1. ROH World Title Match: Nigel McGuinness vs. Tyler Black- Take No Prisoners 3/16/08
****1/2
It's funny that ROH gets accused of going overkill on finishes yet these accusers have probably not seen this match which is just a terrific use of false finishes to get a guy over. I don't think there has or will ever be one single match that puts somebody as much as this match put Tyler Black over. The crowd was SO sucked into this one and there are SO MANY close calls that all were legitimate false finishes that you can see people jumping up and down on several occasions cheering on Black thinking that that particular pinfall was going to be it. An absolute ROH classic and I must say a great job done by Prazak & Leonard on commentary who are just as into the match as the fans are.
2. Relaxed Rules: Tyler Black and Jimmy Jacobs vs. Jay and Mark Briscoe- Supercard of Honor III 3/29/08
****1/2
Good grief this is an intense all over the place brawl! There comes a point during this match just after Mark Briscoe dives off the balcony to put somebody through a table when I got the feeling like...this is SO chaotic it really gives that ECW feeling and it's GOOD ECW feeling! Everybody's doing crazy stuff including multiple chair shots and several times a person is tossed onto a load of chair in the crowd. The finish is REALLY out of nowhere and was truly innovative at the time. Probably the best Briscoes vs any AOTF combo match.
3. Tyler Black vs. Bryan Danielson- New Horizons 7/26/08
****3/4
Ah yes, my favourite Black vs Danielson match! This is just an out and out wrestling classic. Danielson is just SO captivating with his submission wrestling in the early stages of the match. Black sells it all so well too and it's not long before he gets his own opportunity to show what he does. Of course Black isn't quite the machine he would become in late 2009 and 2010 but he's still damn good here. So many good moments in this match but no doubt the one everybody remembers is the bucklebomb that brakes the turnbuckle. Great moment and an absolute must see match for all wrestling fans.
4. ROH World Title Elimination Match: Nigel McGuinness vs. Tyler Black vs. Bryan Danielson vs. Claudio Castagnoli- Death Before Dishonor VI 8/2/08
*****
What is there to say about this match that has not been said already? When it comes to multiman matches that need to tell a story Gabe Sapolsky is at his finest. The Redepmtion 4 way with Joe, Punk, Gibson & Daniels was a very good memorable journey to Gibsons ROH World Title win and in many ways it laid the foundations for this match.
The story is initially very simple...Nigel is facing his three biggest challengers that he has already defeated by realistically any of them could dethrone him. There's so much goodness to be found here!
For a start the crowd is in uber Bryan Danielson mark mode which means anybody that isn't Bryan Danielson is shit. Case in point the face Claudio Castagnoli get's a lot of heat but what's great is that when the do the turn it adds a justification to it, almost like Claudio can no longer please the fans so screw them, he's going to attack their favourite! It's a very good turn and Claudio looked trememendous for it stamping the chair onto Danielsons head then tossing students around and causing mayhem. Nigels title reign has really picked up steam by this point and he really is THE MAN in ROH. Tyler Black is the next big thing and they play up to that so well. Once it's down to the final two it's like Take No Prisoners all over again and the fans go nuts for every near fall. The atmosphere's amazing and the match increases it with every passing minute. One of the best ROH matches EVER.PERIOD.
5. World Tag Team Title Match: Tyler Black and Jimmy Jacobs vs. Kevin Steen and El Generico- Driven 2008 9/19/08
****1/2
So here we are the last match on the DVD and of course it's another ROH classic! At the time this match got a rediculous amount of hype and when I first got to see it I was a tad let down. On reflection now that it’s been 2 and a half years I must say I enjoyed it a lot more now. It’s not THE best ROH tag team match ever but it’s way up there on the list! The match just flow perfectly and the false finishes at the finishing stretch are so believable that I was reacting just like the crowd. It’s rare where you can’t see a finish coming these days but this match had me on a few occassions and at the time there was a lot of emotion behind the match as Steenerico had been chasing the tag titles for about 18 months. This is a match without over the top moves , overkill finishes and dull drawn out portions to give the match an “epic feel. It’s tag team wrestling at it’s finest and it’s a great example of the goodness that can be found in ROH. Another ROH classic.
I can’t even begin to try and put down some words to go in depth about this DVD. All I can say is it’s not like the old ROH best of DVD’s where you get a full spectrum of matches ranging from ok to great. This is all great stuff and while there maybe a few omissions in some peoples opinions,ROH has served us a very healthy portion of the best of Tyler Black.
10/10
Friday 15 April 2011
ROH Fade To Black - Plymouth, MA 9/10/10
We open with a direct and purposefull promo by our TV champ Eddie Edwards. I like.
1. ROH World TV Title Match: Eddie Edwards vs. Erick Stevens
***1/4
Neat opening match with the crowd fully behind their (almost) hometown boy. They work a good pace and there's the odd cool reversal/move here and there to give the crowd something without giving them too much. I for one wish Stevens would get the chance to work this kind of match more. His earlier ROH stuff was fantastic yet since the Embassy angle and heel turn it's pretty much been all downhill which is a shame. Edwards however looks every bit the star a television champion should look.
2. Grizzly Redwood vs. “Brutal” Bob Evans
*
First of all who the flog decided an out of shape with t shirt tan lines Bob Evans would be a good addition to an ROH card? He looks bad, he moves worse and i'm willing to bet those who bought a ticket were wondering why this guy was even on the show. Maybe it's a continuation of a HDNET angle? That I can't answer. Also there's a really daft and fairly obviously worked spot where a crowd member helps Griz up to his feet by his head to Griz gets in a ruck with him and security throws him out. Why bother insulting out intelligence and wasting our time with this stinkypoop? Honestly WHY!?! If this was real there's no way it would be included in a DVD release. Match itself is just meh and even Griz's talents can't make this one any good. At least it's pretty short.
3. Austin Aries vs. Kyle O'Reilly
***1/2
Aries cuts a fun promo with Taler Hendrix before the match starts. This match is, as Aries states in his promo, kind of an exhibition except more for Kyle O'Reilly. There's some good action in this match and as usual with Aries at points he's impossible to dislike even as a heel. It is noticable though more and more that from around the start of summer 2010 that Aries has lost a bit of his drive and motivation. That's not to say his work suffered because of this, it's just that it appears that a certain something is missing. As for O'Reilly he impresses here with some nice moves and a couple of great facial expressions that get the crowd behind him easily. Expect great things from him in the future!
4. First Blood Tag Match: The Necro Butcher and Shawn Daivari vs. Kevin Steen and Steve Corino
**
Pretty short brawl that serves its purpose to gear up a certain team for a match they would have the night after. This probably came across way better on DVD than it did live thanks for the marvels of editing. It seemed chaotic throughout and had a SICK ending involving a beer bottle being smashed and a shard of it being rammed into an opponents forehead. NICE! Normally it would seem odd having two heel teams go at it without a backstory but as one of the teams in part of the Embassy everybody can't help but cheer against them and that's not because they have good heat, it's because people legit don't want to see them.
5. The All Night Express (Kenny King & Rhett Titus) vs. Matt Taven and Sid Reeves
*1/2
Basically this is an extended squash. ANX look pretty good for it but the local guys look like stinkypoop. Reeves is just absent performance wise and poor Taven botches a spot which turns the crowd into the ECW mutants of yesteryear. Not to much to say about this one, like a lot of recent ROH undercards everything kept short so if you don't like it you don't suffer for too long.
6. Roderick Strong vs. Mike Bennett
***
Simple match with both guys looking strong. Bennetts an interesting one in the sense that the guys has the potential to have money written all over him, especially with the fact that his style if pretty old school and of course the majority of ROH fans prefer the style of say a Davey Richards so instantly dislike him. Not much to say about the match other than it's some ok - good action and there's no lull.
7. ROH World Tag Title Match: The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) vs. Colt Cabana & El Generico
****
Ok so we got the semi main event at about 1 hour 10 mins into this show. Did they cut a load of bad stuff or are we just having a short show? At this point who knows?!?! A really good tag team title match that had the crowd with several of the false finishes. It's just bell to bell non stop action and it's great to see Cabana and Generico work so well together as a team. The KOW at this point can have good matches with a couple of broomsticks and really doing just a quarter of what we know they can do is still enough to make this a good watch. It's a damn shame they couldn't get 5 or 10 more minutes, this could have gone to MOTYC levels.
8. Non-Title Match: Tyler Black vs. Christopher Daniels
****1/2
I think it's fair to describe this match as just an all out wrestling extravaganze. Black is just awesome in his role as a chicken stinkypoop heel and Daniels is fully backed by the ROH faithfull in attendence. It's hard to talk about the match without giving away the ending but needless to say it did well to put the heat on Black vs strong for the next night while cementing Daniels as a title contender down the line. There's some really great moments in this match such as Daniels catching Black mid-air and forcing him straight into the koji-clutch and when Blacks arm gets near the ropes Daniels uses his spare leg to trap Blacks arm. I'd never seen that before! Black, as I said, is great at heeling it up and he pulls out some nice stalling tricks together with busting out the STF to stick it to the ROH fans. Blacks post match promo is fun too, he even finishes with a "YOU CAN'T SEE ME"! Classic.
Overall, this show is a difficult one to rate. On one hand it's a fairly solid show with 3 matches out of the 8 being meh - ok. The two main event matches will no doubt be the selling point (as well as the bonus disk but we'll get to that later) and they do indeed deliver. The thing going against this show is that it's basically all a build up to the next show but i'm glad to say for once that ROH doesn't just put out a throw away show. It's paced extremely well on DVD, probably to include all the bonus features. And at 2 hours long, even the skippable stuff is bareable. Let's face it, how many shows can you say that about? Not a classic show and was heading to mediocreville before the two main events. On a side note the audio seems mixed a little differently that previous releases with the crowd being louder. It's a nice touch as it adds some extra atmosphere to the lower card matches where you know the crowd possibly was not all that into it.
8/10 for the show
*SUPER DUPER BONUS CONTENT!*
- World Tag Team Title Match: Jay and Mark Briscoe vs. Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black- Final Battle 2007 12/30/07 ****
- Tyler Black vs. Bryan Danielson- ROH on HDNet Episode 18 ****1/2
- Tyler Black vs. Bryan Danielson vs. Kenny Omega- Bound By Hate 11/8/08 ***3/4
Just under an hours worth of bonus material and it's REALLY good stuff. Not like a lot of the bonus material found on ROH 2010 dvds where it's matches that just arn't appealing or are appealing but are just middle of the road. The tag title match from Final Battle 2007 is one of the AOTF's best matches, the HDNET match is probably the right up there for being considered the best match between Danielson and Black and then the three way is just a fun sprint and at the time was a nice introduction to Kenny Omega. So right here is some damn fine matches and I would have bumped Fade To Black as a whole dvd package with just these bonus matches to a 9/10.
Coming soon a review of the bonus disk from Fade To Black - The Best of Tyler Black!
1. ROH World TV Title Match: Eddie Edwards vs. Erick Stevens
***1/4
Neat opening match with the crowd fully behind their (almost) hometown boy. They work a good pace and there's the odd cool reversal/move here and there to give the crowd something without giving them too much. I for one wish Stevens would get the chance to work this kind of match more. His earlier ROH stuff was fantastic yet since the Embassy angle and heel turn it's pretty much been all downhill which is a shame. Edwards however looks every bit the star a television champion should look.
2. Grizzly Redwood vs. “Brutal” Bob Evans
*
First of all who the flog decided an out of shape with t shirt tan lines Bob Evans would be a good addition to an ROH card? He looks bad, he moves worse and i'm willing to bet those who bought a ticket were wondering why this guy was even on the show. Maybe it's a continuation of a HDNET angle? That I can't answer. Also there's a really daft and fairly obviously worked spot where a crowd member helps Griz up to his feet by his head to Griz gets in a ruck with him and security throws him out. Why bother insulting out intelligence and wasting our time with this stinkypoop? Honestly WHY!?! If this was real there's no way it would be included in a DVD release. Match itself is just meh and even Griz's talents can't make this one any good. At least it's pretty short.
3. Austin Aries vs. Kyle O'Reilly
***1/2
Aries cuts a fun promo with Taler Hendrix before the match starts. This match is, as Aries states in his promo, kind of an exhibition except more for Kyle O'Reilly. There's some good action in this match and as usual with Aries at points he's impossible to dislike even as a heel. It is noticable though more and more that from around the start of summer 2010 that Aries has lost a bit of his drive and motivation. That's not to say his work suffered because of this, it's just that it appears that a certain something is missing. As for O'Reilly he impresses here with some nice moves and a couple of great facial expressions that get the crowd behind him easily. Expect great things from him in the future!
4. First Blood Tag Match: The Necro Butcher and Shawn Daivari vs. Kevin Steen and Steve Corino
**
Pretty short brawl that serves its purpose to gear up a certain team for a match they would have the night after. This probably came across way better on DVD than it did live thanks for the marvels of editing. It seemed chaotic throughout and had a SICK ending involving a beer bottle being smashed and a shard of it being rammed into an opponents forehead. NICE! Normally it would seem odd having two heel teams go at it without a backstory but as one of the teams in part of the Embassy everybody can't help but cheer against them and that's not because they have good heat, it's because people legit don't want to see them.
5. The All Night Express (Kenny King & Rhett Titus) vs. Matt Taven and Sid Reeves
*1/2
Basically this is an extended squash. ANX look pretty good for it but the local guys look like stinkypoop. Reeves is just absent performance wise and poor Taven botches a spot which turns the crowd into the ECW mutants of yesteryear. Not to much to say about this one, like a lot of recent ROH undercards everything kept short so if you don't like it you don't suffer for too long.
6. Roderick Strong vs. Mike Bennett
***
Simple match with both guys looking strong. Bennetts an interesting one in the sense that the guys has the potential to have money written all over him, especially with the fact that his style if pretty old school and of course the majority of ROH fans prefer the style of say a Davey Richards so instantly dislike him. Not much to say about the match other than it's some ok - good action and there's no lull.
7. ROH World Tag Title Match: The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) vs. Colt Cabana & El Generico
****
Ok so we got the semi main event at about 1 hour 10 mins into this show. Did they cut a load of bad stuff or are we just having a short show? At this point who knows?!?! A really good tag team title match that had the crowd with several of the false finishes. It's just bell to bell non stop action and it's great to see Cabana and Generico work so well together as a team. The KOW at this point can have good matches with a couple of broomsticks and really doing just a quarter of what we know they can do is still enough to make this a good watch. It's a damn shame they couldn't get 5 or 10 more minutes, this could have gone to MOTYC levels.
8. Non-Title Match: Tyler Black vs. Christopher Daniels
****1/2
I think it's fair to describe this match as just an all out wrestling extravaganze. Black is just awesome in his role as a chicken stinkypoop heel and Daniels is fully backed by the ROH faithfull in attendence. It's hard to talk about the match without giving away the ending but needless to say it did well to put the heat on Black vs strong for the next night while cementing Daniels as a title contender down the line. There's some really great moments in this match such as Daniels catching Black mid-air and forcing him straight into the koji-clutch and when Blacks arm gets near the ropes Daniels uses his spare leg to trap Blacks arm. I'd never seen that before! Black, as I said, is great at heeling it up and he pulls out some nice stalling tricks together with busting out the STF to stick it to the ROH fans. Blacks post match promo is fun too, he even finishes with a "YOU CAN'T SEE ME"! Classic.
Overall, this show is a difficult one to rate. On one hand it's a fairly solid show with 3 matches out of the 8 being meh - ok. The two main event matches will no doubt be the selling point (as well as the bonus disk but we'll get to that later) and they do indeed deliver. The thing going against this show is that it's basically all a build up to the next show but i'm glad to say for once that ROH doesn't just put out a throw away show. It's paced extremely well on DVD, probably to include all the bonus features. And at 2 hours long, even the skippable stuff is bareable. Let's face it, how many shows can you say that about? Not a classic show and was heading to mediocreville before the two main events. On a side note the audio seems mixed a little differently that previous releases with the crowd being louder. It's a nice touch as it adds some extra atmosphere to the lower card matches where you know the crowd possibly was not all that into it.
8/10 for the show
*SUPER DUPER BONUS CONTENT!*
- World Tag Team Title Match: Jay and Mark Briscoe vs. Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black- Final Battle 2007 12/30/07 ****
- Tyler Black vs. Bryan Danielson- ROH on HDNet Episode 18 ****1/2
- Tyler Black vs. Bryan Danielson vs. Kenny Omega- Bound By Hate 11/8/08 ***3/4
Just under an hours worth of bonus material and it's REALLY good stuff. Not like a lot of the bonus material found on ROH 2010 dvds where it's matches that just arn't appealing or are appealing but are just middle of the road. The tag title match from Final Battle 2007 is one of the AOTF's best matches, the HDNET match is probably the right up there for being considered the best match between Danielson and Black and then the three way is just a fun sprint and at the time was a nice introduction to Kenny Omega. So right here is some damn fine matches and I would have bumped Fade To Black as a whole dvd package with just these bonus matches to a 9/10.
Coming soon a review of the bonus disk from Fade To Black - The Best of Tyler Black!
ROH Tag Wars 2010 - Charlotte, NC 8/28/10
1. El Generico vs. Erick Stevens
***
Nice opening match that the crowd really got into. Stevens portion of the match was, of course, less interesting but when you have one of the best sellers in the world with you EVERYTHING you do looks good. Generico's firey comeback was everything opening matches are about.
2. Steve Corino vs. Bobby Dempsey
*
Apart from a tiny bit of good Corino shtick this match just did nothing for me. The best bit was where it ended...
Backstage Grizzly Redwood cuts a promo but the mic must be really far away because it seems very quiet despite him shouting.
3. The Necro Butcher vs. Grizzly Redwood
*1/2
Just who exactly decided that the wild uncontrollable monster that was the Nerco Butcher was going to stop doing all the things that made him 1) wild, 2) uncontrollable and 3) a monster? It seems being part of The Embassy in 2010 meant you were added to the black hole of ROH. To me it's just sad that somebody like Necro who a lot of fans got into has at this point been reduced to just another guy on the roster without anything special about him. Nobody really wants to see Necro in straight up matches all of the time, mainly because he's not the kind of worker that does very good straight up matches. It's watchable but damn those 7 minutes felt like a long time. I must say I still love Grizzly Redwoods performance in his gimmick. It's those subtle little things he does such as trying to whip Necro to the far turnbuckle by hopping off the bottom rope because he's a lot smaller than Nerco. Small things like that go a long way in my book. At least half a snowflake is for the Necro taking a sunset bomb to the floor, that my friends was sick.
4. Non-Title Match: ROH Television Champion Eddie Edwards vs. Colt Cabana
***1/2
Very good match between these two but then again would you really expect any less? Cabana and Edwards just bring the goods with some really fun technical wrestling back and forth action with a tiny bit of Cabana's staple comedy. Cabana out wrestle Edwards quite a lot at the start just to remind us that he really can go when necessary.
5. Caleb Konley, Jake Manning, & Mark Dillinger vs. Cedric Alexander & The Bravado Brothers
**
A lot of fresh new talent of display here. I have to say more multi man matches with names nobodys heard of were quite normal on older ROH shows and it felt good to see something akin to that back. The Bravado have been on ROH shows before but I didn't recognise any of the others. They all seemed solid but I feel Cedric Alexander stood out the most. His flippy crisp movements reminded me of that great ROH/Indy style of the early 00's. The Bravados continue to impress in the ring with what little they had to do in this match however I still feel they're fairly personalityless and when they find that they break into that next level.
*I keep saying this a lot of ROH 2010 shows but DAMN 5 matches gone in just over an hour!!!*
6. Kevin Steen vs. Roderick Strong
***1/4
Is Steen hurt? Who knows but there is something about this match that's keeping it from being as awesome in reality as it is on paper. Dare I say this but it seemed like a streamline almost ROH version of the WWE "main event style". I try to always be a fan and not get too picky with selling etc however Strong did nothing really to change up his offense after Steen worked his leg. My knee hurts so why don't I just drop the fat guy onto to my knees a lot. Yeah you get the picture. This match slightly dissapoints.
7. ROH World Tag Team Title Ultimate Endurance Match: The Kings of Wrestling vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. The Dark City Fight Club vs. The All Night Express
***1/2
I'm not gunna lie, I thought the portion until the first elimination was REALLY pedestrian and kind of uninteresting. Then the rules change and the matches comes alive! The remaining three times kick it into another gear and the gimmick of this match actually works well. Plenty of cool action and a classic Jay Briscoe bloodbath all add up to a good watch.
8. Non-Title Match: ROH World Champion Tyler Black vs. Davey Richards
****1/2
Wow the crowd have REALLY turned on Tyler Black by this point. "YOU SOLD OUT" chants and total booing from all the crowd rather than the split reaction he recieved previously. The promo segment before the match involving Cornette is just fun to watch and felt pretty old school to me. It adds another layer of heat to an already very interesting match. Here's the thing about this match, people will probably always debate over which match is better - the first match from DBDVIII or this one. For me this match isn't quite as good as the one from DBDVIII. For a start the Toronto crowd was just rabid and it was live on IPPV. Add to that the fact that they had longer to play with in Toronto and although these may seem like small things, I feel they contribute to a certain fizz that this match misses. Don't get me wrong it's an absolute gem but it's kind of like Danielson vs McGuinness from 6 Year Anniversary. A classic match that's just a shade behind their other matches such as Driven & Unified.
*SUPER DUPER BONUS CONTENT!*
Delirious vs Sonjay Dutt from HDNET 23
Nigel McGuinness vs Eric Scott aka some job guy HDNET 24
American Wolves vs Up in Smoke HDNET 23
These matches were an ok addition but more of a teaser for what the HDNET show is actually like. A nice little gift from ROH I guess.
To sum up this show is difficult. Nothing blowaway or outstanding apart from the main event however for the most part it's solid and what's not good isn't too long either. The show itself flows really well and much like a lot of 2010 ROH shows the undercard that not many people are that invested in is short and the bigger attraction matches get more time. It's probably an essential purchase though just for the main event. 2009 ROH would have killed to have a match as good as that.
7/10
ROH Salvation - Chicago Ridge, IL 7/24/10
1. Tag Wars 2010 Opening Round: Erick Stevens & Necro Butcher vs. Rasche Brown & Grizzly Redwood
**1/2
I must say that I've not been thrilled with any of the Rasche Brown vs Embassy stuff so far. However here I think the right team went over in a very appropriate manor. This match also served its purpose as the crowd was very into it at times.
2. Sara Del Rey vs. Amazing Kong
**3/4
I was hoping they'd finally get the time to tell the story I wished they could have had a Supercard of Honor V. Sadly they get less time here although it must be said they tell a completely different story here. Match was just lower than my expectations and was not as good as their SCOH V match at all.
3. Tag Wars 2010 Opening Round: Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. The House of Truth
***3/4
Well I'll be damned! I believe these two teams have met several times before in matches I've just not been able to get into. Not this time though. HOT have really found a bit of groove at this point and needless to say The Briscoes just add their bit of shine to the proceedings. HOT this time looks every bit as equal as The Briscoes which just goes to show you that perceverance to a gimmick can pay off. I will say that Josh Raymonds shooting star spear is rediculous and should never be used anything other than a finishing move. Seriously it was INSANE!!
4. Pick 6 Contender's Series: (1) Roderick Strong vs. Austin Aries
****
There's certainly been a lot of heel vs heel matches regading Austin Aries final run in ROH. This is no exception here as Roderick Strong is very miffed at being screwed by ROH and it's fans and well Austin Aries is a winky...plain and simple! Call me old fashioned but the fact that Truth Martini gets ejected from ringside baring in mind Roddy has relied on Truth to help him out in his previous matches, was just trememendous and MADE TOTAL SENSE! Crowd really popped for it too. Now then, baring in mind these two have had many matches in the past I feel this was refreshing as their dynamics had changed and in Aries case so had his character and moveset. A lot of this felt quite old school in a good way and they played off the fact they had met before. Some great exchanges in this one and quite simply put two of ROHs greatest workers together in the ring with a hot crowd and guess what? They had a very good match.
Aries cuts a great promo about Strong not needing Truth Martini or the HOT but him needing The Greatest MANager That Ever Lived. He then introduces the team he's about to manage which leads us to...
5. Tag Wars 2010 Opening Round: Jerry Lynn & Delirious vs. The All Night Express
***
I believe in giving credit where credit is due and at the start of this match I could really see only one team winning. This was until the end stretch where the match picked up and my opinion was in doubt. That right there is the product of good booking and some good work by those involved in the match. ANE look awesome as a team here with Lynn & Delirious making them look like a million bucks. The face team are no slouches either though showing those veteran instincts that help take this match out of mediocrity.
6. Tag Wars 2010 Opening Round: The American Wolves vs. Colt Cabana & El Generico
****
Did you expect anything less? Very good match between 4 pro's who know what they're doing. Anybody could have won at any time and that feeling was put across well. Cabana & Generico again come across as a good team and not two guys just put together. The American Wolves...well they're on their game right here playing subtle heel to the face team of Cabanerico. This match got just the right amount of time and kept the pace pretty quick throughout.
After the match Hagadorn comes out and feels the wrath of Davey Richards boot!
7. Non Title Match: World Tag Team Champions The Kings of Wrestling vs. GenerationMe
***3/4
I'll be honest here, I don't feel this is the match I expected. Maybe my expectations were too high but I just don't feel the two teams clicked that well at times on this night. Crowd was into it there's no doubting that however the back and forth action after a while was just mind numbing. I personally have always been fairly skeptical of GenMe because they seem to just be complete spot monkeys earlier in their careers. The match against The American Wolves from the previous night was a refreshing look at GenMe. Here I think the Kings want to work a smart match but we kind of just get the usual GenMe action for actions sake style match. It's not bad and whilst we see the obvious size differences played up to periodically there's nothing that really screams story telling. I don't mind that for certain matches but I think this could have benefitted from a more focused story.
8. ROH World Title Match: Tyler Black vs. Kevin Steen
****1/2
If there are ever two characters most suited to each other in ROH in 2010 it was these two. Tyler Black the plucky face who fights off all adversity against the mentall unstable meniacle Kevin Steen. In a world without Richards vs Black from Death Before Dishonor VIII this would probably have been the match of the year! Steen's just on another level in this match. Smearing his face in Blacks blood and proclaiming himself the anti-christ of ROH. He honestly at times makes Black totally vanilla and characterless but to be fair Black has a knack of knowing what to do when. Steen screams at Black "YOUR NOT BETTER THAN ME" and Black slaps him right around the face. It's those little things that add to the story. Steen takes Black to another level here in a match ROH & wrestling fans in general HAVE TO SEE!
In summary Salvation is top to bottom a very good show. 3 matches **** and above and two others very close to that. The other matches are not offensive in anyway. The shows pace is tremendous and it's very consistent. I'd say this is way up there on the list of top ROH shows from 2010. Is it better than SCOH V? Ooh that's a toughie. Right now I can't decide so I'm sticking dead evens on that. Is it better than DBDVIII? No, but it's only hare behind!
9/10
ROH Hate: Chapter II - Collinsville, IL 07/23/10
1. The House of Truth vs. The Bravado Brothers
**
Good god this isn't a match that's going to fire up a crowd for a show. At this point the HOT are just about getting over and the Bravados are just kind of there. They could be a great team if they had a bit of interesting character or some mannerisms. At first it's a so so affair but it actually gets interesting toward the end. HOT have some nice neiche offense on offer too.
2. Erick Stevens vs. Grizzly Redwood
**1/2
In juxtaposition to The Bravados, Grizzle Redwood has THE CHARACTER, THE MANNERISMS and THAT connection with the crowd. He's just great at what he does. This is in the midst of the Rasche Brown/Grizzly Redwood vs Embassy feud which is probably the worst thing ROH has done in 2010. The match has an ok little story of the big strong guy against the little quick guy and they work that aspect really well. It goes nowhere however as we soon get...
3. Necro Butcher vs. Rasche Brown
No Rating for this one, it's just a bit of a brawl. Necro takes a nasty looking slam to the floor off the apron, that's all to report I guess for this one without spoiling anything.
I'd like to point out that the previous 3 matches took up about 30 minutes of the dvd. Then we get to the portion of the DVD i actually wanted to see onward.
4. Pick 6 Contender's Series: (1) Roderick Strong vs. Colt Cabana
***
Dyu know it's kinda funny that these two, given a main event spot against each other could have a really GREAT match. Here however they are on midcard duty and proceed to put on a fun match where both guys "get their stinkypoop in" and look good. Strong's chase for the title continues.
5. The American Wolves vs. GenerationMe
***3/4
Wow the opening promo by Young Bucks...I mean GenerationMe is really funny. I didn't realise they had such personality! Then Davey gets on the mic and royally BURNS them which is just tremendous.
The match is really good but is a tad odd for my liking. Bascially the Wolves almost squash GenMe for almost the entire match. GenMe get in some offense every now and again but not half of what they usually do. That being said this formula seems refreshing even if a tad old school in the way the heels disrespect everybody then get their asses whipped by the faces. The Wolves seem like a really old school tag team and the booking of the match to me just screams CORNETTE. If you like that, you're in for a treat. If not then maybe this won't be your cup of tea. My advice is try it anyway and see what kind of taste the tea leaves you with.
6. ROH World Champion Tyler Black, Delirious, & Jerry Lynn vs. Austin Aries, Rhett Titus, & Kenny King
***1/2
A lot of issues and backstory going into this one. I think if anything this match could have done with an extra 5 or maybe even 10 minutes as there's so much talent in there that you really only got a glimpse of what each guy can do. Having said that this felt very much like those Crockett style Horsemen vs an all start faceteam (Sting, Nikita Koloff, Dusty Rhodes etc etc) matches. The crowds hot throughout and the match runs at the same pace as this show...fast!
Wow this show's moving fast...90 minutes in and we have two matches to go!!! Steen is out and he attacks Tyler Black!
7. Grudge Match: Kevin Steen vs. El Generico
***3/4
Whilst a really good match I can't help but feel this was a slight step behind the minor classic from Death Before Dishonor VIII. All the ingredients are there but it just doesn't taste the same. The only minor thing to note is the crowd are nowhere near as rabid as the crowd was in Toronto for this match. I'd also like to mention that the finish is fair but given the set presedences of many previous incidences in other ROH matches it comes off as a tad lame.
After the match Steen has a chain but Generico turns the tables on him! Thet brawl and Generico dives off a lighting rig to splash Steen through a table. Pretty cool moment right there!
8. The Kings of Wrestling and Sara Del Rey vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe and The Amazing Kong
****
A really well worked main event that sees the lines of intergender tag wrestling removed as after mere minutes I removed any prejudice I had against womens wrestling and that WWE esque view that the women can only wrestle other women. Everybody is on their game and they all make each other look good. Some very believable nearfalls towards the finish.
So, the show in general was ok. The pace of the show was so quick that on paper you see the first 3 matches are fairly skippable but that takes up about only 30 minutes of the DVD. The matches that mattered got more time apart from ANE/Aries vs Black/Delirious & Lynn match which could have done with a tad more (but by no means felt short) and there's some important occurences such as the continuation of the epic Steen/Generico feud as well as the KOW/Briscoe feud. The Wolves match against Generation Me was something that felt different and to me is the match that stands out the most (despite technically not being the best match on the card). The dvd just flows incredibly well and at no point did I feel my attention waning.
6.5/10
However ROH kindly included a great midcard gem from the 100th show back in 2006...
DVD Bonus:
- Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. AJ Styles & Matt Sydal- 100th Show 4/22/06
****
Whoa I don't think I can recall a match that has as much action in 13 minutes as this! A complete balls to the wall all out movez fest and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that! No doubt there are some that will complain and say "it doesn't have psychology". To those people...try and remember what it's like to be a real fan and suspend your disbelief for while. If you cannot do that then this match, and ROH in general during much of it "glory years" is possibly not for you.
As with the last dvd for Bluegrass Brawl, the inclusion of a very good match from the ROH vault bumps this DVD slightly.
7/10
**
Good god this isn't a match that's going to fire up a crowd for a show. At this point the HOT are just about getting over and the Bravados are just kind of there. They could be a great team if they had a bit of interesting character or some mannerisms. At first it's a so so affair but it actually gets interesting toward the end. HOT have some nice neiche offense on offer too.
2. Erick Stevens vs. Grizzly Redwood
**1/2
In juxtaposition to The Bravados, Grizzle Redwood has THE CHARACTER, THE MANNERISMS and THAT connection with the crowd. He's just great at what he does. This is in the midst of the Rasche Brown/Grizzly Redwood vs Embassy feud which is probably the worst thing ROH has done in 2010. The match has an ok little story of the big strong guy against the little quick guy and they work that aspect really well. It goes nowhere however as we soon get...
3. Necro Butcher vs. Rasche Brown
No Rating for this one, it's just a bit of a brawl. Necro takes a nasty looking slam to the floor off the apron, that's all to report I guess for this one without spoiling anything.
I'd like to point out that the previous 3 matches took up about 30 minutes of the dvd. Then we get to the portion of the DVD i actually wanted to see onward.
4. Pick 6 Contender's Series: (1) Roderick Strong vs. Colt Cabana
***
Dyu know it's kinda funny that these two, given a main event spot against each other could have a really GREAT match. Here however they are on midcard duty and proceed to put on a fun match where both guys "get their stinkypoop in" and look good. Strong's chase for the title continues.
5. The American Wolves vs. GenerationMe
***3/4
Wow the opening promo by Young Bucks...I mean GenerationMe is really funny. I didn't realise they had such personality! Then Davey gets on the mic and royally BURNS them which is just tremendous.
The match is really good but is a tad odd for my liking. Bascially the Wolves almost squash GenMe for almost the entire match. GenMe get in some offense every now and again but not half of what they usually do. That being said this formula seems refreshing even if a tad old school in the way the heels disrespect everybody then get their asses whipped by the faces. The Wolves seem like a really old school tag team and the booking of the match to me just screams CORNETTE. If you like that, you're in for a treat. If not then maybe this won't be your cup of tea. My advice is try it anyway and see what kind of taste the tea leaves you with.
6. ROH World Champion Tyler Black, Delirious, & Jerry Lynn vs. Austin Aries, Rhett Titus, & Kenny King
***1/2
A lot of issues and backstory going into this one. I think if anything this match could have done with an extra 5 or maybe even 10 minutes as there's so much talent in there that you really only got a glimpse of what each guy can do. Having said that this felt very much like those Crockett style Horsemen vs an all start faceteam (Sting, Nikita Koloff, Dusty Rhodes etc etc) matches. The crowds hot throughout and the match runs at the same pace as this show...fast!
Wow this show's moving fast...90 minutes in and we have two matches to go!!! Steen is out and he attacks Tyler Black!
7. Grudge Match: Kevin Steen vs. El Generico
***3/4
Whilst a really good match I can't help but feel this was a slight step behind the minor classic from Death Before Dishonor VIII. All the ingredients are there but it just doesn't taste the same. The only minor thing to note is the crowd are nowhere near as rabid as the crowd was in Toronto for this match. I'd also like to mention that the finish is fair but given the set presedences of many previous incidences in other ROH matches it comes off as a tad lame.
After the match Steen has a chain but Generico turns the tables on him! Thet brawl and Generico dives off a lighting rig to splash Steen through a table. Pretty cool moment right there!
8. The Kings of Wrestling and Sara Del Rey vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe and The Amazing Kong
****
A really well worked main event that sees the lines of intergender tag wrestling removed as after mere minutes I removed any prejudice I had against womens wrestling and that WWE esque view that the women can only wrestle other women. Everybody is on their game and they all make each other look good. Some very believable nearfalls towards the finish.
So, the show in general was ok. The pace of the show was so quick that on paper you see the first 3 matches are fairly skippable but that takes up about only 30 minutes of the DVD. The matches that mattered got more time apart from ANE/Aries vs Black/Delirious & Lynn match which could have done with a tad more (but by no means felt short) and there's some important occurences such as the continuation of the epic Steen/Generico feud as well as the KOW/Briscoe feud. The Wolves match against Generation Me was something that felt different and to me is the match that stands out the most (despite technically not being the best match on the card). The dvd just flows incredibly well and at no point did I feel my attention waning.
6.5/10
However ROH kindly included a great midcard gem from the 100th show back in 2006...
DVD Bonus:
- Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. AJ Styles & Matt Sydal- 100th Show 4/22/06
****
Whoa I don't think I can recall a match that has as much action in 13 minutes as this! A complete balls to the wall all out movez fest and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that! No doubt there are some that will complain and say "it doesn't have psychology". To those people...try and remember what it's like to be a real fan and suspend your disbelief for while. If you cannot do that then this match, and ROH in general during much of it "glory years" is possibly not for you.
As with the last dvd for Bluegrass Brawl, the inclusion of a very good match from the ROH vault bumps this DVD slightly.
7/10
ROH Bluegrass Brawl- Louisville, KY 7/22/10
We kick off the dvd with a nice promo by Jim Cornette which gets the crowd nice and hot for our first match...
1. Beef Wellington vs. Paredyse
**
Fairly bland inoffensive match from two guys that are new to me. Beef Wellington seems like a generic guy and Paredyse has a gimmick very similar to the Christopher Street Connection (lol). Short match that contained some ok action but really nothing stood out.
2. OVW Southern Tag Team Title Match: The Elite vs. Sucio & Fang
**1/2
Wow do Sucio & Fang remind of that 2002-2004 indy/almost cruiserweight style a lot of the smaller guys had. They were fun to watch but I think that may have just been due to them being juxtaposed against The Elite, a team totally without any special about them. Match was so short The Elite couldn't lose anybodys interest which was good and it was just bags of fun watching the little guys do their thing while the Elite bounced around for them.
3. Women of Honor: Sara Del Rey vs. Daizee Haze
**
It's womens wrestling...what can I say? It was ok and crowd seemed into it at times but ultimately I just didnt get into it.
4. Delirious vs. Mike Mondo
**3/4
This is a pretty cookie-cutter type match but you can't deny that Mik Mondo is a hard worker. They have some nice back and forth action however it just wasn't too engaging. Mondo's improved by leaps and bounds since his WWE run that's for sure!
5. Pick 6 Series Match: (4) Chris Hero vs. Colt Cabana
***3/4
Wow this exceeded my expectations! Very good mid card match with so really neat chain wrestling and the awesomeness that is Chris Hero in 2010. Both guys sell for each other really well and the crowd seem to love them both which adds a nice atmosphere.
6. Austin Aries, Kenny King & Rhett Titus vs. Roderick Strong & The House of Truth
***1/4
This match could well have sucked the momentum right out of this show on paper. Surely nobody wants to see this match? That's what I was thinking being as at this point its 2 heel teams going at it. And then as it progresses it just gets better and better to the point where at the end I say to myself "Damn I wish they had 5 more minutes". Hot tag onwards the match is just HOT. Aries looked fired up in this one!
7. Non Title Match: ROH World Champion Tyler Black vs. Claudio Castagnoli
****
It shouldn't be surprising to anybody who follows ROH that these two had a very good match. Black keeps that roll of very good - great title defenses going here and Castagnoli just seems so refreshing in singles competition. His unique offense is something he often does not get to demonstrate fully when teaming with Chris Hero so it's fun to see him here. Both seem to have good chemistry together although this match feels a tad odd as they play a kind of big man vs little man story to start and obviously Black is not a small guy at all. It works ok though as Claudio reminds us PLENTY of times during the match he has the better physique. All in all a very good fun non title match with an unpredictable winner.
8. The American Wolves vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe
****1/4
Seen any of the previous matches between these two? If you have then you know what to expect! As this matched began I actually was almost not wanting to watch it as they've already faced each other enough for my liking. However they wrestle a very smart match that's captivating enough and is very enjoyable. Both teams are very over with the crowd but seem to play subtle heel when in control which works as it helps the crowd get into the action.
So, to summise this show in a nutshell...this is OK. But that's just it. Two very good matches, a good match and the rest is totally forgettable. However that's not to say it's not worth checking out. The Davis Arena is a great little venue that looks very professional. The crowd enjoys their night of 'rasslin so there's no quiet dead matches, although I must say we are quite clearly in the south as they chant USA USA USA at Claudio when he's not even playing up to nationality gimmick in particular (he's working the fact he's bigger than Black in their match). The OVW talent used is refreshing also even if the matches they were involved in were not anything to write home about.
So for the show itself 6.5/10
However ROH kindly included two bonus matches from New Frontiers which was way back in June 2005 and is a totally forgotten gem of a show.
- ROH Pure Title Match: Samoa Joe vs. James Gibson- New Frontiers 6/4/05
***3/4
Ah the Pure title, I do miss the unique matches and stories that were told due to the Pure title rules. This match uses the rules to tell a good story with each competitor forcing the other to use their rope breaks. Joe is adding prestige to the Pure title whilst James Gibson is on a great run in ROH having classic after classic.
- ROH World Title Match: Austin Aries vs. Spanky
****
Ah ROH 2005. Gabe is very much booking things over many shows at this point and here we are in the midst of the first Austin Aries title run where he undergoes a strenuous schedule in order to show the world he's going to be the best ROH World champion in history. Some very good story telling in this match as Aries neck was injured a few shows back so we keep up the continuity as Spanky takes advantage of that. What's good about this match is the pace, they work so hard so fast and still don't make it spotty or take it to overkill levels. The finish is great too. Totally forgotten classic here!
The addition of these two archived matches bumps the rating of this DVD as the whole package.
7/10
1. Beef Wellington vs. Paredyse
**
Fairly bland inoffensive match from two guys that are new to me. Beef Wellington seems like a generic guy and Paredyse has a gimmick very similar to the Christopher Street Connection (lol). Short match that contained some ok action but really nothing stood out.
2. OVW Southern Tag Team Title Match: The Elite vs. Sucio & Fang
**1/2
Wow do Sucio & Fang remind of that 2002-2004 indy/almost cruiserweight style a lot of the smaller guys had. They were fun to watch but I think that may have just been due to them being juxtaposed against The Elite, a team totally without any special about them. Match was so short The Elite couldn't lose anybodys interest which was good and it was just bags of fun watching the little guys do their thing while the Elite bounced around for them.
3. Women of Honor: Sara Del Rey vs. Daizee Haze
**
It's womens wrestling...what can I say? It was ok and crowd seemed into it at times but ultimately I just didnt get into it.
4. Delirious vs. Mike Mondo
**3/4
This is a pretty cookie-cutter type match but you can't deny that Mik Mondo is a hard worker. They have some nice back and forth action however it just wasn't too engaging. Mondo's improved by leaps and bounds since his WWE run that's for sure!
5. Pick 6 Series Match: (4) Chris Hero vs. Colt Cabana
***3/4
Wow this exceeded my expectations! Very good mid card match with so really neat chain wrestling and the awesomeness that is Chris Hero in 2010. Both guys sell for each other really well and the crowd seem to love them both which adds a nice atmosphere.
6. Austin Aries, Kenny King & Rhett Titus vs. Roderick Strong & The House of Truth
***1/4
This match could well have sucked the momentum right out of this show on paper. Surely nobody wants to see this match? That's what I was thinking being as at this point its 2 heel teams going at it. And then as it progresses it just gets better and better to the point where at the end I say to myself "Damn I wish they had 5 more minutes". Hot tag onwards the match is just HOT. Aries looked fired up in this one!
7. Non Title Match: ROH World Champion Tyler Black vs. Claudio Castagnoli
****
It shouldn't be surprising to anybody who follows ROH that these two had a very good match. Black keeps that roll of very good - great title defenses going here and Castagnoli just seems so refreshing in singles competition. His unique offense is something he often does not get to demonstrate fully when teaming with Chris Hero so it's fun to see him here. Both seem to have good chemistry together although this match feels a tad odd as they play a kind of big man vs little man story to start and obviously Black is not a small guy at all. It works ok though as Claudio reminds us PLENTY of times during the match he has the better physique. All in all a very good fun non title match with an unpredictable winner.
8. The American Wolves vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe
****1/4
Seen any of the previous matches between these two? If you have then you know what to expect! As this matched began I actually was almost not wanting to watch it as they've already faced each other enough for my liking. However they wrestle a very smart match that's captivating enough and is very enjoyable. Both teams are very over with the crowd but seem to play subtle heel when in control which works as it helps the crowd get into the action.
So, to summise this show in a nutshell...this is OK. But that's just it. Two very good matches, a good match and the rest is totally forgettable. However that's not to say it's not worth checking out. The Davis Arena is a great little venue that looks very professional. The crowd enjoys their night of 'rasslin so there's no quiet dead matches, although I must say we are quite clearly in the south as they chant USA USA USA at Claudio when he's not even playing up to nationality gimmick in particular (he's working the fact he's bigger than Black in their match). The OVW talent used is refreshing also even if the matches they were involved in were not anything to write home about.
So for the show itself 6.5/10
However ROH kindly included two bonus matches from New Frontiers which was way back in June 2005 and is a totally forgotten gem of a show.
- ROH Pure Title Match: Samoa Joe vs. James Gibson- New Frontiers 6/4/05
***3/4
Ah the Pure title, I do miss the unique matches and stories that were told due to the Pure title rules. This match uses the rules to tell a good story with each competitor forcing the other to use their rope breaks. Joe is adding prestige to the Pure title whilst James Gibson is on a great run in ROH having classic after classic.
- ROH World Title Match: Austin Aries vs. Spanky
****
Ah ROH 2005. Gabe is very much booking things over many shows at this point and here we are in the midst of the first Austin Aries title run where he undergoes a strenuous schedule in order to show the world he's going to be the best ROH World champion in history. Some very good story telling in this match as Aries neck was injured a few shows back so we keep up the continuity as Spanky takes advantage of that. What's good about this match is the pace, they work so hard so fast and still don't make it spotty or take it to overkill levels. The finish is great too. Totally forgotten classic here!
The addition of these two archived matches bumps the rating of this DVD as the whole package.
7/10
ROH Buffalo Stampede II: 6/18/2010 in Hamburg, New York
We kick off the dvd with Mr Ernesto on his mobile phone. Nana interupts him with some kind of drug selling reference and reminds Ernesto that he has a match against Delirious tonight! WOWEE!
Mr. Ernesto Osiris vs. Delirious
*1/2
Serious contender for worst match of the year here. As good a worker as Delirious is, he can't force Osiris to be any good. I'd be quite happy to never seen Osiris wrestle again. Crowd also is not very vocal throughout most of this.
Quick promo from Tyson Dux who is out to make an impression tonight!
10 Minute Hunt:
Eddie Edwards vs. Tyson Dux
**1/2
WTF?!! Grizzly Redwood on commentary! This was an ok match with the focus on putting Tyson Dux over a bit. The 10 minute hunt gimmick and served its purpose here however Dux wrestled half the match like they had 20 minutes to play with which just seems a tad dumb (although you could argue he was trying to show Edwards that he can hang with the best).
Backstage Steve Corino cuts a great promo about his match with Tyler Black. Best thing on the DVD so far!
Shawn Daivari vs. Colt Cabana
**3/4
Another fairly short match as by its end we hit the 45 minute mark of the show. Cabana brings the goods and Daivari is no slouch when he wants to put his working boots on. Together they manage to finally get the crowd to do more than polite cheering/chanting and have a nice back and forth contest. My only issue with Daivari is that he's just so bland to watch. Colt Cabana puts on something interesting everytime he gets in the ring whereas Daivari is just kind of "there" in my opinion
Pee Wee vs Roderick Strong
**
Double WTF?!?! Shane Hagadorn now on commentary! Liking the guests so far! Poor Pee Wee, he gets his arse handed to him at points in this bout. Strong just hurts him and it is fun to watch. My one criticism of this is that Pee Wee was looking good taking the beating and I felt Strong didn't need to look in danger at any point in this match to put Pee Wee over. As it was though, I could probably watch Strong slam Pee Wee on the ring apron 500 times and still laugh and cringe at the same time. This is probably worth seeing just for that.
Up in Smoke vs. The Kings of Wrestling
***3/4
Finally a match that's not just middling/average! Fun story here as the Kings use their much bigger size to their advantage and Up In Smoke perform some sensational double team moves to counter act. The Kings are just on form and Up In Smoke hold their own and really show that they should have a permanent spot on the roster. Several believable nearfalls towards the end and the crowd is brought to life throughout the match with every high flying move and every brutal elbow.
Tyler Black comes out with some dudes I've never heard of and DESTROYER!
Kenny Omega cuts a weird promo, like you didn't expect that!
Austin Aries vs. Kenny Omega
***1/2
Whilst certainley not a bad match I cant help but think that this was dissapointing. Both guys seemed to kind of do a bit of their usual shtick and then it ended. It was still good but just nothing special. I can completely see why Aries services are on a long term hiatus as he looks unmotivated here. Hopefully time away can rejuvinate him to the lofty standards he set himself between 2006 and 2008. Omega here once again has me wondering what all the hype is about. This match really should have been MOTN.
ANE attack Omega afterwards which leads us to...
The All Night Express vs. The Briscoe Brothers
***
Here we have a match that totally accomplishes its goal in getting the ANE over. I don't feel both teams clicked here on this occasion and I'm pretty sure at another point I've seen both teams have a better match. The match felt rushed yet wasn't too short and it lacked any real heat from the crowd (case in point the 2 or 3 "cold" tags). By no means offensive and the finish suited the winners down to the ground.
Steve Corino vs. Tyler Black
***1/4
First off Corinos crowd interaction before the match starts is the BEST thing about this show up to bow (even better than the slam on the apron!). Once again this is another match with a purpose. That was to build towards the Kevin Steen vs Tyler Black title match at Salvation and it served its purpose just fine. Corino did well indeed and I feel he still has a lot to offer ROH. Tyler Black continues his run of good - great title defenses. My only criticism here is Blacks selling of the leg but the actions enthralling enough for the real fan in me to forget that.
Backstage Tyler Black tells us how the Steve Corino he faced was just a ghost yadda yadda yadda.
OK, so overall this shows is fairly forgettable. Half the card isn't even really worth watching at all and the other half has some ok - good matches. Up In Smokes vs The Kings of Wrestling takes match of the night and its well deserved. One thing I have to say about this is that this Friday show before the big IPPV should have been a nice setup show filled with teasers and bits and bobs to get you excited for Death Before Dishonor. It was especially important to make an impression on the Buffalo who hadn't seen an ROH show in about 5 years by this point. Instead this show was just an after thought and honestly felt like ROH had forgotten they had to a show the night before the big IPPV and slung a few matches together. The card doesn't look too appealing although I must say every performer worked hard.
The show was well paced and split up well with promos. Also I enjoyed Hagadorn and Griz on commentary instead of Prazak who only did the opening match. It's a middling and slightly dull show to begin with but it gets better and doesn't suffer from the hurrendous booking that Civil Warefare had therefore preventing it from taking the dubious honour of worst show of the year (so far). All in all I'm just glad ROH doesn't expect you to pay for this show!
5.5
Mr. Ernesto Osiris vs. Delirious
*1/2
Serious contender for worst match of the year here. As good a worker as Delirious is, he can't force Osiris to be any good. I'd be quite happy to never seen Osiris wrestle again. Crowd also is not very vocal throughout most of this.
Quick promo from Tyson Dux who is out to make an impression tonight!
10 Minute Hunt:
Eddie Edwards vs. Tyson Dux
**1/2
WTF?!! Grizzly Redwood on commentary! This was an ok match with the focus on putting Tyson Dux over a bit. The 10 minute hunt gimmick and served its purpose here however Dux wrestled half the match like they had 20 minutes to play with which just seems a tad dumb (although you could argue he was trying to show Edwards that he can hang with the best).
Backstage Steve Corino cuts a great promo about his match with Tyler Black. Best thing on the DVD so far!
Shawn Daivari vs. Colt Cabana
**3/4
Another fairly short match as by its end we hit the 45 minute mark of the show. Cabana brings the goods and Daivari is no slouch when he wants to put his working boots on. Together they manage to finally get the crowd to do more than polite cheering/chanting and have a nice back and forth contest. My only issue with Daivari is that he's just so bland to watch. Colt Cabana puts on something interesting everytime he gets in the ring whereas Daivari is just kind of "there" in my opinion
Pee Wee vs Roderick Strong
**
Double WTF?!?! Shane Hagadorn now on commentary! Liking the guests so far! Poor Pee Wee, he gets his arse handed to him at points in this bout. Strong just hurts him and it is fun to watch. My one criticism of this is that Pee Wee was looking good taking the beating and I felt Strong didn't need to look in danger at any point in this match to put Pee Wee over. As it was though, I could probably watch Strong slam Pee Wee on the ring apron 500 times and still laugh and cringe at the same time. This is probably worth seeing just for that.
Up in Smoke vs. The Kings of Wrestling
***3/4
Finally a match that's not just middling/average! Fun story here as the Kings use their much bigger size to their advantage and Up In Smoke perform some sensational double team moves to counter act. The Kings are just on form and Up In Smoke hold their own and really show that they should have a permanent spot on the roster. Several believable nearfalls towards the end and the crowd is brought to life throughout the match with every high flying move and every brutal elbow.
Tyler Black comes out with some dudes I've never heard of and DESTROYER!
Kenny Omega cuts a weird promo, like you didn't expect that!
Austin Aries vs. Kenny Omega
***1/2
Whilst certainley not a bad match I cant help but think that this was dissapointing. Both guys seemed to kind of do a bit of their usual shtick and then it ended. It was still good but just nothing special. I can completely see why Aries services are on a long term hiatus as he looks unmotivated here. Hopefully time away can rejuvinate him to the lofty standards he set himself between 2006 and 2008. Omega here once again has me wondering what all the hype is about. This match really should have been MOTN.
ANE attack Omega afterwards which leads us to...
The All Night Express vs. The Briscoe Brothers
***
Here we have a match that totally accomplishes its goal in getting the ANE over. I don't feel both teams clicked here on this occasion and I'm pretty sure at another point I've seen both teams have a better match. The match felt rushed yet wasn't too short and it lacked any real heat from the crowd (case in point the 2 or 3 "cold" tags). By no means offensive and the finish suited the winners down to the ground.
Steve Corino vs. Tyler Black
***1/4
First off Corinos crowd interaction before the match starts is the BEST thing about this show up to bow (even better than the slam on the apron!). Once again this is another match with a purpose. That was to build towards the Kevin Steen vs Tyler Black title match at Salvation and it served its purpose just fine. Corino did well indeed and I feel he still has a lot to offer ROH. Tyler Black continues his run of good - great title defenses. My only criticism here is Blacks selling of the leg but the actions enthralling enough for the real fan in me to forget that.
Backstage Tyler Black tells us how the Steve Corino he faced was just a ghost yadda yadda yadda.
OK, so overall this shows is fairly forgettable. Half the card isn't even really worth watching at all and the other half has some ok - good matches. Up In Smokes vs The Kings of Wrestling takes match of the night and its well deserved. One thing I have to say about this is that this Friday show before the big IPPV should have been a nice setup show filled with teasers and bits and bobs to get you excited for Death Before Dishonor. It was especially important to make an impression on the Buffalo who hadn't seen an ROH show in about 5 years by this point. Instead this show was just an after thought and honestly felt like ROH had forgotten they had to a show the night before the big IPPV and slung a few matches together. The card doesn't look too appealing although I must say every performer worked hard.
The show was well paced and split up well with promos. Also I enjoyed Hagadorn and Griz on commentary instead of Prazak who only did the opening match. It's a middling and slightly dull show to begin with but it gets better and doesn't suffer from the hurrendous booking that Civil Warefare had therefore preventing it from taking the dubious honour of worst show of the year (so far). All in all I'm just glad ROH doesn't expect you to pay for this show!
5.5
ROH Death Before Dishonor VIII- Toronto, Ontario 6/19/10
1. El Generico vs. Kevin Steen
****
flog ME! Is there any better way to start a show or more specifically a PPV than with a red hot grudge match. They bring INTENSITY at high levels and just pack so much into the match. If this had a 5 or maybe even 10 more minutes this would have been MOTYC material for sure!
2. The All Night Express (Rhett Titus & Kenny King) vs. Up In Smoke (Cheech & Cloudy)
**1/2
Eh I have little interest in either team. What they do is fine and ultimately the name team looks best however Up In Smoke hold their own just about. At least this match didn't take up too much of the show.
3. Austin Aries vs. Delirious
**
ROH continues to punish me by having ANOTHER match in this seemingly never ending feud between Aries and Delirious. We get Red Poison Delirious which is meant to be a sign that Delirious is gunna kick all kinds of ass. It's a shame here that basically apart from spitting mist Delirious just seems the same as usual. What happens at the end and after the match is way more exciting than the match itself.
4. 2nd Annual Toronto Gauntlet: Colt Cabana vs. Eddie Edwards vs. Roderick Strong vs. Tyson Dux vs. Shawn Daivari vs. Steve Corino
***
Gauntlets are a difficult thing to write about and review. Without spoiling anything all I can say is that the booking of this match was done well in the sense that the match never got dull and told a few good stories to boot. Tyson Dux also has a mild standout performance here.
5. Christopher Daniels vs. Kenny Omega
****1/2
OH YES! This match absolutely rocked! Omega's on a hell of a role in 2010 and Daniels to me had a little bit to prove as to wether or not he could truly keep up with Omega and boy did he ever! The match just flows brilliantly without any dull or dead spots and they just went out there and put on a DAMN GOOD match. Crowd was crazy into it too. Worth going out of your way to see.
6. ROH World Tag Team Title/No DQ Match: The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe
****3/4
When these two teams met at the Big Bang! I thought it was the best tag match I had seen anywhere since Tag Title Classic. It was a great example of tag team wrestling at its best and I thought at the time it was about ****1/2. Fast forward to this show and this was a NO DQ match that should go down as one of THE best tag matches in company history. A complete 180 on the match they had at the Big Bang! this match was INTENSE and pretty violent too with plenty of blood. What's great about this is how the match reaches a point where I literally could not guess what could be next and then they would do something which eye popping that would drag me further to the edge of my seat. It felt almost like an 80's NWA style blood feud match with the faces shining hard and the heels getting SO MUCH heat. As with the previous match the crowd is SUPER into this. Yet another reason to buy this DVD just for this match.
7. ROH World Title Match: Tyler Black vs. Davey Richards
*****
There have been many classic matches throughout ROH history. But if one was define the line between good and great with good being Danielson vs Morishima from Manhatten Mayhem II and great being McGuinness vs Danielson from Domination/Driven then this match would have to lumped into the great category. The fans chant MATCH OF THE YEAR several times throughout this and not in the kind of way fans do with THIS IS AWESOME etc. There's even a YOU CANT BEAT HIM chant at one point which was terrific to hear. Just the whole crowd being absorbed into the story being told in the ring and buying every nearfall and ooh'ing with every move was a reminder that at times ROH can deliver pro wrestling like no other. There's really nothing more I can say that hasn't been said before so all that's left is, for the third match in a row, I advise you BUY THE BLOODY DVD!!
To summarise in a nutshell this is the best wrestling show/PPV I have seen a very long time. SCOHV was very good indeed but it's not quite got the extra sizzle of the last three matches on this show nor has it got this shows fantastic pacing. The matches that are filler are perfectly watchable and did their job in the context of the show. Add to that possibly the hottest opener in ROH history and this made for a first half that flew by. The second half is just silly how enjoyable each match is in it's own way and what's great about the card in general is that it was varied enough to stay at a highly entertaining level. A nice little touch by ROH was the interviews they did with various roster members and fans asking them who was going to win in the main event. It's only a little thing but it added more of a big match feel to an already highly anticipated bout.
So in short this is most likely show of the year for 2010 and if you dont own it already GO AND BUY IT NOW!!!!!
10/10
****
flog ME! Is there any better way to start a show or more specifically a PPV than with a red hot grudge match. They bring INTENSITY at high levels and just pack so much into the match. If this had a 5 or maybe even 10 more minutes this would have been MOTYC material for sure!
2. The All Night Express (Rhett Titus & Kenny King) vs. Up In Smoke (Cheech & Cloudy)
**1/2
Eh I have little interest in either team. What they do is fine and ultimately the name team looks best however Up In Smoke hold their own just about. At least this match didn't take up too much of the show.
3. Austin Aries vs. Delirious
**
ROH continues to punish me by having ANOTHER match in this seemingly never ending feud between Aries and Delirious. We get Red Poison Delirious which is meant to be a sign that Delirious is gunna kick all kinds of ass. It's a shame here that basically apart from spitting mist Delirious just seems the same as usual. What happens at the end and after the match is way more exciting than the match itself.
4. 2nd Annual Toronto Gauntlet: Colt Cabana vs. Eddie Edwards vs. Roderick Strong vs. Tyson Dux vs. Shawn Daivari vs. Steve Corino
***
Gauntlets are a difficult thing to write about and review. Without spoiling anything all I can say is that the booking of this match was done well in the sense that the match never got dull and told a few good stories to boot. Tyson Dux also has a mild standout performance here.
5. Christopher Daniels vs. Kenny Omega
****1/2
OH YES! This match absolutely rocked! Omega's on a hell of a role in 2010 and Daniels to me had a little bit to prove as to wether or not he could truly keep up with Omega and boy did he ever! The match just flows brilliantly without any dull or dead spots and they just went out there and put on a DAMN GOOD match. Crowd was crazy into it too. Worth going out of your way to see.
6. ROH World Tag Team Title/No DQ Match: The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe
****3/4
When these two teams met at the Big Bang! I thought it was the best tag match I had seen anywhere since Tag Title Classic. It was a great example of tag team wrestling at its best and I thought at the time it was about ****1/2. Fast forward to this show and this was a NO DQ match that should go down as one of THE best tag matches in company history. A complete 180 on the match they had at the Big Bang! this match was INTENSE and pretty violent too with plenty of blood. What's great about this is how the match reaches a point where I literally could not guess what could be next and then they would do something which eye popping that would drag me further to the edge of my seat. It felt almost like an 80's NWA style blood feud match with the faces shining hard and the heels getting SO MUCH heat. As with the previous match the crowd is SUPER into this. Yet another reason to buy this DVD just for this match.
7. ROH World Title Match: Tyler Black vs. Davey Richards
*****
There have been many classic matches throughout ROH history. But if one was define the line between good and great with good being Danielson vs Morishima from Manhatten Mayhem II and great being McGuinness vs Danielson from Domination/Driven then this match would have to lumped into the great category. The fans chant MATCH OF THE YEAR several times throughout this and not in the kind of way fans do with THIS IS AWESOME etc. There's even a YOU CANT BEAT HIM chant at one point which was terrific to hear. Just the whole crowd being absorbed into the story being told in the ring and buying every nearfall and ooh'ing with every move was a reminder that at times ROH can deliver pro wrestling like no other. There's really nothing more I can say that hasn't been said before so all that's left is, for the third match in a row, I advise you BUY THE BLOODY DVD!!
To summarise in a nutshell this is the best wrestling show/PPV I have seen a very long time. SCOHV was very good indeed but it's not quite got the extra sizzle of the last three matches on this show nor has it got this shows fantastic pacing. The matches that are filler are perfectly watchable and did their job in the context of the show. Add to that possibly the hottest opener in ROH history and this made for a first half that flew by. The second half is just silly how enjoyable each match is in it's own way and what's great about the card in general is that it was varied enough to stay at a highly entertaining level. A nice little touch by ROH was the interviews they did with various roster members and fans asking them who was going to win in the main event. It's only a little thing but it added more of a big match feel to an already highly anticipated bout.
So in short this is most likely show of the year for 2010 and if you dont own it already GO AND BUY IT NOW!!!!!
10/10
ROH Supercard of Honor V - New York, NY 05/08/10
1. Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Rhett Titus & Kenny King
***
Fine opening match here. One thing that dawned on me watching this is how King & Titus seem on a closer level to a bigger more accomplished team like The Briscoes. Before I would just look at them as fodder but over the past few months they have come along nicely.
2. Open Challenge: Erick Stevens vs. Grizzly Redwood
**1/4
Bless Grizzly! There's something so fun about watching him getting thrown around then making a firey comeback. Decent enough outing
3. SHIMMER Challenge Match: Amazing Kong vs. Sara Del Ray
***1/4
As strange as this will sound...this was not the epic match i was expecting. It was fairly good but just did not have the time or flow to take it to the next level. A tad dissapointing given who's involved.
4. Non Title Match: ROH World TV Champion Eddie Edwards vs. Christopher Daniels
***1/2
Just what you expect from these two. Really solid mid card outing that's not out to steal the show but is all out entertaining. Edwards hangs in there with Daniels which just goes to show you what level he's on these days.
5. Grudge Match: Austin Aries vs. Delirious
**
Awesome pre-match promo from Aries. As for the match, well it's interesting what transpires here. That's really all I can say...
..
6. 34th Street Deathmatch: Kevin Steen vs.Colt Cabana
****
I dont know why but this year ROH has been producing very ECW like brawls on more than one occasion. And im not talking about an ECW brawl that's just a brawl. Im talking about the match and the booking altogether that gives you that cant blink or I'll miss feeling while watching. Much like the tag match from Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies 2, this match was just plain sick. Plenty of nasty bumps, a few of which I had never seen before anywhere. Say what you want about Cabana but he damn well pulls out the goods here. Steen is just, well he's Kevin Steen in 2010 - freaking awesome. It will be a shame if he has to leave ROH at Final Battle 2010 but if so he will have had a hell of a year to cap of his ROH run.
7. ROH World Tag Team Title Match: Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli vs. Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley
****1/2
Quite simply, this was a truly great tag team match. When I say great I mean GREAT. Both teams were just SO on in this match and what makes it better is that they have chemistry with each other. A boat load of signature and double team offense. And it's that good you can start comparing it to the first Briscoes vs MCMG match from Good Times, Great Memories or Aries/Strong vs Briscoes from Unified. That is until the finish which for the love of god must have left the fans feeling screwed. Who knows I may have dished out the full 5 SNOWFLAKES OF DOOM on this one had the ending satisfied me.
8. ROH World Title Match: Tyler Black vs. Roderick Strong
****1/4
Well what did you expect? Two guys who have wrestled each other a tonne over the past 12 months go out there and have another very good match. It almost encroaches onto the path of being like a lot of their other encounters but the ending is unique to their series so this match stands out on its own. Strong continues to push being the ultimate worker whilst Black is on a roll and you can quite clearly see that. Kudos to whoever booked this match.
So in a nut shell there's a very good undercard and 3 **** and over matches. Out of 8 matches only 2 were below ***. That's a hell of consistent show and SCHOV provides just that. A top to bottom card that just picks what was my personal favourite BFSE2 to the post of being the best show of the year so far.
9/10
ROH Civil Warfare - Manassas, VA 5/7/10
1. Ten Minute Hunt: Eddie Edwards vs. Bobby Dempsey
*3/4
Oh man this is a soft way to start a show! This wasnt hurrendous and there were a couple of moments from Bobby Demspey that I simply had to rewind just to see again. Dempsey has come along quietly since his days as part of Sweet & Sour Inc. Not quite what you want from an opener and you can tell by the crowd being vocal one moment then deathly silent the next.
2. Jay Briscoe vs. Claudio Castagnoli
**1/4
I really expected more from this. Both of them didnt seem of their game or anything the match was just pretty dull and bland. Add to that a finish out of nowhere and as a stand alone match this is how they say "pretty meh".
3. Mark Briscoe vs. Chris Hero
**3/4
A better match than what both their partners put on previously. Hero with his usual offense and Mark Briscoe to me continues to be an underrated single comptetitor. Match was ok and I would be interested to see what these two could do with 17-20 minutes to play with.
4. Pick 6 Series: (1) Roderick Strong vs. Erick Stevens
***1/4
Remember how brutally awesome their feud was from the end of 07/08? Well this is nothing like any of those matches which is a shame because I feel given the right opportunity a guy like Erick Stevens can step up his game. This match was ok but then got better and better in the last 5 minutes. Another unexpected finish here but the match had a phase of an ending segment unlike the Jay Briscoe/Claudio Castagnoli match.
Whoa...were only an hour into the dvd and the bigger half of the card is done. Let's hope it picks up!
5. Pick 6 Series: (5) Kenny King vs. Colt Cabana
***
This match had some serious fun going on with the crowd at the start which is just an absolutely welcome addition at this point as the show is beginning to drag a little for me. Cabana and King seem to have a good chemistry with each other but more importantly they can both work a crowd really well. Kenny King is impressing more and more as 2010 progresses and I think he could be THE break out guy in 2011. Sadly when the match is building to a presummed nice crescendo we get ANOTHER finish out of nowhere. To me this hurt the match badly. I would love to see a rematch sometime.
6. Pick 6 Series: (2) Kevin Steen vs. Christopher Daniels
***1/2
Ah Christopher Daniels, how we have missed thee. This is his long awaited return match and it was fairly good. Steen, as I have said before is just awesome in his current role and here is no different. The Fallen Angel seems to not have missed a beat and this match was very competitive. And then because whoever booked this show seems to hate me, the fans in attendance and anyone who watches this DVD we get YET ANOTHER flogging ROPEY FINISH! That's right!
7. Tyler Black & Delirious vs. Austin Aries & Rhett Titus
**3/4
Well this is it. 1 hour 45 mins into the show and we have your main event. Before it started I knew this would have to be something special to save this show. Of course on paper this match looks like something which should headline an episode of ROH on HDNET. And that's basically what it is. It's entertaining but is not anything special. Neither team seems to click with their partners.
Bonus:
- Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli (The Kings of Wrestling) vs. The Set
- ROH on HDNet- Eddie Edwards vs. Kevin Steen- Episode #2
- ROH on HDNet- Chris Hero vs. Kenny Omega- Episode #7
- ROH on HDNet- The American Wolves vs. Orange Cassidy & Leslie Butterscotch- Episode #8
- ROH on HDNet- Kevin Steen & Jay Briscoe vs. Eddie Edwards & Chris Hero- Episode #6
Right, so to sum it all up the main show's had 3 finishes I disliked and even has 3 matches in a row that have managers interfere which is just lame in my opinion. Honestly I feel bad for the fans on Manasses, this show may have killed off some fans interest in going to live shows. Bobby Dempsey, Colt Cabana, Chris Daniels, Kevin Steen, all have promos throughout the dvd which I like because on a lot of the newer releases it seems the dvds contain just the matches from the relevant show. I guess they save the promos for the videowire however I like to have the shows broken up a bit by promos or segments.
The bonus matches are ok but nothing amazing (The Steen/Briscoe vs Edwards/Hero match being the best of the bonus material). One thing thats very noticable is the quality difference between a normal ROH show and the HDNET recordings.
There is some entertaining stuff on this DVD but I wouldnt have missed not having this in my ROH DVD collection.
Overall the show ranges from feelings of ambivelence to mediocrity to stirings of good before the booking shits all over it. Probably the worst ROH show of 2010 (though I have yet to see Gold Rush) so far and one of the worst ROH DVDs I have seen in quite a while.
5/10
ROH Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies 2- Chicago Ridge, IL 4/24/10
1. "Skullkrusher" Rasche Brown vs. Sami Callihan
**
I havent seen much of Sami Callihan before and I must say I think he's got real potential. What he does here isnt flashy but in terms of what the match was focused on he certainly showed some intelligence with his offense. Naturally we should all live in fear of the Skullkrusher and if you need to know why I suggest you take a good hard look at Callihans chest mid way through this fine opener.
As were on the topic of Brown, I'd like to voice my opinion on the lack of real genuine monsters in ROH. With Brown gone it would be nice to see ROH bring in somebody like a Brent Albright who if booked in the right way could be an absolute beast (im no Albright fan by the way, I'm using him as an example of sombody with decent size for the role).
2. The Dark City Fight Club vs. The Bravado Brothers
**1/4
It's hard to talk about this match and keep it spoiler free. All I can say is I love the pounce and I think that The Bravados could be a great little face team if they get the opportunity. The finish was suprising to me and it's certainly something I hope to see again. The DCFC do good looking power moves but I find them bland when put against the top teams like the Briscoes.
3. Non Title: ROH World TV Champion Eddie Edwards vs. The Metal Master
***
Nice match that showcases a little of what both can do. Edwards is good and Metal Master holds his own but at times both seem a little off. That doesnt affect the match though as these guys worked hard.
4. The House of Truth vs. Erick Stevens & Shawn Daivari
*1/2
At this point I almost loathe seeing anything involving the Embassy. They have become a total joke and I for one always feel like skipping their matches on DVD releases. The team on Stevens & Daivari are what you expect from two guys thrown together. HOT are ok but for me are missing that special something. The match is watchable but basic andt he finish is crappy. Possible WMOTYC
5. Pick 6 Series: (4) Davey Richards vs. (1) Roderick Strong
****1/4
As strange as this is we go from possible worst match of the year to possible midcard match of the year. This had a main event feel and both Richards and Strong went out there beat the hell out of each other full tilt, no stopping, ro rests, just balls to the wall action. People will debate the finish but in my opinion that's irrelevant because of how hard these guys worked. Honestly this match is just rediculous and you NEED to see it.
6. Petey Williams vs. Rhett Titus
**3/4
A decent mid card match that to me shows how far Rhett Titus has come on in recent times. Williams seems to be working in a class lower to that of the night before when he faced Chris Hero but that's not to say he's calling it in. The action is fine but nothing spectacular.
7. Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Austin Aries and Kenny King.
***3/4
Pretty good tag team affair here. What's great about watching this is how much of a good team Aries & King are. The Briscoes are awesome as per usual and this match had some good dynamics as going into this Aries,King & Titus were having issues.
8. ROH World Title Match: Tyler Black vs. Chris Hero
****
Truly a very good world title match that's shows that Black is worthy of the strap he carries. Whilst both mens styles are very different they mesh very well here. Hero's elbows seem to knock Black out nearly everytime which is just awesome as Hero is literally more like a boxer these days but he does have a trick or two up his sleeve (no pun intended) in this match. Well worth a watch if your tempted.
9. Come-As-You-Are Street Fight: Kevin Steen & Steve Corino vs. Colt Cabana & El Generico
****
What an absolutly sick brawl this was. Everything and the kitchen sink in what is one of ROH's better brawls in its history. Some of the things they did in this match were different and inventive. The finish is just one of the sickest things you'll see in wrestling.
So 3 matches **** or over plus 2 at *** or over. That's pretty good going and ROH continues its roll over very good - great shows. Im giving this one a slightly lower rating than Pick Your Poison just because several of the matches in hindsight are completly forgettable and that hurts the overall card. What is good is the shows pacing and I didnt find myself losing interest.
7.5/10
Thursday 14 April 2011
ROH Pick Your Poison - Dayton, OH 4/20/10
1. Sami Callihan vs. Metal Master
**
Such a short short match. Callihan looked the better of the two. What I will say is that they fit a lot of action in.
2. Necro Butcher & Skullkrusher Rasche Brown vs. Erick Stevens & Shawn Daivari
*1/2
Naturally this is Necros rules so it's a wild brawl right? No it isnt. It was a tad boring but it at least it was short. The events after the match finished were much more interesting anything that occured during the match itself.
3. Pick 6 Series Match: (3) Chris Hero vs. Petey Williams
***1/2
Enjoyable match with both competitors hitting their respective signature moves. Im no fan of Petey Williams but he certainley impressed me here. Hero was his usual level of awesomeness.
4. The American Wolves vs. The Dark City Fight Club
***1/4
All I can say is, this match shows just what a great team the Wolves really are. I didnt see a lot from the DCFC but the Wolves made this match a joy to watch when it could have just been mediocre.
5. Austin Aries & Rhett Titus vs. The House of Truth
*1/2
An interesting dynamic here as both teams are seemingly both heels. However after the slightly entertaining start the match kicked in and it wasn't very engaging at all. Dont get me wrong it wasn't the worst match I have ever seen, not even close. I just think that given the talent involved this should have been better. Both teams seemingly just did not click at all.
6. El Generico vs. Roderick Strong
****
I enjoyed the hell out of this match! Strong was on form here, busting out plenty of backbreaker variants including one which made me give an out loud HOLY SHIT! Generico's selling was top notch as usual although I feel maybe the spotlight was more on Strong than Generico in this match.
7. Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Kevin Steen & Steve Corino
***3/4
Really fun tag match with an opening brawl that kind of reminded me the brawls you would find any ROH show from 08. It settled down into the usual tag formula but was engaging throughout. Once it ended I felt that we havnt seen the best of what both teams can do. A rematch is something I'd like to see down the line.
8. ROH World Title Match: Tyler Black vs. Kenny King
****
If your thinking that maybe this match is one to skip over think again. To me this is the 2010 version of the first Nigel McGuiness vs Tyler Black match from Take No Prisoners 2008. Sure it's not quite as jaw dropping but the principle and some of the action is similar. In my eyes King is taken to another for the first time in ROH and Black is more than complimentary.
All in all one of ROHs better shows in terms of overall quality in 2010. It's not quite an A class show but certainly is worth picking up for the last three matches alone.
8/10
**
Such a short short match. Callihan looked the better of the two. What I will say is that they fit a lot of action in.
2. Necro Butcher & Skullkrusher Rasche Brown vs. Erick Stevens & Shawn Daivari
*1/2
Naturally this is Necros rules so it's a wild brawl right? No it isnt. It was a tad boring but it at least it was short. The events after the match finished were much more interesting anything that occured during the match itself.
3. Pick 6 Series Match: (3) Chris Hero vs. Petey Williams
***1/2
Enjoyable match with both competitors hitting their respective signature moves. Im no fan of Petey Williams but he certainley impressed me here. Hero was his usual level of awesomeness.
4. The American Wolves vs. The Dark City Fight Club
***1/4
All I can say is, this match shows just what a great team the Wolves really are. I didnt see a lot from the DCFC but the Wolves made this match a joy to watch when it could have just been mediocre.
5. Austin Aries & Rhett Titus vs. The House of Truth
*1/2
An interesting dynamic here as both teams are seemingly both heels. However after the slightly entertaining start the match kicked in and it wasn't very engaging at all. Dont get me wrong it wasn't the worst match I have ever seen, not even close. I just think that given the talent involved this should have been better. Both teams seemingly just did not click at all.
6. El Generico vs. Roderick Strong
****
I enjoyed the hell out of this match! Strong was on form here, busting out plenty of backbreaker variants including one which made me give an out loud HOLY SHIT! Generico's selling was top notch as usual although I feel maybe the spotlight was more on Strong than Generico in this match.
7. Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Kevin Steen & Steve Corino
***3/4
Really fun tag match with an opening brawl that kind of reminded me the brawls you would find any ROH show from 08. It settled down into the usual tag formula but was engaging throughout. Once it ended I felt that we havnt seen the best of what both teams can do. A rematch is something I'd like to see down the line.
8. ROH World Title Match: Tyler Black vs. Kenny King
****
If your thinking that maybe this match is one to skip over think again. To me this is the 2010 version of the first Nigel McGuiness vs Tyler Black match from Take No Prisoners 2008. Sure it's not quite as jaw dropping but the principle and some of the action is similar. In my eyes King is taken to another for the first time in ROH and Black is more than complimentary.
All in all one of ROHs better shows in terms of overall quality in 2010. It's not quite an A class show but certainly is worth picking up for the last three matches alone.
8/10
ROH Pheonix Rising - Pheonix AZ 3/27/10
1. Rocky Romero vs. Kenny Omega
***1/2
Good opener and they packed a lot in within about 12 mins. Omega continues to impress me after this time last year I wasnt sold on him at all. Romero was his usual cool & competant self.
2. Shawn Daivari vs. Human Tornado
**1/
Decent lower card match with nice action. It wasnt too long and was inoffensive. Nothing spectacular but was ok in my book.
3. Kevin Steen vs. Scott Lost
***1/4
Kevin Steens music is awesome! This was a great showing of how truly great Steen is at working a crowd and he knows we all secretly love hating him. It was almost a little too one sided for my liking but I must say I was impressed with unique offense by Scott Lost and would love to see him in ROH on a more regular basis.
4. Jay & Mark Briscoe, The Necro Butcher, & Rasche Brown vs. Claudio Castagnoli, Joey Ryan, Bison Smith, & Prince Nana
**3/4
Nice enough multiman tag match with the right people getting their signature moves in. At around 13-15 minutes it was a nice enough length for everybody to get some decent time in the ring. Some nice dives and spots with Nana as well.
5. Pick 6 Series Match: (5) Kenny King vs. Scorpio Sky
**
This match has been the worst so far but it's by no means horrific. I just didn't feel drawn into it at all or any urgency towards the end of the match. At times it felt very much like there were two guys in a ring just taking turns doing moves on each other.
6. Hardcore Match: Steve Corino vs. Jerry Lynn
****
Really good hardcore match with everything you would expect from a classic style ECW main event style match. One gripe I have is why on earth does the referee have to help out setting up plunder. To me that totally makes no sense. That aside these put on a highly entertaining brawl.
7. The American Wolves vs. Colt Cabana & El Generico
***3/4
Cabanerico? or Generibana?
Very fun match with, what was to me, a suprisingly large amount of teamwork between Cabana & Generico. Usual hardwork from the Wolves plus Cabana & Generico more than pulling their weight made for another highly entertaining match.
8. Personal Challenge Gauntlet Match: Austin Aries vs. Roderick Strong
9. ROH World Title Match: Tyler Black vs. Austin Aries
In order to keep this review spoiler free i really cannot go into these matches. I also feel that because of what happens here and the clear purpose of what this had I don't really want to rate it either. what I will say is that the action and drama seen here, I though, was superb amounts of fun.
So all in all Pheonix Rising is very good show with four matches getting 4 snowflakes and over. Pretty much good all round but nothing absolutly outstanding like we have come to expect from WM weekend.
8/10
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