The Rising Above 2009 Breakdown

Posted by J.D. Dunn on 02.02.2009

Adam Pearce's first PPV is a winner.

Ring of Honor: Rising Above 2009
by J.D. Dunn

Taped: November 22, 2008, Original Airdate: January 16, 2009

From Chicago, Ill.

Your hosts are Dave Prazak and Lenny Leonard.

New production staff and cameras for the PPVs. Pretty spiffy. Looks like WCW back when they used to run outdoor shows.

We open with the Briscoes calling out Kevin Steen and El Generico for being unproven champs. Steen answers that Mark is injured, so it's meaningless to beat them now.

Opening Match, ROH World Tag Titles: Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. The Briscoe Bros.
The Briscoes attack, and IT'S ON! Mark is hobbled, so he does what he can – namely, standing on the apron and interfering whenever possible. Steen plays dickish face-in-peril before coming back with a superkick. HOT TAG TO GENERICO! Generico flies in with a crossbody. It's pandelerium! Steen tags back in and hits the Swanton as Generico wipes out Jay with a somersault plancha. ONE, TWO, TH-NO! Mark blocks the Packaged Piledriver, so Steen kicks him in the bad knee and hits it on the second try. The champs retain at 6:41. Obviously, not a classic, but with a crippled Mark Briscoe, it wasn't going to be. Steen and Generico still look strong, though. **

Jay Briscoe ain't happy about Steen going after Mark's knee, and it's TIME TO PLAY THE FEUD!

Claudio Castagnoli, who hasn't won a match in over three months, talks about how unstoppable he is.

SHIMMER Title: MsChif vs. Sara Del Rey (w/Larry Sweeney).
Both ladies are essentially heels, but Del Rey has Sweeney with her, so she's a heel by default. Del Rey attacks before the bell, but MsChif fights her off and reverses a whip to send her into the barricade. Inside, MsChif busts out the Headscissor Octopus. Del Rey powers out, but MsChif reverses to the other side. Sara finally counters to a backbreaker. A SICKENING Stronghold follows, but MsChif slips out. Del Rey tries to pick her up, but MsChif counters to a DDT. ONE, TWO, TH-NO! Funny moment as MsChif tries a wheelbarrow scissors, but Del Rey just smashes her face into the canvas and pulls her back into a Dragon Sleeper. Del Rey picks her up, but MsChif reverses to CODE GREEN! ONE, TWO, THR-NO! MsChif goes for the Desecrator, but Death Rey reverses to the Peterson Roll for two. The GREEN MIST… misses, but the Desecrator does not! ONE, TWO, THREE! MsChif retains in a fine little match at 19:16. If ROH is going to be any kind of force on TV and PPV, they have to establish a women's division or risk becoming a sausage-fest. Sub-contracting SHIMMER is a good step toward that. ***

Jimmy Jacobs promises not to say "I Quit."

Recap of the Necro Butcher declaring his independence from Jacobs.

Four-Corner Survival: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Silas Young vs. Alex Payne vs. Sami Callihan.
The fans piss of Castagnoli right away by chanting for him. That should probably be a hint to some people that THE FANS LIKE HIM AS A BABYFACE! Young, who looks like a skuzzy Val Venis, makes an appropriate foil for Claudio. He and Callihan do some nice, if brief, stuff on the mat. Claudio gets sick of the fans cheering for him, so he kills the match with a chinlock. All three guys team up against Claudio, but he catches Sami and slings him into the barricade. Young slingshots into a moonsault on Payne, but Claudio tags himself in and tosses Young onto Callihan. That leaves Payne alone with Claudio. Payne fires away valiantly, but Claudio catches him with the Ricolabomb at 8:51. Everyone played their roles perfectly here. Claudio was the a-hole who everyone knew would win. Young was the guy that might give him a run for his money. Payne was the plucky underdog. Callihan was dead meat. **1/2

Six-Man Tag: Brent Albright, Roderick Strong & Ace Steel vs. Chris Hero, Davey Richards & Go Shiozaki (w/Larry Sweeney).
Steel is replacing Erick Stevens, who has a concussion. Steel actually looks younger here than he did when he left. Hero gets caught in the wrong corner before catching Brent with a forearm. Go tags in and blocks the 61Knee, but Brent tosses him with an Exploder. Richards tags in, and Roderick finds yet another way to hit a gutbuster, picking him up with a suplex and turning into a gutbuster in mid-move. The match breaks down, and when it powders out, Steel is your face-in-peril. Steel powers to his corner, but Richards has the ref distracted. Ah, good, old-fashioned tag clichés. Steel DDTs Hero, but Richards tags in and kicks the crap out of him. Steel catches his last kick and turns it into the Dragon Screw. HOT TAG TO RODERICK! Strong and Albright clean house on the heels. Davey hits an enzuigiri to slow Strong down, and Go adds some chops. Ace comes back in and wipes out most of the pack with a tope. That leaves Davey and Roderick, which has been one of the unsung feuds in ROH. Davey hits a charge in the corner but runs right into a Yakuza Kick. Tigerbomb! ONE, TWO, THR-NO! That leads to the Stronghold, but Sweeney distracts the ref while Hero comes in and nails Roderick with a chairshot. That gives S&S the win at 15:03. Roderick gets screwed yet again. I would rather Hero use his loaded armpad, but that's a minor quibble. Good stuff, especially from Roderick and Davey at the end. I wouldn't mind seeing them fight yet again. ***1/2

Recap of Austin Aries stealing Lacey from Jimmy Jacobs, touching off their blood feud.

"I Quit" Match: Austin Aries vs. Jimmy Jacobs (w/Tyler Black).
Aries says he doesn't need someone to watch his back or throw in the towel for him because Jacobs will have to kill him. Hockey fight to start, which Aries wins, but Black keeps inching closer to him. That distracts Aries, allowing Jimmy to dropkick him and send him into the barricade. Aries fights back, but Black blocks a dive. Aries goes for the heat-seeking suicida, but Jimmy blocks with the chain! Back in, Aries is busted open, and Jacobs tries to strangle him with the chain. Aries falls to the apron, so Jimmy spears him to the floor! They set Aries up in a chair, and Jacobs planchas onto him. Back in again, Jacobs chains Aries into a chair and rips at his face. Aries won't give up, though. Aries is helpless, so Jacobs grabs another chair and prepares to finish him. Lacey returns! She hops on the apron with a towel, but Aries tells her not to throw in the towel. Jimmy pulls out the railroad spike and threatens to cut Austin's juggy. He grabs Lacey instead, but she slaps him and runs away. All this gives Aries a chance to escape. He goes ape on Jimmy and hits the heat-seeking suicida. Back in, Aries drops Jimmy on the chair with the Brainbuster and wraps the chain around his fist. Now, Aries ties up Jacobs but refuses to let the ref ask if he wants to quit. Aries beats Jimmy about the head and unchains him. Aries sets Jacobs on the table and goes up, but Jimmy tosses a chair at his face. They fight on top, and both men fall through the table! Neither man gives up, so it's back to the ring. Aries jabs away at him, but Jacobs kicks him in the nuts and slaps on the End Times. Aries won't quit, so Jimmy gives him the knees and puts him in the Last Chancery! Cheeky bastard. Aries rakes the eyes. Tyler tosses in the spike, but Aries ducks and knees him in the head. Aries grabs the spike and stabs Jacobs repeatedly in the head. He calls for Black to throw in the towel so Jacobs won't have to say the words. Lacey steals the towel, though, and Jacobs is forced to say, "I Quit" at 21:59! Everything an epic blowoff should be: bloody, violent, and with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. Conventional wisdom said Lacey would turn on Aries, but this ending is much more satisfying. Jacobs own machinations backfired on him (as they did to set the feud off in the first place). ****1/4

Lacey walks out, leaving Aries puzzled.

ROH World Title: Nigel McGuinness vs. Bryan Danielson.
Danielson finally beat everyone Nigel beat on PPV to set this up. Tremendous counter-wrestling early. See, this is what's missing from a lot of shows. The last match ended with some guy getting stabbed in the head, and then they change gears with classic wrestling. Danielson dominates early, stretching out Nigel's arm. Nigel ducks to the floor for a breather, but he loses sight of Danielson who nails him with a flying knee. Back in, the tide changes when Danielson misses a corner charge, and Nigel ties up Danielson's leg and clotheslines him. Nigel zeroes in on Danielson's bad knee with a half-crab and the figure-four leglock. Danielson makes the ropes and kicks his way back, but it hurts his leg as well. Good psychology there. Danielson gets a German Suplex, and the Crossface Chickenwing. Nigel escapes, and they trade nearfalls. Danielson goes back to the CFCW, but Nigel makes the ropes. Danielson holds on to the five count and gets an admonishment from referee Todd Sinclair. Danielson turns his back on Nigel to argue, so Nigel clips his knee! Nigel ties Danielson's knee up in the ropes and works it over. That sets up the crotched lariat. Nigel goes for another figure-four, but Danielson shoves him to the floor and hits his springboard plancha. Danielson emerges bloodied. Nigel grabs a chair, but Sinclair takes it away. With the ref's back turned, Claudio Castagnoli runs down and nails Danielson from behind. Danielson isn't stirring, and the ref is up to 15! Alex Payne runs down and drags Dragon to the ring. Prazak asks the question on everyone's mind, "What does he have to do with this match?" Big "Sugarfoot" chant. Nigel nails him with a lariat and puts Dragon in the half-crab. Danielson just makes the ropes. Danielson blocks a charge and hits a flying legline, but it hurts his leg. They slug it out with uppercuts, and Dragon reverses the Jawbreaker Lariat to the TRIANGLE CHOKE! Nigel holds out and tries to turn it over into a half-crab, but Danielson counters to a small package! ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! Crucifix by Danielson! ONE, TWO, THR-NO! TRAPPED ELBOWS! Danielson fades but gets a second wind. CATTLE MUTILATION! Nigel escapes and hits the TOWER OF LONDON! Nigel uses his own trapped elbows. Danielson gets fired up and unleashes the fury. They knock heads, though, and Nigel rebounds with the JAWBREAKER LARIAT! ONE, TWO, THREE! Nigel retains at 28:11. Typically outstanding match from these two. It mixed everything from mat wrestling to aerial moves to brawling and did it with smooth transitions. Another worthy addition to their feud, and easily in the ten best matches of last year. ****1/2

The 411: As with most ROH PPVs, the first hour is okay-ish, but the last hour really takes off with a huge blowoff for the Jacobs/Aries feud and the classic title defense by Nigel. I doubt you'll find another match the caliber of McGuinness vs. Danielson on PPV this year.

Easy thumbs up.