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ROH Presents - Chaos at the Cow Palace
By Garoon and Ziegler | April 21, 2008
Ring of Honor debuts in California!
ROH PRESENTS – CHAOS AT THE COW PALACE – SAN FRANCISCO, CA – 10.21.07
Introduction
BG says: The Weekend’s Video Wire begins with a clip of Nigel McGuinness celebrating with his newly won ROH World Championship belt. Next up is the Jay Briscoe vs. Necro Butcher match coming to an end after Jimmy Jacobs gets involved. Mark Briscoe tries to make the save and gets abducted by Jacobs, Necro and Tyler Black. Following that is the altercation between McGuinness and Bryan Danielson after McGuinness’s title win. They break down the lineup for the Survival of the Fittest Tournament. All three former winners (Roderick Strong, Delirious and Danielson) will be in the match, as well as the perennial runner up Austin Aries, Brent Albright, Claudio Castagnoli, Davey Richards, Rocky Romero, TJ Perkins, Chris Hero & Karl Anderson. The entire match between Jacobs & Black and Ernie Osiris & Mitch Franklin is shown, as well as Jay Briscoe’s run in afterwards. The Video Wire wraps up with a clip of the end of the Jay Briscoe VS. Necro Butcher bonus match from the Undeniable PPV that saw the Age of the Fall bring Mark to the ramp half-unconscious and wrapped in barbed wire.
Nigel McGuinness says his dream was always to become ROH World Champion. But when he was chasing the belt he neglected to think about his legacy as champion. Winning the belt only takes one victory. Now he has to win every match. He talks about Samoa Joe’s amazing reign. He wonders whether he’ll have a reign like Samoa Joe’s or if his reign will be like some of the footnote ROH title reigns. Tonight it starts against another champion, Jay Briscoe.
JZ says: ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness talks about the difference between winning the ROH World Title and retaining it. Winning it means beating one person one time, while retaining it means you have to beat everyone all the time. Nigel says his legacy is not destined to be a footnote.
MATCH #1: Chris Hero vs. Human Tornado
BG says: In what is becoming something of a tradition the winner of the Survival of the Fittest tournament wrestles in the opening match the next night against a newcomer. Wow, it looks like the show is taking place in the middle of the desert at night. Hero grabs a wristlock to start. Tornado makes Hero dance. Hero gets a takedown and goes after the leg. Tornado comes back with a wristlock. The commentators say that the convention that this show is a part of has been a disaster. Hero dances of his own volition and bails. After starting his own chant Hero gets back in the ring and does some more calisthenics. Tornado runs through his own moves. Hero stomps on his feet. Tornado hits a leg lariat. He hits a monkey flip. He hits a snapmare. He hits the Pounce and Hero falls to the floor. Sweeney keeps Tornado from diving and Hero nails a German suplex. He hits a bodyslam and a senton for 2. He hits an atomic drop and a springboard double axe handle for 2. He chokes Tornado in the corner. Tornado blocks a charge and hits a dropkick. He hits a running knee. He hits the ugliest slingshot stomp on the apron ever, completely wiping out after hitting the move. He whips Hero into the post. Back in the ring he hits a springboard dropkick for 2. He hits a dropkick in the corner. He hits the House Party for 2. Hero blocks a DDT and hits a twisting suplex for 2. He hits a roaring forearm. He hits the Rip Cord for 2. Hero does a flip for no reason and falls on his butt. Tornado hits the Pimp Slap and the tornado DDT for 2. He hits DND for 2. Hero hits a roaring forearm and a big boot. He hits the Hero’s Welcome and puts on the Hangman’s Clutch for the win. Brief awkwardness aside this was a solid match. Hero looked good, winning over the newcomer after dominating in the tournament and Tornado got to show off just about all of his offense.
Rating: **
After the match Sweeney and Hero gloat. They stick around too long and Claudio Castagnoli runs out and attacks them. Apparently Castagnoli is the ROH spokesperson for the night because he does the usual sucking up that comes with a new venue. Roderick Strong interrupts and gets on the microphone despite the crowd begging him not to. He’s going to help Castagnoli to make history by defending his FIP Heavyweight Championship against him. Bobby Cruise cuts a Roderick Strong-esque promo, garbling the FIP title match rules.
JZ says: Tornado made his ROH debut two nights ago in Las Vegas. Hero does all his usual stalling at the beginning of the match. Tornado actually controls the early part of the match. Prazak and Leonard make fun of the legends that didn’t show up for the convention this weekend. Hero tries to show his agility, so Tornado trumps him with dance moves. Tornado hits a flurry of offense and sends Hero crashing to the floor. Sweeney distracts Tornado and Hero sneaks behind him and hits a German suplex. Hero controls for a few minutes until Tornado makes his comeback and the crowd is heavily behind him. Tornado goes for a swinging DDT but Hero reverses it and takes control. Hero hits the Dislocator for two. Hero flubs one of his flips and Tornado finally does hit the swinging DDT but it gets two. An exploder suplex also gets two. Hero comes back and hits the Hero’s Welcome and then locks on the Hangman’s Clutch and Tornado taps out at 12:27. That was a decent enough opener, and I hope ROH brings Tornado back soon.
Rating: **½
Larry Sweeney gets on the microphone and knocks former San Francisco legends and says that Chris Hero is the best athlete to perform in this building. That brings Claudio Castagnoli out, and he chases Sweeney and Hero from the ring.
MATCH #2: FIP World Heavyweight Title Match – Roderick Strong vs. Claudio Castagnoli
BG says: Castagnoli ferociously shakes Strong’s hand before the match. They lock up and fight to the floor and into the crowd. Strong goes to the eyes and rushes back to the ring. Castagnoli is right behind him. He goes after the ankle. Strong goes to the second rope to get the height advantage for a knuckle lock. Castagnoli brings him down with an armdrag. They knuckle up and Castagnoli gets 2. He moves Strong where he wants in the lock. Strong goes to the ropes. Castagnoli gets a headlock takedown. Strong goes to the corner and hits a cheap shot. He hits a chop. He hits a gutbuster. He hits a bodyslam and an elbowdrop for 2. He puts on a waistlock but Castagnoli escapes. Strong hits a dropkick for 2. He dumps Castagnoli to the floor. Castagnoli rams Strong into the barricade. He goes for a shoulder tackle but Strong dodges it and Castagnoli hits the steel. A long shot shows hundreds of empty seats in the building. Castagnoli beats the count at 19. Strong gets 2. He hits another gutbuster and goes back to the waistlock. He misses a clothesline and Castagnoli hits a European uppercut. Castagnoli hits a dropkick. He hits a back bodydrop. He hits a bodyslam and the Crabwalk Elbow for 2. He hits a fisherman suplex for 2. Strong counters the Ricola Bomb to a jackknife pin for 2. He hits a chinbreaker and a Canadian backbreaker for 2. He hits the Sick Kick for 2. Castagnoli blocks a backslide and hits the bicycle kick. They trade chops for uppercuts. Castagnoli hits a diving European uppercut for 2. He hits the giant swing for 2. Strong blocks the Alpamare Waterslide and hits an enziguiri. He hits the gutbuster and the tiger driver for the win. The finish felt a little rushed but both guys brought their A-game and this was a lot of fun. After the match Strong steals Castagnoli’s ring jacket so Castagnoli gives chase.
Rating: ***½
JZ says: Strong has been the FIP Champion since 11.10.06, and this is his twenty-fourth defense. The crowd does not want Strong to talk, but they do cheer when he offers to put the FIP World Title on the line for the first time in California. They have a tense lockup that goes to the floor for a minute before heading back into the ring. The crowd is totally behind Claudio, and he controls the early portion of the match. Strong soon takes over with his usual offense and he is able to ground the challenger. Strong takes the battle to the floor and tries to get Claudio counted out. Claudio comes back with European uppercuts and then a dropkick, bodyslam, and the rope-walk elbow. Strong cuts him off though and goes back to work on the midsection. Claudio blocks the Tiger Driver and hits a bicycle kick for two. A springboard European uppercut gets two as well. A giant swing also gets two. Claudio tries the Alparmare Water Slide but Strong avoids it and hits a step-up enziguiri, gutbuster, and the Tiger Driver to get the pin at 13:29. That was a good title defense for Strong, and a good clean win. Yet it still feels like there should be a rematch, so both guys did their jobs well.
Rating: ***¼
This naturally segues to an advertisement for the latest in FIP DVD releases. Brad’s got you covered there.
MATCH #3: Adam Pearce vs. Karl Anderson
BG says: I can’t get enough of Pearce’s entrance music, but it would be better suited to a babyface. Pearce attacks Anderson from behind. Anderson comes back with a hiptoss. He hits a dropkick and a clothesline. He hits a leaping clothesline. He clotheslines Pearce to the floor. He follows Pearce out and chops him around ringside. He shoves Pearce into the barricade. Back in the ring he hits a top rope crossbody for 2. Pearce hits a low blow. He hits a clothesline for 2. He slugs Anderson in the face. He puts on a sleeper hold. Anderson counters the hold. They both hit clotheslines and fly through the air. Anderson takes control. He hits a leg lariat. He hits a back heel kick and a facebuster. He hits an enziguiri for 2. He hits a spinebuster but Hagadorn distracts the referee. Pearce hits the piledriver for the win. This was all Anderson before Pearce snuck in the victory. Decent stuff between these two very similar wrestlers.
Rating: **¼
After the match Delirious runs out and bites Hagadorn’s face. Pearce runs away. Albright runs out and attacks Delirious, leading to their match.
JZ says: Anderson’s entrance and pre-match routine strike me as a little goofy. Pearce is accompanied by Shane Hagadorn. Anderson takes the early advantage and Pearce stalls. The crowd chants “homo” so Pearce threatens to leave. They of course chant that and Pearce stars walking out. He of course makes his way back to the ring, where Anderson is ready for him and thwarts his attack, going on offense himself. Back in the ring he hits a cross body off the top for two. Pearce takes advantage by cheating behind the referee’s back and gets a two count. Pearce tries a sleeper but Anderson fires up and puts on his own sleeper. Pearce tosses Anderson off the ropes and they hit simultaneous clotheslines. They each hit some moves on each other, but when Anderson hits the spinebuster Hagadorn jumps up on the apron, giving Pearce a chance to recover. Pearce is able to hit a piledriver moments later to get the pin at 7:35. That was decent for what it was, but neither guy does a whole lot for me on the personality scale.
Rating: **
Delirious comes running out and attacks Hagadorn, biting his face and busting him open. Pearce is waving for Brent Albright to come out, and we have an impromptu match.
MATCH #4: Delirious vs. Brent Albright
BG says: Delirious hits clotheslines to start. He hits a baseball slide. A bloody Hagadorn is dragged to the back. Albright shoves Delirious into the barricade. Pearce threatens a very old lady as Delirious catches Albright with a headbutt in the ring. Pearce crotches Delirious on the post. Albright hits a butterfly suplex for 2. He hits a delayed back suplex for 2. He shoots Delirious to the floor where Pearce takes his liberties. Back in the ring Albright gets 2. He hits a European uppercut. He chokes Delirious. A spot is obviously botched because the camera pans away to Pearce. Delirious hits a dropkick off the top. He punts Albright’s face. He hits a bodyslam and a senton. He bites Albright’s face. He hits a drop toehold into the corner. He hits the Panic Attack. He chokes Albright with his tassels. He hits a head butt and the Shadows. He puts on the Cobra Stretch. Albright counters to the Crowbar. Delirious escapes and gets a roll up for 2. He goes back to the Cobra Stretch but Pearce distracts the referee. Albright taps out but the referee doesn’t see it. Delirious gets distracted by Pearce but still hits Albright with an enziguiri. Pearce trips Delirious, distracting him long enough for Albright to hit the half nelson suplex for the win. The match was average, the finish was lame.
Rating: *¾
JZ says: Albright attacks Delirious from behind, but the masked man soon takes over and is on fire. He sends Albright to the floor and chases off Pearce. Albright soon takes control out on the floor and Adam Pearce threatens to punch an old lady. Albright jumps off the top rope and Delirious headbutts him in the chest. Pearce interferes though, allowing Albright to regain control. Albright uses strikes and suplexes for a few minutes but can’t keep Delirious down. Delirious fights back with punches and eventually hits the Panic Attack. Delirious hits the Shadows over Hell and then locks on the Cobra Stretch. Albright slips out and puts on the Crowbar. Delirious rolls out of that and schoolboys Albright for two and then hops back on the Cobra Stretch. Albright taps but the ref is tied up with Adam Pearce. Delirious breaks the hold and sends Albright to the floor. Pearce trips him up on a dive and Delirious knocks him down so Albright hits the half-nelson suplex to get the pin at 8:47. That was a decent match, but I hate that played finish.
Rating: **¼
MATCH #5: Davey Richards & Rocky Romero vs. TJ Perkins & Tony Kozina
BG says: ManilaVanilla don’t stand a chance. Perkins puts Romero in the corner to start. Romero slaps Perkins in retaliation. Perkins slaps him back. They trade leg kicks until Perkins gets a takedown. Romero grabs a bow and arrow. Perkins escapes but misses a kick. Richards tags in and gets stuck on the mat. Kozina tags in and stays on Richards’s arm. He hits an armdrag and puts on an armbar. Perkins tags in and helps Kozina double-team Richards. Perkins hits a kneedrop for 1. He puts on an abdominal stretch. Romero makes the save. Perkins hits a Russian legsweep. Romero tags in and gets kicked in the face. Kozina tags in and hits an armdrag. Richards tags in and gets caught with another armdrag. Perkins tags in and goes for shoulder tackles. Richards hits a big boot and the STO. Romero knocks Kozina off of the apron. Richards shoves Perkins to the floor where Romero whips him into the barricade. That gets 2 for Richards. Romero tags in and hits a Manhattan drop. He hits a dropkick for 2. He hits a flying kick in the corner. Richards tags in and gets kicked in the face. He keeps Perkins from tagging. He kicks the chest and tags to Romero. They hit a double facebuster. They go for a kick sandwich but hit each other. Perkins hits a neckbreaker on Romero and tags to Kozina. Kozina cleans house. He hits Richards with leaping forearms. He hits a leg lariat. He hits both opponents with a moonsault press for 2. He hits Richards with a double jump bulldog. He hits a frog splash for 2. Romero kicks Perkins’s head and Richards hits a German suplex. Romero hits a running knee for 2. Kozina comes off the top and hurricanranas Romero over the ropes to the floor. Perkins kicks Richards’s head. He gets a roll up for 2. Richards hits the Alarm Clock and the Tombstone. He puts on the 14:59 for the win. This was much faster paced than your typical ROH tag team match. The exchanges between Romero and Perkins were great, and the rest of the match wasn’t far behind. I didn’t expect anything from this but what I got was quite entertaining.
Rating: ***
After the match the lights go out and the Age of the Fall’s screams blare over the sound system. Jimmy Jacobs & Necro Butcher come in through the crowd. Jacobs gets on the microphone and explains that ROH has told them to beat some tag teams if they want a shot at the Briscoes’ tag titles. They challenge Romero & Richards to a match right now. Romero and Richards kick them to the mat.
JZ says: Perkins and Romero start the match wrestling on the mat and going hold-for-hold. Prazak mentions that these two trained together and know each other very well. Romero puts on a bow and arrow for a minute and then tags to Richards. Perkins takes Richards down and works on the arm before tagging Kozina in. He continues to wear Richards down and tags back to Perkins. Richards finally backs Perkins into the corner and tags Romero. Perkins makes the tag to Kozina, who soon regains control for his team. No Remorse Corps use dirty tactics regain control of Perkins and abuse him outside the ring. Perkins comes back with a bit of creative offense and tags Kozina. Perkins and Kozina work as a team to try and subdue Richards. They hit a series of moves culminating in a frog splash by Kozina. Perkins covers but Romero breaks it up. Perkins and Richards trade moves until Richards is able to hit the tombstone piledriver and put on the Kimura Lock to get the win at 10:36. That was a really fun tag team match.
Rating: ***
MATCH #6: Jimmy Jacobs & Necro Butcher vs. Davey Richards & Rocky Romero
BG says: Everyone brawls to start. Jacobs & Necro take control. Romero and Perkins ram them into each other. They hit Necro with the double facebuster. They hit the kick sandwich. Richards throws Jacobs over the barricade. They brawl through the rows and rows of empty seats. He sits Jacobs down and kicks his chest. Jacobs rams him into a railing. He crotches him on it and then hits a clothesline. They switch to the hard camera for ten seconds while it’s recording nothing! Jacobs tries to clothesline Romero but misses and falls over the railing a few feet to the floor below. Richards and Romero double suplex Jacobs and Necro on the floor. Richards moonsaults off of a stage onto everyone. Back at ringside Richards whips Jacobs into the barricade. He and Romero double suplex Necro over the barricade onto some chairs. In the ring Richards and Romero double-team Jacobs. Richards hits a German suplex for 2. They hit a Doomday Knee Kick for 2. Necro throws a chair at them. He hits Richards with the chair-assisted bodyslam. He climbs the ropes but Richards throws a chair at him. Richards hits Necro with a superplex onto the chair. He holds the chair in front of Necro’s face and Romero hits it with a dropkick for 2. Romero kicks Jacobs in the face. Jacobs hits a spear for 2. Richards hits Jacobs with a DDT on the chair. He climbs the ropes but Necro hits him with a chair. He slams Richards off the top onto a couple chairs. He hits the tiger driver onto the chairs. Jacobs hits the guillotine DDT and holds on with the End Times for the win. If nothing else these matches have sold me on Richards & Romero. The brawl on the floor wasn’t great, with far too much time between spots, but once the action got back to the ring things picked up considerably.
Rating: **¾
Jay Briscoe says that he’s going to make McGuinness’s reign the shortest in history. He asks Mark how his foot feels. Mark says he’ll perfect in no time, but tonight is Jay’s night.
JZ says: Jacobs says they need to get tag team wins to get a title shot at the Briscoes, so he challenges No Remorse Corps to a match and it’s on. This one turns into a big brawl right away, as the commentators says it’s obvious that this one is under relaxed rules, pretty much because Necro Butcher is in it. Richards and Jacobs fight on one side of the arena, while Romero and Necro are on the other side. They trade dance partners and Romero and Jacobs are fighting on a table but nothing really comes of it. All four men are in the same area now and it continues to be a brawl. No Remorse Corps hit a double suplex on both Jacobs and Necro. They eventually start making their way back towards the ring. Richards and Romero take control on Jacobs in the ring while Necro is recovering outside. Necro soon comes back in and he has a chair with him. It of course backfires on him, as Romero kicks it into his face. Richards DDT’s Jacobs on a chair and goes to the top but Necro stops him. He hits a Tiger Driver on the chair and Jacobs then puts on the End Time to get the win at 10:06. That was a decent brawl and made Age of the Fall look like jerks for challenging a team that had just wrestled, and didn’t make NRC look bad in losing.
Rating: **¾
Jay Briscoe promises to end Nigel McGuinness’ title reign tonight. He says tonight is going to be different than all the other times he’s challenged for the World Title. They also make sure the Age of the Fall know that it is in fact, on.
MATCH #7: Match Two in the Best of Three Series – Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries
BG says: They fight on the mat to start. The mat seems to me dipping lower than usual. That’s going to be very distracting to me. Danielson gets a drop toehold and puts on a chinlock. Aries counters to a pin for 2. Danielson goes for the Mexican surfboard so Aries scrambles to the ropes. Aries hits a pair of armdrags into an armbar. Danielson counters to the cross armbreaker. Aries rolls Danielson up for w. Danielson keeps the hold on until Aries uses a headstand to escape. Danielson trips Aries and hits the thigh stomp. He puts on a bow and arrow. Aries rolls over for 2. Danielson wraps Aries’s leg around the middle rope. He hits a European uppercut. He goes to the eyes. Aries hits the elbow out of the corner. He hits the slingshot senton and an elbowdrop for 2. He goes after Danielson’s knee. He gets a roll up for 2. Danielson goes back to the cross armbreaker. Aries gets to the ropes. Danielson hits a northern lights suplex for 2. Danielson dodges a dropkick. He slams Aries’s leg against the mat. He puts on a leglock. “No no no no no, for real,” says Aries before Danielson adds pressure to the hold. Aries gets to the ropes. Danielson claims his leg is stuck to keep the hold on longer. He tricks the referee into helping him add damage to the leg. They trade strikes in an exchange that Danielson wins. Danielson goes back to the cross armbreaker. Aries rolls Danielson up to escape and get 2. Danielson hits an elbowdrop to the back. Aries sends Danielson to the floor to avoid the crossface chicken wing. Danielson goes for a sunset flip but Aries rolls through and hits a dropkick. Aries hits a slingshot splash for 2. He hits the Lionsault for 2. Danielson blocks the brainbuster but not the roaring forearm. He blocks a dropkick with a big boot. He hits a leaping knee kick for 2. Aries blocks the crossface chicken wing. He gets a backslide for 2. Danielson dodges the soccer kick and gets a roll up for 2. Aries hits a shinbreaker and a back suplex. He hits a dropkick for 2. He climbs the ropes but Danielson cuts him off and hits a back superplex for 2. He puts on the Cow Killer and then hits the unprotected elbows. Aries goes to the corner to escape. He hits the soccer kick and a brainbuster. He puts on his chinlock and then hits knees to the head. He tries to rinse and repeat but Danielson blocks a knee strike and rolls Aries up for the win. This was actually more entertaining than their first match, with Danielson being showcased this time. His humor and unique counters made this that much better than the first go around in this series.
Rating: ****
In the back Danielson says he’s been stretching out for five minute but his neck still hurts from Aries’s new chinlock. He’ll be damned if he’s going to get caught twice in a row by the same move. There’s one more match in their series. Aries walks up and makes a penis joke. He says Danielson was the best, but now Aries is going to prove that he’s the ace and get his title shot.
JZ says: Aries won the first match back at Honor Nation, so Danielson is in a must-win situation here. They wrestle on the mat to start, obviously. Danielson takes early control of the match but Aries hangs right with him. They continue to go back and forth with holds, as the crowd chants “this is wrestling” and “ROH.” Danielson tries to go for the surfboard but instead drives the knees into the mat and puts on a Bow and Arrow. Aries comes back and puts on some submission holds of his own. No one keeps control very long, it keeps going back and forth. Danielson puts on some leg submission holds and really wears Aries down. Danielson controls most of the match and every time Aries tries to make a comeback Danielson is able to reverse it. Aries gets a few big moves in but Danielson fights right back and puts on Cattle Mutilation. That leads to the elbows to the face but Aries withstands it and backs Danielson into the corner. Aries avoids a German Suplex and kicks Danielson in the head and delivers a brainbuster and rolls into his new submission hold. He tries kneeing Danielson in the head to wear him down, but Danielson grabs the leg and rolls it into a small package to get the pin and even the series at 18:58. Danielson was so aggressive because he knew he had to win, and that’s the Bryan Danielson I like best. This was a terrific match.
Rating: ****
Danielson is backstage to put Aries over for that new submission hold. He promises not to fall victim to that hold ever again. Aries busts in on his promo time and he promises to win the series, be the ace, and get the title shot.
MATCH #8: ROH World Title Match – Nigel McGuinness vs. Jay Briscoe
BG says: They lock up and McGuinness pushes Briscoe to the ropes. They shove each other. They trade strikes. McGuinness blocks a charge with his knee. He rams Briscoe’s arm into the post. He hits an arm whip. He slams the arm against the mat. He hits a hammerlock takedown. He shoves Briscoe to the floor and follows. He slams Briscoe’s arm into the barricade. He whips it against the post. Back in the ring he puts on a wristlock. Briscoe hits a dragon screw. He puts on a leglock but McGuinness quickly gets to the ropes. Briscoe hits a snap suplex for 1. He puts pressure on the leg. They go to the floor where Briscoe whips McGuinness’s leg into the barricade. He rams it into the apron and the post. Back in the ring they trade strikes until Briscoe dropkicks the knee. He puts on a leglock. He goes to a figure four leglock but McGuinness quickly gets to the ropes. McGuinness blocks the figure four and hits a chinbreaker. He limps across the ring to hit a European uppercut. Briscoe hits a big boot. He ducks a lariat and hits a stunner. He hits a facebuster for 2. McGuinness hits a back suplex. Mark reminds his brother that McGuinness can hardly walk. Briscoe blocks the Tower of London and hits a missile dropkick. McGuinness blocks the Jay Driller but gets caught with the Complete Shot into the corner. McGuinness bails so Briscoe follows him to the floor. He rams McGuinness into the barricade. He kicks the timekeepers table into McGuinness’s knee. In the ring he puts on a half crab but McGuinness gets to the ropes. Briscoe hits a bodyslam and climbs the ropes. McGuinness crotches him and hits the Tower of London for 2. Briscoe ducks a lariat but McGuinness hits one to the back. Briscoe goes for the Jay Driller on the apron but McGuinness blocks it. He goes for the Tower of London on the floor but Briscoe blocks that. In the ring Briscoe hits a fisherman suplex for 2. He hits a DVD and climbs the ropes. He comes off the top with a legdrop for 2. McGuinness regains control with the Tower of London on the apron (Briscoe’s head really hit the ropes). McGuinness gets 2. He puts on the London Dungeon for the win. McGuinness’s selling was top notch but it took forever for the match to get going. The leg and arm work in the early going was very, very slow. The finish felt like it came from out of nowhere as well, since the arm work had been over for at least ten minutes.
Rating: **¾
After the match Danielson comes down to the ring and gets in McGuinness’s face. They brawl around ringside. Jacobs & Necro run out and brawl with the Briscoes. Richards & Romero run out to get a piece of Jacobs & Necro. Austin Aries runs out to beat up on Richards & Romero. The big brawl turns into people taking turns getting in the ring and diving onto everyone on the floor. Roderick Strong is notably absent from the proceedings. Hero and Sweeney run out to the ring. Hero ignores the brawl and does his flips. Castagnoli runs out and hits Hero with the Ricola Bomb. He finishes cutting the standard ROH promo he started earlier in the evening. Dave Prazak announces that Mitsuharu Misawa will be defending the GHC Heavyweight Championship against KENTA at Glory by Honor VI Night 2.
JZ says: McGuinness has been the champion since 10.6.07, and this is his first defense. Prazak calls this the first ROH Title defense in California, but Samoa Joe actually defended the title at a non-ROH show in Cali back on June 26, 2004 against Shinya Makabe. It doesn’t take long for McGuinness to start working on the arm. Jay had been working on the champion’s legs. Nigel works on the arm for a few minutes until Jay gets a Dragon Screw leg whip and now he starts going to work on the knee. Nigel briefly recovers and tries the Jawbreaker but he’s not as fast as he normally would be so Jay blocks it and hits a stunner. Nigel comes back with a belly-to-back suplex. He then goes for the Tower of London but Jay fights it off and hits a missile dropkick. He tries the Jay Driller but Nigel blocks it and tries a lariat. Jay winds up putting on the half Boston Crab and Nigel reaches the ropes. Jay goes up top and Nigel knocks him down and hits a great looking Tower of London. Jay is able to kick out. They fight out on the apron and Jay tries the Jay Driller but Nigel takes him down and goes for a Tower of London on the floor but Jay avoids that and throws Nigel into the guardrail. Back in the ring Jay hits a guillotine legdrop for two. Jay goes up for a superplex but Nigel blocks it. They fight into a position where Nigel hits Jay with a Tower of London and Jay’s face hit off the top rope. That gets a two-count. Nigel then locks on a nasty looking submission hold on the arm and Jay taps out at 18:13. That was much better than I expected, even though it never really seemed like Jay would win the title. That’s a good first defense for the new champion.
Rating: ***¾
Bryan Danielson comes out after the match to ruin the moment and he brawls to the back with Nigel. Jimmy Jacobs & Necro Butcher come out to brawl with the Briscoe Brothers. That brings out No Remorse Corps of Davey Richards & Rocky Romero to join the fight. Austin Aries then comes out to take out NRC. Chris Hero and Larry Sweeney make their way in from the crowd and comes to the ring so that Sweeney can hype his athletic prowess. That of course brings Claudio Castagnoli out to hit the Ricola Bomb on Hero. Claudio thanks everyone for coming and Prazak plugs Glory by Honor VI weekend, which will feature Mitsuharu Misawa.
BONUS MATCH: Portia Perez vs. Alicia vs. Daizee Haze vs. Sara Del Ray, Race to the Top Tournament Night Two Pre Show, 7.28.07
BG says: Alicia and Haze start. They lock up and Haze gets a headlock takedown. They trade wristlocks. Haze kicks Alicia’s face. She gets a roll up for 2. Del Rey tags in and hits Alicia with a shoulder tackle. Perez tags in and knuckles up with Del Rey. Del Rey stomps on the hand. She hits a legdrop for 2. She hits a body block. Perez hits a head scissors takedown. She gets a roll up for 2. Del Rey hits a big boot. She hits a snap suplex for 2. Alicia tags in and shouts a lot. The match slows way down and Perez proves that she can’t even properly run the ropes. Del Rey tags in and rolls Perez over in a surfboard for 2. She goes for the pin repeatedly until Haze breaks it up with a legdrop off the top. Haze and Alicia take advantage of Del Rey and Perez’s prone positions. Haze dives onto everyone on the floor. Del Rey gets back in the ring and hits everyone with a suicide dive. She pins Perez for 2. She hits a bodyslam and a senton for 2. Alicia tags in and helps Del Rey hit a double back elbow for 2. She hits a sit-out hiptoss for 2. Haze tags in and hits a clothesline in the corner. She sets Perez up top but Del Rey gets involved and it turns into Some Circus Shit. Haze pins Perez for 2. She dropkicks Alicia and Del Rey but Perez sneaks in and pins her for 2. Perez hits Haze with the Shellshock for 2. Alicia hits Haze with a big boot. Del Rey hits Alicia and Perez with a crossbody. She rolls them both up but that’s not legal in ROH. Well it worked in FIP. Haze hits Del Rey with a dropkick off the top. Alicia talks smack so Haze boots her to the floor. Perez hits Haze with a spin kick. She gets a roll up for 2. Haze gets a backslide for 2. She hits the heart punch and the Mind Trip for the win. This was slow, sloppy, long and boring.
Rating: ¾*
JZ says: Del Ray’s Shimmer Championship is not on the line here. Haze and Alicia start the match, and Alicia is very loud. She and Haze exchange some sloppy mat wrestling. Del Ray and Perez soon enter the ring and Del Ray dominates and Perez screams loudly too. This Alicia is killing me, she won’t shut up, and it’s not annoying in a good way. This whole match is just brutal, everyone looks lost. I can’t follow this nonsense. Todd Sinclair unveils the unknown rule that one person cannot simultaneously pin two people. He will not count for it. Daizee gets the Heart Punch and Mind Trip on Perez for the win at 10:25. That was quite possibly one of the worst matches of the year and if four men had that exact match it would have gotten booed out of the building.
Rating: DUD
Overall
BG says: ROH would have been better off leaving that bonus match on the cutting room floor. That aside I don’t understand the hate this show gets. The main event left something to be desired but McGuinness wasn’t 100% and it was immediately followed by the fun faction warfare brawl. Aries vs. Danielson was amazing, Richards & Romero cemented their place as a fine tag team in ROH and Castagnoli had a really good match against the FIP champ. All things considered I thought this was a really good ROH show, even if nothing of too much importance happened.
JZ says: I’m on the opposite end of Brad on the main event, so I may have enjoyed this show even more than he did. The Danielson versus Aries match was even better, and two other matches on the undercard (FIP World Title match and NRC vs. Perkins/Kozina) were a lot of fun, so this on the whole a pretty good show. It didn’t have anything monumental or super memorable, but there’s enough good stuff to stay entertained.
You can buy this show at ROH Wrestling Dot Com.
Topics: ROH Reviews |