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.