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
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