100 Percent Fordified: Ring of Honor Manhattan Mayhem V

New York, NY – 8.17.2013

Championship Rundown
ROH World Champion: Vacant
ROH Television Champion: Matt Taven
ROH World Tag Team Champions: The American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards)

Commentary is provided by Kevin Kelly and Prince Nana.

Adam Page vs. Silas Young

This is a rubber match, with their other two singles bouts taking place on TV. Page brings Young to the corner in a lock-up. Young catches him with some kicks to the mid-section. Page gets on a headscissors. When Young pops out, Page throws some chops and dropkicks him to the floor. Page chases him around the ring. Young catches him with an elbow drop back in the ring. Page catches him with a boot and a clothesline off the top rope. Page snapmares Young by his mustache. Page ends up on Young’s shoulders. Young dumps him to the floor. Page comes back in. He’s met by a bodyslam and a leg drop. Young hops off the bottom rope for a clothesline. Page throws some headbutts to the chest before suplexing Young overhead. They trade chops. Young gets in some punches. He misses a clothesline and takes some elbow strikes from Page. Page powerslams him. He does the deal with a Falcon Arrow for two. Young goes for the Killer Combo. Page sweeps the legs and hits the standing shooting star press for two. Page begins the ten punches. Young powerbombs him to stop it. He puts his feet on the ropes for a pin yet only gets a two count. Young rolls through a backslide and punts Page in the head. The Pee Gee Waja Plunge gets him the pin at 8:13. These two have great chemistry and continued to showcase that in this match. Young has what it takes to be a main event heel in ROH while Page continues to grow and improve with every outing. **¾

Steve Corino makes his way out to the commentary table. He’s stopped by ROH officials and staff to be taken out of the building as he no longer works there. Corino seems to be in total denial as Kevin Kelly tries to remind him of this fact. He eventually leaves in peace.

Scramble Rules
Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander vs. Adrenaline Rush (ACH & Tadarius Thomas)

ACH and Coleman start off. They each snap off an armdrag and throw stereo dropkicks. ACH punches Coleman from the apron. He attempts a slingshot but gets dropkicked out. Thomas gives him a Capoeira kick which sends him to the floor. Alexander slams Thomas on his stomach and sentons onto his back. ACH flips back in. He dropkicks Alexander’s legs out and crucifixes him for two. Coleman and Alexander take ACH down with their leg drop Hart Attack variant. ACH finds himself trapped in C&C’s corner. He sends them colliding into one another. He slides to the floor when giving Coleman a clothesline in the corner, legally bringing Thomas into the fold. He throws some kicks to both Coleman and Alexander. Coleman drops him with a spinebuster. Alexander splashes onto him across Coleman’s knees. ACH sends Alexander to the floor. He rolls Coleman into a face kick. Alexander blocks a pump kick from ACH. He knocks him down with a Sankakugeri. Thomas gives him a German suplex. Alexander nails him with a clothesline before collapsing. ACH sends B&C out. He dives onto them and Thomas with Michael Jordan. He climbs to the top rope. Alexander holds onto his leg. Thomas brings him down. In the ring C&C hit ACH with Overtime for the pin at 9:04. I hate to say it, but that did not meet expectations. There was a little too much carelessness and deer in the headlight moments for this to be the memorable, exciting bout it had potential to be. That being said, C&C would be fantastic tag champions. **½

Proving Ground Match
Matt Taven vs. Mike Mondo

If Mondo can defeat or last the time limit with Taven, he will receive a future Television Championship match. Truth Martini, Seleziya Sparx, and Kasey Ray are in Taven’s corner. Taven and Mondo go for their finishers right away. Taven slides out to the floor. When he comes back in, he and Mondo exchange headlocks. Mondo dropkicks Taven out of a sunset flip. Taven avoids a corner attack and hits an enzuigiri. He throws Mondo to the floor so Ray can throw some kicks. Taven suplexes Mondo when he comes back in. He gets a two count with a corkscrew quebrada. Mondo avoids another suplex. He knocks down Taven with a flying forearm. Mondo gets in a few more strikes before nailing a snapmare driver. Taven kicks out. Taven avoids a stop. He snapmares Taven into a cradle for two. He sets up for a double arm DDT. Taven blocks it with the Angel’s Wings. After some positioning, Taven catches Mondo with the Cyclone Kick for two. Taven sets up for the Climax. Mondo works out of it. He tries a Tiger Driver. Taven rolls through. He spin kicks Mondo in the face. Mondo crotches Taven on the top rope. Sparx distracts the referee as Truth enters the ring. Even though Mondo is able neutralize Truth, that doesn’t stop Kasey Ray from coming in from the top with a headscissors! Taven frog splashes Mondo but it’s only good for two. Truth distracts the referee and gives Taven the Book of Truth. Mondo drop toe holds Taven into it. The refereee notices and tries pulling it away. Mondo stomps Taven’s face into the book for a two count. He tries a top rope headbutt. Taven gets his feet up. He drops Mondo with the Climax for the pin at 11:41. I am beyond stunned how much I liked this match. When Mondo drops the schtick and gets down to business he can really go in the ring. Taven’s improvement since winning the TV title is quite impressive. The HOT interference isn’t always the best, but at the very least it actually made Mondo look stronger and Taven ended up winning the match on his own. ***

Forever Hooligans (Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov) vs. The Young Bucks (Nick & Matt Jackson)

Koslov and Matt feel each other out. Koslov gets an armdrag. He holds onto Matt to tag in Romero, but Matt escapes and tags in Nick too. Romero dropkicks Nick in the side of the head. He slingshots Koslov in with a splash onto Nick. Romero and Koslov attack Nick in the corner. It’s supposed to be a double team but Romero goes a little nuts. Koslov gets a little upset but he and Romero end up reconciling. Nick gives Romero a chinbreaker. Matt tags in. Romero gives him a Manhattan Drop. Mid-air however Nick blind tagged in. He catches Romero with a rolling elbow to the chin. Nick knocks Koslov off the apron and the Bucks go to work on Romero. Koslov tries running in to help out but gets dropkicked off the apron before he can. Nick misses a splash on Romero in the corner. Nick grabs his leg but Romero is able to catch him with a kick to the face. Koslov tags in and crossbody’s onto Matt. He snaps off a headscissors and catches Nick with a kick to the face. He throws punches to both Young Bucks. He missile dropkicks Nick to the floor. He enzuigiri’s Matt. Koslov puts on his hat and dances while kicking Matt in the head. He ends it with a double stomp to the shoulders. Matt tries fighting off both Hooligans. However Romero flies in with a knee to the side of his head while Koslov drapes him across his knees. Nick makes the save. Koslov sends Romero knee first into Matt. He goes for Nick but Nick superkicks Romero. Nick assists Matt with a Shiranui on Koslov and gives him a knee strike to the face. Nick superkicks Romero on the floor. He slingshots in with an X-Factor on Koslov. Nick misses his moonsault onto Romero. Romero comes off the apron with a knee strike. Matt dropkicks him through the ropes. Koslov tope con hilo’s onto the Bucks. In the ring Nick superkicks Koslov, Romero knees Nick, and Matt superkicks Romero. Matt puts on Koslov’s hat and mocks his dance. He misses a clothesline and eats Koslov’s enzuigiri. Nick tornado kicks Koslov. He misses a knee strike in the corner. The Hooligans give him a Doomsday Knee. Matt shoves Romero onto Koslov and Nick to break the pin. Romero gives Matt some strikes. Matt backflips under a clothesline and superkicks Romero. He powerbombs Koslov into an enzuigiri from Nick. They give Koslov a spike tandem tombstone piledriver. Romero breaks the pin. They go for More Bang for Your Buck on Koslov. Romero shoves Matt off the top rope. Koslov rolls up Nick for two. Romero suicide dives onto Matt. The Hooligans hit Nick with the Contract Killer for the pin at 16:53. The Hooligans matches are so similar that each match you see hits a law of diminishing returns. That does not mean this was a bad match, quite the opposite in fact, but really up until the home stretch it’s nothing you haven’t seen before. That ending stretch was really fun though. ***½

Marshall Law (QT Marshall & ‘Barrister’ RD Evans) make their way to the ring. Evans talks about injustice in ROH, specifically how Nigel McGuinness’ poorly handled Veda Scott’s injury a few months back. Another injustice he feels is that Marshall Law is not scheduled to be on the event tonight. They refuse to leave the ring until they get a match. Prince Nana takes the microphone. He tells the fans that he is the new corporate talent scout. He says his first two acquisitions are people who are going to end them. The lights go out and red lights flash from the entrance. Out comes a guy in a clown mask and from the crowd a man in another mask both in shirts and ties. The man in the clown mask clotheslines Marshall Law who bail to the floor. It turns out the two men are Homicide and Eddie Kingston!

Outlaws Inc. (Homicide & Eddie Kingston) vs. Marshall Law (QT Marshall & ‘Barrister’ RD Evans)

Evans jumps Kingston from behind. He throws a flurry of forearms and stomps him down in the corner. Kingston catches him coming off the second rope and gives him an exploder suplex. He calls for the Backfist. Marshall runs in but gets caught with an enzuigiri. Kingston gives Evans a Northern Lights suplex for two. Homicide tags in and helps Kingston with a double shoulder tackle. Homicide drives his knee into the side of Evans’ face. Marshall and Evans get Homicide isolated and wear him down. Homicide ends up catching Marshall with a flying forearm. Kingston throws some forearms. Evans runs in and gets tossed to the floor immediately. Kingston drops Marshall with a uranage suplex for two. Marshall tosses Homicide to the floor. Evans comes off the top rope only to be caught mid-air with the Backfist to the Future. Homicide drops Marshall with an Ace Crusher. Kingston follows up with the American D for the pin at 5:02. I have to say, for a re-debut of a super badass team this was a let down. These guys should have MURDERED Marshall Law in a matter of minutes, not had a short regularly structured tag match. They come off as just another team rather than ass kickers. Hopefully we can see that remedied. The crowd was also way less excited than I expected. *

Outlaws Inc. live up to the Code of Honor on Evans. However, Homicide doesn’t let go and breaks Evans’ finger! Kingston laughs as this is happening. Their terrifying theme music and this moment certainly help their image.

ROH World Championship Tournament – Quarter-Final Round
Tommaso Ciampa vs. Michael Bennett

Ciampa beat Silas Young in the opening round, while Bennett earned a victory over BJ Whitmer. Bennett avoids Ciampa in the opening moments. Ciampa ends up swinging him into the barricades! Ciampa keeps control back in the ring. He sentons onto Bennett’s back for two. Ciampa feigns a knee injury when he leapfrogs over Bennett. When Bennett comes near, Ciampa small packages him for two. He blasts him in the face with a knee strike. Bennett drop toe holds him into the corner and dropkicks him from the floor. He boots Ciampa in the face. Ciampa responds by driving Bennett into the barricades multiple times with knee strikes. He German suplexes Bennett into the barricades before delivering a running knee strike so impactful that Ciampa’s momentum carries him into the crowd. Ciampa tosses Bennett in the ring and ascends the rope. Bennett dropkicks Ciampa, causing him to fall into a tree of woe of sorts. Bennett of course attacks the injured leg like a hawk. That is until he accidentally crotches himself in the corner. They exchange strikes. Ciampa takes Bennett down with a clothesline and puts on a Cobra Clutch crossface. Ciampa hurts his knee in the corner after Bennett escapes. Bennett teases a piledriver. Ciampa blocks it so he puts on cloverleaf while digging his knee into Ciampa’s back. Ciampa rolls Bennett onto his shoulders for two. Bennett goes for the Go 2 Sleep. Ciampa hits it himself! Bennett kicks out. They go out to the apron. Bennett tries a piledriver of course. Ciampa knees him in the face, causing Bennett to fall to the floor. He give him the Air Raid Crash on the floor. That’s enough to get him the pin at 13:40. Really good action with a really good story. It’s rare to see a big move on the floor actually end a match, so I love that they did it here. It makes sense doesn’t it? ***¼

ROH World Championship Tournament – Quarter-Final Round
Kevin Steen vs. Roderick Strong

Steen defeated Brian Kendrick in the opening round, while Strong bested Matt Taven. Right off the bat Strong knees Steen in the face and gives him Death by Roderick. Strong kicks out and rolls to the floor. Steen catches Strong’s baseball slide attempt and powerbombs him onto the ring apron. Steen comes in with a Swanton Bomb for two. Steen uses the ropes for an elevated DDT. He drives his elbow into Strong’s back and lands a senton splash. This leads to them trading strikes which Steen wins. Strong enzuigiri’s him in the corner and brings him out with an Angle Slam. He bulldogs Steen for two. He also gets two after a few strikes in the corner and a dropkick. Steen shoves Strong to the corner to avoid the Tiger Driver. Strong tries a rolling forearm but Steen cuts him off with a clothesline. Steen gives him a neckbreaker across his knee for two. They go to the top rope where Strong brings Steen down with a superplex. When Steen kicks out, Strong puts on the Strong Hold. Steen grabs the ropes right away. Strong wants a half-nelson suplex. Steen fights out and pops Strong up into a powerbomb. He then tries for the sharpshooter. Strong kicks him away. Steen stops Death by Roderick and successfully puts on the sharpshooter. Strong crawls to the ropes. He knees Steen in the face. Death by Roderick and the Sick Kick are only good for a two count. Strong brings Steen back up the ropes. Steen however brings Strong to the mat with a fisherman’s buster! Strong kicks out of that. He also avoids the Package Piledriver and throws a flurry of forearms. Steen avoids the Orange Crush backbreaker with a sleeper suplex. The Package Piledriver gets him the pin at 12:00. Two of the best in ROH going all out for twelve minutes? You best believe it yielded some quality results. They teased a lot of their bigger moves really well and paid them all off. The crowd ate it all up and loved Steen getting the win. ***½

ROH World Championship Tournament – Quarter-Final Round
Michael Elgin vs. Karl Anderson

Michael Elgin defeated Paul London in the opening round, while Anderson defeated ACH. Last time ROH was in New York, Karl Anderson defeated Michael Elgin during the TV Tapings. The match starts with boots to the face. Anderson’s shoulder blocks barely move Elgin. They block each others moves reaching a stalemate. Anderson kicks Elgin in the stomach when looking for a test of strength. Elgin responds with a running shoulder block. He whips Anderson forcefully into the corner. Elgin pulls off a sixty second delayed vertical suplex. Anderson rolls to the floor. Elgin dives off the apron but Anderson catches him mid-air with a spinebuster. Anderson does some damage to Elgin’s leg in the barricade. When Elgin crawls back in Anderson focuses his attack on that leg. He rakes at Elgin’s face and delivers a leg lariat for two. Elgin throws some clotheslines to Anderson’s chest and back. He gets two with the Oklahoma Stampede. Anderson fights off a deadlift German suplex. Elgin does however catch him with the Boss Man Slam. Elgin clobbers Anderson with clotheslines against the ropes. Anderson drops him with a spinebuster in response. Anderson charges and Elgin drops him with a uranage. Elgin misses a tumbleweed senton. Elgin does however give him a Death Blow and German suplex. Anderson kicks out. Anderson and Elgin ascend the ropes. Anderson gives him a TKO off the second rope. Elgin kicks out! Anderson gives him an over the shoulder jawbreaker. He looks for the Ace Crusher. Elgin catches him with a Backslide and then puts on a crossface. Anderson makes it to the ropes. Once again both guys end up climbing the ropes. Elgin enzuigiri’s Anderson to the apron. He deadlifts Anderson in from the apron into a second rope suplex for two. Elgin gives him a Buckle Bomb. After some boots are exchanged, Elgin knocks Anderson down with a rolling elbow. He lifts Anderson up and drops him in a side slam. Elgin blasts Anderson with two Backfists. Another turnbuckle powerbomb and the Revolution Bomb finally get Elgin the pin at 17:10. These two went to war and tore the house down. Not only has Elgin moved on the tournament, but got retribution for his loss in the same place where he originally lost to Anderson and defeated Jay Lethal for an ROH World title shot. Poetic justice if I’ve ever heard it. ***¾

The semi-finals for the World title tournament are now set: Adam Cole will meet Tommaso Ciampa while Kevin Steen takes on Michael Elgin. Both the semi-finals and finals will take place at “Death Before Dishonor XI” in Philadelphia on September 20th.

ROH Tag Team Championship
The American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) vs. reDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly)

O’Reilly and Richards start off with neither man getting the advantage. Fish and Edwards’ exchange sees each guy backing their opponent into their own corner, bringing O’Reilly and Richards back into the match. O’Reilly snaps off some armdrags and holds onto the arm. Fish gets a shot in on the arm. Richards and Edwards take turns putting on wristlocks and doing damage to Fish’s arm and then his legs. Fish catches Edwards with a dropkick and tags in O’Reilly. He and Edwards take turns snapmaring each other into back kicks. Edwards ends it with a chop instead of a kick. O’Reilly rolls him forward and slaps him in the face. Edwards gives him a running kick to the chest. He and Richards stretch him out. Edwards attempts the Chin Checker. Fish gives him a kick to stop it. O’Reilly torques on Edwards’ arm in a cross armbreaker. Fish slingshots in with a senton. reDRagon beat down Richards while keeping Richards at bay. Edwards takes both of them down with a Code Breaker. Richards tags in, hitting a springboard dropkick to both guys. Richards dropkicks Fish which forces him to DDT O’Reilly. Richards hits a sliding clothesline on O’Reilly for two. Fish shoves Richards to the corner so O’Reilly can give him a kick to the face. They get a two count with a Total Elimination variant. Richards manages to fight them both off. Edwards comes in. O’Reilly counters an Alarm Clock. He Regalplexes Richards while Fish Saito suplexes Edwards. Edwards and Richards give Fish a dropkick/enzuigiri combo. O’Reilly eats two dropkicks while hanging in a tree of woe. O’Reilly avoids a Doomsday maneuver by sending Edwards to the floor with a Frankensteiner. Fish dives after him. O’Reilly superplexes Richards. Fish capitalizes with a moonsault. Edwards breaks the pin. He superkicks Fish. O’Reilly lights him up with kicks and sweeps out his legs. He and Richards throw strikes and kicks until they’re both down. Edwards Cactus clotheslines Fish to the floor. O’Reilly takes the Alarm Clock and a powerbomb/back cracker combo. He manages to kick out. Edwards goes up top for a double stomp. Fish shoves him off, causing Edwards to crash through the timekeeper’s table. Richards kicks O’Reilly in the corner and then suicide dives onto Fish. Richards double stomps O’Reilly for two. He puts on an ankle lock. O’Reilly sends him shoulder first into the ring post. When Richards goes to the floor, Fish holds onto it. O’Reilly double stomps his arm into the barricades! In the ring O’Reilly gives Richards a divorce court off the second rope. O’Reilly accidentally forearms Fish. Richards gets two with a small package on O’Reilly. O’Reilly gives him an arm capture tornado DDT. reDRagon has him Chase the Dragon but Richards is still able to kick out. O’Reilly locks on a cross armbreaker right away and Richards has no choice but to tap out at 25:59. They could have easily truncated the match and had a better result. While the action was mostly hot and good, they didn’t come into much in the way of a story until the very end. It was a good defense and a solid way to get the belts back onto reDRagon but I preferred their other two previous matches in NYC more. ***½

Cary Silken and Todd Sinclair put the belts on reDRagon when the lights go out and red lights flash from the entrance set. Eddie Kingston and Homicide once again hit the ring. Kingston tosses Fish out so Homicide can break O’Reilly’s fingers uninterrupted. O’Reilly is checked on by officials and staff as Outlaws Inc. terrifying music plays and they stand tall in the ring.

The 411: After the great All Star Extravaganza V event, expectations were high for the follow up show. While I think the event was by and large very good, overall it wasn't as strong. However, the story elements in the show make up the difference and adds some additional value to the show. Certainly this gets a recommendation but certain matches may fall short of expectations. You can pick up this DVD from Ring of Honor's store. You can check out all of my ROH reviews over at the 100% Fordified blog. Be sure to follow me on Twitter as well!

Final Score:  8.3   [ Very Good ]