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ROH DVD reviews

rey619Posted on 07/26/06 at 20:15:29

I have thought about posting my reviews of RoH DVD's here for a while, so here you go. Feel free to comment on them or add your own reviews.

WEEKEND OF CHAMPIONS - Day 1, 04.28.06 - Dayton, Ohio

- Jimmy Jacobs tried telling Lacey that he lost last week to save her virtue, but she won't listen and tells him to win his match tonight, or he's out of Lacey's Angels.

- Christopher Daniels is on the phone with Allison Danger who tells him she can't make it. Daniels then cuts a promo on his match tonight for the RoH Pure Title, and on Claudio Castagnoli. Last show, Castagnoli was honored to be the first to ever shake hands with Daniels in Ring of Honor, only to turn on the promotion later on. Daniels said that when everyone else was done with him, it was his turn.

1. Jimmy Jacobs w/Lacey vs Colt Cabana

Both men in desperate need for a win here. Cabana needs it to rebound from his embarrassing 5-minute loss against Bryan Danielson last show, Jacobs needs it to avoid being dropped from Lacey's Angels.

The new Cabana is a lovely mix of the old comedy Colt and the determined, ruthless Cabana that feuded with Homicide. Jacobs seemed off his game, and was taken out by a power bomb by Cabana. An OK opener with a good portion of comedy stuff. (**)

- After the match, Commissioner Jim Cornette and Ace Steel comes out. Cornette says that after last weeks 100th Show, both BJ Whitmer and Adam Pearce are out injured, and he himself has a knee surgery scheduled. He enlists Cabana as an ally in case something happens tonight, and then addressed the deserter Claudio Castagnoli, warning him that he will get what he deserves.

2. Jay Fury & Spud vs Irish Airborne (Jake & Dave Crist)

The short-statured Spud making his debut here in ROH in a high-flying tag-team match-up. Irish Airborne made their start in professional wrestling in the mid-south, so they're naturally the fan favorites here in Dayton.

Lots of armdrag lucha action to start things off, before Spud becomes the proverbial isolateé, as the Crist brothers keep working on him with a variety of double moves. Spud gets the hot tag after dumping one of the Crist's with a spike DDT, and Fury cleans house. Now comes a lot of high spots by all men (something seemingly obligatory in these matches). Nothing really spectacular here, as both Spud and Dave Crist overshoots a dive each.

Bonzo gonzo in the end, as Spud delivers a code red and Jay Fury does his (admittedly impressive) kip-up - enzuigiri combo. Either way, Irish Airborne's push continues as they take down Fury with a flying double footstomp / FU unto the knees combo. Really nothing special (*1/4)

- As Irish Airborne celebrate and shake hands with their opponents, Super Dragon is seen ambushing something resembling a fan (but probably an RoH student). The rest of the students run after him.

- Nigel McGuinness cuts a typical promo on how great he is, and how he will outwrestle Christopher Daniels tonight, and Bryan Danielson tomorrow night.

3. Jimmy Rave w/Daizee Haze vs Delirious

Delirious throws a roll of toilet paper on Haze as he enters, and Haze takes him out. One mean bitch, that one.

Rave is a great heel. First he plays mind games with Delirious when he tries to walk away from the match, then he mercilessly targets the hand Delirious injured last week fighting Danielson. Rave controls the pace perfectly in this match, slowing it down like a top heel when necessary, and speeding things up when he sees the need. Daizee Haze helps as well, nailing Delirious with a big splash. This match goes to a 15-minute time-limit draw (when did RoH matches start having a 15-minute time-limit?), but we'll definetely see a rematch. A nice change from the usual fast-paced spot-filled undercard match. (**)

4. Christopher Daniels vs Nigel McGuinness(c) for the RoH Pure Title

Nigel has been in Japan for a couple of months now, successfully defending his title there. That was a great win/win situation for RoH, strengthening the value of the belt, while avoiding the fact that there aren't really that many credible and suitable contenders for the belt in the first place.

In a Pure Title match, knowing the rules and how to use them to your advantage is very important. This is why Nigel was able to best Samoa Joe twice in these kinds of contest, and probably why Nigel tricked Daniels to use one of his rope breaks early on. Still, Daniels picks up really fast (faster than Joe), and is on the offensive for large portions of the match, forcing Nigel to use all of his rope breaks.

The end sees Nigel going for the Tower of London, but Daniels counter it into a shinemaki (sp?), using the ropes to aid him (this is legal when all rope breaks are used). They spill to the floor where they brawl. At 18, Nigel throws a camerawoman at Daniels, buying him time to enter the ring before the break. Nigel wins by countout. A bullshit ending according to the fans, but quite fitting Nigel character. A highly watchable match where Daniels brought his game down to the mat, and was clearly able to outwrestle McGuinness technically from time to time, proving that the Fallen Angel has many tricks up his sleeve. (**3/4)

- Dave Prazak interviews Bryan Danielson who says that he will defend his title tonight, and then defeat McGuinness tomorrow, earning himself a second title. Samoa Joe interrupts the promo, saying that Danielson hasn't defended the belt against him yet, so his claim as the best wrestler in the world is clearly not valid.

5. Jimmy Yang vs Bryan Danielson (c) for the RoH World Title

Yang takes control of the match, frustrating the cocky champ to no ends. It's interesting to see that it doesn't take many chops to Danielson before his chest turns all red, still sore after his epic battles with Roderick Strong?

Soon enough, Danielson turns it into his type of match, alternating between legal submission holds and chokeholds, of course with the obligatory "I haven until 5 referee". Yang is able to bring a more high-flying stiff-kicked match eventually, causing all sorts of trouble to the champ. Danielson is back on track when Yang misses the Yang Time and Danielson zinches in the Cattle Mutilation. Yang reaches the ropes, but has spent enough time in the submission hold to severely hamper his ability to fight. Danielson retains with the same move he used to win it, the chickenwing. Essentially a back and forth match we all knew Dragon would win, but Yang definetely showed resilience and that he could (if not follow completely) do OK on the mat with the best in the world. (***)

6. Matt Sydal & Samoa Joe vs Austin Aries & Roderick Strong (c) for the RoH Tag Team Titles

Sydal really wants to best his teammates in Generation Next, and the most recent partner is obviously Samoa Joe. This is also Joe's chance of becoming a Grandslam champion, holding all three belts at one time or another.

This also gave us a preview of what must be a dream-match to come, Roderick Strong vs Samoa Joe. Joe's having trouble with Strong, but uses his history with Aries to gain the advantage against the man who ended his illustrious title reign, easily avoiding Aries' trademark escape from the headscissors submission / dropkick combo. Likewise, Aries avoids the facewash by taking down Joe with a drop toehold. Nice touch of psychology by both men.

I really like the way RoH, ever since Survival of the Fittest 05, have been building Roderick as the dominant member of Generation Next, going from being Aries' enforcer to, undoubtedly, the most feared wrestler of them all.

Gen Next works over Sydal for a while before he hot tags Joe, then all is bonzo-gonzo. Joe wipes out Strong with a tope, while Sydal takes down Aries with the Here it Is Driver for a 2-count. We almost have new champs when Sydal hits Aries with the standing moonsault after Joe has taken him down with an Ace Crusher, but Generation Next survives everything (as should be evident from their match against the DragonGate guys), and they retain with a half-nelson backbreaker / 450 splash combo from Strong and Aries.

As usual, a strong showing by Generation Next (easily the best tag-team in the world), but not quite on par with their match at Better than Our Best. Some of the moves doesn't hit square on as Strong obviously thinks he can use the same moves on Joe as he does on cruiserweights. Still, the above average use of excellent ring psychology probably makes this the match of the night (***1/4)

-After the match, Joe says he never leaves Dayton without beating someone up, and challenges the CZW guys out. This leads to Necro, SuperDragon and Nate Webb entering and beating the crap out of Joe until Ace Steel and Colt Cabana shows up to even the odds. Samoa Joe is taken out when Necro lures him to the back where Castagnoli ambushes him. CZW dominates until Whitmer (with a neckbrace) and Adam Pearce make appearances after all. Like other CZW vs. ROH brawls, this is actually a match.. so I guess it is..

7. Team RoH (Whitmer, Steel, Pearce, Cabana) vs Team CZW (Webb, Castagnoli, Necro Butcher, Super Dragon)

This was at least ten minutes of brawling outside before it turned into a somewhat regular match (somewhat because it was a lot of chaotic moments as well). Whitmer and SuperDragon have a staredown in the ring (remember, it was Super Dragon who took Whitmer out with that Psycho Driver through a table a week ago). It's almost dejá vû for Whitmer as Dragon aims to send him through another table, but Cabana saves him, only to receive an European uppercut from Castagnoli, sending Colt through the table. Whitmer needs saving yet again when Double C traps his head in a chair, Dragon aiming for the flying double foot stomp, but this time, Steel comes to the rescue.

Still, BJ is finally caught in the chair and double stomped, and the match ends when Castagnoli takes him down with the Musclebuster, sending a message to Samoa Joe in the process. CZW takes home this victory in their war, which also can be entitled "How to kill BJ Whitmer in 101 ways". Not nearly as good as their streetfight last week, but enough brutal moments to make it more than watchable. I really like the way RoH pushes Whitmer and Pearce as two of the main protagonists in this feud, instead of going with more established figures such as Generation Next, Homicide or Danielson. I'm 100% certain that their involvement will greatly aid their RoH career, and in the case of Whitmer, turn him from someone nobody really cared about at all, to a full-fledged fan favorite. (**1/2)

ROH delivers as always, but couldn't quite match the 100th show (now, how could they?). The Dayton crowd is noticeably more different than the Philly crowd, you don't hear all the ECW-ish chants, but more of a relaxed, puro fan approach (calm applause after moves). Still, I can't wait to put the Weekend of Champions Night 2 in my DVD and watch Nigel and Danielson go at it in a Champion vs Champion match.
rey619Posted on 07/29/06 at 19:34:07

WEEKEND OF CHAMPIONS, NIGHT TWO - 04.29.06 - Cleveland, Oh

- Lacey gives Jimmy Jacobs one final chance. If he loses, he'll never speak to her again.

- Austin Aries and Roderick Strong hold a promo about their upcoming match against Jimmy Rave and Alex Shelley. Decent by Aries, abysmal as usual by Roderick Strong.

- BJ Whitmer came out and told CZW that they didn't finish him off last night. RoH wrestlers are not the best in the world to sell injuries.. that's for sure. Whitmer wants to fight the CZW guys again, but Jim Cornette and Adam Pearce come out and talk him away for it, due to both men's injuries. Nice ovation for BJ here. Cornette talks thrash about WWE, eliciting a nice round of applause from the crowd. Cornette appoints Pearce as Lieutenant Commissioner in his absence (he's having knee surgery).

1. Colt Cabana & Conrad Kennedy III vs Irish Airborne (Jake & Dave Crist)

Debut of CK3 - Conrad Kennedy III. Cabana starts off with his comedy routine against the Crist brothers. I'm a little surprised Colt didn't change his gimmick after the Homicide feud, a comedy wrestler will never win the big one in RoH. I'm not too impressed by CK3, but Irish Airborne is starting to grow on me. A proper old fashioned tag-team with similar names, ring gear and moves, who performs double moves and combos smooth and fluidly. Bonzo gonzo at the end, which unlike most others, I find naturally in a tag-team match. The ref is on top of his game concerning the legal man, which Cabana and CK3 takes advantage of. Cabana wins it with a power bomb on one of the Crists. Better than last night's opening tag match. (**1/2)

2. Delirious vs Chris Sabin

Another rare RoH appearance for Sabin, who faces a Delirious who is on fire as of late. The funny thing about watching TNA's X-Division stars in an ROH ring is to watch them actually wrestle, as opposed to being spectacular spot-monkeys. Sabin is actually a gifted mat-wrestler as well, and the match sees a lot of restholds and submission moves, something that would probably be frowned upon in TNA.

Plenty off stiff action here to keep the Stiffmeister happy (that would be me). Delirious Panic Attack (running knee) is always stiff, and Sabin delivers one of the stiffest dropkick I've seen in a long time when Delirious is hung upside down in the Tree of Woe.

The end comes when Sabin has Delirious ready for the Cradle Shock, but Delirious wriggles out of it with an armdrag, eventually tangling Sabin up in the Cobra Stretch for the upset win. Delirious biggest win so far in his career? I'm a little surprised by Sabin doing the job here, but it shows that RoH really want to go somewhere with the masked madman. Nice match. (**3/4)

3. Trik Davis vs Spud vs Jay Fury vs Flash Flanagan vs Jimmy Jacobs w/Lacey vs Jimmy Yang in Six-Man Mayhem

Well, not my favorite type of matches, hopefully Yang and Jacobs can add some quality to it. Funny episode early on when Jacobs goes for a leapfrog, but his wrestling pants tears in the crotch, embarrassing Lacey to no ends. Intentionally? Maybe, but still fun, especially when Yang later on tears the entire pants away, leaving him in his undies.

This was a really fast-paced match which had its moments. Fury goes for his kip-up / enzuigiri combo, but Yang blocks it, showing off his martial arts background with that block. Still, way too much dives, planchas and tower of dooms. Still, the crowd is riled up by it, more than in the two first matches, that's for sure. Jacobs gets the victory with the Contra Code on Trik Davis. Final comments by Lacey: "I can't believe you won. You never win. Why aren't your pants on?" Gotta love Lacey. (*1/2)

- Claudio Castagnoli cuts a promo, standing on the balcony overlooking the arena, a well-deserved "Shut the fuck up" chant directed to him. He calls out Samoa Joe, and tells him he will outwrestle the Samoan, who must swear on his honor that it will be a wrestling match, and not a fight.

4. Claudio Castagnoli vs Samoa JOe

Interesting situation here, will Joe be able to work Claudio's somewhat slow-pace (but albeit entertaining) chain-wrestling style? Or will he succumb to temptation and simply mow over the Swiss? Claudio is excellent in the cowardous heel-role here, escaping to the floor whenever Joe has the advantage, taking time-outs and generally complaining about everything.

The match is slow-paced, but it works well. I especially liked the segment where Claudio tried taking Joe down with multiple uppercuts, just for Joe to smack CC with the stiffest slap I've seen. The match ends in a rare dq finish when the CZW guys run in for the save. I'm hoping for a rematch with no dq and at least 15 minutes of action. (**)

- This leads to yet another CZW/ROH brawl, which I won't comment too much on. The brawlers (Pearce, Butcher, Steel and Webb) brawl through the crowd, while Super Dragon and BJ have another face-off in the ring. I still think they could have kept Whitmer out of action tonight after what happened yesterday, and the fact that Whitmer goes toe to toe in a forearm battle with Dragon after supposedly injuring his neck severely is just horrible. Oh.. this turned out to be a match.

5. BJ Whitmer vs Super Dragon

Dragon goes after BJ's neck, trying to take him out with double foot stomps, Psycho Drivers or whatever necessary to completely cripple him. BJ fights back (survives everything), and hits the Exploder for a two-count. Dragon puts up two tables next to each on the outside and attempts the Psycho Driver from the top rope, but BJ counters it into an Exploder from the top rope, sending Dragon through one table, and himself through the other. BJ rolls Dragon back into the ring for the win, his back all bloody and cut up.

RoH is really succeeding in getting Whitmer over as hell, but I still think they could have sold his "serious" neck injury better. Last week, he was put through a table with the Psycho Driver. Yesterday, he wore a neckbrace to the match, and was double foot stomped when his head was stuck in a chair. That would probably kill most men. Evidently, most RoH wrestlers are immortal.

All in all, a short, spot-filled match that evolved the storyline and Whitmer's character by leaps and bounds, but perhaps a little overdone. (*1/2)

- Prazak cuts a promo with Jimmy Rave and Alex Shelley, who're looking to bring home the tag-team titles.

6. Matt Sydal vs Christopher Daniels

Last time they faced each other in singles action, Daniels suffered a freak knee injury, but managed to fight through it and win. This time, Sydal injures his knee early on, hinting at a third meeting between the two, without any injuries. Sydal sells it very well in the start, even taking noticeably longer time getting up from the ground. As the match moves on, though, he often forgets about it, even hoisting Daniels up on his shoulders without any problems.

I really like single wrestler Sydal better than tag-team wrestler Sydal. In tag-teams, he really epitomizes the high-flying spot-wrestler indy wrestling is criticized of, but when he's in singles action, he proves that he can mat-wrestle, chain-wrestle and use submissions. This does not mean he avoids any high-risk maneuvers though, taking down the Fallen Angel with a slingshot rana to the outside. And when I think he has forgotten all about his ankle injury, he opts to use an Asai moonsault instead of his beautiful standing moonsault, indicating that he couldn't have made the leap without the ropes this time around. Lo and behold.. he did it eventually. Daniels takes him down with the Last Rites for the win.

Even with Sydal's incosistenly selling the injury, this is easily the sleeper hit of the night. These two show that they can build a match's momentum perfectly, awaiting the big moves to the very end. I know what Daniels can do, so I finish off by saying that Sydal continues to impress me. If only he can improve his selling, he'll be a major star.

7. Nigel McGuinness(c) vs Bryan Danielson (c) in a Champions vs Champions match for the RoH Pure Title and the RoH World Title

Considering the participants in this match, you can easily picture the match as well. Very mat-based, very slow-paced and extremely techincal oriented. As in his match with Daniels, McGuinness shows that his experience with this type of matches is of great help, using the rules to his advantages, provoking Danielson into losing a rope-break when he punches Nigel twice with a closed fist.

Danielson is the first to lose all rope-breaks, when he puts the foot on the rope after being snapped down with the Tower of London. Nigel tries gaining a countout-victory just like yesterday, but Danielson rolled back in at 19. '
Danielson puts the champ in the Cattle Mutilation for well over two minutes. Nigel escapes by not only reaching the ropes, but sliding out of the ring.

After well over 20 minutes, Danielson dives from the apron and into the crowd to hit Nigel, but Nigel gets a chair in the way, so both are sprawled on the ground. McGuinness makes it back in before 20, but it's only the Pure Title who can change hands, not the world title.

I'm not a big fan of neither, as their style really doesn't amuse me that much. However, it is clear that these two are among the best in what they do, they're probably the two best mat-wrestlers in the world right now. The only logical outcome did happen as well, both men retaining their titles without resorting to the stupid double countout solution that I suspected would happen. (***)

- A video is shown of the history behind the Gen Next and Embassy feud. As usual, only clips of matches are shown, no complimentory announcing.

8. The Embassy (Jimmy Rave & Alex Shelley)w/Daizee Haze vs Generation Next (Austin Aries & Roderick Strong)(c) for the RoH Tag Team Titles

The Embassy have shown great strength in tag-action as of late, and with the history between the four, I suspected we were in line for a great main event.

Unfortunately, Gen Next can not recreate the magic from their match with Blood Generation, and I don't know if it's all the Embassy's fault. The crowd is really silent as well, and this match could perhaps have been more of a success at an east-coast show, preferrably with Prince Nana ringside as well.

Generation Next retains with a 450 splash from Aries in a very disappointing main event. (**)

- Dave Prazak interviews Nigel McGuinness who claims to be the best Pure wrestler in the world. Danielson comes and asks him if he was the best pure wrestler, why did he need a chairshot to win? Delirious comes by and unintentionally distracts Danielson long enough for Nigel to deck him with the belt.
rey619Posted on 08/02/06 at 22:06:50

HOW WE ROLL - 05.12.06 - Long Island, NY

- Adam Pearce, acting as Lieutenant Commissioner appeals to Homicide, trying to enlist him in the battle against CZW.

- Nigel McGuinness cuts a promo, bragging about defeating Danielson by countout last show.

1. Matt Sydal vs Jimmy Yang

Yang seemingly playing the heel role in this match, resorting to a cheap move here and there, his cocky demeanor shining through. Even though both can fly with the best, they vary their style throughout the match, Sydal even trying to match Yang with his legwork. Yang targets Sydal's injured left shoulder, Sydal selling improving with every match.

Awkwvard series of moments when Yang misses a spin kick but Sydal falls anyway. Yang distracts the ref in a totally stupid manner "look!" before low-blowing Sydal and nailing him with another spin kick before making a sloppy cover. They try to make it up by having Sydal fly out of the ring with a shooting star.

Sydal wins when Yang goes for a top-rope rana, but Sydal holding on, causing Yang to drop to the floor. Sydal then executes a picture perfect SSP to win the match. With the exception of a small period with botches and contrived spots, this match is an excellent opening match, and could have been an upper midcard match with a little more time. Yang does the job as he should (he's returning to the WWE), and Sydal comes off as the strongest man. Well done match. (**3/4)

- Delirious, Christopher Daniels and Colt Cabana are about to have a match when
Christian Cage comes in to a standing ovation from the crowd, something obviously on his mind. Eventually, he picks COlt Cabana as his partner for tonight's dream tag-team match. Suffice to say this is an excellent promo between the two of them. This is what you get when soap writers are left out of the promo writing.

Bryan Danielson appears in the aisle, cutting a very well heel promo, putting himself over as the best world champion in America today. He calls himself the wrestler who's too good for television, and says he's beaten everyone that has stepped into the ring with him (forgotten about losing to Nigel last show already?) Christian then starts talking crap about Danielson, calling him John Cena with aids and Caspar the friendly ghost. Danielson then asks the Fallen Angel if he wants to tag with him (insulting him in the process). Daniels agrees if Danielson gives him another world title shot. Danielson accepts, but only if they win the match.

2. Delirious vs Nigel McGuinness vs Kikutaro in a three-way non-title match

Nigel and Kikutaro replace Colt and Daniels in this match. McGuinness makes an impact at once, ambushing Kikutaro before he can enter the ring. With these three wrestlers, a comedy match is a given. Kikutaro and Delirious engages in slow-motion wrestling, which is always funny to watch. Nigel breaks it up.

The end comes when Delirious tricks the ref into giving Kikutaro a ddt, and then applying the Cobra Stretch. Nigel is outside, and doesn't make back into the ring. At times quite funny, but far from the best comedy match I've seen. (*1/2)

3. Alex Shelley & Jimmy Rave w/Prince Nana & Daizee Haze vs Homicide & Ricky Reyes w/Julius Smokes

Homicide returns for the first time after his matches with Cabana, teaming up with fellow Rottweiler Ricky Reyes. The NY crowd loved Homicide, as always. I love the interaction between the crowd and Rave, with the "Jimmy swallows" chants and it's like. The Embassy threatens to leave if they don't stop it, and it takes quite a time before the match gets up and running.

Both Nana and Smokes interferes in this match, almost leading to an altercation between the two of them in the ring. This is a fight through and through, Nana clubbing Homicide from behind, Smokes tangling with Haze, the crowd loving all of it. A completely un-choreographed match, the way wrestling becomes when talented wrestlers such as these go at it. The Rottweilers are disqualified when Julius Smokes is caught helping his boys, mere seconds after Prince Nana got away with it. Despite the bullshit ending, I really enjoyed this match. Homicide is really on his way to becoming a full-fledged face, even though we can't say for certain unless we see his reception somewhere else than NY. (***1/4)

- Lacey is about to cut a promo while scantily clad, when we hear Prazak frantically telling to 'cut back to the ring', where the Kings of Wrestling Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli enters through the crowd. They cut an anti-ROH promo (not too long), before Pearce and Whitmer run in, starting to brawl with the CZW guys.

4. The Kings of Wrestling (Claudio Castagnoli & Chris Hero) vs BJ Whitmer & Adam Pearce

Some impressive moves from the big man Pearce in the opening, including a headscissors and a tope. This match has two referees, RoH Senior official Todd Sinclair, and CZW Official Bryce Remsburg. I'm sure something will happen there.

Kings of Wrestling display some advanced double team-work, not half as quick as the DragonGate guys, but nice nonetheless. Some of it tend to go a little overboard though, like when they grasp each others hands and feet and roll across the ring like a snake, just to have Claudio launch himself into Whitmer in the turnbuckle. A simple spear would have done as much damage.

This match is in complete tornado mode, as no tags are ever made. Team RoH has the win in the palm of their hand when Pearce hits CC with a flying splash after Whitmer has taken him down with a Superplex, but Bryce Remsburg stops the count. Seconds later, Sinclair is taken out and NecroButcher enters the fray. Whitmer is sent through another table with a cravate buster, and Pearce is taken down by the Hero's Welcome. CZW takes another win in their war, in something which more or less resembled a fight, then a wrestling match. And why would it be a match? These guys absolutely hate each other, why not just throw every rule away and let them go at it? I still don't think it was as good as the Embassy vs Rottweilers match though, but a good match nonetheless. I'm really not too high on Kings of Wrestling, I feel they are too much show and too little action. (**)

- After the match, Samoa Joe comes to the ring, and while Necro Butcher desperately wants to fight Joe, Hero and Claudio drag him out. Joe challenges Necro Butcher to a fight tomorrow night.

- Delirious cuts a promo.. dunno what he said.. something about Bryan Danielson.

5. Apocalypse vs Samoa Joe

A newcomer in RoH's meager heavyweight division, the Canadian Apocalypse really seemed like a generic big man with a cape and some heavy metal music.

The newcomer gets some early offense in on Joe, but he no-sells most of it, dumps him with the STJoe and dominates from that point on, even taking a page out of AJ Styles' book and giving him a Pele kick. Joe wins with the MuscleBuster. This was not a squash, far from it, and while I don't rule out the possibility of Apocalypse returning, he just seems like a pale version of BJ Whitmer to me. (*3/4)

6. Mark Briscoe vs Roderick Strong

Both Briscoes in singles-action with the tag-champs here tonight. I'm really looking forward to their eventual title-match, but this promised to be almost as good.

This is a fast-paced match through and through, few if none restholds here as the match goes back and forth between the two men. Mark proves himself as just a hard-hitting mofo as Strong, and goes toe-to-toe with him in a forearm battle. There's really only a lot of high impact moves one after another, and even if I do enjoy these battles, they just seem to be strung along with no obvious explanation.

The end comes when Strong goes for the Stronghold, but Mark makes it to the ropes. Strong tries to go for the half-nelson backbreaker, but Mark fights out of it and hits the Cutthroat Driver for the win. I'd really though it would Aries who took the loss in the two singles matches tonight, but Mark is an impressive singles-wrestler, no doubt about it. I don't know why all of a sudden I'm not too impressed by this kind of a match. Maybe I'm maturing, or maybe I just feel that this sort of matches are better off in a tag-team setting. I really like Strong, but his matches with Danielson were far better than this, maybe because Danielson provides the opposite of Strong, a slow-paced style with a lot of resthold and psychology between the big moves. I'm sorry to say this, but I actually thought this match to be quite weak. (*1/2)

- Lacey cuts a promo in a new, sexy outfit, saying how impressed she was with Jacobs winning last week. She has apparently sent Jimmy to get some more training, and if he continues to win, he might see her in more of these outfits.

7. Jay Briscoe vs Austin Aries

This match doesn't speed away in 100 mph like the previous one, which is quite fortunate if you ask me. Briscoe has obviously scouted well ahead, avoiding some of Aries' moves, such as the handstand out of the headscissors submission, the spinning elbow drop and the move where he is dumped on the apron, but jumps straight back and gives his opponent a back elbow. Aries is forced to use something new to gain the advantage in this one.

Jay focuses heavily on Aries' left shoulder, another psychological aspect completely abandoned in the previous match-up. Jay does this brilliantly, hammerlocking the injured arm before slamming Aries down with a simple bodyslam, but still doing a lot more damage than a normal one.

They wait until the end with the big moves, Aries missing the 450 and Jay hitting the Jay-driller, only for Aries to reach the ropes. Jay locks in the Shinenemaki (sp?) to make this a clean sweep for the Briscoes. This was a far more superior match then the last one, using tons of psychology between relatively few big moves. Perhaps they had seen where Strong and Mark failed, and decided to do otherwise. Very good match. (***3/4)

8. Christian Cage & Colt Cabana vs Bryan Danielson & Christopher Daniels

It was inevitable that someone in the crowd would crap on Christian, but fortunately, it was a minority. Unfortunately, they were very vocal.
Danielson and Daniels didn't co-exist perfectly well, and Danielson played the heel part perfectly, trying to avoid facing Cage in the ring as long as possible. Of course, Dragon enters when Cage is distracted, taking the advantage right away.

What's interesting about this match is that it more resembles a WWE / TNA match than an RoH match. The heel team runs over Cabana for most of the match, isolating him and barely cutting him off several times. This is not something they do a lot of in RoH. Not only that, both Daniels and Cabana tones down their style considerably (the exception being a sick asai moonsault from Cabana that almost causes his head to bounce off the apron). Danielson plays his normal game, but then again, nobdoy tells HIM how to wrestle ;)

Cage escapes everything tonight, Cattle Mutilation, Crosswing chicken submission, BME.. you name it. Danielson misses the roaring elbow and hits Daniels, but the Fallen Angel kicks out of the follow-up frog splash. Christian picks up the win when he counters the Angel's Wings into the Unprettier. Danielson could have saved him, but chose not to.

A refreshing match, really. Even though it was SE-ish in style, it still retained the RoH feel. Not only that, this match oozed of psychology, and I have no doubt that both Cabana and Danielson could have succeeded in TNA or WWE, cause they have plenty more charisma then they are credited with. (**1/2)

- Adam Pearce and BJ cut a promo about how tired they are of losing against CZW. Joe also makes a short comment in the end.

I wasn't extremely happy with this show, even though it did have a great tag-team match (Rotts vs Embassy) and a refreshing change of pace with Austin Aries vs Jay Briscoe. Still, I didn't feel like Christian Cage was something RoH had to bring in. He probably cost a lot more than they earned in extra tickets or DVD sales, and it was evident that he couldn't "hang" with the very distinct RoH style. Don't get me wrong, I like Christian, I just don't feel he suits RoH very much.
rey619Posted on 09/03/06 at 13:49:10

RoH - Destiny - 03.06.06 - Sports World, East Windsor, Ct

-Funny note about the arena. It seems that this is an indoor soccer field or something, as artificial grass was on the outside. I'm sure the wrestlers didn't mind.

- Aries and Strong cut a short promo about their upcoming match against the Briscoe. Roderick speaks, unfortunately.

- We see a video of Homicide in RoH, his quest to win the World Title, and subsequently, his failure in doing so, both against Samoa Joe and Austin Aries. I love Homicide, face Homicide as well.

1. Jimmy Rave w/Prince Nana vs Davey Richards

This was the debut of one of the most promising indy wrestlers in a long time. Davey Richards won the tag-team titles in PWG along with Super Dragon, and won the prestigious Super 8 Cup this year, defeating Charlie Haas in the finals. Richards is quite similar to Aries in outlook and wrestling style. Neither men are very tall, but well-packed, explosive and skilled in both mat-wrestling and high-flying. I will hazard to say that Richards has more of a natural charisma, and had some excellent facial gestures (see and learn, Roderick Strong). He also has some extremely stiff kicks and forearms. Pitting him against Jimmy Rave in his first match helps him get over quickly with the fans. Rave is one of the few 100% heels in RoH, and is also one of their best sellers.

This is a really good match, a lot better than your usual RoH opener (which is almost always a comedy match or a spotfest). Richards is a cocky face type, and I'll bet we'll see a lot more of him, as he got over great with the crowd. Richards wins with the DR Driver II (butterfly brainbuster).
***1/2

2. Shane Hagadorn vs Derek Dempsey - Top of the Class Trophy

Two RoH students fighting for the Top of the Class trophy. They are both very green, but puts up a decent fight. Hagadorn plays the heel, and pulls it off adequately. The RoH crowd chants "You're tattoo sucks" at him, referring to a rather big (and yes, ugly) tattoo on his back. Hagadorn wins with some sort of submission move. OK match, they look at least as good as anyone coming out of OVW these days. *3/4

3. Sara Del Ray vs Daizee Haze

These two women wrestlers from RoH's sister promotion Shimmer are without doubt two of the best women athletes in North America today. Daizee as a tough heel is also a welcome change from the carefree hippy face gimmick she often portrays on the Indys. Watching lithe Haze trying to beat up Jimmy Rave's opponent for him while he hides is hilarious.

While neither Daizee or Sara would have gotten jobs in WWE (they don't have implants or asses you can bounce nickels on), they still impress me with their in-ring work. Daizee is the most charismatic, and sometimes, Sara looks like she's lacking passion. They botch a pinfall where Sara can't get out before the three, and you clearly see the ref holding his hand. That's weak. They are also way too close to the ropes for Haze's Heart Punch - Yakuza kick combo. Del Ray wins with a butterfly powerslam variation. I've seen both do better in Shimmer. **

- American Dragon comes out and puts over Sara Del Ray as the best female wrestler in the world (probably not far from true). This is just to put over her trainer (himself), as the best male wrestler in the world (probably not far from the truth either). Danielson then cuts an anti-Connecticut promo to make sure everyone would cheer for Homicide later on.

4. Jason Blade vs Delirious vs Adam Pearce vs Colt Cabana in a 4-corner survival match for the #1 contendership

Well, here's the obligatory comedy match. I pick Blade to be pinned. Anyway, it's good to see Pearce in a role which does not involve the CZW - RoH war. He's been excellent in that so far, but can he be used in another role as well? Delirious is so whacky. To quote Dave Prazak: "4-corner survival, one fall to win it... and Delirious is chewing on green stream".

I guess it's too much to ask for that we avoid the spots where 3 of the guys stand on the outside and await the fourth guys moonsault/shooting star/whatever, but fortunately, the focus in this match is on the comedy. Cabana and Delirious are hilarious as usual, and Adam Pearce isn't bad himself. There is a psychological aspect as well. Cabana and Pearce have been allies in the CZW/ROH war, but now the tempers are flaring from the get-go between these two. Colt Cabana suddenly gets Blade in some sort of abdominal stretch and Blade taps out. Rather sudden and unexpected end. Not too good a match, but I liked how the "friendship" between Pearce and Cabana deteriorated throughout. **1/4

- The lovely Lacey cuts a promo about how good she is and something about Jimmy Jacobs returning soon in good shape. Lacey's hot.

5. Christopher Daniels w/Allison Danger vs BJ Whitmer

Talk about a match that has been long in the making. When Daniels left RoH for TNA after the Feinstein scandal, the storyline explanation was that Daniels left his stable - The Prophecy - and BJ Whitmer behind. Whitmer and his then tag-team partner Danny Maff were mistreated by Allison Danger, but got revenge and put Danger out of business for a long time. Now, while they teased a feud between the two when Daniels returned to RoH, Daniels was busy fighting CM Punk and Samoa Joe, and Whitmer was fighting CZW. Before the match, Whitmer apologized to Allison, and the two shook hands. So there will be no Whitmer - Daniels feud, only a competetive wrestling match.

It is a competetive match, BJ has a lot of momentum in this match, but Daniels, as the experienced veteran he is has a few tricks left in him. The match is seemingly flawless, and presents a great deal of psychology as BJ is good at scouting Daniels' moves before they're coming, playing on their past together. Daniels takes it home with the BME, but BJ kicked out of both the Angel's Wings and got out of the Koji Clutch, so I would say BJ was elevated in the match while still losing. After the match, all three of them forgive each other for past transgressions.
***1/4

- Jimmy Rave and Prince Nana cut a promo about wanting a rematch with Richards. Best promo I've seen from Rave ever. It was even borderline good.

6. Shingo Takagi vs Ricky Reyes w/Julius Smokes

I've seen Shingo's work in DragonGate, and was highly impressed with the youngster. Another smart booking move from RoH putting him against Reyes, who is the other 100% heel in RoH (Rave was the first). DragonGate guys are usually cheered anyway though. Reyes actually gets the upperhand with a lot of stiff kicks and forearms, but Takagi hulks up and no-sells a lots of kicks and gets on the offensive himself. The Puro wrestler wins this in the end with a burning hammer, but Reyes got way too much offensive in my eyes, and I'll hazard a guess that Gabe wasn't too happy about this, as Shingo didn't look to good with this treatment from a midcarder. **1/2

7. Homicide w/Julius Smokes vs Bryan Danielson for the RoH World Title

Samoa Joe comes out and interrupts the introductions, saying he's the guest announcer for the evening. Joe actually calls American Dragon "the temporary World Champion, and the palest wrestler in the world." Funny stuff to continue the Joe/Dragon program.

Most of Dragon's title defenses turns into technical masterpieces, but Homicide brings another style to the table, brawling. Dragon masters that style as well, and we get quite a varied match, stylewise. Nice spot where both men tries to jockey for position on the outside, both trying to suplex the other through a table. Dragon executes a belly-to-belly overhead suplex on Homicide, but the table doesn't break, which in my mind must be at least as painful. Danielson plays the asshole heel that he is well, tieing Homicide up on the outside and slamming his hand with a chair. He continues to work on that hand throughout the match.

Match builds the momentum up nicely, as both the Cattle Mutilation and Homicide's lariat comes into play late in the match. Danielson can't get the pin or the submission, so he uses his old elbows to the head trick so he can get the referee stoppage win.

Homicide expectedly throws a fit, and he, Smokes and Joe try to persuade the ref to give it 5 more minutes. Lieutenant Commissioner Adam Pearce comes out dressed in a dress jacket and jeans (well, he at least tried) with Cornette on the phone and says the ref's decision stands. Homicide then brutally attacks the referee. Homicide really is a sore loser. In the chaos that ensues, Danielson takes out Joe's bad knee.

MoTN in my opinion. ***3/4

8. The Briscoe Brothers (Jay & Mark) vs Generation Next (Roderick Strong & Austin Aries) for the RoH Tag Team Titles

I don't really understand why Cide vs Dragon wasn't the main event, as the show is sort of named after Homicide and all, but hey, who am I to doubt Gabe's booking?

As usual, lots of "wow" moments in this match, for example when Aries hits both Briscoes with a really stiff tope clothesline, and a forearm from the turnbuckle from Jay on Roderick which came out of nowhere. Classic tag-team psychology in the match where the heels keep Aries isolated in the ring and provokes Strong to come out, so that they can double-team Aries when the ref yells at Strong. Surprisingly dead crowd by the way, but this was like the first time they were in New England in a very long time.

Briscoes goes for a spiked Jay Driller, but Aries pulls on the ropes, causing Mark to fall. Strong then hoists Jay into a powerbomb position, and Aries hits him with a missile dropkick to aid the momentum. Good match, far from being too spotty, and Strong didn't mess up the psychology part. ***

Aries then disbands Generation Next, since they have already achieved their goals of getting to the top of the RoH hierarchy.

- Gary Michael Capetta interviews Davey Richards who accepts Jimmy Rave's offer for a rematch. Richards cuts a decent promo.

All in all a decent show. No matches is gonna be on the MoTY candidate list, but both Joe, Homicide and Danielson advanced their feuds, and we got to see the debut of Davey Richards, who might just be an RoH World champ in the future.







rey619Posted on 09/10/06 at 14:58:57

RoH - Throwdown - 23.06.06 - Detroit, Michigan

- The holder of the Top of the Class Trophy Shane Hagadorn cuts a promo. Pretty boring actually. Hagadorn has a tag match tonight, and gets to pick his partner. He tells the rest of the class that they all suck.

1. Shane Hagadorn & "Human Massacre" Keith Walker vs Irish Airborne (Jake & Dave Crist)

No idea who this Walker is, but he is pretty big and muscular, wearing a chained collar around his neck. Prazak tells us Walker has toured with NOAH. Interesting. Never heard of him, not even cagematch.de has an entry for him. Even though Hagadorn clearly lags a notch or three behind most of the others on the roster, I think it's great that they have him on the main show. None of the graduates from the RoH school have managed to secure a place on the roster, but Hagadorn is really close. His heel mannerisms are quite good, he reminds me a lot about a heel Adam Pearce.

Walker didn't wrestle that much, and looked like a generic hoss with limited wrestling ability. Irish Airborne wins with a flying foot stomp / DVD onto the knee combo. Nothing to speak about, really. *3/4

- The Embassy cut a promo. Rave is getting better and better on his promos.

2. Conrad Kennedy III vs Nigel McGuinness for the RoH Pure Title

CK3's experience comes mostly from Scott D'Amore's Canadian BCW promotion, and Ian Rotten's IWA:MS, but has appeared a couple of times for RoH in the past. Both men are really good at mat-wrestling, so most of the match is technically in nature. Nigel's title reign has really grown on me, as has the Pure Title as a whole. The days with boring matches between Doug Williams and John Walters are gone. Instead, we have a highly entertaining champ in Nigel. This match is not a highlight among his title defenses, far from it. I don't think anyone had a rope break before the end, something which is usually played upon to emphasize the nature of this match type. Nigel wins with the Tower of London. *1/2

3. The Briscoe Brothers (Jay & Mark) vs The Second City Saints (Colt Cabana & Ace Steel)

I'm really not a big Briscoe's mark. They do a lot of cool stuff in the ring, but they're not particularly interested in ring psychology and that stuff. As an example, Cabana repeatedly smacks both ears of one of the Briscoe's, in order to disrupt his equilibrium. This is something that could have been integrated in the match, but as the Briscoe's completely no-sells it, it is rather pointless.

If the Briscoe's are somewhat overrated, Ace Steel is underrated. I know he only wrestles at RoH's midwest shows because of his wrestling school and other commitments, but a guy who has trained both CM Punk and Colt Cabana is no slouch in the ring. The Briscoe's need the win to get back into title contention, and they do take home the match with a Spiked J-Driller on Steel. Not a bad match by all means, but I feel that the Saints are carrying all the entertainment in this match, and am quite disappointed with the Briscoes. **

4. Jimmy Rave w/Prince Nana & Daizee Haze vs Davey Richards vs Delirious vs Samoa Joe

Interesting match-up. Rave and Richards have their thing going on, Joe loves to kick butt whenever and wherever, and Delirious' wacky ways are always entertaining. For those of you who never had the chance to see Delirious in action, he's this masked guy who speaks only gibberish, and who sits motionless in the corner until the bell rings, when he starts running around and shouting incoherently. Really funny.

I liked this match a lot. It did have a lot of pyschology aspects. Davey Richards really wanted to go one on one with Joe, while Rave constantly tried to cheap shot Richards. Rave still feels he needs to get even with Richards, while the newcomer feels he should move on to other things. Delirious always bring a comical edge to any match he's involved with. He even manages to counter an STJoe with an armdrag, which is a first.

After watching this match, I'm 100% convinced that Davey Richards will be a RoH World Champ one day. He has an incredible in-ring intensity, face mannerisms, psychology, an incredible moveset and a stiffness that is only rivaled by Low Ki, Joe and KENTA. The segment that impressed me the most was when he hit Joe with a super-stiff running forearm in the corner, before he promptly dove out at Rave with a twisting tope of sorts. Still, with all the matches-in-the-match, it's actually Delirious who picks up the win with the Cobra Stretch on Rave when everyone else is occupied elsewhere. Really good match. ***1/2

- Dave Prazak interviews the Briscoe's, but they both talk at the same time, and it's impossible to understand what they're talking about. Silly promo and a waste of time.

- Claudio Castagnoli and NecroButcher come out and talk thrash about Detroit. Adam Pearce comes out and they start a falls-count-anywhere match between Necro and Pearce.

5. Necro Butcher vs Adam Pearce - Falls Count Anywhere

This is quite a brutal brawl. When you fight Necro, you can safely give him your stiffest chairshots. Only problem is, he does the same to you. Chair shots, violent punches and suplexes on the floor were a common demoninator in this one. And unlike WWE, the arena floor did not have mats, and if you were slammed to the floor, you would land directly on the cement. The match ends in a dq when Claudio Castagnoli interferes. Guess not all FCA matches are no-dq. I guess this match was OK for a brawl, but it's really not my type of match. I also wonder why every Adam Pearce match must end with a dq.
*1/4

6. Claudio Castagnoli vs Homicide

CC and Necro were stomping away on Adam Pearce when Homicide comes running to start their scheduled match. Homicide is the only one with a perfect track record against the CZW guys, having defeated both Necro Butcher and Chris Hero. While the difference between faces and heels in RoH is often hard to see, we spot small subtle hints that Homicide has become a full-blown face. He listens to the ref about not using a chair, and he has started to use the STF, a typical face move.

The match is a really good one, filled with counters and re-reversals. I can't believe Homicide's never won a belt in RoH, but has already won a title in TNA. Homicide decks Claudio with a lariat, and is up 3-0 against CZW.
***1/4

7. Jimmy Jacobs w/Lacey vs BJ Whitmer vs Bryan Danielson for the RoH World Title in a 3-way Elimination Match

Both Jacobs and BJ were given a title shot after their crazy spot last show, and so we have a three way tonight. Lacey's looking hot in the shortest skirt I've ever seen (and I've lived in the UK), and Dragon looks pissed.

This match heralds the return of Dragon's airplane spin, with an added twist as BJ Whitmer dropkicks him while he has Jacobs in the spin, causing them both to tumble to the mat. Any three-way faces the potential moment of awkward moments, as it is quite chaotic if all three are fighting at the same time. In this match, the third guy quite often rolls to the outside to allow the other two to fight alone in the ring, before they switch, so to speak. In an elimination match, this isn't such a bad thing, as it's rather smart to rest up, and you don't risk losing the match if someone in the ring is pinned.

BJ and Jacobs find it in their heart to work together against Danielson, taking him down with their old finisher, the Doomsday Rana. Even if both men pin Danielson, the champ manages to kick out. The first elimination occurs when Jacobs and BJ are jockeying for position on the turnbuckle, and Danielson helps Jacobs hit the Contra Code (sliced bread#2) on BJ. They pin him together to send BJ out of the match.

Danielson goes on the offensive now, and really destroys poor Jimmy Jacobs. Jacobs breaks the momentum with a spear, and takes Danielson down with a fisherman neckbreaker. Jimmy is on fire here, knowing that a world title around his waist could win Lacey's heart. Jacobs is really close on several occasions, turning this into a very entertaining match, keeping the fans at the edge of their seats. But when not even the Contra Code can put Dragon down, we all know Danielson'll retain. Danielson hits his flurry of elbows on Jacobs before locking in the chickenwing for the win. The fans are not to pleased, and a "bullshit" chant can be heard. This is probably the best Jimmy Jacobs match I've seen, and a very good three-way match. ****

8. KENTA vs Roderick Strong

I really don't know why they always put KENTA in the main event. He is an international superstar, but come on, the three way should have been the main event. They're only trying to re-create the Kobashi vs Joe ultrastiff chopfest, but KENTA's no Kobashi, and Roderick's no Joe.

This is truly a helluva stiff match. They slap each other, kick each other and elbows each other, weakening each other with submission moves in-between. You don't see too much of technical wrestling here, but if you're a fan of strong-style wrestling, this is a match for you. In these matches, you need to throw out all allusions of psychology and match flow and all that shit. The only thing you need to worry about is the amount of pain they're willing to inflict on each other. None of the wrestlers is too interested in selling too much or to rest up too much, cause they need to get in all the stiff spots. The fans half-heartedly chant "This is awesome," but I'm not in total agreement. It's an ok stiff chopfest, but it's a huge letdown after the tremendous title match. KENTA wins with the Busaiku Knee Kick -> Go to Sleep combo. **1/2

- After the match, the Briscoes attack Roderick Strong, who's saved by Kenta.

- Well, this show should be called Letdown, not Throwdown. After the great In Your Face show, I had expected something more. It does have a brilliant world title match that saves the show somewhat, but it contains to many sub par matches. The main event wasn't that great, and most of the lower card matches were crappy too. The 4-way was ok, and Cabana and Steel were entertaining in their match with the Briscoes. Let's hope Chi-Town Struggle will be better.





:-
rey619Posted on 09/14/06 at 00:05:57

ROH - Chi Town Struggle - 24.06.06 - Chicago Ridge, Illinois

- Short promo by the students. They heckle Hagadorn for losing yesterday.

- Colt Cabana talks about how great Chicago is, and how much he is looking forward to his World Title match against Bryan Danielson. He talks about his RoH career so far, leading up to his April 22nd title match wth Danielson, which Dragon won in 5 minutes. Cabana says he's ready now, and will win the title in front of his people. Really good promo by Colt.

1. Shane Hagadorn & Trik Davis vs Irish Airborne (Jake & Dave Crist)

The muscular Keith Walker didn't help Hagadorn much in earning himself a win, so perhaps the lanky, high-flyer Trik Davis would do the trick?
This is a better match than last night's. Irish Airborne are so crisp together, working double-moves like a seasoned tag-team. However, there are way too many awkward moments when both Hagadorn and Davis are just awaiting the moves from the Crist's, which I'll contribute to inexperience. Irish Airborne wins again with the Flying Foot Stomp / DVD unto the knees combo. Davis is pinned. **

- The Embassy cuts a promo. Shelley is injured, so they're bringing in Conrad Kennedy III to be Rave's partner tonight.

2. Jimmy Jacobs w/Lacey vs Roderick Strong

Jacobs had that tremendous three-way elimination match for the World Title yesterday, and follows up with a great effort against Roderick Strong. Having Strong and Jacobs in the same match means we'll have Jacobs' stupid headscissors spots and Strong's annoying no-selling in the same match.
Jacobs had an incredible fire in him yesterday, fuelled by the crowd wanting him to take the title from Danielson. He lacks that today, probably because he's the heel in this match-up. Strong wins with the Stronghold. Not a bad match, but nothing to write home about either. **1/2

- Nigel cuts a promo about the RoH Fans voting him the most likely to lose the title first of the current title holders. Nigel says he'll prove them wrong. Nigel is, as usual, quite good in his promos.

3. Jimmy Rave & Conrad Kennedy III w/Prince Nana, Alex Shelley & Daizee Haze vs The Briscoes (Mark & Jay)

In a heel vs face tag match, it is quite common for the heel team to dominate the match for great parts, before the face team powers up, gets the hot tag and kicks the bad guy's butts. This is not the case here, as the Briscoes are, as usual, only interested in showing off their own cool moves. The no-selling is also really annoying. Rave gives one of the Briscoe's a stiff kick right in the nuts. Rave then bounces off the ropes, and is of course caught by the Briscoe into a death valley driver. Who is able to do so after receiving a kick to the balls? Briscoes win. It's an OK match I guess, but I'm just so annoyed at the Briscoes that my rating is unfortunately quite low. *1/4

4. Delirious vs Samoa Joe

Delirious tries as best as he can to take Joe down, but doesn't succeed much in the start. Joe kicks his masked ass around for a while, before Delirious finally manages a comeback, crashing Joe down with a flying forearm and actually bodyslamming him. He puts him in the Cobra Stretch, but Joe fights out and eventually hits the Musclebuster. Relatively short and entertaining match. **1/4

-NecroButcher enters the ring to confront Joe, but it's all a ruse for Claudio to blindside Joe and take out his knee. A brawl ensues, involving Necro, CC, Nate Webb and team RoH consisting of Adam Pearce, BJ Whitmer and Ace Steel. It turns into a match.

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

A wild brawl, as was expected. I don't think a lot of spots in these ones are predetermined, it really looks like a wild shoot fight. We see tables and chairs, even a crown of barbed wire, which Necro Butcher manages to wrap around BJ's head before Claudio smashes it in with a chair for the win. Short, brutal brawl. Served a storyline purpose and gave a reason for the upcoming Barbed Wire Match between Necro and BJ. Also supported the notion that RoH cannot win without Homicide on their team. *3/4

- the Briscoes have promo time in intermission again. This time they talk one at a time (mostly), about KENTA sticking his nose into their business. Still don't like them.

6. Homicide vs Nigel McGuinness(c) for the RoH Pure Title

Homicide goes for a quick win, hitting the lariat and several pinning combinations in order to put this away swiftly. He then moves on to submission maneuvers, forcing Nigel to use rope breaks early on. This is certainly a better title match then yesterday's, with Nigel playing the mega-heel role, targetting Homicide's elbow in several submission attempts. Nigel tries to win by countout (only possible in pure title matches in RoH) when he suplexes Homicide through a table, but he rolls back in at 19 (they count to 20).

I really don't understand why Todd Sinclair wants to referee Homicide's matches. Homicide beat the crap out of Sinclair at Destiny, and he nearly does the same tonight. The match is slow-paced most of the time, with short bursts of fast-paced action. It's in these instances I feel both guys are a little sloppy, which ultimately devalues the match somewhat. Nigel wins by countout when Homicide is a split second too late to get back into the ring. A bullshit finish, and Todd Sinclair wisely splits. **1/4

- Homicide goes amok after the match, tearing down RoH signs and smashing chairs apart. Adam Pearce and then Dave Prazak try to talk with him, but Homicide leaves the building, saying "Fuck this company".

7. KENTA vs Austin Aries

I was quite looking forward to this match, and it didn't disappoint. Aries may not be as stiff as his tag-team partner Roderick Strong, but Aries doesn't mind selling, and that is quite beneficial to a match. What I really have a little problem with in this stiff spotfests is that they more often than not looks as if they know what's coming, and are just bracing themself against it. That's fine in chopfests, as it is a challenge in itself. But when you just sit there with closed eyes and await someone to kick your spine in.. I don't quite buy that, and the match loses a potential four-star rating because of it.

Unlike yesterday's match, both wrestlers have longer spells of dominance, not one move each for the entire match. It may look like I didn't like the match, but I did. They weave together a beliveable match with very few and almost unnoticeable botches, and it's still really stiff. Aries is close to winning at several points in the match, and I understand if many live fans thought that Aries would be the one to break KENTA's undefeated streak. Alas, KENTA does win this match with the Go to Sleep as well. KENTA is really on fire when he starts the sequence which starts with the Busaiku Knee Kick, follows with several super-stiff chops and kicks and ends with the Go to Sleep. And of course, Aries sells it beautifully. ***3/4

- As yesterday, the Briscoe's storm the ring. This time they beat up both KENTA and Aries. Strong for the save.

8. Colt Cabana vs Bryan Danielson (c) for the RoH World Title

Colt was pinned after 5 minutes at the last attempt, but I kinda know he'll do better today, as it's over 30 minutes left of the show.. hehe.. besides, the show is in Chicago, so I don't think the fans would be too pleased with a quick loss for their hometown boy.

The match is rather slow-moving in the beginning, with submission holds and mat-wrestling dominating the ring work. Cabana also tries to get inside Danielson's head with his comedy routine, but he doesn't overdo it. As this is a very important match for Cabana's career,it fits in quite nicely. The pace quickens as the match passes the 20 minute time limit. The match is not a strikefest like the previous match, but a slowly built up world title match, where both men know they have to wrestle for 30+ minutes, and want to save the big moves to the end. Lots of counter moves toward the end, but the coolest part was where Cabana simply powered out of Danielson's flurry of elbows to the head that usually signals the end of the match. Cabana is very close at several attempts, and even goes for a Cattle Mutilation. Just like Danielson's match against Jimmy Jacobs, we get the feeling that Cabana just _might_ win this, especially since it is his home town. Cabana even hits the Colt 45', but Danielson kicks out and turns into a pinning combination to retain. The match improved vastly during the last ten minutes, and would have been even greater with a Cabana win. It almost gets four stars from me, but it still lacked that electrical feeling to it that the threeway in New York had. Still, it shares the MOTN award with KENTA vs Aries. ***3/4

-Another Briscoe promo. Bla bla bla.. we're coming to get you.. speak one at a time boys... or better yet, give the promo time to someone else.

- The RoH students mock Shane Hagadorn for losing again. Hagadorn looks like a younger and trimmer Scott D'Amore.

Chi-Town Struggle is a good show. It only had two sub-par matches, and one of them did something much more important, advance the CZW vs RoH storyline which is to end in the Cage of Death. And while we had a couple of finishes that didn't fall to well with the fans, it does what it's supposed to do, piss Homicide even more off. I really missed a Davey Richards match tonight.. I'm becoming rather fond of him actually, in a completey heterosexual way, of course. After seeing Cabana go toe to toe with Danielson for almost 40 minutes, I'm convinced that Cabana isn't the one to dethrone him. That's not to say that Cabana'll never be an RoH champ, just that it's unlikely he'll beat Dragon on his third try. I'm still looking for a title change, and will probably mark out like crazy when it happens.