ROH 106 – In Your Face – 17th June 2006
I quite liked the new Manhattan building – Basketball City, it came off pretty well on DVD, but the building is no longer an option, so once again ROH in NYC is on the move. Tonight we’re back for one last show in the New Yorker Hotel. The Joe vs Kobashi event proved it was far too small for ROH’s needs these days, but once again everyone will be crammed in for one last show here before we head off to the new venue – the Manhattan Centre where they used to tape RAW. The main event is a big time triple threat – Joe, Dragon and KENTA (who kicks off his summer tour here). It’s notorious for being horribly violent, and not always intentionally so. Aries and Strong defend the tag titles against Nigel McGuiness and Colt Cabana who reunite after their lengthy feud last year. There’s two big rematches with Whitmer/Jacobs and Rave/Richards on the bill as well, as well as the Briscoes, Homicide in his hometown, CZW too and an FIP bonus match. It’s not an ultra-packed line-up but it’s not bad. As mentioned, this is in Manhattan, NY. Hosts are Dave Prazak and Jared David.
ROH VIDEO RECAP (07/06/06) – The recap starts with clips of Colt Cabana’s recent matches, since he’s now #1 contender for the World Title.
-Bryan Danielson b*tches about all the jokes about his pale skin. Cabana interrupts him, and Dragon offers him his World Title match early – in FIP’s Impact Of Honor show.
- Promo videos for KENTA’s upcoming tour and the Rave/Richards rematch.
- After being pinned by him in the main event of How We Roll, Christopher Daniels challenges Christian Cage to a singles match.
The Briscoes open the show in a dingy looking basement of the New Yorker with some hick redneckisms. They tell the entire company that it’s “time to man up” (they’re awesome new catchphrase) and say that despite losing twice, they’ll get the Tag belts again eventually.
In an equally grotty looking room Austin Aries clears up the GeNext situation, then says that he and Strong are the best champions in ROH. They’ll prove it by beating Pure Champion Nigel McGuiness tonight, and then they’re taking the Tag Titles to Japan to make them World Tag Titles.
Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe vs James Keenan/Jason Blade
This would be your ROHVideos.com match of the evening. Quite rightly the Briscoes are now dropped to the bottom of the card after losing two title matches. Just like Colt Cabana did, they now must work their way back up. Tonight they face the thrown together Keenan/Blade combination. Both these guys have talent, and have made the odd appearance in ROH without really making too much headway. Don’t expect that to change after this match, but if they impress – maybe they’ll get a chance further down the line. If you’ve seen SJK in 1PW in the UK you’ll know he has potential.
If you struggle telling the Briscoes apart you’re going to have a hard time tonight, they’re wearing matching shorts. Mark starts with Keenan and both throw out some nice armdrags. Jay hits Blade with a running rana for 2. SJK low bridges Briscoe allowing Blade to hit a RUNNING SWANTON to the floor! Keenan goes to the apron…RUNNING HEADSCISSORS OFF THE APRON BY MARK! Back in the ring Jay gets so much height on his dropkick he almost hits above Blade’s head. He tries to escape to his corner but Mark gets the tag and back suplexes him on his head. The Briscoes are keeping their offence pretty basic but tagging almost constantly as they isolate Blade. Eventually Jason lands a dropkick but goes for a cover rather than tagging. CRADLE suplex gets 2…and still he doesn’t tag. Eventually he does, but he’s kinda killed the hot tag. Keenan hangs Jay in the corner for an ELEVATED lungblower. He hypes the crowd up for a stiff kick then pisses them all off with a chinlock. Heel SJK rules! Eventually Jay toeholds him over the middle rope facilitating a tag and a slingshot double stomp by Mark. He gives Blade an urinage to follow that. SPLASH MOUNTAIN NECKBREAKER for Keenan! Blade tries a suplex and gets caught and thrown miles into the air by the Briscoes. PRESS SLAM DVD BY JAY! SPIKE JAY DRILLER FOR SJK! Briscoes win at 08:31.
Rating - *** - Good opening match, and easily the best ROHVideos.com match out there. Check this out for free right now since it’s 10 minutes of solid tag team action. Blade looked green but thankfully most of the time he was getting his ass kicked. Keenan at least got to show off a tiny bit of the heel stuff that he does so effectively elsewhere on the indies. Meanwhile the Briscoes looked dominant here, showing off their offence, but holding enough back to make it very clear that this wasn’t a “big” match for them. Incidentally, their heat segment with Blade was much more slick and convincing than anything they’ve done with Aries and Strong over the past couple of shows. Surprisingly good squash.
Nigel McGuiness says he’s making history tonight by becoming ROH’s first double champion. He’s picked Colt Cabana as his partner tonight. ‘Chicago and England, together again’ – Cabana. Colt promises that what happened last time they tagged won’t happen again.
Clips of Ricky Reyes beating Dave Crist (of Irish Airborne). It’s pretty much edited off the DVD, as is Jake/Dunn (of the Ring Crew Express) since apparently they both sucked. This is included since post-match Chris Hero runs in through the crowd and takes out Julius Smokes. Homicide can’t get to the ring quick enough to make the save but promises he’ll f*ck Hero up before the show is over.
Jimmy Rave vs Davey Richards
Since he was beaten by the rookie at Destiny, Jimmy Rave wasted no time in demanding a rematch to prove it was nothing but a fluke. He’s busted his ass to become one of ROH’s top guys and doesn’t want Davey to make a name at his expense. Richards just wants to be the best and beat everyone that gets put in front of him and promised to beat Rave just like he did in Connecticut. The TP thrown at Rave seems to f*ck up one of the chandeliers hanging from the low New Yorker ceiling meaning these guys (rather crazily) wrestle this match with hunks of broken glass all over the canvas.
Rave attacks Davey before the bell which makes the glass situation even worse – there’s no time to clear it. They quickly go outside which helps. Richards gives the fans a close-up of his stiff kicks. Back in the ring again with Jimmy kneeing him in the face then getting in a neckbreaker for 2. He camel clutches Davey and starts scraping his face, clearly intending to be hugely aggressive. He grinds a forearm across Richards’ face as the ref checks his hand which has been cut on glass. Rave chokes him over the bottom rope as well, going through his entire repertoire of dirty tactics. Mounted right hands pepper Davey’s face and when he fights out of that predicament Jimmy just floors him with another haymaker. HANDSPRING ENZI! Rave rolls onto the apron to recover from that. Davey brings him in then SUPLEXES HIM OVER THE ROPES! Both guys take an ugly slingshot bump to the floor thanks to that. In the end they both stumble vacantly back in. Rave kicks low but Richards blocks Ghanarea with a savage kick flurry. He gets 2 with his awesome German suplex. Jimmy blocks the butterfly brainbuster but then gets dumped with a Saito suplex! Davey goes crazy with a big running elbow then an immediate lariat for 2. To the top rope he goes, but Jimmy avoids the missile dropkick. CRAPPY WIZARD SCORES! Richards kicks out…but his eye is f*cked up as a result of that. GFG blocked…but Rave nails a spear. Northern lights bomb gets 2! He hasn’t done that for a while. Richards blocks Greetings again, but Rave ducks a kick and almost pins him using the ropes. Davey slaps on an armbreaker using the legs and Jimmy immediately taps at 09:11.
Rating - *** - Another great match from these two, who have excellent chemistry in the ring together – even with the ring is littered with broken glass it seems. The rating is lower because there’s less match to rate, but the work here was mostly better than the Destiny clash. Where as the last match was all about Davey’s offence, this time the match was about Jimmy being a dick heel and stopping at nothing to get his win back. Richards’ offence was used sparingly – emphasising the explosiveness of his arsenal and in the end it was simply that which ensured he took another victory. I wasn’t a huge fan of the finish but I get the point it’s trying to make. Credit for these two for producing something that good in such a hazardous environment. Davey’s eye is disgusting looking…
Jimmy Jacobs doesn’t remember his last match with BJ Whitmer. But he checked out the Dragon Gate Challenge DVD and realised that BJ almost killed him. His immediate concern is what would happen to Lacey if he wasn’t around. For that reason he promises to cripple Whitmer in NYC, then go on to get a World Title shot – which he’ll win since he’s fuelled by love. GREAT promo btw…
Austin Aries/Roderick Strong vs Nigel McGuiness/Colt Cabana – ROH Tag Title Match
It’s really only fair that Nigel gets a tag title match since he’s beaten both Aries and Strong in defence of his Pure Title. He’s selected Colt Cabana as his partner, a man that he has respect for after their lengthy feud last year. Last time they teamed together Cabana pissed him off with his goofy antics – and cost then the Tag belts (then held by Maff and Whitmer), but Colt has a serious edge since feuding with Homicide. Aries and Strong are now the longest reigning tag team champions ever (beating the Havana Pitbulls I think…or maybe the Briscoes) and their next mission is to win here then make them World Tag Titles by defending them in Japan. They’re not Generation Next anymore if you didn’t read my Destiny review. They dropped the name and the stable is defunct.
Aries is up there with Joe (and Homicide) as the most popular guy in ROH. McGuiness immediately attacks Strong’s arm to set up for his arm submission. He takes Roddy down again and boots him in the back to prove he’s a better wrestler. Strong goes for chops but McGuiness blocks them all. Aries tags in but Nigel quickly takes him down for a hammerlock. Having duly pissed off both opponents he tags out to Cabana. Aries and Cabana have past heat from 04/05 so that could come into play here. He traps Aries’ arm and starts kneeing it, but he’s able to tag before Colt can do too much damage. Roderick breaks out a sweet counter to a wristlock but by and large Cabana works circles around him – a point completely missed by Jared David. McGuiness throws a Euro uppercut, but naturally it’s Roderick’s chops which give him the edge in a striking game. Nigel headstands but Austin holds him up there for a CHOP FLURRY! Roddy fallaway slams McGuiness into the path of a slingshot corkscrew splash from Aries. The champs are now using double teams to negate the mat-wrestling superiority of the challengers. The instant replay knee drop gets 2 on McGuiness. Eventually the Pure Champion is able to headstand into the back kick final cut and make a tag.
Cabana takes it to the mat again and stretches Austin out. Nigel cobra clutches him then gets 2 with a wristlock suplex. The challengers literally toy with him as they switch limbs to pull at, then capture him in a double team STF. Cobra clutch applied again by Nigel. Aries finally tumbles away from a corner and makes the hot tag who hits a flurry of offensive strikes on McGuiness. The Gibson Driver gets 2…STRONGHOLD LOCKED IN! Cabana breaks that up. Double backbreaker then the CHOP BRAINBUSTER on Nigel gets 2. He tags to Colt who lands a QUEBRADA PRESS on both men. McGuiness headstands and Cabana whips Roddy right into a mule kick. Strong avoids the flying asshole but almost gets pins with a tornado snap suplex. Missile dropkick misses…STRONGHOLD ON CABANA! Aries tries to prevent Nigel making the save but he can’t. Strong gives him a backbreaker then the firemans carry gutbuster…REBOUND LARIAT by McGuiness! He lifts Strong onto Cabana’s shoulders for an ELEVATED TOWER OF LONDON! Aries naturally has to break that pinfall. Nigel headstands one time too many and Austin nails him with the RUNNING DROPKICK! BIG BOOT FROM RODDY FOR 2! They hoist Nigel up…MISSILE DROPKICK BOMB! CABANA SAVES! STRONGHOOOOOOOLD! Nigel has no choice but to tap at 21:09.
Rating - *** - That was a really strange match. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely enjoyed it, but it seemed a little off. The opening 10-12 minutes were engaging and very cerebral, to the point where I think it was lost on a lot of people. It was essentially the superior mat skills of the challengers against the tag team experience and offensive flurries of the champions. And that was fine…except it had no real relevance whatsoever on the finish. Equally, I found the last 8 minutes or so to be an exciting splurge of big spots, with both teams getting in some wicked stuff. But…there didn’t seem to be any real transition between the two segments. It was like watching the start of one match with the finish to a different one. That’s why I can’t go higher on the rating…but it was highly watchable.
Jimmy Jacobs vs BJ Whitmer
The first match between these two former team-mates (and ROH Tag Team Champions) was an incredible spectacle, or, if you put it another way – a memorable trainwreck. They were putting on a solid competitive match but then out of nowhere started screwing things up left and right and almost killed each other. In the end BJ Whitmer won, but not before he’d managed to slip off the top rope attempting a powerbomb therefore f*cking up his ankle and almost murdering Jimmy as he ricocheted off both the top rope and the apron before hitting the floor. The winner of this rematch gets a World Title shot next week in Detroit.
Jimmy doesn’t wait for Whitmer to get into the ring for this match to begin…but BJ makes him pay for it by giving him a brutal header into the railings. They do eventually get into the ring and the match officially starts with Whitmer in control of his smaller opponent. Jacobs manages to hit the multiple-revolution headscissors then double stomps BJ’s face into the turnbuckle. He sets up his head against the ringpost then dropkicks it from the floor. He gets distracted by Lacey, but quickly thumbs Whitmer in the eyes to stop him throwing chops. Jimmy lands a nice dropkick to the neck as he continues to prepare for the Contra Code, then keeps on that body part with a cobra clutch – but BJ is too powerful to hold down. Jacobs comes from the top with a missile dropkick for 2. He goes for a swinging DDT, but Whitmer CATCHES HIM WITH A BRAINBUSTER! That was awesome. Somehow BJ’s eye has been cut open and Jacobs gets 2 with a fisherman suplex. JJ looks for a super rana but Whitmer counters with a TOP ROPE ALLEY-OOP! Jacobs ducks a lariat and heaves Whitmer into a DVD. SENTON BOMB…BJ gets the knees up! Both guys take a while to get up, and when they do Jacobs goes for the Contra Code. BJ blocks…OWEN HART TOMBSTONE ONLY GETS 2! Lacey tries to distract Whitmer so he drags her into the ring. He kisses Lacey and Jimmy explodes! On the floor Lacey spits at Green Latern Fan! TOPE SUICIDA ON WHITMER! Jacobs sends him into the crowd then jumps off the railings after him. He then goes to the top rope for an even bigger dive…only for BJ to go up after him. You can almost feel it coming…WHITMER SUPERBOMBS JACOBS INTO THE F*CKING CROWD! THAT IS CRAZY! They’re both dead and it’s a no contest at 13:22.
Rating - *** - For some reason whenever you stick these two in the ring together, as partners or as opponents, they seem to produce results. Ironically this was a better wrestling match than Dragon Gate Challenge, but (despite the wild whacky finish) there was less suicidal madness which bumped up the rating last time. Nice story told, with Jacobs desperate for revenge but constantly having to overcome the size disadvantage. Realistically, all this match will be remembered for though is that ending. It’s an amazing visual even though in reality all they did was dive into a bunch of wrestling school students. Still, chalk up another stunt for Whitmer who is going nuts this year trying to get himself over.
INTERMISSION – Davey Richards doesn’t care about his eye. He’s beaten Jimmy Rave twice and he’s only a rookie. He’s in ROH to be somebody…
Shane Hagadorn vs Mitch Frankin – Top Of The Class Trophy
Damnit…this was a really solid show and now it’ll be brought down by wheeling out the students. Hagadorn beat Derrick Dempsey to win the Trophy in a sucky match at Destiny. Mitch Franklin looks gross. He’s like an ugly little monkey…if this was the Top Of The Uglies Trophy he could win. Since Shane is probably the best student it’s fitting he has the trophy to prove it. It’d be even more fitting if he could keep himself in dark matches or wrestling more experienced opponents.
Hagadorn almost beats Franklin before the bell even rings by laying him out with a straight punch. He works the neck with vices then a chinlock. Mitch rolls over a back suplex and dropkicks the knees. Hagadorn tries to gutwrench him but he counters into a reverse DDT. He almost falls off the top rope but catches himself to land a missile dropkick. A floatover tornado DDT finds a 2. Shane slaps on his chinlock stretch to get the tap-out victory at 03:19.
Rating - DUD – Another poor student match that drags down what’s been a great show so far. Franklin is as green as his trunks. Hagadorn is much better when he’s wrestling guys with more experience. He’s also the right guy to have the trophy, but again, keep these matches on the pre-show, or clip them from the DVD since they suck. It’s not like Hagadorn’s character is a subtle work of genius that we need to see every show to fully understand the intricate nuances of it. Just put him on every once in a while as he gets more experience. He might be good one day…but I’m fed up of the students sucking.
Adam Pearce vs Claudio Castagnoli
Ring Of Honor vs Combat Zone Wrestling action here. It’s the Lt. Commissioner against the man who walked out on ROH to join his friends in CZW. That’s really all you need to say here. Obviously last time we saw the CZW troops they were getting their asses kicked by Homicide so Double C would like to regain the momentum they’ve mounted since The 100th Show and soften Pearce up before Cage Of Death on July 15th. Claudio has a new intro for his music because obviously Brian May and his guitar awesomeness can’t be heel.
Pearce doesn’t wait for Claudio to get into the ring to start the fight. He gets sent into the railings by his cheap-ass suit. Pearce looks for a gutwrench superplex but Castagnoli drives a knee into the chest and rides it to the mat. Scrap Iron starts no-selling CC’s European uppercuts so he chokes him over the ropes instead, then starts using his tie to apply a choke, hiding it from the referee too. Next he uses his shirt, but obviously that’s a lot more difficult to hide. Pearce unloads a flurry of punches but the comeback gets cut short after a suplex. He is able to hit a spinebuster and both men are down. Claudio knees him in the face in the corner then goes upstairs. He gets caught and this time Adam does manage a gutwrench superplex which gets 2. He elevates Claudio to the ropes again for a SLINGSHOT LUNGBLOWER! It’s time for the Superfly Splash, but Chris Hero runs through the crowd and lays him out with a title belt (I think it’s a Chikara Tag Title belt) to force the DQ at 08:23.
Rating - ** - Probably as good as you’re going to get from a babyface Pearce singles match. The guy just isn’t that good in singles without his heel stuff to work in there. They did put on a semi-decent back and forth match which killed 10 minutes in front of a good crowd before bringing out the super-over Chris Hero to force the DQ.
Hero gloats about taking Homicide’s manager out on his own turf as the crowd pelt him with garbage, and promises he’ll cause even more havoc in the Cage Of Death. Naturally this brings Homicide out. Despite quitting for the billionth time at Destiny, he’s back again in his hometown to welcome Hero to the Ring Of Homicide. He lays out both of the Kings…TOPE CON HILO! Pearce chases Castagnoli to the back whilst Homicide takes it to Hero at ringside – we have ourselves a match!
Homicide vs Chris Hero
Hero has been the catalyst behind this whole inter-promotional rivalry and CZW’s leading man in their war with ROH. Homicide finally entered into the conflict at Ring Of Homicide, when he fought for ROH and beat Necro Butcher in a violent brawl. Since then he has controversially lost another World Title match and after blaming the ref, walked out on the company again. But he’s back in front of his hometown fans now and looking for revenge after Hero decked Julius Smokes earlier in the show.
It’s guardrail city for Hero, then he gets a header into a chair held up by a front row fan. The fight spills up the aisle where Cide suplexes Hero ON THE METAL RAMP! In the ring Hero attempts some wrestling but Homicide can do that as well. Both men land on their feet out of monkey flips and Cide gets 2 from a bulldog/running neckbreaker sequence. Finally Hero is able to get some offence in as he mafia kicks his opponent off the apron. Like Claudio in the last match, Hero uses the ropes to apply chokes. Homicide uses a jawbreaker to escape a form of facelock but gets drilled with another big boot to keep him on the back foot. He blocks an Ace crusher then pisses everyone in the building off by applying a cravat. Hero impresses me with a lovely top rope flip across the ring then catching Homicide in a beautiful powerslam for 2. He attempts a Cop Killa but ends up clamping onto the cravat again. Moonsault misses and the crowd beg Homicide to make it to his feet first. Cide nails a swinging DDT from the corner and scores 2 with his Ace crusher. Hero pokes him in the eye but he’s still able to take him over with a belly to belly suplex then lock in the STF as NYC begs Hero to tap. ‘F*ck John Cena’ – Manhattan in reference to the STFU. Hero with a CRAVAT NECKBREAKER for 2. A back drop driver scores as well before he pulls out a table. That gets propped in the corner but Homicide pops up with the Three Amigos. Hero counters the third and POWERBOMBS HIM THROUGH THE TABLE! KICK-OUT AT 2! Top rope cravat but Homicide pushes him away and lands the FROG SPLASH! Hero lays Homicide out with his title belt but still he won’t stay down. Hero ducks the Lariat but Homicide turns on the fly…SPINNING LARIATOOOOOOOOOOO! Hero is beaten at 22:03.
Rating - *** - Looooooong match. They could’ve achieved everything they did there in about half the time, but it was entertaining at times. I’ve read some real gushing words of praise for this match and found it to be a little overhyped, but it wasn’t bad either. The hot pro-Homicide crowd really added to the match (aside from constantly throwing litter which got VERY annoying) and the big spots were all effective. The match just never really changed pace and kicked into a higher gear which it needed to for a better rating. Still, that’s another chapter in this epic feud now, and once again Homicide has beaten a leading member of the invading CZW roster.
Homicide takes a seat in the middle of the ring. He vows that he’ll win the World Title by the end of 2006 or he’ll quit Ring Of Honor.
Samoa Joe vs KENTA vs Bryan Danielson
KENTA returns to Ring Of Honor to begin his summer tour with the promotion. He’s no longer a special attraction, he’s more like a semi-regular member of the roster and you’ll see him a lot more this year. This match has its roots from his last appearance when he teamed with Naomichi Marufuji to beat the team of Danielson and Joe. Following a confrontation in Mexico it was very clear that he’s got a lot of heat with the Samoan and their clashes in the match were violent. That match ended when KENTA beat the ROH Champion American Dragon with the Go 2 Sleep. Now both of ROH’s native talents are coming for him. There’s also the simmering issue between Samoa Joe and Bryan Danielson as Joe looks to get back into the hunt for the World Title. Interesting fact – this is KENTA’s first ever triple threat match.
Kenta shakes hands with neither man before the match indicating the heat there is between these three. Danielson runs away from both opponents then takes over on both of them by raking their eyes, and kicking Joe’s bad leg. Kenta and Joe break out a vicious double kick flurry then turn on each other. Kenta lands some kicks before Joe throws him down on his face! Danielson misses a springboard crossbody as Joe stands tall over both men. Kenta and Dragon go at it now and again Kenta’s striking ability gives him the edge. JOE KNOCKS HIM THE F*CK OUT WITH A B*TCH SLAP! KENTA IS DEAD! Danielson foolishly tries to trade slaps with Joe as Kenta lies unconscious then quickly realises his mistake and runs away. ‘Joe killed Kenta’ – NYC. Kenta at least appears awake again now…SPRINGBOARD DOUBLE DROPKICK! How the hell did he do that? He’s just been KO’d! Dragon headbutts a Samoan and deservingly eats a jumping enziguri. He’s a student of the game, he should know better. He does end up blasting both his opponents with running forearms in the corner. Kenta starts kicking him again but then the Japanese athlete runs straight into a boot from Joe. Danielson jumps over Kenta and dives at Joe…STJOE ONTO KENTA! Kenta and Joe have a Yakuza kick duel until Danielson pulls him out! Joe soars through the ropes with the ELBOW SUICIDA! Jared David instantly improves his standing with me by calling it the elbow suicida.
Joe and Kenta fight into the crowd allowing Danielson to hit the ring and prepare for his SPRINGBOARD SOMERSAULT PLANCHAAAAAAA! He seems to injure his own knee in landing that but it doesn’t stop him. Kenta and Danielson to the top but they both miss missile dropkicks. Kenta gets Joe in the corner for a BUSAIKU KNEE! Joe pushes Dragon off the top rope only to get caught with the RUNNING SINGLE LEAP SUPER FALCON ARROW BY KENTA! Danielson has to break the pin there. Kenta springboards into the ring…RIGHT INTO CATTLE MUTILATION! JOE BREAKS IT WITH A RUNNING SENTON! He looks for a Musclebuster on Kenta only for Danielson to chopblock the injured knee again. Kenta ducks a roaring elbow and starts throwing kicks at him, seemingly not caring if they connect or not. He nails his chop/kick flurry but runs right into a big elbow smash. REGALPLEX gets 2. Samoa Joe is still struggling to walk so Danielson is able to take Kenta upstairs for a back superplex. Joe is back now only for Dragon to knock him away again with a roaring elbow. Kenta blocks the Crossface Chickenwing and gets 2 with a tiger suplex. Kenta goes after Joe’s knee now…KENTA CLOVERLEAF! Danielson breaks it – CM PIN for 2! Go 2 Sleep blocked by going to the eyes. Joe lifts Dragon onto his shoulders…AND KENTA USES IT TO HIT AN ASSISTED GO 2 SLEEP! BUSAIKU KNEE ON JOE! He grabs Danielson...GO 2 SLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP! Kenta wins and knocks Danielson out cold at 20:22.
Rating - **** - A brutal match for a number of reasons. Some of the strikes these men were dishing out was borderline unprofessionally stiff but it made for a hell of a match. I’ll admit some of it was messy but, you have to allow them some mistakes considering how they were beating the sh*t out of each other. It was really an amazing effort by KENTA just to complete the match considering he got legit knocked out in the first couple of minutes. Joe busted his ear drum in there as well (I think from that early slap by KENTA) whilst Danielson ended the match knocked out after the assisted G2S. It’s the occasional bouts of expected sloppiness that keep the match from a higher rating but it’s a must see spectacle of violence, a fitting final match in the New Yorker Hotel and easily the best 3-way in ROH since London/Styles/Ki back in 2003.
KENTA grabs the microphone and, after beating Danielson for the second time in as many matches, demands an ROH title shot. Joe says that in that case KENTA has to worry about him since he’s the one that will beat American Dragon. He flips KENTA off, slaps Dragon in the face for constantly cheap-shotting him then leaves. The World Champion and KENTA at least manage a handshake.
Austin Aries and Roderick Strong call themselves the best champions in ROH and the best tag team in the world. The Briscoes walk in to tell them to man up.
Here you’ll get yourself the FIP bonus match with The Fast & Furious (Jerrelle Clark and Jay Fury) taking on Seth Delay and Chasyn Rance. It’s an entertaining match and a look at why Clark and Fury will eventually make it onto the ROH roster as a team. It’s even better if you can block out Bower and Prazak on commentary in SUPER-FIP-SHILL MODE!
Tape Rating - *** - Depends how you look at this I guess. If you don’t get every show then, this isn’t the one for you. Whilst most of the card is pretty good there’s really only one match worth going out of your way to see and that’s the main event, and it’s a lot shorter than other events. However, for the completists, you’ll acknowledge this as a really solid show. Aside from a post-intermission 2-match lull it’s all very good, with SIX matches reaching 3* or higher. The Briscoes tag is a good opener. Davey and Rave put on another good match. The Tag Title match is really solid. Jacobs and Whitmer produce another wild moment and at the top of the card, Homicide/Hero entertains before KENTA/Dragon/Joe steals the show. Despite nothing being anywhere near as good as Danielson/Homicide I’d give this show a much bigger recommendation than Destiny. Hopefully that gives you some perspective.
Top 3 Matches
3) Davey Richards vs Jimmy Rave (***)
2) Austin Aries/Roderick Strong vs Nigel McGuiness/Colt Cabana (***)
1) KENTA vs Bryan Danielson vs Samoa Joe (****)