ROH - Race to the Top Tournament Night 2 DVD Review
Posted by Garoon & Ziegler on 11.22.2007
If I hear the words “Cinderella story” one more time I’m going to have to mute the TV.
ROH – RACE TO THE TOP TOURNAMENT NIGHT TWO – EDISON, NJ – 7.28.07
Introduction
BG says: This weekend’s Video Wire starts with a recap of ROH in Japan. After a mellow montage they show a clip of the match of the weekend, Bryan Danielson vs. Go Shiosaki. While the clip plays there is also an advertisement for Respect is Earned on PPV. If I were a new fan I might assume that this match was on that PPV, which it wasn’t. Next up they run down the brackets for night one of the tournament. A trip to Osaka shows the formation of the Danielson/CIMA/Naomichi Marufuji team and the reason for their match against the No Remorse Corp. Clips of that match are shown, as are clips of the ROH World Championship match from Tokyo between champ Takeshi Morishima and challenger Nigel McGuinness. They do a great job of making the World Championship match look exciting. They run down Morishima’s upcoming defenses, against Claudio Castagnoli, Brent Albright and Danielson, and then show a confrontation in Tokyo between Danielson, Morishima and McGuinness where Danielson goes down and Morishima finally shows McGuinness respect.
Rebecca Bayless hypes the 10,000 dollar tag team challenge, reminding everyone that captains Nigel McGuinness and Bryan Danielson will be picking their teams in the ring later on.
JZ says: Rebecca Bayless pointlessly opens the show to tell us that later tonight she’ll be in the ring as Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness pick their teams for the $10,000 Tag Team Challenge.
MATCH #1: Second Round Match – El Generico vs. Chris Hero
BG says: Hero takes Generico down to start. He works on the arm and mugs for the crowd. Generico clotheslines Hero to the floor and fakes a dive. Hero gets jealous at the crowd response so he mimics Generico. Generico hits a series of armdrags and an elbowdrop for 2. He hits a backbreaker for 2. He hits a dropkick to the back of the head for 2. He misses the Yakuza kick and Hero hits a neckbreaker for 2. He hits a gutwrench suplex for 2. He hits a kneedrop and gets a crucifix pin for 2. He hits a beautiful forearm and a German suplex for 2. He hits a top rope axe handle for 2. Generico comes off the second rope with a head scissors takedown and hits a leg lariat. He hits a forearm and a dropkick to the gut. He hits the swinging DDT for 2. He climbs the ropes but Larry Sweeney distracts the referee and Tank Toland cuts him off. Hero brings him down with the Cravat-O-Clasm and then hits the Dislocater for 2. Generico comes back with a backslide for the win. I have a bit of a problem with the commentators selling the tournament as something everyone is taking very seriously and simultaneously watching Hero treat the match as anything but a serious endeavor. Aside from that this was a decent enough opener, but Generico could have just stood there and the crowd would have gotten fired up.
Rating: **¼
Generico comes to the back and is greeted by Kevin Steen. Steen is excited about Generico’s win. Since he got shafted the night before he’s in full support mode for Generico. After Generico wins the tournament Steen is going to put the trophy in his bedroom. I thought they shared a bedroom.
JZ says: Generico beat Delirious last night and Hero beat Erick Stevens to get here. Hero of course has his whole entourage with him. They start with some mat wrestling, and despite both guys really being heels, the crowd cheers for both of them. Hero’s boasting allows Generico to clothesline him over the top rope. They trade athletics and Generico takes the advantage with a series of armdrags and a drop toehold. Generico is able to pretty much stay one step ahead of Hero until he misses the big running boot in the corner. Hero takes over and this several big moves on Generico but can’t keep him down. A double axe handle gets two for Hero. Generico makes the comeback and delivers a dropkick and a big swinging DDT. Sweeney gets up on the apron while Generico is on the top rope, allowing Toland to hold him there and Hero hits a cravat neckbreaker and a spinning slam for two. Hero is pissed now. He goes for the Hero’s Welcome but Generico counters to a backslide to get the pin at 10:48. Hell yes for a backslide finishing a match. That was pretty decent but not special.
Rating: **½
Generico tries to cut a promo (what the HELL is that camera effect that they’re doing?), but Steen hijacks it and says when Generico wins the tournament, he’s going to put the trophy in his own bedroom, just because he got shafted out of his spot last night. Steen is amazing.
MATCH #2: Second Round Match – Davey Richards vs. Pelle Primeau
BG says: Primeau’s Top of the Class Trophy breaks during his entrance. Richards slaps him before the bell. He powers Primeau to the corner and gives a clean break. Primeau slaps him and tries to clobber him down. He hits a head scissors takedown and a dropkick. Richards stays on his feet so Primeau hits a head scissors takedown to the floor. He follows Richards out with a dropkick off the apron. Back in the ring Primeau hits a springboard crossbody for 2. Richards slams him into the corner and lays in a series of headbutts. He hits a running forearm and a lariat. He hits a back suplex and kicks imaginary dirt in Primeau’s face. He puts on the body scissors but Primeau gets to the ropes. Primeau hits a hurricanrana but Richards cuts him off with a kick. Primeau gets a roll up for 2. He hits a chinbreaker but Richards counters the stunner to a tombstone piledriver and puts on the 14:59 for the win. That was excellent for a Primeau match. I really enjoyed that little outing.
Rating: **½
Richards says winning the tournament is about No Remorse rather than the trophy during a promo recorded with a very annoying night vision type shot.
JZ says: Richards slaps Primeau in the face during the handshake, which actually fires Primeau up, and he hits a few big moves in the opening minute. Richards soon recovers and overpowers Primeau and hits some strikes and slams and is now in firm control. Primeau makes a brief comeback and gets a near fall with a small package. Richards ends that with a tombstone piledriver and the Kimura Lock and the referee calls the match at 4:24. Richards looks fairly dominant here. He cuts another promo with a weird video effect and basically says that El Generico will receive No Remorse.
Rating: *
MATCH #3: Second Round Match – Jack Evans vs. Brent Albright
BG says: Albright clotheslines Evans down during his pre-match dance for 2. Evans comes back with a back flip kick but Albright puts him down with a back elbow for 2. He hits a back suplex for 2. He puts on a camel clutch but Evans hits a hurricanrana. Albright bails so Evans follows him out with a baseball slide. Albright slams Evans’s face on the apron and sets up a table. Evans keeps from getting powerbombed through it and rolls Albright back in the ring. Albright hits a bodyslam and goes back to the chinlock. Evans gets to the ropes. Evans misses a springboard kick and Albright hits an overhead German suplexes him over the top rope to the floor. Back in the ring Albright gets 2. Evans gets a roll up for 2. A reverse jackknife pin gets 2. He gets a backslide for 2. They trade slaps and Evans puts Albright down with a knee kick. He hits a kick to the head and a springboard kick. He hits a standing corkscrew moonsault for 2. He hits a back flip elbow and a handspring elbow, knocking Albright to the floor. He goes for a dive but Albright grabs him and powerbombs him through the table. Back in the ring Albright gets 2. He goes for a press slam but Evans counters to a hurricanrana for 2. Albright puts on the Crowbar but Evans gets to the ropes. Albright argues with the referee, distracting him long enough for Evans to kick him down and hit the 630 senton for the win. Albright kicked out right after the three count, I guess to keep him strong for his title upcoming title shot. The match was another decent back-and-forth match, but that kick out exposed the corner ROH booked themselves into there.
Rating: **½
In a post-match interview Evans says he’s going to keep a very close eye on the quarterfinal match between Castagnoli and Mike Quackenbush so he knows what to expect from his next opponent.
JZ says: Albright does the smart thing and attacks Evans before the bell rings and almost pins him with a clothesline. Albright brings the attack right to Evans, who comes back with a kick to the head, only to be knocked down by a big elbow. Albright tries to wear Evans down with a chinlock and Evans reaches the ropes. The battle spills to the floor and Evans hits a baseball slide and tries for a springboard but Albright pulls him down. Albright sets up a table, which seems like a bad idea, and Evans avoids it with a big kick to the head. Back in the ring Albright kicks out at one just to be a dick. Albright takes over for a few minutes, and Evans makes a comeback with some pinning combos but can’t keep Albright down. They exchange slaps and Evans nails a big knee to the face and both men are down. Back to their feet Evans hits some of his signature aerial maneuvers. They go back to the floor and Albright catches Evans and powerbombs him through that table. That sucks, because it should be a DQ, and the commentators barely make it sound like a big deal, and Evans kicks out at two. Evans hits a rana out of nowhere for two. Albright locks on the Crowbar. Evans tries to escape and eventually reaches the ropes. Albright for some reason thinks Evans tapped out, so he yells at the referee. That gives Evans the chance to hit a knee to the face and the 630 to get the pin at 9:44, and Albright makes sure to kick out right after three, which I always hate. The action in this one was fun up to a point, but Albright never works over the arm before going for the Crowbar, he does little things to make his opponents look like jobbers. Evans promises to win the whole tournament.
Rating: **¾
MATCH #4: Second Round Match – Claudio Castagnoli vs. Mike Quackenbush
BG says: They lock up and trade wristlocks. Castagnoli puts Quackenbush on the mat and goes after his leg. Quackenbush hits an armdrag and puts on an armbar. Castagnoli misses a dropkick and Quackenbush hits a pair of armdrags. He ducks a European uppercut and hits another armdrag. They fight to the apron where Castagnoli hits a forearm. He charges so Quackenbush monkey flips him over the turnbuckle to the floor and dives after him. Back in the ring Quackenbush hits a senton for 2. Castagnoli hits a European uppercut to the back and a reverse suplex for 2. He hits a bodyslam and a legdrop for 2. He rolls Quackenbush up a couple of times for 2. He hits a snapmare and the Crabwalk Elbowdrop for 2. He puts on a front facelock and then hits an elbowdrop for 2. He hits the Match Killer for 2. Quackenbush comes back with a head scissors takedown. He sets Castagnoli up top and hits a palm trust and a huge hurricanrana. He hits a double knee kick and the Black Tornado Slam for 2. Castagnoli hits a bicycle kick for 2. He hits a straight jacket suplex for 2. Quackenbush blocks the Ricola Bomb and climbs the ropes. Castagnoli slams him off the top but Quackenbush rolls through, climbs again and uses his momentum on the way down to get a roll up for 2. Castagnoli can’t hit the Alpamare Waterslide and Quackenbush rolls him up for 2. Castagnoli catches him up top with a European uppercut, brings him down with a head scissors takedown and hits another European uppercut for the win. The counter wrestling in this match was beautiful, and made this the first match to stand out on this show.
Rating: ***¼
After the match Castagnoli praises Quackenbush’s performance and then says he’s going to win the entire tournament.
JZ says: I’m sure these two have wrestled a million times or so. They trade some armdrags and such in the early going, and the crowd seems pretty excited. Claudio goes after the leg and Quack does his best to counter it. They trade more holds on the mat in very creative ways. Quack hits some very cool armdrags and has the support of the crowd already. They battle out to the ring apron and work in an awesome monkey flip type spot. Quack follows that with a Corkscrew press. Claudio takes over back in the ring, hitting a slew of his signature spots. He gets a series of two counts but he can’t put Quack away. The smaller Quack hits an impressive rana off the top rope and some other moves, including the BTS. Claudio comes back with a bicycle kick and a sick looking straightjacket suplex for two. He calls for the Ricola Bomb but Quack blocks it and goes up top. Claudio tries to slam him but Quack rolls through and hits a sweet jackknife cradle off the top rope. They continue to trade holds until Claudio hits an impressive headscissors off the top rope and a running European Uppercut to get the pin at 12:27. He’ll be facing Jack Evans in the third round now. That match was tremendous, even though a few spots at the end looked a little contrived.
Rating: ***¾
Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuinness pick their teams
BG says: Rebecca Bayless comes out to the ring to mediate as the 10,000 dollar tag match captains pick their teams. McGuinness comes down to the ring but Danielson won’t leave the ramp. The rules are that they will each pick any three members of the roster that aren’t still in the tournament. McGuinness loses the coin toss so Danielson picks first. He makes fun of McGuinness for losing to him in everything and then picks the Briscoe Brothers. Bayless reminds him he can only pick one person per turn. He says he’ll pick one this round and one the next round. Out of spite McGuinness says he’ll pick whichever Briscoe Danielson doesn’t pick on his turn. After a fun exchange over which Briscoe will go on each team we learn the decision will be made backstage. Danielson then picks Rave because of the amount of times he’s made McGuinness tap out. Bayless tells Danielson that Rave is hurt and can’t compete tonight. Larry Sweeney comes out, and after a Bobby Dempsey scare he offers Matt Sydal’s services for the match. Danielson picks him up. McGuinness predictably counters Sydal with Delirious and points out the submission victory Delirious holds over Danielson. Danielson’s last pick is former ROH World Champion Austin Aries. McGuinness again goes the predictable route by picking current FIP World Heavyweight Champion Roderick Strong. The segment wraps up with a funny exchange about whether or not Danielson has ever kissed a girl. Danielson and McGuinness pulled this segment off brilliantly and should be counted on for stuff like this often.
JZ says: Becky Bayless’ boobs are hosting this team picking event. Come on, it’s the only part of her people actually pay attention to. She struggles with the coin toss and Nigel calls heads, and we wind up on tails. Danielson first picks the ROH World Tag Team Champions the Briscoe Brothers. Boobs busts in and says he can only have one Briscoe, and Nigel says it doesn’t matter which one he picks, because he’ll take the other one. I’m still not sure which one is on which team, but each get a Briscoe. Danielson then picks Jimmy Rave, who we learn has a busted eardrum and will not compete tonight. Larry Sweeney comes out to offer the services of Matt Sydal, to which Danielson agrees. Nigel counters with Delirious. Danielson’s last pick is former ROH World Champion Austin Aries. Nigel then goes with current FIP World Champion Roderick Strong to round out his team.
MATCH #5: Semi-final Match: El Generico vs. Davey Richards
BG says: Richards gets a takedown to start. He puts on a surfboard and rolls Generico up for 1. They knuckle up and Generico takes control. Richards comes back with kicks and puts on a headlock. He gets a crucifix pin for 2. Generico blocks the D.R. Driver and Richards blocks the brainbuster. Generico hits a backbreaker for 2. He works over Richards’s neck for 2. He hits another backbreaker but a split legged moonsault hits knees. Generico tries to block Richards’s kicks to no avail. Richards puts on a camel clutch and then kicks Generico down for 2. He hits a clothesline for 2. He pitches Generico to the floor and into the barricade. He whips Generico back into the barricade and hits a headbutt. He hits a vertical suplex on the floor and rolls Generico back into the ring for 2. He puts on a chinlock and then grabs a cross armbreaker. Generico gets to the ropes. Richards hits a hammerlock northern lights suplex and then drops a leg on the arm. He hits a kneedrop on Generico’s elbow an overhead suplex. He hits a running forearm but Generico dumps him to the floor and follows him out with a hands free dive. He rolls Richards back into the ring and hits a top rope crossbody for 2. He hits a blue thunder bomb for 2. Richards gets a roll up for 2. Generico hits a chinbreaker but Richards blocks the Yakuza kick and hits a capture suplex into the corner. He sets Generico up top and hits the slowest superplex ever for 2. He puts on the 14:59 but Generico gets to the ropes. Generico blocks the handspring kick with a baseball slide and hits the Michinoku Driver for 2. Richards hits a tombstone piledriver for 2. He goes for the shooting star press but Generico gets his knees up and hits the Yakuza kick and the BRAINBUSTAH for the win. There was far too much resting in this match, and nothing engaging to counteract the dull spots. Prazak is trying to sell Generico’s success as a Cinderella story but he hasn’t been too much of an underdog to his opponents. The unresponsive crowd didn’t help either.
Rating: **½
Generico gets to cut his own promo backstage in broken Spanish. Uno otra indeed.
JZ says: Generico beat Delirious and Chris Hero to get here, while Richards got by Jigsaw and Pelle Primeau. They do a little mat wrestling to start and then they play to the crowd and stall for a minute. Richards takes the early advantage, as the commentators heavily push Generico as an underdog here. Richards tries the DR Driver, and Generico is able to counter with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Richards soon retakes control and thwarts Generico’s attempts to fight back. They fight to the outside and Richards abuses Generico and slaps him around just to be a jerk. Back in the ring Richards grounds Generico with a face lock of sorts. He then starts going after the arm to set up for the Kimura Lock. I still have never heard it called the 14:59 in ROH, by the way. Generico finally comes back and knocks Richards over the top and to the floor and hits a big dive. He begs the crowd to cheer for him, and they oblige. Back in the ring he hits a few moves on Richards but can’t quite put him away. Richards comes back with a surprise suplex into the corner and then follows it up with a superplex Dynamite Kid style. He puts on the Kimura Lock but Generico won’t tap. Generico escapes the hold and fights back with a Michinoku Driver for two. They trade some big moves and no one can get a fall. Generico hits a nasty turnbuckle brainbuster on Richards and stumbles around for a minute before covering him and getting the pin at 12:26. The finish was pretty sweet but the match was pretty cut and paste before that. It was perfectly serviceable thought.
Rating: **¾
MATCH #6: Semi-final Match: Jack Evans vs. Claudio Castagnoli
BG says: They lock up and Castagnoli puts Evans on the mat for 2. They trade holds and Castagnoli gets several near falls. Evans hits a head scissors takedown and a back flip kick. Castagnoli low bridges him when he goes for a handspring elbow and then follows him out to drop Evans’s face on the apron. Back in the ring Castagnoli hits a slingshot elbowdrop for 2. He hits the giant swing for 2. He lifts Evans up and slams him to the mat for 2. He hits a gutwrench suplex for 2. Evans hits a cartwheel kick and Castagnoli falls to the floor. He wipes out going for a dive but hits a swinging kick and a dive off the apron. He hits a 450 splash off the apron to the floor and rolls Castagnoli back into the ring for 2. Castagnoli blocks a knee kick and hits a European uppercut for 2. He hits the Alpamare Waterslide for 2. He hits a big boot in the corner but Evans comes back with a head scissors takedown. He hits the knee kick and a standing corkscrew moonsault for 2. He sets Castagnoli up top and hits a dropkick to the back. Castagnoli falls into the Tree of Woe so Evans hits him with the Ong Jak for 2. Castagnoli ducks a kick and pulls Evans into the Ricola Bomb for the win. Castagnoli vs. a little high flyer in a short match is a sure-fire recipe for a fun match.
Rating: ***
Castagnoli is feeling great after his second win, and he has only one match to go. Evans comes up and says he’s going to root for Castagnoli, but he wants a rematch somewhere down the road. Castagnoli is down.
After ripping on Bobby Dempsey while talking to Danielson earlier in the night Larry Sweeney is very motivated to stop him from being a big fat setback for Sweet N’ Sour Inc. Tank Toland is going to put Dempsey into his Hot Box O’ Doom. Toland says he’s going to make Dempsey ride a bike while in the box. Hero, Toland and Sweeney leave him alone for an hour in the box. Hero hilariously puts five dollars on Dempsey dying in there.
JZ says: Castagnoli beat Hallowicked and Mike Quackenbush to get here, while Evans took down Kevin Steen and Brent Albright. They wrestle on the mat to start, a battle that Castagnoli obviously has the advantage in. Evans keeps up a little bit, but Castagnoli has all the power and leverage advantage. He starts going to his ridiculous aerial skills early on, and Castagnoli ducks out of his way and Evans tumbles to the floor. Castagnoli follows him out and drops him face first on the ring apron. Back in the ring Castagnoli uses the Giant Swing but can’t pin Evans just yet. They go back to the floor and Evans takes control, hitting several big moves including a 450 splash off the apron. See what’s cool about Evans is that he can hit the stuff he actually tries, unlike Kurt Angle. Back in the ring Castagnoli fights back with a European uppercut for a near fall. The Alparmare Water Slide yields similar results. Evans fights back with a springboard headscissors off the ropes, a running knee, and a corkscrew press for two. Evans hits the Ong-Bak for two. Claudio is able to hit the Ricola Bomb out of nowhere to get the pin at 9:09. That seemed longer, and not nearly as entertaining as I thought it would be given how much I like both guys. We’ve got El Generico vs. Claudio Castagnoli in the finals now. Does anyone else notice that Castagnoli’s voice sounds like Rick Martel’s?
Rating: **¼
Sweet ‘n’ Sour Incorporated is backstage. Sweeney says everyone is going so well, with the exception of the big fat thorn which is Bobby Dempsey. They’re standing outside a sauna, which they rename “Tank Toland’s Hot Box of Doom.” I love how Toland has settled into his role. He even put a stationary bike in the sauna so that Dempsey can work out in there while he sweats. Hero betting $5 that he dies may be the best thing he’s ever done.
MATCH #7: Six Man Mayhem – BJ Whitmer vs. Erick Stevens vs. Kevin Steen vs. Matt Cross vs. Jigsaw vs. Hallowicked
BG says: Steen attacks everyone from behind to start. He tackles Jigsaw down before everyone else beats him to the mat and throws him to the floor. Everyone ends up on the floor save for Whitmer and Hallowicked. Hallowicked hits a head scissors takedown and Whitmer bails. Cross dropkicks Hallowicked to the floor then Jigsaw rolls Cross up for 2. Cross misses a standing moonsault but hits a spinning facebuster. Stevens comes in and hits Jigsaw with a side slam after holding him for a dropkick from Cross. Cross jumps over Stevens to hit a senton on Jigsaw. Whitmer comes in and trades chops with Stevens. Steen low bridges Whitmer and Hallowicked rolls Stevens up for 2. He rolls Stevens up a couple more times for 2. He hits an armdrag and a dropkick, knocking Stevens to the floor. Jigsaw comes in and hits an armdrag. Hallowicked returns the favor but Jigsaw knocks him to the floor. Steen hits Jigsaw from behind and elbows him down. He hits a series of legdrops and knocks Stevens and Cross off the apron. Whitmer runs in and boots him down. He hits Hallowicked with a vertical suplex and a knee to the head. Jigsaw hits him with a leg lariat and dives onto Hallowicked on the floor with a suicide dive. Stevens dives onto the CHIKARA pair and Steen follows that with a somersault off the top. Cross hits Whitmer with the Space Flying Tiger Hurricanrana and hits Steen with a head scissors takedown in the ring. Steen sets him up top and then catches him coming down with the Go Home Driver for 2. Whitmer keeps him from hitting the package piledriver and hits a knee kick. He hits a German suplex for 2 when Jigsaw breaks it up with a splash off the top. That gets 2. Jigsaw hits Stevens with a DDT for 2. Cross hits Jigsaw with a neckbreaker and a corkscrew moonsault off the top for 2. Hallowicked hits Cross with the Rydeen Bomb for 2. He punts Whitmer’s ribs for 2. Whitmer comes back with a spinebuster for 2. He suplexes Hallowicked to the floor, falling out as well. Steen and Stevens trade shots until Steen hits a superkick. Stevens ducks an enziguiri and holds Steen for a double stomp from Cross. Jigsaw hits Cross with a superkick so Stevens hits him with the Choo Choo Avalanche. Jigsaw counters a lariat to a back elbow and hits an enziguiri. Stevens comes back with the Original and the Doctor Bomb for the win. It’s amazing to me how much better the spot-fests are now than they were when ROH was having them on every show in 2002. The CHIKARA guys just put the JAPW spot monkeys to shame.
Rating: ***¼
JZ says: This match is for everyone not in the tournament and not picked by Bryan Danielson or Nigel McGuinness, which is a great double negative vote of confidence. This is like the loser’s match. Cross and Stevens come out together in a nice showing of solidarity. Steen acts like a jerk and tries to take out everybody in the opening minute, and he pays for it. This becomes a very typical six-man mayhem match pretty quickly, with everyone hitting moves on someone in quick succession. Cross and Stevens work together on Jigsaw. Steen continues to act like a jerk, so apparently he hasn’t learned his lesson yet. Other guys come in and do other stuff, I’m not really interested. Somewhere in there Stevens hits the Doctor Bomb on Jigsaw to get the pin at 10:58. That was a very typical six-man mayhem match and I could barely be torn away from this captivating can of Coke on my desk.
Rating: **
MATCH #8: $10,000 8-Man Tag Team Match – Bryan Danielson, Austin Aries, Matt Sydal & Mark Briscoe vs. Nigel McGuinness, Roderick Strong, Delirious & Jay Briscoe
BG says: Though they’re on the same team Delirious and Strong brawl during their entrance. McGuinness must have forgotten they’d been feuding when he picked them to be on his team. Delirious and Sydal start. They go through their usual quick exchange until Delirious hits a headbutt to the gut. Strong tags Delirious out and gets hit with a head scissors takedown. Sydal puts on an armbar and tags to Aries. Strong quickly retreats but his babyface partners won’t let him out. Aries chases Strong to the floor, distracting everyone long enough for Strong to quickly tag McGuinness in. McGuiness asks for Danielson so Aries tags out. Danielson and McGuinness trade holds until McGuinness hits a back elbow and a European uppercut. Danielson hits a dropkick but McGuinness catches him with a short-arm lariat. Mark tags in so Danielson tags to Jay. The Briscoes don’t want to wrestle each other but their partners won’t tag them out. The crowd loves it. They trade holds without either gaining the advantage and then go for dropkicks at the same time. They trade superkicks and forearms. Danielson and Strong hit cheap shots so the Briscoes wipe everyone else out. They knock some sense into each other and decide to ditch the match and grab some beers. Danielson doesn’t like that and he slaps Jay. That fires the Briscoes up. They hit Danielson with a double uranage and then double-team Strong in the corner. They throw Sydal across the ring and hit McGuinness with the double shoulder tackle. They double-team Aries and then destroy Delirious with a DVD/yelping splash combo. With everyone laid out they walk to the back to get drunk.
With six men left Sydal beats on Delirious. Danielson tags in and puts on the Mexican surfboard. Strong breaks it up but Aries and Sydal kick Delirious before Danielson releases. Aries tags in and hits a slingshot senton. He hits an elbowdrop for 2. Sydal tags in and hits the cannonball legdrop for 2. Danielson tags in and they make a wish. Danielson sets Delirious up top but Delirious fights him off and hits the Shadows. McGuinness tags in and hits a running European uppercut. He hits another lariat for 2. Danielson blocks a blind charge and hits a second rope European uppercut. Sydal tags in and hits a DDT for 2. He hits a double stomp but McGuinness blocks a standing moonsault. Strong tags in and hits a gutbuster. Sydal hits a hurricanrana and tags to Aries. Aries takes Strong down with clotheslines and sends him to the floor. He follows him out with the Heat Seeking Missile and goes to town on him on the floor. Back inside Strong crotches him on the second rope and tags to Delirious. Delirious hits the Panic Attack and an enziguiri. He hits the Neverending Story clotheslines until Strong breaks them up to chop Aries. They fight over who gets to beat up Aries and then brawl to the back. McGuinness is screwed. He tries to fight them all at once but the numbers catch up to him in no time. He hits Sydal with the corner combo and hits Danielson with a lariat. He hits a lariat on Aries for 2. Danielson throws him to the floor and whips him into the barricade, getting 2 back in the ring. He blocks the Jawbreaker Lariat and hits a German suplex for 2. He puts on the Cow Killer but McGuinness gets to the ropes. Sydal tags in and McGuinness gets triple-teamed for 2. He fights back and rams Danielson’s head into the post. Sydal hits him with his corner combo but McGuinness crotches him on the top rope and hits the second rope lariat for 2. He sets Sydal up top but Aries keeps him from hitting the Tower of London. Aries starts the Aries Flurry and tells Sydal to finish it with the shooting star press. Danielson shoves Sydal off and sets up for the headbutt. That doesn’t sit well with Aries who shoves Danielson off the top rope and finishes his flurry with the 450 splash for the win.
The various stories drove this match and they took it in a great direction. I think the thing I loved most about this match was how it showed which issues were more important to certain wrestlers than money. The match also made McGuinness look like a star and did more to put him into title contention than a win with all his teammates could have. The realism of turbulence on Danielson’s team at the end not being enough to give McGuinness a win was a great touch to end things. I could probably go on about other things I loved about this match but then I’d just be gushing.
Rating: ****½
JZ says: Delirious attacks his teammate Roderick Strong during the entrance, so this should be interesting. I was just watching Survivor Series ‘95 on WWE 24/7, and this match reminds me of the “Wild Card” match on that show. Sydal and Delirious start it off and do a little of what they do. Strong soon tags in and Sydal soon tags out to Aries, and Strong wants no part of him. Aries dominates for a minute, and then Nigel and Danielson get tagged in. They fight for a minute and Nigel tags in Mark so Danielson tags in Jay. The crowd is pretty hot to see this, and no one from their teams will tag in. The crowd chants “Man Up” as the Briscoes prove why they’re the best thing ROH has to offer. The partners try to interfere, so Jay and Mark decide to take them all out and then throw forearms at each other. Then they decide they don’t want to fight anymore. Danielson tries to remind them about the ten grand, so the Briscoes beat him up. Strong gets the same treatment, as does Sydal, McGuinness, Aries, and Delirious. They decide to leave the match and go drink some beer. Now we’re down to a six-man tag. Team Danielson takes turns beating on Delirious, keeping him in their corner and tagging in and out a lot. Delirious is able to tag out to Nigel, who goes right after his nemesis Danielson. Sydal comes in and Nigel is able to counter his attacks and tag out to Strong. Sydal takes a few moves then is able to land a rana and tag out to Aries. Aries dominates until Strong takes a low blow and then tags out to Delirious. Aries and Delirious battle for a few minutes until Strong comes in and wants a piece of Aries. He and Delirious argue about who’s going to get said piece, so they fight each other to the back, leaving Nigel at a 3-on-1 disadvantage. Nigel fights back with lariats but can’t get a pin since it’s still 3-on-1. Danielson control McGuinness until they have a slap exchange. Nigel tries the jawbreaker Lariat but Danielson counters with a German Suplex for two. Cattle Mutilation follows but Nigel reaches the ropes. He tries to fight back but the odds are too great and after a brief miscommunication from Team Danielson, Aries hits the 450 to get the pin at 20:39. That was a really good idea for a match and it was booked really well and super fun to watch.
Rating: ****¼
We go back to the training center where it’s been over three hours since Sweet ‘n’ Sour Inc. left Bobby Dempsey in the sauna. They pull Dempsey out and holy crap he’s skinny! They congratulate him on his success and give him the day off. They actually look into the sauna and see the real Bobby Dempsey with chocolate all over his face. They punish him by locking him back in the sauna. That’s funny stuff, and great use of Derrick Dempsey again.
MATCH #9: Tournament Finals – El Generico vs. Claudio Castagnoli
BG says: Castagnoli has different gear on than he did earlier tonight. The match starts with a “Hey” vs. “Olé” battle. It goes on a little long. They lock up and Castagnoli powers Generico to the corner. He gets a roll up and puts on a headlock. Generico comes back with an armdrag into an armbar. Castagnoli gets a few roll ups for 1. He hits a backbreaker for 2. Generico hits a leg lariat for 2. Castagnoli hits the giant swing for 2. He hits a European uppercut to the back for 2. He sets Generico up top and hits a climbing enziguiri. Generico fights him off and comes down with a crossbody for 2. Castagnoli hits the Match Killer for 2. He hits a straight jacket suplex for 2. He puts on a stranglehold and then flushes the toilet for 2. They trade forearms and Generico hits a hiptoss to the floor. He springs out onto Castagnoli and then dives through the ropes to hit a DDT on the floor. Back in the ring he hits a splash off the top for 2. Castagnoli blocks the Yakuza kick and hits a bicycle kick. Generico counters the Ricola Bomb to the Yoshi Tonic for 2. Castagnoli blocks the swinging DDT and hits a huge European uppercut for 2. He hits the Alpamare Waterslide for 2. He sets Generico up top but Generico catches him in the Tree of Woe. He climbs an adjacent turnbuckle and hits the flipping corner to corner dropkick for 2. He hits a brainbuster for 2. He hits the Yakuza kick and goes for the BRAINBUSTAH. Castagnoli blocks and hits the Alpamare Waterslide off the second rope for 2. Generico counters the Ricola Bomb to a hurricanrana for 2. Castagnoli counters a sunset flip to the Ricola Bomb for 2. He unloads with European uppercuts until Generico counters one to a backslide for 2. Castagnoli hits another European uppercut but Generico pops up and boots him down. He keeps the pressure on with boots until Castagnoli ducks one and hits a European uppercut off the top and a huge Ricola Bomb for the win. After a slow start (which made sense in the context of the show) the match picked up in a big way. The counter wrestling was fantastic; something I’m starting to find Castagnoli is very skilled at. I also love that Castagnoli frequently goes for multiple pins in a row after he hits a big move. Since the commentators were insistent on trying to sell Generico’s performance in the tournament as a Cinderella story I’m glad they at least had the good sense to have Castagnoli dominate most of the match.
Rating: ****
After the match Castagnoli gets on the microphone and thanks Generico, shiny trophy in hand. They shake hands and hug without any interference from Generico’s stick in the mud partner Steen. Castagnoli thanks the fans and acknowledges his heel past. He talks about leaving his life Switzerland to live for moments like the one he’s having now. That speech was very eloquent; you almost can’t tell that Castagnoli is ESL.
JZ says: I didn’t predict either of these two to go to the finals, so what do I know? Claudio beat Hallowicked, Mike Quackenbush, and Jack Evans to get here. Generico got by Delirious, Chris Hero, and Davey Richards. They have a rather lengthy “Hey” vs. “Ole” battle at the beginning, and both guys are pretty over as babyfaces here. They begin fairly cautiously, mat wrestling to a stalemate. Artie In The Earpiece tells Prazak to announce that both nights of Death Before Dishonor weekend will feature street fights. The first one is The Briscoe Brothers against Kevin Steen & El Generico, and night two will be The No Remorse Corps & Matt Sydal taking The Resilience & Delirious. They trade moves back and forth early on, with neither guy getting a sustained advantage. Claudio hits a few of his big moves, including a straightjacket suplex right into a submission. Claudio is focusing his attack on the back and neck. Generico comes back by knocking Claudio outside the ring and hitting a big dive on him. He follows that up with a sweet swinging DDT on the floor. Back in the ring Generico hits a super splash for two. Claudio comes back with a bicycle kick and tries the Ricola Bomb but Generico reverses that to a Code Red for two. Claudio comes back with a big European Uppercut for two. The Alparmare Water Slide also gets two. Generico hits a coast to coast dropkick and a wicked brainbuster but Claudio somehow kicks out. Generico is undaunted and goes for the super brainbuster. Claudio avoids that and hits the Super Alparmare Water Slide but he kicks out. Claudio motions for the Ricola Bomb, and Generico again counters it, this time with a rana and Claudio kicks out. Generico tries a sunset flip and Claudio counters by finally hitting the Ricola Bomb for two. Generico unloads boots to the face and Claudio won’t go down. He avoids a kick to the face and hits a huge European Uppercut and follows with an elevated Ricola Bomb to finally get the three count at 18:47. That was the best singles match I’ve seen out of either of these guys, and this was absolutely the right time for them to have it. The right guy went over too.
Rating: ****¼
Claudio gets on the mic to thank El Generico and they show respect to each other. He also thanks Ring of Honor and Ring of Honor fans. He says that two years ago he left everything behind to come to America to live moments like this. The crowd is really appreciative of Claudio, as they should be.
MVP
BG says: Castagnoli had the best matches throughout the tournament (being the only wrestler whose matches all reached *** on night 2) and then won the thing in a great bout, so there’s no contest.
Coming soon will be our review of DRIVEN! We hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving!
The 411: BG says: I have this theory that on tournament shows the matches on night two involving the losers from night one grouped together are always the best. It was true of the inaugural PWG Battle of Los Angeles and its true here. Though only two of the participants in the 10,000 dollar match were in the tournament, the six man mayhem was also better than the majority of the tournament. The commentators trying sell Generico’s tournament journey as a Cinderella story was very annoying, as he had little trouble with any of his opponents and is as well regarded as most if not all of them. At any rate, Castagnoli had great tournament matches and deserved to win. The six man mayhem was good and the 8 man tag was one of the most outright fun matches of the year. This is the superior night of the tournament so if you can only get one get this one.
JZ says: The last two matches alone make this show superior to the previous nights’, and also make it worth purchasing. Claudio was booked really well throughout the tournament and was a deserving winner. His matches with Quackenbush and Generico in particular show how far he’s come in his time in ROH. The eight-man tag was so much fun to watch and a bit of something different from ROH. There’s some mediocrity in the beginning of this one, but stick with it because it gets pretty great at the end.
