Dark Pegasus Video Review: Ring of Honor — Bound By Hate

Posted by J.D. Dunn on 01.15.2009

Jacobs and Aries have a brutal brawl. Kenny Omega makes a name for himself. The Briscoes and Steenerico renew acquaintences. Oh yeah, and ROH has one of its best shows in months.

Ring of Honor — Bound by Hate
by J.D. Dunn

November 8, 2008

From Markham, Ontario.

Your hosts are Dave Prazak and Lenny Leonard.

Opening Match: Jerry Lynn vs. Davey Richards (w/Sweet 'n' Sour Inc.).
This is another good stop on the Jerry Lynn Memorial-Hey-Wait-I'm-Not-Dead-Yet Tour. He even adds a Curbstomp to his repertoire. One thing I really liked about this match: I saw a backdrop. Not a backdrop suplex. Just a backdrop. Davey didn't land on his feet. He didn't sunset flip. He didn't do a backflip over Lynn. He just got backdropped. It's become such a cliché to counter it that such a simple move has actually become fresh again. Richards catches Lynn with the DR Driver for the surprisingly clean win at 8:48. Lynn gave Davey a good match. Richards suddenly looks like a major threat to the title, and he behaves as such after the match. **1/4

Delirious & Brodie Lee vs. Kenny King & Rhett Titus.
YES! I may have a new favorite ROH tag team. King and Titus have the potential to be the future of ROH if Pearce and Cary invest some time and effort into them. The AotF B-Team plays the babyface role, and Titus actually reminds me that there is some history here between Delirious and him. They seemed to drop that near the end of Gabe's tenure. This is a pretty simple formula. When Delirious is in, King and Titus dominate. When Brodie is in there, he kills them. Delirious plays lizard-face-in-peril for most of the match until Brodie gets the hot tag and destroys the heels. Delirious hits the Rock Bottom on King. IF YOU BAAAAHH WHAT THE BAHHHH IS BAHHHING! The mere sight of Rhett Titus causes Delirious to go crazy, though, and he chases Titus to the back for the COR at 9:39. Hey, I'm in favor of bringing back the countout, not using it. It makes sense in this context, though, because King gets to act like he just won the Superbowl by winning via countout, and it doesn't hurt the Age of the Fall at all – especially since the Jacobs/Black unit does frequent clean jobs. **

The littlest lumberjack Grizzly Redwood promises to chop the competition down to size.

Roderick Strong & Erick Stevens vs. Go Shiozaki & Eddie Edwards (w/Shane Hagadorn).
Hagadorn's rambling pre-match promo is thankfully cut off by the babyfaces. Strong and Stevens storm the ring and clean house. Roderick accidentally nails Stevens with an enzuigiri, though, to allow Sweet 'n' Sour to come back. Go gets no-sold by his own t-shirt as he tries to take it off. Once he does, though, he and Edwards manage to isolate Stevens pretty well. Go works in a particularly sick armbar. The fans seem listless, but then there's no Sweeney to get them worked up. Stevens avoids a kneedrop from Go and gets the hot tag to Strong. The match gets really good down the stretch as both teams hit combination moves only to have the victim's partner make the save at the last split-second. ALL JAPANISH! Finally, Roderick gets Edwards into the Stronghold for the submission at 9:09. This was pretty slow at the beginning, but it REALLY heated up down the stretch and dragged the fans into it. ***

The fans voice their appreciation for the potential team of Strong and Stevens.

Dog-Collar Match: Jimmy Jacobs vs. Austin Aries.
This is awfully far down on the card for the marquee matchup. Jimmy attacks before Todd Sinclair can put the collar on him, so he is able to brutalize Aries. The fans hate that. Jimmy ties Aries to the corner and traps him. With Aries exposed, Aries starts beating him with a chair and asking him if it was worth it. Aries manages to untie himself and goes low. CHAIRSHOT! Big pop for that. Aries rips open Jimmy's head and wraps the chain around his throat. Jimmy drags Aries backstage where Tyler Black is waiting with an ambush. Jimmy waits to get the advantage and then sends Tyler to the back so he can finish Aries himself. Ah, Pride cometh before the fall. The Contra Code only gets two, and he knocks a chair back into Jacobs' face. Jimmy is a SICKENING bloody mess now. He's not quite at Eddy Guerrero-level, but he's dripping blood all down his face. Jimmy drags Aries to the center and locks in the End Time. Aries rams him into the buckle and hits the IED when Jimmy tries to pull him back. The ending is particularly brutal as Aries wraps the chain around his knee and drives it repeatedly into Jimmy's head. That sets up the Last Chancery with the chain for the submission at 18:09. I thought they were just going to do an angle to put heat on the "I Quit" match when Jacobs refused to put the chain on, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. Once they got going, it was a brutal, bloody brawl worthy of the eons-long feud they've had. ****1/4

Grizzly Redwood vs. Alex Payne.
Since they all have gimmicks now, maybe Alex Payne should be "Alexx Payne," rockstar wrestler. Then again, Maxx Payne has shown himself to be litigious, so that's probably not a good idea. Payne gets some good Tommy Rich-esque offense, but tries my patience with a Flair flop. You need to earn *some* moves. Grizzly chops his legs out from under him and gets the pin at 4:16. Movin' on. 3/4*

Three-Way Match: Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black vs. Kenny Omega.
Omega is hugely over, hence his otherwise puzzling presence in this match. I love his cockiness in front of the home crowd, but for God's sake, son, you don't pick a fight with Bryan Danielson. WRONG F***ING MOVE, WILLIAM KATT! Danielson goes crazy with a DOUBLE CATTLE MUTILATION! Omega apparently didn't get the memo about toning down the high impact moves because he hits a running somersault plancha to the delight of the crowd. Omega's hubris works to Black's advantage as it draws all of Danielson's wrath. Black even suckers Omega into an alliance at one point, only to turn on him and make him look like a sap. Black should try out for Big Brother. Omega makes the mistake of trying the Stop Sign Enzuigiri twice, but Danielson rides him down into an armbar. Danielson does that Flair/Steamboat bridge with BOTH guys on top of him. Black boots Danielson in the face and goes up for the Phoenix Splash. Oh, but Omega runs up the ropes and throws Black back with a German Superplex. Won't be seein' Black no more. Danielson finally just gets sick of Omega and DRILLS him with a rolling forearm that busts open Omega's eye legit. That leads to the elbows and Cattle Mutilation at 14:17. Whoa! I expected Omega to kind of hang back and pick his spot, but he was the focal point of this match, and he didn't disappoint. ***3/4

In the back, Austin Aries vows to prove who the better man is when he faces Jimmy again.

ROH World Title: Nigel McGuinness vs. The Necro Butcher.
You know, I never thought Necro would be considered a possibility for World Champion, but now that I see how the fans have taken to him, I wonder what ROH would be like with him as champ. Nigel is kind enough to offer not to go after Necro's bad leg (from the Age of the Fall attack the night before) if Necro agrees not to punch him in the face. Necro kinda, sorta does something resembling wrestling, so Nigel goes back on his word and kicks his leg out from under his leg. With détente gone, Necro goes after Nigel's eye with a headbutt. Necro gets the upper hand and hits the Tiger Driver, but Brodie Lee and Delirious run in for the lame DQ at 11:17. This was okay thanks to the psychology surrounding the injuries, but I don't care for the result (in the context of the match anyway, see more below). **1/4

Kevin Steen and El Generico make the save and put over Necro for his toughness.

ROH World Tag Team Titles: Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. The Briscoe Bros.
The Briscoes definitely got edgier toward the end of Gabe Sapolsky's tenure, and that continues in this match. Steen and Mark get scrappy even before the bell rings. The Briscoes isolate Generico throughout most of the match. They even go superheel and pull Steen off the apron just as Generico desperately dives toward him. Steen finally gets the hot tag and uses his portly offense to take over. He accidentally flops on Generico with the senton, though, setting up Jay's Stretch Plum. The camera misses something on the outside, but Jay knocks Steen out with a superkick as he tries to save. Jay blocks the Swanton with his knees, but Steen is so big that he hurts Jay's knee. Jay can't get the Jaydriller. Great psychology there. Steen with the Sharpshooter! Mark tries to make the save, but Steen just sucks it up and spits at him. Mark goes to the corner to get momentum and winds up eating THE SICKEST YAKUZA KICK IN HISTORY! Generico sets up guard as Jay starts to fade, but Mark comes back in with a springboard kick to the head. Awesome! The Briscoes set Generico up for the Springboard Doomsday Device, but Generico ducks the clothesline and Victory Rolls Jay for the win at 16:27. This had a great, scrappy vibe to it, like an old NWA tag team match. The Briscoes are pissed about the loss and let Steen and Generico know about it. Great formula match here. ****

Kyle Durden returns to get an exclusive interview with Ernie Osiris. Ernie says he took a pay cut and now he begs for change. Bad Santa: Well, they can't all be winners, can they? The interview is interrupted when Sweet 'n' Sour Inc. attacks Erick Stevens in the background. Roderick Strong breaks through the onlookers and makes the save.

Elsewhere, Jimmy Jacobs says he tapped out to save himself for the real battle.

The 411: For fans worried about ROH's future under Pearce, I think this show answers those critics. Granted, it has the awful result in the title match, but I'm a firm believer that you occasionally have to have a screwy finish to emphasize the clean finishes. One of Samoa Joe's hottest periods was when Homicide threw the fireball in his face. Sometimes, you have to do those kinds of things and sacrifice the short-term. Forget all that, though, because this show has three great matches, a pair of potential good tag teams (King/Titus, Strong/Stevens) and a hell of a brawl.

Thumbs way up.

Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]