka Harold from the Kane-Daniel Bryan Anger Management Segments) against Los Luchas, a team who if I'm not mistaken has spent a lot of time in NWA. This was a good tag match. Not as good as the other ones on this card, but still entertaining.

6.) Ricochet vs. Chuck Taylor: ***1/2

Apparently these two have a lot of history on the Indy Circuit so this should be a good match, and it was. I haven't seen a lot of Ricochet or Chuck Taylor (In Taylor's case I haven't seen much of him outside of CHIKARA). From what I've seen so far, I'm impressed.

7.) PWG World Tag Team Titles – The Young Bucks vs. Future Shock: ****1/4

WOW.....this was a great tag team match. The Super-Kicks spot was amazing, and the crowd was really into this match. Have no idea what possessed Ring of Honor to not use & later release The Young Bucks. They're the best tag team in wrestling today.

8.) PWG World Title – Ladder Match – Kevin Steen vs. El Generico: ****3/4

Ever since they broke up, I figured they'd have a Ladder Match against one another at some point down the line. Well.....here it is....and HOLY CRAP this match was AMAZING!! A fantastic Ladder Match. Though I gotta say if Generico & Steen keep having matches like this, their careers will definitely be shortened. Some of those bumps & spots they took looked absolutely BRUTAL. The only thing that hurt this match was The Young Bucks interference during the match. I feel like they could have just saved it for after the match, instead of having them come out twice.

After the match The Young Bucks challenge Steen to a Guerilla Warfare Match (I guess PWG equivalent of the Fight Without Honor). They make fun of Steen for not having a parter, which leads to the lights going out & Super Dragon showing up to take out The Young Bucks, setting up the Main Event for the next show.

Overall: 9.5/10

I gotta say this was the PERFECT choice for my first PWG Show. It was great from top to bottom. All the undercard/mid-card matches delivered, The Tag Title Match was great, and the Ladder Match (literally) tore the roof off the building. If you're looking to get into PWG. This is THE PLACE to start, without question.

ROH How We Roll Review

Christian Cage makes his first ROH Appearance, the War with CZW Continues, and Generation Next does battle with The Briscoes in Singles Action.

ROH How We Roll

Long Island, New York 5/12/06

1.) Matt Sydal vs. Jimmy Yang: **1/2

These guys were partners back at Tag Wars 2006, but now are opponents in this show's opening match. Yang is getting some heat here since everyone knew he was going back to WWE. This was a good match. A decent opener to get the crowd going.

2.) Nigel McGuinness vs. Delirious vs. Kikutaro: **1/4

This was supposed to be a Four Corner Survival Match also involving Colt Cabana & Christopher Daniels, but TNA/NWA World Champion Christian Cage and eventually ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson come out and select Cabana & Daniels (respectively) as their partners for the Main Event. Daniels agrees to team with Danielson only if Danielson gives him a title shot. Danielson agrees but only if their team wins. This was actually a pretty entertaining segment, but onto the match...

I think Kikutaro was supposed to face Shane Hagadorn but was put in this match since Cabana & Daniels were going to be in the Main Event. This was ok. The only really good thing about this match was the comedy between Delirious & Kikutaro, which was hilarious!

3.) Alex Shelley & Jimmy Rave vs. Homicide & Ricky Reyes: **1/4

This was a very weird match. Both teams are technically heel (Homicide is more a tweener) and that match just didn't mesh well in my eyes. There was a lot of stalling early, which hurt the match. The Embassy ends up getting the win via DQ in a very odd match.

4.) Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli vs. Adam Pearce & BJ Whitmer: **1/2

Lacey was backstage cutting a promo, but they cut back to the ring when Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli & Necro Butcher show up. Hero runs down ROH which leads to Adam Pearce & BJ Whitmer coming out and the match is on. It was an ok tag team match, with the Kings of Wrestling getting the win for CZW.

5.) Samoa Joe vs. Apocalypse: **1/4

Only thing I know about this Apocalypse guy is that he now wrestles in FCW (and I think NXT) under the name Rick Victor. Basically an extended squash for Joe.

6.) Roderick Strong vs. Mark Briscoe: ***

The first of two singles matches between The Briscoes & Generation Next on this show. This was a good match, but I feel like it could have been a little better. Mark Briscoe picks up the (in my opinion, upset) win.

7.) Jay Briscoe vs. Austin Aries: ***1/2

Matches like this show why Jay Briscoe is the better wrestler of the two brothers. This, in my view, tied the main event for match of the night. It was a good, entertaining match. Jay Briscoe wins by Submission (never thought I'd say that) to make the Briscoes 2-0 on the night.

8.) Christian Cage & Colt Cabana vs. Bryan Danielson & Christopher Daniels: ***1/2

This was a fun match but had it's flaws. It was a little show to start but got better once it got going. I also thought the match was a little long, and could have been slightly shorter. Otherwise it was a decent Main Event.

Overall: 6.50/10

I don't know what to think of this show. It had one sort of bad match, and everything else was good or average. I really only picked this one up because it had Christian on it so if you're looking for special appearances in ROH or you're a Christian Fan I'd pick this up. Otherwise you can wait to get this in a sale. I won't say avoid it, but pick it up......eventually.

ROH Weekend of Champions: Night One Review

Here's my review of the first show of the Weekend of Champions from 2006.

ROH Weekend of Champions: Night One

Dayton, Ohio 4/28/06

1.) Colt Cabana vs. Jimmy Jacobs: **3/4

This is the start of Cabana's rise back from the bottom after losing in his World Title Match against Bryan Danielson in 5 Minutes at The 100th Show. It was a good opener, nothing really outstanding. Afterwords Jim Cornette & Ace Steel come out and ask Cabana to join ROH in the fight against CZW in the show's main event, to which he agrees.

2.) Irish Airborne vs. Jay Fury & Spud: **3/4

This was an ok match, much like the first. Nothing really special.

Afterwords Super Dragon attacks a ring attendent.

3.) Delirious vs. Jimmy Rave: **3/4

Again, another ok match. The fact that it ended in a 15 Minute Time Limit Draw, as well as the fact that there was no Prince Nana, hurt this match.

4.) ROH Pure Title - Nigel McGuinness vs. Christopher Daniels: ***

Another Pure Title Defense from McGuinness that was just average. The fact that it ended in a Count Out really disappointed me. I felt like this could have been sooooo much better.

5.) ROH World Title Match - Bryan Danielson vs. Jimmy Yang: ***3/4

FINALLY we get a really good match on this show. Of course Yang was never going to win this, but I felt like they did a really good job making you believe Yang had a shot to win. Another good defense from Danielson.

6.) ROH Tag Team Titles - Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Samoa Joe & Matt Sydal: ***3/4

This continued the "somewhat" of a dissension of Generation Next where Sydal kept trying to take the Tag Belts from his stable mates. He tried with AJ Styles, and now he's going at it with Samoa Joe. Joe is also looking to become ROH's First Triple Crown Winner. This was a great Tag Title Match, about as good as the World Title Match. It was entertaining.

After the match Claudio Castagnoli, Necro Butcher, Nate Webb & Super Dragon attack Joe which brings out Cabana & Steel, and eventually Pearce & Whitmer, which makes up the main event...

7.) ROH (Colt Cabana, Ace Steel, BJ Whitmer & Adam Pearce) vs. CZW (Claudio Castagnoli, Necro Butcher, Nate Webb & Super Dragon): ****

This was a very fun & entertaining brawl that also shows the struggle within the story. ROH would put up a good fight, but could never put away CZW. A good way to end the show. (The one thing I will note is that I wished ROH used Super Dragon more...)

Overall: 7.25/10

This was a very interesting show. The last three matches were great, but the show got dragged down because all of the other matches were just average, but overall it was still a decent show. If you're looking for a part of the ROH/CZW Feud, then pick this up. Otherwise, try to get it in a sale or something...

ROH Tag Wars 2006 Review

Here is my review of Ring of Honor's first Dayton show of 2006.

ROH Tag Wars 2006

Dayton, Ohio 1/27/06

1.) Trios Tournament Semi-Final Match - Jimmy Jacobs, BJ Whitmer & Adam Pearce vs. Matt Sydal, Jimmy Yang & Jack Evans: ***1/2

Here you had Lacey's Angels teaming with Adam Peace against 1/2 (really 2/4) of Generation Next & Jimmy Yang. This was actually pretty good for an opening match. The finish continued to play up the turmoil in Lacey's Angels, which would reach a turning point on the next show.

2.) Trios Tournament Semi-Final Match - Jimmy Rave, Alex Shelley & Abyss vs. Jay Fury, Tony Mamaluke & Sal Rinauro: ***

This was good, but their was no way Fury/Mamaluke/Rinauro were winning this one.

3.) Claudio Castagnoli vs. Chad Collyer: **1/2

While the match itself was ok, the big story was Chris Hero (representing CZW at the time) was in the crowd. This would play out more during the next match.

4.) Ace Steel vs. Sterling James Keenan: *3/4

The match really never got going as the CZW guys were talking trash to Ace Steel, disrupting things. The match ends prematurely after Steel gets out to talk trash to the CZW guys. Chris Hero & Necro Butcher jump the ring when Steel calls them out, but security & a few other wrestlers hall them off. Cornette comes out with a bloody mouth (apparently from some sneak attack). He rants on CZW for a bit and tells CZW to come to another ROH show so the ROH guys can kick their butts.

5.) Non-Title Match - Nigel McGuinness vs. Delirious: **1/2

This was just another ok match. I don't know why but I find McGuinness's late 05/early 06 work (most of it) was just average. Obviously he improved over the course of 2006 and into 2007.

6.) Grudge Match: Christopher Daniels vs. Low Ki: ***1/2

A match between two of Ring of Honor's founding fathers (Allison Danger is looking especially hot in the nun getup, in my opinion). It was pretty good. Daniels calls for a handshake after the match (which at the time was big since Daniels refused to shake Low Ki's hand after the Three-Way in 2002) but Low-Ki blows him off.

7.) Finals of the Trios Tournament - Jimmy Rave, Alex Shelley & Abyss vs. Matt Sydal, Jimmy Yang & Jack Evans: ***3/4

This was a very good trios match. It was, too an extent, a continuation of the Generation Next/Embassy feud. The winners (Embassy) would get to (I think I have this right) book any 3 matches they want. This would lead to a World Title Match for both Shelley & Rave, as well as (I believe) a Tag Team Title Match.

8.) ROH Tag Team Titles - Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Bryan Danielson & Jay Lethal: ****1/4

For a show called Tag Wars, this was a very fitting main event. A very good tag title defense featuring four of the best in ROH at the time. A very entertaining match that won't disappoint. Strong gets Danielson to tap for the win, and afterwords demands another shot at Danielson, which I think came at the WrestleMania Weekend Shows a few months later.

Overall: 8.0/10

This was a very solid show. If you're a fan of Tag Team Wrestling, this show is for you. If you're also looking for shows that chronicle the ROH/CZW feud, this a good pick up as well.