Your hosts are Dave Prazak, Jimmy Bower and Lenny Leonard
Gary Michael Capetta gets a word with Lacey who announces she's suspended the current crop of Angels and looking for new talent. Capetta and the cameraman get caught taking a gander at her legs.
Jay Lethal hijacks the ring and calls out Low Ki. Instead, Julius Smokes comes out and calls Lethal a "porch monkey." He asks what's in it for Low Ki. Lethal agrees to reinstate Low Ki (who is technically suspended) if Low Ki can pin him. Lethal doesn't actually have that power, but that just shows that ROH needs a commissioner. Low Ki jumps Lethal from behind, and the match begins early.
Opening Match, Fight Without Honor: Low Ki (w/Julius Smokes) vs. Jay Lethal.
Ki jumps him from behind, but Lethal comes back with a dropkick and a heel kick. The announcers speculate on how this is going to work if Ki wins because Lethal can't reinstate him. They decide there needs to be an authority figure of some sort. Hmm. I wonder who that could be. Lethal dominates, but his offense is just bland compared to Low Ki's cache of kicks. Low Ki takes it to the floor and slams Lethal's head into the barricade. The double-stomp misses, but Ki flies at him with a clothesline. He tries to give Jay the Ki Krusher on the floor, but Lethal counters to a Dragon Suplex attempt. Ki rams him into the barricade to break it up. Lethal gets dropkicked into a table, smashing it into pieces. Ki uses those sharp pieces to gouge the forehead of Lethal and cut him open. Back in, Ki uses Lethal's blood to fingerpaint on a sign that got tossed into the ring. Ew! The Ghetto Stomp misses, and Lethal hits a back heel kick off the top. Lethal gets two off the diving headbutt. Lethal drags Smokes in, but Ki grabs a chair. Lethal takes it away from him, but Ki dropkicks it back into him. ONE, TWO, TH-NO! Ki can't believe it, so he goes up and hits the DOUBLE-STOMP! ONE, TWO, THR-NO! Ki goes to town with the chair like Austin on the Rock at X-7. He sets the chair on Lethal's chest and gives him another double-stomp off the top to finish Lethal off at 16:24. Hot, intense opener. After the match, Ki offers Lethal a handshake and then tells him to go fuck himself. ***1/2
Bryan Danielson explains that he's done everything there is to do other than win the ROH World Title.
Austin Aries vs. Azrieal.
This is a pretty basic match to start. Both guys are essentially babyfaces at this point. Aries dominates and even showcases some new stuff like the Argentine Backbreaker into a Finlay Roll. We get a shot of Lacey taking notes in the aisle, perhaps scouting for new talent. Why she would need to scout Azrieal, I don't know, since he was a member of Special K. Azrieal gets a backdrop suplex and an enzuigiri to get over his underdogginess. He hits an Electric Chair and the double-stomp to get a close two. Aries comes back with the corner dropkick and avoids the top-rope double-stomp. He drops Azrieal with the brainbuster and finishes with the 450-splash at 11:18. Good way to keep Aries strong without burying Azrieal. Both guys played their roles well. **1/2
James Gibson says he considers the ROH Title *the* title in wrestling and says Bryan Danielson will get it over his dead body.
Pure Title: Nigel McGuinness vs. Roderick Strong.
Nigel gets some heat by asking the fans to respect referee Todd Sinclair. McGuinness controls the match with a headlock and takes a quick advantage on Strong, who seems confused by the rules. Strong practically wastes two early ropebreaks getting out of headlocks. McGuinness gets a sort of Facewash only with forearms. The finish sees Nigel trick Strong into using a closed fist and going to the eyes when the ref gives the warning to the announcer. From there, it's easy to hit the Tower of London for the win at 12:14. Solid story with Strong being stymied by the rules and McGuinness cheating like a bastard (you know, "purely"). **1/2
Strong also had problems against James Gibson in Full Impact Pro.
Homicide (w/Julius Smokes) vs. Colt Cabana.
Homicide felt disrespected when Cabana called him his "nizzle" as a joke. Cabana spends a long time having fun with Julius Smokes. For some reason, Smokes takes off his shirt. Didn't need to see that. Homicide slugs away, but Cabana uses his rollups to frustrate the Notorious 187. Homicide tosses Cabana to the floor and hits a tope. He sets Cabana on a chair and hits a running clothesline. Smokes rakes his fingers down Cabana's back as Homicide distracts the ref. Cabana avoids a diving headbutt and hits a twisting suplex. Colt misses a back elbow, though. Homicide hits an Exploder for two and then gets mad at the ref for not counting three. Cabana misses a buttalanche but hits a running lariat. Homicide begs off and offers a handshake. Cabana doesn't fall for it, but Homicide hits an ACE CRUSHER anyway. Homicide tosses a chair in the ring, but Colt goes for the Colt .45. Julius Smokes interferes, though, distracting Cabana long enough for Homicide to toss the chair into Colt's face for the DQ at 14:31. This was a surprisingly mainstream match with clearly defined heel/face roles, standard formula and everything. It's actually kind of refreshing. Post-match: Low Ki, Grim Reefer and Ricky Reyes attack Colt, but Samoa Joe makes the save. ***
Low Ki is still in the ring, though, so he calls out Samoa Joe as his creation. He gets Jay Lethal instead. Since he failed at revenge earlier, Jay wants a rematch.
Low Ki vs. Jay Lethal (w/Samoa Joe).
They brawl into the ring where Lethal kicks Ki in the back. Ki takes his weak offense as an insult and slaps him in the face. That fires Lethal up, and they trade chops. Lethal hits a superkick for a close two. The diving headbutt misses, and Ki recovers with the gun packet dropkick. He locks in the Dragon Sleeper and goes for the Ki Krusher, but Lethal counters to a Dragon Suplex attempt. Julius Smokes tries to interfere, but Joe takes him out. Ricky Reyes and Homicide run down to attack Joe as Ki hits the GHETTO STOMP for two! Ki misses the Springboard Kick, and Lethal hits the DRAGON SUPLEX! ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! Ki spins Lethal to the floor as Colt Cabana evens things up again. Ki goes up but gets crotched. SUPER DRAGON SUPLEX! ONE, TWO, THREE! Lethal finally picks up the win at 9:19. Nearly as good as their earlier match and much more chaotic. ***
Gary Michael Capetta questions Nigel McGuinness' morals for cheating the way he does. Nigel questions Gary's eyesight.
Davey Andrews vs. Eric Matlock.
Andrews is the top ROH graduate. Matlock is a good-but-bland junior wrestler from California. The fans don't give a damn about either guy, but they do pretty well for themselves. Andrews hits a German Suplex and the Eye of the Hurricane to set up the Stretch Plum at 2:29. 1/2*
Four-Corner Survival: Samoa Joe vs. BJ Whitmer vs. Adam Pearce vs. Ricky Reyes.
Pearce gets mucho heel heat for using "Freebird." Oh, and for acting like a prick. Actually, if he was sitting out in the crowd, you wouldn't be able to tell him apart by his behavior. Once they finally pull Adam away from jawing with the crowd, BJ and Reyes start. Nothing much of note except for a nice little rollover into a front facelock from Reyes. The crowd wants Pearce's blood, and Joe is more than ready to serve it up. Pearce challenges Joe to a test of strength and forces Joe into a bridge, but Joe knees him in the crotch. Pearce goes to the eyes to take over. And again. The fans chant "boring" during Pearce's offense. Finally, Joe blocks another eyepoke and gives Pearce an enzuigiri. Prazak mentions there might be some Japanese superstars coming to ROH in the near future. Gee, that might work out well if they got the right guy. Pearce and Reyes team up against Joe because they both hate him. Reyes kicks Joe's leg out from under him and hits a spinning wheel kick. Lacey is still taking notes. Joe eventually makes the hot tag to Whitmer, and the match breaks down. Not really much of note during the long heat segment on Joe. The ref accidentally crotches Pearce. Joe hits Reyes with the Muscle Buster but opts to take on Whitmer to prove a point. BJ goes for the Exploder '98, but Joe reverses to a wakigatame. BJ rolls through and lays in the Strong Style Slaps. Joe spins him around, though, and chokes him out with the Coquina Clutch at 18:41. Since Joe has beaten one half of the tag team champions, he promises to come after the champs and become the first Triple Crown winner. This was wildly disappointing and played more like a tag match where everyone (outside of Pearce) was really bored. Barely jumps above average because of the closing sequence. **1/4
Austin Aries puts over his win at "Survival of the Fittest 2004" and pimps his role as head trainer at the ROH wrestling school.
ROH World Title: James Gibson vs. Bryan Danielson.
Danielson debuts "Final Countdown" as his theme music here. He's also returned to his old look rather than the "Deliverance" look he had for most of the year. Interesting that this was bumped out of the top spot, but I can see why. Danielson walked out after "Nowhere to Run" over three months earlier and refused to come back unless he got a title shot. Well, here you are. Danielson tries his dropkick to counter a wristlock, but Gibson has it scouted. They exchange headlock counters on the mat, and Danielson hits a dropkick. Danielson tries a crucifix and segues to a Cattle Mutilation attempt. Gibson makes the ropes and takes a breather on the outside. Back in, they battle over an overhand knucklelock, and Danielson spins him over into a backbreaker. Gibson comes back with a back elbow and a backdrop suplex for two. Danielson hiptosses out of an abdominal stretch and gives Jamie an uppercut. Gibson falls to the apron but suplexes Danielson out and whips him into the barrier. Back in, Gibson slaps on a chinlock. They slug it out with forearms, and Gibson actually wins, knocking Danielson on his ass. He slams Danielson's chin into the apron and announces "Dragon ain't goin' nowheres." See, he speaks Foxworthy. Danielson flips over a charge and hits a spinning front kick to knock Jamie to the apron. Back in, Danielson hits the running forearm and a slingshot suplex á la Tully Blanchard. He talks a little trash, foreshadowing an eventually heel turn before pulling Gibson back into a Mexican Surfboard. The Airplane Spin sets up a diving headbutt, but he takes so long that Jamie is able to avoid it. Gibson recovers and gets a close two off a Leg Roll Clutch. Danielson tries to hiptoss him, but Jamie puts on the breaks and jumps into a Guillotine Clutch. Dragon powers up and tosses Gibson away in an impressive show of strength. Jamie's sunset flip is blocked, and Danielson hits his diving headbutt for two. Jamie goes to the ropes to counter a Victory Roll, but Danielson just takes him over the top and hits a suicida. Danielson rabidly goes after Gibson's arm, even hitting a missile dropkick to the arm. More heelish tactics by Danielson as he squats down for an arrogant cover and gets rolled up for two. He takes a move out of Gibson's repertoire and hits a Northern Lights into a cross armlock. Gibson blocks and counters to the Texas Cloverleaf. What an AWESOME sequence! Danielson makes the ropes but takes a Tombstone Piledriver. A Guillotine Legdrop gets two, and Jamie rolls over into the Guillotine Choke when Danielson kicks out. Danielson powers up again and slams Jamie into the turnbuckle. Jamie holds on. Danielson tries it again, but Gibson lets go of the hold and hits a Tornado DDT. TIGER DRIVER! ONE, TWO, THR-NO! Danielson dropkicks Gibson to the buckle and hits the Dragon Suplex on the rebound. ONE, TWO, THR-NO! Danielson rolls over into CATTLE MUTILATION! Gibson rolls out of it and takes a Tiger Suplex for two. Danielson still holds on off the kickout. Gibson tries to use the Bret Hart push-off-the-ropes counter, but it only gets two. Danielson pushes him into the ropes and switches up to the CROSSFACE CHICKENWING! Jamie's arm is shot, and he's caught in the middle of the ring, so he has no choice but to tap at 32:24. While it lacked a little direction in the first few minutes, the last twenty minutes or so just kept getting more awesome with counters and counters of counters and counters even before the guy thought of countering. ****1/4
After the match, Danielson scolds a fan for calling Gibson a sellout and asks for a round of applause for Gibson. However, Danielson says, he didn't become a professional wrestler to answer to "the Man," so while Joe, Aries, Punk and Gibson are off to TNA or the WWE, he promises to stay and defend the title in ROH, where he can wrestle for a living. His "This title represents freedom" sounds comically like "Braveheart."
Styles Clash vs. Rave Clash: AJ Styles (w/Mick Foley) vs. Jimmy Rave (w/Prince Nana).
Foley is tagging along with AJ to make sure the odds are even. Kind of weird seeing them together, though. This would also be Foley's last appearance as he signed a new deal with the WWE. The winner is the first person to hit the Styles/Rave Clash, and the loser can never use the move again. Rave attacks from behind, but AJ is quickly able to battle back and turn Jimmy into his bitch. He punts Rave to the floor and pescados out on top of him. Back in, AJ hits a pair of dramatic elbow drops. The Weapon of Mask Destruction #4 (looking like early Shiryu) runs in but gets bitchslapped back out of the ring by AJ. It's enough of a distraction for Rave to jump AJ from behind. Mick gets on the mic and asks for a "Jimmy likes balls" chant. Nana gets in on the action with a choke before running away from Foley. Rave beats AJ all the way up to the entrance. Styles gets a backdrop, but Rave maintains the advantage. Back in, Jimmy crotches him. They trade waistlocks, and AJ utilizes his kip-up rana. Rave hits Ghanarrhea, though. Nana slides a table in, but it gets caught on the ropes. AJ and Rave look kind of silly improvising while Nana desperately tries to get the table in the ring. When he finally does, the crowd gives him a sarcastic round of applause. They fight on the top, and both men crash through another table setup at ringside. Rave sets up a chair, but AJ blocks a brainbuster and drops Jimmy's head right on it! AJ considers the Styles Clash but decides to set up the table instead. The Weapons of Mass Destruction #5, #6 & #7 all run in to interfere, but Foley takes them out with chairshots. Rave has recovered, though, and hits a lariat. He sets AJ on the top rope, but AJ fights back, spins Rave over and hits the STYLES CLASH THROUGH THE TABLE! That picks up the win at 18:36. Rave can no longer use the Rave Clash. This had a ton of things going against it. Foley was more of a distraction as the fans were paying more attention to him early. Plus, it had to follow the big title switch. Not a bad match, but it was hardly the epic blowoff I was hoping for after a long feud. ***
Foley gets on the mic and admits he's going back to the WWE. He says he was >< this close to signing with TNA, but when he called Vince McMahon as a courtesy, Vince per$uaded him to re-$ign with the WWE. Foley promises to continue to rave about ROH while in the WWE. He gives Prince Nana a goodbye Cactus Elbow.
Colt Cabana says Homicide isn't the only thug in ROH. He says he's bringing in his buddy Steve Corino to help him against the Rottweilers.
Lacey confirms that she was scouting talent and promises some interesting surprises.
Excellent Bryan Danielson video package recapping his first few years in the company. Not quite up to WWE standards, but very good compared to ROH's usual production values.
An FIP match between Jay Fury, Tony Mamaluke & Sal Rinauro is also included to showcase Rinauro, who will be coming to ROH. If I ever do FIP, I'll give you a full review. Call it about **1/2
The 411: Solid wrestling on the undercard and a stellar title change make this one an easy thumbs up. Definitely check it out for the title match and the Rave/Styles blowoff.
