Dark Pegasus Video Review: Ring of Honor — Driven 2008

Posted by J.D. Dunn on 01.11.2009

Kevin Steen delivers on his promise.

Ring of Honor — Driven 2008
by J.D. Dunn

Missed this one on PPV, so here we go with the DVD.

September 19, 2008

From Boston, Mass.

Your hosts are Dave Prazak and Lenny Leonard.

Bonus Match: Chasyn Rance (w/The YRR) vs. Grizzly Redwood.
So, for you historians who want to mark it down, this is the debut of Grizzly Redwood, the littlest lumberjack. I know a lot of ROH fans hate the idea of gimmicks for the students, but learning to play a character is just as important as learning to do a moonsault… well, okay, maybe not *just* as important because you don't want to kill someone, but in terms of getting the fans behind you. Plus, ROH fans who pride themselves on being so clever should get a kick out of what is clearly a parody of ridiculous gimmicks. Grizzly uses a wide array of chops. KARATE SNOWMACHINE CHOPSIT! He tops that with a double ax-handle. That's the extent of his offense, and despite the fans impatience with his pre-match promo, they're behind the littlest lumberjack. Redwood dominates when it's a fair fight, but of course, the YRR keep getting involved. Finally, Kenny King swipes at Redwood's feet, allowing Rance to finish with the Sensational Spike (think Pedigree with a rope-assist) at 4:41. See, to me, the YRR is far more interesting than most of the ROH heel stables. They should get more face time. *

Bonus Match: Daizee Haze vs. Madison Eagles.
Never heard of Eagles. She eschews the Code of Honor and cheapshots Daizee, but that's about the extent of her offense. Daizee hits the Heart Punch but misses the Yakuza Kick. It doesn't matter because the Mindtrip finishes at 2:05. 1/2*

Bonus Match: Rhett Titus vs. Josh Daniels.
Daniels was a semi-regular and even joined the Embassy a few years ago. So this is what a Chris Benoit vs. Jimmy Garvin match would look like. Daniels tends to control with his Baby Dynamite offense, but Rhett keeps cheating and taking the easy way out. Daniels still throws some hard chops, but its understandable why a guy who reminds people of Chris Benoit and Tom Billington might not be someone you put out front right now. Titus rolls him up with a handful of tights at 5:36. *1/2

Austin Aries opens the show to challenge Jimmy Jacobs. Instead, Jimmy distracts him with a promo while Delirious runs in and attacks Aries.

Opening Match: Austin Aries vs. Delirious (w/Jimmy Jacobs).
This is a really good match to get Aries over as one of the lead babyfaces (and to get the crowd into it). Delirious uses his advantage early, slapping on a Butterfly Lock. Aries comes back with the Last Chancery, but Delirious goes to the eyes. Aries knocks him to the floor and hits the Heat-Seeking Suicida, wiping out Jimmy too. Back in, Delirious hits a series of Panic Attacks, but Aries fights back, knees him in the head and finishes with the Last Chancery at 6:45. Fast-paced, good opener. **3/4

Of course, the inevitable Age of the Fall beatdown follows, and Jimmy puts Aries through a table with the senton over Tyler Black's objections. Jimmy appears to have hurt his back.

Larry Sweeney brags about his stable's moneymaking potential.

Sara Del Rey vs. "Some Broad."
Some broad is "Jessie McKay," not that it matters. Big boot, headbutt, forearm, slap, Royal Butterfly. Del Rey wins easily at 0:40. 1/4*

Brent Albright & Erick Stevens vs. Adam Pearce & Eddie Edwards (w/Larry Sweeney).
The faces storm the ring, but the heels quickly isolate Stevens. Albright gets the hot tag and looks to finish with the Half-Nelson Suplex, but Edwards makes the save. A rushed version of the Rock 'n' Rolls/Midnights follows. Pearce works out the heel pinball spot. Ahh, the classics never get old. Stevens backdrops Edwards onto Sweet 'n' Sour. Adam Pearce gets distracted by the chaos on the outside, allowing Albright to sneak up and drop him on his head with a Half-Nelson Suplex at 6:04. Stevens and Albright would have definite Road Warriors-ish monster babyface cache in another promotion. The match was okay, if a bit rushed. **1/2

Jerry Lynn blocks Chris Hero's way out and says he wants to teach him a lesson for cheapshotting Lance Storm.

Jerry Lynn vs. Chris Hero (w/Shane Hagadorn).
Lynn's miracle comeback tour continues here as his experience gives Hero something to work with. Lynn takes a beating, but the match picks up when he blocks a suplex to the floor and hits the Old Guy Outta Control Cannonball. Hero beats him down again on the inside, but Lynn goes nuts with sentons and works in the corner pummel. Hero blocks the Cradle Piledriver and hits the Rolling Elbow. ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! Lynn blocks a Blockbuster and sets up for the Cradle Piledriver, but Hagadorn hops up on the apron to distract him. Sara Del Rey tosses in the loaded elbow pad, and Hero is able to get the cheap knockout and pin at 9:20. It's a pretty thin list, but Lynn is pretty easily the frontrunner for "Comeback Wrestler of the Year." Hopefully, they keep him on in a similar role that he had in TNA where he helps the guys like Rhett Titus and Kenny King along. ***

Three-Way Elimination: Bryan Danielson vs. Go Shiozaki (w/Larry Sweeney) vs. Claudio Castagnoli.
The story here is that Danielson has to defeat everyone that Nigel has on PPV to earn a PPV title shot, a task that would be completed with a win here. Although the heat here is between Danielson and Claudio, it doesn't start getting really good until Claudio goes nuts and gets himself disqualified by tossing the ref at 5:14. Go is only about a .3 on the Shinjiro Otani Dickhead Scale, but that's enough to establish him as the heel against Danielson. He survives the Cattle Mutilation and slaps Danielson silly. Danielson blocks the moonsault and counters to the Triangle Choke at 14:25. It picked up considerably after Claudio was eliminated, and his heel turn is looking more and more like a flop. ***1/4

Scramble Tag: The Briscoes vs. The Vulture Squad (w/Julius Smokes) vs. The YRR vs. The Necro Butcher.
This has about ten seconds of sanity, and then everything breaks down. Necro goes nuts and destroys the field, even busting out a somersault off the top rope. The Vulture Squad hits the double-stomp Jig and Tonic, but Blade makes the save. The Briscoes set up chairs on the outside. That can't lead to anything healthy. Necro hits a Tiger Bomb on Blade, but Mark breaks it up with a chair dropkicked into his face. The Briscoes knock the Butcher of onto the chairs to take him out of the match and finish Blade with the Doomsday Device at 6:20. Fast-paced match to remind everyone that the Briscoes are the bestest thing ever and that Necro is a loose canon. **3/4

ROH World Title: Nigel McGuinness vs. Roderick Strong.
One of the problems with Bryan Danielson's long trek to a title shot is that it virtually cements Nigel as champion until the rematch happens. Not that I thought Roderick had a shot anyway. You wouldn't know it from the crowd response, though. This is about what you'd expect early. Nigel goes after Roderick's arm which has the double benefit of neutralizing his chops and setting up for the London Dungeon. Strong targets Nigel's back and uses, what else, chops. Roderick comes off looking pretty dumb, though, falling for the corner handstand whereas most Nigel opponents at have learned to stay away. In fact, Roderick seems more reactive throughout the match. It's like he's back in 2004 again. Sickening spot as he hits a super backbreaker on Nigel, and Nigel lands on the point of his head like Don Beebe. Roderick doesn't fall for the handstand a second time and meets Nigel with a chop. Nigel jumps on him with a lariat, though. Nigel hits the Tower of London to the floor, but Roderick cuts off his lariat with one of his own. TIGER BOMB! ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! Another great spot occurs as Roderick sets up for a Super Tiger Driver only to have Nigel lariat him back for a flip. ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! Nigel hits a quick lariat and finishes with the Tower of London at 24:19. Strong is in that limbo area where he's too good In the ring to be just another midcarder, but not charismatic enough to jump to the top of the card. Like Erick Stevens, he just seems to be much more comfortable in a more traditional wrestling promotion like FIP. The match was outstanding, containing several memorable spots without being all about those spots. ****

ROH World Tag Team Titles: Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico.
Steen vowed to have ROH gold by the end of the year, and here is his last big chance after failing to wrest the World Title from Nigel McGuinness. Black has to wrestle most of the match early because the challengers keep targeting Jimmy's injured back. The tide changes when Black catches Generico on a crossbody and just dumps him to the floor. Longish beatdown on Generico follows, but it never gets boring, and it leads to the MOST EPIC HOT TAG IN HISTORY! Generico tosses both opponents and BOUNDS to the far corner. Steen wipes out both champs with a somersault plancha and powerbombs Jimmy into the apron. Back in, Jimmy grabs the End Time, but Generico boots them over into a Jackknife. ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! Great, great spot as Generico vaults Black up onto Steen's shoulders, leading to a super gutbuster. SWANTON! SPLASH! ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! That was an insane nearfall. Tyler fights back and hits God's Last Gift for two. The AotF sets up for the Doomsday Contra Code, but Steen saves with a cannonball. Steen puts Tyler in the Sharpshooter and fights off Jacobs. Finally, Jimmy scrambles back in and bites Steen's nose to get him to release the hold. Generico fights off the End time, and Black accidentally nails Jacobs with a flying clothesline. Packaged piledriver! Brainbuster! ONE, TWO, THREE! NEW CHAMPS! Steen makes good on his promise at 20:27. Awesome, crazy match with nuclear crowd heat and a number of fantastic false finishes. One of the best ROH matches all year. ****1/2

The 411: The bonus matches don't add much outside of the landmark-to-the-history-of-wrestling debut of Grizzly Redwood. The PPV, of course, was outstanding, highlighted by the last two matches that easily make it a worthwhile purchase. The tag match, especially, deserves some Match of the Year consideration.

Thumbs way up!

Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]