wrestling / TV Reports
411’s Ring of Honor Rising Above Report 3.07.08
~ROH RISING ABOVE 2008~
~NIGHT OF THE GRUDGES~
-Adam Pearce and Bent Albright are in the ring as Leonard and Prazak welcome us to the show. Take a drink every time the commentators say “Rising Above.” There are cameras everywhere in the building tonight, and we meet up with Steen and Generico. He says that this is home, nothing glamorous, well, maybe Generico’s cape. But they like it here, and they have been waiting to get their hands on the Hangmen Three.
-Pearce is on the mic in the ring and says he is here to discuss Delirious. Pearce was not happy that Delirious tried to eat his ear, but what Delirious did was sign his death warrant. So tonight, if you have any fortitude, you will come out to face the wrath of the head executioner, Brent Albright. Albright is wearing a torn up Delirious mask from a previous attack.
-We shoot to the opening video and as we come back to the arena RED DELIRIOUS RUSHES THE RING!
Grudge Match: Delirious vs. Brent Albright
Delirious attacks Pearce and blows MIST into his face! He then chokes out Albright, to the corner they go and knees by Albright. Delirious with a stun gun off the ropes, goes up top and gets a top rope clothesline. Delirious rips off the green mask from Albright, and then tries to rip his jugular out. Albright slams Delirious to the corner, but Delirious gets a sleeper on Delirious. Stiff kick to the face, off the ropes and Albright counters with a snap slam. Delirious is back up and throws forearms, rights but Albright is back with a pair of back breakers and a SICK Dragon Suplex takes Delirious down. I’d be down to, he landed on his head. Albright in control, stalling suplex by Albright connects. To the corner, and then a HUGE toss by Albright sends Delirious all the way across the ring. Chops by Delirious, off the ropes and forearms by Albright. Delirious charges, and runs right into an overhead belly to belly into the corner and landed on his head again. Poor bastard. Clubbing shots by Albright, swinging Uranage by Albright gets 2. Snap suplex by Albright, he goes up top…HEADBUTT MISSES! Delirious to his feet, Panic Attack to Albright! Delirious up top…Shadows Over Hell! Cobra Stretch now! Albright escapes into the crowbar, but Delirious gets a roll up out of that for 2. A big boot by Albright, , goes for a slam, roll up by Delirious and that is all.
Winner: Delirious @ 6:00 via pin
–A fine little opener that got the crowd involved and morphed into the next segment effortlessly.
Rating: **
-After the match the Hangmen Three hit the ring and beat down Delirious. Steen and Generico hit the ring to help even the odds and as they brawl the Age of the fall hit the ring and state that the revolution is alive in New York. They are staking claim to the tag titles, as it is power and ROH is the setting for their revolution. Stand up and be counted if you are against the norm. It is just like New Yorkers to conform with your job, lawyers and such. The Vulture Squad is out now and they chase the AOTF out of the ring. Julius Smokes calls for a tag team scramble match since everyone is out there and Jigsaw hits a dive to the floor and we’re underway.
Tag Team Scramble: The Age of the Fall (Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black) vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. The Vulture Squad (Jack Evans & Ruckus) vs. The Hangmen Three (Adam Pearce & BJ Whitmer)
Black tosses Evans to the floor, which was sick. Heavy brawling on the floor, BJ and Generico in the ring now and a head scissors by Generico. BJ then take shim down, Generico with a back elbow and a cross body connects. Pearce in and drops Generico to the floor, Steen in now and Pearce rakes the eyes and bites Steen! Steen crotches Pearce, step up Enziguri and Pearce is sent to the floor. Black and Jacobs gets Steen in the tree of woe and get a cool double basement dropkick. Evans in, Ruckus as well and they gets some sweet double teams and moonsaults to Black. TRANSFORM~! Steen then gets a DOUBLE SAMOAN DROP (HE’S NOT EVEN SAMOAN) on Ruckus and Evans! Pearce and BJ get a variation of the Demolition Devastator and then take Ruckus out. Black in and he eats a superkick by Steen. Evans lays out Steen, and eats a leg lariat from Generico. Jacobs in and a head scissors to Generico. Piledriver by Pearce! Sweet Jesus. Pearce covers Jacobs for 2. Generico with rights, chops and then runs into a chokeslam by Pearce. Frog Splash by BJ on Generico gets 2 as Ruckus makes the save. Evans flies in to break p a pin attempt. Jacobs and Black pull out Pearce, Evans works over BJ and gets a running knee strike. Evan up top…630 SPLASH~! Steen in…Jacobs stops the piledriver and Generico in, Jacobs up top…Evans stops the brain buster, Black grabs Generico…sweet tornado DDT as he shoves Jacobs off the top! Package piledriver by Steen on Black right into the brain buster by Generico! That’s all.
Winners: Steen and Generico @ 7:25 via pin
–This whole PPV opening was VERY ECW like, which is no surprise since Gabe is for lack of a better term “a disciple” of Heyman. And I mean all of this in a positive way. This was a balls to the wall spot-fest and again I mean that in a good way. They have their place on the card and with the faction warfare it worked out well.
Rating: ***
-We get highlights of the bout.
-The Briscoe Brothers plan to defend the tag titles and will be 5-0 on the PPV’s. They will then take out the Age of the Fall. MAN UP AGE OF THE FALL!
Sara Del Rey vs. Lacey vs. Daizee Haze
Haze and Lacey brawl to begin. Del Rey in and gets a side back breaker on Lacey and she falls to the floor. Del Rey and Haze go at it, roll up by Haze for 2. Lacey back in, Haze with a back slide try countered and she gets a head scissors/head lock combo on both ladies. Sloppy arm drag by Haze on Del Rey, Del Rey to the floor and Lacey and Haze pair off. Dropkick by Haze as Tammy Sytch watches on from ringside. Del Rey back in, grabs Lacey by the hair and Lacey wants to work together. She attacks Haze, and they lay the boots to her. Lacey charges in and eats a boot by Del Rey. Reverse Indian deathlock by Del Rey, Haze over and gets the octopus on Del Rey! Haze now gets an arm bar on Lacey, that gets broken up and Lacey with forearms to Haze. Del Rey slams Haze into Lacey in the corner, boot to Lacey and Haze rolls up Del Rey for 2. Boot to Del Rey by Lacey, Haze rolls her up for 2. Del Rey grabs Haze, counter and Haze with a face buster on Del Rey. All three ladies down, Haze up and to the 2nd rope, Lacey over and kicked away…up top and Haze with a missile dropkick to both! Back senton to both, covers both and they kick out at 2. Haze with chops to Lacey, sets her up top… Del Rey over as well…RANA by Haze, Lacey kicks Haze in the face and then Del Rey goes for the royal butterfly, grabs Lacey…DOUBLE ROYAL BUTTERFLY~! They escape, lung blower by Lacey on Del Rey, Haze grabs Del Rey and gets the mind trip. Lacey breaks that up, off the ropes and heart punch to Lacey and the Yakuza to Del Rey sends her to the floor! Mind trip to Lacey and that is all.
Winner: Daizee Haze @ 6:59 via pin
–A fun little match here. They shot right to it with no intros, which may be because they are cramming eight matches on the show. They all worked hard and with the win Haze gets herself into title contention. One thing that took away were the cuts to Sytch. I know they wanted us to see she was there, but the cuts were badly timed as we missed some action.
Rating: **
-We get an ROHWrestling.com video package, smartly highlighting every major name that has been through ROH that a new viewer wouldn’t likely know about.
-We now get footage from Edison, where Stevens was injured by Richards and Romero.
Grudge Match: Erick Stevens vs. Davey Richards
Stevens stops the initial attack by Richards, Richards slaps him and then head butts him. Stevens tackles him down, chops and off the ropes and a powerslam and mounted rights by Stevens. Boots by Stevens, tosses Richards to a corner and lays the chops into him. Clubbing shots by Stevens, a slam and then a fist drop gets 2. Forearm shots by Stevens, a high angle back suplex and cover for 2. Chops by Stevens, off the ropes and a knee drop connects and a cover for 2. Wristlock by Stevens, off the ropes but Richards gets a dragon screw leg whip to counter. Chops by Richards, shoulder rams in the corner and then the tree of woe. Richards lays the boots to Stevens and then bag tags him! HAHAHA. Camel clutch by Richards, and then rips at the nose of Richards. Stevens fights out, Richards works the arm and chops away at Stevens. Stevens catches a kick by Richards gets another and a cover for 2. A head scissors by Richards, but Stevens gets the ropes. Kicks by Richards, head butts but Stevens gets a choke toss to escape. Clubbing shots by Stevens, side back breaker and then a cover for 2. There was some commotion in the crowd and we see that Daniel Puder has arrived in the crowd. Stevens stares him down and asks why he is here. This allow Richards to chop back at Stevens, but he eats an elbow. Overhead belly to belly by Stevens, CHOO CHOOO connects! POLISH HAMMER~! Sit out pump handle slam by Stevens gets 2. Stevens sets Richards up top, chops, he goes up as well and Richards fights him off. Richards gets a sunset flip powerbomb and a running kick, which gets a close 2. Richards works a kimura now, working the arm that he had hurt. Stevens stands up with the hold on, slams him to the corner and Richards with a roll up for 2. Enziguri to the face by Richards, off he ropes but Stevens with a toss powerslam for 2! Stevens jaw jacks with Puder, Richards up top and gets a missile dropkick and back to the kimura! Stevens taps.
Winner: Davey Richards @ 9:45 via submission
–This was a good match that actually was built on like a match. The first three were kind of run and gun, but I liked the work here. Stevens continues to improve and from this you would get the feeling that he would have feuded with Puder, unfortunately that won’t be happening.
Rating: ***
-Richards blows the snot rocket on Stevens after the match. Classy. The crowd chants you can’t wrestle at Puder. Stevens gets on the mic and asks who Puder thinks he is. Puder disrespected him by doing that. Stevens then says that this is ROH, and while Puder has credentials, he hasn’t proven anything here. Maybe, what he is looking for is a fight, and if that is the case, Stevens isn’t hard to find. They chant “You’re not tough enough” at Puder now. Stevens tells him to jump over the rail and they can do this right now. Super Agent Larry Sweeney is here and says he has some wheeling and dealing to do! He introduces himself to Puder and says that Puder is a world-class athlete as well as a dangerous man. He also knows that he does nothing for free. Sweeney represents the best, like Del Ray, so Del Ray will take him back for some Sushi and so that he can watch the show on a private monitor, not surrounded by these scumbags. They agree to a meeting later on as well. Sweeney then says that Hero will take out Claudio, and then he will have his contract. Then, he will sell him to Vince, just like he did with Matt Sydal! Claudio chases Sweeney through the crowd, to ringside and then into the ring. Tank and Dempsey are out and they beat down Claudio. Dempsey misses a charge, slams Tank and then tries to slam Dempsey on Tank but he rolls out. Sweeney tries to attack, but it has no effect and Hero is out. YAKUZA to Claudio and the match begins!
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Chris Hero w/Larry Sweeney
As mentioned if Chris Hero wins, Sweeney gets Castagnoli’s contract. With the pre-match attack Hero is in control. Hero then does some wacky celebrating and slaps Dempsey. Back senton by Hero and then more wacky showboating. He does the back flip and Castagnoli back drops him and then delivers uppercuts. An Irish whip by Castagnoli, countered and then misses a shoulder block and eats a knee. Hangman’s cravate by Hero gets 2. Chops by Hero, he then chokes out Castagnoli. Tank trips up Castagnoli, boots by Hero and he then fixes his ponytail. More chops by Hero, but Castagnoli comes back with the diving uppercut. Wind up uppercut by Castagnoli, Hero back with a right and to the apron, and on the shoulders of Dempsey. This allowed Castagnoli to get a suicide dive into Dempsey and Hero falls off. Back in the ring they go, Castagnoli up top and another diving uppercut gets 2. Elbow by Hero, knee by Castagnoli and he gets a sweet swinging face plant. Hero blocks the kick, elbow connects and then an Irish whip and Hero with the corner forearm. Chops by Hero, a whip and forearm by Hero. Block buster and kip up by Hero. CRAVATE-PLEX by Hero gets 2. Off the ropes and a springboard uppercut by Castagnoli. German by Castagnoli gets 2. Hero avoids a tilt a whirl, gets an arm drag and then gets a big boot for 2. Jabs by Hero, chops now and then the Irish whip, run up and a moonsault misses by Hero. Castagnoli sets him up top, runs up and gets the BIG Head scissors! GIANT SWING. HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY~! Bicycle kick by Castagnoli gets a CLOSE 2. Ricolla Bomb try, Hero fights and gets a SICK SPIKE RANA for 2. Jesus Castagnoli may be dead. Hero’s welcomes countered, tries it again, counter and Hero gets a CRAVICE~! Castagnoli fights, but Castagnoli counters and wraps the arms…RICOLLA BOMB~! 1…2…3!
Winner: Claudio Castagnoli @ 9:50 via pin
–Good stuff again, not as intense as Richards vs. Stevens, but the work in some ways was more solid. The last 2-minutes are really cool, and I loved the counters.
Rating: ***¼
-We see the Briscoe Brothers MANNING UP backstage. The AOTF are down in the basement and take over the screen. They know the Briscoe’s are looking for them, well, they aren’t hard to find. Necro says they aren’t done, and they are going to bring it WEST VIRGINIA STYLE~!
Relaxed Rules: Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima
These men have malicious intent on the mind Dave Prazak tells us. Danielson doesn’t even get his full entrance as they begin brawling on the floor. Damn, I wanted to sing along! Morishima tosses Danielson into the barrier and then tosses a table on him. That was rude. Danielson is busted open, tap that artery boy! Danielson on the apron and eats a lariat and is knocked back to the floor. Morishima to the floor, tosses Danielson back in, Morishima up top and gets a missile dropkick. Morishima attacks the cut of Danielson, and then chokes him over the middle rope. Morishima with shots to the back. Irish whip and a avalanche by Morishima. He brutalizes the wound of Danielson and then choke shim out again. Morishima rakes the eyes of Danielson across the ropes. Danielson battles to his feet as the ref counts on him, kicks by Morishima and the a charging corner boot connects. It is all Morishima right now. Irish whip and Danielson with a kick, charging knee strike and Morishima is down. Danielson with the kicks to the back and front of Morishima and then works the triangle choke! Morishima picks up Danielson, he escapes and a forearm by Danielson. Off the ropes and Morishima decapitates him with a lariat! Backdrop driver by Morishima! Danielson is getting up! SICK lariat by Morishima gets 2! Morishima pushes the ref out of the way as he goes back to work, Danielson counters, MMA ELBOWS on Morishima! Mounted forearm strikes now, Morishima rolls but Danielson back to mount and more forearms. Morishima fights back and kicks Danielson in the balls! We get a warning due to relaxed rules. Morishima stomps on the balls of Danielson, tosses the ref down and we get a DQ as Morishima gets some elbows on Danielson.
Officials flood the ring and Morishima KILSL the ref with the backdrop driver! Danielson is up and has the timekeepers hammer and attacks Morishima with it! He tries to drive it in his eye! “I AM GOING TO BLIND THIS SON OF A BITCH!”
Winner: Bryan Danielson @ 8:43 via DQ
–First of all this was an awesome brawl. These guys have the history and the relaxed rules made sense. Morishima was made to look good after dropping the title while Danielson was made to look like a warrior, never giving up. The DQ is interesting since this is something ROH rarely does, and is something we have never seen from them on PPV. And as I have said many times, when something is not done all of the time and THEN you do it, it is all that much more effective. This was an awesome battle between warriors, the crowd loved it, the blood made it work and this was great. The funny thing is that this is the polar opposite of what you would expect from these guys, but they pulled it off just as well as a “mat classic.”
Rating: ***½
-The Hangmen Three blame the Vulture Squad for their loss earlier and go to find them. We see the Vulture Squad chilling, they’re about to be attacked, someone should tell them.
ROH World Tag Team Title – 2 of 3 Falls Match: Jay & Mark Briscoe © vs. Rocky Romero & Roderick Strong
Rocky and Mark to begin. A side headlock takedown, Rocky counters into a head scissors and walks up the ropes with his hands and gets a take down. A head scissors off the ropes, but then Mark gets a leg lariat. Mark stops a dropkick, but eats a reverse kick by Rocky. Strong tags in, and he’ll work the arm to begin. Mark rolls out, drags Strong to the corner and tags Jay in. Jay works the arm, reversal by Strong and after some counters they trade chops. A back elbow by Strong, chops by Jay and s Strong gets a boot and 2nd rope missile dropkick for 2. Rocky tags in, works the kicks and then the knees. Jay battles back with chops, but Rocky and Strong double team Jay in their corner and they get control. Elbow by Rocky, chops and then tags in Strong. Rights by Strong, off the ropes and Jay rolls out and Mark gets a springboard clothesline off of the blind tag. Rocky in and gets tossed onto Strong. Suplex by Mark gets 2. Rights and lefts in the corner by Mark, shoulder rams as well. A belly to belly gets 2. Off the ropes, Jay in and a snap suplex on Strong. To the corner and Jay with rights and boots. A slam by Jay, followed by the leg drop gets 2. Mark tags in, Strong fights back and then gets dropped in the corner and eats a knee strike and double face wash. Mark makes a cover for 2. Strong battles back, foot stomp and Rocky tags in. Stalling suplex by Mark gets 2. Snap mare and a head scissors applied, but Rocky gets the ropes. Strong trips up Mark, stun gun off the ropes and Rocky gets a swank tornado DDT, followed by a knee drop for 2. Strong tags in, they choke out Mark in their corner and then chops by Strong. Mark answers back with rights, knees but Strong beats him down. Tag back to Rocky, he lays the kicks into the ribs on Mark. Mark manages a jawbreaker, Strong in to stop a tag to jay. Mark battles back with a moonsault press to both men, tag to Jay and he is in, cleans house and lays out Strong with a boot. Dropkick to Rocky for 2. Off the ropes and a dropkick to Rocky. Spinning plancha by Mark and he tosses Rocky to the barrier. Jay with a HUGE dive and wipes out Strong and Rocky! Back in the ring, and Jay covers for 2. Chops by Rocky, off the ropes and Jay gets a press slam into a DVD for 2 as Strong makes the save. Torture rack into a back breaker by Strong and Rocky covers for 2. Chops by Strong, The Briscoe’s get a double team knee drop, they go for the doomsday, Rocky stops that as Strong and Jay counter each other’s roll ups. Yakuza kick by Strong, Rocky up top and they get a DOOMSDAY KNEE STRIKE~! Gibson driver by Strong and that’s the first fall @ around 11:00.
Strong and Rocky have ended the run of 2-0 wins for the Briscoe’s with that, and are in control of the title bout. Rocky right back on the attack and lights up Jay with kicks. More kicks and then tosses him to the corner. Strong tags in, stets Jay in the tree of woe and tosses Rocky into a sweet looking dropkick! Strong back in, double shoulder block on Jay and then Strong chokes out Jay. Rocky tags back in, they trade shots as Jay tries to find life. Off the ropes, big boot by Jay and gets a Falcon Arrow out of nowhere! Both men down, Jay crawls and makes the tag. JUDO MARK! ELEVENTY BILLION STARS~! Springboard forearm smash and then the corkscrew press gets 2! Cutthroat driver countered, backslide counter, Gibson driver countered into a jackknife by Mark and he evens things up @ around 16:00.
Into fall three now, and all four men are in and throwing wildly. Jay and Rocky slap the shit out of each other, chops now and then kicks by Rocky. Dragon screw leg whip by Jay, kick by Rocky and then forearm shots. Muscle Buster by Jay gets 2. A slam on Rocky, Jay up top…MOONSAULT misses and Rocky gets the charging knee strike for 2. Strong tosses out Jay, they double team Mark and lay him out and get a cover for 2. Basement dropkick by Rocky, tag to Strong and Jay gets tagged in. Yakuza to Strong, chops by Strong, side kick by Strong and as Strong goes up top he eats an Ace Crusher by Mark for 2! SPIKE JAY DRILLER on Strong! 1…2…3!
Winner: Mark and Jay Briscoe @ 20:00 via pin (2-1)
–The thing I loved about this is that for the first time I believed that the Briscoe’s were vulnerable. They have been undefeated on PPV and on 2 of 3 fall matches they have been rolling in two straight. Having them drop the first fall put the doubt in your mind and made them fight the classic “baby face 2 of 3 falls” formula, which they hadn’t until this point. I really liked that aspect of the match. A hell of a match here, but I felt it fizzled a bit after the first fall. Not badly by any means, but they set an intense pace and it was really impossible to keep up with that. And while I feel this match was “a little” over hyped, it was still another great match from the Briscoe’s on PPV.
Rating: ****
-We see a 4-way split screen of the factions searching for each other.
ROH World Title Match: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Austin Aries
They shake and we’re off. To the mat they go, Aries works the arm with a hammerlock and McGuinness escapes. McGuinness with a trip and works the leg now, Aries up and to the corner, and we get a clean break. Lock up and back to the arm goes Aries, takes down McGuinness and gets a cover for 2. McGuinness shakes off the arm a bit, Aries is mad that he is buying time and they end up slapping each other and McGuinness goes to the floor. Aries then gets the suicide dive and McGuinness’ head SLAMS into the railing as Aries hit him in the back and he is not only bleeding but looks like he is out of it. That had to suck. McGuinness fires back with an elbow and either he is selling very well or that shot to the railing messed him up. Back in, Aries take shim down and works shots to the ribs. McGuinness reverses and then Aries works it into a hammerlock. McGuinness to the ropes, the ref checks him and Aries works elbows to the back of the head. Off the ropes and McGuinness gets a roll up out of the side headlock for 2. A head scissors by McGuinness, Aries escapes and gets a dropkick, which McGuinness partially blocked. McGuinness slams Aries down out of an arm ringer, and then gets a hammerlock and slams Aries to the corner and then to the steel post. McGuinness works the arm with the seated wristlock, Aries works to escape, does and off the ropes, headlock takedown, head scissors, dropkick blocked by McGuinness, he throws the bird at Aries who then kicks him in the face! Aries with elbows to the cut, a cross arm breaker now by Aries and McGuinness gets the ropes. Man, McGuinness has a vagina on his eyebrow. McGuinness gets to his feet and gets a hammerlock DDT. He goes after the arm again, kicks to Aries and Aries fires back with a chop. LARIAT by McGuinness and Aries is down and rolls to the ropes.
We’re about 10-minutes in now and McGuinness lays in the uppercuts. A hard Irish whip by McGuinness, Aries drops to the mat and eats an uppercut as he makes to his feet. McGuinness works the million-dollar dream and slams Aries down to the mat, picks him up and slams him down with the hold applied. Aries works into a version of the Koji clutch, but McGuinness gets the ropes. Aries back to the arm of McGuinness, million-dollar dream into a back breaker by McGuinness and that gets 2. Aries goes back to work on the arm but McGuinness gets the ropes. To the corner, shoulder rams by Aries and an Irish whip, McGuinness stops and gets an elbow. Goes for the headstand but Aries gets a dropkick and McGuinness falls all the way to the floor. Aries goes for the suicide dive, meets up with an elbow, gets caught up in the ropes and McGuinness gets the TOWER OF LONDON to the floor! McGuinness tosses Aries back in and gets a cover for 2. To the corner, uppercuts by McGuinness and chops. McGuinness charges in and gets an uppercut and then a lariat that takes Aries down. McGuinness gets a cover for 2. McGuinness sets Aries on the top rope, goes for the tower of London but Aries fights out. He rips the tape off of the arm and then gets a big missile dropkick! Aries pulls himself up, goes for the corner dropkick but eats a boot. Tower of London connects! McGuinness covers 1…2…NO! McGuinness is frustrated now, McGuinness works for the arm submission but Aries gets a chin breaker, roaring elbow by Aries and as McGuinness is caught in the ropes Aries slingshots out with a splash onto McGuinness. Aries whips McGuinness into the barrier and gets a charging knee strike. Aries in with the elbows, he lights up McGuinness and tries the brain buster, McGuinness fights and sets Aries on the top rope. McGuinness to the 2nd rope and gets a lariat that TURNS ARIES INSIDE OUT AND SENDS HIM TO THE FLOOR!
We hit about 20-minutes in, McGuinness to the floor and tries to pick apart Aries, but he battles back and Aries gets a brain buster on the steel barricade! Aries rolls him back inside and gets a cover for 2! To the corner and Aries with rights, lefts and knees! The ref pulls him back, and then Aries gets the corner dropkick. BRAIN BUSTER~! Aries up top…450 EATS KNEES! McGuinness gets the arm submission, Aries roll through and gets a close 2! BRAIN BUSTER again! Aries gets the Aries bridging submission, McGuinness rolls, knees by Aries and they exchange open-handed strikes. Roaring elbow by Aries 1…2…NO! Knees by Aries, forearm strikes, standing switch and McGuinness gets a northern lariat. McGuinness back to the arm submission, Aries kicks out, McGuinness off the ropes and absolutely decapitates Aries with the jawbreaker lariat for the win!
Winner: Nigel McGuinness @ 23:38 via pin
–Wow. An excellent main event and a great way for Nigel to kick off his title run on PPV. They both worked hard, and avoided what could have been a complete disaster in the opening minutes when Nigel hit the railing like he did. He is lucky that he wasn’t hurt worse or completely knocked out. But he rebounded and together they had an awesome match. Much respect to Aries, who sold everything like death and made Nigel’s offense looks even better. Aries looked like he died on several occasion. A very good match, but I personally feel it was a small notch below the Danielson/McGuinness match from Driven. That’s not a knock on this match or meant to take away from the match, it is just more of a personal preference issue.
Rating: ****½
-After the match a bloody McGuinness makes it to his feet as the fans chant “ROH” and “NIGEL!”
-In the back we see the Briscoe’s and the AOTD meet up and brawl. The other factions all find their way in and we have a mass brawl including Necro using a PLANT to beat on people.
-We see a bloody Nigel with his sick cut sitting to end the show.
There isn’t one bad match on the show, there is just good, better and then awesome. The final three bouts are a great way to close the show, Danielson and Morishima had a very different match than one would expect, and it is that difference that sets it apart from their other battles. The Briscoe’s continue to deliver on PPV and make the ROH Tag Titles seem just as important as the ROH World Title, which is a good thing. Finally the main event was awesome and again knocked it up a notch from the previous two matches. You can’t ask for any more from those two guys.
Thus far I thought “Man Up” was the best of the ROH PPV’s thus far, scoring it a 9.6. In the end this show is right up there with it. The first hour was all good stuff and worked well off of the previous show, that whole “episodic aspect” I like to talk about. From Danielson vs. Morishima on this is must see PPV. ROH gives you your money’s worth as $10 is a steal for this show. I know ROH is not for everyone, but if you just want two-hours of great wrestling, you can’t go wrong with Rising Above. A big thumbs up from me!
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