Dark Pegasus Video Review: Ring of Honor — Battle of the Icons

Ring of Honor — Battle of the Icons by J.D. Dunn January 27, 2007 From Edison, N.J.. Your hosts are Dave Prazak and Lenny Leonard. Rebecca Bayless gets a word with Homicide. Julius Smokes is pretty funny, trying to peek at Bayless’ cleavage in the background. Samoa Joe interrupts and tells him to bring it tonight. No DQ, “I Quit”: Nigel McGuinness vs. Jimmy Rave. Who opens a show with an “I Quit” match?! Rave also changes it to “no DQ” and “Loser Kisses the Winner’s Foot.” I don’t think I’ve ever seen an “I Quit” match that wasn’t “no DQ” anyway, but I guess Rave wants to cover all his bases. Nigel takes it right to him early and posts Jimmy’s shoulder. To the floor, Nigel uppercuts Rave all the way into the crowd. Rave tries to run, but Nigel catches him and gives him a Hammerlock DDT on a chair. Yep, that’ll work. Back to the ring, Nigel tries to get the submission with a series of holds, but Rave holds out. Rave comes back with Diarrhea. Hey, if Prazak won’t come up with a new name for it, I will. To the floor, Rave slams Nigel’s ankle into the barrier and hits it with a chair. Back in, Rave drops Nigel’s knee on the chair and applies a figure-four with the ropes. Nigel, smartly, rams the chair into Rave’s leg and goes back to the arm. Nigel headbutts the shoulder but charges right into a low dropkick. Rave hits From Dusk ‘Til Dawn (tilt-o-whirl into a Crippler Crossface), which doesn’t have a lot of context for the match, since Jimmy’s been working the leg the whole time. Jimmy suddenly vomits in the ring, which would be enough to make me quit. And to think Darren Drozdov actually used that as a gimmick. Not to make the whole review about vomit, but I can’t believe that it doesn’t happen more often, considering the intense amount of travel and disease wrestlers encounter. Back to the match, Nigel buys some time while Jimmy recovers, and Jimmy seems okay after a bit. He refuses to give up to a sickening (new context for that word) armbar. A thrust kick sends Nigel rebounding off the ropes, and Jimmy catches him in the Stepover Anklelock. Nigel screams, “Fuck you! You’ll have to break it! I’ll never respect you!” Now, that’s manly! The ref decides to stop the match to save Nigel’s ankle, even if he didn’t give up. (16:58). That finish makes the fans want to throw up too. Some of the work early in the match was okay, but everything here was the opposite of how it should be. First, this is supposed to be a death feud. Why have it go on first? Second, referee stoppage in an “I Quit” match is such a WCW move. A lot of people ripped Rave for turning in a poor performance, but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt because there was a myriad of factors working against this match. **3/4 Adam Pearce (w/Shane Hagadorn) vs. Pelle Primeau. Primeau darts around, avoiding Pearce early. Pearce demands – DEMANDS, I SAY – that Pelle stay in one spot. Pelle stays in one spot…and slaps the taste out of his mouth. Pelle sends Pearce to the floor with a headscissors and dives out on top of both Pearce and Hagadorn. Back in, Pearce takes over and hits a Giant Swing. Pelle tries a Tornado DDT, but Pearce counters to a Northern Lights Suplex. A Pearce piledriver finishes at 4:31. Fun little squash. Pelle has quickly become the Little Spike Dudley of ROH, and Pearce is his Mike Not-So-Awesome. * Chris Hero (w/Larry Sweeney) vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Christopher Daniels (w/Allison Danger). Allison tries to unveil a new costume and accidentally unveils her new panties, which already makes this the best match on the card so far. She got considerably better looking after Daniels came back in 2005. I don’t know that there’s necessarily a cause-and-effect relationship there, but it seems to be true. Let’s see. Where to begin? A year ago, Daniels dropped his policy of not shaking hands and actually showed respect to Claudio. Castagnoli repaid that respect by turning on ROH and joining with CZW and Chris Hero later on that same show. Hero and Castagnoli were one of the top teams in ROH for most of 2006 until Claudio signed with the WWE late in the year. When the contract “hit a snag,” Hero still decided to go his own way, but no one was sure, at this point, what their relationship was like. Hero and Castagnoli make a pact and team up against Daniels. This goes on for a long, and rather boring, while. This is like the Royal Rumble when two heels get in there with a babyface and work him over, and you’re just waiting for the next entrant to even things up…but here no one ever comes. Daniels counters the KRS-One by sending Hero into Claudio. Claudio hits Daniels with an uppercut, but Sweeney pulls him off. Ah, therein lies the rift. Hero and Claudio get in each other’s faces over Sweeney’s interference, allowing Daniels to hit a flying double-clothesline. The more traditional triple threat ensues. Hero gets two off the Cravatbuster, but Daniels blocks the Cravatoclasm and hits the BME. Claudio breaks it up, but Daniels counters the Ricolabomb to the DVD for two. Daniels and Claudio exchange uppercuts, leading to Claudio “accidentally” hitting Hero. Claudio goes up but gets crotched by Sweeney. Daniels takes exception to that, which doesn’t make much sense, but it gives Hero an opportunity to sneak in and roll up Claudio for the win at 14:02. This was half handicap match/half triple-threat match, and it worked mostly because of the personalities involved. **1/2 Last Man Standing: BJ Whitmer vs. Jimmy Jacobs (w/Lacey). Always determined to stay current, Jimmy now has a remixed version of “The Ballad of Lacey.” Whitmer attacks in the aisle and away we go. Jimmy’s already busted open. Whitmer spills to the floor, and they brawl into the crowd. They exchange chairshots and work their way back to the ring where Jimmy gets a seven count off a chairshot. The railroad spike makes its first appearance as Jimmy pulls it out of his boot and spikes BJ in the forehead. It doesn’t get the win, though, despite Lacey’s admonitions for the ref to count faster. They work in the Tully/Magnum death duel as Jimmy tries to ram the spike into BJ’s eye, and BJ just…does…hold him off. Jimmy misses a spear and nearly breaks his own neck against a chair that was set up in the corner. Whitmer spinebusters Jimmy on a few more chairs and then delivers a brainbuster on a chair! That gets a nine count. Lacey prevents BJ from hitting a suplex, and Jimmy knocks Whitmer into the barrier with a suicide dive. Lacey and Jimmy set up a table in the corner, but BJ olés him on a spear attempt and smashes him with in the head with a chair. A superplex nearly gets the win for BJ, but he stops the referee’s count. Well, that can’t be good. Indeed, Brent Albright runs in and puts BJ through a table with his own Exploder. Albright props up Jacobs as the ref counts BJ down at 15:45 (with Albright adding an extra boot to ensure that BJ stays down). That’s the second time this show where they’ve taken a blood feud, put the participants in a match that traditional is a sure-fire blowoff, and then screwed the fans out of a proper ending. It was going along fine until that with lots of sick violence. The finish was just horrible, though. **3/4 The Briscoe Bros. vs. The Havana Pitbulls (w/Julius Smokes). The Pitbulls ran the Briscoes out of ROH in 2004. Well, in reality they had mounting injuries and wanted to take some time off to hone their skills, but the retconned reason is the Pitbulls. As per usual tonight, a big brawl erupts on the outside and then works its way to the ring. They start with a testosterone-filled battle of hard-hitting moves with no one really willing to sell. The Briscoes hit a doubleteam Facewash in the corner. The Pitbulls isolate Jay and resurrect all their old doubleteams. Reyes works in the Octopus Stretch, but Mark makes the save with a stiff kick to the back. Jay forces to his corner for the tag, but the ref is distracted. Kind of early for the false tag spot, but I appreciate the idea. Jay slingshots Romero into Reyes and crawls to his corner, but Smokes yanks Mark off the apron. More doubleteams by the Pitbulls. Finally, Jay hits a double-clothesline and tags Mark. Mark works in some of dat dere Kang Foo and powerbombs Romero into the buckle. A huracanrana gets two. Jay tags back in and hits the DVD for two. A splash finds only Reyes’ knees, and Reyes hits a spiralbomb. The Pitbulls lock in stereo cross armlocks, but neither man has the legal man in the hold. Well, that’s attention to detail. The Pitbulls miss a Doomsday Device and get pissed at one another. Romero walks out on the match like some Cuban Rick Martel, allowing Jay to hit the Jaydriller on Reyes for the win at 15:18, thus paying off his problems with Smokes and Homicide the night before. This was the usual good match between these four. The tag division needed to be jumpstarted again at this point, and that’s probably due to Daniels & Sydal being lackluster champs. Everyone from the top down suffered as a result. *** Rebecca Bayless finds Jimmy Rave who explains why he attacked Joe the previous night. Mixed Tag: Colt Cabana & Sara Del Rey vs. Brent Albright & Lacey. Del Rey is in for Daizee Haze who received a concussion the night before. She and Lacey start, and Del Rey overpowers her at every turn. Colt and Brent go at it next, and Lacey spits on a fan for calling her a whore. Colt calls for an amateur sequence, but Albright ain’t havin’ it. Colt gets in an armdrag, but Albright counters another attempt to the Fujiwara Armbar. Funny spot as Albright tags out, and Colt trips Lacey as she charges at him. Colt rings her bell and lets Del Rey have at her. Albright slams Del Rey, though, as the ref is putting Colt out. Albright and Lacey start doubleteaming Del Rey. Colt gets the hot tag and cleans house, including the Bionic Elbow for Lacey. Colt hits the avalanche in the corner, leading to the old Lacey-headbutts-her-own-partner-in-the-nuts spot. Lacey tries a DDT on Del Rey, but Del Rey reverses and finishes with the Butterfly Slam (not sure what Del Rey’s name for it is) at 13:22. After the match, Daizee Haze comes out and throws dollar bills in Lacey’s face for calling her a stripper the night before. Fun stuff, but nothing of consequence. I like that Lacey got a comeuppance without Haze actually being involved so that feud can continue. **1/2 Austin Aries, Roderick Strong & Jack Evans vs. Delirious, Davey Richards & Shingo. GenNext is back together! Roderick and Jack get major heel heat for pretending to ride Delirious during his pre-match cocoon phase. Delirious and Evans do a really good speed series, and Delirious steals Evans’ ‘do rag. Aries and Richards then one-up them with a great sequence where they counter each other’s trademark moves. Richards plays face-in-peril for a few minutes. Delirious, of course, gets the funniest spot of the match, screaming “Umaga!” and hitting a Samoan Spike. Evans unloads his usual array of high-flying moves, but Shingo catches him on the Space Flying Tiger Drop and slings him into the barrier. Evans plays Ricky Morton as the two sides switch roles. Delirious’ team stops for a posedown, and then Richards kicks Evans in the chest. Evans tags out, and Strong & Aries unleash their series of doubleteams (since they’re the actual tag team in the match). Delirious holds Aries long enough for Davey to hit the Handspring Back-Kick and follows up with the Panic Attack. Aries tries to help Evans with a superplex, but Richards yanks Aries down and German Superplexes Evans onto him. Delirious gets two off Shadows over Hell. Shingo fires off a few moves before Delirious and Richards hit stereo suicidas. Evans and Strong team up for an old-school Ode to the Bulldogs-style move where Evans springboards into a moonsault on Delirious and Richards. That leaves Shingo alone with Strong & Aries, and they finish with the Waterwheel Slam/450-splash combo at 20:03. Now this is more like it. Everyone put forth a lot of effort and just went out there and had a good time with it. The result was the most entertaining match on the card. ***1/2 ROH World Title: Homicide (w/Julius Smokes) vs. Samoa Joe. Homicide makes friends right away by threatening to piss in the face of a fucking faggot in the crowd. His words, not mine. These guys have a long history together as Homicide tried to prove himself worthy during his MVP run in 2003, but Joe had a lock on the ROH Title. Then, Homicide went crazy in 2004 and threw a fireball in Joe’s face. Their feud that year got so violent that ROH ruled Homicide wouldn’t be able to face Joe for the title as long as he was champion. Joe dominates early, overpowering Homicide and outwrestling him during two separate sequences. Homicide jumps into the crowd for a breather. An old woman in the crowd, who I assume must be someone’s mom, gets into an argument with Julius Smokes and flips him off, prompting a “Fuck ‘im up, Grandma! Fuck ‘im up!” chant. That’s just surreal. Joe continues to dominate with the usual, only at half-speed. The fans are so enthralled that they chant, “We want Grandma!” To the floor, Joe gives Homicide an Olé Kick, but Homicide counters a second try with a chairshot. Homicide picks up Joe and PILEDRIVES him on the floor! Joe is in agony, but Homicide gives him a SECOND ONE! Joe begs the ref not to call the match, even as Homicide is ready to walk out with the title. Back in, Homicide rolls through the STJoe but jumps right into another attempt. Homicide slips out of an Argentine Backbreaker but runs right into a spinebuster. ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! Joe runs through his usual stretch sequence, including the powerbomb-to-STF. Homicide makes the mistake of trying to headbutt a Samoan. Homicide avoids a charge and blocks the Musclebuster. ACE CRUSHER! ONE, TWO, THR-NO! They take turns blocking lariats, and Homicide hits an Ace Crusher. That sets up a series of lariats…and more lariats for the win at 24:24. This one got better down the stretch, but they just never clicked the way they have in the past. Part of it was the crowd getting distracted, and part of it was Homicide not deciding whether he was a heel or babyface until half-way into the match. Joe seemed uncharacteristically unmotivated as well. **3/4 Nigel McGuinness reminds Jimmy Rave that he never quit tonight. Elsewhere, Samoa Joe and Homicide re-bond and talk about their match. Joe turns his sights to NOAH. Homicide says he’ll take on whoever they bring.

The 411: This is a much-maligned show, and rightly so, but it was entertaining in a car-wreck sort of way. The Briscoes/Pitbulls and the six-man tag were pretty good, and I enjoyed the stuff surrounding Lacey, but it's not nearly enough to overcome the low points. This one had uncharacteristically bad booking and uninspired wrestling in a lot of places. I understand the concept of extending a feud through screwjobs, but there are better ways to do it than this. Thumbs down.

Final Score:  5.0   [ Not So Good ]