The DVD kicks off with an introduction promo by Mike Mondo. He tells us it's his time yadda yadda yadda, its short and trust me that's a good thing.
1. Mark Briscoe vs. Mike Mondo
**
Poor Mondo, he still gets a hard time from fans after the whole Spirit Squad gimmick but I still can't help but smirk as fans at ringside do the Spirit Squad name dropping thing. I feel Mondo works hard but his style just doesn't mesh all that well with Mark Briscoes and at times I got the feeling Briscoe was almost holding himself back to try and not overshadow Mondo. It's fine as it is an opening match and there's just about enough to get the crowd amped.
2. Daizee Haze vs. Lady JoJo
*
I think this maybe the worst ROH match I have seen in 2010. JoJo's pre-match promo was at least half decent but her in ring work was just beyond bland. The match was possibly 7 or 8 minutes long but felt like 15 and when I look back at the match, they really didn't do much out there either.
A pre-taped promo from Colt Cabana tells us that he's not going to beat the crap out Andy "Right Leg" Ridge but he's going to take him to school. Nice!
The Haze then gives us post match promo about not getting the war she wanted against Lady JoJo...no kidding!
3. Trial Series Match #1- Andy "Right Leg" Ridge vs. Colt Cabana
***
What a lot of fun this was. Colt Cabana in front of a live audience messing some young rookie around, what more could you want!?!? I had to turn the commentary off after a few minutes because I found myself missing out on some nice dialogue between Cabana, Ridge and the crowd. As for the trialist himself, Andy Ridge plays his role as the young kid being school VERY well and he plays along with Cabanas antics well also. He has a few impressive moves, sells well and at times showed some nice facial expressions. I'm looking forward to the rest of the trial series now.
Adam Cole & Kyle O'Reilly tell us backstage how stoked they are to face the challenge of Steve Corino and Kevin Steen. Not bad.
4. Kevin Steen and Steve Corino vs. Kyle O'Reilly and Adam Cole
**3/4
To start, Kevin Steen cuts a nice promo heeling on the crowd after he finds a sign that reads "Kevin Steen for Magistrate" backstage. The fans just LOVE Steen though so they're pretty into being disrespected by him anyway. In a way this is very similar to the previous match. The rookie team of Cole & O'Reilly trying to make a name against the established team of Kevin Steen and Steve Corino, both of which act like total arses throughout the match. When Corino busts out the line "You can't do that to me, look at me I'M JACKED!" you know you're in for a comedic treat and there's humour like that found all over the first half of the match. Once again, it's a must to have the commentary turned off. This match would have been better had it been a bit shorter. Steen and Corino were just in charge for too long and the crowd just didn't seem behind the faces when the hot tag came. Kyle O'Reilly looked good but Adam Cole only got the chance to put in an OK showing. Crowd give them a standing ovation after the match, I guess this would classed as their official breakout.
5. The Metal Master vs. Ricky Reyes
*3/4
Oh my, why on earth is Ricky Reyes back in ROH? His singles matches used to bore the pants off me and even now years later nothing has changed. Metal Master quite clearly puts a shift in but it's not enough to save this match. One thing that's knocked down the rating a bit is yet another one of those lame TruTV angles where a "fan" hops the rail and tries to attack Reyes. What exactly is the point of these angles? I don't care so long as I don't have to see any more of them.
Backstage the All Night Express let us know who the new guard is, further adding to the overall theme of this show. Titus is still a little hokey but King delivers in convincing manor.
6. Jay Briscoe vs. Rhett Titus
***1/2
This has to be without question Rhett Titus's best singles match in ROH. There's no point in this match where I think Titus is neither capable of hanging with Jay Briscoe or beating him and that's truly a testament to all the hard work he's put in over the past few years. The match is a nice rollercoaster of drama that starts with Jay Briscoe subtly schooling Titus until Titus gains the upper hand. What's important is the phase of the match where Titus is in charge, it's not once boring and that's something that a lot of the undercard guys on the indys in general are guilty of. They know how to start matches off to get the crowd popping and know how to end the match with a cool finish but the middle is just kind of lost, something Titus may have guilty of in the past but not in this instance. Jay Briscoe is more than willing to help Titus look good but it's only a small dose of that needed here. All in all it's a minor breakout performance for Rhett Titus.
7. Kenny King vs. Homicide
***
I'd love to say that this match is another great example of an established start helping make a new star but in this case I'm afraid it isn't. King has already been made to certain extent by several star making performances (including a very good ROH World Title match against Tyler Black from Pick Your Poison) but a match against The Notorious 187 should only further his star power right? Well yes and no. This is the period of time where Homicide is still hampered by injury and it's either that or their styles just don't mesh well that has the match lacking that certain something to take it to the next level. That's not to say it's bad though, as there's some good action to be found here and it's thoroughly engaging just a tad disappointing given the names involved.
After the match Titus attacks Homicide which brings Jay Briscoe out to make the save. Homicide does NOT approve of the help though and they have to be separated by security. Interesting...
8. World Tag Team Title Match: The Kings of Wrestling vs. Davey Richards and Christopher Daniels
****1/2
When you look at this match on paper you expect awesome and what you get is just that. It's non-stop great action from bell to bell and they work a pretty fast pace throughout. Everybody is on their top game here and there are a couple of very good false finishes. The inevitable friction between Richards and Daniels happens in a rather contrived manor to the point where some people may knock the match for it but this is wrestling and what hasn't been done before already? Yeah ok the way it came was a little off but that shouldn't affect what is a truly excellent tag match. A must see for ROH fans.
Hero grabs the stick and gloats over the KOWs 9th successful defence. Davey challenges the KOW to face the Wolves in Plymouth and then he and Daniels cut a very good promo for their match the night after.
Daniels talks to the camera backstage adding further interest for the epic Richards vs. Daniels match. The build for this has been pretty good and I can't wait check this out!
Allied Forces on paper was always going to be a show that could one of two ways; either be a bit poor or be surprisingly good and the weird thing is it to me is neither. There's no question the main event is terrific and I felt I got my moneys worth just for that. The rest of the card is a mixed bag of a few good matches and, a few ok matches and a few bad matches. The commentary has once again changed and is now back to being louder than the crowd. ROH MAKE YOUR MIND UP! I was thankful I could turn off the commentary as the Cabana vs. Ridge, Steen/Corino vs. Cole/O'Reilly and the main event all were more enjoyable without the drone of Dave Prazak and Kevin Kelly. They have a nice dynamic but the aforementioned matches just had that extra something when I could hear Davey Richards say "FUCK YOU" to Chris Hero as he backdrop drivers Hero on his head. One thing that held the show together was the intrigue of seeing the old guard facing the new guard throughout most of the card. Can't say I personally agree with who went over in some circumstances but I understand some guys have to be kept strong.
As a stand alone show it's a worthy purchase if you fancy the main event, but if you can live without seeing it or seeing some of the newer growing stars of ROH then you can save yourself $20. However ROH played the bonus disk trump card with this release and being as it does come with the CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe Trilogy (review coming soon), it's a absolute must buy if you don't have the matches already.
6.5/10
