ROH - Battle of the Icons DVD Review
Posted by Garoon & Ziegler on 05.07.2007
Stay away from whatever Jimmy Rave ate.
ROH – Battle of the Icons – Edison, New Jersey – January 27, 2007
Introduction
BG says: The Video Wire kicks off with Danielson respectfully handing over the title to new champion Homicide. It is just now occurring to me that ROH Video Wires don’t have hosts anymore. The next clip is of the Briscoes manhandling the ROH students who came out at the beginning of Final Battle dressed as Santa Clause and elves. Next up are stills of the end of the Homicide/Danielson match at Final Battle and Homicide’s post-match celebration. Homicide’s defense schedule is shown. He has defenses against Chris Hero, Samoa Joe and Jimmy Rave lined up. Christopher Daniels catches up with Mohammad Yone and compliments him on his amazing afro. Yone tells Daniels that women love the afro. Daniels tells Yone that women love the bald head. Great segment that I hope leads to Yone coming to ROH to wrestle. Finally we get the Claudio/Hero/Sweeney segment in which Claudio announced he’d be staying in ROH and Hero dumped him for super agent Larry Sweeney.
The next Video Wire starts where the last one left off. Samoa Joe comes out to the ring and tells Claudio to hit the bricks. He challenges NOAH which draws out Nigel McGuinness. Nigel tells Joe he’ll ask the NOAH office to send someone over and then gets in Joe’s face. Jimmy Rave attacks Nigel from behind so Joe slaps him down. Next up is old footage of Jimmy Jacobs’s pitiful relationship with Lacey and the trouble it caused for Colt Cabana and BJ Whitmer. The wire wraps up with Jacobs’s newest music video. This one is much darker and less funny than the last two. In this one he drinks vodka in public, pours blood on his face and breaks a mirror. Brilliant, disturbing stuff. I get the biggest kick out of the fact that Jacobs needed to mix the vodka with cranberry juice and he still ended up puking in the pond. Bryan Danielson aside Jacobs easily is the most interesting character in the company. So apparently the Video Wire is now just for people who didn’t buy the previous DVD or people who want to follow along with ROH happenings online because there’s no original footage to be found on them anymore. Well, the music video was new but that’s about it.
Becky Bayless kicks off the show proper with a backstage interview with ROH Champion Homicide. J-Train acts creepy as Homicide talks about wrestling Samoa Joe for the title. Homicide calls himself the most disrespectful champion of all time and he’s not letting Joe take the belt back. Joe walks up and cuts a similar promo to the one he closed out the last show with. Joe just found out he’s on borrowed time in ROH, so this could be his last opportunity to win the title. He couldn’t have been more right. J-Train calls it the battle of King Kong and Godzilla. That reminds me of the game Rampage, which I just found out is how Quinton “Rampage” Jackson got his name.
JZ says: We begin with Rebecca Bayless backstage with ROH World Champion Homicide and Julius Smokes. She once again asks the probing question “how you feelin’ ‘bout that?” This is exactly the way the show started last night, and Homicide can barely put sentences together. Samoa Joe busts in and we have a repeat of the way we ended last night’s DVD. Joe says he’s on borrowed time and this may be his last opportunity. How was this supposed to make me want to see the match?
MATCH #1: No DQ, I Quit Match – Nigel McGuinness vs. Jimmy Rave
BG says: Jimmy Rave comes out and gets on the microphone before his match to make sure all the fans know about the toilet paper ban. He mentions that Nigel McGuinness likes to throw toilet paper, so he’s raising the steaks of their I Quit match. He wants it to be no disqualification (which it inherently is), and if Nigel loses he’ll have to kiss Rave’s feet.
Nigel rushes the ring and beats Rave to the floor. Rave comes back with strikes but Nigel beats him back. Nigel hits a running European uppercut and a short-arm clothesline. He rams Rave’s shoulder into the turnbuckle and puts on an armbar. Rave goes to the floor to escape. Nigel follows him out and uppercuts him into the crowd. He hits Rave with a hammerlock bodyslam on the floor and then hits a hammerlock takedown onto a chair. He drags Rave by his shoulder back to the ring where he puts on an armbar. He slams the arm against the mat and puts on a hammerlock. Rave bites Nigel’s arm to break. He hits a back heel kick and Ghanarrhea. They fight to the floor where Rave slams a chair into Nigel’s leg. Nigel goes for the floor rebound clothesline but Rave blocks it with a spear. Back in the ring Rave hits a vertical suplex. He hits a shinbreaker on a chair and puts on a figure 4 leglock. He uses the ropes for leverage but Nigel hits him with the chair to break it up. Nigel slams Rave’s arm to the mat and hits it with a series of palm strikes. He suplexes Rave by the arm and puts on an armbar. He puts on a standing guillotine hammerlock but Rave goes to the eyes to escape. Rave dropkicks the knee and goes for the heel hook. Nigel blocks it so Rave hits a dragon screw. He puts on a crossface and actually pukes in the ring. What the hell? That’s so disgusting. He unsurprisingly releases the hold and the commentators play it off as pain coming from using his damaged shoulder to put on the crossface. I feel sick. Nigel hits a superkick and hits the second rope lariat. The though of all that puke is actually making me smell vomit. Nigel hits the Tower of London and puts on the modified Rings of Saturn. Rave escapes and hits a superkick. He ducks the rebound lariat and puts on the heel hook. Nigel tries to use the ropes to get away from Rave. Nigel says he’ll never quit but the referee eventually just calls for the bell to save Nigel’s career. This was going just fine until it fell apart after Rave started puking. At least that’s where it fell apart for me. The finish was the biggest load of nonsense and an absolute cop out finish in a match that isn’t supposed to have one. It was definitely on track to be the best match between the two before all the craziness started.
Rating: ***
JZ says: Bobby Cruise begins to announce that fans are allowed to throw streamers, and then gets cut off by Jimmy Rave. He says that fans will be ejected if they throw anything into the ring. Rave says he will raise the stakes of their “I Quit” match tonight and make it no-DQ. I hate stuff like that, because the rules of an “I Quit” match state that the only way someone can win is to make his opponent say “I Quit,” which implies that no one can win on a DQ. Rave wants to start the match right now, and Nigel has no problem with that. Streamers flood the ring as Nigel hits a lariat on Rave and he bails. Dave Prazak and Lenny Leonard are the hosts tonight. Nigel dominates the early going by overpowering Rave at every turn. The battle spills to the floor and Nigel stays in control with European uppercuts, including an Ole European Uppercut. They fight back into the crowd and Nigel works on the arm, hitting a bodyslam on the arm and the Guvnor’s Crumpet on a chair. Back in the ring Nigel continues to abuse the arm, which is good strategy given that it’s an I Quit match. Rave makes the comeback and works on the leg, no doubt to set up for the Heel Hook. Rave puts on a figure-four Leglock and uses the ropes for extra leverage. Nigel breaks the hold by hitting Rave’s knee with a steel chair. They go back and forth with each guy going for submissions, and then Rave vomits, like, a lot. That’s way grosser than the time Shane Douglas did it in TNA. Rave is in rough shape now. He makes the comeback and locks in the Heel Hook, and Nigel tries to climb into the ropes to escape, but referee Todd Sinclair stops the match at 17:34 when Nigel refuses to give up. That was a pretty good match but the finish was pretty unsatisfying. I understand that booking an “I Quit” match is a dangerous game to begin with, so maybe they should have done a different stipulation.
Rating: ***¼
MATCH #2: Adam Pearce vs. Pelle Primeau
BG says: You can watch this match for free at ROHVideos.com. Unlike other matches taped for the internet this one is actually part of an ongoing angle between Primeau and Shane Hagadorn. Pearce goes for a cheap shot to start but Primeau avoids it. Primeau slaps Pearce and hits a head scissors takedown to the floor. He follows Pearce out with a springboard drive and runs over him to get back in the ring. Pearce gets back in and slaps Primeau down. He hits a chokeslam and a bodyslam. He counters a dropkick to a giant swing for 2. He slams Primeau across the ring but Primeau comes back with a sunset flip for 2. Primeau blocks a blind charge and hits a Thesz press off the top. He hits a double stomp but Pearce catches him with an overhead suplex. He follows up with the jumping piledriver for the win. Primeau got in more offense than you might expect (as is appropriate for a jobber about to move slightly up the card) but in the end it was just a squash and not a particularly exciting one.
Rating: ¾*
The Briscoe Brothers brag about beating Austin Aries & Roderick Strong in two straight falls the night before. They’re going to have the same kind of success against the Havana Pitbulls tonight and then they’re going to win the tag team titles.
JZ says: Pearce is accompanied by Top of the Class Trophy holder Shane Hagadorn. Pearce once again has donned the Chris Sabo glasses and he rejects the handshake from Primeau. Pearce has a huge size advantage. Pearce yells at him to stand still, so Primeau slaps him in the face. He knocks Pearce to the floor and then hits a dive on both Pearce and his manservant. Back in the ring Pearce takes control and hits a big chokeslam. This match is being taped for ROHVideos.com, which can be viewed for free. A giant swing from Pearce gets him a two-count when he picks Primeau up. Primeau gets a rollup for a near fall. He follows up with a Thesz press off the top rope and a double stomp for two. He tries a swinging DDT but Pearce blocks it with an overhead suplex. He follows that with the jumping piledriver and that will do at 4:31. That was an energetic squash, but it seems like this feud has been going on for a long time.
Rating: *½
The Briscoe Brothers are backstage gloating about beating Austin Aries & Roderick Strong in two straight falls last night. They will settle some old hash with Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero from 2004 tonight. Then they’ll take the ROH World Tag Team Titles.
MATCH #3: Chris Hero vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Christopher Daniels
BG says: Having this as a three way match makes no sense. There’s a built in feud putting Castagnoli against Hero and ROH just doesn’t seem to want to do it. Danger is pretty much wearing no clothes. Hero convinces Claudio to team up with him against Daniels to start. Daniels tries to fight them off but gets slugged down. Claudio hits a dropkick, as does Hero. Claudio holds Daniels over the bottom rope and Hero hits a dropkick from the floor. Claudio hits an avalanche and Hero hits a running forearm. Daniels blocks a blind charge from Claudio but Hero slugs him down. Larry Sweeney chokes Daniels with a towel getting 2 for Hero. Hero puts Daniels in a leglock and Claudio hits him with a legdrop and an elbowdrop. Hero hits a springboard double axe handle for 2 when Claudio shoves him off. The former Kings hit the double big boot and go for the KRS-1. Daniels fights out of it and shoves Hero into Claudio. He hits Hero with an enziguiri but Claudio catches him with an elevated European uppercut. Sweeney keeps Claudio from getting the pin which causes dissension between Hero and Claudio. Daniels uses the distraction to hit a double clothesline off the top. He hits a clothesline and a hurricanrana on Hero. He hits a flatliner on Claudio and puts him in the Koji Clutch. Hero breaks it up. Hero hits a clinch suplex on Daniels for 2. He puts on a cravat and hits a neckbreaker for 2. Daniels comes back with the uranage and the triple jump moonsault for 2. Claudio hits the Alpamare Waterslide on Daniels for 2. Daniels blocks the Ricola Bomb and hits a DVD for 2. Daniels and Claudio clothesline each other down and then trade strikes. Claudio clotheslines Hero by mistake and hits Daniels with a big boot. He hits Daniels with a bodyslam and climbs the ropes. Sweeney crotches him and distracts Daniels long enough for Hero to roll Claudio up for the win. There was entirely too much gaga here and it never lead to anything.
Rating: **¼
JZ says: This is the first time the Kings of Wrestling will face each other since they split as a team last month. They actually spend the early going of the match double-teaming Daniels while Allison Danger tries to fire Daniels up. The referee doesn’t seem to be enforcing tags at all. Hero distracts the referee so Larry Sweeney can interfere. Hero and Claudio argue over who’s going for pins and Claudio tells Sweeney to stay out of it, basically. The double teaming on Daniels continues until he’s able to counter a KRS-One attempt. Claudio tries for a pin and Sweeney pulls him off and Claudio is pissed. Daniels is able to use the miscommunication to hit some big moves. Hero makes the comeback but Daniels soon takes the momentum and goes for the Best Moonsault Ever and hits it on Hero but Claudio breaks it up. He goes for the Ricola Bomb but Daniels reverses to a Death Valley Driver. All three men are down, and Claudio is the first one to get to his feet. Sweeney distracts Daniels and Hero gets Claudio in a crucifix and gets the pin at 14:01. That was pretty dull in the early going and was wrestled much like a handicap match, which is never usually that good. Daniels is pissed about losing.
Rating: **
MATCH #4: Last Man Standing – Jimmy Jacobs vs. BJ Whitmer
BG says: I believe this is the first Last Man Standing match in ROH, although Steve Corino and Rudy Boy Gonzales did have a Texas Death match in 2002, which has similar rules. As groundbreaking as the Ballad of Lacey was, Kiss2Kill makes for much better entrance music. Whitmer attacks Jacobs with a chair on his way to the ring. In the ring he smacks Jacobs with the chair but he gets up at 8. He sets up the chair but Jacobs dodges the brainbuster and sends Whitmer to the floor. Jacobs is already bleeding as he follows Whitmer out and clotheslines him into the crowd. He wildly throws chairs at Whitmer but Whitmer returns fire in kind. They trade chops and Whitmer launches Jacobs back to ringside. Back in the ring Jacobs wraps the chair around Whitmer’s head. Whitmer gets up at 7 but Jacobs jabs him down with the spike. Whitmer tries to get up so Jacobs spikes him down again. He puts Whitmer in the corner and hits the Top 8 Punches with the spike. Whitmer bleeds but Jacobs isn’t satisfied. Jacobs tries to jam the spike into his eye but Whitmer blocks it, action movie style. Jacobs goes for the spear but Whitmer dodges it and sends him into a chair. Jacobs gets up at 8 as Whitmer piles chairs in the middle of the ring. Whitmer hits a spinebuster onto the chairs but Jacobs gets up at 8. Whitmer hits a brainbuster on an upright chair but Jacobs gets up at 9. Whitmer goes for a suplex through a table on the floor but Lacey distracts Whitmer long enough for Jacobs to spear him off the apron into the barricade. Jacobs and Lacey put another table into the ring and Jacobs sets it up in the corner. He hits Whitmer with a chair and goes to spear him through the table. Whitmer sidesteps the spear and hits Jacobs with a chair. Jacobs gets up at 8 so Whitmer sets him up top. Whitmer hits an exploder superplex but won’t let the referee count Jacobs down. He shouldn’t have done that. He goes to powerbomb Jacobs through the table but Brent Albright runs in and hits an exploder on Whitmer through the table. He physically lifts Jacobs up so that Whitmer can be counted down, giving Jacobs the win. This was good and violent, but the finish felt exceptionally cheap. Albright keeps the beating going after the match until Colt Cabana makes the save.
Rating: ***½
JZ says: Whitmer doesn’t wait to start the match, blindsiding Jacobs in the aisle with a chair to the back and throws him into the ring and cracks him in the head with it. That gets an 8-count. The crowd soon dies after starting off hot. The battle spills to the outside of the ring, and we see that Jacobs has been busted open. They fight into the crowd and Jacobs starts throwing chairs. Whitmer soon returns the favor as the battle continues outside the ring. Back in the ring Jacobs introduces the railroad spike and Whitmer is busted open now too. Jacobs keeps looking to Lacey to express his love to her. Whitmer makes the comeback and drives Jacobs’s head into the chair set up in the corner. Whitmer hits a spinebuster on a chair. He follows that up with a sick looking brainbuster on the chair. An awesome spear spot follows on the outside of the ring and both guys are able to get up. Jacobs and Lacey bring a table into the ring now. Whitmer executes an exploder off the top rope but picks Jacobs up before the referee can count to 10. That proves to be a big mistake, because it gives Brent Albright the chance to run in and suplex Whitmer through the table. He then stands Jacobs up and Jimmy Jacobs wins the match at 15:37. That was suitably brutal and contrary to some reviews I’ve seen I thought the finish was good. It just lacked crowd heat. Colt Cabana comes out to make the save before further damage can be done.
Rating: ***½
MATCH #5: Ricky Reyes & Rocky Romero vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe
BG says: The Pitbulls attack the Briscoes during their entrance. Everyone brawls around rinside until Mark and Romero get the match started properly. They trade armdrags and Mark hits a leg lariat. Romero kicks Mark’s knees so Jay tags in. Reyes tags in as well and they trade forearms. Jay hits a superkick but Reyes comes back with a jumping knee. Jay hits a big boot. Mark knocks Romero to the floor with a springboard forearm and the Briscoes both wash Reyes’s face. They hit the double shoulder tackle and Jay hits a dropkick. Mark tags in and hits a vertical suplex for 2. Romero tags in and hits the Three Amigos for 2. Reyes tags in and puts on the Mark Nulty Special. Mark hits a forearm and tags to Jay. Jay hits a seated dropkick for 2. Mark tags in and they hit the double hiptoss for 2. He hits a running knee the apron and a slingshot double stomp for 2. Romero hits Jay with a springboard kneedrop, getting 2 for Reyes. Romero tags in and puts on the octopus stretch. Mark breaks it up. Reyes comes in illegally and Mark tags in legally but that tired old referee disallows what he feels like bit comes into play. That always takes the wind out of my sails, it’s so lazy. Romero hits a kneedrop on Jay and puts on a seated abdominal stretch. Jay comes back by catapulting Romero into Reyes and hitting a neckbreaker. J-Train pulls Mark to the floor in front of the referee and Jay gets beaten down by the Pitbulls. Mike Kehner sucks. Reyes hits a dropkick to the face for 2. Jay comes back with a double clothesline and tags to Mark. Mark comes in with a yelping dropkick on Romero and a leg lariat on Reyes. He gets a sunset flip on Romero for 2 and then hits a turnbuckle powerbomb. He sets Romero up top and brings him down with a hurricanrana. Romero gets a roll up for 2. He hits a kick to the head and tags to Reyes. Mark comes back with the yelping splash and tags to Jay. Reyes hits a nasty side suplex for 2. Jay hits a hurricanrana and a DVD for 2. He goes for a big splash but Reyes gets his knees up and hits the spiderbomb for 2. Romero pulls Mark to the floor and then hits him with a suicide dive. Jay hits another DVD on Reyes for 2. Romero gets a cross armbreaker on Jay and Reyes puts one on Mark. The legal men aren’t paired up so the referee breaks the holds. That’s the first thing that’s made sense in this match. Jay rolls up Reyes for 2. Romero gets mad at Reyes because of some miscommunication and then walks out on the match. Jay takes advantage and hits the Jay Driller on Reyes for the win. The Briscoes looked great but the Pitbulls did not. The lousy finish and weird booking throughout would lead to more for Romero, but didn’t help this match any.
Rating: ***
The video for the Fifth Year Festival airs. Last time I went through and listed all the clips that are in this, and this time I’ll mention what I’d have added. I’d have put Low Ki becoming the first ROH champ, either AJ Styles or Doug Williams winning the Pure title (whichever they’re more comfortable with), Bruno Sammartino’s appearance, a clip from Bryan Danielson vs. Paul London at Epic Encounter, James Gibson’s post-match title win celebration, a clip of Danielson vs. Lance Storm, some interaction between Jim Cornette and Bobby Heenan, Jay Briscoe’s bloody cage face, and pretty much anything else that had people talking about ROH for more than a few months.
JZ says: These two teams first met way back in April of 2004 at ROH Reborn Stage One. The bad blood is clearly still there as the battle starts right away on the outside of the ring. In the ring Mark and Romero unload on each other. Jay and Reyes get tagged in and this one shows no signs of slowing down. The Briscoes take the first advantage, but it doesn’t last long as Reyes tags back out to Romero. That doesn’t last too long before the Briscoes regain control and go to work on Reyes. Reyes and Romero soon gain control but seem to be bickering a little bit, which is understandable given that they haven’t teamed together since March of 2005. Jay seems to make the tag but the referee doesn’t see it and thus won’t allow it. He finally makes the comeback and slingshots Romero into Reyes and the crowd is barely reacting. Jay goes to make the tag but Julius Smokes pulls Mark off the apron so he can’t make the tag. He finally makes it a few moments later and Mark is in to take out both Rottweilers. Romero soon fights back and tags out to Reyes. Jay also tags in and Reyes hits a nasty suplex with a pin for a near fall. Jay comes back with the Death Valley Driver. He tries a top rope splash but Reyes gets the knees up and hits a nice powerbomb for two. Romero takes out Mark outside the ring, leaving Reyes and Jay to fight inside the ring. Jay hits the military press into a Death Valley Driver, but Romero breaks up the pin. Romero and Reyes both lock on cross arm breakers on a Briscoe, but no one gives up. The Rottweilers try a Doomsday move of sorts but it doesn’t work. Heel miscommunication leads to a shoving match and Romero walks out on his partner. That leaves Reyes prone to a Jay Driller and the pin at 16:04. It wasn’t quite as viscerally entertaining as their first match, but it was a smart match and I like the Rick Martel-esque turn of Romero.
Rating: ***¼
The Fifth Year Festival is coming soon!
INTERMISSION
BG says: Rebecca Bayless is backstage during intermission and she runs into Jimmy Rave. Rave explains that he put the heel hook on Samoa Joe last night because he slapped him in New York City. So now that he’s taken care of Joe and Nigel its time for him to go after the ROH World Championship.
JZ says: Rebecca Bayless is backstage and Jimmy Rave comes up to her and explains why he put the Heel Hook on Joe last night. I still can’t believe Bayless gets paid.
MATCH #6: Colt Cabana & Sara Del Ray vs. Brent Albright & Lacey
BG says: Del Ray is taking the place of the injured Daizee Haze. Lacey & Del Ray start. Del Ray puts on an armbar and gets a roll up for 2. She hits a backbreaker for 2. Albright and Cabana tag in and Cabana slaps Albright around. Albright tries to wrestle Cabana on the mat but Cabana goes to the ropes. He puts Cabana on the mat again and again Cabana has to go to the ropes. Cabana gets into an amateur position to psych Albright out and trips him up. He gets a roll up for 2. He puts on an armbar but Albright blocks an armdrag and puts on the Crowbar. Cabana gets to the ropes. Lacey tags in and Cabana trips her. Del Ray tags in and elbows Lacey down. She hits a snap suplex for 2. Lacey hits a chinbreaker and tells Albright to powerbomb Del Ray. Cabana saves and helps Del Ray hit a big boot. Albright hits Del Ray with a bodyslam and Lacey pins her for 2. With the referee distracted Albright chokes Del Ray. He tags in and out to hold Del Ray for a punt from Lacey. Albright tosses Del Ray into an inverted lungblower from Lacey for 2. Cabana and Albright tag in and Cabana cleans house. He hits the Flying Asshole on Albright and Lacey. Lacey falls face-first into Albright’s crotch. Del Ray hits a clothesline on Lacey for 2. Cabana sends Albright to the floor and Del Ray hits the butterfly slam on Lacey for the win. Like most mixed tag matches they couldn’t find a good way to transition between the genders. There wasn’t much heat aside from the heat that came from Cabana’s comedy routine.
Rating: **
After the match Daizee Haze runs in the ring and says that she’s not the stripper, Lacey is the stripper. She drops dollar bills on her and starts to take a few shots before Albright pulls her to the back.
JZ says: The women start it off, with Sara Del Ray substituting for the injured Daizee Haze. Del Ray was trained by Bryan Danielson, so that speaks in her favor. She gains an advantage of Lacey early on, so the men tag in and we’ve got Cabana vs. Albright. Cabana tries to use comedy to fluster Albright, but it only works at first. Cabana offers to go amateur, getting down on all fours. Cabana waggles his ass suggestively, much to the chagrin of Albright. The shenanigans lead to a “this is wrestling” chant and Cabana in control. Albright gains a momentary advantage but he soon tags out to Lacey, and then Cabana tags out to Del Ray. Cabana and Del Ray double team Lacey while Albright recovers form the abuse he’s taken. He gets back and bodyslams Del Ray, giving his team the advantage. Del Ray makes the comeback and tags Cabana in. Albright is so cool he has his name on his trunks. Cabana hits Lacey with an elbow and Albright with a quebrada. Cabana and Albright manage to blow a clothesline to the floor spot, and I’m an asshole for noticing. Back in the ring Del Ray hits the butterfly powerslam to get the win at 13:20. That was pretty uneventful or the most part. Daizee Haze comes waltzing out, not looking injured at all. She calls Lacey a stripper and throws money at her. That got no heat at all and Haze sounded ridiculous.
Rating: *¾
MATCH#7: Austin Aries, Roderick Strong & Jack Evans vs. Delirious, Davey Richards & Shingo
BG says: Everyone’s entrance themes are mixed together here. Evans and Delirious start. Evans puts on a wristlock and hits an awesome hurricanrana. Delirious gets a crucifix pin for 2. Evans gets a sunset flip for 2. Strong and Shingo tag in and Strong hits a dropkick. Richards tags in and hits a bodyslam and an elbowdrop for 2. Aries tags in and blocks the shoulder kick. Richards blocks the basement dropkick but Aries comes back with a roll up for 2. He hits the basement dropkick and tags to Strong. Strong hits a bodyslam and tags to Evans. Evans hits a springboard double stomp and a back elbow. He hits another double stomp and a standing moonsault for 2. Strong tags in and drapes Richards over his knees. Aries tags in and hits a slingshot splash for 2. Delirious tags in and kicks the back for 2. Shingo tags in and hits a vertical suplex for 2. Richards tags in and hits a back suplex for 2. He puts on the Mark Nulty Special and tags to Delirious. Delirious hits an elbowdrop for 2. He hits the Samoan Spike and tags to Richards. Richards hits a bodyslam for 2. Aries slaps him down and tags to Evans. Evans hits a crossbody off the top and a hurricanrana. Shingo comes in and Evans hits him with a springboard spinning kick. Shingo bails so Evans goes for the Space Flying Tiger Drop hurricanrana. Shingo catches him and swings him into the barricade. Everyone brawls on the floor until Shingo rolls Evans back into the ring and gets 2. Richards tags in and they make a wish. Richards hits a Manhattan drop and tags to Delirious. Delirious slams Evans to the mat and puts on a camel clutch. Shingo tags in and hits a double back elbow with Delirious. They double-team Evans and pose for the camera. Richards tries to join in but Shingo and Delirious reject him. He feels bad so he kicks Evans’s chest. He tags in legally and hits a northern lights suplex for 2. He kicks Evans down and tags Shingo. Shingo hits a spinebuster for 2. He puts on a half crab but Evans gets to the ropes. Richards tags in and takes turns striking Evans with Shingo. Evans hits a springboard double back elbow and tags to Strong. Strong cleans house, hitting an enziguiri on Richards and a slingshot suplex on Shingo. Aries tags in and hits a frog splash for 2. Aries and Strong hit a double backbreaker and the chop-buster combo. They try to hit it on Delirious but Richards makes the save with the handspring kick. Delirious hits the Panic Attack on Aries. Shingo hits a gutwrench throw for 2. He hits a Dominator but Evans kicks him down. Richards German superplexes Evans onto Aries and Delirious hits Aries with Shadows Over Hell for 2. Shingo hits a lariat and a pumphandle piledriver for 2. Strong hits a pumphandle piledriver on Shingo but Richards dumps him to the floor. Delirious and Richards follow him out with stereo suicide dives. Strong lifts Shingo onto his shoulders and Evans springboards off of him to dive onto everyone on the floor. Aries and Strong finish Shingo off with the soccer kick-spinebuster-450 splash sequence for the win. This was a great spotfest, the best since Generation Now. Evans adds so much to these things.
Rating: ****
Colt Cabana has had enough of the games, so he wants to finish things with Jimmy Jacobs at the Fifth Year Festival.
JZ says: This is a reunion of sorts for Aries, Strong, and Evans. Evans and Delirious start it off with some various athletic maneuvers. They go for a few minutes until Strong and Shingo are tagged in and Richards and Aries follow soon after. Richards gains an early advantage but Aries eventually outsmarts him and brings him over to his team’s corner and tags Strong. Strong soon tags out to Evans and they continue to make quick tags in and out. Richards soon recovers and both Delirious and Shingo come in and get a few shots on Aries. This one soon breaks down and the referee loses control as all six men are fighting on the arena floor. Back in the ring the non-former-Generation Next team stays in control on Evans. They do a funny bit where Delirious and Shingo pose, but Richards isn’t allowed to join them. Evans finally makes the tag to Strong, who unloads on all three of his opponents. It turns into a big brawl again with everyone busting out big moves. Evans takes out Delirious and Richards on the floor while Strong and Aries dismantle Shingo and Aries hits the 450 to get the pin at 20:02. This was a lot of fun and just as good as the match at Final Battle 2006.
Final Rating: ***¾
Colt Cabana is backstage and cuts an uncharacteristically stupid promo, where he promises to celebrate his fist in Jimmy Jacobs’s face.
MATCH #8: ROH World Title Match – Homicide vs. Samoa Joe
BG says: Homicide threatens to engage in water sports with a fan before the match. After the match starts he gets on the microphone again and gives the fan more attention than he deserves. He grabs a headlock on Joe but Joe calmly shrugs him off. Joe pushes Homicide around like he’s a little kid, frustrating the champion. They knuckle up and Joe overpowers Homicide. Homicide slips out of the ring to escape. Back in the ring Homicide goes back to the headlock. He gets a roll up for 1 after dodging a backbreaker. Joe gets 2 so Homicide bails. The action grinds to a halt so that the cameras can focus on old ladies shouting at J-Train. The match starts up again as Homicide comes off the top to hit a hurricanrana but Joe fires back with a powerslam. He puts on an abdominal stretch and rolls Homicide up for 2. He kicks Homicide around but Homicide comes out of the corner with a back elbow. Joe hits a backbreaker for 2. He puts on a chinlock to kill time while the crowd gets distracted with J-Train again. Homicide hits another elbow and Joe bails. Homicide follows him out with a suicide dive. He bites Joe’s ear but Joe comes back with the Olé Kick. He goes for a second but Homicide blocks it with a chair to the face. He hits Joe with a piledriver on the floor. He hits another and rolls back into the ring. He goes to leave but Joe tells the referee not to call the match. Homicide rolls Joe back into the ring for 2. He hits a kneedrop off the second turnbuckle and puts on a chinlock. Joe gets to the ropes. Homicide hits a neckbreaker for 2. He blocks the STJoe and climbs the ropes. Joe catches him with the STJoe on his way down. He hits an atomic drop and puts on a torture rack. Homicide goes to the eyes to escape. Joe hits a spinebuster for 2. He goes for a super Muscle Buster but Homicide counters to a second rope DDT. He hits the running knee in the corner and a vertical suplex. He climbs the ropes but Joe catches him with a Manhattan drop and a big boot. He hits a senton for 2. He hits a powerbomb for 2 and put on the Samoan crab. He switches to the STF but Homicide gets to the ropes. Joe misses a knee in the corner and ends up on the top turnbuckle. Homicide brings him down with the Ace Crusher for 2. They both go for clotheslines and neither go down. Homicide hits another Ace Crusher and four lariats for the win. The piledrivers on the floor made Homicide’s dominance make sense, even without him cheating at every turn. The match felt like it was going in a bad direction early on but it managed to pick up by the end. It didn’t measure up to their 2004 matches unfortunately.
Rating: ***¼
JZ says: Homicide has been the champion since 12.23.06, and this is his second defense. After the ring introductions Homicide says something very unsavory to someone in the crowd. I’m not sure why, I’m sure he said something. They share a gay handshake before the match and before they can lock up Homicide once again yells at some fans. I can’t figure out what the fans are saying, can someone fill me in? They start off pretty slow, because they know each other so well from fighting each other a million times and teaming together a bunch too. They do a whole lot of nut much for a few minutes. Then in one of the more bizarre moments in ROH history, Julius Smokes and some elderly woman get into a verbal battle on the outside of the ring that somehow captivates the crowd into forgetting there’s a World Title match going on. The crowd continues to be distracted by things other than the match; incidentally Joe has been mostly in control. They go out to the arena floor and Homicide nails a Tope Con Hilo and takes control. Joe has enough of that and takes control and nails the Ole Kick. An awkward spot allows Homicide to throw a chair at Joe when he tries another Ole Kick. He follows that up with two piledrivers on the floor. Back in the ring Homicide stays in control as referee Todd Sinclair refuses to call the match. Joe makes the comeback and goes for the Muscle Buster, but Homicide counters that to a DDT. Joe makes the comeback and they’re going back and forth at a fast rate now. Homicide finally takes firm control and hits a big Ace Crusher and four lariats to pin Joe at 24:22. Once the match got over the hurdles of the first 10 minutes it got pretty good, but was still a far cry from the best these two have done together.
Rating: ***
Aftermath
BG says: Nigel McGuinness admits that Rave’s heel hook causes a lot of pain. Tonight he never said he quit, so it’s not over. He’s going to finish the job at the Fifth Year Festival. He then says that Joe isn’t going to be able to beat Takeshi Morishima on the next show. Were they trying to make it seem like Joe was in the room when Nigel was cutting that promo?
Homicide kindly tells Joe that he had his number tonight. Joe says he’s going to focus on putting NOAH in its place now. He doesn’t hate Japan or NOAH, but he only has so much time to settle the scores that have come up. When he left Japan he left defeated, and he wants Morishima to leave ROH the same way. He makes it seem like he’s dying. Homicide says that anyone in the world can challenge him and he’ll put them down. He’s going to beat Jimmy Rave and anyone from ROH, Dragon Gate or NOAH. That’s tough talk.
JZ says: Nigel McGuinness is looking off to the side and reminds Jimmy Rave that he never quit tonight. He says he’ll finish the job at the Fifth Year Festival. He also tells Samoa Joe that he won’t get the job done against Morishima.
Joe and Homicide are sitting backstage together, talking about their match tonight. Joe then takes over the time and says his sights are set on NOAH now. Homicide also says that he’ll fight all challengers, including Jimmy Rave in his hometown of New York City.
MVP
BG says: Jack Evans gets it hands down for being the most entertaining element in the match of the night.
Coming soon will be our review of FIFTH YEAR FESTIVAL: NYC!
The 411: BG says: Aside from the six-man tag the show is filled with matches that should have been better. Either because of a lousy finish or a lousy start, most of the matches were marred by something or other. On the other hand there are five matches at *** and up, and one match that hits ****, so it’s not a wash by any means. It’s probably a safe bet to save up for the Fifth Year Festival shows.
JZ says: I’ve also got five matches at *** or higher, which out of eight is a tremendous percentage. The other three matches are pretty dull, and they do interrupt the flow of the show since they’re spaced out. The January shows in ROH always suffer because they’re between two huge shows – Final Battle and whatever they’re doing for the Anniversary, so they never seem to feel as important as other shows.
