Death by Midwest: Ring of Honor Take No Prisoners

Posted by John Goozie on 06.05.2008

A star is born.



I couldn’t resist reviewing this after watching it on PPV. I haven’t missed a ROH show in Chicago in over 2 years, but I’ve never sat down and done a review. So….why the hell not?

We're in Philadelphia, PA on March 16th, 2008.

We open with Dave Prazak and Lenny Leonard in the crowd. What’s with the super bright light? They remind everyone this is the home of Ring of Honor. Nigel McGuinness is watching the match and gets angry when he hears the boos of the crowd from a distance.


FOUR CORNER SURVIVAL FOR TITLE SHOT
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Go Shiozaki vs. Tyler Black vs. Delirious

Nigel’s made his way to the commentary booth for this one. Claudio and Delirious start with Delirious going nuts at the bell. He complains of a hair pull before they even lock up. Test of strength after that, Delirious ends up on his shoulders for more comedy. Back suplex reversed into a headscissors takedown by Delirious. Whoa! Black and Go in now trading forearms. They trade BIG boots then Go chops him down. Dropkick by Tyler. Black charges the corner but gets a tree of woe chop! CHOPS by Go! Damn those are hard. Running knee strike gets 2 for Go. Black blocks Go’s chops and fires back with his own. Go avoids Black’s dropkick but Black flips around and lands on his feet! Spinning heel kick by Tyler. Claudio comes in and gets a springboard European uppercut! That gets 2. Go blocks the Ricola Bomb but gets a Giant Swing. Euro uppercut gets 2. Go blocks a suplex, rolls through, Claudio blocks that suplex, both men miss kicks until Go SUPERKICKS Claudio! That gets 2. Delirious blind tags in and hits a flying clothesline! Cobra Stretch applied by Delirious but Claudio reverses into the Waterslide! Euro uppercut…for 2. Black and Go battle out on the floor. Black blind tags in, misses a springboard move but goes for a powerbomb which Delirious reverses into a RANA that sends Black into the buckles! Panic Attack on Claudio! Panic Attack on Black! Go lariats him down. Bicycle kick by Claudio on Go! Black and Delirious are left and Delirious calls for Shadows Over Hell, that misses, Turnbuckle Powerbomb by Black! YAKUZA KICK! Black heads up for a PHOENIX SPLASH and he earns the title shot at 10:00 even.

Rating: ***1/2 So much action. It makes sense, too, because all men involved the title match would be exhausting later on so they all looked to end this one quickly. Nigel seems genuinely surprised by Tyler’s win. Or could that be concern?

They play a video package from Rising Above with Ministry providing the soundtrack. I’m not a fan of them, but little stuff like music licensing is what ROH needs to use to increase its visibility.

They announce Takeshi Morishima is suspended from ROH PPV for attacking a ref at Rising Above. They also touch on the latest title switches with the World Tag Team Championship.

The news break is interrupted by the Age of the Fall and Jimmy Jacobs says this will be their night. Then we starts text messaging. Frantically. For Hours.

They show Tyler Black and Lacey with Tyler getting pumped up.


Kevin Steen vs. Roderick Strong

The FIP World Title is not on the line. Strong charges Steen and gets chopped, and Steen ducks a chop from Roddy. Steen mocks Strong with “RODDDDERICK” jeers. They play human pinball with each other until Strong hits a big leg lariat. Steen comes back with an elbow to the back of the head and the flipping leg drop. That gets 2. They trade forearms. Steen tries to throw Strong outside but Strong gives him another big leg lariat for 2. Steen fights back up from the mat but eats a big boot and a 2nd rope missile dropkick. Camel Clutch by Strong but Steen fights out. Strong goes for a big boot in the corner but Steen kicks him away into the opposite corner. Cannonball by Steen! Steen catches Roddy’s leg in the corner and kicks at his knee. He goes for the Sharpshooter but Strong rolls into the ropes. DDT by Steen. That gets 2. “Who wants to see him die?”-Steen. Half-Nelson backbreaker by Strong but he hurts his knee in the process. Up top now for a Superplex by Strong! Steen avoids the Gorilla Press and hits a Powerbomb…for 2! Sharpshooter applied! Strong makes it to the ropes. Codebreaker by Steen and he heads up for a Swanton, but Strong moves. That gets 2 for Roddy. Gorilla Press Gutbuster by Strong but Steen isn’t phased and Strong eats a Superkick! BIG BOOT by Roddy for 2. Gibson Driver blocked into the Steen Breaker and then the PACKAGE PILEDRIVER for 3 at 11:09.

Rating: ***1/2 Another good match. Try getting that kind of effort on a WWE undercard.

Jimmy is doing a sermon for the Age of the Fall, spreading their propaganda. Zach Gowen says he was an inspiration and he was just tossed away. Allison Wonderland is sick of sexist men. Well, stop being a hot goth girl.

They cut away to the Briscoes brawling with Joey Matthews and Necro Butcher and they bust into the arena!


NO RULES TAG TEAM WAR
The Briscoes vs. The Age of the Fall

Lacey and Daizee Haze are brawling out here as well. Mark gets hit with a shovel. Lots of brawling in the crowd. Mark is busted open BADLY from the top of his head. He manages to springboard off the guardrail onto Necro! They tie Jay in the ring apron and Matthews launches a chair at his head. Stereo body slams by AOTF. The Briscoes answer back with stereo superplexes. TKO by Lacey on Haze as Necro drops Mark back first on the guardrail. Daizee hits Lacey with a German suplex. Front suplex by Jay on Joey. Necro gives him some punches and bulldogs him on a chair. That gash on Mark looks really bad. AOTF stack up some chairs and chokeslam Jay through them. And I mean through them. Jay comes back and gives Joey a Flatliner into the buckles. Jay MURDERS Necro with a chairshot and then tosses it to a springboarding Mark for a chair toss! Cool. Necro gets tossed outside by Mark. Joey gets tossed over the top rope and lands partially on Necro. A springboard Doomsday Device gets fucked up and Jay superkicks Necro. They go for one on Necro but Necro punches Mark in mid-air and victory rolls Jay for 2. Everyone goes outside again and Necro gets suplexed on the floor. A table gets propped up in the corner and Joey avoids being suplexed through it by Jay. Mark has set up Necro on a table near the entryway and is climbing up. DEATH VALLEY DRIVER on Matthews through the table! Mark splashes Necro through the table! JAY DRILLER ON THE STEEL CHAIR for Matthews and that’s it at 15:34.

Rating: ***1/4 Good garbage brawl. Very few mistakes, and obviously not red-hot because it’s not a feud-ender. I have to express concern, however, about AOTF losing again. The losses worked with Steen and Generico last year. I think they’re hurting the Age of the Fall’s threat level a lot.

Tyler is outside, alone, and psyching himself up for the main event.

They give a close-up of Mark’s nasty gash on his head.



Sweeney declares a hostile takeover of ROH. But he doesn’t want to own the company. He’s gonna sign the best wrestlers, have them win titles, then “sell em right up the river to Vince!” Say goodbye to faction warfare, they’ll all be joining him. The Hangmen 3 come out, with Adam Pearce and Shane Hagadorn looking quite happy, but BJ Whitmer and Brent Albright look anything but. Pearce dissolves his stable and joins Sweet and Sour Inc. Erick Stevens comes out and Sweeney thinks he wants to sign too, but for the bare minimum. He says Sweeney is hiding Daniel Puder from him. Stevens wants a match so Albright attacks him from behind.


Erick Stevens vs. Brent Albright

Both men throw clothesline but don’t go down. Albright goes off the second rope but Stevens catches him with a Samoan Drop! Stevens avoids the Half Nelson Suplex but gets suplexed into the ropes. They counter each other’s suplexes until Albright powers him over into a wheelbarrow suplex! Powerslam by Albright gets 2. Albright goes for a cross body but Stevens moves and Albright lands in the ropes. Stevens fires off a few shots, Albright goes for the Half Nelson Suplex again but Stevens fights it off and hits a Release German Suplex. CHOO CHOO by Stevens. Stevens fights off SnS Inc and hits the Gorilla Press Davey Boy slam, but Sweeney puts Albright’s foot on the ropes. Sweeney distracts Stevens and Albright hits the Half Nelson Suplex for the win at 7:13.

Rating: **1/4 Fun but short. It was just angle advancement, but still an entertaining little match.

Now we go to Orlando, FL on March 29th, 2008.


ROH WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH
Davey Richards and Rocky Romero © vs. Jigsaw and Ruckus

The NRC take control right off the bat. Jigsaw hits a dive on everyone. The Vulture Squad throw Richards back in and hit some cool double teams. They then dropkick Romero to the outside. Rana by Jigsaw on Richards as things go back to slightly normal. Richards distracts Jigsaw as Romero gives him a missile dropkick. Richards slams Jigsaw on the floor and gives him some HARD kicks to the upper back. Jigsaw gets some more kicks from Davey and Romero tags in. Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker that Jigsaw doesn’t land right. Jigsaw dives to try for a tag but Davey catches him and brings him back to the NRC corner. Jigsaw dumps Richards over the top rope and enziguris Rocky down as well. Tag to Ruckus who dives onto the champions. Razzle Dazzle and the Rolling Fameasser on Richards…for 2. Ruckus gives Richards the Rolling Fisherman’s Suplex but turned into a sit out powerbomb by Jigsaw. Standing SSP by Ruckus…for 2. Davey takes Ruckus down with a STO. The NRC try to double up on Ruckus but he moves, and Jigsaw missile dropkicks Davey. Romero is hung up in the tree of woe….DOUBLE VAN TERMINATOR! GOD DAMN! Davey breaks up the pin and the crowd thought that was it. Jig-N-Tonic attempt but Davey cuts it off with a stiff kick that Romero follows right away with a CODE RED…for 2. Romero catches Jigsaw on top with the SUPER FLYING ARMBAR! Ruckus breaks it up. Davey goes for the DR Driver, Jigsaw blocks, but Davey hits a running forearm. Superkick by Jigsaw…No Sold, but Jigsaw gets a backslide for 2. Davey kicks Jigsaw in the head and Romero is back in…SPIKE D.R. DRIVER! That’s it at 9:45.

Rating: *** Some hot stuff in the last few minutes but the mistakes by the babyface team before that weigh it down. The NRC look strong, which they should, because Jigsaw and Ruckus aren’t much more than jobbers. Ruckus should stick around ROH if BLKOUT comes in, but Jigsaw has looked pretty bad in his stint. Plenty of other Chikara guys like Gran Akuma, Icarus, Hallowicked, or Chuck Taylor are way more deserving of that roster spot.

While we were in Orlando, Sns Inc. attacked BJ Whitmer, knocking him out of ROH.


Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries

Crowd is PUMPED for this. They go to the mat, and that, ladies and gentlemen, is the definition of FINE WRESTLING~! Austin goes for a short of reverse Bow and Arrow and Dragon looks for the Cattle Mutilation, but Aries gets the ropes. Aries goes for a headstand escape but Dragon just jerks his neck by sitting down. Test of strength, Aries wins that but can’t break the bridge. They monkey flip each other without breaking the knucklelock! Dragon finally wriggles free and lands a dropkick. He follows up with a Butterfly Suplex for 2. Dragon wrenches in an armbar variant. Aries breaks out after several attempts with some speed and dropkicks Dragon. Dragon pulls Aries down and locks on CATTLE MUTILATION but Aries gets free and starts going with the KNEES! Dragon wisely gets out of the ring, Aries goes for his signature tope but Dragon cuts him off with a KNEE through the ropes. Missile dropkick by Dragon misses. Aries grabs a hammerlock and rolls that into a Koji Clutch. Dragon tries to get free but Aries kicks him while keeping the hold in! Dragon makes the ropes but Aries hits him with another knee strike while Dragon is draped on the apron. He follows that up with a axehandle drop with Dragon in that same position. Aries locks on a Stump Puller submission, then rolls that into a pin for 2. Dragon comes back by kicking Aries’ arm and then landing an awesome flying kick to the face. That was some straight up Ninja shit. He follows that with 4 European uppercuts while avoiding the Roaring Elbow by Aries. Snap suplex by Dragon gets 2. Spine kick by Dragon gets 2 after that with 10 minutes gone now.

Dragon puts on a Nerve Hold then looks for Cattle Mutilation again, Aries elbows out, corner whip but Dragon flips over Aries but Aries clotheslines him out and hits the HEAT SEEKING MISSILE! But he’s holding his arm after that. Dragon fights out of a Brainbuster attempt and escapes to the apron but Aries nails with HARD elbows, and takes off his elbow pad to inflict more damage. Dragon takes advantage of that and kicks his unprotected arm into the ringpost! Missile dropkick by Dragon connects and he kips up. Cattle Mutilation locked back in, but Aries powers up again into a shinbreaker into an arm hook Saito suplex. ROARING ELBOW….BLOCKED into a TRIANGLE CHOKE! Aries tried to use that bad arm. Aries is able to work it into a pin….for 2! Dragon rolls right into an arm scissors hold but Aries makes the ropes. O’Connor roll by Dragon right into CATTLE MUTILATION but Aries reverses that into a pin….for 2! Aries looks a little desperate. O’Connor roll by Aries for 2, but he levels Dragon with a RUNNING KNEE STRIKE. BRAINBUSTER attempt by Aries but the arm isn’t strong enough. He comes back with a ROARING ELBOW but he used the injured arm. He goes in for a pin but Dragon goes for a Cross Armbreaker, but Aries escapes again. STIFF KICK to the head of Dragon, Aries locks on a small package…for 2! Aries goes for a superplex but Dragon counters into a TRIANGLE CHOKE IN THE ROPES! Dragon tries to go back up top but Aries catches him with a dropkick. Both men up top…AVALANCHE BRAINBUSTER…for 2! Dragon kicked out! HORNS OF AIRES locked in! Aries can’t keep it in thanks to that injured arm and goes for the knees, but Dragon blocks that into the ARM SCISSORS! Aries rolls out and hits the KNEE STRIKES! Dragon fires back with the ELBOWS! KNEE STRIKES! ELBOWS! ARM CRANK by Dragon and Aries HAS to tap out at 17:24.

Rating: ****1/2 What a match. These guys knew each other so well that much of the early match was reversals. Once both men had their targeted areas of the body, they built up to their big submissions. The difference maker was that Aries had to use the injured arm to keep in the Horns of Aries, while Dragon could use a number of arm submissions without straining his damaged head and neck. So Danielson took that opportunity and got the win.

Jimmy Jacobs is still on his soapbox in the back, saying tonight Tyler Black could give them huge power to achieve their “revolution”.


RING OF HONOR WORLD TITLE MATCH
Nigel McGuinness © vs. Tyler Black

Prazak says every man who holds the ROH title leaves a legacy. Nigel is the biggest dick of all of them. This being Philadelphia, where they are just soooo cool, the heel gets cheered by a good portion of the crowd. I hate those kind of Philadelphia fans. And don’t try to justify it-it’s just jackasses trying to be funny.

Ok, rant over with, onto the match. They shake hands then Nigel throws Tyler right into the ring post. He wrings that arm and works it over. NOW the crowd hates him chanting “You’re a wanker”. He whips Black hard into the corner and yells back “Whose a wanker now?” Nigel avoids a dropkick, but Tyler flips with it again, and catches Nigel with a backdrop and a snap suplex. Nigel gets pissed and stomps the shoulder of Tyler. Tyler comes back with some chops but Nigel just snaps his arm down. But he takes advantage of Nigel playing to the crowd and catches him with a dropkick for 2. Nigel comes back by sending his shoulder into the buckles. The crowd chants “USA” at Nigel and he throws Tyler to the outside. Nigel hits a charging Euro uppercut as he continues to jaw with the crowd. Nigel grabs a chair but turns his back on Tyler who superkicks it into his face! Nigel’s in the front row, Tyler goes for a springboard dive onto him and Nigel HITS HIM WITH THE CHAIR ON THE WAY DOWN! The ref is checking on Tyler as Nigel obviously wants the match awarded to him now. Tyler crawls back into the ring with 10 minutes gone.

Nigel covers Tyler….for 2! Lariat by Nigel ducked into a roll-up…..almost 3! That was SOOOO close. Running uppercut by Nigel. LARIAT by Nigel…for 2. London Dungeon locked in on that hurt arm! Tyler makes the ropes as the crowd is starting to really come alive for him. Tyler avoids the Tower of London, kind of lands a Blockbuster, but Nigel goes for the Jawbreaker, ducked by Tyler, YAKUZA KICK! Nigel’s up first though and lands an uppercut. Uppercut reversed, Tyler ducks a lariat, ENZIGURI! LIFTING INVERTED DDT…for 2! Tyler charges but Nigel moves and hits the kick to the back/lariat combo…for 2! Nigel climbs up top and they fight it out up there and Tyler hits a SUPERPLEX ROLLED INTO A TKO….ALMOST THREE! Crowd thought that was it and chants “That was 3!” Tyler heads up for the Phoenix Splash but Nigel pops right back up and sets Tyler up for the TOWER OF LONDON…FOR 2!!! Chinbreaker by Tyler but Nigel goes for the JAWBREAKER LARIAT, DUCKED INTO THE SMALL PACKAGE DRIVER! FOR TWO!!!!! Tyler goes up, PHOENIX SPLASH….nobody home! LONDON DUNGEON back on, but Tyler reverses into a roll-up…for 2! He puts Tyler on the top rope…LARIAT connects…for 2 AGAIN! “THIS IS AWESOME!” I agree, Philadelphia. Tyler SPITS IN NIGEL’S FACE. SHORT ARM LARIAT by Nigel…..FOR TWO AGAIN! Kick to the head by Tyler but Nigel finally gets the JAWBREAKER LARIAT…FOR TWO!!!! Another LARIAT and the LONDON DUNGEON is back on and Tyler FINALLY taps out at 21:22.

Rating: ****1/2 I am almost speechless watching that. THIS is how you make new stars, and Tyler Black is now one. Nigel threw EVERYTHING at him, and Tyler should have been beaten at the 10 minute mark but came back and almost became a World Champion. The crowd was electric thanks to numerous 2.99999 kickouts. Look at the crowd. You’ll see fans throw up their hands as if to say “That’s it for Tyler” about 7 or 8 times, and he ALWAYS kicked out. It was an incredible spectacle that made the most jaded of crowds go absolutely insane.

So why not the full monty? Well, while it is a great bit of storytelling, the offense was just too one-sided to give it the “big five”. Had Tyler gotten 2 or 3 more close near falls on Nigel, I might go there. But that’s all nitpicking. You need to see this match and you will love it.

The 411: Let's see, for no more than $14.99, you get one of the best wrestling shows of the year? Yes, the production needs improving. We all know that. But substance over style, folks. GET THIS SHOW. That's all that needs to be said.

Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]