Wrestling’s 4R’s PPV Edition 8.04.08: ROH RESPECT IS EARNED II (2008)

Posted by Larry Csonka on 08.04.2008

On August 1st I watched the best wrestling PPV of 2008. Let the hate begin…


How the 4R's of wRestling Work!
Here is a quick explanation of the 4R's. I will take the 4 main shows (5 if I go RetRo) of the week: TNA Impact, WWE Raw, ECW on Sci-Fi and WWE Smackdown. If we have a PPV, that show will get a special PPV edition of the R's all to its own. I then group my feelings on the shows in various categories: The Right, the wRong and the Ridiculous. The Right is stuff that worked very well: a great promo, a great match and so on. PuRgatoRy is a section between the right and wrong. It shows equal traits from both sides that cannot be ignored and need discussed. It is not a bad place per say, as things can get remedied or go the wrong way the very next week. The wRong is what it sounds like: bad matches, bad or boring promos and so on. The Ridiculous is stuff that had no right on TV: Stupid angles, Diva searches and so on. And there is always a possibility of a 5th R, which is as bad as they come, unless you are TNA. They have a special R all of their own, the 6th R; the Russo-FN-Riffic~! This column is supposed to be analytical, and at the right time very critical of the shows, it was the whole reason it was created. This is not a "mark" column, nor a "smark" column, my goal is to analyze the show from many different fronts, reward the good and call out the bad. I will not apologize for my opinions, they are as they are, whether very positive or negative.

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~ROH RESPECT IS EARNED II~


The Matches:

Kevin Steen and El Generico defeated The Vulture Squad @ 8:05 via pin ***

Claudio Castagnoli defeated Davey Richards @ 9:15 via pin **½

Brent Albright, Delirious, and Pelle Primeau defeated Chris Hero, Adam Pearce, and Eddie Edwards @ 11:21 via referee stoppage **¾

In A Fight Without Honor Roderick Strong defeated Erick Stevens @ 20:54 via pin ****

ROH TITLE MATCH: Nigel McGuinness defeated Go Shiozaki @ 17:00 via Submission ***¾

ROH TAG TITLE MATCH: The Age of the Fall defeated Bryan Danielson and Austin Aries @ 23:45 via pin ****½

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THE RIGHT:

Kevin Steen and El Generico defeated The Vulture Squad @ 8:05 via pin: I always say that the opener is important for a show. You want a match good enough to get the crowd excited, while offering up guys the crowd connect with and perhaps even are engaged in a solid feud. Both teams had previously failed at their chance to win the ROH tag team gold on PPV, so this match was important to get one of them on track. Now in the past I have been critical of Jigsaw and Ruckus. I feel that Jigsaw is generic without the mask and that for the most part if you have seen one of their matches you have seen them all. But I will give credit where credit is due; they looked a lot better in this match. It wasn't moves for the sake of moves and shit like that. They did their trademark stuff, but they did it at the ring time and it worked. Generico and Steen were awesome as always, including a tremendous spot where Generico was in control and Steen yelled, " DO SOMETHING FLIPPY!" Generico then applied a chinlock. It was so great. Generico and Steen got the win, which I feel they should have in what was a fun and exciting opener that hooked the crowd. A little slow at the beginning, but the last 3 or so minutes were excellent.

Brent Albright, Delirious, and Pelle Primeau defeated Chris Hero, Adam Pearce, and Eddie Edwards @ 11:21 via referee stoppage/The NWA Title Comes to ROH: Before the next match we got promos from both Larry Sweeney and Brent Albright. Promos from Sweeney are something I look forward too, Albright not so much. But I have to say that Albright surprised others and myself as he cut what I consider his best promo to date. Add in the brief video recap and the intensity that Albright had in introducing his team to battle Sweet and Sour and this was a very good start. They had a really fun 6-man match. I think others liked it more than I did judging by some ratings and comments I have read. Don't get me wrong I liked it, but for the most part it was a basic 6-man tag. Similar in structure to the SNME tag where they were building the whole match to the hot tag. But they built to the hot tag well, Albright came in and cleaned house and looked great. He would get the referee stoppage as he kneed the hell out of Edwards. He looked like a beast, got the win and it looked like a win for the good guys. Unfortunately for Albright Pearce knocked his ass out with the MYSTERIOUS briefcase. Sweeney then got the mic and said that in the history of wrestling only ONE title meant anything, had any prestige. Pearce then pulled out the NWA Title, Sweeney cackled that he had the only title that mattered and that gave him the power. I'll have more on this later, but as an overall package this was a good segment.

In A Fight Without Honor Roderick Strong defeated Erick Stevens @ 20:54 via pin: For the most part ROH is very careful when it comes to the "gimmick" match. The Strong vs. Stevens feud has been going on for a long time and this was the "war to settle the score" here in ROH. The hatred had escalated to the point that the FIP Title was not on the line here, this was about trying to kill the other man. This was a flat out brutal match, which saw both men try to end the other man's career, and it was tremendous. I will say that it does depend on if you like this style of match, because I know that it is not everyone's cup of tea. I like this stuff, especially when it is built up properly. Also, it was so different from anything else on the show and that allowed it to stand out. There wasn't any of that crap where half of the matches involved crowd brawling or weapon shots to take away from this. They used chairs, they used ladders and yes they used tables. They worked to the climax, which was the Jeff Hardy approved ladder being set up and Strong getting a SUPERPLEX off of that, through the tables below. A crazy visual accompanied by the crowd's "Please Don't Die" chants. Strong picks up the hard fought victory, and both men get respect from the crowd afterwards. Again if you like this style of match, you should love this one.

ROH TITLE MATCH: Nigel McGuinness defeated Go Shiozaki @ 17:00 via Submission: The first half of our co-main events was the ROH World Title being defended as Nigel would defend against Go Shiozaki. I haven't seen a ton of Shiozaki, I have heard mixed review on him so went into this a bit blind. Overall I thought it was a very strong match, nothing spectacular but it was a good World Title match. Nigel is delivering in the ring and personality wise as the champion and that is a great thing to see. Shiozaki was fun to watch, but does need more seasoning as he did get a bit repetitive. A good match that the crowd was into as far as enjoyment, but I will also agree that until the ending portion that they weren't exactly biting on the near falls. Nigel continues to be a great DICK champion. His constant mocking of Danielson's "best in the word and I've got till five" is great and played well into the post match challenge from Danielson. A good title match and the challenge afterwards played into that well.

ROH TAG TITLE MATCH: The Age of the Fall defeated Bryan Danielson and Austin Aries @ 23:45 via pin: When last we saw ROH PPV (Take No Prisoners) Austin Aries and Bryan Danielson were doing BATTLE and had a hell of a match. But now they joined forces to battle the new tag team champions, the Age of the Fall. Aries and Jacobs have hate over the Lacey situation (she left wrestling under MYSTERIOUS circumstances) and they tried to kill each other with chairs early and we got a DQ about a minute in. Their second's had to give them speeches, Danielson reminding Aries that taking the titles would hurt Jacobs more than a chair, and Black reminding Jacobs that they can't get revenge if the match ends. I thought that this chaos to calm before the storm was a great set up for the match.

The match the got a "do over," the ref essentially told them "If you behave, we can still have the match." And they did! The first 10-minutes or so were just solid wrestling from all involved. The SOTF would get the heat on Danielson, which was rather odd because he normally isn't in that position, but it worked due to Aries story wit Jacobs. Jacobs would continually tag in, charge Aries and knock him to the floor and that ended up leading to a lot of double teams on Danielson. Very Midnight's vs. Rock and Roll there as Danielson played Morton. Danielson would eventually tag in Aries and things picked up big time. You could tell that these guys HATED each other, the action kept climbing and eventually Aries and Jacobs would brawl to the floor and to the back. They were gone for the rest of the match at this point, and the last 5-minutes or so was all Danielson vs. Black, and it was AWESOME! They had some great back and forth, but in the end Black was too much for the man that is considered my many the face of ROH. He got the superkick, the small package driver and the Phoenix Splash for the win. I often talk about wins and losses, and while many fans don't think they mean a lot Danielson is one of those guys that has been booked SO WELL that when he DOES lose, it means something. Tyler Black shined again here on ROH PPV, and is showing why he is considered a star for the promotion.

Danielson was defeated, down and out. Nigel then took this time to come out and answer his challenge from before. Nigel refused because Danielson just lost to Black, who he "defeated in short order." He closed by saying Danielson doesn't deserve a title shot until he has defeated everyone that he has already beaten. It played off of the Danielson challenge from before this match, and also fits Nigel's dickhead persona. He intentionally waited until Danielson was defeated so that he could humiliate him and so that Danielson couldn't fight back. What a spectacular asshole.

puRgatoRy:

Claudio Castagnoli defeated Davey Richards @ 9:15 via pin: This was our second match of the evening, which also featured Nigel McGuinness on commentary. Unfortunately Nigel calling Davey Richards "Daziee Haze" repeatedly was the best part of the match. Don't get me wring, this was NOT a bad match. This was a perfectly fine undercard match or a really solid TV bout. I will say that considering who was in there that I was disappointed. I have liked Claudio in the past as well as Richards, but I just don't think they clicked all that well here. It was a completely forgettable match that could have been left off of the card completely.

The wRong:

Setting up for those not in the loop…: I know that some were likely shocked and or pissed when I said that Claudio vs. Richards could have been left off of the card completely, but I mean that. To me it didn't help the show at all, and if you think about it keeping it off of the show could have made the show even better. First of all I would have liked to see the opener get another minute or two, because that ending was going very well. Secondly ROH is getting better with the videos and keeping people up to date, but if we drop that match they could have done much more, which would have made the overall presentation better.

There were two matches/feuds that could have benefited from the time that would have been available by cutting the match. The 6-man tag is one of those. They did do some good promo work before the match, but they really should have had more video and explanation on the briefcase. For a fan that just follows PPV they would have no clue about the angle. Also after the match, the reveal the NWA Title and then they pull a TNA moment and shoot to the back. They NEVER let it sink in and they never let commentary play it up. They should have had commentary mention the history of the title and then also should have had them be totally OFFENDED because they have been building their ROH Title for 6-years, and Sweeney basically buys a champion and a belt and brings them into the fold. Not exactly an honorable thing he did there. But they never sold the outrage.

The other thing that could have used more time was the hype for the Fight Without Honor. Yes they showed a video package, but again for people that don't follow the product or even the PPV portion of the product wouldn't have understood why these men were having this huge brawl. I absolutely hated how they casually mentioned that Stevens has his trademark Mohawk shaved; it was so casual; like he bought a new shirt or something. A more detailed video package with narration and comments from both men would have been much more useful and way more effective.

The Ridiculous:

Nothing!

Closing Thoughts:
Overall I will go with a 8.8 out of 10 and this is my PPV of the year so far as we got another great PPV effort from ROH. They delivered a solid under card, as well as the big angle with Sweet and Sour unveiling the NWA Title. The last 80-minutes of the PPV may have been the best of the year, as the Fight Without Honor, the ROH Title Match and ROH Tag Title Main Event were an amazing close to the show. If you're looking for a great wrestling show, your money will not be wasted here. RH delivered again and when you take into account the improved production values this show had this gets a big recommendation from me. Some will argue for WrestleMania and use the "bigger is better" card, but I don't go by that theory. This was a GREAT wrestling PPV. WrestleMania was as well, but things like Umaga vs. Batista, BunnyMania, the joke that was Kane vs. Chavo hurt that show. And that is why this show gets a higher rating. The final 80-minutes of this show were just excellent, and ROH gives you your money's worth. Unfortunately many won't care because people will be blinded and say that the lack of buys and the fact that they don't have TV make them "ineligible" to be considered against the WWE and or TNA PPV's. That's bullshit.

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2008 PPV Rankings:
-ROH RESPECT IS EARNED II {8.8}
-WWE WRESTLEMANIA {8.7}
-ROH RISING ABOVE {8.6}
-ROH UNDENIABLE {8.5}
-ROH TAKE NO PRISONERS {8.3}
-TNA LOCKDOWN {8.2}
-WWE NO WAY OUT {8.1}
-WWE ROYAL RUMBLE {8.0}
-TNA VICTORY ROAD {7.9}
-TNA SLAMMIVERSARY {7.7}
-TNA AGAINST ALL ODDS {7.5}
-TNA DESTINATION X {7.25}
-WWE BACKLASH {7.0}
-WWE ONE NIGHT STAND IV {6.8}
-TNA FINAL RESOLUTION {6.75}
-WWE NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS {6.7}
-WWE GREAT AMERICAN BASH {6.1}
-WWE JUDGMENT DAY {6.0}
-TNA SACRIFICE {6.0}

2008 TOP PPV Match Rankings:
-(WWE WRESTLEMANIA 24) CAREER THREATENING MATCH: Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels *****

-(WWE WRESTLEMANIA 24) WORLD TITLE MATCH: Edge © vs. The Undertaker ****½
-(ROH TAKE NO PRISONERS) ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Tyler Black ****½
-(ROH RISING ABOVE) ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Austin Aries ****½
-(ROH RESPECT IS EARNED II) ROH TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: The Age of the Fall (Jacobs and Black) © vs. Bryan Danielson and Austin Aries ****½
-(TNA LOCKDOWN) TNA WORLD TITLE MATCH: Kurt Angle © vs. Samoa Joe ****½
-(TNA VICTORY ROAD) (World X Cup Semifinal Elimination Tag Match) Curry Man, Alex Shelly and Chris Sabin vs. Puma, Yoshino and Milano Collection AT vs. Rey Bucanero, Averno and Ultimo Guerrero vs. Williams, Dux and Kozlov ****½

-(ROH TAKE NO PRISONERS) Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries ****¼
-(ROH UNDENIABLE) GRUDGE MATCH: Austin Aries vs. Roderick Strong ****¼
-(WWE NO WAY OUT) RAW ELIMINATION CHAMBER ****¼

-(TNA AGAINST ALL ODDS) TNA WORLD TITLE MATCH: Kurt Angle © vs. Christian Cage ****
-(TNA FINAL RESOLUTION) TNA WORLD TITLE MATCH: Kurt Angle © vs. Christian Cage ****
-(WWE ROYAL RUMBLE) The Royal Rumble Match ****
-(WWE NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS) WWE TITLE MATCH: HHH © vs. John Cena ****
-(WWE ONE NIGHT STAND) TLC: The Undertaker vs. Edge ****
-(WWE GREAT AMERICAN BASH) Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels ****
-(ROH RESPECT IS EARNED II) FIGHT WITHOUT HONOR: Erick Stevens vs. Roderick Strong ****

-(TNA VICTORY ROAD) (Full Metal Mayhem – Six-Man War Match) AJ Styles, Christian Cage & Rhino vs. Kurt Angle & Team 3D ***¾
-(TNA SLAMMIVERSARY) TNA X-DIVISION TITLE MATCH: Petey Williams © vs. Kaz ***¾
-(TNA FINAL RESOLUTION) TNA NO-DQ WOMEN'S TITLE MATCH: Gail Kim ©vs. Awesome Kong ***¾
-(TNA LOCKDOWN) LETHAL LOCKDOWN: Team Cage vs. Team Tomko ***¾
-(TNA AGAINST ALL ODDS) HARDCORE STREET FIGHT: Team 3D and Brother Devine vs. Black Machismo and the Motor City Machineguns ***¾
-(ROH UNDENIABLE) ROH WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Jay & Mark Briscoe © vs. The No Remorse Corps ***¾
-(ROH RISING ABOVE) ROH WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH - 2 of 3 Falls: Jay & Mark Briscoe © vs. The No Remorse Corps ***¾
-(ROH RESPECT IS EARNED II) ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Go Shiozaki ***¾
-(WWE NO WAY OUT) SMACKDOWN ELIMINATION CHAMBER ***¾
-(WWE WRESTLEMANIA 24) WWE TITLE MATCH: Randy Orton © vs. John Cena vs. HHH ***¾
-(WWE BACKLASH) WORLD TITLE MATCH: The Undertaker © vs. Edge ***¾
-(WWE WRESTLEMANIA 24) MONEY IN THE BANK LADDER MATCH: Chris Jericho vs. MVP vs. John Morrison vs. Carlito vs. CM Punk vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. Shelton Benjamin ***¾
-(WWE JUDGMENT DAY) HBK vs. Chris Jericho ***¾

2008 PPV MVP AWARDS:
This is a little added deal I started last year, as I feel that there are some other things that should be mentioned from the PPV's. Not every PPV will have one, it just depends on who I think steps up and deserves some extra recognition.

-ROH RISING ABOVE: Nigel vs. Aries (Stealing the Show)
-TNA FINAL RESOLUTION: Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong (Making us Care about Women's Wrestling on the National Stage)
-ROH UNDENIABLE: Strong vs. Aries (The Grudge is Settled)
-WWE ROYAL RUMBLE: John Cena Shocks the World (No One Saw it Coming)
-TNA AGAINST ALL ODDS: Black Machismo Saves the X-Division (He is a Superman)
-WWE NO WAY OUT: Taker Eliminates the Competition (Elimination Chamber MVP)
-TNA DESTINATION X: Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong © vs. ODB (Stepping up Again)
-WWE WRESTLEMANIA XXIV: Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels (Thank You Flair)
-TNA LOCKDOWN: Angle vs. Joe (Great Build, Great Delivery)
-TNA SACRIFICE: Roxxi gets a Haircut (And makes the ultimate sacrifice…)
-ROH TAKE NO PRISONERS: Tyler Black (Becoming a Star at 21)
-WWE ONE NIGHT STAND: The Undertaker (You Crazy Fuck)
-TNA SLAMMIVERSARY: Kaz vs. Petey (Stealing the Show)
-WWE NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS: HHH (Silencing the Critics)
-TNA VICTORY ROAD: Alex Shelley and Yoshino (Stealing the Show)
-WWE GREAT AMERICAN BASH: Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels (The Art of the Story)
-(ROH RESPECT IS EARNED II) Tyler Black (Stealing the Spotlight …Again)

And I'm out of here!