ROH All Star Extravaganza III DVD Review

ROH – ALL STAR EXTRAVAGANZA III – MARCH 30, 2007 – DETROIT, MICHIGAN

Introduction

BG says: This time around the Video Wire is all clips of things we’ve already seen again. First up is Joe coming out to all of his former entrance songs for his last ROH match ever. Then there are clips of Shingo & Naruki Doi winning the tag titles from the Briscoe Brothers. There are also clips from the Jacobs/Whitmer Falls Count Anywhere match, hype for Bruno Sammartino’s return and it all wraps up with clips of Joe’s farewell.

The DVD proper starts with Rebecca Bayless interviews fans waiting in line to get an autograph from Bruno Sammartino. She asks them where they’re from. Some guy lies about being from Israel and the rest of them are just from Canada and other states in the country.

A hype package for the Dragon Gate stars airs to remind us who they are. CIMA, Dragon Kid and Ryo Saito are all returning, and are now part of the Typhoon group. Naruki Doi of the Muscle Outlaw’z and Shingo are the new tag champions, and they’ll be on the show. Also appearing tonight are first-timers Masaaki Mochizuki (w/ name misspelled), Susumu Yokosuka of Typhoon and rookie YAMATO. This was a very nice touch.

JZ says: Rebecca Bayless has to open the show with a bunch of fans, some of whom traveled as far as Israel to be here. That’s almost unbelievable. What a pointless way to start the show, that’s like advertising to people who already bought the DVD.

The stars of Dragon Gate first appeared at Dragon Gate Invasion on 8.27.05, then at Dragon Gate Challenge on 3.30.06, Supercard of Honor on 3.31.06, Better Than Our Best on 4.1.06, International Challenge on 12.22.06 and Final Battle 2006 on 12.23.06. Now, they are back for both of this weekend’s shows, and we get a little video of highlights to introduce us to each guy. Some stars are returning, some are debuting, so it will be interesting to see how it compares to last year.

MATCH #1: Four Corner Survival – Colt Cabana vs. Matt Sydal vs. Adam Pearce vs. Chris Hero

BG says: Sydal and Cabana start. Sydal immediately tags out to Hero. Cabana and Hero compete for the fans’ attention with flips and poses and other types of one upsmanship. Cabana starts gaining the advantage so Hero tags to Sydal. They go back and forth for a bit before Pearce tags Cabana out. Sydal hits the standing moonsault on Pearce for 2. Pearce comes back with a chokeslam and hits a powerslam for 2. Hero tags in for Pearce and hits a senton for 2. He hits an atomic drop and tags to Pearce. Pearce hits an avalanche and tags to Hero. Hero and Pearce continue to double-team Sydal until he runs over Pearce’s back to hit a DDT on Hero. Cabana tags in and knocks everyone but the referee down with elbows. He hits the Flying Asshole on Pearce and Sydal and then uses Sydal to hit the Battering Ram on everyone. He helps Sydal hit a hurricanrana on Hero and then hits a dropkick on Pearce. Hero stomps on Cabana and hits a big boot and a vertical suplex on Sydal for 2. Sydal comes back with an enziguiri and a hurricanrana. Cabana hits a top rope hurricanrana on Pearce and tosses Hero to the floor. Sydal follows him out with a huge dive. Cabana goes for a dive but Pearce cuts him off with a brass knuckle shot for the win. Very entertaining opening match that got the crowd all fired up.
Rating: ***

JZ says: Cabana and Sydal start it off and work for less than a minute before Sydal tags out to Hero. Hero does the weird little stuff that he does, and Cabana gets made at someone stealing his thunder, so he uses trickery to embarrass Hero. He doesn’t take kindly to that, and Sydal is tagged back in quickly. They trace moves for a bit until Pearce tags himself in and apparently he’s using a chokeslam as a transitional move now. Hero and Pearce end up working as a team to work over Sydal. They do these for a few minutes until Sydal makes the hot tag to Cabana. He takes everybody down and even uses Sydal as his own personal weapon. All four guys stay in the ring and this one has broken down. Cabana hits a somewhat frightening looking rana off the top rope on Pearce. Hero gets dumped to the floor and Sydal hits a big dive on him, leaving Cabana and Pearce in the ring. Pearce got brass knuckles out while no one was looking and drills Cabana in the face with them and he gets the pin at 11:13. That had some decent action but was mostly pretty jumbled. Looks like Cabana and Pearce may be feuding now.
Rating: **¼

MATCH #2: Erick Stevens vs. Alex Payne

BG says: Sugarfoot doesn’t get an entrance, which is kind of rare in ROH. Steven hits him with a powerslam at the bell. He hits an avalanche and a gutwrench powerbomb for the win. That’s how you get the new guy over.
Rating: ¼*

The Briscoes are outside reminiscing about their match and how much they manned up. Now they’re going to get the tag titles back from Shingo and Naruki Doi. Jay wants them to think about the bad things they’ll do to their opponents considering the bad things they did to each other.

JZ says: This is Stevens’ ROH debut, and he’s matched against one of the more popular students (for some reason), the one they call “Sugarfoot.” Anyway, he dismantles the poor kid and finishes him off with a Doctor Bomb in 22 seconds. I imagine we’ll be seeing more of Stevens in the near future.
Rating: ¼*

The Briscoes are reminiscing about their match in Liverpool at the beginning of the month. They’re focused now on winning their tag team titles back from Naruki Doi & Shingo tonight.

MATCH #3: Davey Richards vs. Masaaki Mochizuki

BG says: Richards has new, more heelish music and won’t shake Mochizuki’s hand. He attacks Mochizuki from behind before the bell and kicks his back. Mochizuki comes back with kicks of his own and hits a bodyslam. He puts on a half crab but Richards gets to the ropes. Mochizuki hits an enziguiri and then kicks Richards to the floor. Richards dodges a kick and Mochizuki kicks the post. Richards rams Mochizuki into the post and hits a Yakuza kick. Back in the ring he gets 2. He ties up Mochizuki’s legs and hits a bodyslam. He goes back to the leg and barks a racial slur. That’s becoming a nasty little habit of his. He hits a snap suplex for 2. He puts on a half crab but Mochizuki gets to the ropes. The steam is out of Mochizuki’s kicks but he does manage to hit a knee to the head. He dodges the handspring kick and returns fire. He hits an axe kick and a big boot for 2. Richards unloads with kicks and hits the Alarm Clock. He hits a German suplex for 2. He hits a bodyslam and climbs the ropes. The shooting star press hits knees and Mochizuki hits the Sankakugeri and the Twister for 2. Richards comes back with big boots but Mochizuki is unphased. Richards hits a dragon screw and puts on the Stretch Muffler. Mochizuki gets to the ropes. Richards climbs again but Mochizuki brings him down with a sunset flip for 2. They exchange strikes until Mochizuki nails the Saikyou High Kick for the win. This match reminded of the Jimmy Yang vs. Ryo Saito match from last year in card placement and match structure, but didn’t quite flow as well as that match. Richards is now eleven matches into his losing streak.
Rating: **¾

JZ says: I don’t know much about Mochizuki, but I hear that he kicks really hard, so being matched up against Richards seems like a pretty good idea. Richards’s use of the word Jap is mildly offensive. They start throwing kicks right away, and Mochizuki is not intimidated. Mochizuki is a 13-year veteran. He takes the first advantage with his kicks, and the battle spills to the floor. He tries to kick Richards up against the ring post but he moves and Mochizuki hits nothing but steel. That turns the tide in Richards’s favor. Richards continues to work over Mochizuki’s leg back in the ring, and he spends a lot of time jawing with the crowd. Mochizuki tries to come back with kicks, but Richards counters with kicks. Are you sensing a theme here? Richards tries the Shooting Star Press but Mochizuki get his knees up, lands a kick to the head and a brainbuster for two. They trade kicks to the face and Richards counters that with the Stretch Muffler and Mochizuki reaches the ropes. They trade some more strikes and Mochizuki wins that battle with two straight shots to the head and that’s all at 10:40. They packed a lot of brutality into a short amount of time.
Rating: ***

PLUS: Bruno Sammartino

BG says: Bruno Sammartino comes out to the ring and gives pretty much the exact same speech he gave at Glory by Honor V Night 2. I’d have to go back but it might actually be word for word the same. This time around however Bruno is interrupted by Larry Sweeney, Chris Hero and Tank Toland. Sweeney puts Bruno over as he enters the ring. Once he’s inside the ring he says that the only reason Sammartino is pro wrestling’s living legend is because Hero was born fifty years too late. On behalf of Hero, Sweeney challenges Sammartino to an arm wrestling match. Sammartino is amused but not responsive enough for Sweeney, and threatens a Hero cravat. Sammartino thinks he can beat them up, even at his age. They slowly start to advance on him but Nigel McGuinness makes the save. He takes Hero and Toland out and holds Sweeney for a shot from Bruno. Sweeney sells it like he got shot in the face. Nigel then puts Sammartino over for a while. This is how you can tell who ROH wants to be the number one babyface, they put them in the ring with guys that are bigger than the company. Low Ki was in there with Shinjiro Ohtani, Punk was in there with Ricky Steamboat, Joe was in there with Kenta Kobashi and now Nigel gets to do it with Bruno.

Christopher Daniels says that the paint on his face means he’s gone through a transformation. They’re calling his match against Homicide a battle of original ROH icons. A year ago in Detroit he beat the ultimate icon Samoa Joe, and tonight he’ll do the same to Homicide. That’s the gospel according to the Fallen Angel, and a full blown heel turn from Christopher Daniels.

JZ says: The former WWWF Champion is here basically to put Ring of Honor over. He makes basically the same speech he made last September in New York, and that’s fine. He’s about to wrap it up in very short order, but Larry Sweeney comes out with Tank Toland and Chris Hero. He introduces his charges and challengers Sammartino to an arm wrestling match on Hero’s behalf. Sweeney then threatens a cravat, and Sammartino is not afraid. Nigel McGuinness comes out to make the save and murders Toland with a lariat. Sammartino pops Sweeney, who sells it like a champion. The crowd chants “Bruno.” That was a really fun segment.

Christopher Daniels is backstage to talk about his one-on-one match with Homicide tonight. Both men have been in ROH since the beginning. Daniels reasons that if he beat Samoa Joe in this building last year, he can beat Homicide tonight. Since Joe beat Homicide in his last match that story checks out.

MATCH #4: Jimmy Jacobs & Lacey vs. BJ Whitmer & Daizee Haze

BG says: Jacobs and Whitmer brawl before the bell and Lacey and Haze follow suit. Jacobs hits a neckbreaker and pulls out the spike. He goes at Whitmer but misses and gets booted down. Whitmer grabs the spike but misses Jacobs and jabs the spear into the turnbuckle. Whitmer goes for a suplex and both men fall to the floor. Haze and Lacey get in the ring. Haze hits a clothesline and a northern lights suplex as Whitmer tosses Jacobs into the crowd. Whitmer throws chairs at Jacobs as Lacey hits a lung blower on Haze. The split screen makes it a little hard to really follow either exchange. Jacobs stomps on Whitmer’s groin as Lacey whips Haze with a belt. Lacey hits a side slam for 2. She hits a pair of bodyslams as Whitmer beats Jacobs with a chair. Whitmer drinks a beer as Lacey hangs Haze in the Tree of Woe. She chokes Lacey with the belt just before Jacobs jumps off the bleachers to hit a hurricanrana on Whitmer. Haze catches Lacey with a bulldog and everyone is down. Haze hits a German suplex for 2. Whitmer and Jacobs fight back to ringside where Whitmer rams Jacobs into the barricade. Lacey hits a hanging neckbreaker on Haze for 2. Haze comes back with a roll up for 2. She hits the heart punch but Lacey knocks her to the floor. Whitmer rams Jacobs into a chair in the ring. He sets Jacobs up top and goes for the Superbomb of Death but Lacey crotches him. Jacobs comes off the top onto Haze and then knocks her out of her shoes with a spear. He feeds Haze to Lacey who hits the implant DDT for the win. This was a bit hard to follow but filled with enough action to make up for the production issues.
Rating: ***

After the match Lacey gets on the microphone and thanks Jacobs for helping her get the win. He really made her proud, so he deserves a hug. She gives him said hug, and even puts one of her legs up. Jacobs holds on a little longer than Lacey however. Lacey tells Jacobs that if he beats Whitmer in the cage there will be more where that came from. Whitmer chases them from the ring with a barbed wire baseball bat.

Jack Evans is looking formal in his Dragon Gate attire. This is a big weekend for Jack Evans because he has a chance to get revenge on the man who admitted he attacked him in New York City. He and Roderick Strong used to dazzle the fans as a team, but tonight he will be looking at him from across the ring. All of the stunts he’s done in the past are nothing compared to what he’ll do against Strong tonight.

JZ says: This one doesn’t take long to get underway, it’s a big brawl right at the start. The men will meet in a steel cage match tomorrow night, so this one is about to reach its boiling point. Whitmer tries to use the spike early on, but Jacobs avoids it. The women are fighting out on the floor and we get a little picture-in-picture to try and keep up. Whitmer suplexes Jacobs outside the ring, and now the girls get inside the ring and brawl. Whitmer and Jacobs fight out into the crowd. Lacey and Jacobs are both control of the action in their respective parts of the arena. Finally they trade places and Whitmer sets Jacobs in a familiar position on the top rope. Lacey breaks that up and Jacobs takes out Haze. Lacey sets Haze up for Jacobs to hit the spear, and once again Haze comes right out of her shoes. This allows Lacey to hit the Implant DDT to get the pin at 9:49. That was mostly just brawling, but had some cool spots and a good finish, and was the right match to run for the place on the card and in the feud. Lacey wants to give Jimmy something special, and the crowd chants “show your tits.” Lacey says she just wants to give Jimmy a hug. She promises more if Jimmy can take out Whitmer in the cage tomorrow night. Whitmer wants none of that and chases them off with a barbed wire baseball bat.
Rating: **½

Jack Evans is backstage dressed up nice for a change. He says it’s a big weekend for ROH, but an even bigger weekend for him personally. He cuts a pretty good promo (for him) about how Strong really pissed him off because they used to be friends. Evans just keeps getting better in all aspects of wrestling. This guy is great.

MATCH #5: ROH World Tag Team Title Match – Naruki Doi & Shingo vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe

BG says: Oy vey, here we go. Jay and Shingo start. They lock up and trade holds. Jay hits a stunner and a leg lariat. Mark and Doi tag in. Mark slams Doi to the mat by his hair and hits a northern lights suplex for 2. Jay tags in and they hit the double hiptoss. Jay hits a dropkick for 2. Mark tags in and hits a slingshot double stomp for 2. He puts on a chinlock but Doi gets to the ropes. Mark hits a pair of kneedrops for 2. Doi goes to the eyes and tags to Shingo. The champs hit a double back elbow and Shingo elbows Mark down. Doi tags in and hits Dai Bosou! Shingo tags in and hits a clothesline in the corner. Doi hits a neckbreaker across Shingo’s knees and then comes off the second rope with a legdrop for 2. Shingo hits a vertical suplex and hangs Mark on the second rope. Doi comes off the top with a senton for 2. Shingo clotheslines Doi by mistake and Mark knocks him to the floor. Jay tags in and they hit the double shoulder tackle on Shingo. Mark climbs the ropes and goes for a shooting star press to the floor on Doi but lands flat on his head. Jay hits a hurricanrana and a brainbuster on Shingo but checks on Mark rather than going for the cover. The crowd gets very quiet, and being a part of it I can tell you everyone was pretty much wondering what was going on with Mark.

BJ Whitmer runs out as the camera focuses on everyone checking on Mark. The commentators make the mistake of saying the tag titles shouldn’t be focused on now, because just after they say it Jay runs in the ring and brawls with Shingo. He hits an ugly leg lariat but Shingo comes back with a back suplex. Shingo hits a kneedrop for 2. Jimmy Bower comes to the booth and reveals that Mark isn’t paralyzed but he has a bad concussion. Bower reports that when Jay ran out to check on Mark he was told by his injured brother to get back in the ring and win the titles. Well, that settles that. Mark is taken to the hospital. Jay dodges a blind charge and knocks Doi to the floor. He hits a DVD on Shingo for 2. The champs return fire with a back suplex/dropkick combo for 2. Doi hits Jay with a spinebuster for 2. Jay comes back with a Blockbuster. Shingo tags in and hits a gutbuster and a DDT. He hits a senton for 2. He hits a superplex and Doi hits an elbow off the top for 2. Shingo hits a pair of clotheslines but Jay won’t go down. Shingo clotheslines Doi by mistake and Jay hits Shingo with the Jay Driller for the win and the titles. I guess manning up against Mark in Liverpool helped. I would have preferred it if Jay just fired up shortly after Mark’s injury and win the belts in a shorter match. They still managed to make a watchable match out of a bad situation, but it’s about half as good as their match in England was.
Rating: **½

After the match Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin rush the ring. Sabin says he repects the Briscoes. Clips of Sabin and Shelley’s World title match against Bryan Danielson are shown, as part of ads for the DVDs they’re on. Shelley mentions that aside from the Briscoes he and Sabin are the only gaijin to hold tag gold in Japan. Well that’s just not true. At any rate they challenge the Briscoes to a tag title match in Chicago after Mark is healed up. Jay accepts the challenge. Shelley and Sabin shake Jay’s hand and then beat him down. Shelley calls Mark an idiot for going for the shooting star press and tells Jay that if Mark can’t make it to Chicago Jay will have to defend the belts by himself. He throws in a ‘TNA is better than ROH’ line just to really get under the fans’ skins at the end.

JZ says: Doi & Shingo have been the champions since 3.3.07, and this is their second defense. The Briscoes look motivated to become the four-time ROH Tag Team Champions. They control the early stages of the match, but the champions soon take over with some very cool double team maneuvers on Mark. He finally makes the comeback and tags out to Jay. Mark isn’t done yet though, and tries a Shooting Star Press to the outside on Doi, but you can tell he lands on the top of his head. Prazak and Leonard don’t really put it over as much as I thought they would. Jimmy Bower comes out from the back so that’s how you know it might be serious. The crowd was chanting “holy shit” at first but that soon gives way to quiet concern. The match literally comes to a stop as Jay, the referees, Jimmy Bower, some students, and even BJ Whitmer is out checking on Mark. Jay gets back in the ring and unloads on Shingo, but the crowd is still a little bit quiet. Bower comes to the booth to talk about the serious condition of Mark Briscoe. The crowd is trying to get behind Jay, but they’re still concerned about Mark. I was there live, and it was a pretty difficult scene to watch. The champions have a big-time advantage now. Jay gets beat up for a while until he’s able to land the Jay Driller on Shingo and get the pin and regain the titles at 16:01. Mark’s injury seemed pretty bad at the time, but knowing he wrestled two weeks later makes this not as difficult to watch. It still really hurt the match though, which was on the road to really good before the Shooting Star Press.
Rating: ***

From out of nowhere, TNA superstars Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley come out. I think the crowd was a little confused at first because they don’t get that big of a pop right off the bat. We see some clips of Shelley and Sabin’s past matches in ROH, both against Bryan Danielson actually. They challenge the Briscoes to a tag team title shot on April 28 in Chicago. That should be all kinds of awesome. Shelley asks for a handshake, and they attack Jay instead. Actually, this makes Shelley and Sabin look like even bigger pricks for beating up just one guy instead of two, and then Shelley makes some snide comments about Mark being injured because he’s stupid. Awesome segment there and it should lead to an even awesomer match. They end it with a video package for the match.

INTERMISSION

BG says: Rebecca Bayless is backstage and expresses worry for Mark Briscoe. Larry Sweeney runs up and makes sure we all know he doesn’t care about Mark. He does care about Nigel humiliating him, and assures us we have not seen the end of him tonight.

JZ says: Rebecca Bayless tries to talk about Mark Briscoe, but Larry Sweeney interrupts her, and he’s all kinds of pissed off about what Nigel McGuinness did to him earlier tonight. He promises that we have not seen the end of him tonight. Bayless has a terrible voice, I have no idea why they use her.

MATCH #6: Yamato vs. Pelle Primeau

BG says: YAMATO and Primeau have about the same amount of experience. They trade holds to start. Primeau hits a head scissors takedown and a hurricanrana for 2. He hits a springboard Thesz press for 2. YAMATO dodges a blind charge and hits an exploder. He hits a spear but Primeau comes back with a roll up for 2. YAMATO counters a hurricanrana to a slam for 2. He blocks a crucifix and hits a German suplex for the win. Fun match between the two school representatives.
Rating: *½

JZ says: The action starts off fast right away. This is my first Yamato match, and he definitely looks like he’s going to get really good not too long from now. Primeau hits a few moves but Yamato comes back with a big spear. They do a lot of reversals on each other, but Yamato ends all that with a German Suplex to get the pin at 2:21. They packed a lot into that short amount of time. I wouldn’t mind seeing them get like 10 minutes or so.
Rating: *¼

After the match, Larry Sweeney comes out with Brent Albright, who is wearing a winter hat indoors. I hate guys who do that. Sweeney says he hired Albright for the night to take on Nigel McGuinness, who embarrassed him earlier tonight. Speaking of embarrassing, Detroit has no sense of rhythm when banging on the guardrails. Come on people, this is Motown we’re talking about.

MATCH #7: Nigel McGuinness vs. Brent Albright

BG says: Larry Sweeney reveals that he bough Albright’s services tonight to take out Nigel. Nigel attacks Albight before the bell. Albright comes back with a clothesline. Nigel hits the corner combo for 2. He hits a short arm clothesline for 2. Albright puts Nigel on the apron and covers his head with the ring skirt. He hits a knee to the gut for 2. He puts on a chinlock but Nigel fights out. Albright hits a German suplex and the snot blow. He puts on the Mark Nulty Special but Nigel returns fire with a lariat. Albright blocks a European uppercut but Nigel spins through and hits another lariat for 2. Albright blocks the Tower of London and goes for a crossbody off the top. Nigel rolls through for 2. Albright hits a belly-to-belly suplex and climbs the ropes. Nigel crotches him and goes for the Tower of London but Albright counters to the Crowbar. Nigel gets to the ropes. Albright stays on the arm, taking power out of Nigel’s forearms. Albright ducks the Jawbreaker Lariat and puts the Crowbar back on. Nigel gets to the ropes. Nigel slips Albright into the Tower of London but Sweeney keeps the referee from making the count. Albright hits a chop block and the 908. He hits a neckbreaker for 2. Nigel hits a superkick for 2. He goes for the second rope lariat but Hero runs out and distracts him. Albright comes from behind with the half nelson suplex for the win. This match was really solid, which is impressive because I didn’t remember being into it live.
Rating: ***½

JZ says: Nigel starts it off hot right away, and Albright gives it right back to him. Prazak and Leonard talk about how Nigel broke Jimmy Rave’s jaw back in Liverpool. Thus Nigel wants his finisher to be known as the Jawbreaker Lariat. I’m pretty sick of the move myself, but I guess I better get used to it. Albright is able to ground Nigel, as Sweeney talks a lot of trash from ringside. Nigel comes back with lariats of all kinds. He also goes for the Tower of London, but Albright is able to avoid it and utilize the Crowbar. Nigel comes back and tries the Jawbreaker Lariat, but Albright reverses that to the Crowbar as well. Maybe Nigel would tap if Albright worked on the arm during the match, I’m just saying. Nigel comes back and hits the Tower of London, but Sweeney distracts the referee. Nigel goes for more Lariats, but Chris Hero comes out to distract Nigel. This allows Albright to hit a half-nelson suplex to get the surprising pin on Nigel at 11:34. Some of that match appeared to be taking place in slow motion, but for the most part it was just fine.
Rating: **¾

MATCH #8: Homicide vs. Christopher Daniels

BG says: Daniels attacks Homicide from behind to start. See, the paint on his face makes him a heel. Homicide comes back with a hurricanrana and Daniels bails. Homicide follows him out but ends up getting rammed into the barricade. Homicide goes for a piledriver on the floor but Daniels counters to a backdrop through a table. Homicide sends Daniels into the barricade and hits an overhead suplex back in the ring for 2. He hits a back elbow for 2. Daniels sends Homicide to the floor and follows him out to hit a bodyslam. He hits Homicide with a chair and pokes his eyes. Back inside he hits a back elbow and a back suplex for 2. He puts on a chinlock but Homicide comes back with a crossbody. Daniels hits an enziguiri after a very awkward exchange. He hits a clothesline for 2. He hits a bodyslam but won’t let the fans see the triple jump moonsault. He does hit a palm strike and the Iconoclasm for 2. Homicide comes back with the Ace Crusher for 2. He hits a T-bone suplex and Daniels bails. Homicide follows him out with the topé con hilo. Back in the ring he hits a DDT for 2. He hits the Three Amigos and a diving elbow for 2. Daniels hits a leg lariat and a blue thunder bomb for 2. He puts on the Koji Clutch but Homicide gets to the ropes. Homicide counters the uranage to an armdrag but walks into the STO. Daniels gets 2 with his feet on the ropes. Homicide hits a second rope Ace Crusher for 2. He hits the lariat for 2. Daniels hits the Angel’s Wings for 2. He goes for the Last Rites but Homicide counters to a jackknife cradle for the win. This was pretty much on the same level as their first ROH match against each other four years ago.
Rating: **¾

After the match Adam Pearce, Shane Hagadorn and… ugh, Jim Cornette run out and attack Homicide. Cornette tries to whip Homicide with his belt but Homicide fights off Pearce and Hagadorn and gets the belt himself. Before he can whip Cornette Brent Albright runs out and hits him with the half nelson suplex. Cornette rambles on the microphone until Cabana, Delirious and Primeau make the save.

JZ says: Here’s two guys with just about nothing going on in ROH at the moment. They make a game effort of it though, getting aggressive with each other in the early going and taking the battle to the floor. Daniels is a new heel in ROH, while Homicide continues to be one of the most over babyfaces. They go back and forth on offense for a while. Daniels takes control for a few minutes until Homicide makes his comeback and is able to take control outside the ring. He tries to use the Lariat but settles for a DDT. He follows up with three straight vertical suplexes, but Daniels is able to get up before Homicide can capitalize. Daniels gets the Koji Clutch on, but Homicide is able to reach the ropes. They do some more stuff and Homicide hits the Lariat but Daniels is able to kick out. Daniels comes back and hits the Angels Wings, but Homicide is able to kick out of that. A few moments later Homicide is able to get a jackknife pin for three at 14:59. Much like the last match, that was technically solid but not overly exciting. It’s pretty clear that both guys no longer had a direction in ROH by this point.
Rating: **¾

After the match, Jim Cornette, Adam Pearce, and Shane Hagadorn run down, and Cornette says three of the scariest words I’ve ever heard in ROH “all over again,” because if there’s one feud I could have lived without reliving is this one. Brent Albright comes out to join the party and work over Homicide’s arm. Delirious and Colt Cabana come out to make the save.

MATCH #9: Roderick Strong vs. Jack Evans

BG says: They show clips of Strong and Evans as a team during their entrances. They shove each other to start. Strong hits a suplex and stretches Evans’s back. He puts on a hammerlock but Evans comes back with a chinlock. He hits a hurricanrana and a dropkick. Strong blocks a monkey flip but Evans comes back with another hurricanrana. He hits a chop and a back elbow for 2. He hits a dropkick for 2. He goes for a handspring elbow but Strong catches him and tosses him across the ring. Strong chops Evans for 2. He hits a backbreaker for 2. He puts on a Mexican chinlock and drives his fist into the solar plexus. Evans comes back with a double stomp into a standing moonsault for 2. He hits a leg lariat for 2. He finds a creative reversal to the tiger driver and hits a standing 450 splash for 2. Strong comes back with a backbreaker and drags Evans to the apron. He slams him from the apron to the floor. That gets 2 back in the ring. Evans hits a dropkick and a springboard dropkick. Strong bails so Evans follows him out with a hurricanrana on the floor after some fancy footwork on the apron. Strong comes back with a backbreaker on the barricade and a fall away slam into the post. Back in the ring he gets 2. He ties Evans up in the ropes and stretches his feet to the back of his head. Evans comes back with a handspring elbow but Strong kicks the top rope when he goes for a springboard. He hits a springboard suplex for 2. He drags Evans to the apron but Evans fights back, drapes Strong across the second rope in the corner and hits a handspring double stomp to the back. Strong bails so Evans follows him out with the Space Flying Tiger Drop. Back in the ring Evans hits a double jump splash for 2. Strong pulls him off the top rope and hits a backbreaker. He hits a torture rack backbreaker for 2. Evans hits a cartwheel kick and a roundhouse kick. He hits the Ong Bak kneedrop and a standing corkscrew moonsault for 2. Strong tosses him onto the top turnbuckle and hits a super fall away slam for 2. Evans hits a flying knee but Strong catches him with a slam. Evans hits a reverse hurricanrana for 2. Strong dodges the 630 splash but Evans gets a sunset flip for 2. Strong gets a roll up with a handful of tights for 2. Evans gets a backslide deluxe for 2. Strong hits a soccer kick but Evans comes back with a backflip butt splash for 2. Strong dodges the 630 splash again and hits the Sick Kick. He hits the tiger driver and puts on the Stronghold for the win. Strong knew exactly how to put Evans down and dismantled him beautifully. Evans tried to use his greatest strength to beat Strong with a string of high-flying moves but it wasn’t enough to come close to beating the leader of the No Remorse Corp.
Rating: ****

Rebecca Bayless reports the Mark Briscoe is now fully mobile although he did suffer a serious concussion and thus will not be able to wrestle tomorrow night.

JZ says: I’ve seen their match in FIP, and it was really good, so I expect even better things from this ROH outing. This one gets heated right away, with Strong trying to overpower Evans. Evans’s anger is enough to power him back, and Strong takes a powder to the floor. Back in the ring the FIP World Champion (though not defending the title tonight) takes control of Evans, who counters the power with his remarkable agility. Evans makes a comeback but Strong is really feeling like a jerk, so he delivers a slam from the ring apron to the arena floor. Evans comes back with acrobatics, and Strong counters by catching Evans and tossing him around, using the guardrail and ring post to his advantage. Back in the ring Strong stretches Evans into unnatural positions. Strong continues to brutalize Evans, but Evans will not give in, and he hits a nasty reverse rana but Strong is too close to the ropes. Evans tries a 630 but Strong moves out of the way. He hits the big, big boot, a Tiger Driver, and rolls it into the Strong Hold and Evans taps out at 21:44. That’s got to be Evans’s best match ever, and he deserves loads of credit for getting so much better over the years and becoming one of ROH’s top all around performers. Strong is no slouch himself.
Rating: ****

Rebecca Bayless is back for an update on Mark Briscoe. He won’t wrestle tomorrow night, but he is going to be alright. That’s certainly a relief.

MATCH #10: CIMA, Susumu Yokosuka, Dragon Kid & Ryo Saito vs. Austin Aries, Delirious, Rocky Romero & Claudio Castagnoli

BG says: CIMA, Saito and Yokosuka come out wearing their Open the Triangle Gate Championship belts. They and Dragon Kid are all part of the Typhoon group in Dragon Gate. The babyface team, aside from a loose association between Aries & Delirious, has no connecting thread at all. Romero and Saito start. They fight to the mat where Saito takes control. Romero grabs a cross armbreaker but Saito quickly gets to the ropes. They trade kicks and Romero grabs a Boston crab before floating into the bow and arrow. Dragon Kid and Claudio tag in. Dragon Kid hits the Déjà Vu sending Claudio to the floor. CIMA and Delirious enter the ring. CIMA stops Delirious’s rambling with an eye poke and a dropkick. Yokosuka and Aries take their turns. Aries hits a pair of armdrags on Yokosuka and then hits armdrags on the rest of team Typhoon. They all bail so he hits them with the Heat Seeking Missile. Back inside hits a slingshot splash on CIMA for 2. Yokosuka keeps him from hitting a springboard moonsault and CIMA takes control. Saito tags in and hits a bodyslam and an elbowdrop for 2. He puts on a chinlock and hits a legdrop. He and Dragon Kid hit tandem legdrops on Aries for 2. Dragon Kid puts on a chinlock and tags to Yokosuka. Yokosuka hits a backbreaker and then hangs Aries on the top rope for CIMA to come off the turnbuckle with a double stomp. The Dragon Gate team quadruple-teams Aries in style, culminating with a triple dropkick to a kneeling Aries. Aries comes back with a moonsault press to CIMA and Yokosuka and makes the tag to Delirious. Delirious hits Saito with a clothesline and puts Dragon Kid in the corner to be quadruple-teamed. Delirious hits the Panic Attack for 2. He hits a back suplex and tags to Claudio. Claudio hits a European uppercut and a fall away slam for 2. Romero tags in and opens up with kicks. He hits a pair of snap suplexes and a kneedrop for 2. Aries tags in and hits a slingshot senton for 2. Team ROH hit a quadruple big boot and Claudio follows up with a twenty-second giant swing. Romero tags in and hits an elbowdrop. He puts on an octopus stretch and tags to Aries. Aries slaps Dragon Kid as a message to Roderick Strong. Claudio tags in and hits a big boot. Aries hits Claudio by mistake and Dragon Kid hits him with the 619. He hits a springboard dropkick on Aries and tags to Yokosuka. CIMA and Yokosuka hit the Superdrol on Romero. CIMA puts on a Mutalock while hitting a vertical suplex on Delirious. Saito tags in and hits an overhead suplex on Aries into Romero in the corner. Yokosuka swings Dragon Kid into Aries and Dragon Kid follows Aries to the floor with a moonsault. Claudio hits Yokosuka with a diving European uppercut. Yokosuka comes back with an exploder for 2. Delirious hits Claudio with a top rope legdrop by mistake but hits a backbreaker on Yokosuka for 2. He gets a crucifix pin on Saito for 2. Saito comes back with a German suplex for 2. Romero hits an enziguiri on Saito for 2. He hits a bodyslam and climbs the ropes. CIMA crotches him on the second rope and hits a lung blower for 2. Romero comes back with a kick to the legs and a fisherman buster for 2. He puts on an anklelock but CIMA counters to a roll up for 2. Romero kicks CIMA in the face for 2. CIMA hits the Perfect Driver for 2. He climbs the ropes but Romero throws the referee into the ropes to crotch him. Romero pulls CIMA off the top rope and puts on a cross armbreaker but Yokosuka makes the save. CIMA comes back with the Venus and the Iconoclasm. The Mad Splash hits knees and Aries follows up with a Finley roll. Aries’s frog splash hits knees but Delirious hits Shadows Over Hell. He headbutts Dragon Kid in midair but Dragon Kid comes back with the Christo. Claudio breaks it up but gets caught in the hold himself. Aries pulls Dragon Kid off and hits a back suplex. Claudio uppercuts Dragon Kid across the ring for 2. Yokosuka hits a lariat but Romero kicks him down. Saito hits a dragon suplex on Romero but Claudio catches him with the Alpamare Waterslide. Dragon Kid hits a stunner on Claudio but Delirious hits him with a slam. Delirious climbs the ropes but team Typhoon catches him. As Delirious gets stacked on Saito’s shoulders CIMA and Yokosuka hit a double stomp/powerbomb combo on Romero. CIMA rolls across the ring and hits Delirious with the Venus. Dragon Kid hits a hurricanrana on Delirious off of Saito’s shoulders and Saito finishes the sequence off with a big splash. It gets 2 when Aries saves with the soccer kick. He follows up with the brainbuster and the 450 splash for 2 when CIMA saves. Delirious gets the Cobra Stretch on CIMA but CIMA escapes and hits a superkick and the Schwein for 2. It’s just a formality as CIMA follows with the Crossfire Bomb for the win. This was just as fancy as the six-man tags from last year, but was a little less crisp in the early going and felt a little long as well. Still, crazy stuff all around.
Rating: ****

JZ says: This may be one of those matches I don’t do much play-by-play for. The ROH team is assembled from random, as far as I know. Dragon Kid and Claudio Castagnoli make an interesting dynamic in the ring together. Lenny Leonard notes the irony of Castagnoli appearing on Team ROH, after he fought so hard against them during the CZW war. CIMA and Delirious have a go next, and Delirious goes nuts and very little contact is made. Yokosuka and Aries are next. Aries at first dominates everyone on the opposing team, but soon falls prey to their double, triple, and quadruple-teaming. Aries finally makes the tag to Delirious, who is a lizard-man on fire. Now the ROH team takes control on Dragon Kid, by far the smallest man in the match. Dragon fights back and make the tag out, but it soon turns into an all out brawl with everyone hopping into the ring whenever they feel like it. Everybody hits a bunch of moves for a while until the parade of signature moves starts. CIMA uses the Crossfire Bomb to pin Delirious at 27:52. That had a lot of cool spots and stuff in it, but it followed the exact same format as these types of matches all do. Not that that’s entirely a bad thing, but it did make me less emotionally invested.
Rating: ***¾

Aftermath

BG says: Jimmy Jacobs has always loved teen comedies of the romantic genre. He loves the predictability of them, and has wanted his life to follow in the pattern. But lately things haven’t been that way. A little more than a year ago he and Whitmer were like brothers, but when Jacobs found a woman he loved Whitmer walked out on him. Last year Whitmer almost killed him here in Detroit, and since then the violence has only escalated. Now instead of sleeping he thinks of ways to hurt Whitmer. Now a cage match is the only way to settle things, but even though the match ends when the referee counts three the only thing that will put the issue to bed is when one of them can’t walk out. In the end, the villain always gets what’s coming to him, and the hero gets the girl. Great promo.

JZ says: Jimmy Jacobs cuts the best promo of his life leading into tomorrow night’s cage match against BJ Whitmer. He talks about how much he loves teen comedies, and then launches into a diatribe about how Whitmer is the bad guy in the whole situation, even though Jacobs is the heel. And that is exactly what makes Jacobs a great heel – he believes what he’s doing is right. Some people have already transcribed this I think, so I’m not going to do that, but I urge everyone to go out of their way to see this promo if you haven’t. It’s Jacobs’s best ever and one of the best in ROH history.

MVP

BG says: I’m going to have to give this one to Roderick Strong. It’s been a while since he’s really had a blow away match, and though Evans and the eight men in the main event were more flashy, he was the base for an excellent match against his former partner.

You can pick up this show, as well as all other ROH shows at ROH Wrestling Dot Com.

Coming soon will be our review of SUPERCARD OF HONOR II!

The 411: BG says: I wasn’t wild about this show when I saw it live. The Mark Briscoe injury took the wind out of my sails quite a bit because at the time there was talk that it was worse than it actually turned out to be. On DVD this was quite entertaining, as everything was either very short or pretty good and things wrapped up with two great matches. Can’t really go wrong here, and the next night’s show is even better. JZ says: There’s not a bad match on the show (Stevens vs. Payne is rated low, but it’s 22 seconds and that’s exactly what it should have been, and Pelle vs. Yamato was fun while it lasted), and that’s enough for an easy recommendation right there. I think Strong versus Evans was the clear match of the night, but the main event also delivered what it promised, and that’s always a good thing.

Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]