BG says: This weekend’s Video Wire starts with a promo from Larry Sweeney. He’s rented out Boston’s best athletic facility for Tank Toland. Toland plans on beating Bobby Dempsey into shape. Next up is hype for the cage match between Roderick Strong and Jack Evans. Evans comes off looking like an afterthought to the No Remorse Corp vs. Resilience feud. Evans must feel the same way because he resents the Resilience for their help. Back at the athletic facility the rest of Sweet N’ Sour Inc. has joined the party. Dempsey accidentally pulls out a bag of chips and a bottle of diet cola with his workout equipment. The fact that he put his name on the chips is enough to get a laugh out of me. As punishment Toland sits in a wheelchair and has Dempsey pull him around the track. That lasts all of three seconds before Dempsey collapses and Toland falls onto him. Next up is hype for the many upcoming matches between the Briscoes and Kevin Steen & El Generico. Sweeney has finally gotten a deal he feels is appropriate for his client Chris Hero to wrestle Claudio Castagnoli. The match is coming up. Meanwhile Hero and Toland shower Dempsey in ice and dunk his head under water. Next up are clips of Takeshi Morishima’s title defenses against Castagnoli and Brent Albright. Both matches were very close so now Morishima has to defend the belt against both of them in a triple threat match. If he gets by them he’ll have to wrestle Bryan Danielson in Danielson’s title rematch.
The Briscoes are proud to be the first tag champions to defend the belts in a cage. Jay is used to cage matches after being cut open by Samoa Joe inside one. Steen and Generico had better watch out!
JZ says: The Briscoe Brothers are backstage and excited aboutt defending their ROH World Tag Team Titles inside a steel cage tonight against their arch rivals, Kevin Steen & El Generico.
MATCH #1: Chris Hero vs. Hallowicked
BG says: This match is available on ROHVideos.com for free, but with no commentary. They lock up and trade holds to start. Hero dances around the ring before putting on a headlock. Hallowicked hits an armdrag and mocks Hero. He stays in control with armdrags. He puts on a wristlock but Hero escapes and dances around. He does squats with Dempsey on the floor until Hallowicked dives out onto them. Back in the ring Hero hits a forearm. He hits a big boot for 2. He hits a senton for 2. Hallowicked gets a roll up for 2. Hero hits a German suplex for 2. He hits a slingshot stomp. Hallowicked comes back with a big boot. He unloads chops on Hero’s chest and rolls him up for 2. He hits a head scissors takedown for 2. Hero blocks a blind charge but runs into a Rydeen Bomb. That gets 2 for Hallowicked. Hero hits a roaring forearm and the Hero’s Welcome for the win. Nothing fancy going on here, just a squash to give Hero some momentum going into his big match tomorrow night.
Rating: **¼
Backstage Sweet N Sour Inc. gathers together. Dempsey brushes Hero’s hair as he winds down. Tonight was a breeze for Hero, but tomorrow is a different story. Hero brought Castagnoli to America, and tomorrow he’ll finish what he started at Death Before Dishonor.
JZ says: Hero is sporting a headband now for some reason or another. This one is being taped for the ROH Video Wire, by the way. They do some chain wrestling in the early going, with Hallowicked gaining control with some creative armdrags. Hero bails to the floor and performs a few jumping jacks with Sara Del Ray and squats with Bobby Dempsey, allowing Hallowicked to hit a dive through the ropes. Back in the ring Hero quickly regains control and stomps on the masked man. Hallowicked gets a few quick moves in and retakes the advantage on his more ROH-seasoned opponent. A Sky-Hi powerbomb by Hallowicked only gets two. Hero fights back and hits the Hero’s Welcome to get the pin at 7:31. That was decent enough, but Hallowicked hasn’t done a lot to impress me.
Rating: **¼
Larry Sweeney got backstage awfully quick to brag about the big victory over Hallowicked tonight. He compliments Del Ray and insults Dempsey. Hero promises victory over the man he brought to the United States, Claudio Castagnoli, in their big match in Manhattan tomorrow night.
MATCH #2: Jimmy Jacobs vs. Rhett Titus
BG says: Titus looks like he’s having a seizure with his awkward mannerisms. This of course is Jacobs’s return match after a four-month convalescence, thought he’s still sporting a knee brace. They lock up and Jacobs barely overpowers Titus. Jacobs puts Titus on the mat and puts on an anklelock. Titus hits a cheap shot and puts on a headlock. Jacobs comes back with hiptosses. He puts Titus on the apron and hits a springboard clothesline. Titus slams him to the mat by his hair. Jacobs follows him to the floor with a head scissors takedown. He sets Titus’s head next to the post and dropkicks it, getting 2 back in the ring. He puts on a surfboard stretch and repeatedly slams Titus’s face into the mat. Titus comes back with a dropkick for 2. He hits a veritcal suplex for 2. He goes after the bad leg. He hits a bodyslam but misses his seizure legdrop. I’ve got to hand it to Lenny Leonard for calling out Titus’s awful gestures. Titus kicks out Jacobs’s knee but misses a charge. He gets stuck in the Tree of Woe and Jacobs hits a hip check. He hits a momentum kick and climbs the ropes. He comes down with the senton. He hits a DDT and holds on with a guillotine choke for the win. It’s a shame that the largest ROH Wrestling School graduate is also the one who’s shown the least in the ring so far. Hopefully time will be kind to him, as he’s really the only one with the size to be taken seriously. Jacobs looked good, I just wish he’d have gotten more offense in against Titus.
Rating: *½
Backstage Jacobs dedicates the win to Lacey. He’s happy with how his knee held up because it proved that he’s ready to be back in action.
JZ says: This is Jacobs’s first match in ROH since the steel cage bloodbath with BJ Whitmer back in March. I’ve seen people say that Rhett Titus’s gimmick is good or something, but I don’t see how it’s any different than many other gimmicks that are exactly the same as it. Jacobs gets a respectable pop for his entrance. They wrestle on the mat a little bit as the commentators put over how this is a refresher match for Jacobs since it’s his first match back. Titus gets hip-tossed outside the ring, and grabs Jacobs’s hair as he tries to run off the ropes, sending Jacobs crashing into the mat. Titus celebrates, so Jacobs uses a headscissors on Titus and abuses him back inside the ring. Titus comes back with a dropkick and gloats some more. He follows it up by going to work on Jacobs’s leg. Titus accidentally hangs himself up in the Tree of Woe and Jacobs takes advantage of it and is able to set Titus in position for the senton bomb. He nails Titus with it and then locks on a guillotine choke and Titus taps out at 7:50. Jacobs should have plowed through Titus and his little shenanigans, but at least the debut of his new finisher went well for him.
Rating: *¼
Backstage, a winded Jimmy Jacobs dedicates the last match of his to Lacey. He’s very excited about the shape his knee is in.
MATCH #3: Four Corner Survival – Delirious vs. Nigel McGuinness vs. BJ Whitmer vs. Adam Pearce
BG says: Pearce antagonizes Delirious during his pre-match trance so the referee calls for the bell. Whitmer and McGuinness start the match. They trade holds and then pin attempts. Pearce tags Whitmer out and demands McGuinness tag to Delirious. Delirious tags in and frustrates Pearce with his speed and saliva. He stomps on Pearce’s foot and scares him to the ropes. He hits a Manhattan drop. Pearce comes back with a spinebuster. He hits a bodyslam and tags to Whitmer. Whitmer hits a snaps suplex for 2. Delirious comes back with a top rope crossbody. McGuinness tags in and hits a running European uppercut. He hits short-arm lariats on Whitmer and Pearce. He sets Whitmer up top and hits the Tower of London for 2 when Pearce saves. Delirious dumps Pearce to the floor and dives out onto him and Shane Hagadorn. McGuinness misses a lariat and Whitmer nails him with a German suplex for 2. McGuinness puts an armbar on Pearce until Whitmer saves. Delirious hits a head scissors takedown on Whitmer. Pearce hits Delirious with a torture rack slam. McGuinness clotheslines Pearce down but Whitmer rolls him up for 2. Pearce beats Whitmer down in the corner. Hagadorn pulls out a table and drapes it over the apron and the barricade. Pearce goes for a powerbomb through the table but Delirious stops it with a headbutt to Pearce. McGuinness hits Whitmer with the handstand kick. Pearce hits a clothesline on McGuinness. Delirious shoves Pearce down just before McGuinness hits Whitmer with the Jawbreaker Lariat for the win. Once the action started it never slowed down. The match was very short but a ton of fun.
Rating: ***
After the match Delirious consoles Whitmer. Pearce attacks him from behind but Delirious knocks him down with clotheslines. Hagadorn tries his hand at Delirious but the masked man puts him down with the Panic Attack. Brent Albright runs out and puts Delirious down with two half nelson suplexes. Pearce gets on the microphone and tells Albright to pick Delirious up. He’s tired of Delirious hiding behind his mask, so to punish him he’s going to make it a permanent part of his body with a staple gun. Whitmer rushes the ring to save Delirious (after all Delirious kept Pearce from powerbombing Whitmer through a table during the match). He powerbombs Hagadorn, but Pearce’s hypnotizing words cause Whitmer to hit Delirious with the Adrenaline Spike. He and Albright hold Delirious while Pearce staples Delirious’s mask to his face. Pearce, Whitmer, Albright and Hagadorn all leave together.
JZ says: Whitmer and McGuinness start it off with some chain wrestling. This is a rematch of sorts between these two from Japan back in July. Pearce tags himself in and Whitmer’s expense, and Delirious and Pearce want to fight each other. They fight for a minute or two and then Whitmer tags in to replace Pearce. Delirious is taking a beating from Whitmer now. Nigel tags in to fight Whitmer and is able to hit the Tower of London for a near fall. Pearce and Delirious come in now, but that doesn’t last long as Delirious dumps Pearce to the floor and hits a somersault from the top rope on both Pearce and Hagadorn. Back in the ring Nigel misses a lariat and Whitmer winds up with a German Suplex for two. It breaks down and everyone is hitting moves on everyone in the ring. Outside the ring Hagadorn is setting up a table, where Pearce appears to want to powerbomb Whitmer through. Delirious puts a stop to that. In all the confusion Nigel is able to hit Whitmer with the jawbreaker lariat to get the pin on Whitmer at 8:32. That was brief and not at all bad, just in no way memorable either.
Rating: **¼
The real reason for this match happening comes after the match, as Pearce and Hagadorn attack Delirious. The masked man is able to fight them off, but then Brent Albright comes out of nowhere and hits a half nelson suplex on Delirious. Pearce wants to staple Delirious’s mask to his face, to make it “permanent,” (I guess staples are no longer removable). Whitmer comes back into the ring and powerbombs Hagadorn, but then chooses to join Pearce and Albright by delivering a tombstone piledriver to Delirious. Then they staple his mask to his face. A new faction has been born.
MATCH #4: Six Man Tag Team Match – Austin Aries, Erick Stevens & Matt Cross vs. Pelle Primeau Davey Richards, Jason Blade & Eddie Edwards
BG says: Aries was upset after his team lost the street fight main event on the last show, so if Cross or Stevens are pinned then the man who pins them will replace them in the Resilience. If Aries is pinned then the Resilience will disband. Before the match Davey Richards runs out and beats the crap out of Primeau. He gets on the microphone and says he’s taking Primeau’s place in the match so that he can pin Aries and force him to break up the Resilience. I dig the strategy.
Cross and Blade start. They trade holds until Blade hits an armdrag and a pair of dropkicks. Cross dodges his subsequent offense and hits a swinging facebuster. Stevens and Edwards tag in and trade strikes. Stevens stands strong through a dropkick and hits a shoulder tackle. Richards tags in and at the behest of the crowd Stevens tags to Aries. Richards hits a dropkick. Aries grabs the chest kick and hits a dragon screw. He hits the STO and the Powerdrive Elbow for 2. He kicks Richards’s face. Stevens tags in and hits a bodyslam. He hits an elbowdrop for 2. Cross tags in and hits a dropkick for 2. Aries tags in and hits a slingshot senton. Cross and Stevens follow suit, getting 2 for Aries. Richards goes to the eyes so Aries tags to Stevens. Cross leapfrogs over Aries to hit a double stomp on Richards, getting 2 for Stevens. Aries tags in and hits a slingshot elbowdrop over Stevens’s knees for 2. Richards goes to the eyes again and tags to Blade. Aries hits Blade with the Stroke for 1. He hits a bodyslam and climbs the ropes. Richards knocks him down onto the top rope. Edwards tags in hits a double big boot with Blade for 2. Blade tags in and hits a backbreaker for 2. Edwards tags in and hits a back elbow for 2. Richards tags in and hits a clothesline for 2. He hangs Aries up in the corner and hits a dropkick. Blade tags in and hits a double gutbuster with Edwards. They hit a double pancake and sandwich Aries’s head with dropkicks for 2. Richards tags in and walks into a DDT after a low blow. Cross and Stevens come in and clean house. Cross hits a split legged corkscrew moonsault on Richards for 2. Stevens clubs Blade down and hits the Choo Choo Avalanche. Edward and Blade dump Stevens and Cross. Edwards hits a suicide dive on Stevens. Aries stops Blade from diving. Richards dumps Aries but when he goes for a dive Cross catches him with a springboard dropkick. Cross hits everyone with the Space Flying Tiger Drop. Back in the ring Blade and Edwards hit Cross with a superkick into a German suplex for 2. Stevens lays them both out with clotheslines. Aries and Richards tag in and fight to the apron. Richards misses a kick allowing Aries to crotch him on the top rope. Cross hits Richards with a Tiger Feint Kick for 2. Richards gets a backslide on Aries for 2. Aries comes back with the soccer kick. Richards escapes the Aries Flurry and tags to Blade. Aries takes out Blade and Edwards with forearms. Blade tries to fight back but Stevens, Aries and Cross nail him with an elevated double stomp triple-team maneuver for the win. There was definitely more to be done with the stipulation. Richards could have been at odds with his teammates if they’d been more earnest in going for pins on Cross and Stevens while Richards could have focused solely on Aries. The match was a lot of fun, but could have been so much more.
Rating: ***¼
Backstage the Resilience gets a promo. Aries is happy that they’re starting to get their momentum back. The end of the war against the No Remorse Corp is far away, and they’ll win in the end. He tells Jack Evans that he can recruit whoever he wants for his group, they won’t be able to take out the Resilience.
JZ says: The gimmick here is that if anyone on the non-Resilience team can pin Matt Cross or Erick Stevens, they will take their spot in the group. If Aries loses, the group disbands. Davey Richards attacks Pelle Primeau before the match and takes his spot, since he wants to be the one to disband the group. That’s a pretty good way to get him into the match. Blade and Edwards start it off. They do some acrobatic stuff, some of which looks terribly choreographed. So they tag out to Stevens and Edwards, the two big guys in the match. Stevens dominates Edwards, and then Richards tags in, so the crowd wants to see Aries fight Richards. Stevens and Cross take their turns beating on Richards too as the Resilience shows good teamwork. Richards is able to tag in Blade, and Aries launches into his stupid Jeff Jarrett thing. Aries goes up top and Richards tosses him off the top rope, allowing Blade and Edwards to double team Aries. Aries continues to take a beating here. He makes the comeback on Richards but can’t find his corner. He stumbles over and tags both Cross and Stevens, and Blade and Edwards come in as well and it’s a big brawl in the ring here. The fight spills to the floor, but before Blade can make his way there Aries levels him with a lariat. Everyone winds up on the floor in the same spot except for Cross, which gives him the chance to hit one of his acrobatic dives on everyone outside the ring. Back inside it’s still a big brawl and the referee has no control over it. The finish comes when the Resilience execute a cool looking triple team TKO/double stomp on Blade and Stevens gets the pin at 17:13. That had pretty good action but there was no drama over Stevens or Cross losing their spot.
Rating: ***
Backstage, Austin Aries tells the No Remorse Corps that it’s far from over, it’s only just beginning. He also warns Jack Evans, who is searching for a crew as well.
MATCH #5: Pac vs. Bryan Danielson
BG says: They knuckle up and Danielson pushes PAC into the corner. PAC comes up with a headlock but Danielson slams him to the mat. Danielson goes after PAC’s arms. He hits a shoulder tackle and kicks PAC’s leg. He puts on a leglock but PAC gets to the ropes. Danielson puts on a wristlock but PAC escapes and hits a series of armdrags. Danielson bails so PAC fakes a dive. Back in the ring Danielson lays in kicks in the corner. He hits a European uppercut. He puts on the Mexican surfboard and turns it into a dragon sleeper. PAC goes to the eyes to escape. Danielson hits the neck wrench suplex. He rubs PAC’s face into the mat and then puts on a half crab. No matter how far Danielson pulls back PAC won’t quit. Danielson releases the hold and pins him for 2. He kicks PAC’s chest for 2. He puts on a chinlock but PAC fights out. Danielson hits a back elbow. PAC comes back with a legsweep and a standing moonsault. He gets a sunset flip for 2. Danielson bails so PAC hits a baseball slide and a springboard moonsault flippy thing. Well, he mostly missed his flippy thing. Back in the ring PAC climbs the ropes and comes down with a dropkick. Danielson hits a knee to the gut. PAC hits an enziguiri and a northern lights suplex for 2. He climbs again but Danielson crotches him. PAC fights him off and hits a shooting star press to a standing Danielson’s back. He hits a German suplex for 2. He climbs the ropes again but a corkscrew dive hits Danielson’s knees. Danielson hits a roaring forearm and stomps on PAC’s face repeatedly. He puts on the triangle choke for the win. After strong showings against Roderick Strong and Matt Sydal in England this felt like a huge step back for PAC in ROH. Danielson essentially squashed him, and what little offense PAC did get in wasn’t too damaging (with the exception of that shooting star press). The match itself was good, but completely one-sided. At least Danielson looks like a huge threat going into his title match.
Rating: ***
During the entrances for the World Championship match Danielson cuts a backstage promo. He says PAC felt the pressure that newcomers in ROH always face. He says PAC did a hell of a job. Dude, you squashed him. He pretty much writes off Albright and Castagnoli as challengers by saying that he’ll destroy Takeshi Morishima tomorrow night in New York.
JZ says: I really liked Pac’s match with Roderick Strong back in March, let’s see how he can do against Danielson. Danielson immediately tries to ground Pac, who is known for his aerial exploits. Pac does a few little acrobatics, and Danielson responds by just kicking the crap out of him. Danielson is great. He stretches and otherwise abuses Pac in some freaky unnatural ways. Pac makes a comeback and hits a standing Moonsault for two. He knocks Danielson outside the ring and hits a dive that looks like it barely hit and hurt himself a lot more than Danielson. That looked nasty. Back in the ring Danielson resumes control and Pac does some unnecessary flips. Northern lights suplex by Pac gets two. A shooting star back splash followed by a German Suplex isn’t enough to pin Danielson. Pac goes for another move off the top rope and Danielson gets his knees up. He kicks Pac in the face a bunch of times and locks on the triangle choke and Pac is done at 12:38. That wasn’t much of a match but Danielson dismantling Pac was a lot of fun.
Rating: **¾
Backstage Danielson cuts a pretty good promo about how he is the measuring stick for Ring of Honor, and that’s why new people always have to face him. He puts over Pac and then promises to win the ROH World Title for the second time tomorrow night against the monster Morishima.
MATCH #6: ROH World Title 3-Way Elimination Match – Takeshi Morishima vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brent Albright
BG says: Everyone brawls to start. Morishima breaks through a double clothesline. He clotheslines both opponents and hits them with the handspring avalanche. He goes for vertical suplexes but Castagnoli and Albright hit him with a double vertical suplex. They hit a double dropkick and Morishima bails. Castagnoli follows him out with a suicide dive. Albright climbs the ropes and dives onto both opponents. In the ring Albright pins Morishima for 2. Albright hits a bodyslam on Castagnoli and then slams Morishima onto Castagnoli for 2. Morishima hits a butt butt on Albright. He clotheslines Castagnoli in the corner. Castagnoli blocks a blind charge and hits a diving European uppercut. Morishima blocks the Ricola Bomb. He hits the butt lariat. Castagnoli hits Morishima with a European uppercut just before the big man sits on Albright’s chest for 2. Castagnoli hits a short giant swing on Morishima for 2. Albright hits Castagnoli with a clothesline and Morishima with a German suplex. Castagnoli hits a big boot on Albright but Morishima catches him with a lariat. Albright hits an exploder on Castagnoli and an overhead suplex on Morishima. He hits Castagnoli with an overhead suplex and an exploder on Morishima for 2. Morishima hits Albright with a Thesz press for 2. He climbs the ropes but Albright cuts him off. Morishima shoves Albright down onto his head and hits Castagnoli with a dropkick for 2. Castagnoli comes back with European uppercuts to both opponents. He hits Morishima with the Alpamare Waterslide for 2. Albright hits him with the half nelson suplex for 2 when he gets his foot on the bottom rope. Albright hits a Samoan drop on Morishima for 2. He hits a powerslam for 2. Morishima blocks the half nelson suplex until Castagnoli hits him with a European uppercut, facilitating Albright’s move. Castagnoli hits Albright with the giant swing. Albright blocks the Ricola Bomb and sets Castagnoli up top. Castagnoli fights him off but a crossbody is countered to the Crowbar. Castagnoli reverses to a roll up and eliminates Albright. I’d actually forgotten this was an elimination match. Albright kicks Castagnoli’s back on his way out. Morishima struggles to recover from the half nelson suplex. Castagnoli goes for the Ricola Bomb but has to settle for a sunset flip for 2. He hits a diving European uppercut and the Ricola Bomb for 2. He goes for a German suplex but Morishima falls on top of him for 2. Morishima hits a double stomp to the chest. Castagnoli hits a side suplex for 2. Morishima hits a side slam. He hits another double stomp. He hits a bodyslam and a second rope double stomp for 2. Success after the backdrop driver is now inescapable. The match was quite chaotic but like many matches tonight the action never let up. This was just as much about Albright and Castagnoli showing they could successfully use all of their offense on Morishima as it was about anything else. I’m probably in the minority but I enjoyed this match more than the singles challenges from Castagnoli and Albright, mostly because Morishima had to use new offense to put Castagnoli down.
Rating: ****¼
JZ says: Morishima has been the champion since 2.17.07, and this is his fifteenth defense. The challengers try to double team the champion, and since this is an elimination match that is excellent strategy on both of their parts. Morishima thwarts both of them and goes for a simultaneous suplex, which they reverse on him. The champion gets right back up so the challengers hit a double dropkick and Morishima goes to the floor. Albright and Claudio go after each other now. Morishima comes back in and Albright is able to control both men. Everyone exchanges moves, and Claudio is able to use the Giant Swing on the much larger Morishima. Morishima uses a Thesz Press. Claudio is able to use the Alparmare Water Slide on Morishima but it gets two. Albright nails Claudio with a half nelson suplex but Claudio is able to lay his foot on the bottom rope. A few moments later Albright is able to hit Morishima with the half nelson suplex and Morishima rolls to the floor. Claudio takes advantage of Albright’s frustration to use the Giant Swing on him. Claudio tries the Ricola Bomb but Albright blocks it. They go back and forth and Claudio is able to roll Albright into a pinning combination and eliminate him at 11:16. Morishima is still out outside the ring, so Claudio brings him back in and tries the Ricola Bomb. Morishima blocks the first attempt and the second one actually hits but Morishima kicks out. Morishima uses a pair of double stomps (one from the second rope) and still can’t put Claudio away. The Back Drop Driver does finish however, and Morishima retains the title at 15:24. That was an exciting and well-booked three-way that kept everyone strong.
Rating: ****
INTERMISSION
BG says: Rebecca Bayless interviews Kevin Steen with El Generico backstage. Steen feels they’ve beaten up the Briscoes enough, so tonight isn’t really about just beating them up in a cage. Tonight is about taking the titles and their lives.
JZ says: Rebecca Bayless is backstage to get a word with Kevin Steen & El Generico, who will face the ROH World Tag Team Champions The Briscoe Brothers in a Steel Cage match in tonight’s main event. Steen says they will both win the World Tag Team Titles and kill both Briscoe Brothers.
MATCH #7: Steel Cage Grudge Match – Roderick Strong vs. Jack Evans
BG says: Evans hits a cartwheel kick to start. He hits a moonsault press. He hits a springboard kick for 2. Strong blocks the handspring elbow so Evans dropkicks him into the cage. Strong clubs him down. He powerbombs Evans against the cage. He puts on the double chicken wing and rams Evans’s face into the cage for 2. Evans comes back with kicks but Strong cuts him off with a forearm. Strong hits two backbreakers. He hits a delayed vertical suplex off of the cage for 2. He slams the cage door onto Evans’s head and hits a back elbow. He hits a press slam onto the top rope. He throws Evans’s back onto his shoulder and stretches him out. Evans tries to hang Strong in the Tree of Woe but Strong throws him off the top rope and hits a top rope stomp for 2. He stretches out Evans’s back again and slams him to the mat for 2. He sets Evans up top but Evans fights back by crotching him on the top rope. He springboards off the top of the cage to hit a missile dropkick! He hits the handspring elbow and a knee kick. He hits the standing corkscrew moonsault for 2. Strong comes back with a backdrop into the cage. He hits a fall away slam into the cage. He hits the Sick Kick for 2. He sets Evans up top but Evans fights back and brings him off the top rope with a reverse hurricanrana for 2. He climbs to the top of the cage and kicks Strong into the Tree of Woe. Of course that leads to the biggest and scariest Ong Jak ever for 2 when Strong grabs the bottom rope. Jack scales the cage again but Strong follows him up and powerbombs him down before hitting a flying elbowdrop for the win. Of all their matches I’d say this was the weakest, but that’s not to say it was without crazy spots. Unfortunately selling wasn’t present in this match. Strong popped up WAY too soon after getting hit with the Ong Jak Supreme.
Rating: ***½
JZ says: Evans starts off on fire, hitting some big moves on Strong and keeping the pace quick. Strong soon uses his power to take the advantage and rams Evans face first into the cage. He then goes to work on the back, with backbreakers and such. Strong takes time out from working on the back to hurl Evans face first into the cage again. Evans tries the Ong Jak but Strong blocks it and continues the all out assault on Evans. Evans makes a brief comeback with some high flying moves but Strong is quickly back in control. Evans comes back again with a sweet looking reverse rana off the cage for a near fall. Evans goes all the way to the top of the cage for the Ong Jak but Strong grabs the ropes at two. Evans goes back to the top and Evans and Strong powerbombs him down and hits a Macho Elbow to get the pin at 12:28. I don’t think these two could have a bad match together, but this one didn’t scream classic at any time. The Ong Jak from the top of the cage wasn’t given nearly enough respect here, and that kind of bummed me out. Even so, it was still a very good match.
Rating: ***½
MATCH #8: ROH World Tag Team Title Cage Match – Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico
BG says: Steen kicks the cage door into Jay’s face during his entrance. He and Generico shove Mark into the cage and work over Jay on the floor. Mark hits Steen with a suicide dive. He hits a standing moonsault. He climbs up the cage but Steen pulls him down and powerbombs him into the crowd. Jay charges him and gets thrown into the crowd. Steen climbs about halfway up the cage and dives onto the Briscoes. Jay is busted open. The brawl continues at ringside with the Briscoes shoving Steen’s head into the cage repeatedly. Mark nails Generico with a chair. Steen bleeds as Jay hits him over the head with a chair. The fight finally goes into the cage. The Briscoes beat on Steen until Generico evens things up. Steen hits Jay with a DDT. He and Generico suplex Jay into the cage. Mark misses a kick and Steen catapults him into the cage (with a little help from Generico). Generico hits the Michinoku Driver on Jay for 2. The Briscoes fight back, hitting a Yakuza kick on Steen and throwing Generico into the cage. Mark hits Generico with a kneedrop. Generico comes back with a backdrop into the cage. Steen comes off the top rope with an elbowdrop to Jay for 2. Generico rakes Mark’s face against the cage until he bleeds. Steen hits Jay with a German suplex. Jay pops right up and sends Steen into the cage. Mark hits a superkick on Generico. The Briscoes hit Steen with the double face wash. They launch Generico into the air. They hit Steen with the double shoulder tackle. Mark powerbombs Generico into a neckbreaker from Jay for 2. Steen tosses Jay through the door and hits a powerbomb on Mark for 2. Generico hits the Yakuza kick and Steen hits the fisherman neckbreaker for 2. Jay pulls Steen to the floor and whips him into the barricade. Mark kicks Generico and Jay runs in to hit the press DVD for 2. Mark climbs the cage but Generico goes up after him, looking for the BRAINBUSTAH. Mark fights him off, only to be cut off by Steen. Jay runs up and helps Mark knock Steen through a table to the floor. The Briscoes hit Generico with the Doomsday Device and the spike Jay Driller for the win. This was wild brawling without any rhyme or reason, and as such the crowd’s interest came and went. The same can be said for me. Like the last match there were plenty of big spots, but this was a lesser outing from these two teams.
Rating: ***½
After the match Steen lays out the Briscoes with a chair. He hits Jay with the package piledriver. He hits Mark with the fisherman neckbreaker on a chair. These two teams meet tomorrow night in a 2/3 Falls Match.
JZ says: The Briscoes have been champions since 3.30.07, and this is their eleventh defense. Steen kicks the cage door into Jay’s face before the Briscoes can even get into the ring. This turns into a big brawl on the floor and into the crowd. Jay is already bleeding. Steen jumps backwards off the cage into the champions in the crowd. The fight continues out on the floor, with chairs getting involved and Steen is busted open too. They make it back into the ring and the Briscoes are in control. There is very little wrestling going on, it’s just a big brawl. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. The challengers actually control a lion’s share of the match, making both Briscoes bleed and executing lots of double teams and using the cage. The Briscoes make the big comeback at the end at hit a Doomsday Device and Spike Jay Driller on Generico to get the win and retain the titles at 16:27. I liked it better than the other cage match on this show, but it wasn’t quite as good as some of their other matches together.
Rating: ***¾
After the match Steen attacks both Briscoes and lays them out.
BONUS MATCH: Top of the Class Trophy Match – Pelle Primeau vs. Mitch Franklin
BG says: This is rare in that it is a pre-show match that has commentary. They trade holds on the mat to start. Franklin hits a double stomp to the gut. He hits a snap suplex for 2. He hits a gutwrench suplex for 2. He hits a knee to the gut. Primeau comes back with slaps. He hits a DDT for 2. Franklin blocks a blind charge but jumps into a powerbomb. That gets 2 for Primeau. He works over Franklin in the corner but can’t hit the Ace Crusher. Franklin hits a swinging DDT for the win and the trophy. This was good but too short to really matter outside of the trophy change.
Rating: *¾
JZ says: They start off with some mat wrestling, and Franklin takes the first control, executing a series of maneuvers for near falls. Franklin tries a headscissors off the second rope and Primeau catches him with a powerbomb. He charges Franklin in the corner a few times and goes for the Flying Stunner but Franklin avoids it. Primeau charges into an elbow and Franklin hits a swinging DDT into a cradle and Franklin is the new holder of the Top of the Class Trophy at 3:16. That was short but inoffensive.
Rating: *½
MVP
BG says: Claudio Castagnoli gets it for working his ass off in the World Championship match.
Coming soon will be our review of MANHATTAN MAYHEM II! And be sure to check out The Cool Kids' Table!
The 411: BG says: First let me get my gripes out of the way. The cage matches were good but ultimately disappointed me. Maybe I’m spoiled, but ROH has put on better cage matches and both rivalries have seen better contests. Most of the matches on this show are very short so it goes by very fast. The World Championship match is great and should be sought out, especially if they are complimented by the singles matches that preceded them. It’s mostly a set up show for the following night, but there’s enough good on here for a recommendation especially since the show is such a breeze to get through.
JZ says: The last three matches hit ***½ or higher, so that’s an easy recommendation right there. It’s also a shorter show, so it’s very easy to get through, because there’s some fun stuff on the undercard too. It definitely set up a lot for tomorrow night’s show, but that’s in New York City, one of their best markets, so that’s understandable. As setup shows go this one was one of the better ones.
