ROH - Fifth Year Festival: Philly DVD Review
Posted by Garoon & Ziegler on 05.21.2007
NOAH's Takeshi Morishima goes for the ROH World Title.
ROH – Fifth Year Festival: Philly – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – February 17, 2007
Introduction
BG says: The Video Wire starts off with an angry Jimmy Rave letting Homicide know that he’s going to use the heel hook become the new champion. Clips of the six-person tag match from Dedicated that you’ve probably already seen is shown. Joe then cuts a teary promo thanking ROH and the fans and then announcing that he has to leave ROH. He’ll be gone after the Fifth Year Festival so he plans on making that the Samoa Joe Farewell Tour. He makes it clear that it was not his decision to leave the company. The Wire ends with a video hyping up Joe’s farewell matches. He’ll face Takeshi Morishima, Davey Richards, Jimmy Rave, team with Homicide to take on Morishima and Nigel McGuinness, wrestle McGuinness in a singles match and have his final match against at yet-to-be-named opponent in Liverpool. It would turn out to be Homicide.
This show begins where the last one left off, with Jack Evans laid out. It turns out Rebecca Bayless was talking to someone at the end of the last show, as Davey Richards smirks into the camera and says that he’s not taking responsibility but admits that accidents happen when you’re around the No Remorse Corp.
BJ Whitmer cuts one of those stupid not-looking-in-the-camera promos, telling Jimmy Jacobs that hiring Brent Albright was a waste of money. He thinks the only way to end things with Jacobs is for one of them to get crippled. He’s willing to cripple Jacobs, but isn’t sure that Jacobs is willing to do the same. Despite everything that’s gone on with Jacobs he still has his eye on the ROH World Championship.
Rebecca Bayless is with Jimmy Rave. She tells Rave that he is suspended tonight because he used the banned Styles Clash the night before. Rave has a temper tantrum until Samoa Joe shows up. Rave and Joe play the blame game over who got out of line with the other first. Joe says he can get Rave’s suspension lifted so that they can wrestle each other tonight. The camera should really stay farther away from Bayless’s face, because as it is you can see her covered up acne pretty well.
JZ says: We picked up where we left off after last night’s show by finding out that Davey Richards is the one who attacked Jack Evans, even though eh denies it.
BJ Whitmer is backstage cutting one of those ridiculous promos looking off to the side. He want to end his over year long feud with Jimmy Jacobs, and then he wants to go after the ROH World Title.
Rebecca Bayless is backstage with Jimmy Rave. She informs him in a way-too-snotty manner that ROH officials have suspended him for using the Rave Clash in his match last night. That’s a nice bit of continuity there. Samoa Joe comes out to challenge Rave to a match and just ignores the suspension. Then why bring it up at all? Joe closes the promo by saying “Sears called, bitch. You’re late on your credit.” What does that even mean and how does that make me want to see Joe fight Rave? In fact, how is that even an insult? He’s late on his credit? Is he going to be applying for a car loan or something?
MATCH #1: Nigel McGuinness vs. TJ Perkins
BG says: Yay, Puma is back! You can watch this match for free at ROHVideos.com. They fight over a wristlock to start. Nigel hits an armwhip but Perkins comes back with a hurricanrana. He hits a dropkick to the head and Nigel bails. Perkins follows him out with a somersault off the apron. Nigel hits the Rebound Lariat-Floor Edition and rolls Perkins back inside. He hits a running European uppercut and a short-arm lariat for 2. He sets Perkins up top but the Tower of London is blocked. Perkins hits a crossbody for 2. They trade strikes and Perkins takes Nigel down with a spinning kick. Nigel crotches him up top and hits the Tower of London for 2. He hits the corner combo for 2. Perkins hits a roundhouse kick but Nigel comes back with the Rebound Lariat for the win. Pretty squashy, which is less than Perkins deserves.
Rating: *¾
Lacey tells Adam Pearce that she’s chosen him as Jacobs’s partner because of how violent he got in the CZW feud. She wants Jacobs to follows Pearce’s lead and then watch her take Daizee Haze out. Shane Hagadorn gets a little jealous, but promises that Pearce will get the job done. Jacobs is a little upset that everyone is all about money here because he’s doing this for love. The crest of love on our shields? What is that?
JZ says: Perkins is formerly known as Puma, a fact not acknowledge by our hosts for the evening, Dave Prazak and Lenny Leonard. This match is being taped for ROHVideos.com. Perkins tries using his speed and agility while Nigel sticks with his mat wrestling. Perkins takes advantage and knocks Nigel to the floor, fakes him out on one dive and then hits a senton off the apron. Still on the floor Nigel hits the rebound lariat off the ring apron. Back in the ring the crowd is behind Nigel, and Prazak mentions how Nigel and Colt Cabana are going to rededicate themselves to the tag team division in 2007. Nigel hits European uppercuts and lariats, his two staples. Perkins recovers and hits a frog cross body block off the top for two. Perkins gets in a strike combo but Nigel is having none of it. Perkins tries to climb the ropes again, and Nigel punishes him by hitting the Tower of London, and Perkins actually kicks out. The Rebound Lariat is finally enough to pin Perkins at 5:59. I don’t like how the Tower of London has no real meaning anymore, but the match was fine for a six-minute opener.
Rating: **
Lacey is backstage with Jimmy Jacobs and Adam Pearce, whom she will team with tonight in mixed tag team action against Colt Cabana, BJ Whitmer & Daizee Haze. Lacey says good things about Pearce (and Hagadorn makes some homosexual sounding remark), and then berates Jacobs, as usual. Pearce says it’s about the money, but Jacobs disagrees. He says that “tonight we go to war with the crest of love on our shields” and I about spit Dr. Pepper out my nose.
MATCH #2: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Austin Aries
BG says: Claudio is still heeling it up during his entrance, and it’s mighty hilarious. They trade holds on the mat to start. Aries hits a clothesline out of the corner but slows down because his ankle got buggered the night before. Claudio hits a European uppercut but Aries comes back with a slingshot senton for 2. Claudio hits a bodyslam for 2. He chokes Aries with his necktie until the referee calls for the break. He catapults Aries into the bottom rope for 2. He hits a knee to the gut for 2 and loses the shirt. He hits a seated European uppercut for 2. Aries dodges the Match Killer and hits a dropkick. Claudio goes to the eyes but Aries catches him with a pair of clotheslines. He dumps Claudio to the floor and follows him out with the Heat Seeking Missile. Back in the ring he hits a slingshot splash for 2. Claudio goes to the leg and hits the Match Killer for 2. He hits a springboard European uppercut and the Alpamare Waterslide for 2. Aries hits a dropkick in the corner for 2. He climbs the ropes but Claudio crotches him and hits another European uppercut. He goes for the Ricolabomb but Aries counters to a hurricanrana and hits the Aries Flurry for the win. Decent enough match all around.
Rating: **¾
After the match Aries gets on the microphone and calls out Roderick Strong. Jack Evans answers instead. He thinks that the three of them doing buddy buddy stuff can make Strong come back to the side of good. Strong and Richards come out and says that he’d put a hurt on him now but he’s concentrating on his FIP Heavyweight Championship defense. He tells Evans that he’s either with him or against him. Lately he’s been seeing him standing next to Aries a lot. Richards reveals that they are looking for new recruits and then leaves. Aries tells Evans to make his choice, but Evans won’t join either side. You can watch this whole segment on ROHVideos.com.
JZ says: Aries asked for this match sine he and Roderick Strong could not defeat Castagnoli and Chris Hero in tag team matches last fall. Aries controls the early going, but Castagnoli uses some dirty tactics, including choking Aries with his tie. He ditches the shirt too, and continues to deliver punishment to Aries. The fight spills to the floor and Aries regains control. Aries throws him back in the ring and hits the corkscrew press for two. Castagnoli comes back and hits the Alpamare Water Slide for two. Aries sells the ankle on and off. Castagnoli tries the Ricola Bomb but Aries gets out of it. He kicks Claudio in the head, delivers the brainbuster, and finishes it off with the 450 Splash at 9:00. That was surprisingly short and the selling was pretty spotty. It was still pretty decent though. Aries of course can’t finish a match without cutting a promo afterward. He challenges Strong to come out, and calls Davey Richards “Austin Aries Lite.” Jack Evans comes out instead and tries to play peacemaker. Strong and Richards come out now, and Strong is sporting a nice shiner. Strong says he’d fight Aries, but he has a huge FIP Title defense tonight. He then gives Evans the “with me or against me” ultimatum. Richards reiterates that message and the two go backstage. Aries absolutely can’t leave without getting the last word in. He also doesn’t bother selling the ankle on his way to the back.
Rating: **¼
MATCH #3: Street Fight – Adam Pearce, Jimmy Jacobs & Lacey vs. Colt Cabana, BJ Whitmer & Daizee Haze
BG says: Haze and Lacey brawl in the ring as the men fight on the floor. Haze boots Lacey to the floor so Pearce comes up and pokes her in the eyes. Cabana hits Pearce with a dropkick. Jacobs catches Cabana with a spear so Whitmer boots him down. The heels end up whipped into one corner and Cabana throws Haze into her own Flying Asshole. Cabana hits a backdrop on Pearce. Whitmer knocks Jacobs into the crowd and they brawl up to the bleachers. Whitmer smacks Jacobs with a chair and Cabana tosses Pearce into a row a chairs. Back in the ring Whitmer hits Jacobs with a snap suplex. He hits a northern lights suplex for 2. Pearce hits Cabana with a chair and Whitmer hits Jacobs with a spinebuster for 2. Whitmer hangs Jacobs over the top rope with his belt but Jacobs hits him with the spike to escape. He jabs Whitmer with the spike again, busting him open. Haze beats on Lacey on the floor as Whitmer blocks the Contra Code but gets hit with a reverse hurricanrana. Lacey comes back with stiff kicks to the back as Cabana hits Jacobs with a neckbreaker. Pearce hits Cabana with a chokeslam for 2. Lacey hits the implant DDT on Haze and Jacobs hits a low blow on Cabana. Jacobs duct tapes Cabana’s hands behind his back and jabs his throat with a high heeled shoe. He puts a chair around Cabana’s head and climbs the ropes but Whitmer runs in for the save. Jacobs and Whitmer fight up top and Whitmer hits a super exploder for the win. This was very storyline heavy but there was some good violent action thrown in.
Rating: ***
JZ says: Everyone is wearing street clothes, which I heartily endorse for a street fight. It’s a big brawl to start, with the men fighting outside the ring while the women fight inside the ring. Adam Pearce becomes my personal hero by poking Haze in the eyes. Jacobs is feuding with both Cabana and Whitmer, Pearce I think just had nothing else to do tonight. Everyone gets in the ring now and Jacobs is taking a beating from Whitmer. All three of the heels are stacked up in the corner and Haze delivers an assisted flying asshole. Pretty soon everyone is back outside the ring. Jacobs and Whitmer are fighting back in the crowd. Pearce and Cabana fight in the crowd now while Jacobs and Whitmer are in the ring. Haze and Lacey are off fighting somewhere else. We get the picture-in-picture to try and keep up with everyone. Jacobs uses the spike on Whitmer, bloodying his face. They continue t fight inside the ring and Jacobs hits a nice reverse rana on Whitmer and Cabana makes the save and hits the Air Raid Crash on Jacobs. Pearce is back in the ring now too. Pearce delivers a chokeslam on Cabana while the women still fight outside the ring. Cabana gets his arm duct taped behind him and Lacey gets her high heel shoe out. Jacobs hits Cabana in the throat with it. They try to Pillmanize Cabana’s throat, but Whitmer makes the save. Whitmer delivers an exploder off the top rope and that’ll do it at 13:31. That was a little disjointed at times, but the intensity was good and it keeps both of Jacobs’s feuds strong, which is the key to matches like this.
Rating: **¾
MATCH #4: Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. El Generico & Kevin Steen
BG says: Steen gets in the Briscoes face before the bell so they knock him out of the ring and hit the double hiptoss on Generico. They hit the double face wash on Generico but Steen comes in and trades strikes with Jay. Steen hits a running back elbow but Jay comes back with a Cactus clothesline. Generico hits Mark with a clothesline off the top. Mark dives off the apron onto Steen and starts bleeding from the back. The Briscoes hit the double shoulder tackle on Generico for 2. Mark hits a gutwrench suplex and a kneedrop for 2. Jay tags in and hits a back elbow for 2. Generico returns fire with armdrags and a leg lariat for 2. Steen tags in and hits a backbreaker for 2. Generico tags in and hits a dropkick for 2. He hits an elbowdrop and tags to Steen. Steen hits a somersault legdrop for 2. Generico tags in and gets hit with a chinbreaker. Mark tags in and hits a yelping dropkick for 2. He puts on the Mark Nulty Special but Generico gets to the ropes. He hits a belly-to-belly suplex for 2. Jay tags in and hits an elevated legdrop for 2. He puts on a stranglehold and tags to Mark. Generico gets double-teamed. Mark hits a slingshot double stomp for 2. He gets a roll up for 2. Jay comes in and chokes Generico with the tag rope. He hits a dropkick and tags to Mark. Mark sets Generico up top but gets caught by Generico with an Ace Crusher. Jay and Steen tag in and Steen hits a missile dropkick. He hits a powerslam on Mark and a backdrop on Jay. Jay hits a superkick so Steen sends him to the floor. He climbs the ropes and dives out onto the Briscoes. Back in the ring Steen hits a senton on Jay for 2. He hits a Muscle Buster over his knee for 2. Generico hits Jay with a half nelson suplex and Steen hits Mark with a powerbomb. Generico rolls Mark up for 2. Mark hits a turnbuckle powerbomb and a side suplex on Generico for 2. He tosses Generico into a neckbreaker for Jay for 2. Steen powerbombs Jay onto the apron and hits Mark with a gutbuster. He climbs the ropes but misses a moonsault. Generico hits a big boot on Mark and dives onto Jay on the floor. Steen hits a frog splash on Mark for 2. Mark comes back with the cutthroat driver and the Briscoes hit the shooting star press/legdrop combo for the win. This match got a lot of hype when it happened but there were plenty of dead spots there making me wonder where all the hype came from. That’s not to say the match was a wash. There were plenty of big spots to pop the crowd consistently throughout the match. It just wasn’t the match that was hyped by the Philly fans.
Rating: ***¼
Rebecca Bayless wants to get an update from the gasping Colt Cabana. Cabana is still having trouble breathing and can’t comment, but BJ Whitmer talks about picking up the scraps that Cabana leaves of Jacobs after Chicago.
JZ says: Kevin Steen hasn’t been seen since a four-way match at Dragon Gate Invasion on 8.27.05. Generico hadn’t been seen in a while also until he appeared on a couple of shows in late 2006. The Canadian duo attacks the ROH regulars right off the bat, with Steen still looking chubby and pale, just how I remember him. The battle spills to the floor early on and this is where the Briscoes take control and go to work on Generico. Steen gets tagged in and now they work on Jay. Mark gets the hot tag after a few minutes and unloads with his stuff and locks a headscissors on Generico. The Briscoes continue to dominate with their kick-ass double team move set. Generico comes back with an Ace Crusher but can’t quite make the tag. Some creative agility allows Generico to tag in Steen, who takes out both Mark and Jay. He sends them both to the floor and hits a somersault off the top rope. Generico delivers a swinging DDT on the floor, and Steen follows it up with a Swanton bomb on Jay back in the ring but it only gets two. Everyone is in the ring now going for big moves on everyone else. We wind up with Jay and Steen in the ring slugging it out. The brawl escalates and Steen hits a powerbomb on the outside of the ring to the ring apron on Jay. Mark is still in the ring and Steen goes up for the Moonsault. Generico takes out Jay outside the ring and Steen delivers a frog splash for a very near fall. Mark recovers and hits a Cutthroat Driver and both Briscoes go up top for the Legdrop / shooting star press combination to get the win at 18:02. Well those guys certainly did some stuff, and it was a much more exciting match than I anticipated. However, I do feel it’s been a bit overrated in some circles.
Rating: ***½
Rebecca Bayless is backstage trying to get a word with Colt Cabana, but he can’t talk, so Whitmer talks for him. He briefly threatens Jacobs and then moves on.
MATCH #5: Samoa Joe vs. Jimmy Rave
BG says: This was originally set to be Joe vs. Davey Richards but Richards got hurt and his match against Joe was pushed back to Dayton. Joe comes out to Another Body Murdered immediately putting me in a good mood. Joe grabs a headlock to start. Rave comes back with an armbar but Joe escapes and slaps Rave to the floor. Back in the ring Rave goes back to the headlock. Joe counters to a chinlock but Rave gets to the ropes. They fish hook each other and counter each other’s signature moves. Joe trips Rave on the apron and swings him into the barricade. He hits two Olé Kicks and rolls Rave back into the ring. He hits the Big Joe Combo for 2. He dodges a crossbody but Rave catches him with the STO on the apron. Back in the ring Rave hits a neckbreaker and a side Russian legsweep. Joe comes back with a Manhattan drop and a senton for 2. He hits an enziguiri but Rave dodges a face wash and ties Joe’s leg around the bottom rope. He hits a dragon screw and puts on a leglock. Joe escapes so Rave dropkicks the knee. Joe hits a powerslam for 2. He hits a powerbomb for 2 and puts on the STF. Rave gets to the ropes and hits Ghanarrhea for 2. He puts on the crossface and then switches to the heel hook. Joe escapes and hits the STJoe. He sets Rave up top but Rave goes to the eyes. He goes for the Pedigree but Joe counters to the Island Driver for the win. The crowd was dead for this and panned it in post-show reports but honestly until the anti-climactic finish it was a solid paint-by-numbers match.
Rating: ***
After the match Joe gets on the microphone and gives a farewell speech. This one is quite a bit more heartfelt than the one the night before. Joe says quite a few nice things about the Philly fans and his emotion comes through.
JZ says: They start off on the mat, and Joe is able to easily take control. Rave takes a powder and comes back in the ring and goes for the headlock. Every time Rave tries to come back Joe just murders him and maintains control. Rave finally gets an STO on the ring apron and Rave finally gains control. Rave doesn’t take Joe seriously enough and falls victim to an inverted atomic drop and a big kick to the face. Rave is able to come back and goes to work on the leg, no doubt to set up for the heel hook. Joe comes back and is able to use the STF, but Rave reaches the ropes. Rave gets the heel hook on, but Joe is able to escape. He follows that up with an Island Driver (haven’t seen that in a while) and gets the pin at 16:09. This was a good but not special match; but since it is his last ROH match in Philly the crowd chants “Thank You Joe” and other similar incantations. Joe cuts a promo, more or less thanking the fans. It didn’t go on too long though, so that’s okay.
Rating: ***¼
INTERMISSION
BG says: Bayless is backstage with Jack Evans. She asks him who laid him out last night. Evans knows for sure that it wasn’t Davey Richards, but he really doesn’t care. All he cares about now is getting gold in ROH, and he’s going to do that tonight with Shingo against Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal.
JZ says: Rebecca Bayless wants to know who attacked Jack Evans at the end of the last show. He says it wasn’t Davey Richards, for sure. Evans says he doesn’t sweat Richards or his attacker, because he wants ROH gold around his waist.
MATCH #6: FIP Heavyweight Title Match – VS.
BG says: Austin Aries comes out before the match and plows through security to chase Strong into the crowd. Security gets Aries to leave so the match can begin. Delirious gets a headlock to start. They trade wristlocks and Delirious puts his headlock back on. He gets a crucifix pin for 2. He hits a crossbody for 2. Strong comes back with a cheap shot and a bodyslam for 2. Delirious hits a chinbreaker and the Neverending Story clotheslines. Strong goes to the eyes but Delirious catches him with a bulldog for 2. He goes up top but Strong swats him down for 2. The commentators start freaking out because they know that Delirious got knocked out legit on that fall. Strong pulls him to the floor and tells the referee to count him out. Delirious gets back into the ring at 7. Strong tries to pin him but Delirious won’t stay down. That seems to happen every time a wrestlers gets legitimately knocked out, they never cooperate and let the match end. Strong hits the tiger driver for 2. He tosses Delirious to the floor and rams him into the barricade. He knocks the barricade over and hits the tiger driver on it. He gets back into the ring and wins by count out as the commentators overreact. It sounds really bad when the commentators go crazy over this stuff and the crowd is silent. The match itself completely fell apart after Delirious got knocked out, as you’d imagine.
Rating: *
After the match students and referees help Delirious to the back. Strong attacks Delirious during this until Aries chases him off. THAT’S where the commentators should have been freaking out.
JZ says: Strong has been the champion since 11.10.06, and this is his eighth defense. Austin Aries comes out to try and attack Strong before the match, but ROH students are able to subdue him. They stall to start as Prazak explains that Delirious earned this shot by beating Austin Aries at an FIP event recently. They do some mat wrestling to start, with neither man gaining a prolonged advantage. Delirious is able to string a few moves together, but when he goes to the top rope Strong sweeps his legs out from under him and Delirious hits the mat hard. Delirious gets knocked to the floor for a 10-count, and back in the ring Strong shows him no mercy. Strong delivers a huge powerbomb but Delirious escapes at two. Strong brings him to the floor and tears down the barricade and powerbombs Delirious on top of it. The masked man can’t get back in the ring before the 20-count and Strong wins by countout at 9:18. That never really got a chance to get going, and for obvious reasons. Strong attacks Delirious in the aisle and Aries comes out to make the save.
Rating: **
MATCH #7: ROH World Tag Team Title Match – Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal vs. Shingo & Jack Evans
BG says: Danger is dressed like the 18-year-old porn stars from the Naughty Little Nymphos series of movies. Yeah, I’ve seen them, so what? Doesn’t change the fact that Danger looks ridiculous. Evans and Daniels start. Evans dodges Daniels’s offense and tags to Shingo. Sydal tags in and gets overpowered. He hits a pair of armdrags so Shingo tags out. Evans hits a cartwheel kick and the Ong-Bak kneedrop. Sydal attacks him from behind and hits a dropkick. Daniels tags in and hits a back elbow before doing the Robot. Shingo tags in and hangs Daniels on the top rope. Daniels hits a leg lariat and tags to Sydal. The champs hit a double bodyslam and Daniels slams Sydal onto Shingo for 2. Daniels tags back in and hits a back suplex/elbowdrop combo with Sydal for 2. He puts on a chinlock and tags to Sydal. Sydal hits an elevated legdrop for 2. He hits a clothesline in the corner and tags to Daniels. Daniels hits a slingshot elbowdrop for 2. Evans hits a cheap shot and Shingo hangs Daniels on the top rope again. Evans tags in and gets 2. He hits a double stomp and a standing moonsault for 2. He puts on a seated abdominal stretch and tags to Shingo. Shingo hits a kneedrop for 2. He hits a clothesline in the corner and sets Daniels up top. He hits a hanging neckbreaker for 2. Evans tags in and kicks Daniels down before hitting a running shooting star press for 2. Shingo tags in and hits a spinebuster for 2. He puts on a half crab but Daniels gets to the ropes. Evans tags in and gets suplexed onto Daniels for 2. Daniels hits a clothesline and tags to Sydal. Sydal cleans house, hitting the Slice on Evans and diving out onto Shingo on the floor. He hits a standing moonsault on Evans for 2. Daniels holds Evans up to add oomph to a top rope splash from Sydal. It gets 2. Shingo tags in and blocks the Slice with a huge chop. He rolls through a hurricanrana and powerbombs Sydal into the corner. He hits the gutwrench throw for 2. Daniels tags in and hits a crossbody for 2. He hits the STO and a springboard moonsault for 2. He hits the uranage but misses the triple jump moonsault. Shingo hits a chinbreaker and a second rope clothesline. He clotheslines Daniels to the floor and Evans follows him out with the Space Flying Tiger Drop. Sydal hits Shingo with a DDT for 2 when Evans breaks the count with a senton. Evans tags in and hits an awesome elevated Blockbuster for 2. Evans and Shingo hit Skipping a Generation with a Blood Fall twist for 2. Shingo kills Sydal with a clothesline for 2. Daniels hits the Angel’s Wings on Shingo and a spiked Angel’s Wings on Evans for the win. The finish was cool but the match had the same problems as the Briscoes tag match from earlier in the show. There were plenty of exciting spots but they were accompanied by a fair amount of awkward transitions.
Rating: ***¼
After the match Evans apologizes to Shingo in Japanenglish for being the weak link. Austin Aries comes out so Evans reiterates that he’s not taking sides on this issue. Aries isn’t going to beg Evans, so considering the fact that he lead Generation Next to the top he’s going to form a new group of young wrestlers to back him up against the No Remorse Corp. Evans decides that he should probably get a crew of his own together.
Rebecca Bayless is backstage with Lacey and Jimmy Jacobs. Awk-waaard! Lacey tells Jacobs that she’s proud of him for jabbing the heel into Cabana’s throat. She seems mildly turned on by the violence they committed together and then whispers something exciting into Jacobs’s ear. What a wild turn of events! Jacobs reaction is great.
JZ says: Daniels and Sydal have been champions since 11.25.06, and this is their third defense. Why would anyone wear what Allison Danger is wearing here? This is the firs time Evans and Shingo have teamed together in ROH, which makes me wonder how they earned a title shot. The commentators explain it by saying that CIMA & Shingo had a really good match against Daniels & Sydal back at International Challenge, so he just gets another title shot for that. Daniels and Evans start, and everyone gets a chance to take on each of their opponents. Evans and Sydal do some cool stuff against each other, particularly Evans though. The champions are able to take advantage of Shingo and work him over for several minutes. Shingo makes the hot tag to Evans, who does some wrestling and tags back out to Shingo. The challengers use quick tags to keep Daniels down. The Fallen Angel comes back with a lariat on Evans and he finally makes the lukewarm tag to Sydal, who is on fire on both challengers. He takes throws Shingo outside, knocks Evans down, and hits a dive on Shingo, in that order. Leonard calls a standing Moonsault a standing shooting star press, a rare miscue. We see a brief picture-in-picture for Shingo throwing Daniels into the barricade while Sydal and Evans battle inside the ring. Shingo hits several powerbomb variations on Sydal, but Daniels breaks it up and goes for the Best Moonsault Ever but Shingo avoids it. Daniels tries the Iconoclasm but Evans breaks it up. They’re trying for some false finishes now but the crowd isn’t buying it. Evans and Shingo execute the Ode to the Bulldogs and the crowd is actually starting to fire up now. The champions hit an awesome assisted Angel’s Wings from the top rope on Evans to get the pin and retain the titles at 20:06. That was a little slow in the early going but it made up for it by having a really good last couple of minutes. Evans tells Shingo he has business to take care of. Evans calls out Austin Aries, and says he still doesn’t want to pick sides. Aries says that’s fine, and he’ll just have to go out and find the Next Generation Next. Evans says he might have to find his own crew, since that’s what Aries and Strong are doing.
Rating: ***¼
Rebecca Bayless is backstage with Lacey and Jimmy Jacobs. In an odd twist, Jacobs starts apologizing to Lacey, as usual, but Lacey actually compliments him and makes some seemingly sexual overtures at him. She whispers something in his ear and he gets all excited, and Bayless begs to know what she said.
5th YEAR FESTIVAL – INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCE
BG says: On the last show a video played highlighting the feuds that made the first five years of ROH action great. On this show we get a video of the international influence in ROH. Naomichi Marufuji, Doug Williams, Blood Generation, Robbie Brookside, Do Fixer, KENTA, SUWA, Kenta Kobashi, Spud, Jonny Storm, Jody Fleisch and Go Shiosaki are all featured. Masato Tanaka, Shinjiro Ohtani, Dick Togo, Ikuto Hidaka, Tomoaki Honma, Kazushi Miyamato, Arashi, Kaz Hayashi, Satoshi Kojima and The Great Muta were notably left out. Dragon Soldier B was rightly not included. The video was still cool, even with the notable omissions.
JZ says: I really like these videos, and this one has really cool music. I think Brad pretty well covered what is and isn’t in the video, so I’ll just say that I really liked it and move on.
MATCH #8: ROH World Title Match – Homicide vs. Takeshi Morishima
BG says: Morishima attacks Homicide during his entrance. He hits a DDT on the floor and chokes Homicide with his own shirt. Back in the ring Homicide hits a tornado DDT and Morishima bails. Homicide hits the suicide dive and rams Morishima into the barricade. J-Train hits a clothesline and Homicide rams Morishima into the barricade some more. In the ring J-Train tries to help Homicide double-team Morishima but he comes back with a double clothesline. He hits a handspring elbow on Homicide for 2. He hits a bodyslam and a double stomp for 2. He hits a seated butt splash for 2. He puts on a chinlock and gets 2. Homicide goes for a sunset flip but Morishima sits down for 2. Morishima puts on the Mark Nulty Special but Homicide gets to the ropes. Morishima hits a back elbow but Homicide catches him with the Ace Crusher for 2. Homicide hits lariats to the back and to the front for 2. Morishima hits a bodyslam and climbs the ropes. J-Train cuts him off and Homicide hits a superplex for 2. Homicide goes for a crossbody but Morishima catches him and hits a suplex. Morishima hits a butt butt and climbs the ropes. He hits a missile dropkick and no-sells dropkicks from Homicide. Homicide hits a neckbreaker and climbs the ropes. He hits a senton for 2. Morishima hits a sidewalk slam but Homicide comes back with the STF. He comes off the top with a hurricanrana but Morishima catches him with the backdrop driver. It only gets 2. They trade strikes and Morishima hits another backdrop driver. He hits a lariat for 2. One more backdrop driver gets him the win and the title and gets the crowd off their feet for the first time this match. So for my own satisfaction I’m going to imagine that the storyline was that Morishima was infuriated that he lost to Joe in his debut so he decided to be a complete prick and thus unlocked what he needed to be unbeatable. Like the night before I’d have enjoyed this more if Morishima demolished Homicide on his way to winning the belt, but at least he got the win here.
Rating: ***
After the match a pair of students and BJ Whitmer come out to the ring, seemingly to congratulate Morishima, but he wipes them out. The commentators, who have been uncharacteristically annoying on this evening, ask where he’s going with the belt. Wherever the hell he wants guys, he’s the champion.
JZ says: Speaking of International Influence, here’s the alleged future of NOAH, Takeshi Morishima. Homicide has been champion since 12.23.06, and this is his fourth defense. Morishima attacks Homicide in the aisle and starts the match right away. Prazak notes that it’s unusual for an ROH Title match to begin without a ring introduction. Morishima dominates on the floor, hitting a DDT and tossing the champion back into the ring. The bell rings and now we’re official. Homicide comes back and starts actually working over the much larger man. Julius Smokes’ presence is irritating to me. Morishima uses his imposing size to keep the advantage on the ROH World Champion. Prazak tries to put over how a guy Homicide’s size could use the lariat to beat a guy Morishima’s size, but I ain’t buyin’ it Dave. Homicide comes back and tries to use said lariat, and the commentators are SHOCKED that Morishima kicked out, but the crowd isn’t. Smokes blatantly interferes again, and allows Homicide to hit a superplex on the challenger. Morishima comes back and uses a missile dropkick that sends Homicide to the floor. The challenger’s nose is bleeding. Homicide is able to get Morishima down with a drop toehold, and then just to annoy me he picks him to deliver a neckbreaker, and then to annoy me further he does the senton bomb off the top rope. The challenger comes back with a Boss Man Slam. They both get up and having a slugging contest, which I find preposterous. Morishima hits a back drop driver and a lariat and Homicide actually kicks out. Another back drop driver is enough to make Takeshi Morishima the ninth ROH World Champion at 16:55. The match was a mismatch that they didn’t seem interested in acknowledging, and the blatant interference by Smokes was a bit much. Homicide got WAY too much offense in against a guy Morishima’s size, but at least his reign of mediocrity is over and they can start to faze him out.
Rating: **¼
MVP
BG says: We have a new champion, and he’s also our MVP of the evening for ending Homicide’s mediocre title reign. Congratulations Takeshi Morishima.
Coming soon will be our review of FIFTH YEAR FESTIVAL: DAYTON!
The 411: BG says: Almost everything falls into the *** range exactly and you have a rare title change, so this DVD has that going for it. On the other hand I expected more out of at least three of the matches on this show and didn’t get what I’d hoped for. That could be a case of unfairly high hopes from me but it could also be a case of the Fifth Year Festival being hyped up like crazy and not yet delivering. Either way this gets a recommendation on the merits stated above, but not with much enthusiasm.
JZ says: I didn’t give anything less than **, but nothing is over ***½, so it’s not a blow-away show or anything. It’s easy to watch, but not particularly compelling. There is a rare ROH World Title change, and the Aries vs. Strong vs. Evans feud looks to be really good, so there’s enough stuff here to hold interest, but none of it is particularly memorable.
