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Dark Pegasus Video Review: Ring of Honor — Fifth Year Festival (NYC)

June 12, 2007 | Posted by J.D. Dunn
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Dark Pegasus Video Review: Ring of Honor — Fifth Year Festival (NYC)  

Ring of Honor — Fifth Year Festival (NYC)
by J.D. Dunn

  • February 16, 2007
  • From New York, N.Y..
  • Your hosts are Dave Prazak and Lenny Leonard.

  • Rebecca Bayless gets a word with a bunch of fans standing in line to get in. I like Bayless and all, but..um…little too close to her face there. I can see individual bacteria.
  • Jimmy Rave delivers a promo to a spot off-camera. That was weird, and it’s a style that would continue throughout the night.
  • Opening Match, Open Challenge: Pelle Primeau vs. Mystery Opponent.
    Pelle makes the mistake of issuing an open challenge and gets Takeshi Morishima, who looks like a pissed-off Margaret Cho on HGH. Morishima comes out to Joe’s music, drawing heel heat from the crowd, but he finishes Pelle with a backdrop driver in 0:10. Got its point across. Nigel McGuinness comes out and advises Morishima to pick his battles. 1/4*

  • After the match, Adam Pearce and Shane Hagadorn come out to mock Pelle. Delirious makes the save, so we get…
  • Delirious vs. Adam Pearce (w/Shane Hagadorn).
    Delirious pummels Pearce and knocks him to the floor. Hagadorn tries to interfere, but Delirious sends Pearce into him and dives off with a cannonball. Back in, Delirious grabs the shinni no make, but Pearce goes low and chokeslams him. Pearce goes to work in between arguing with the referee. He actually has the balls to bust out a Flair Flip, which I’m sure was designed to draw “How dare he’s!” but instead elicits “Wooo’s” from the crowd. Delirious crotches him and hits the Panic Attack. The Shadows over Hell looks to finish it, but Hagadorn hops up on the apron. The ref stops his count for no good reason and tells Hagadorn to get down, which is a spot I hate with all my being. Fortunately, it doesn’t affect the outcome of the match as Pearce loads up his fist but misses a swing and nails Hagadorn. That allows Delirious to load up his mask and hit a flying headbutt at 13:00. Fun little “real” opener. **

  • Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal complain about people thinking the Briscoes and GenNext are the only teams in ROH. Sydal tells Daniels to follow his lead.
  • Daizee Haze & Alexa Thatcher vs. Allison Danger & Sara Del Rey.
    This is the first I’m seeing of Thatcher, but I’ve heard great things. Haze and Danger do a brief reversal sequence before Thatcher tags in for some doubleteaming. Lacey runs down and attacks Haze on the outside, and they brawl to the back. That leaves Alexa alone in a two-on-one, and she quickly falls to Del Rey’s Royal Butterfly at 3:18. Thatcher may want to rethink her wardrobe choice if she’s going to take that move again — major butt-cleavage. This was just a squash showcase for Shimmer and to pay lip service to the Lacey/Haze feud. 3/4*

  • Four-Way Fray: Xavier vs. Jack Evans vs. Shingo vs. Jimmy Jacobs (w/Lacey).
    Xavier returns as the “surprise fourth competitor,” replacing the injured Davey Richards. The Four-Way Fray is a staple of Full Impact Pro. Everyone is in there at the same time, and it’s elimination rules. Shingo and Jack Evans are partners in Dragon Gate, so they team up immediately. Evans, insane as he is, misses a Space Flying Tiger Drop. Won’t see him no more. Xavier knees Shingo in the face but turns in to a spear from Jacobs. He blocks the Contra Code and hits a powerbomb/piledriver combination. He stops to do that silly “X” sign and takes an Argentine Facebuster. Jack recovers and hits a reverse rana to plant Xavier on his head and then rolls him up at 4:24. Shingo and Evans team up for a wild series of doubleteams on Jacobs. Shingo gets two off a Helicopter Slam and finishes with a lariat at 5:50. Lacey is pissed. That leaves Evans versus Shingo in a battle of stablemates. They both try to double-cross one another and kick each other in the gut. Evans headscissors Shingo to the floor and hits that Space Flying Tiger Drop. You know, I don’t even think I’d try the second one after I missed the first one. Back in, Shingo slings Jack onto the top rope and nails him with a lariat. ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! He hits a German Suplex, but Jack comes back with kicks and calls for the 630-senton. Shingo catches up with him, but Evans fights him off and hits the 630-senton at 9:52. Evans was massively over with the crowd, and this match, short as it was, had a cool dynamic with Dragon Gate partners versus the also-rans. I wonder what would have happened had Davey been there. **1/2

  • Samoa Joe comes out and thanks the fans for their support. He confirms that he will leave ROH at the end of the Fifth-Year Festival. He’s was so pissed when he heard about Morishima that he left in the middle of his lapdance at Scores. Nigel McGuinness comes out and takes Morishima’s side, leading to a big pull-apart brawl between Joe and McGuinness.
  • Tables Are Legal: BJ Whitmer vs. Brent Albright.
    Albright was hired to kill off Lacey’s enemies, of which Whitmer counts himself a member. BJ scales the corner to pose for the crowd during his entrance, so Albright simply slams him through a table. They trade chops, and Albright chokes Whitmer against the ropes. BJ reverses a suplex and throws Albright through a table with an Exploder. The table still has a little left, so Whitmer hits a second Exploder through it. Albright tries to backdrop Whitmer through a table, but BJ shifts in mid-air, putting Albright through the table instead. ONE, TWO, T-NO! Whitmer hits a suplex for two but hauls Albright up. Did he learn nothing from the Jimmy Jacobs match? Whitmer sets up tables on the outside and signals for an Awesome Bomb to pay Albright back for the last time they were in this building. Albright counters to a German Suplex and the Half-Nelson Suplex, but Whitmer pops up and hits a lariat before selling á la All Japan. Albright recovers first and hits an Awesome Bomb through the tables. ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! BJ won’t die! Funny moment as Albright gets pissed at a table for not cooperating and just shreds it with a stomp. Big pop for that. Finally, after a few replays of previous action buy him time, Albright gets a pair of tables set up in the middle of the ring and one stretched across the top rope. He takes Whitmer up, and BJ has had enough time to recover and counters to the Exploder ’98 THROUGH THE TABLES! That’s enough for the win at 13:55. Both guys get chants after that one. If you’re going to do a wild, violent spotfest, this is how you do it. Unlike some of the ECW ones that I’ve seen, each table spot got progressively more violent. Minus a bit for some awkward moments where they had to stall while the other guy set up the tables, but the final spot was tremendous. ***1/2

  • ROH World Tag Titles: Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal (w/Allison Danger) vs. Austin Aries & Roderick Strong.
    This is a rematch from Gut Check, and it should be pretty good. Lots of reversals early. Sydal does a backflip out of a wristlock and gets cocky. WRONG FUCKING MOVE, BURT WARD! Aries knocks him silly with a forearm. Strong comes in for a doubleteam, but Sydal rolls them both to the floor. Daniels follows with a suicida. Back in, GenNext maintains control on Sydal with their usual doubleteams. Strong lays in some chops to the cocky little bastard. Sydal hits a spinkick to get out of trouble and tags in Daniels. Daniels takes over on Strong and slams Sydal on him for two. Sydal continues to be cocky, despite getting his ass handed to him for ten straight minutes. Daniels and Strong exchange chops, and Daniels locks in the Koji Clutch. Aries makes the save. Strong hits a springboard backdrop and makes the hot tag to Aries. Aries cleans house with clothesline and sprints into a suicida. That’s an insane amount of speed. Back in, Aries botches a quebrada when his knee gives out and he lands on his head. Ouch! Sydal hits the legdrop but the moonsault finds Aries knees. GenNext set up for a Doomday Device, but Daniels breaks it up. Sydal slings himself up to Strong’s shoulders, but Strong simply falls down and gets his knees up for a gutbuster. That actually looked like an improvised move by Strong. Sydal SSPs Strong onto Daniels’ knees. Aries makes the save, and GenNext teams up for the chop/brainbuster. Strong gets two off the Waterwheel Slam, but Daniels breaks up a doubleteam and takes Aries out with the DVD. Sydal hits an SSP, and Daniels finishes with the Best Moonsault Ever at 20:25. Typically great tag action from these four. Even when they botched something, it only led to something even more interesting. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good – although, all these guys are good, so they’re doubly blessed. ****

    But that’s not all. Christopher Daniels finally gets Sydal to stop gloating and drags him to the back. Davey Richards brushes past them on his way to the ring. Aries is puzzled until Roderick jumps him from behind and hits a Half-Nelson Backbreaker! Strong and Richards lay the boots to Aries and announce the formation of the No Remorse Corps. If you ever wanted to see 1,200 people with mouths agape, here you go. Jack Evans comes out and separates everyone, begging for some sanity to the situation, but he doesn’t want any part of violence between his old friends. This was one of the more shocking turns in ROH history.

  • The Briscoe Bros. vs. Colt Cabana & Nigel McGuinness.
    This is, for all intents and purposes, a tag title contender match. The Briscoes attack before the bell, but Nigel yanks Mark’s legs out from under him. Nigel and Colt pinball Jay back and forth as Mark stops to check his tooth. The Briscoes isolate Nigel for a series of holds, but Cabana tags in and backdrops Jay onto Mark. Cabana pulls out Mark’s chest hair. AHHH, KELLY CLARKSON! They make him pay, though, when Mark holds him as Jay hits a knee to the back. Nigel tags in and hits a series of forearms and a lariat. Another lariat gets two. Colt and Nigel set up for a doubleteam Tower of London, but Mark breaks it up. The Briscoes hit stereo splashes for two, but Colt and Nigel come back with the assisted Tower of London. Jay makes the save this time. The Doomdsay Device misses, and Nigel rebounds off a jawbreaker to nail Mark with a lariat at 14:34. This had to follow the tag title match, and while it did a respectable job, I don’t think it quite holds up to that match. I don’t think Nigel and Colt have that much chemistry as a tag team, but I’m probably in the minority there. ***1/2

  • Samoa Joe comes down to attack Nigel, and Morishima makes the save, leading to…
  • Samoa Joe vs. Takeshi Morishima.
    Morishima steamrolls over Joe early and stomps down on him. Morishima takes him over and rips at Joe’s eyes. Joe fires back but runs into a butt-bump. I wonder if Morishima ever had a paternity test done using Terry Gordy’s DNA. He hits a missile dropkick for two. Joe hits an avalanche and the enzuigiri in the corner. As if that’s not enough, he punts Takeshi right in the face. Joe hits the Olé kick on the outside. Down goes Morishima! Down goes Morishima! Back in, Joe runs right into a Bossman slam. Morishima hits a pair of rolling leg kicks but misses a charge and stumbles into the uranage. Joe gets two off the DVD but gets squashed on a sunset flip attempt. Morishima goes up but gets caught with the Musclebuster. ONE, TWO, THR-NO! Morishima kicks out. They exchange blows, and Morishima hits a lariat for a double KO spot. Morishima hits a pair of backdrop drivers, but they only get two. He tries a lariat, but Joe counters to a Half-Nelson Suplex and locks in the sleeper. Morishima counters to a chinbreaker, but Joe switches up to the Coquina Clutch and puts him out at 18:07. Joe wins an emotional and hard-hitting contest. See, this is closer to what I think of when I think “great big-man match” – not Batista vs. Undertaker. It was like slamming two bricks together. Each of them hit hard but neither one cracked. Morishima gets a round of applause for the effort, and it’s important to point out that this didn’t change his #1 contender status for the title. ***3/4

  • A video recap of all the major feuds of 2006.
  • ROH World Title: Homicide (w/Julius Smokes) vs. Jimmy Rave.
    Rave actually beat Homicide late in 2006. One of the fans calls Rave a “fuckin’ kwee-ah” during his entrance. All right! Boston, represent! Rave attacks during the introductions but misses a dive and knocks down Julius. Homicide hits his tope con hilo and lets Smokes take a shot. Rave comes back with a crossbody and a swinging neckbreaker. A gutbuster and DDT get two for Rave. Homicide blocks a charge and boots Jimmy down in the corner. STF, but Jimmy makes the ropes. Rave goes to work on Homicide’s leg and finds Homicide’s ghetto fork. He tries to use it, but Todd Sinclair stops him. That allows J-Train to sneak in a fork to Homicide, and the champ stabs him in the forehead with it. To the outside, Rave drops Homicide on the apron with an STO. Back in, Rave slips the Cop Killa and hits a running knee. Diarrhea sets up the spear for two. Homicide blocks a charge and hits a spinebuster. He puts together the Triple Verticals and goes up for a frogsplash. Rave cuts him off, so Homicide has to settle for a senton on the second attempt. Homicide tries a rana, but Rave counters to the Rave Clash! ONE, TWO, THR-NO! Um…he’s not supposed to do that anymore! Homicide gets out of an anklelock and hits a lariat for two. Rave scoops him up into the Stepover Anklelock, though. Julius goes nuts trying to get Homicide to the ropes. Homicide rolls through, sending Jimmy to the buckle and picks him up for the Cop Killa at 18:54. This was better than I expected it to be. I think they’ve realized that Rave has a severe charisma deficit, which was fine as long as Prince Nana was around. Now, though, he just seems so vanilla. ***

  • Rebecca Bayless tries to get a word with some of the people backstage, but instead she finds Jack Evans laid out and unconscious. Rebecca’s reaction (for the second time this year): Holy shit! Is she trying to get that over as a catchphrase? The cameraman sets the camera down to go get help, and we see Rebecca asking someone off-camera if they’re responsible for this. But who?

    To be continued…

  • The 411: A welcome rebound from a disappointing "Battle of the Icons." After the four-way fray, which was a fun little match in itself, everything picked up. The matches at least hit the "good" plateau, and we even saw a big angle with the formation of the No Remorse Corps and "Who Shot Jack?" All that plus a great crowd led to an enjoyable show. Morishima, with his flabby physique, may not look intimidating, but that's what they said about Joe when he debuted with bleached hair. This was a good start to ROH's sixth year.

    Thumbs up for "Fifth Year Festival (NYC)."

     
    Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]  legend

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