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And we're rolling... - 05.19.2008
You should definitely check out The Cool Kids' Table |
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And we're rolling... - 07.31.2007
Whereas the Briscoe Brothers won the GHC Jr. Heavyweight tag titles and lost them before getting a chance to defend them in the states, Matt Sydal won the Open the Brave Gate title in Dragon Gate and defended it against Austin Aries at The Fifth Year Festival: Dayton. Here’s the match that saw him win the title. Well, at least some of it.
Masato Yoshino VS. Matt Sydal [Open the Brave Gate Championship Match – 2/12/07]
They lock up and Sydal powers Yoshino to the ropes. They trade chops and Sydal hits a hurricanrana. He dropkicks Yoshino to the floor but a baseball slide misses. The Muscle Outlaw’z roll Sydal back into the ring where Yoshino hits a back elbow. Sydal hits another hurricanrana and a leg lariat. Yoshino bails so Sydal climbs the ropes and hits a moonsault onto him and the rest of the Muscle Outlaw’z. Back in the ring Sydal hits a facebuster for 2. Yoshino blocks one hurricanrana but Sydal nails him with an immediate second attempt. Yoshino dodges a shooting star press and the Outlaw’z run in and attack Sydal in the corner. CYBER KONG sighting! Yoshino gets trapped in the corner and Sydal’s cronies attack him. Considering I just saw that spot in the Aries/Strong vs. Yoshino/Doi ROH tag title match it exposes it as lame here. Yoshino hits the Torbellino but and they trade roll ups for 2. Sydal gets caned by Gamma but manages to counter the Lightning Spiral to a roll up for 2. Yoshino hits the Lightning Spiral for 2. He puts on the Sol Naciente but Sydal gets to the ropes. Sydal gets caned again from the floor but just like in the ROH tag title match I referenced earlier one of Yoshino’s allies throws powder in his eyes by mistake and Sydal hits him with the pumphandle piledriver. He climbs the ropes and hits the shooting star press for 2. Yoshino sets Sydal up top but Sydal blocks a super Lighting Spiral and hits Cyclorama for the win. More than half of the match is clipped out so I can’t rate it, but what was there was fun and the crowd popped huge for the title change. I don’t know if everyone involved thought that it had been long enough since WrestleJam to use all the same spots from the tag title match I referenced over again, but here they were and it was pretty annoying.
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And we're rolling... - 07.27.2007
July 22, 2004 - My first appearance on 411 as part of the ROH review tag team.
July 10, 2005 - I go solo with BG Says (yet to be named as such).
June 27, 2007 - I debut the first edition of BG Says Special Edition |
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And we're rolling... - 10.02.2006
Jake and I decided to stop doing bonus match reviews on our ROH DVD reviews. We did this to keep the columns from looking so cluttered and also because we didn't feel they added enough to the overall finished product. We made this decision after I'd already gone ahead and reviewed a few matches for upcoming shows, so here they are so that they don't go to waste.
KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji vs. Takeshi Morishima & Takeshi Rikio - NOAH: Summer Navigation 2006 (7/16/06)
Marufuji & Rikio start. Marufuji slaps him against the ropes and gets slapped in response. Rikio puts on a headlock but Marufuji escapes and hits a high knee. Rikio grabs a front facelock and uses his power to keep Marufuji from successfully gaining the advantage. Morishima and KENTA tag in and trade strikes. Things get intense as KENTA unloads with strikes and a fisherman suplex. He hits a springboard dropkick to the knee but Morishima levels him with a lariat. He hits two more and goes for back suplex but Marufuji breaks it up with a superkick. KENTA & Marufuji sandwich Morishima’s head with kicks for 2. Marufuji tags in and follows Morishima to the floor. He rams him into the guardrail and gets 2 back in the ring. He puts on a chinlock and gets 2. KENTA tags in and hits kicks to the chest for 2. He hits a kick to the back for 2. He puts on the Mark Nulty Special but Morishima gets to the ropes. Marufuji tags in and they put on a double team abdominal stretch. Marufuji goes for the Shiranui but Morishima blocks and hits an overhead suplex. Rikio tags in and destroys Marufuji with clotheslines and a crossbody for 2. He hits a uranage for 2 when KENTA saves. He clotheslines KENTA & Marufuji down and hits a powerbomb on Marufuji for 2. He sets Marufuji up top but ends up getting hit with a sunset bomb. Marufuji follows with a superkick and tags to KENTA. KENTA hits a dropkick and a springboard clothesline for 2. Rikio responds with by slapping him to the mat. Morishima tags in and hits a running butt attack. He hits a handspring avalanche and pounds KENTA down. He hits an overhead uranage for 2. He climbs the ropes but KENTA cuts him off and hits a superplex. Morishima slams Marufuji onto KENTA’s head. KENTA and Marufuji bail so Morishima follows them out with a suicide dive. Back in the ring Morishima stands on KENTA’s chest. He hits a knee to the gut and tags to Rikio. Rikio hits a bodyslam and gets help from Morishima while standing on KENTA’s chest. It gets 2. Rikio puts on an abdominal stretch while spreading KENTA’s legs. That’s gross. Morishima tags in and puts on a camel clutch. Rikio tags in and they hit a double shoulder tackle for 2. He hits a bodyslam and a second rope double stomp to the chest for 2. Morishima tags in and puts on the stretch muffler. Rikio tags in and gets hit with a back suplex. Marufuji tags in and uses his quickness to put down his much larger opponents. He hits a German suplex for 2. He hits a superkick but gets shoved hard into the turnbuckle. Morishima tags in and hits a missile dropkick. He hits a sidewalk slam for 2. He hits an inverted uranage but a Doomsday Device is blocked. KENTA tags in and hits a powerslam for 2. He hits a German suplex for 2. He hits the Busaiku knee kick and three kicks to the face for 2. He and Marufuji hit a powerbomb/Shiranui combo and he follows with Go 2 Sleep for 2. He hits the knee kick on Rikio but Rikio rebounds with a lariat. Morishima hits a side suplex for 2. He hits a huge lariat for 2. Marufuji catches him with a superkick and the Shiranui. Rikio hits him with the Muso only to get caught by KENTA’s Busaiku knee kick. Morishima hits another lariat on KENTA for 2. KENTA gets a roll up for 2. He gets another for 2. Morishima hits another lariat for 2. He gets a roll up for 2. Marufuji fights with Rikio on the floor and KENTA trades slaps with Morishima in the ring as the thirty-minute time limit expires. KENTA and Morishima were killing each other at the end there. This was a lot like the matches NOAH wrestlers have had in ROH; non-stop hard hitting and without anything looking particularly pretty.
Rating: ****¼
GHC Heavyweight Championship Match
Jun Akiyama VS. Naomichi Marufuji - NOAH: Shiny Navigation 2006 (9/9/06)
Marufuji powers Akiyama to the ropes and gives a clean break to start. Akiyama grabs a headlock but gets knocked down after three lariats. He comes back with a knee kick but Marufuji hits a dragon screw and a pair of dropkicks to the knee. He stomps on Akiyama’s thighs and puts on a figure 4 leglock. Akiyama gets to the ropes. Marufuji wraps rams his leg against the post and dragon screws it into the post. He dropkicks the knee and then puts on a modified half crab. Akiyama gets to the ropes and backdrops Marufuji onto the ramp. He follows Marufuji out and bodyslams him from the ramp to the floor. Back in the ring he gets 2. He hits another bodyslam and puts on a bow and arrow lock. KENTA is shown watching from the back of the building as Akiyama slams Marufuji down. Marufuji dropkicks the knee, sending Akiyama to the floor. He follows him out and hits a superkick. He hits the Shiranui from one side of the guardrail to the other, ramming Akiyama’s back down onto it. Back in the ring Marufuji hits a German suplex for 2. He hits a chimera suplex for 2. He climbs the ropes and slugs Akiyama down when he tries to cut him off. He hits a superkick and a clothesline. He dropkicks the knee but walks into a dropkick from Akiyama. Akiyama hits a top rope hurricanrana for 2. He hits a powerbomb for 2 and goes right into the Samoan crab. Marufuji gets to the ropes. Marufuji hits a clothesline and dropkicks Akiyama from the apron to the floor. He catches him with the springboard dropkick as he’s climbing back into the ring. He hits a powerbomb for 2. He hits a superkick and a roundhouse kick. He hits another superkick for 2. He hits the Shiranui for 2. He sets Akiyama up top and goes for the super Shiranui but has to settle for a superkick when Akiyama tosses him away. Akiyama hits an exploder into the turnbuckle and a knee kick, knocking Marufuji to the ramp. He runs from the top of the ramp to hit a running knee. Marufuji gets back into the ring at 19. Akiyama hits a running knee to the back for 2. He puts on a guillotine and hits an exploder for 2. He hits Sternness Dust Gamma for 2. He sets Marufuji up top but gets caught with the super Shiranui. Marufuji hits a superkick and blocks an exploder to get the Perfect Inside Cradle for the win and the title. Marufuji fought harder throughout the match, so he really earned the win here. Akiyama only pulled out one of his big guns and eventually Marufuji’s neckbreakers and superkicks caught up to him. Most of the match was very good but somewhat repetitive and nothing to go insane over. Marufuji’s first defense of the title was a better match than his title win.
Rating: ***¾
No Rope Barbed Wire ECW Heavyweight Championship Match
Terry Funk vs. Sabu - ECW: Born to be Wired (8/9/97)
They fight on the mat to start and Sabu throws punches from underneath. He blocks an Irish whip into the wire and Funk does the same before bailing. Back in the ring Sabu puts on the camel clutch but Funk comes back with a neckbreaker. Funk hits a piledriver for 2. He hits a DDT but Sabu fights back and tries to ram Funk’s face into the wire. Funk blocks but Sabu gets a hurricanrana for 2. Funk shoves Sabu into the wire and then pulls him off to Irish whip him into it. Sabu bleeds as Funk atomic drops him onto the wire. That’s just gross. He whips Sabu into the wire again and slugs away. Saby bleeds from his back and stomach before whipping Funk into the wire. Funk is stuck so Sabu hits him with a chair. Sabu rips the wire across Funk’s face and then jabs him with a piece. Funk bleeds heavily as Sabu jumps off a chair to hit a leg lariat with Funk still in the wire for 2. Sabu misses Air Sabu and gets stuck in the wire in the corner. His arm starts gushing blood so Funk pins him for 2. Bill Alfonso tapes up Sabu’s wound just before Funk hits a neckbreaker onto a pair of chairs. Funk starts clobbering so Sabu bails. Funk follows him out and rubs his face in the wire. Back in the ring he puts on the spinning toehold and then pulls Alfonso over the wire. He drops Sabu on the top wire and then slugs Alfonso with a fist wrapped in wire. He rakes the wire across Alfonso’s back and then whips Sabu with a strand of wire. Rob Van Dam runs in and beats on Funk. He wraps him in barbed wire and sets him on a table at ringside. Sabu puts him through the table with a legdrop just before Tommy Dreamer runs out to take out RVD. Back in the ring Sabu gets 2. He sets Funk on another table at ringside and then wraps his legs in barbed wire before hitting a legdrop through the table. Alfonso and a second referee have to help Funk and Sabu get back into the ring for Sabu to get 2. Neither guy can really move because of the barbed wire they’ve wrapped around themselves and the result is the most anti-climatic pin ever to give Sabu the win and the title. That’s right, they just rolled around for a few seconds after the 2 count and then called it a match. This doesn’t hold up at all, as time has exposed it as a boring gore-fest with enough interference and idiotic booking decisions to take away any intensity that the stipulation could give the match. It was on track to get * for the guts of trying the match until the unbelievably stupid finish. I honestly can’t believe anyone ever liked this match and it really amazes me that Steve Corino, Homicide, BJ Whitmer and Necro Butcher were able to get anything worthwhile out of this type of match.
Rating: DUD
ROH World Championship Match
Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles - ROH: War of the Wire (11/29/03)
They knuckle up and Joe hits a shoulder tackle. Styles hits a hurricanrana but Joe comes back with a very ugly one of his own. They fight it out on the mat until Styles goes to the ropes. Joe grabs a cravat and goes for the Big Joe Combo but Styles blocks it and puts on a headlock. He hits a dropkick for 1. He hits a bodyslam and a kneedrop for 1. He struggles to hit a snap suplex for 2. Joe blocks the discus lariat with a jab and kicks him to the floor. He follows Styles out with a suicide dive but can’t hit the Ole Kick. He hits a superkick instead but Styles comes back with a leaping clothesline over the barricade. Back in the ring Styles hits a powerbomb for 2. Joe hits the STJoe and washes Styles’ face. He hits a front legsweep for 2. He hits a powerbomb for 2 and then locks in the STF. He switches to a crossface but Styles gets to the ropes. Joe goes to the eyes and gets a roll up for 2. Styles hits the Péle kick and the moonsault DDT for 2. He kicks at Joe’s face and hits a backbreaker. He puts on a Mutalock but Joe goes to the eyes to escape. Joe hits an enziguiri and they trade strikes. Styles hits an enziguiri and sets Joe up top. Joe fights him off so Styles brings him down with a powerbomb and hits the Styles Clash for 2. Joe counters the moonsault DDT to the Island Driver for 2. He should start using that move again. Styles hits the discus lariat and climbs the ropes. Joe crotches him and hits the muscle buster. He puts on the choke and Styles passes out. Joe had a good year in 2003 but 2004 put it to shame. This match is solid but doesn’t hold up as being nearly as exciting to watch as it was then, especially given the classics Joe put on later in his reign.
Rating: ***¼
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And we're rolling... - 09.21.2006
He's old, hateful and as far as I'm concerned useless in the ring and on the microphone. I mostly hate him because of his one-two shot of suck in ROH. The first offense was his lousy performance in the ring at Testing the Limit and the second was the anti-semetic statement made towards Paul Heyman during an ROH shoot interview. Why even hire someone with his kind of drug history during the "wellness plan era?" How is this guy worth anything these days? WWE can kiss my ass for this hire.
And while I'm at it why on Earth bring Vince Russo back to TNA? If the X-Division wasn't damaged enough before you can be sure that the removal of Tenay and D'Amore and the insertion of Russo to the creative team will kill it off for good. I'd rather the big announcement this Sunday be anything else. Seriously anything. The debut of fat Vader, a match between Sharkboy and Matt Bentley, even hearing that Jarrett wouldn't be defending his belt for the rest of 2006 would be a better announcement for the company than Vince Russo on-air and creative.
What is it about being a decision maker in WWE or TNA that makes people stupid. Is it the added ego that comes with having a television product? Scorpio and Russo are just two more reasons that the ratings for wrestling on TV are constantly on the decline. Unreal. |
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And we're rolling... - 04.03.2006
Ugh, why would they make a Simpsons movie now? The show hasn't been the least bit funny in years. When I turn the show on in syndication and see smooth animation I tune away. This movie is going to be filled with unfunny pop culture jokes and shouting from Homer. Six years ago this might have excited me, but now it just bums me out. This show has become the Ric Flair of television, ruining its legacy by sticking around waaaaaaaay too long. |
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And we're rolling... - 03.18.2006
Jake and I went to the house show last night. I though I'd drop a few thoughts here.
The place was about 2/3 full, and was a venue on par with those the WWE uses in smaller towns. The crowd was hot and the action was pretty good all night.
Sabin vs. Shelley was easily the best match of the night given that Joe vs. Styles was pretty much cut and paste spots from their last PPV match, mostly in the exact same order. Still good though.
The tag title match was fun homoerotic action and the main event was a nail biter that played off Jarrett's title win over Raven.
ICP annoyed the crap out of everyone (except the juggalos of course, who were out in all their freakishness).
Lynn vs. Roode and Rhyno vs. A1 were both more dull than they probably could have been, and the Shark Boy match was nothing, but overall the show was a good time and I think can be considered a success. |
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And we're rolling... - 02.25.2006
Recently Low Ki and Ring of Honor parted ways. The details of the split have been kept quiet, but rumors suggest that money issues and Ki's willingness to put over ROH's new crop of talent were the leading causes. Regardless of that however, it is undeniable that Low Ki was an incredibly important part of Ring of Honor's first year. He was the centerpiece of the promotion and his road to becoming the first ROH Champion was incredible to watch and earned great press for the new company. This week's RetROH will cover Ki's ROH career from his debut to his title win.
Low Ki VS. American Dragon VS. Christopher Daniels -- February 23, 2002 -- The Era of Honor Begins
All three men hesitantly circle the ring. They go into a knuckle lock but then opt to kick the crap out of each other. Dragon and Ki team up against Daniels and then lock up themselves. Daniels dropkicks them both so Ki kicks him in the face. The crowd gets behind Ki as Daniels takes over. He bodyslams Ki and then hits him with a back suplex. He suplexes Dragon onto the turnbuckle and then Ki kicks Dragon in the face. Ki hits the Koppo kick on Daniels but Dragon catches him with the Cow Killer. Daniels breaks it up. He bodyslams both men and then bodyslams Dragon onto Ki. He atomic drops Ki's leg onto Dragon. He simultaneously puts dragon in a Boston crab and Ki in a chinlock. This match is really hard to recap. Dragon kicks Daniels' arm apart but Ki catches him with some nasty kicks to the face. Christ. Daniels attacks Ki from behind and hits a vertical suplex for 2. He hits a dropkick and then hits a gutwrench suplex on Dragon for 2. Ki chops Daniels chest raw and gets 2. Dragon gets up and takes over on both men with strikes. He puts Daniels in a Mutalock. Ki kicks his leg out from under his leg but makes sure that Dragon still has Daniels in the hold. He lifts Dragon up and kicks him down, simultaneously hurting Daniels. Dragon hits a northern lights suplex on Ki for 2 while Daniels is still in the hold, then he rolls Daniels over for 2. This is insane. Ki and Dragon trade strikes and Dragon hits a hard back elbow for 2. He whips Daniels arm around and gets 2 before going to a wristlock. Ki breaks it up with a kick to the back and then walks over Daniels to trade BRUTAL kicks with dragon. Daniels takes offense at being ignored and gets his back kicked to mush by both opponents. Ki and Dragon then sandwich Daniels with kicks, but Daniels dodges one and Ki and Dragon kick each others' shins. Ouch. Daniels hits Ki with a neckbreaker and then does the same to Dragon. He puts a Liontamer on Ki until Dragon hits him with a forearm. Dragon and Ki go for a double suplex but Daniels blocks and hits a neckbreaker/DDT combo on them. He goes for pins on both men but comes up short. He climbs to the top but Ki and Dragon catch him and toss him off. They hit a double Yakuza kick and then Dragon goes to work on Ki with kicks. It gets 2. Daniels hits a belly-to-belly suplex on Ki for 2. Ki goes for a hurricanrana on Daniels, but Daniels blocks and tosses him to Dragon on whom he hits a tornado DDT. He hits the Tidal Wave on Daniels for 2. He sets Dragon on the top rope but he fights him off. Daniels runs up and puts Dragon in an abdominal stretch. Well, that's dumb. Ki runs up and frees Dragon so that he can put Daniels in the Hanging Dragon. He lets go and gets 2. Ki blocks the Last Rights and the Cow killer and kicks Dragon into Daniels who hits him with a Blue Thunder bomb for 2. Daniels blocks the Tidal Krush and hits a huge palm strike. He sets Ki on the top rope but Ki fights him off. Dragon runs up for a superplex. He hits it, but is also hit simultaneously by Daniels and a back suplex. Dragon hits a neck wrench suplex on Daniels and then hits a dragon suplex for 2 when Ki saves. Ki puts the Dragon Clutch on Dragon but Daniels breaks it up. Daniels hits Ki with an STO and calls for the triple jump moonsault. He hits it for 2 when Dragon saves. Daniels hits Dragon with a clothesline but Ki catches him with the Tidal Krush. Dragon hits roaring forearms on both opponents and puts the Cow Killer on Daniels. Ki climbs to the top rope and hits the Phoenix splash the bridging Dragon. He quickly picks up Daniels and hits the Ki Krusher for the win. This match gets better every time I see it. It was not only pretty much the best action that any three guys could give, but they sold the exhaustion of the match very well, as can be seen in the complete lack of kick outs near the end of the match. The only knock I can make at all was Dragon's destruction of Daniels arm in the early going not leading to anything, but that's really nitpicking.
Rating: ****½
Dragon gets on the microphone after the match and proposes a singles rematch between him and Ki on the next show because Ki didn't pin him to win the match. Daniels grabs the microphone and tells dragon and Ki to go to Hell because had it been a singles match against either of them he'd have beaten them. In fact, he'd be able to beat them in singles matches on the same night. Ki accepts both challenges and the round robin tournament for the next show is set. Ki and Dragon shake hands but Daniels blows them off, thus making him the number one heel in the company.
Low Ki VS. Christopher Daniels -- March 30, 2002 -- The Round Robin Challenge
That's a whole lotta' bald in the ring. Ki asks for a handshake but Daniels slaps his hand away. Ki unloads on him but misses the Tidal Krush. He does hit a big Kawada kick for 2. He hits a stiff kick to the back for 2. Daniels kicks back but gets caught with a Koppo kick for 2. Ki hits a quick Stroke and puts on a crossface. Daniels rolls him over for 2. Ki hits the Krush Kombo and kicks Daniels' bird away in the process and gets 2. I think I'd seen them do that spot in ECWA before this. Ki puts on a chinlock and then switches to a facelock. Daniels goes to the ropes to break and sets Ki up top. Ki dodges the palm strike and puts on the trapped armbar. Daniels hits an STO and then another. He hits an elbowdrop and a clothesline for 2. He hits a delayed vertical suplex for 2. He hits a gutwrench suplex and puts on a chinlock. He hangs Ki up on the top rope and then comes off the second with a legdrop for 2. He puts on a half crab and switches to an STF when Ki gets close to the ropes. Ki gets close again so Daniels puts on a bow and arrow lock. Ki finally gets to the ropes. Daniels hits a falcon arrow for 2. He hits a uranage but can't hit the triple jump moonsault. Ki comes back with the Tidal Wave. He hits a palm strike in the corner and goes for the Iconoclasm but Daniels blocks. Daniels hits a palm strike and the Iconoclasm himself for 2. He hits the Angel's Wings for 2. Ki comes back with the Ki Krusher but he can't cover. He hits the Tidal Krush for 2. He reverses the Last Rights to the Dragon Clutch and Daniels taps. Great finish to another really good match in the round robin.
Rating: ***1/2
Low Ki VS. American Dragon -- March 30, 2002 -- The Round Robin Challenge
Ken Shamrock is the special guest referee. They knuckle up and Ki kicks at Dragon's shin. Dragon takes Ki to the mat and goes for a cross armbreaker. Ki blocks and gets in the mounting position. Dragon reverses to the Kayak and lifts Ki into a pendulum. He puts on a choke but Ki fights out. Dragon hits a series of crossface forearms and puts on a chinlock. Ki reverses to a front facelock and rams his knee into Dragon's shoulder. Dragon gets to the ropes and they block each other's strikes. Dragon goes for a triangle choke and floats into a very cool armbar. Ki fights out and puts on a choke but Dragon gets to the ropes. Ki goes for a triangle choke but Dragon hits a powerbomb to escape. They knuckle up again and Ki goes back to the arm. Dragon gets a facelock but Ki gets to the ropes. Ki knocks Dragon out of the ring with a kick from the mat. Back in the ring Ki takes Dragon to the mat and gets 2. Dragon puts on a gnarly toehold and rolls Ki over for 2. He puts on a leglock but Ki kicks out. Ki grabs Dragon by his hair and swiftly kicks his face until Dragon bails. Dragon dives back into the ring and throws on a cross armbreaker. Ki gets to the ropes quickly. Dragon gets a roll up for 2. He sets up for the Cow Killer but Ki gets to the corner. Dragon hits a back suplex and a stiff kick to the back. He hits a chop to the back for 2. Ki powers up and hits a kick to the face. He hits a snap mare and a stiff kick to the back. He hits a kneedrop for 2. He puts on a dragon sleeper and pins Dragon for 2. He puts on a cobra clutch so Dragon tumbles to the floor. Ki keeps the hold on so Dragon grabs the rope and Shamrock calls for a break. Back in the ring Ki gets 2. He hits a double stomp and goes for the Ki Krusher. Dragon blocks and hits a roaring forearm. He hits the dragon suplex for 2. He hits a neck wrench suplex and climbs the ropes. He hits the diving headbutt but for some reason it's Ki that gets the 2 count. I think the idea was that Ki kicked him on the way down but that didn't seem to happen. Ki hits the Tidal Krush and a dragon suplex for 2. He puts on Dragon's Cow Killer but Dragon slips out and puts on Ki's Dragon Clutch. Ki gets to the ropes. Dragon puts on a cravat and hits a suplex for 2. He hits a running forearm and a northern lights suplex for 2. Dragon blocks the Tidal Wave with a dropkick and gets 2. Ki comes back with a brainbuster for 2. He kicks at Dragon's face and hits the Ki Krusher for 2. He hits a backbreaker and climbs the ropes. The phoenix splash hits Dragon's knees and Dragon hits a dragon suplex for 2. He sets Ki up top and hits a back superplex for 2. He puts Ki back on top but Ki fights him off and hits the Ki Krusher from the second rope. Dragon bails so Ki rolls him back into the ring and gets 2 when Dragon gets his foot on the rope. Dragon blocks the Tidal Krush and hits the Regalplex for 2. He puts on the Cow Killer but Ki fights towards the ropes. Dragon puts it back on in the center of the ring and Ki passes out. The finish was a little anticlimactic but I can understand that they did it because the company was going to be centered on Ki. The rest of the match was amazing, lacking only in the drama department because it was the two top babyfaces wrestling in a match with little build. This still holds up quite well all these years later.
Rating: ****1/4
Low Ki VS. AJ Styles -- April 27, 2002 -- A Night of Appreciation
Ki takes AJ to the mat to start. He gets a pin attempt for 2 and AJ begs off. Styles powers Ki to the mat and gets 2. They trade kicks until Ki ducks one and gets a takedown into a front facelock. Styles reverses to his own and gets 2. He gets a double leg takedown and a roll up for 2. Ki kicks AJ's face and then catches him with a kick to the back of the head. Styles hits a hurricanrana and a clothesline for 2. He hits a neckbreaker for 2. Ki forcefully blocks a blind charge and hits a backbreaker. He hits an elbowdrop for 2. Styles hits an enziguiri and Ki falls to the floor. Styles follows him out and hits a superkick. Back in the ring Styles gets 2. He hits a brainbuster for 2. Ki hits the Koppo kick and a Yakuza kick sending Styles to the floor. Ki pulls him to the apron and goes for a Ki Krusher to the floor. Styles tosses him back into the ring but Ki pulls him back with a dragon sleeper in the ropes. Back in the ring Ki gets 2. He goes for the Ki Krusher but Styles reverses to a DDT. Ki goes for the dragon sleeper but Styles blocks and hits the flip DDT for 2. Ki hits a beautiful powerbomb for 2. He unloads with kicks to the face and back and gets 2. He hits a tiger suplex for 2. Styles comes back with a clothesline and a German suplex. He hits a faceplant for 2. Ki hits a faceplant of his own for 2. He hits the Tidal Krush and climbs the ropes. The phoenix splash hits knees and Styles hits the craziest inverted Island Driver ever for 2. There's no reason anyone should ever kick out of that. Styles climbs the ropes but misses the Spiral Tap. They trade strikes and Ki hits an enziguiri and goes for the Ki Krusher. Styles blocks and goes for the inverted Island Driver again but Ki reverses to a roll up for the win. After the bell-to-bell madness that had just occurred a roll up felt a little cheap as the finish.
Rating: ****
Low Ki VS. Prince Nana -- June 22, 2002 -- Road to the Title
This was Ki's first round match in the title tournament. Nana attacks Ki as he enters the ring. He runs him into the turnbuckle and hits a vertical suplex. He hits an avalanche and a butt splash in the corner. He hits another butt splash and a headbutt. He hits a third butt splash but Ki comes back with chops. Nana hits another avalanche and goes for another butt splash but Ki dodges it and knocks Nana out cold with an enziguiri. Simple and effective, and although it was short and a bit dull aside from the finish it was still worlds better than the previous match.
Rating: *
Low Ki VS. Red -- June 22, 2002 -- Road to the Title
This would be the finals of Ki's block in the title tournament. Red slaps Ki at the bell. Dumb ass. They trade kicks and then get into the Matrix Minute that has become so famous. It's still cool and not the least bit contrived looking even now three and a half years later. They knuckle up and Ki forces Red to the corner. He gets a headlock takedown for 2. Ki blocks Red's kicks and gets a dragon screw. He goes for the Krush Kombo but Red dodges the final kick and hits the Red Star Press for 2. He hops up the ropes and comes down with a neckbreaker for 2. Ki hits the Koppo kick but Red blocks the Tidal Krush with a dropkick. Ki dumps him to the apron and kicks him hard in the chest. Red ducks a 619 but gets knocked to the floor with another Koppo kick. He rolls Red back into the ring for 2. He slams Red to the mat by his hair for 2. He hits a stiff kick to the back but Red comes back with a DDT. He kicks Ki to the floor and goes to dive onto him but Ki jumps up and hits a kneestrike for 2. He goes for the Ki Krusher but Red reverses to a roll up for 2. He hits a reverse hurricanrana for 2. He climbs the ropes but misses the Infrared. Ki comes back with the Krush Rush sending Red to the floor. He brings Red back into the ring and climbs the ropes. He misses the Phoenix splash and Red hits him with a roundhouse kick. He goes for a hurricanrana from the top but gets hit with a super Ki Krusher for the win. This was more a spectacle than a match, but none of the complicated segments looked contrived and the botched spots were kept to an absolute minimum.
Rating: ***1/2
Christopher Daniels and Spanky are joined by Doug Williams and Low Ki for the unveiling of the title belt. Daniels doesn't want there to be an unveiling. He think he'll win the title anyway so he might as well just take it. All four men start to brawl. Spanky dives onto Williams on the floor as Ki puts the dragon clutch on Daniels. He won't release the hold, even at the request of Mafia, so referees and TWA guys just pull both men to the back in that position. Cool visual there.
Low Ki VS. Christopher Daniels VS. Spanky VS. Doug Williams -- July 27, 2002 -- Crowning a Champion
This match is to crown the first Ring of Honor Champion and is under ironman rules. The scoring works as follows: When a man gets a pin fall or submission on an opponent he earns to points. When pins or is made to submit he loses one point. Two men fight in the ring at a time with tags being necessary to come in. Every time a decision occurs a new referee comes in so that there is a fresh official in the ring at all times. This of course doesn't work if no decisions occur. All four men are coming into this match with a lot of momentum, with Spanky and Williams both actually being undefeated.
Low Ki: 0, Daniels: 0, Spanky: 0, Williams: 0
Daniels and Ki start and Daniels immediately tags out to Williams. Williams ducks an enziguiri and puts on a butterfly hold while kneeling on Ki's legs. Ki reverses to an armbar and gets a head scissor takedown. Williams puts on an armbar and then the suspended submission. Ki strikes out and gets a roll up for 2. He tags to Spanky who walks into a strangle hold. Spanky reverses to his own but Williams quickly escapes. Daniels tags in for Spanky and gets put in a wristlock. Williams rams Daniels' shoulder into the turnbuckle and then gets a sunset flip for 2. He tags to Spanky who stays on Daniels' arm. He hits a shoulder block and puts on a headlock. Daniels comes back with a back suplex and then quickly tags to Ki and bails. Ki comes in with the Mark Nulty Special but Spanky escapes and works over his knee. He tags to Williams who hits a chop block. He puts on a leglock and then tags to Daniels. Ki starts to fight back so Daniels goes to the eyes and tags to Spanky. Spanky puts on a leglock but Ki reverses to the dragon clutch. Spanky escapes and tags to Daniels. Ki tags to Williams who puts a cross armbreaker on Daniels. Daniels gets to the ropes but Williams stays on the arm. Daniels hits Ki on the apron and gets hit with a clothesline by Williams for 2. Williams tags to Spanky who stays on the arm. He puts on an armbar but Daniels rolls him over for 2. Daniels hits a neckbreaker and an inverted bulldog for 2. He tags to Williams who puts on a chinlock. Spanky escapes and tags to Ki. Ki puts on a sleeper hold but Williams hits a jawbreaker to escape. He goes to work on the leg and puts on the Torture Device, a standing stretch muffler. He slams Ki to the mat and tags to Spanky. Spanky dropkicks the knee for 2. He hits a shinbreaker which Donnie B calls a figure four type boardbreaker. Ki hits Spanky with an enziguiri and whips him into a kick from Daniels. He gets 2 and then hits a seated blockbuster for 2. He drapes Spanky on the top rope and kicks his chest. Daniels tags Ki out and hits a vertical suplex on Spanky for 2. He puts on a chinlock but Spanky reverses to a hammerlock. Daniels reverses to a roll up for 2. He puts on a cravat but walks into a tornado kneestrike. Spanky tags to Ki who hits the Koppo kick on Daniels. Daniels ducks the Krush Kombo and hits a chop block for 2. He goes to the eyes and goads Spanky into hitting a crossbody on Ki. Everyone starts brawling in the ring and Williams hits DDT on Daniels. Spanky hits Sliced Bread #2 on Williams and Ki hits Spanky with a tiger suplex. Daniels catches Ki with a flatliner and then blocks the Tidal Krush with another chop block. He hits the Last Rights to score the first pin fall in the match.
Low Ki: -1, Daniels: 2, Spanky: 0, Williams: 0
Daniels goes for another pin on Ki but Spanky saves. He tags in for Ki and hits a leg lariat on Daniels for 2. He hits a side suplex for 2. Ki hydrates himself on the floor as Daniels tags to Williams. Williams puts on a chinlock and hits a kneedrop for 2. Spanky hits a kneelift and tags to Daniels. Daniels hits a dropkick but Williams comes back with an armbar. Daniels gets to the ropes. Williams drops a knee on his arm and tags to Spanky after chopping his face. Daniels blocks a blind charge and hits Spanky with a DDT for 2. Spanky tags to Williams who hits the coolest armdrag I've ever seen. He dodges a blind charge and puts on a cross armbreaker. Daniels slips out and wrenches the neck. He goes to the eyes and blocks a DDT with a spinebuster. He tags to Spanky who gets 2. Spanky stands on Williams' shoulders for 2. Williams hits an Ace Crusher and puts on the Mark Nulty Special. Daniels breaks it up and tags in. He hits Spanky with a side slam and knocks Ki off the apron. Spanky hits a side Russian legsweep for 2. He hits a neckbreaker and tags to Williams. Williams hits a kneedrop and works the arm. Daniels fights up but Williams hits a clothesline for 2. Daniels tags to Spanky who hits a knee to the back of the head. Donnie B calls it a front back wheel kick. How can something be front and back at the same time?! Spanky hits a dropkick and tags to Daniels. Daniels hits a backbreaker and holds Williams for a slingshot senton from Spanky. Williams fights both of them off and hits an overhead suplex on Daniels. He hits the Chaos Theory on Spanky for 2 when Daniels saves. Daniels hits a flatliner on Williams and puts on the Koji clutch. Ki comes off the top with a double stomp onto Daniels to break it up. Ki tags himself in with a chop on Daniels but gets stuck in the Gory Special. Williams hangs him on the turnbuckle and dropkicks him. He sets Ki up top but Ki catches him with a hurricanrana. He puts on a triangle choke and holds on through powerbombs from Williams. He rolls Williams up for 2 and puts on a cross armbreaker. Williams stands up while in the hold and slams Ki to the mat. Spanky tags Williams out and then something amazing happens. Williams goes for the Chaos Theory on Ki but Ki, in one motion, flips out of it and grabs the dragon clutch on Spanky, forcing him to tap out.
Low Ki: 1, Daniels: 2, Spanky: -1, Williams: 0
Daniels attacks Ki from behind and hits a bodyslam for 2. He hits a clothesline and an Asai moonsault for 2. He blocks a kick and gets a roll up for 2 into a leglock. Spanky breaks it up and tags Ki out. He hits a flying forearm on Daniels and climbs the ropes. His frog splash misses but he blocks a flatliner. He rolls Daniels up for 2. He blocks a blind charge and hits a tornado pedigree for 2. Daniels hits a chinbreaker and tags to Williams. Williams hits a series of faceplants for 2. He hits kneestrikes on everyone and breaks up Low Ki pin attempt with the Bomb Scare. He clotheslines Ki and Daniels but Spanky rolls him up for 2. Spanky goes for Sliced Bread #2 but Ki stops it and Williams hits a northern lights suplex. Ki works over Williams' neck but Daniels tags him out. He hits an STO and the triple jump moonsault for 2. Spanky tags Daniels out and hits a crossbody for 2. Ki tags Spanky out and puts the dragon clutch on in the ropes. He releases and gets 2. Daniels runs in and sets Ki up top. He hits a palm strike but Spanky blocks the Iconoclasm by hitting Sliced Bread #2 on Williams. Spanky and Daniels fight to the floor and Ki hits Williams with the phoenix splash for a pin fall.
Low Ki: 3, Daniels: 2, Spanky: -1, Williams: -1
Ki and Daniels take out Spanky so they can fight each other. They clothesline each other down. Daniels hits a uranage but misses the triple jump moonsault. Ki climbs the ropes but the phoenix splash hits Daniels' knees. Spanky tags in for Daniels and hits a snap suplex for 2. Ki reverses Sliced Bread #2 to a tombstone piledriver for 2 when Daniels saves. He tags Ki out and hits the Burning Hammer on Spanky. Williams tags Spanky out and piledrives Daniels for 2. He blocks Ki's Tidal Krush with a powerbomb for 2 when Spanky saves. Stupid of Spanky if you do the math. Ki hits a 450 splash on Spanky and rolls to the floor. Daniels rolls Ki in the ring and then tags in for him. Spanky hits him with a DDT for 2. He climbs the ropes and hits a frog splash for 2 when Ki saves. Again, the math shows that was stupid of Ki to do. Ki tags Daniels out but gets hit by Spanky with a back suplex for 2. Spanky dives onto Williams on the floor, tagging to Daniels on the way out. Daniels goes for roll ups on Ki but only gets 2. He hits the Stroke for 2 as Williams hits Spanky with a swinging DDT on the floor. Daniels hits a blue thunder bomb for 2. Ki blocks the Angel's Wings with a double leg takedown. Ki blocks the Last Rights but Daniels puts on the dragon clutch. Ki holds out long enough for the time limit to expire and in fact hits Daniels with the Last Rights right before the bell, making him the first ever champion.
Everyone played their rolls to perfection here and came out smelling like roses as a result. Ki won the title, Daniels was never pinned in his loss and actually pinned the winner in the match, Williams looked like a monster and Spanky played the perfect sneaky bastard heel. Legal man issues came up near the end of the match and the match as a whole was a little too chaotic to hold the crowd's (or a viewer's) attention throughout the sixty minutes. Altogether the first ROH title match was a success, even if it wasn't the mind-blowing match I remembered it being.
Rating: ****
Spanky and Williams show respect to Ki after the match, but Daniels is too hung up on the fact that he pinned Ki and was never defeated. Ki collapses from exhaustion behind the curtain. He cries on the floor and then regains his composure long enough to cut a promo about how much he loves wrestling and that he dedicated the win to the late Russ Haas and his brother Charlie. Then he jokes about the lack of air conditioning in the building. He's a good man for selling the leg long after the match is over.
And with that another edition of RetROH comes to an end. Ki would go on to defend the belt against AJ Styles in another great match before getting screwed out of the title by Christopher Daniel's Prophecy. But that's a story for another day.
No RetROH next week (not that people are flooding in to read this) because I'll be road tripping from Kalamazoo to Orlando. Back in two weeks with a look at Japanese wrestlers in ROH in 2002 and 2003. |
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And we're rolling... - 02.18.2006
Jake and I started doing ROH reviews at the beginning of 2004, but ROH had two solid years of existence before that point. Here in The411 each week I'll look back at matches from 2002 and 2003. All of these little blog entries will have a theme.
When Eddy Guerrero passed away last November ROH held a show called Night of Tribute. This was their way of saying good-bye to Guerrero, who had helped the company make a name for itself back in 2002. Night of Tribute was a spin on Night of Appreciation, which was dedicated to Guerrero when he went back to WWE. I never really got a chance to write anything about Eddy last November, so the debut of RetROH will look back at the two ROH matches Eddy participated in.
Super Crazy VS. Eddy Guerrero -- February 23, 2002 -- The Era of Honor Begins
At this point during Eddy's time off he'd cleaned up his act and begun tearing it up in the Indies and Japan, thus proving that he deserved another chance at the big time. This match is for the IWA Intercontinental Championship. Guerrero breaks the Code of Honor by slapping Crazy rather than shake his hand. He takes Crazy to the mat and stomps on his face. He hits a vertical suplex for 2. He takes him down with a headlock and gets 2. Crazy hits a back suplex to break the hold. Guerrero hits a European uppercut to knock Crazy down. He hits a back suplex for 2 and puts on a sleeper hold. Crazy powers out of the sleeper and hits an armdrag. He climbs the ropes and hits another armdrag. He hits Los Mounted Punches and Guerrero bails. He catches Crazy going for a dive and rams his face into the apron. He knocks Crazy around and hits a brainbuster on the floor. Back in the ring Guerrero hits a slingshot senton for 2. He hits a fall away slam for 2. He puts on a seated abdominal stretch but lets go to stomp on him. He hits a dropkick to the face for 2. Eddy blocks a dropkick to the face but gets hit with a dropkick to the back of the head. Awesome. Crazy hits a bodyslam and a springboard moonsault. He hits a missile dropkick for 2. He climbs the ropes again but Guerrero cuts him off and hits a hurricanrana for 2. Crazy hits a leg lariat for 2. Guerrero blocks a suplex and hits a powerbomb for 2. He hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and a pair of rolling brainbusters before climbing to the top rope. Crazy dodges the frog splash and reverses a backbreaker attempt to a roll up for the win. Eddy heeled it up nicely and the action was good. Crazy no-selling the brainbusters at the end left me with a bad taste in my mouth however, and the match definitely had enough gas in it to go a few more miles. I can't blame them for not going all out though, as I've heard that they were holding back so as to not show up the main event.
Rating: ***1/4
Eddy Guerrero & Red VS. The SAT -- April 27, 2002 -- A Night of Appreciation
Red and the Maximos haven't been getting along, so their trainer Mikey Whipwreck put them in a match against each other and got Guerrero to be Red's partner. Guerrero had already signed back with WWE and won the Intercontinental Championship, which he is holding here. This is his last appearance in ROH. Red and Jose start. Red hits a hurricanrana and a pair of armdrags. Jose hits a dropkick so Red tags to Eddy. Eddy tosses Red into Jose and hits Joel with a backbreaker. Joel tags in legally and walks into a hammerlock. Eddy switches to a wristlock and goes to town on the arm. Joel grabs a headlock and hits a hurricanrana for 1. Eddy puts on the Sharpshooter but Joel gets to the ropes. He hits a back suplex and a slingshot senton for 2. He puts on a sleeper hold but Joel fights out. Joel hits a back bodydrop and a dropkick. Jose tags in and they hit a double drop toehold. Joel puts on a Mexican surfboard and Jose dropkicks him for 2. Jose tags in and puts on a sleeper hold. He hits a German suplex for 2. He hits a northern lights suplex for 2. He climbs the ropes but Eddy cuts him off and hits a superplex. Red and Joel tag in and Red hits a DDT for 2. He hits the Red Star Press for 2. Joel hits a sit-out powerbomb and tags to Jose. Jose hits a vertical suplex for 2. Joel tags in and hits a basement dropkick for 2. Jose tags in and gets 2 after Joel hits a spinebuster. Jose hits a superkick for 2 when Eddy saves. Joel tags in and puts on a pendulum. Jose hits a legdrop and Joel gets 2. The locker room empties to watch the match as Red brings Joel off the top rope with a roundhouse kick. Jose and Eddy tag in. Eddy hits a brainbuster for 2. He goes for Splash Mountain but Jose reverses to a roll up for 2. Eddy hits a clothesline and climbs the ropes. Joel cuts him off and the SAT go for the Spanish Fly. Red kicks Joel out of the ring and dives onto him. Jose blocks a hurricanrana from Eddy but can't block one from Red. Red dives onto Joel again and Eddy goes for the frog splash. Jose moves so Eddy hits him with Splash Mountain for the win. Probably the best SAT match I've ever seen, as they kept their nonsense to an absolute minimum and the match hit on all counts.
Rating: ***1/2
After the match the fans chant "we will miss you," a very powerful image now that Eddy is gone.
So there you have it. Guerrero finishes up his independent stint with a pair of solid matches, helping younger guys look good on his way back to the big leagues. Unlike many in ROH, Eddy contributed more through name recognition than he did through match quality and helped get the word out about ROH early on. This is good stuff, well worth checking out. |
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