Column of Honor: 02.27.10: The Omega Effect DVD Review—Kenny Omega’s Big Chance

Posted by Ari Berenstein on 02.27.2010

Austin Aries puts the ROH World Title on the line against Kenny Omega in Canada. A review of the entire Omega Effect show, plus: match announcements for shows in March and…Ozzie Guillen?

Welcome to…ANOTHER Column! Two for the price of one this week and it's kicked off with the second of two DVD reviews featuring Austin Aries' finest title defenses of his recent ROH World Title run.

CLICK HERE for my review of the ROH Aries vs. Richards DVD, my fave five of the week and more.





=The Omega Effect: Omega's Big Chance=




This show took place in Mississauga, Ontario on November 14th, 2009. Dave Prazak and Chris Hero are once again the commentary team along with Eric Santamaria.

Kenny Omega begins the DVD with a promo from the previous night in Novi. He is drained and tired from that match versus Nakajima, but says the effort he gave and the effort he will give against Aries is why he is a wrestler in ROH. Good babyface style promo and the Gatorade at the end is a nice touch. Electrolytes and such do refresh the body.

We get the party started in the ring with Young Bucks versus The Flatliners—Asylum and Burns, who are debuting for ROH on this DVD. They seem to be your standard built big man group, with Burns resembling a younger, more muscular Tony DeVito and Asylum sporting some Robert Roode facial hair. It's a speed vs. power match, but a very well done one at that, as The Flatliners show off with some different tag combos including a really cool wheelbarrow double team that ends in a German Suplex. The Bucks come back with their usual fare, although again everything is very well executed and well timed, plus the crowd is very much into the action, which always helps translate to home video. The Bucks are the better known team and have more standing in ROH so they go over here with More Bang for Your Buck. I wouldn't mind seeing more of The Flatliners on future shows in Canada.

Claudio Castagnoli in some sort of empty hall cuts a promo (seems to be a trend for him on these DVDs, albeit a fine decision—get him some more popcorn to crush and pretend it's his opponent). He discusses his goals of getting back into the Pick 6 (always appreciated when the wrestlers talk about it because it gives the rankings a sense of importance) and rolls out the red carpet on the floor, claiming he will walk on it and then walk over Colt Cabana or Delirious to win the four corner survival match.

Said match is next up, with Grizzly Redwood also in on the fun. He is quickly finding a home in these four corner matches, with some fantastic effort and use of his underdog status to his advantage. As you might expect with both Colt and Delirious involved, this is a comedy match, however there is a lot of action as well—everyone is kept busy and everything flows from one part to the next. There is some clever use of Claudio's glove early on as Claudio slaps Colt with it, but Colt steals it and places it on Delirious (who is in his squatting position near the turnbuckle) so that when the bell rings he goes crazy on Claudio and starts hitting him with his own glove. Power of the Punch! Everyone then gets a turn with the glove, using the POWER OF THE PUNCH! Later on Grizzly is featured in some clever spots, where he tries to sunset flip Claudio and actually almost gets it, but Claudio does put the stopper on it, grabs Grizzley and heaves him in the air only to be caught in a hurricanrana. Right after Grizzly goes for the log roll on Colt, tippy-toeing backwards and then hops over the Griz, who falls under the bottom rope to the outside. Colt later absolutely smashes Grizzly onto the top turnbuckle in a variation of the press gutbuster, sending Grizzly outside and done with the match. Claudio (who it has to be said, has one of the most impressive physiques not just in ROH but in all of wrestling right now) gets the UFO on Delirious but Cabana gets one over on both of them by sending Claudio to the outside and pinning the dizzy green dude with a roll up. Delirious' selling of dizziness during this finish and in the post-match is really on-point, very entertaining (he has Grizzly's plaid shirt in his mouth and his eyes are rolling all over the place, as is his body). Good news for Delirious though is that he keeps his Pick 6 spot, as does Colt.

Next match up is Kenny King and Rhett Titus, who are incredibly committed to their entrance routine of coordinating thrusts and dancing and prancing and bro handshakes what have you. I applaud their effort and initiative. They win this one against The Super Smash Brothers, who are always good for an entertaining effort, especially in Canada. Unfortunately the audio track on my copy of the DVD goes bonkers for much of this match, with some sort of loud hissing sound and Chris Hero repeatedly saying "uh" or something like that. So I switch over to the no commentary track, which immediately pays dividends when King pops the crowd with a diss on an audience member. He is pummeling Player Dos, who is saying "oh oh oh" in selling the pain, to which King looks out at some fan who was heckling him and says "that's what your mom was saying all last night" OHHHHHHHHHHHHH SNAP!

El Generico versus Katsuhiko Nakajima, who as you'll recall is replacing the injured KENTA on this tour. This is before the Steen heel turn so we get Generico as full power and confidence in storyline. Nakajima refuses the Code of Honor! IT'S ON BRUDDA! There is some stiff goodness on the outside of the ring, strikes exchanges and whip reversals that end in strikes. The fans approve. If you like to see Nakajima kicking the crap out of his opponents, then this is the match for you, because he laces into Generico plenty throughout this one. I believe there may be some fancy schmancy video editing because it looks like Generico was going for the Fosbury Flop to the outside and then we cut to a shot of him in mid-air doing an Asai DDT…hmmm, as My Morning Jacket might sing, "highly suspicious". Doesn't really take away from the match, in fact it looks pretty damned cool and the match moves right along with all sorts of awesomeness, kick dodges, cover ups and fakes, and Nakajima FLYING through the air with the greatest of ease. Generico hits the awesome DDT through the turnbuckles to the outside, which looks perfect. T-Bone and a Yakuza kick to the corner followed by a Half Nelson German Suplex, but Nakajima reverses to a brainbuster in an awesome moment. Running boot exchanges between the two and a brainbuster for a DAMNED close two! Nakajima with an insane knee drop from the top right on top of Generico and following through, even thought he got hurt on the move he is just insane with accurate and painful looking kicks. A German Suplex balanced on the injured knee gets the slightly anti-climatic three-count, but still a damned impressive effort from Nakajima to wrestle hurt. This one may not be in the elite list of matches from either of these guys, but certainly fits well into the upper echelon. Great reaction from the crowd throughout this match really made this seem like something special. Steen (AND Colt Cabana, which is an interesting foreshadowing) is out to hold out Generico's hand in celebration of a good try in front of his countrymen.

Tyler Black vs. Roderick Strong is up next in a Pick 6 contender's match with Strong at 2 and Black at 3 at this point in what is ostensibly their rematch from the final pairing of Survival of the Fittest 2009. It's face versus face for this one, which means plenty of technical back and forth early on, which is fine by me. Early highlight are the flip escapes of snapmares by each…Manassas, Virginia would be so proud of them. Good hard hitting strikes in the middle of the match, with Hero especially effective on commentary discussing strategy to avoid allowing Strong to hit the chops. He definitely lays them in on Black throughout the match and jeez, I have to cringe even from home whenever he does it. Strong blocks a Tornado DDT by flinging Black halfway to the middle of the ring. There is some extra oomph on Strong's part when he stomps a mud hole and chokes him with the boots. Tyler turns the tide by successfully converting that Tornado DDT from earlier with a nifty reversal whip sequence and using the turnbuckles as a fulcrum. Great near fall on a Roderick snap powerslam with a tight hooking pin.

Meanwhile, Black continues to shows some flash by reversing the double knee gutbuster into a hurricanrana and that awesome AJ Styles inspired quebrada into a reverse DDT position into the Paroxysm. Strong fires back but a roll up sequence winds up with Black placing Strong in the fireman's carry into the F5. Strong blocks the corner enziguiri and hits one of his own, plus the belly-to-back on the apron to hurt Black but instead Black surprises Strong with the angled kick. That sets up a frenetic finishing sequence that is hard to do justice in description. Needless to say it is believable at several points that either man will win before the bell rings. This was a fantastic appetizer for seeing them wrestle in 2010 with the title on the line. While there was a deliberate pace at the start of the match, they gave the fans a lot of what they can do (including cool reversals and counter strikes), but not everything. I can't wait to see how they counter and vary their major offense for those matches. I believe that those will be the major moments that fans will remember when they fight in the future.

Next, The Briscoes wrestle Stevens and Ryan. A fan's comment during The Embassy's entrance: "You are so greasy Joey, oh my god!" YES INDEED. They get the toilet paper treatment, which pleases me greatly. Standard brawl here, nothing too special other than Ryan & Stevens lifting a few Briscoes spots to add insult to injury and Mark Briscoe spices up his offense during this match with a tumbleweed dive to the outside onto Stevens. That was one of the larger risks he's taken since returning from injury. Stevens and Ryan win in an upset via holding the tights on a roll up onto Jay Briscoe and Mark is held off by Ernesto Osiris until it's too late to put a stop to it. The Briscoes almost get their hands on Nana, but he's pulled out, so they're content to kill the Prince's pauper with the spike Jay Driller and mugging his shoes to boot. Well, not to boot, to loafer, I guess. Moving on…

Kevin Steen has a glorious riff on Chris Hero, who threatened to "eat his (Steen's) lunch" during a promo on the video wire. So instead Steen has stolen a bag of almonds from Hero's bag and is eating his lunch! GLORIOUS. Then he spits it out because he doesn't like the taste. As I wrote…glorious!

Hero and Steen face off in a Pick Six contender's match, with Hero just having won the number one spot during Aries vs. Richards in Novi (see above). The Ontario fans are very partial to their countryman Steen (of course) and thus begin an excellent and humorous mocking of Hero. First of all they pepper That Young Knock-Out Kid with elongated and sarcastic "Hero" chants (what the fans used to do with Roderick Strong when he was a heel circa No Remorse Corps in 2007). That one is always a classic sports derogatory remark. Then, when Steen makes an escape out of Hero's grasp, they chant "He is agile!", to which Hero calls out "I am too!" and the crowd responds with "No, you're not!" Oh, Canada! Beautiful!

Steen flies impressively with a flip tope over the top rope onto Hero and then a senton bomb from the apron to the mat. He's been an underrated flier for some time now. Hagadorn perfects the new sport of Leg Clinging and that provides the distraction to turn the tide. After a brawl on the outside, Steen lulls Hero into hitting the KO elbow, missing and hitting the steel turnbuckle post. Hero lets out a terrible scream (and I mean that in the best sense of the word possible). Hero is still able to control, but Steen comes back with some brawling, including beating Hero to the punch with forearms (ironic, no?) and later, a superkick. Steen also borrows a page from Samoa Joe's book by using the powerbomb throw into the guardrail on the outside (unlike when Claudio did it on the last show, this one is brutal!). Steen tops it all off with a sharpshooter on the outside. Hero taps out, but the match can't end outside of the ring. Hero uses his flash kicks with speed and precision for some close near falls, but Steen returns to the sharpshooter and transitions into a crossface. Hero is now in real jeopardy (what is about to lose the match in embarrassing fashion? I'll take "Potent Potables Not Named Bobby Dempsey" for a thousand Alex). Hagadorn distracts again, allowing Hero to use a KO elbow to the back of the head for the closest near fall of the match, followed up with two more roaring elbows that were they in UFC would have cut a man open and caused a ref stoppage.

Hero preps for the Deathblow elbow, but Steen ducks and uses the Package Piledriver to win with a to claim number one in the Pick 6 Series and sending Hero down to the number two spot. That was a thriller of a back-and-forth contest made better because the Ontario crowd was invested in seeing Steen survive and win. Steen cuts a short pro-Canada speech to re-emphasize the point. This makes me wonder how he and Generico will be treated when they return to the same venue in just a few weeks.

After months of chasing for a title shot, Kenny Omega has his opportunity to wrestle Austin Aries for the ROH World Title. He pinned Aries twice previously, including in Canada, so he is once again the Hometown Hero trying to make good and win the championship—Pro Wrestling booking at its finest.

Once again we have the NEW SHINY BELT GRAPHIC for the championship match—don't get me wrong, I'm liking it. It stands out in a big way, plus it has a jet plane roar sound that goes with it! POWERRRRRR!

The beginning of the match is what you might expect out of both men—Aries uses some heel tactics while also engaging in a technical back-and-forth with Omega. They go tit-for-tat with fishhooks to the mouth, and then armdrags, headlocks and headscissors. Nothing too out of the ordinary, but effective wrestling nonetheless. Omega is just a tad off-kilter on some stuff ,like when he muffs the climb the knee over the head. It's not to a detrimental degree, but enough that like on the last show, it's noticeable (and why as great as he is and very deserving of a regular spot in the company he will still need to strive to improve himself if he wants to rise up to the elite level in ROH). Omega does get back on track and starts building up some steam with a wicked running and sliding closeline to Aries' head, then a hurricanrana that sends Aries outside. Omega holds Aries and in one of the greatest moments in existence this week an adult holds up A SMALL CHILD WHO PUNCHES ARIES REPEATEDLY IN THE GUT. Now that's awesome! Doesn't hurt at all, but it's the animosity that counts. Omega sets up the running chair to do his super mega awesome running double knees on the outside, but Aries stops it with a forearm and takes over. Then Aries runs at Omega, who backdrops him up and over into the crowd. Now that's awesome (2)!

Aries regains control with some flying axehandles and sets the pace for the middle of the match. He gets too distracted and worked up by some of the fans at ringside, slapping Omega at the same time, which just serves to piss off the challenger. Omega calls out STOP, Aries looks to slap but Omega ducks, slaps Aries in return and then the enziguiri, multiple Polish Hammers and a spinning heel kick for a pin that's too close to the ropes. Aries blocks the Dragon Suplex, sends Omega to the outside and nails the heat-seeking missile. Then he grabs the chair on the outside, but Omega dodges danger and uses his leapfrog bulldog onto the chair to regain control. Finally he successfully completes the running knees to the face on the chair and it impresses the fans. A springboard dropkick misses, so Aries goes after the knee, including blocking the leapfrog bulldog and maneuvering it into the Maple Leaf single crab—as with the match against Richards, this is shades of Lance Storm…but it works even better because he does it in Canada! Aries continues the work on the knee and plays around with the figure four leglock for some nearfalls with Omega's shoulder's on the mat. Omega breaks the hold with some headbutts but Aries maintains control.

An attempt of the IED turnbuckle dropkick is instead caught flush in the face with the HADOUKEN! Now usually that doesn't look the best, but as with the Nakajima match, it worked better since Aries was running right into it and his own move had backfired. Omega can't get Croyt's Wrath because of the work on the knee/ leg and he can't maintain Aries on his back. Aries is sent to the outside and is wiped out with a running boot through the ropes and then a picture-perfect flip senton. Frog cross body gets two. Omega's Dragon Suplex is elbowed out into a brainbuster, blocked and transitioned into the 2K1 bomb but maneuvered out and Aries sends Omega to the turnbuckle shoulder first. The IED dropkick hits this time and the Last Chancery is applied. However, Omega is able to get the ropes rather easily since the damage has been done to the knee and not the shoulder. Up on the top turnbuckle Omega gets a stalling 2K1 Bomb for a close two-count (definitely showed some strength there). Croyt's Wrath is hopped out of but Omega gets a release Dragon Suplex and finally, the CROYT'S WRATH. Omega had him but Aries grabs the ropes at the last possible second. That was realistically Omega's best chance to win.

Omega tries to bring Aries into the ring with a suplex but Aries reverses it and hauls Omega on the outside, banging his head on the ringside table on the way and boy that looked ugly (in the best sense of the word possible, of course). Omega beats the count at seventeen and Aries gives an ugly (…you know…) look. Both men are tired but just trade forearms, then Omega gets the superkick and WALLOPS Aries in the jaw, Croyt's Wrath attempt but Aries counters into a roll up, hooks the ropes…but Sinclair sees it and breaks it up! Omega from behind with a roll up for a VERY close two count, backslide for two, but Aries catches him with the snap kick and the IED, then the brainbuster for a TWO (WOAH! Didn't expect him to kick out). Aries is undeterred and chains right into another brainbuster, Last Chancery with knees and the ref stops the match. That was a great effort from both men. Omega became more comfortable as the match wore on, using his more serious finishers to make it seem believable he could win, but Aries ultimately makes it past the challenger and for that matter, past this weekend in November.

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-ROH is making a huge deal out of offering free tickets to MLB White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen for the Phoenix shows in late March. Guillen posted on Twitter that he was looking for tickets Wrestlemania XXVI, but that they were too expensive. ROH took the time for this small publicity stunt, offering to him tickets to come to see their show instead. It's not that I abhor this PR move, but it just screams TOTALLY TNA to me—something they have done as a "cry for attention" from the mainstream world (best example would be their offer to Sarah Pallin to appear on iMPACT in exchange for a donation for Alaskan charity programs). In reality, this should make little difference one way or another for ROH's bottom line, so it's harmless, but also very lame.

Also, Colt Cabana is a Cubs fan isn't he? If Guillen goes backstage, things could get very ugly!

Kidding.

Maybe.


-New matches for the Phoenix weekend include El Generico versus Steve Corino on Friday March 26th in the next step of the Generico / Steen feud as well as the ROH World Tag Titles on the line as champions The Briscoes defend against former champs The American Wolves in the rematch from Final Battle 2009. Shawn Daivari and Bison Smith were announced for the show, joining Alex Koslov, Rocky Romero, Scott Lost, Scorpio Sky and Jerry Lynn as special attractions for the show.

-Announced for March 19th in Dearborn, MI is a rematch from Glory By Honor VIII between Petey Williams and Austin Aries. I had to laugh at the newswire announcement that this match was "one of 2009's most overlooked bouts". If by "overlooked" you mean "infamously unforgettable for its mediocrity", then sure it was "overlooked".

-Major kudos however, for a very cool fan initiative announced this week by ROH. Fans will be able to choose the stipulation for the main event tag match between Roderick Strong and Tyler Black against the team of Austin Aries and Kenny King on March 20th in Ontario. I like this idea, as it involves the fans in a very easy but effective manner and the extra stipulation helps to add to what would not otherwise be a main event match. The emphasis is on the distrust between Strong and Black in the aftermath of events from 8th Anniversary Show, likely leading up to a future title match. It's a damned great storyline idea to push the discord between the two, having signed the match before Black superkicked Strong off the apron intentionally (although perhaps not maliciously—there is a difference) en route to clearing the ringside area of all distractions and pinning Aries for the title. Black has been unapologetic in the days and weeks after the event and therefore the rivalry between the two will have been built on a firm foundation. Black has already fired the first shot so if Strong responds he will be justified in reaction. Aries and King can easily take advantage of this distrust and use it to win the match, whatever the stipulation.

Oh, sorry, wait, ROH doesn't do "storylines", the critics say. RIGHT.


Also, I can confirm that the following matches WILL NOT be the stipulation for the Black & Strong vs. Aries & King main event:

Hair versus Mustache Match
Hot Dog Eating Contest
Winner receives a night's stay at The Temple of Lust.
Decoupage Throw down
Coal Miner's Glove Match
Pairs Figure Skating-Long Program
Potato Sack Relay Race
Iron Chef America Cook-Off (secret ingredient: Rhett Titus's crabs)
European Rounds
Losing team must sing "I'm a Little Teapot" during Karaoke at the ROH after party.
Losing team must give Necro Butcher a foot rub.
Doomsday Chamber of Blood Match
Soap Box Derby Race
Two out of Three Rounds in Lazer Tag
Spelling Bee (first word: Mississauga)
There must NOT be a winner Match

And finally…
Judy Bagwell on a Pole

-WWE released Maria Kanellis this week, just as she is about to begin her stint on NBC's Celebrity Apprentice. They do have a pattern of being this stupid with cross promotion, just ask Stacey Keibler.

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No time or room for mailbag this week, so we'll pick that up next time.




Head on over to TwitterNation and follow me at: http://twitter.com/AriBerenstein.

If you're looking for some fantasy booking fun, this week's 411 Top 5 concludes Guest Booker month with staffers giving their redo of ROH from 5/12/07 (debut on Pay Per View) until present. Kevin's CHIKARA Special from last week also includes a very thorough preview of those events.

This week's 411 Buy or Sell features Kevin Cook, er Ford and Ryan Byers mostly commenting on CHIKARA's big weekend and one or two notes on ROH.

Aaron is in with this week's ROH on HDNet report featuring the aforementioned Briscoes vs. Young Bucks title fight.

That will call it for this week. Next time out results, fallout and analysis on the next set of HDNet tapings. Until then,

BROOKLYN!
--Ari—