ROH - Death Before Dishonor V NIght Two DVD Review
Posted by Garoon & Ziegler on 12.08.2007
Another World Title defense by Morishima and another wild street fight headline night two!
ROH – DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR V NIGHT TWO – PHILADELPHIA, PA – 8.11.07
Before we get started we would really appreciate it if everyone took a second to head on over to The Cool Kids' Table. This series of podcasts is a side project that we and Samuel Berman are involved in. Our most recent installment is made up entirely of an exclusive Jimmy Jacobs in which he responds to Glen "Disco Inferno" Gilberti's comments about him, talks about his time off and return to the ring and then pretty much just takes over the show. We think you'll enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed recording it. You can find the interview here.
Introduction
BG says: Death Before Dishonor weekend’s Video Wire starts with Claudio Castagsnoli walking his Race to the Top Tournament trophy to the back. To avoid having to type that out every time I’ll call it the RTTTTT. At the ROH school Castagnoli has a few words for the Wire. He’s going to walk us through his tournament matches. He says Hallowicked was a tough first round opponent. Clips from that match play. Castagnoli shows us a bit of his workout routine as he jogs on an eliptacle machine. He’s getting in shape for his title match against Takeshi Morishima. He’s really excited for that match just like he’s always excited to wrestle his quarterfinal opponent Mike Quackenbush. Clips from that match air. Next up are clips from the Briscoes wiping out everyone in the 10,000 dollar tag team match and walking out on the whole production to get drunk. After that is a clip from the tag team main event of Respect is Earned. It was airing in August On Demand, but that was months ago. Castagnoli runs the ropes and talks about Morishima’s size advantage. He feels that he’s in the best ring shape of his life. Without any real kind of introduction clips of his semifinal match against Jack Evans play. Back at the ROH school Castagnoli trains with weights to improve his European uppercut. He says he’ll always remember the finals of the tournament against El Generico. After confidently stating he’ll be ready to defend the belt against Brent Albright the night after winning it clips of the match against Generico play.
The Briscoes come to the ring to start the show. They’ll be fighting Kevin Steen and El Generico in gimmicked singles matches tonight. Jay wants a fight now and calls them out. Steen responds by reminding the Briscoes of all the times he and Generico have beaten them down. He tells Generico that he and Mark can have their Falls Count Anywhere match now before brawling with Jay to the back.
JZ says: The ROH World Tag Team Champions, The Briscoe Brothers, come out to start the show in the arena, and say that they each have singles matches, Mark with El Generico and Jay with Kevin Steen, and they don’t care which one is first. Steen and Generico come out and Steen says he can’t fight first because he promised his mom he’d call her, so it’s the Falls Count Anywhere match first up.
MATCH #1: Falls Count Anywhere – Mark Briscoe vs. El Generico
BG says: Generico starts out in control on the floor. Mark comes back with a clothesline. He climbs the ropes and hits the shooting star press to the floor for 2. Back in the ring Mark hits a Samoan drop for 2. He hits a northern lights suplex for 2. He pitches Generico to the floor and tries to dive off the apron but Generico throws him into the barricade. Mark hits a back elbow and a bodyslam. He climbs onto the barricade but Generico suplexes him off of it to the floor for 2. Back in the ring Generico comes off the top rope with a crossbody for 2 (Mark telegraphs that so obviously). Generico hits a backbreaker and a split legged moonsault for 2. Mark blocks a blind charge and hits a moonsault press. He kicks Generico’s head and hits the yelping dropkick. Generico falls to the floor so Mark hits him with a baseball slide. He climbs the ropes but Generico catches him with a back suplex from the apron to the floor for 2. Holy crap. They fight to the ramp where Generico hits the Yakuza kick for 2. Mark blocks the brainbuster and hits an exploder on the ramp for 2. Steen runs out holding a ladder but Mark hits him with a superkick. The distraction allows Generico to dive through the ropes and hit Mark with a DDT on the floor for the win. For as full of dangerous bumps as this was it really belonged higher up on the card. Really fun match though, and the post-match antics with Steen got the crowd heated up.
Rating: ***¼
The No Remorse Corp is really excited. Roderick Strong and Rocky Romero are going to party after they win in the main event, but as always Davey Richards can’t go. Larry Sweeney walks up with Matt Sydal (w/ Rolex watch) and congratulates the NRC for being able to afford Sydal’s services. Richards is upset that not only does he not get to party but that Sweeney won’t get him a Rolex watch. I love the NRC dynamic.
JZ says: The fight starts outside the ring with some brawling. Mark gets the first near fall after a Shooting Star Press from the top rope to the floor. The fight continues outside the ring, with Mark mostly staying in control. Mark goes up to the guardrail and Generico grabs him and suplexes him to the floor. The insanity of these guys continues. Back in the ring Generico hits a split-legged Moonsault for two. Mark makes the comeback with his usual offense, which is always good. They fight back outside the ring and up by the entrance ramp. They each go for the brainbuster but neither can land it. Generico hits a big boot to the face for a near fall. Steen comes out and tries to hit Mark with a ladder but Mark is able to Superkick him but that leaves the door open for Generico to hit a swank DDT on Mark on the floor to get the pin at 8:19. They sure packed a lot of sick into a short amount of time.
Rating: ***
The No Remorse Corps is backstage getting pumped for their Street Fight tonight. Roderick is wearing the gayest bandana ever, and the NRC is still making fun of Richards, telling him he doesn’t get to go out with them tonight, which is pretty funny. Strong introduces Matt Sydal as their partner tonight. “Gimme a watch, Larry,” is the best thing Richards has ever said.
MATCH #2: Jack Evans vs. Deranged
BG says: Was there really an outcry for a Deranged comeback? Before the match can start a fan wearing a Project 161 shirt jumps the rail and shouts “Project 161 is real” over a megaphone. Security drags him out. The match starts with Deranged kicking Evans’s back. Evans puts on a leglock but Deranged gets to the ropes. Evans hits a handspring elbow and a springboard knee to the back of the head for 2. He goes for another handspring elbow but Deranged throws him into the turnbuckle. He hits a spinning kick and a springboard double stomp to the chest. Evans bails so Deranged follows him out with the Asai moonsault. Back in the ring Deranged gets 2. He hits a delayed brainbuster for 2. He hits a head scissors takedown and a knee kick in the corner. He hits a swinging DDT for 2. Evans blocks the Yoshi Tonic and hits a standing corkscrew moonsault for 2. Deranged hits a big boot but Evans comes back with a knee kick for 2. He climbs the ropes but Deranged cuts him off and goes for a back superplex. Evans flips over so that Deranged gets stuck in the Tree of Woe. He hits a dropkick and the Ong Jak before climbing again and hitting the 630 senton for the win. Decent enough stuff. The reported botched spots (which I don’t doubt existed due to the hostile crowd during the match) must have been edited out. What was left was decent enough.
Rating: **¼
JZ says: Wow, you think that if Deranged was getting another shot with the company he would maybe get some real gear and not suck so much. Deranged hasn’t wrestled in ROH since 10.2.05, and that match didn’t even make the DVD. His last DVD appearance was The Homecoming on 7.23.05. I don’t think too many have missed him really. They have a dance-off to start, which gets interrupted by a fan in a Project 161 t-shirt jumps the rail with a megaphone to spread the good word. Join the revolution. The jerk security guards drag him out and we go back to the ring. They trade high flying maneuvers and Deranged gets the first big high spot of the match with an Asai Moonsault to the floor. Back in the ring Deranged is still actually in control. A weird spot leads to Evans getting a standing corkscrew press for a near fall. Evans hits a running knee strike for two. Evans looks like he’s going for the 630 but Deranged knocks him down. A contrived sequence leads to Evans hitting the Ong Jak and goes back up for the 630. This time he hits it and it’s over at 6:43. I’m not surprised Deranged hasn’t been invited back since this.
Rating: *½
MATCH #3: Nigel McGuinness & Claudio Castagnoli vs. Chris Hero & Jigsaw
BG says: Absinthe & Ursula Andress? I don’t even know anymore. Sweeney hired Jigsaw to team with Hero based on his experience against Castagnoli in CHIKARA. A quick once over of the CHIKARA results page shows that they’re about even against each other in tag matches (and have seemingly never wrestled one-on-one). Hero and Castagnoli start, but Hero quickly bails. McGuinness and Castagnoli corner him on the floor, forcing him back into the ring. Hero is having none of that and tags out to Jigsaw. McGuinness tags in so Hero tags back in. They trade holds and Hero does his flip show. He gets back in the ring where Castagnoli sneaks up behind him and scares him to the floor. With Castagnoli in the ring Hero tags out to Jigsaw. They trade holds on the mat until Castagnoli tags to McGuinness. McGuinness puts on a wristlock but Jigsaw fancily counters the hold. Jigsaw hits a leg lariat and tags to Hero. Castagnoli tags in behind Hero’s back so Hero quickly tags out. Jigsaw hits Castagnoli with armdrags into a roll up for 2. He goes to the floor so Castagnoli pulls him back in by his head and hits the Crabwalk Elbow for 2. McGuinness tags in and hits a short-arm lariat for 2. He sets Jigsaw up top but Hero stops him from hitting the Tower of London by hitting an armbreaker. Jigsaw stays on the arm and tags to Hero. Hero drops his knee on McGuinness’s arm and tags to Jigsaw. Jigsaw puts on an armbar and rolls McGuinness up. Hero double stomps the arm on the apron. He tags in and drops forearms on McGuinness’s arm. Jigsaw tags in and Hero drops him from the electric chair position onto McGuinness for 2. McGuinness comes back with a lariat (using the bad arm). Hero tags in and knocks Castagnoli off the apron. He goes back to work on McGuinness’s arm. Jigsaw tags in and gets 2. Hero tags in and boots Jigsaw by mistake. McGuinness hits both opponents with his corner combo and tags to Castagnoli. Castagnoli hits a bicycle kick and the Match Killer on Hero. He hits the giant swing on Jigsaw, almost pulling down the masked man’s pants in the process. He hits Hero with a European uppercut and the Alpamare Waterslide for 2. He sets Hero up top but misses his climbing enziguiri. Jigsaw climbs up Hero’s back and comes off of his shoulders with a legdrop to Castagnoli. Hero follows up with a double stomp for 2. McGuinness comes in with a lariat (with the bad arm) on Hero. He hits the Tower of London on Jigsaw. He chases Hero’s entourage to the back, distracting the referee and allowing Hero to hit Castagnoli with the Race to the Top trophy for the win. The arm work that took up much of the match went nowhere because he just would not sell at all, but that hardly takes away from the rest of the match. Though the first half was pure silliness it blended well into the second half of great tag team action. Hero and Jigsaw make a fine team, even distracting me from McGuinness’s annoying habits. After the match Hero bloodies Castagnoli and destroys his trophy. McGuinness makes the save, using Bobby Dempsey as a weapon.
Rating: ***½
Bryan Danielson has a lot of respect for Mike Quackenbush. He trained with Reckless Youth, who used to tell him all sorts of stories about Quackenbush when he was a rookie. But now he’s the ROH veteran, and Quackenbush is the newcomer. He’s going to be nothing more than a stepping stone on his path back to the ROH World Championship.
JZ says: Hero and Claudio are going to start the match, but when Hero sees Claudio he bails to the outside and we’re stalling. We wind up with Nigel actually starting the match with Hero, in a rematch of last night’s Pure Rules match. They do a whole lot of not much and we cut to Claudio and Jigsaw in the ring. We see some mat wrestling between Jigsaw and both of his opponents. Nigel is able to tag Claudio in while Hero is in there, so Hero bails again. Jigsaw gets back in the ring and takes abuse from both Nigel and Claudio, who are working very well together as a team. Hero takes a cheap shot on Nigel’s arm and now he and Jigsaw take over while Claudio watches from the ring apron. Nigel takes several minutes of abuse before making the hot tag to Claudio, who finally gets his hands on his arch nemesis Hero. He gives Jigsaw the Giant Swing for a really long time and Jigsaw almost loses his pants. We break down to a big brawl with everyone hitting big moves and breaking up the other guys’ pin attempts. Nigel and Jigsaw battle outside the ring, thus distracting the referee long enough for Hero to hit Claudio with the Race to the Top Trophy and score the pin at 15:00. It felt twice as long as that due to all the stalling. Hero continues his assault on Claudio after the bell and smashes up his trophy. The match was pretty dull, as they were definitely trying to hold off on Claudio and Hero fighting, which in the end is a good thing. Nigel comes back out to make the save for his tag team partner.
Rating: **
Bryan Danielson is backstage to cut a promo about his opponent tonight, Mike Quackenbush. He promises to make the ROH newcomer a stepping stone on his way back to the ROH World Title.
MATCH #4: Shimmer Title Match – Sara Del Ray vs. Lacey
BG says: It’s strange to be watching this before watching the title tournament that crowned the first SHIMMER champion. Del Rey hits a body block to start. She hits a dropkick and a butt thrust. She puts on a wristlock and gets a takedown. Daizee Haze watches from the ramp, which is kind of sad considering she’s out of contention for now. Lacey comes back with kicks. Del Rey hits a big boot and Lacey bails. Del Rey chases her around the ring and they trade forearms on the floor. Del Rey hits a roaring forearm but misses a somersault dive off of the apron. Back in the ring Lacey kicks Del Reys’s back and drops it on the second rope. She dodges a big boot and puts on a leglock. Del Rey quickly gets to the ropes. Lacey puts on a Boston crab but Del Rey gets to the ropes. Del Rey climbs the ropes but Lacey pulls her down for 2. She hits the Raindrop for 2. She puts on the leggy nelson but Del Rey rolls back for 2. Lacey goes to the eyes and hits a neckbreaker for 2. Del Rey counters a kick to a powerbomb. They trade forearms and Del Rey hits a big boot. She hits two more for 2. She hits a bodyslam and a senton for 2. Lacey comes back with a backbreaker for 2. She hits the lungblower for 2. Del Rey blocks the implant DDT with a suplex and gets a roll up for 2. She climbs the ropes but Lacey catches her with a hanging neckbreaker for 2. Del Rey ducks a clothesline and hits a German suplex for 2. She follows up with the Royal Butterfly for the win. Some kind of botched spot was obviously covered up by a shot of Haze during the match. That worked in these ladies’ favor as this was definitely the best women’s match in ROH to date, no-selling aside.
Rating: ***
Brent Albright has been waiting for tonight since he debuted in ROH. He knows he can throw the heavy Morishima around the ring, and he knows he can get the Crowbar on. I appreciate that Albright isn’t introducing himself at the start of his promos anymore, but they’re still very cookie-cutter.
JZ says: Anyone know a website that lists Shimmer title defenses? Lacey beat Daizee Haze last night to earn this opportunity. This is the first time the Shimmer title has been defended on an ROH show. Del Ray starts off by throwing Lacey around and going right after her arm. Daizee Haze is watching from the entrance ramp. What is this, TNA? Lacey tries to fight back but Del Ray is too powerful. Lacey tries to run outside the ring but Del Ray catches her and they trade forearms on the floor until a Del Ray roaring elbow is enough to take Lacey down. She follows that by trying a Cactus dive and Lacey moves out of the way and Del Ray lands with a thud on the floor. Back in the ring Lacey goes to work on the legs, including a Boston Crab. Lacey also works on the back for several minutes until Del Ray grabs a power bomb out of thin air and both women are down. Back to their feet Del Ray takes over on offense and does a few moves she shouldn’t be able to do with such a bad back. They trade maneuvers until Del Ray locks on the Royal Butterfly and turns it into a slam to get the victory and retain the title at 12:38. That was a good sound storytelling for the most part, especially by Lacey, but Del Ray didn’t sell the back nearly hard enough. Still this is one of the better women’s matches ever in ROH.
Rating: ***
Backstage Brent Albright cuts a promo on his opponent for tonight, ROH World Champion Takeshi Morishima. Albright works in his terrible catchphrase and basically promises to win the Title tonight.
MATCH #5: Bryan Danielson vs. Mike Quackenbush
BG says: Danielson looks for a takedown to start. Quackenbush keeps up with him on the mat until they end up in the dueling front headstands. Rather than slap each other they shake hands a break. I dig it. Danielson hits a dropkick. Quackenbush comes back with armdrags. Danielson unloads with knees, uppercuts and kicks. He hits the neck wrench suplex for 2. He works over Quackenbush’s neck and hits a series of kneedrops for 2. They trade slaps until Danielson hits a leg kick and pounds on Quackenbush’s nose. He hits a knee kick for 2. He plays with the referee before screwing up the Mexican surfboard and putting on the Chicago crab. Quackenbush gets to the ropes. He kicks the chest for 2. He hits armbreakers and a back suplex for 2. He puts on a Stretch Plum variation and lies back with it. He rubs Quackenbush’s face into the mat, angering him. Quackenbush fires back with chops and a crotch thrust in the corner. He sets Danielson up top and hits a palm strike. Danielson falls to the floor so Quackenbush dives out after him. Back in the ring Quackenbush goes after the arm. He hits the Black Tornado Slam and puts on the Rings of Saturn. He gets a crucifix pin for 2. He puts on the octopus stretch and rolls Danielson up for 2. He hits an armbreaker but Danielson comes back with a German suplex. Danielson hits a leaping kick and a tiger suplex for 2. He puts on the crossface chicken wing but Quackenbush gets to the ropes. Quackenbush gets a sunset flip into a crucifix pin for 2. Danielson counters that to the Cow Killer and rolls Quackenbush up for 2. Quackenbush hits a reverse brainbuster and climbs the ropes. He hits a double kneedrop for 2. He puts on the Stretch Plum but Danielson doesn’t tap. Quackenbush switches to the cross armbreaker but Danielson gets to the ropes. They trade strikes and Quackenbush blocks a forearm to get a roll up for 2. Danielson comes back with the triangle choke with elbows to the head until Quackenbush passes out and gets the win. It was cool to see Quackenbush catch Danielson off guard with his quick holds and armdrags. Danielson’s selling was fantastic and this match more than lived up to expectations.
Rating: ****
Bill Apter (w/ stupid comb-over) of all people is backstage with the Resilience. Austin Aries may not be 100% tonight, but he’s more than ready for the street fight. Delirious is also ready, but more than usual I can’t understand anything he says. That promo made Cross and Stevens look useless.
JZ says: They wrestle to a stalemate early on and the crowd is super hot for both guys. Danielson takes the first advantage and gets the first near fall with a suplex into a bridge. Danielson continues to be the aggressor and controls the match up, going after Quack’s arm. Quack makes the comeback after several minutes of abuse with a flurry of offense that sends Danielson to the floor. Quack dives out onto him and looks like he hits himself on the guardrail pretty hard. Back in the ring Quack stays in control, working over Danielson’s oft-injured shoulder. Danielson comes back by using the cross face chicken wing but Quack is able to reach the ropes. Undeterred, Danielson puts on Cattle Mutilation and rolls through for a near fall. Quack comes back with a slam and a double knee from the top rope to the gut of Danielson. HE follows that with the Stretch Plum, and then turns that into the cross armbreaker. Danielson is able to counter and put on a triangle choke and unleash elbows to the head, forcing referee Todd Sinclair to stop the match at 17:08. That was an awesome clash of styles, and I think they could do a really good feud with these two guys if Quackenbush is ever added to the fulltime roster.
Rating: ***¾
For some reason Bill Apter is the backstage interviewer tonight, and he is with The Resilience. Aries says the No Remorse Corps is scared, and he introduces us to their partner for tonight’s eight-man tag, Delirious. That should be a crazy match.
MATCH #6: Lights Out Match – Kevin Steen vs. Jay Briscoe
BG says: Lights Out is essentially a Last Man Standing match, because you knock your opponent’s “lights out.” Get it? What I don’t get is why they didn’t just call it a Last Man Standing match. Steen knocks Jay to the floor and slingshots out after him. He shoves him into the barricade but Jay returns the favor. Steen places Jay’s head on an upright chair, stands on it and then hits a kneedrop. Back in the ring Jay comes off the top with a dropkick. He hits the Complete Shot into the corner and a superkick. He washes Steen’s face but Steen comes back with a superkick. Steen hits the Cannonball. They trade strikes and Jay hits a hurricanrana. Steen hits the fisherman neckbreaker. He climbs the ropes but the Swanton Bomb hits Jay’s knees. Jay puts on the Stretch Plum and then picks Steen up to hit a short-arm clothesline. Steen bails so Jay follows him out with a crossbody. Steen gets up at 5. Back in the ring Jay comes off the top with a legdrop that Steen definitely saw and should have been able to easily avoid. Back on the floor Steen counters the Jay Driller to a backdrop. He powerbombs Jay against the barricade. Jay gets up at 8. Steen goes for the package piledriver on the apron but Jay counters to the DVD. Steen gets up at 7. He puts on a sleeper hold but Jay counters to a German suplex. Both men get up at 7. Steen hits an enziguiri and the package piledriver. The crowd chants “Man Up” and Jay gets up at 8. He hits the Jay Driller but Steen gets up at 8. Generico runs in and hits Jay with the Yakuza kick. He hits it again and Steen hits the package piledriver for the win. Mark runs out and keeps Steen & Generico from doing any more damage after the match. I appreciate the big spots and the consistent action in this match, but there wasn’t much of a flow. The finish works in the context of the feud but still cheapened this match.
Rating: **¾
JZ says: Jay challenges Steen on the mic, who then rushes the ring and the fight is on. A “lights out” match means you have to knock your opponent down for a 10-count. So it’s really just a last man standing match. The fight spills to the floor early on. Back in the ring the brawl continues. Neither guy is holding back, they bust out plenty of big moves early in the match. Steen tries the Swanton but Jay gets the knees up and locks on a stretch plum. A guillotine legdrop by Jay keeps Steen down for a seven-count. They go back to the floor and Jay teases the Jay Driller on the floor but Steen back drops his way out of it. Steen then powerbombs Jay into the guardrail right on his head. Steen teases the Package Piledriver on the apron, but Jay counters it to a Death Valley Driver instead. Jay drops Steen on his head with a suplex and both men are down for a seven-count. Jay tries the Jay Driller again but Steen avoids it and hits a step-up enziguiri and the Package Piledriver. Jay gets up at eight. Steen tries it again but Jay escapes and nails the Jay Driller. Generico comes out to hit two big running boots to Jay’s face and Steen delivers another Package Piledriver and that’s enough to keep Jay down at 14:12. That was about as good as the opening match, and both matches kept the feud going strong because of all the cheating.
Rating: ***
MATCH #7: ROH World Title Match – Takeshi Morishima vs. Brent Albright
BG says: They trade forearms to start. Morishima hits a clothesline in the corner and beats on Albright until the referee makes him break. Albright hits a dropkick but Morishima stays on his feet. Albright hits a bodyslam and beats Morishima down in the corner, ignoring the referee’s order to break. He knocks Morishima to the floor and stomps on his chest. He rams Morishima’s shoulder into the barricade. Morishima goes for a clothesline but hits the post. Back in the ring Albright gets 2. Albright stays on the arm with a kneedrop and a hammerlock back suplex. He puts on a top wristlock and then hits an arm stunner. He goes for the Crowbar but Morishima blocks it and hits a side slam. He knocks Albright to the floor and hits him with a chair right in front of the referee. He hits the Olé Butt Splash and a handspring avalanche back in the ring. He climbs the ropes and comes down with a glancing dropkick for 2. He puts on a chinlock but Albright escapes. He stands on Albright’s throat and hits the butt lariat. Albright comes back with a powerslam. He counters a butt butt to a German suplex for 2. He puts on the Crowbar but Morishima gets to the ropes. Albright goes for a sunset flip but Morishima blocks by sitting on his chest for 2. Morishima hits a big boot. Albright counters the backdrop driver to a crossbody for 2. He grabs the Crowbar but Morishima powers out. Morishima hits a lariat and the backdrop driver for 2. He climbs the ropes but Albright cuts him off and hits a superplex. Morishima pops up and goes for a lariat but Albright counters to a half nelson suplex. He hits another half nelson suplex for 2, but just like the night before the crowd thought for sure Morishima had lost the title. Albright goes for another half nelson suplex but Morishima blocks it. Morishima hits a crossbody for 2. Albright hits an overhead suplex but Morishima comes back with a German suplex. He hits a lariat for 2 and the backdrop driver for the win. It was nice to see Albright work the arm before putting on the Crowbar for once. He was back in his OVW form. The suplex-fest at the end of the match was incredible fun and fed into the backdrop driver finish very well. Albright gets a standing ovation after the match.
Rating: ****
ROH wants you to check out FIP Unfinished Business 2007 and so do I. As my review of that show says, it’s one of the best FIP shows ever, featuring a fantastic main event between Erick Stevens and Steve Madison.
JZ says: Morishima has been the champion since 2.17.07, and this is his fourteenth defense. They trade forearms in the opening seconds of the match, and the champ shrugs off Albright’s blows and clubs the challenger down. The fight spills to the floor and Albright whips Morishima into the guardrail a few times. Albright starts going to work on the arm, even hitting a back suplex onto the arm of the champion. Albright is able to avoid the champ and continues to work on the arm and shoulder. Morishima comes back and starts throwing his superior size around. The champ goes up and hits the missile dropkick for two. Morishima works over Albright for another few minutes until Albright uses his Fighting Spirit and lands a powerslam and both men are down. Back to their feet Albright hits a series of chops and a belly to back suplex for two. Morishima tries a lariat and Albright locks on the crowbar but the champ reaches the ropes. The champion tries to take Albright out but he winds up in the Crowbar again. Morishima escapes and hits a Back Drop Driver but Albright kicks out. Morishima goes up top again and Albright cuts him off and hits a superplex. Morishima no-sells it and another suplex before Albright hits the Half-Nelson suplex for a very near fall. Albright promises “one more time,” thus warning his opponent of what is coming next. Albright whips the champ into the ropes, so he comes back with a cross body block for two. Albright comes back with an overhead belly to belly suplex. Morishima gets up and hits a German Suplex and a bit lariat for two. The crowd is chanting for Albright but Morishima hits the Back Drop Driver and retains the title at 15:15. That was a lot different than the match with Claudio Castagnoli, and had a lot more Fighting Spirit. This was still a very good match though, and easily Albright’s best in ROH.
Rating: ***¾
MATCH #8: Philadelphia Street Fight – No Remorse Corps & Matt Sydal vs. The Resilience & Delirious
BG says: Strong, Romero and Richards are all sporting NRC shirts in a nice display of solidarity. Sydal is wearing a button-down shirt. Delirious, Cross and Stevens come out onto the ramp but Aries is nowhere to be found. Strong gets on the microphone and points out Aries’s absence. He isn’t surprised after the injury Aries sustained at their hands the night before. To nobody’s surprise Aries attacks the NRC from behind with a cane to start the match.
Everyone brawls around the ring. Strong is the first to use a chair as a weapon. Romero throws Delirious into a wall so Delirious returns the favor. Cross and Sydal brawl up the bleachers where Sydal hits a Manhattan drop. Aries limps around while rabidly raking Richards’s back. Sydal chokes Cross with a towel and drags him around the building with it. Strong hits Stevens with the cane. Cross and Sydal climb to the top of the folded up bleachers and brawl. Everyone else brawls to the floor underneath them, telegraphing a spot that sees Cross shove Sydal off the bleachers. Cross then pivots off the wall to dive onto everyone. That was unreal. Back in the ring Cross hits Sydal with a back suplex. Richards hits Cross’s back with a chair and Sydal dumps him to the floor. Sydal stacks chairs onto Cross on the floor and Richards dives out onto him with a slingshot senton. Sydal puts a ladder in the ring. Delirious dropkicks him into the ladder and then hits him with the Panic Attack. Romero knee kicks Delirious into the ladder for 2. Strong and Romero hit Delirious with a double vertical suplex. Romero holds the ladder and Strong catapults Delirious into it. Stevens and Aries crotch Strong and Romero with a rake. Aries takes off their shirts and rakes their backs with the rake. Aries puts the ladder in the corner and Stevens hits the Choo Choo Avalanche on Romero against it. He tries to hit it on Strong but only hits the ladder. Delirious hits Strong with the Cobra Clutch suplex onto the ladder. Romero hits Delirious with a tiger suplex and the buzzsaw kick for 2 when Cross throws a chair at him. Cross hits Romero with a neckbreaker. He drapes Romero over an upright chair and hits him with a double stomp off the top. He tries to do the same to Sydal but Sydal moves and hits a fisherman buster onto the chair. Stevens hits Sydal with the TKO onto the ladder. He dodges Richards’s handspring kick and throws a chair at him. Strong powerbombs Stevens on the floor. Aries hits a low blow on Richards and follows it up with a DDT on a chair for 2 when Strong breaks it up with the Sick Kick. Strong throws a table on Stevens. Sydal climbs the ropes but Delirious throws a chair at him to bring him down. Strong and Delirious brawl on a table in the crowd. Sydal dives off the top rope and knocks Delirious off the table with a clothesline.
Aries throws powder into Richards’s and Romero’s faces. He sets Romero on a table under a scaffold. Cross climbs the scaffold and puts Romero through the table with the Flagpole Press. Aries hits Sydal with a roaring forearm. He rakes Strong’s chest with the rake. Stevens shoots a chair at Richards and then buries him with chairs. Back in the ring Stevens and Aries go for mounted punches on Strong and Richards but Richards fights Stevens off and hits Aries with a powerbomb for 2. Strong clotheslines Aries against the ladder in the corner. Delirious suplexes Sydal on the floor as Aries suplexes Richards into Strong. Stevens tries to dive off of the apron onto Strong but ends up eating a chair. Aries hits Richards and Strong with a double noggin knocker. He hits Richards with a brainbuster on a chair. He hits Strong with the Stroke onto the ladder and climbs the ropes. Richards knocks Aries down and Strong sandwiches his leg in the ladder, slamming it with a chair. Stevens bleeds as he keeps Aries from being pinned. Richards beats Stevens with a chair and works over his wound. Strong and Sydal set up a table at ringside. Cross and Romero have finally recovered. Cross is in better shape and he keeps Romero down with kicks. Stevens tries to take on Strong and Richards but fails after a low blow. He makes some headway with clotheslines. He hits Richards with a back bodydrop and hits Strong with a full nelson slam. He hits Richards with a running powerslam off the apron through the table at ringside. Delirious and Sydal brawl to the back. Strong and Stevens trade forearms. Strong hits the Sick Kick but Stevens stands strong. Something must have been botched between them because the camera cuts to a shot of meaningless brawling amongst the other competitors and comes back to Strong pinning Stevens for 2. Stevens hits a modified blue thunder bomb for 2. Strong hits a running forearm and then throws the ladder at Stevens’ face. He sets up a chair & ladder bridge and tries to put Stevens through it with the tiger driver. Stevens comes back with a German suplex and a lariat for 2. He sets Strong up top and goes for a super Doctor Bomb through the bridge but Strong fights back and puts Stevens through the bridge with the half nelson backbreaker. He puts on a Boston crab and at this point the result is inevitable.
There was probably just as much no-selling in this match as there was in the previous night’s street fight but with eight guys involved it was better hidden. Come to think of it however, after taking big hits both Delirious and Romero took plenty of time to recover. There were a few lulls in the approximately thirty five minute match, but for the most part it was a plunder-filled battle only lacking in blood.
Rating: ****½
JZ says: Matt Sydal’s street fight attire is hilarious. The Resilience team comes out sans Austin Aries. Strong takes this opportunity to mock the other team for being a man down. Aries obviously sneaks in from behind and we have a big brawl on our hands. We follow Delirious and Romero as they brawl throughout the arena. Sydal and Cross are up on the bleachers. Strong and Aries are fighting in another part of the building. Cross heads up to the top of the bleachers and Sydal follows him up there. Stevens and Richards are fighting, and everyone makes their way over to where Sydal and Cross are. Sydal tries to piledriver Cross, and the tease going off the bleachers. Cross punches Sydal in the face and he falls off onto everyone. Cross does an INSANE jump off the wall down onto everyone and appears to hurt his arm. Cross and Sydal are back in the ring now. Cross takes a blind chair shot and the NRC take control. Sydal introduces a ladder. Aries brings a rake into it and everyone is taking a beating. Sydal takes an ill-advised crash onto Delirious from the top rope over the guardrail to the floor. Cross executes the flagpole press off the scaffolding through a table. Aries and Strong fight over a ladder, and Aries winds up hitting the Stroke on Strong but he gets knocked off the top rope when he goes up for the 450. Aries gets his leg trapped between a ladder and Strong bashes it with a chair a bunch of times, followed by a shot to the head. The brawl continues for several more minutes until Strong hits a half-nelson backbreaker on Stevens off the top rope onto a ladder, and then the Stronghold is enough to finish him at 33:50. There were some insane spots in that match but quite a few dead ones as well. It also felt a little on the long side to me, but still a very, very good match.
Rating: ****
MVP
BG says: We’ll give it to Erick Stevens for coming out of that brutal main event looking like a star.
The 411: BG says: This has got to be one of the best shows ROH has put on all year. It features the finest women’s match in ROH to date, two outstanding contests in Quackenbush vs. Danielson and the World Championship match, two fine matches between the Briscoes and their number one challengers and a fun CHIKARA-style contest. The only sub par outing was a decent if heavily edited match between Evans and Deranged, and the vicious main event more than made up for it. This is a must-have show.
JZ says: I didn’t rate much as high as Brad did, but I still think this was a terrific show. I did rank three matches at three-and-three-quarters or higher, and out of eight matches that’s undoubtedly an easy recommendation. Morishima continues to roll as the champion, and the tag team feud between the Briscoes and Steen & Generico continues building to an apex, and guys like Claudio Castagnoli, Nigel McGuinness, and Bryan Danielson continue to tear it up. Go ROH!
