ROH 118 – Glory By Honor 5 Night 1 – 15th September 2006
Ahhh Glory By Honor. Traditionally one of ROH’s biggest shows of the year, with history going all the way back to 2002. Yet it’s also got a tradition of being a bit of a let down. Generally I’ve found past GBH cards to be a little disappointing, but redeemed by one feature or match that really makes you think…”wow, I need this show”. In 2002 it was Ki/Joe, 2003 it was Joe/Daniels. 2004 brought us Mick Foley’s ROH debut whilst 2005 gave us the Gibson/Danielson mat-wrestling masterpiece. Now coming off two of Ring Of Honor’s weakest shows of ’06, the annual Glory By Honor event (this year split over two nights) has some pressure on it to deliver the goods. In fairness, both cards are loaded. Tomorrow night is the debut in the historic Manhattan Centre with Danielson/KENTA and Marufuji defending the GHC Heavyweight Title, but the card for tonight is great too. Even with Bryan Danielson sitting it out (he’s now on a lighter schedule due to his injured shoulder) the card is stacked. There’s Daniels/McGuinness, Aries/Richards, Joe/Strong and a dream main event of the Briscoes taking on NOAH’S Naomichi Marufuji and KENTA. We’re back in East Windsor, CT tonight. But there’s a hitch with the building (the pretty one with the faux grass floor)…fire regulations meant ROH aren’t allowed to run inside it with so many people. So we’re in a tent in the parking lot a’la Generation Next. But this tent sucks and is too small and low, so almost every match is affected by wrestlers hitting the tent when they use the ropes. And it’s absolutely hammering down with rain meaning it’s constantly sagging under the weight. Anyway…on commentary are Dave Prazak and Jared David.
ROH VIDEO RECAPS (01/09/06 – 13/09/06) – Obviously the first focus of the recap is Danielson wrestling to 60 minute draws two nights running, injuring his shoulder, and retiring the Pure Title.
- Clips of the Homicide vs Briscoes war going back to 2004…since we’ve got the big Homicide/Joe vs Briscoes tag match coming up in Manhattan.
- Jim Cornette is coming to New York for Night 2, despite the fact he doesn’t like NYC and he doesn’t like Homicide. Delirious interrupts him to demand bigger matches. Jim calls him ‘Kermit’ lol.
- Clips of the post-match after Fight Of The Century, when KENTA called out Danielson…then the Briscoes arrived to set up both matches this weekend by fighting with KENTA, Homicide and Joe.
- Jim Cornette opens up the second of the recaps by announcing Bruno Sammartino for GBH5 Night 2. He also announces that the ROH Tag, World, and GHC Heavyweight Titles will all be defended. Delirious interrupts again, so Jim books him against Lt. Commissioner Adam Pearce.
- American Dragon gets some promo time with his arm in a sling. Despite being advised to take time off and get surgery, he’s decided against it - “pain is temporary, pride is forever”.
- Also included is Jimmy Jacobs’ newest video – ‘The Victory Of Love’. It’s not as good as ‘The Ballad Of Lacey’.
The Briscoes aren’t afraid of all they’ve got ahead of them this weekend. KENTA, Marufuji, Joe and Homicide…they all need to man up.
Rhett Titus/Pelle Primeau vs Dunn & Marcos
Hey, it’s a rare sighting of the Ring Crew Express. Remember when they were on every show? Now they’re hardly ever booked they are so insanely over. Anyway, they’ve got an exhibition match against two guys who, I’d imagine, have filled their shoes on the ring crew. Titus and Primeau are ROH school graduates. Pelle has cropped up before. I don’t like him. He looks like a really ugly man, with a scrawny, pasty 12 year old’s body wrestling in tiny gym shorts. But, inexplicably, loads of people seem to like him. Kinda like Cheech back in 2005. Or Lance Hoyt over in TNA.
Marcos has gained weight. He’s starting to thin on top as well by the looks of it. Both members of the RCE try to take it to their jobber opponents (how weird does that sound) but the students get in a decent amount of offence. Titus gets 2 on Dunn with a big clothesline. Duelling falcon arrow/Gory Driver combo by the Crew. Electric chair senton wins it at 02:03.
Rating – DUD – That was as basic a squash as basic gets. Enough said really. Although it’s good nostalgic value seeing Dunn & Marcos. The whole match was basically here as a stage for the following angle to take place on though.
Dunn & Marcos barely have time to celebrate before Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli make their way through the crowd. Hero proclaims the Kings Of Wrestling to be the best team in the business, and issues a challenge to the RCE which is promptly accepted.
Kings Of Wrestling vs Dunn & Marcos
Thought you’d seen the last of Chris Hero? Well, you thought wrong. He revealed in his Livejournal (of all places) that it was he and Castagnoli who stole Aries and Strong’s Tag Title belts at the start of last month, and they’ve now got their hands on one of the open contracts that Austin and Roderick sent out. So they’re in ROH for the weekend…and if they win the belts tomorrow night they’ll be around for much longer.
Ring Crew try to get the jump on their opponents with missile dropkicks, then stereo dives to the floor. ASSISTED back drop driver by the KOW leaves Dunn laying. Big boot Dislocator gets 2. Hero applies one of his trademark cravats, and is typically a son of a b*tch, stomping on Dunn’s hands for no reason whatsoever. Hot tag to Marcos, who hits a swinging DDT on Hero, then a satellite inverted DDT on Claudio. But the Kings recover, and Castagnoli is served both opponents for a DOUBLE GIANT SWING! Claudio saves Hero from the assisted Shiranui, then dish out the devastating KRS-1 on Marcos. Naturally that’s all she wrote in 05:20. The Kings get a win heading into tomorrow night.
Rating - ** - I’ve gone that high on the rating because I felt it’s job pretty well. KOW need no help in getting themselves over as great big assholes but they worked that role to their usual superb standard here. But their ability as a tag team was put over in a way that we haven’t seen thus far in ROH. Do I still think some of their combo moves are goofy? Sure I do, but this match established them as real contenders – without totally burying Dunn & Marcos (not that they really matter in late 2006).
SIDENOTE – The tent means that the hard camera is at a weird angle coming in almost diagonally over one of the ringposts. I’m not sure I like it, but it’s a different look to most DVD’s. The tent is SO small that the front row is literally right next to the ring apron on two of the four sides.
Christopher Daniels hasn’t forgotten the way Nigel McGuinness used a photographer to sneak past him in a Pure Title match at Weekend Of Champions Night 1. But he’s also impressed by Nigel’s series of matches with American Dragon. He doesn’t care which Nigel he’ll step into the ring with tonight.
Elsewhere McGuinness says whether he has to cheat or be the valiant fighter, he does whatever it takes to win. He wants to ride his current wave of momentum into the GHC Title match tomorrow night.
Jimmy Jacobs vs Ricky Reyes vs Jack Evans vs Colt Cabana
The main issue to watch here is between Jimmy and Colt. Remember, it was at Epic Encounter 2 when Jacobs stumbled into the showers and saw Cabana and Lacey getting intimate. How will he cope with being in the same ring…and what will Lacey’s reaction be? Aside from that, Glory By Honor 5 weekend is the last time you’ll be seeing Jack Evans in ROH until 2007 so he’ll want to go out with a bang. Ricky Reyes doesn’t get booked much anymore which is a shame because he came into 2006 with a lot of momentum, and I was really behind him. He’s in amazing shape now though…
Cabana and Lacey ‘did not reach third base in the bushes 40 minutes ago’ – Bobby Cruise on Colt’s instructions. ‘Smell his fingers’ – Crowd. Evans and Reyes start out in a renewal of their unintentional brutal Fourth Anniversary match…except Jack leads the crowd in a ‘Colt’s a pimp’ chant instead. Jacobs is just hunched over in the corner. Ricky tries to pound on Jack but he’s so quick it’s hard to hit him. Evans almost wipes out on the tent hitting a springboard corkscrew enzi. Tags all round, with Jacobs doing a brilliant job playing the tortured emo soul. ‘When me and Punk were buddies, we used to share girls all the time’ – Colt continuing to wind Jimmy up. Jacobs tries to get angry and charge, but Cabana moves out of the way and continues to goof off with Lacey. Reyes gets the tag and kicks the tar out of Jacobs, making his day even worse. Jimmy hits a volley of forearms then a neckbreaker. Lacey tries to get JJ and Cabana to work together. Jacobs isn’t overly keen on that idea, but Colt gets stuck in with relish. He sets up for a Hart Attack, then moves out of the way meaning Jimmy looks like an idiot and lands on his face. Same routine again as he holds Reyes prone for a big boot, then moves so Jimmy trips over. Reyes eventually plasters JJ with a swinging neckbreaker and tags out to Jack. Moonsault reverse elbow sends Jacobs to the floor along with Cabana. SPACE FLYING TIGER DROP! Reyes gets Jimmy back inside for a spiralbomb, then catches Evans in the DRAGON SLEEPER! But he’s not legal, and Cabana breaks the hold with a LIONSAULT onto both of them. Ricky evades the Colt 45…but Cabana ends up inadvertently killing Jimmy with a clothesline. Reyes makes it worse with a German suplex. Jack tries to capitalise with the 630, but can’t stand on the top rope because of the tent. SOMERSAULT LEG DROP wins it for the Dragon Gate star at 13:06.
Rating - *** - This match doesn’t get anywhere near enough credit. It’s not easy telling a storyline like the Jimmy/Cabana/Lacey love triangle within a match, but those two guys did an excellent job. Cabana brought the comedy, but it only worked so well because Jacobs was so effective as the lovable loser. Evans didn’t really get to do a whole lot (although he was restricted anyway with the tent), whilst Reyes was really only in there to get the Cabana/Jacobs comedy across without harming Jack’s credibility…but this whole match worked so well. It’s not a 5* classic but I can’t rave enough about how well it served its purpose.
Christopher Daniels vs Nigel McGuinness
The Fallen Angel basically already covered the history for this one in his interview. On Night 1 of the Weekend Of Champions Nigel defended the Pure Title against Daniels, and won by count-out when he threw a female photographer at Daniels to keep him outside for the 20 count. Despite losing the (now retired) Pure Championship, it seems as good as any for Nigel to do the dance with Daniels again. He’s got the match of his life tomorrow night so he’ll be looking for some momentum going into it. Daniels is still his usual reliable self. He’s done NOTHING in ROH this year though. At least he produced his best ROH match of the year at Gut Check when he and Sydal took Aries and Strong to the limit.
McGuinness is heckled by some “funny”/racist retards in the crowd. The same idiots get a random ‘F*ck Green Lantern’ chant rather than watch the wrestling. For their part, Daniels and Nigel don’t seem phased and continue trading holds at their own pace. Both guys work a very arm-centred match in the early going, as is typical for them. Five minutes in and, beyond the lousy crowd, nothing much has happened. McGuinness takes the advantage and steps up his attack on the Fallen Angel’s arm. He applies a hammerlock whilst pulling on Daniels’ eye sockets. Ouch that hurts. Cobra clutch applied, then a wristlock suplex for 2. McGuinness tries a headstand in the corner but gets distracted by the tent, and that allows Daniels to come back into the match. He chooses the neck and attacks it hard with neckbreakers and strikes to that area too. Nigel counters a neck vice with a wristlock takedown but he runs into a boot. Daniels scores with the Arabian press across the top of the back, then slaps on a Crossface for a few seconds for extra damage. Hammerlock DDT drops Daniels and both men take a few moments to recover their bearings. McGuinness comes up stronger delivering a series of forearms…then the REBOUND LARIAT for 2. He manages to find a corner with enough tent height for a headstand mule kick. Tower Of London countered for Daniels to hit the Fall From Grace for 2. Nigel goes for another lariat but this time Daniels blocks it with a flatliner into the Koji Clutch. That’s more pain for the neck, but there’s no submission yet. Daniels thinks about a BME, but he can’t because the tent isn’t high enough. McGuinness capitalises with yet another lariat and gets 2 again. Super Lariat ducked, but Daniels goes for the Arabian Press and lands on Nigel’s knees. MID-RING Tower Of London, and McGuinness wins in 16:44.
Rating - *** - Better than the Weekend Of Champions match certainly, but it still had noticeable problems. Firstly the thing they couldn’t control – the crowd. There were a group of very vocal pricks that really ruined this one for me. It’s a tent meaning you can hear almost everything the fans say, and there were some real morons in that tent. OK, now problems with the match. The first five minutes were totally meaningless. They didn’t really do anything. In front of a questionable group of fans it just made them that much more irritable when Daniels and Nigel were doing nothing but aimless stuff in there. I’d also like to complain about Nigel working the arm…it went nowhere. I know he does it every match and has an arm submission finish too, but at least incorporate it somewhere. The whole match was Daniels working the neck against McGuinness working the arm. By forgetting about the arm at the end to hit a bunch of lariats Nigel effectively made the rest of the match redundant. This isn’t bad per se…but both men have far higher standards and fell below them with this effort.
Samoa Joe talks about his history at previous Glory By Honor events. He says Roderick Strong pinning him at Epic Encounter 2 was a fluke, and he’ll prove it tonight. The interview ends, and a Japanese guy brings Takeshi Morishima over. Joe shakes his hand but doesn’t seem that impressed with Morishima.
Davey Richards vs Austin Aries
Originally we were scheduled to get Bryan Danielson defending the ROH Title against Aries tonight, but he’s been given a lighter schedule now he’s injured and Danielson/Aries has been rescheduled. To make up for that, ROH has put together these two. When Davey debuted there were lots of people calling for him to wrestle Aries. Their styles are very similar so it’s something people really wanted to see. Dragon and Austin are always awesome when they wrestle, but this has the potential to be a more than adequate replacement for that match.
Double A’s ribs are still taped. The tent is also really starting to sag under the weight of the rainwater outside. They play nice and trade holds, until Richards bridges into a kick to Aries’ shoulder. Davey covers up against the headscissors dropkick, so Aries kicks him in the chest instead. It seems like a mistake to get into a kicking contest with Davey (unless you’re KENTA), and Aries acknowledges that by headlocking him rather than rising to the challenge of trading kicks. Eventually Austin misses a slingshot senton, and Davey hits the chops/stepover kick combo, with the kick being delivered straight to the ribs. He stays on that injury with a backbreaker, then going to ground by applying a bodyscissors. Handspring enziguri countered with a DROPKICK TO THE NECK! Snap sidewalk slam gets Aries 2. He looks like he’s trying to soften Davey up for the brainbuster, and applies a bridging camel clutch to target the specific body parts. Richards looks like he has the edge in striking power, so Aries knees him in the stomach. They simultaneously clothesline each other and both drop to the mat. More hard-hitting shots traded, and this time AA wins with an elbow strike right on the jaw. Davey tries booting his opponent in the face, and Aries doesn’t like that so dropkicks him in the knee. HANDSPRING ENZI by Richards but he’s slow to take advantage. DR Driver blocked, so Davey drops Aries over the ropes. He falls to the floor, and Davey gives chase with a TWISTING TOPE SUICIDA! Back in and Davey sets up to use Aries as a kickbag again. Finally Austin catches a leg and hits the shinbreaking back suplex. Running dropkick gets 2. Richards blocked the crucifix driver with a gutbuster straight into the ribs. Sit-out powerbomb nailed, then the Horse Collar applied. That doesn’t work, and Aries flips out of Richards’ German suplex into the KICK OF DEATH! BRAINBUSTER! Davey kicks out…although I think that was actually the finish, but the ref screwed up. FACE KICK! BRAINBUSTER AGAIN! Yeah, they just re-did the finish. Aries wins at 17:15.
Rating - *** - It’s matches like this that made me wish I did half and quarter star ratings because this was SO much better than Daniels/Nigel, but it gets the same rating…because there’s no way it was up to 4* - even before the botched finish. I’ll actually give credit where it’s due and say it’s one of Davey’s best singles performances yet, as he utilised his kicking ability to tell an effective story (attacking the ribs) as opposed to kicking because it’s over as usual. The middle section just seemed to drag a little though. I’d like to see what they could do in a normal arena (as opposed to a rainy tent) when Aries’ ribs are healed. This was good as was…but they’ve got much better in them for a rematch.
INTERMISSION – GMC is with the ever-lovable trio of Colt Cabana, Lacey and Jimmy Jacobs. Lacey calls Jimmy pathetic and tells him to win. Colt just jerks off in the background (not literally), then leaves for another date with Lacey…
Shane Hagadorn vs Delirious
Delirious has had a pretty lousy August, and didn’t win once. Despite that he demanded bigger matches from Jim Cornette, and has to face Adam Pearce tomorrow night in New York as a result. He’ll be looking to get into shape for that by beating the constantly improving Shane Hagadorn tonight. Hagadorn is pretty tight with Pearce apparently, so he could be acting as a police man (as Mark Nulty would say) before tomorrow night’s match.
Shane hides behind the referee whilst Delirious freaks out. This guy is amusing. Delirious is more accomplished in the ring and comfortable has the edge in both mind games and wrestling. Hagadorn tries a back suplex but Delirious lands on his feet then drops him on his face for the third time in a minute. Shane scores with the Ogawa boot to the forehead in the corner, then hits a diving elbow from the ropes for 2. His offensive burst doesn’t last too long before he falls victim to the Panic Attack. Cobra Stretch blocked, and Hagadorn grinds Delirious’ face across the ropes. He applies that headlock/Crossface variant he’s picked up a few wins with, but Delirious gets to the ropes. Cobra clutch backbreaker…COBRA STRETCH! Shane taps for a Delirious win at 06:23.
Rating - * - Even at less than 7 minutes this dragged a little for a post-intermission comedy squash. Both wrestlers are pretty entertaining though, so it’s not too painful to watch.
Roderick Strong vs Samoa Joe
This isn’t a new match on the indy scene. I’ve seen it done already in IWA-MS and FIP (thanks to the power of illegal downloading – sorry Gabe! I will be picking up a few FIP DVD’s soon to make up for it I promise) with good results. But ROH knows what they have with these two and they’ve held off booking it until it’s needed – on a big event like the annual Glory By Honor. At least they didn’t wait so long that we never got to see it…*cough* Joe/Ki II *cough*. Basically, Roderick pinned Samoa Joe at Epic Encounter 2 in a tag match, and now Joe is pissed off and wants his win back.
Roderick tries to trap the powerful Samoan on the canvas but it’s too early for him to really establish an advantage. Joe picks at Roddy’s leg and looks to pepper him with blows, but Strong finds the ropes. Strong responds by landing some of his trademark chops then a sidewalk slam. Joe avoids a Strong dropkick, then throws him down on his face. BRUTAL kicks actually make Roderick crumble to the canvas in pain (somebody book Joe/Richards soon by the way), then the chop/kick/knee drop combo all find the mark. Misawa-style chinlock applied, but Joe adds to it by clutching the other arm meaning Strong can’t escape as easily. Roderick eventually does get free using a NECK DROP SUPLEX! He follows up on that with an enzi kick to the head, then a suplex for 2. Too much excitement though, and Roddy runs into the ST-MOTHERF’N-JOE for 2. He gets his face washed in the most savage way possible as well. Joe tries the chinlock again, but this time he targets the neck with more aggression by throwing a few short forearms at it too. Roddy tries the half nelson backbreaker but gets tossed away like trash. He tries the urinage backbreaker but Joe blocks that with repeated elbows to the head. But Roddy is tough as well, and he goes toe to toe with the Samoan as they drop some real BOMBS on each other. BACK SUPLEX BACKBREAKER gets 2. Stronghold blocked, but he manages to send Joe to the floor. RUNNING CORKSCREW PLANCHAAAAA! Strong thought he had Joe on the run, but back in the ring he walks into a big powerbomb then the sequence of submission holds all stretching on his weakening neck. HALF NELSON BACKBREAKER! Joe kicks out at 2. Roderick then defies the logistics of the tent to nail a massive superplex. Joe has his trademark running boot blocked, but he’s still too powerful for Roddy to tie down in the Stronghold. DEATH BY RODERICK! Joe hits back with a rolling legsweep. Jumping big boot by Strong…then a WEAKENED GIBSON DRIVER for 2. That pinned Joe in St Paul, but the weaker version just wasn’t enough to win. They fight on the ropes again. SUPER DEATH VALLEY DRIVER! RODDY LANDED ON HIS HEAD! You’d best believe Samoa Joe wins at 19:14.
Rating - **** - Another candidate for most underrated match of the year. If this had got a tad longer and been given more time to expand upon the stories they were working this was an easy MOTYC. It was very similar to the Danielson/Strong series of matches, in that Joe wanted to beat the crap out of Roddy so much, but he just couldn’t because Strong continually comes back with big moves and insatiable tenacity. Strong’s comebacks were, as usual, impeccable here, and really drove the match on.
Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe vs KENTA/Naomichi Marufuji
Back in 2003 whenever people used to talk about dream matches involving ROH talent people would ALWAYS say they had a dream of seeing the Briscoes against the NOAH duo of KENTA and Marufuji. Who’d have believed that three years later ROH would’ve grown to such an extent that we’re actually getting to see that match? There’s also the added element here of a mini-feud of sorts between KENTA and the Briscoes. Jay and Mark have had an issue with the Japanese star since he got into a ruck with them at Throwdown when he got involved as they looked to attack Roderick Strong. They’ve also got beef with his American protégé Davey Richards…and he even lost to the Briscoes when teaming with Davey at Time To Man Up. Now he’s coming for revenge, and has brought his long-time NOAH partner (and new GHC Heavyweight Champion) Naomichi Marufuji to get it done. The NOAH team have Takeshi Morishima, Mohammed Yone and Takashi Sugiura in their corner. Why the hell weren’t those guys booked?
All of a sudden Marufuji gets ridiculous amounts of love from the fans. Where was that on his previous ROH appearances when nobody cared and just wanted to see Kenta? Mark and Marufuji start and work some really swish mat stuff. Kenta gets tagged and immediately tries to kick Jay Briscoe’s head from his shoulders. Mark comes in again, and Nao STANDS ON HIS FACE! The Briscoes try their hand at isolating the GHC Heavyweight Champion, and keep him well away from Kenta in order to do so…but they don’t keep him back for long. Kenta wastes no time in slapping Jay in the face, but he falls victim to the fluent teamwork of the Briscoes – Mark making a blind tag and wiping him out with a springboard crossbody. ‘KENTA in a tent-a’ – Dave Prazak stealing from the message boards. He almost got rocketed through the roof of the tent-a with a massive double biel by Jay and Mark. Marufuji tags and puts Mark in a Muta Lock. Jay gets the tag and puts Fuji in a Stretch Plum. He knows his puro shiznit too I guess. Again it’s the double team prowess of the Briscoes that seems to be winning out over the individual skills of their Japanese opponents, who haven’t been a regular team in some time. Kenta comes in with his slingshot DISRESPECT boot shot. Marufuji follows suit with a slingshot elbow drop. FOREARM DUEL between Jay and Nao, until both men go down and it’s a race to make tags. Mark cleans house with a slingshot double stomp on Kenta, then the urinage on Marufuji. SPLASH MOUNTAIN NECKBREAKER on Kenta for 2. Marufuji gets the tag and clips Jay’s knee for a low clothesline. Superkick blocked and Jay holds Fuji up for an elevated spinning heel kick from his brother. Kenta gets 2 with a fisherman buster as Marufuji and Jay fight on the floor. Jay returns first…PRESS SLAM DVD ON KENTA! SHIRANUI ON JAY! Mark drops Nao with a missile dropkick, but stands up only to eat BUSAIKU KNEE! Kenta blocks the springboard Doomsday Device with a NECK DROP TIGER SUPLEX! POETRY IN MOTION ON JAY! SUPERKICK/KICK OF DEATH COMBO for 2. GO 2 SLEEP ON MARK! Kenta wins at 20:25.
Rating - **** - The sweet climactic stretch saved this match…because it mostly wasn’t that great. I think the cramped conditions effected things, but it felt like nothing more than an exhibition match for long periods. The work was all good…and it’s nice to see fluid, cohesive tag team wrestling, but there wasn’t the spark there you usually see when these two teams are really on form (Briscoes/Aries & Strong at Unified or KENTA/Marufuji vs Hidaka/Fujita in the 2005 Differ Cup for instance). Put it this way, I thought KENTA’s first tag match against the Briscoes (with Davey Richards) was better. Still…the Briscoes are scheduled to tour NOAH in 2007 so maybe we’ll get a rematch over there. Either way, I’ve seen a lot of people on the message boards SERIOUSLY overrate this match.
Tape Rating - *** - Continuing the long tradition of Glory By Honor shows coming off as mildly disappointing. It’s not a bad show. Hell, the only bad matches on the card are really brief squashes, and there are FIVE matches that hit 3*+. But the tent adversely affected pretty much every match, and the fact that McGuinness/Daniels, Aries/Richards and KENTAfuji/Briscoes were all somewhat disappointing considering the high calibre of talent involved just leaves me a little down on this event. It’s decent, don’t get me wrong…but to me, there’s only really Joe/Strong that stood out as anything approaching a must-see match. And when ROH are pumping out the volume of shows that they are, if you’re selectively purchasing and not getting every show – I don’t think this one does enough to warrant anyone dropping $20. Maybe wait a year or so for it to drop in price. Or pick it up in a sale.
Top 3 Matches
3) Austin Aries vs Davey Richards (***)
2) KENTA/Naomichi Marufuji vs Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe (****)
1) Samoa Joe vs Roderick Strong (****)