1. The All Night Express vs. Adam Cole and Kyle O'Reilly
***1/2
Wow what an opener here! Some really nice looking action in this one and it's apparent that despite being a fairly new team that Cole & O'Reilly will be one to watch in the future. ANX however are clearly on a roll and are on the cusp of being on that higher level they've worked so hard to reach. Surely ANX will get a tag title reign in 2011.
2. Trial Series- Match #2: Andy "Right Leg" Ridge vs. Ricky Reyes
*1/2
This right here is how NOT to put over a young kid trying to make his name. Reyes dominates most of the match and the little offense Ridge does get in is not enough to make him standout. What a far cry from his match against Cabana from the night before.
Post match Reyes craps all over Ridge but Ridge superkicks him out cold. This might have worked had Ridge not been almost squashed.
Daizee Haze cuts a promo for her upcoming match putting over Jamilia Craft, he prized student.
Kyle O'Reilly & Adam Cole are outside and cut a good promo that, despite their loss; they have a bright future to come!
3. Daizee Haze and Jamilia Craft vs. Lady JoJo and Neveah
**
Not sure if I enjoyed the match but I sure as hell enjoyed the "fan" calling Lady JoJo and Neveah whores and asking them to show him their pussies as they made their way to the ring. Then when the match starts I swear a few fans are chanting "SALTY FANNY". Tremendous! Unlike the previous singles match between Haze & JoJo the night before, this was actually ok and fairly watchable. They kept the pace up and the match was about the right length. Would be interested in seeing Neveah in ROH again not only can she seemingly work but she has the look too.
Backstage the ANX cut one of their stylish promos in front of a massive sheet of tin foil. Seriously ROH WTF is that backdrop?
4. Kevin Steen vs. Homicide
***1/4
These two seem to have some decent chemistry together and it's apparent in the exchanges of words between the two of them that occur throughout the match. Calling each other PUTA and there's a fun moment when a fan tells Steen he sucks only to have Steen reply with "Your momma sucks me really good" then "But not as good as your dad" with a quick "On his face baby, all over" to complete the serving of aforementioned fan. But that isn't even the best part of Steen’s performance...oh no! He tries to throw a metal ROH sign in the ring but it won’t go in and after a few attempts he goes nuts elbow dropping it and snot rocketing all over it. The man is just crazy and boy does he show it! Homicide holds his own but he's kind of overshadowed by the unstoppable entertaining monster that is Kevin Steen circa 2010. Perhaps slightly under par baring in mind who's involved but then again Homicide was injured at this point.
5. The Metal Master vs. Mike Mondo
**3/4
Considering this match was shown just as the bell rang I thought this would be another bland match which seems to be the staple of these two on ROH cards. However there was a tonne of hard work and a lot of nice action to be found here. Mondo actually looked quite good against the competent Metal Master...it's just a shame he's missing that ingredient of a character the crowd can get into it at this point.
6. Non Title Elimination Match: The Kings of Wrestling vs. Jay and Mark Briscoe
****
What can you say about the KOW vs. The Briscoes in 2010 that hasn't been said before? This time round it's elimination rules and once again they manage to mix it up so it's not the same match that's been seen before. The pace they work is ridiculous, seriously it's a damn fast paced match with no rest holds what so ever - just full steam ahead. I'll be honest though...I had predicted most of the matches happenings until the finish and it was at that point I felt they could have had at least 5 more minutes.
Backstage a shit load of people are trying to put Kevin Steen into his straight jacket. Steen's kicking off at everybody and screams at Cabana that he will kill him in front of his parents, eat his corpse and dance on his grave. Scary stuff and Steen’s delivery is brimming with conviction.
7. I-Quit Match: Steve Corino vs. Colt Cabana
****
Quite the dramatic brawl we have on our hands here. I think having Steen wrapped up in his straight jacket at ringside really gave this match an extra dimension and that little extra edge. Some crazy stuff in this match including a smashed up bottle, chair shots, a table spot and a finish which reminded me of a certain I Quit cage match from 80's NWA. For fans of the Steen vs. El Generico feud this match is a must see.
8. Six Months In The Making: Davey Richards vs. Christopher Daniels
****3/4
There comes a time once in a while when a match just goes perfectly. The action flows perfectly, the story flows perfectly, even the execution of moves is top notch. This match is all of that and more! Both guys are on their game at its highest level and they deliver some fantastic action and some compelling false finishes. In a year when ROH has had several great matches it's difficult to decide truly how great this is in comparison. For me it's second only to the original Tyler Black vs. Davey Richards match from Death Before Dishonor VIII.
Daniels grabs the mic after the match and cuts a heartfelt almost teary eyed promo saying that was the match he wanted to have that would prove to not just the world but to himself that he's one of the best. Davey suggests that they should do this again and the crowd pops accordingly.
Backstage Davey cuts a promo putting over Daniels and stating Final Battle will be his night.
There's also a selection of promos from several participants involved in the 2010 Survival of the Fittest the best of which being Claudio’s that sees him walking around backstage asking random people who is going to win Survival of the Fittest.
Richards vs. Daniels is simple enough to recommend on the strength of the main event however looking beneath that the rest of the card is pretty solid apart from one or two matches not being of interest to many and those are kept pretty short so it doesn't ruin what is one ROH's better releases in 2010. The final three matches make for a very fun last half of the DVD.
8.5/10
Wednesday 25 May 2011
Monday 23 May 2011
TWC: International Showdown - Coventry, UK March 19th 2005
TWC: International Showdown - Coventry, UK March 19th 2005
Ah yes the legendary UK Indy super show ran by the now defunct Wrestling Channel. I was part of 3,400 in attendance for what was a great night of wrestling of all styles as well as a rare chance to see some of the top US and UK indy names on the circuit at the time.
Disc 1
The DVD begins with a nice promo by Johnny Storm hyping his match and it’s good enough to make one interested to see his match. Jobs a good'un.
1. Petey Williams v Chris Sabin v Johnny Storm v Spud
***1/2
This was billed an X division style high flying match and they pretty much delivered on that. Fast nonstop action which mostly was slick and tightly worked. If you've seen one of these matches before then you'll know what to expect. Everybody worked hard and was good to see the Brits on the same level as Sabin & Williams and yes does include Spud! Perfect match to open a show like this.
We get a quick post match interview with Spud. It's so quick I don't remember what he says and that should tell you how good it was.
2. World of Sport Match: Steve Grey v Mal Sanders
***
It probably goes without saying that a lot of fans had little to no interest in seeing two old gits go at it World of Sport British Rounds style hence the "Holy SHIT!" chant when they lock up for the first time and Sanders puts Grey in a headlock. Within two rounds though they change a lot of people’s opinions as they both still can move well and build the match around extremely technical wrestling. You can tell they're into it just by looking at the people facing
the hard camera...all of them are pretty glued to the action even if they are pretty quiet.
Apter's Alley
Bill Apter comes to the ring to give an outstanding contributions award to a special somebody. He is interrupted by Greg Lambert, FWA heel manager extraordinaire. Lambert and Apter have a nice little rebuttal on the mic until Lambert informs us that he is choosing the award recipient which is none other than FWA Champion "The Showstealer" Alex Shane. Shane pops out a few good insults at the crowd such as "Tonight at the after show I will be with not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4 but 5 actual real women while you lot will be at your mum and dad’s house in your bedrooms jackin' off over WWE Divas in the Caribbean". Classic! Shane grabs the award from Apter and is
incensed that it has Foleys name on it.
This brings out the Hardcore Legend to a massive pop. Mick has lots of respect for Apter and decides to tell us that Apter filmed his wedding video in 1991...ok. Then Apter starts doing a cookie monster impression upon request from Foley. How strange...Alex Shane interrupts and calls Foley "old, fat, washed up, crippled piece of shit" to his face. WOW! That was TREMENDOUS! Foley agrees on all point but he's pissed that Shane interrupted him in the middle of a CHEAP POP! Foley suggests that Shane leaves before he gets his ass whipped and of course he cowers away as the fans give him a tonne of heat. Foley says he's done it all in his career but he's never left the ring to the strains of the cookie monster wishing him "have a nice day". How bizarre. Foley
leaves but Alex Shane hops the rail and low blows Bill Apter. He wishes Foley a nice day and laughs maniacally. The Mickster runs down and the heels bail.
It was quite a long segment but was extremely good at giving Foley a purpose to be at the show as well as giving Shane so heat with the crowd for his match
later on.
3. Samoa Joe v CM Punk
****
Certainly whilst not quite up to the lofty standards set by their infamous trilogy of matches in ROH this is still quite a gem of a match. Imagine a compacted version of the trilogy done in a more exhibition style and you get this match. Punk tries his headlocks and the rope a dope tactic but here he plays very subtle heel as demonstrated when he slaps Joe right in the face when they go to break on the ropes. His arrogant and cocky demeanour afterwards worked nicely into the match. Both of them manage to pull out some tricks not seen in their previous meetings which gives this match its own identity when put up against their other encounters. They also do well to get the crowd into it as at the start only about 50% seemed lively for them due to the Mick Foley segment being right before the match. Fans of the infamous trilogy should seek this match out.
Disc 1 Bonus Material
I was wondering why they split the show over 2 discs when on its own it could have probably fit onto one. Then I checked out the bonus features...
Jack Xavier/Aviv Mayaan/Ross Jordan v Mark Sloan/Stevie Knight/Stixx
**
Not much to say about this one really. It was just bland and inoffensive throughout and nobody particularly did anything to stand out. Meh.
Q&A Session with Mick Foley
Some funny questions get asked here including "When are you going to knock out that leather faced fuck Ric Flair?". Classic! There's a fair few ECW questions as well as the odd weird one such as "coke or pepsi?". As random as it gets yet a totally fascinating 21 minutes.
Q&A Session with CM Punk
A pretty good watch here with all kinds of interesting and retarded questions being thrown Punks way. At around 14 minutes this was just long enough to not be too short but leaves you wanting more.
International Showdown Music video
Basically this is a load of highlight action clips from each match to a generic rock track. Meh...
Exclusive Backstage Footage
Really good montage of backstage footage mixed with bits of promos from a lot of the roster. You get to see behind the curtain literally as there's plenty of shots of wrestlers going out and coming back from the ring. It even has footage of Bill Apter putting Johnny Storm in a figure four leglock backstage. ACE! 7 minutes of goodness.
Disc 2
4. Doug Williams, James Tighe and Scorpio v Mitsuhara Misawa, Tiger Emperor and Yoshinari Ogawa
***1/4
Wow this is apparently the first time in over 30 years that any Japanese talent from any of the big companies has competed on British soil! Incase you don't know - James Tighe is a UK indy talent and Tiger Emporer is Kataro Suzuki in a mask. The match did very little for me until it kicked into gear towards the end. Scorpio is just kind of there as is Ogawa. Tighe does ok for himself but doesn't really stand out too well which is the complete opposite of Tiger Emperor who really pulls out a good performance. The crowd pops big for every Misawa interaction but of course he doesn't really do much...even for Misawa. Doug Williams is clearly the big favourite and he dully delivers. It's a strange match that just saw everybody do stuff until they went home. You could say it gave everybody time to "get their shit in" but a lot of the stuff was so pedestrian at times it just felt ordinary and slightly uninteresting. But credit where credit is due they certainly turned it around when it came time to go home with several exciting nearfalls. Without Tiger Emperor and Doug Williams this match would have been pretty dull.
Backstage Scorpio, Doug Williams and James Tighe get interviewed about their match. It's a generic promo...nothing to write home about.
5. Raven’s Rules match: Alex Shane v Raven
***3/4
Before the match starts Raven cuts a two or three line promo where he gets in all his catchphrases and a cheap pop. Jobs a good'un! What a good brawl these two have. It's that classic ECW style affair with the brawl going literally all over the building, blood, balcony spots and a dog pony show. The heat for Alex Shane is massive and rightfully so due to his appearance earlier on. I think one reason the fans are SO into this is because Raven beats and beats and beats of Shane and it's exactly what they want to see. The finish is erm...difficult to talk about without giving anything away. It's one of those things which normally would be totally stupid but given the circumstance...why the hell not!?!?! Feel good stuff going on here.
Post match Raven and Foley put on a puppet show with Mr Socko and another sock...seriously. Then they have a cheap pop-off where they keep on name dropping
Coventry. An odd if slightly humorous end do to a good bloody brawl.
Backstage Christopher Daniels is interviewed about his upcoming match. He's literally just won the X division title from Styles 6 days previously at Destination X in an Ultimate X match and he states it's not going ANYWHERE. Nice promo.
6. TNA X-Division Title Match: AJ Styles v Christopher Daniels.
****1/2
WOW seriously this is the BEST match between these two I have ever seen anywhere! Everything just flows so well as both guys are on their top game and the crowd is RABID for them. The matches pace is rapid and there's not a moment of dullness or a lull in excitement. They even do a great job of keeping the crowd guessing as to who's going to win, after all you would think an X Division title match overseas will have an obvious outcome but here, it's far from the case, as Styles is the former champion and TNA had a great relationship with The Wrestling Channel so it certainly all up for grabs. A lot of the crowd are on their feet for the last 5 minutes of the match which is a hell of an achievement with a crowd of 3,400 at an indy show.
Disc 2 Bonus Material
Alex Shane cuts a decent promo about his upcoming rematch with Raven. He's not shaved or slept since International Showdown...god knows what else he hasn't
done since then!
Raven vs. Alex Shane II - FWA War at the Shore
**1/2
This took place just one week after International Showdown and whilst there's no doubting that it's a considerable step down from their previous encounter it's by no means horrible. The match follows a similar formula - brawl everywhere, get some heat then a dog and pony show finish. There's a fun spot where they brawl over to a serving hatch and Raven picks up two Chuppa Chups lollypops, sticks them straight into Alex Shanes eyes then gives them to two little
kids stood behind him, classic! It's such a shame the Morecambe crowd are so odd...it seems like there's just kids shouting over each other all the time and no real chanting or clapping really occurs. Nevertheless it was an ok brawl.
Post match Raven cuts a short promo putting over the crowd and then we get a short music video of highlights from the match.
Christopher Daniels vs. AJ Styles - Irish Whip Wrestling Supershow March 20th 2005
****
Quick pre-match promo by Daniels denying the crowd a chance to see the X Division title being defended especially of in such a low class country like Ireland. The crowd give him so much justified heat for that. As for the match itself, it was a more traditionally formulaic version of the previous evenings encounter. The crowd whilst a lot smaller in numbers were pretty hot throughout and reacted well to Daniels heel tactics as well as Styles’ fiery comebacks.
It's no MOTYC but certainly worth a viewing.
After reading all of that you probably have come to the same conclusion I have...as a package the DVD set of TWC: International Showdown of crammed! If you like the sound of what's on offer then don't hesitate to pick up a copy. The show itself is well rounded featuring some great matches and they really went out of their way to provide some unique and interesting bonus features.
8/10
Ah yes the legendary UK Indy super show ran by the now defunct Wrestling Channel. I was part of 3,400 in attendance for what was a great night of wrestling of all styles as well as a rare chance to see some of the top US and UK indy names on the circuit at the time.
Disc 1
The DVD begins with a nice promo by Johnny Storm hyping his match and it’s good enough to make one interested to see his match. Jobs a good'un.
1. Petey Williams v Chris Sabin v Johnny Storm v Spud
***1/2
This was billed an X division style high flying match and they pretty much delivered on that. Fast nonstop action which mostly was slick and tightly worked. If you've seen one of these matches before then you'll know what to expect. Everybody worked hard and was good to see the Brits on the same level as Sabin & Williams and yes does include Spud! Perfect match to open a show like this.
We get a quick post match interview with Spud. It's so quick I don't remember what he says and that should tell you how good it was.
2. World of Sport Match: Steve Grey v Mal Sanders
***
It probably goes without saying that a lot of fans had little to no interest in seeing two old gits go at it World of Sport British Rounds style hence the "Holy SHIT!" chant when they lock up for the first time and Sanders puts Grey in a headlock. Within two rounds though they change a lot of people’s opinions as they both still can move well and build the match around extremely technical wrestling. You can tell they're into it just by looking at the people facing
the hard camera...all of them are pretty glued to the action even if they are pretty quiet.
Apter's Alley
Bill Apter comes to the ring to give an outstanding contributions award to a special somebody. He is interrupted by Greg Lambert, FWA heel manager extraordinaire. Lambert and Apter have a nice little rebuttal on the mic until Lambert informs us that he is choosing the award recipient which is none other than FWA Champion "The Showstealer" Alex Shane. Shane pops out a few good insults at the crowd such as "Tonight at the after show I will be with not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4 but 5 actual real women while you lot will be at your mum and dad’s house in your bedrooms jackin' off over WWE Divas in the Caribbean". Classic! Shane grabs the award from Apter and is
incensed that it has Foleys name on it.
This brings out the Hardcore Legend to a massive pop. Mick has lots of respect for Apter and decides to tell us that Apter filmed his wedding video in 1991...ok. Then Apter starts doing a cookie monster impression upon request from Foley. How strange...Alex Shane interrupts and calls Foley "old, fat, washed up, crippled piece of shit" to his face. WOW! That was TREMENDOUS! Foley agrees on all point but he's pissed that Shane interrupted him in the middle of a CHEAP POP! Foley suggests that Shane leaves before he gets his ass whipped and of course he cowers away as the fans give him a tonne of heat. Foley says he's done it all in his career but he's never left the ring to the strains of the cookie monster wishing him "have a nice day". How bizarre. Foley
leaves but Alex Shane hops the rail and low blows Bill Apter. He wishes Foley a nice day and laughs maniacally. The Mickster runs down and the heels bail.
It was quite a long segment but was extremely good at giving Foley a purpose to be at the show as well as giving Shane so heat with the crowd for his match
later on.
3. Samoa Joe v CM Punk
****
Certainly whilst not quite up to the lofty standards set by their infamous trilogy of matches in ROH this is still quite a gem of a match. Imagine a compacted version of the trilogy done in a more exhibition style and you get this match. Punk tries his headlocks and the rope a dope tactic but here he plays very subtle heel as demonstrated when he slaps Joe right in the face when they go to break on the ropes. His arrogant and cocky demeanour afterwards worked nicely into the match. Both of them manage to pull out some tricks not seen in their previous meetings which gives this match its own identity when put up against their other encounters. They also do well to get the crowd into it as at the start only about 50% seemed lively for them due to the Mick Foley segment being right before the match. Fans of the infamous trilogy should seek this match out.
Disc 1 Bonus Material
I was wondering why they split the show over 2 discs when on its own it could have probably fit onto one. Then I checked out the bonus features...
Jack Xavier/Aviv Mayaan/Ross Jordan v Mark Sloan/Stevie Knight/Stixx
**
Not much to say about this one really. It was just bland and inoffensive throughout and nobody particularly did anything to stand out. Meh.
Q&A Session with Mick Foley
Some funny questions get asked here including "When are you going to knock out that leather faced fuck Ric Flair?". Classic! There's a fair few ECW questions as well as the odd weird one such as "coke or pepsi?". As random as it gets yet a totally fascinating 21 minutes.
Q&A Session with CM Punk
A pretty good watch here with all kinds of interesting and retarded questions being thrown Punks way. At around 14 minutes this was just long enough to not be too short but leaves you wanting more.
International Showdown Music video
Basically this is a load of highlight action clips from each match to a generic rock track. Meh...
Exclusive Backstage Footage
Really good montage of backstage footage mixed with bits of promos from a lot of the roster. You get to see behind the curtain literally as there's plenty of shots of wrestlers going out and coming back from the ring. It even has footage of Bill Apter putting Johnny Storm in a figure four leglock backstage. ACE! 7 minutes of goodness.
Disc 2
4. Doug Williams, James Tighe and Scorpio v Mitsuhara Misawa, Tiger Emperor and Yoshinari Ogawa
***1/4
Wow this is apparently the first time in over 30 years that any Japanese talent from any of the big companies has competed on British soil! Incase you don't know - James Tighe is a UK indy talent and Tiger Emporer is Kataro Suzuki in a mask. The match did very little for me until it kicked into gear towards the end. Scorpio is just kind of there as is Ogawa. Tighe does ok for himself but doesn't really stand out too well which is the complete opposite of Tiger Emperor who really pulls out a good performance. The crowd pops big for every Misawa interaction but of course he doesn't really do much...even for Misawa. Doug Williams is clearly the big favourite and he dully delivers. It's a strange match that just saw everybody do stuff until they went home. You could say it gave everybody time to "get their shit in" but a lot of the stuff was so pedestrian at times it just felt ordinary and slightly uninteresting. But credit where credit is due they certainly turned it around when it came time to go home with several exciting nearfalls. Without Tiger Emperor and Doug Williams this match would have been pretty dull.
Backstage Scorpio, Doug Williams and James Tighe get interviewed about their match. It's a generic promo...nothing to write home about.
5. Raven’s Rules match: Alex Shane v Raven
***3/4
Before the match starts Raven cuts a two or three line promo where he gets in all his catchphrases and a cheap pop. Jobs a good'un! What a good brawl these two have. It's that classic ECW style affair with the brawl going literally all over the building, blood, balcony spots and a dog pony show. The heat for Alex Shane is massive and rightfully so due to his appearance earlier on. I think one reason the fans are SO into this is because Raven beats and beats and beats of Shane and it's exactly what they want to see. The finish is erm...difficult to talk about without giving anything away. It's one of those things which normally would be totally stupid but given the circumstance...why the hell not!?!?! Feel good stuff going on here.
Post match Raven and Foley put on a puppet show with Mr Socko and another sock...seriously. Then they have a cheap pop-off where they keep on name dropping
Coventry. An odd if slightly humorous end do to a good bloody brawl.
Backstage Christopher Daniels is interviewed about his upcoming match. He's literally just won the X division title from Styles 6 days previously at Destination X in an Ultimate X match and he states it's not going ANYWHERE. Nice promo.
6. TNA X-Division Title Match: AJ Styles v Christopher Daniels.
****1/2
WOW seriously this is the BEST match between these two I have ever seen anywhere! Everything just flows so well as both guys are on their top game and the crowd is RABID for them. The matches pace is rapid and there's not a moment of dullness or a lull in excitement. They even do a great job of keeping the crowd guessing as to who's going to win, after all you would think an X Division title match overseas will have an obvious outcome but here, it's far from the case, as Styles is the former champion and TNA had a great relationship with The Wrestling Channel so it certainly all up for grabs. A lot of the crowd are on their feet for the last 5 minutes of the match which is a hell of an achievement with a crowd of 3,400 at an indy show.
Disc 2 Bonus Material
Alex Shane cuts a decent promo about his upcoming rematch with Raven. He's not shaved or slept since International Showdown...god knows what else he hasn't
done since then!
Raven vs. Alex Shane II - FWA War at the Shore
**1/2
This took place just one week after International Showdown and whilst there's no doubting that it's a considerable step down from their previous encounter it's by no means horrible. The match follows a similar formula - brawl everywhere, get some heat then a dog and pony show finish. There's a fun spot where they brawl over to a serving hatch and Raven picks up two Chuppa Chups lollypops, sticks them straight into Alex Shanes eyes then gives them to two little
kids stood behind him, classic! It's such a shame the Morecambe crowd are so odd...it seems like there's just kids shouting over each other all the time and no real chanting or clapping really occurs. Nevertheless it was an ok brawl.
Post match Raven cuts a short promo putting over the crowd and then we get a short music video of highlights from the match.
Christopher Daniels vs. AJ Styles - Irish Whip Wrestling Supershow March 20th 2005
****
Quick pre-match promo by Daniels denying the crowd a chance to see the X Division title being defended especially of in such a low class country like Ireland. The crowd give him so much justified heat for that. As for the match itself, it was a more traditionally formulaic version of the previous evenings encounter. The crowd whilst a lot smaller in numbers were pretty hot throughout and reacted well to Daniels heel tactics as well as Styles’ fiery comebacks.
It's no MOTYC but certainly worth a viewing.
After reading all of that you probably have come to the same conclusion I have...as a package the DVD set of TWC: International Showdown of crammed! If you like the sound of what's on offer then don't hesitate to pick up a copy. The show itself is well rounded featuring some great matches and they really went out of their way to provide some unique and interesting bonus features.
8/10
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