ROH – Live in Tokyo DVD Review

ROH – LIVE IN TOKYO – TOKYO, JAPAN – 7.16.07

Introduction

BG says: The Video Wire for the Japanese shows starts off with an advertisement for Respect is Earned on Pay Per View. Next up is a clip of Nigel McGuinness being the first man to pin Takeshi Morishima in ROH. Nigel wants Morishima to remember that he pinned him and now he’s going to take his title in Tokyo. Next up, shown in full, is Takeshi Morishima’s title defense against Adam Pearce from the Driven Pay Per View bonus match tapings. You can read our review of that match when we review that DVD! The Wire wraps up with Austin Aries announcing his return to ROH. He knows his return is going to be a problem for the No Remorse Corp. They’ve been talking about him behind his back, so now they’re going to have to watch theirs.

Nigel McGuinness is shown taking a picture with a fan before entering the building for the show. Takeshi Morishima cuts a promo in Japanese. Samurai TV produced this show so I’m sure someone watching understood what he said, but I took Spanish in school.

The show starts with a promo from Delirious. The Japanese crowd is obviously quieter than an American crowd would be, and thus the words in Delirious’s entrance music are audible. Delirious cuts a promo, which I guess is just as productive as any English speaker cutting a promo to start the show since I don’t think the majority of the crowd knows English any better than they know Delirioush. The No Remorse Corp run out and attack Delirious from behind. Jack Evans and Kotaro Suzuki make the save. Evans cuts a promo in Japanese, and Delirious dives out onto Strong, chasing him to the back and allowing a match to begin with those remaining in the ring.

JZ says: The show opens by following Nigel McGuinness walking into the building. Tonight he’s in the main event challenging ROH World Champion Takeshi Morishima.

Speaking of the champion, he’s backstage to cut his first promo as far as I can remember. I don’t speak Japanese, but I’m sure he promised to retain the ROH World Title at some point.

We go out to the arena and ring announcer Bobby Cruise welcomes the audience and introduces Delirious. He’s here to cut a promo, a decision that seems a bit strange given that they’re in a foreign country. The No Remorse Corps come out and attack the masked man, and Jack Evans & Kotaro Suzuki make the save. Evans gets on the mic and presumably challenges the NRC to a tag team match. Delirious dives through the ropes onto Strong and they brawl to the back.

MATCH #1: Jack Evans & Kotaro Suzuki vs. Rocky Romero & Davey Richards

BG says: You know what would have been nice, if it had been Romero and Richards against Suzuki & Marvin. Romero & Suzuki start. They flip around but neither can really hit anything. Richards and Evans tag in and Evans hits a cartwheel kick. He hits a dropkick and a head scissors takedown. Suzuki tags in and hits a dropkick for 2. He puts on a surfboard stretch but Richards gets to the ropes. Suzuki hits a vertical suplex for 2. He puts on a front facelock and tags to Evans. Evans hits a back elbow and a double stomp. He hits a standing moonsault for 2. Romero hits a cheap shot but that doesn’t stop Evans from rolling Richards up for 2. Romero comes in with a dropkick and then tags in legally. He hits a knee to the gut and a kneedrop for 2. He puts on the octopus stretch but Suzuki breaks it up. Richards tags in and hits a snap suplex for 2. He hits a backbreaker and hangs Evans on the top rope for 2. Romero tags in and hits a knee to the face. He hits a snap suplex for 2. He kicks Evans down and tags to Richards. Richards puts on a Canadian backbreaker and rams Evans into the corner. Romero comes in and hits a dropkick, getting 2 for Richards. Romero tags in and gets hit with a kick to the head. Suzuki tags in and hits a handspring elbow. He dodges some kicks and hits a dropkick. He hits a knee in the corner but Romero catches him with a swinging DDT. Richards tags in but the handspring kick is blocked with a dropkick. Suzuki hits a back suplex and a German suplex for 2. Richards hits an enziguiri but Suzuki comes back with a palm strike. Evans tags in but Richards hits him with two rolling German suplexes. He hits the Alarm Clock and another German suplex for 2. He blocks a victory roll for 2. He sets Evans up top but Evans fights him off and hits the Ong Bak kneedrop for 2. A handspring elbow is blocked so Evans hits a reverse hurricanrana for 2. He climbs the ropes but misses the 630 splash and Richards hits a backbreaker. Romero tags in and kicks Suzuki off the apron. He and Richards sandwich Evans with kicks and headbutts and hit a double facebuster. They sandwich him with running kicks for 2. The NRC hits a powerbomb/knee kick combo for 2 when Suzuki saves. Romero dropkicks Suzuki and hits a knee kick on Evans. He comes off the second rope with a DDT for 2. He hits a dragon suplex for 2. He hits a bodyslam and climbs the ropes. Evans cuts him off and goes for a superplex but Richards catches him with a German superplex. Richards hits a suicide dive on Suzuki and Romero hits a missile dropkick to Evans’s back. He drops Evans on his head with a German suplex and hits three buzzsaw kicks for the win. This went longer than I expected but it mixed the ROH style and the NOAH style very well and gave the crowd a good idea of what to expect for the rest of the show.
Rating: ***½

JZ says: Dave Prazak and Lenny Leonard are hosting this event, and for some reason Prazak insists this is live, when I know I’m watching it on DVD. Suzuki and Romero start it off. They fight to a dual dropkick and a stalemate. Romero tags out to Richards, so Suzuki tags out to Evans. Richards tries to overpower Evans, who uses his speed and awesome agility to take Richards down in his corner and tag in Suzuki. Evans and Suzuki control Richards for several minutes. Romero illegally enters the ring with a springboard dropkick to knock Evans down and Richards makes the tag. The NRC takes over on Evans, hitting a lot of strikes and suplexes. Evans makes a comeback with a series of kicks and makes the hot tag to Suzuki, who avoids all of Romero’s attacks and hits a big dropkick. Romero comes back with a swinging DDT. Richards and Evans wind up back in the ring together and Richards its some big kicks and a German Suplex for two. Evans recovers and hits the double knee with Richards in the Tree of Woe. A reverse rana follows that for a two count but Romero breaks it up. Evans goes for the 630 but Richards avoids it and hits a tilt a whirl backbreaker and tags out to Romero. Evans takes another beating for a few minutes. Romero hits a lot of big moves but can’t put Evans away. Richards takes Suzuki out and Romero drops Evans on his head with a suplex and then hits three big kicks to Evans’s head to get the pin at 14:00. Good opener, and the No Remorse Corps continue to look strong.
Rating: ***

MATCH #2: Shuhei Taniguchi vs. Akihiko Ito

BG says: I went to high school with a kid named Shintaro Taniguchi who hosted a show on the school radio station called “Taniguchi Time!” I don’t know why I felt like sharing that. This may sound racist but given their similar builds and hairstyles and their identical ring attire these two look like two people chose the same character in wrestling game and only changed the hair and boot color so that they could tell who is who. Taniguchi and Ito lock up to start. Ito puts on a wristlock and hits a dropkick. He hits an armdrag and a shoulder tackle. He hits a hiptoss and puts on a top wristlock. He stays on the arm until Taniguchi gets to the ropes. Taniguchi hits a back elbow for 2. He hits a bodyslam for 2. He puts on a toehold and wraps Ito’s leg around the rope. He hits a big boot for 2. He puts on a half crab but Ito gets to the ropes. Taniguchi stomps Ito down in the corner and then hits a knee kick for 2. Ito hits a vertical suplex as Jimmy Bower predicts that this match will end soon on commentary. Ito hits a neckbreaker and a spinebuster for 2. He hits a bodyslam and climbs the ropes. He misses a frog splash and Taniguchi hits a powerslam for 2. They trade strikes and Taniguchi hits a fisherman suplex for 2. Ito blocks a German suplex and rolls Taniguchi up for 2. He gets another roll up for 2. Taniguchi hits a big boot and an overhead suplex for 2. He hits the Karelin lift and holds on to hit a German suplex for the win. This was pretty much the equivalent of what we’d see if Mitch Franklin and Pelle Primeau were given this amount of time and were Japanese heavyweights instead of American juniors.
Rating: **½

Bryan Danielson talks about the rumors that Go Shiosaki could become a ROH regular like Morishima, Naomichi Marufuji and KENTA. Tonight Danielson is going to test Shiosaki to see if he is ROH material, and then he’s coming after the winner of tonight’s ROH World Championship match.

JZ says: These are both NOAH students, and both are wearing black. Both have just about the same build. They start off with some basic mat wrestling and go to a standoff. Jimmy Bower makes his appearance to thank everyone for getting ROH to the point where they could run shows from London to Japan. Not much is happening in the ring while Bower talks about what an exciting time it is to be an ROH fan. Taniguchi control a majority of the match and works on Ito’s leg. Prazak and Leonard spend more time hyping tomorrow’s show, so how can I be expected to stay into this match? Bower comes back to announce that Lucha competitor Ricky Marvin is on the card tonight as well. It comes back with a spinebuster and a bodyslam but misses a splash off the top rope. They continue to trade moves and near falls, and Taniguchi hits a German Suplex to get the pin at 9:54. The commentators paid little attention to this match, and so did I. It wasn’t awful, but both of these guys are pretty bland.
Rating: *½

Bryan Danielson says he has heard the rumors of ROH trying to bring in Go Shiozaki as a regular sometime soon. He says that he’s the perfect guy to show Shiozaki what ROH is all about. He finishes by saying he’ll be watching the main event tonight too.

MATCH #3: BJ Whitmer vs. Jimmy Rave

BG says: Somehow this match seems out of place on this show. The commentators are still selling Whitmer and Rave and the guys with the most ROH matches under their belt on the roster. I need to investigate that. Rave puts Whitmer on the mat with a leglock so Whitmer puts on a chinlock. Rave gets to the ropes and takes a break on the floor. Back in the ring Whitmer gets the crowd fired up and puts on a wristlock. He hits a powerslam and a snap suplex for 2. He hits a back elbow for 2. Rave comes back with a knee to the gut. He stomps on Whitmer’s face for 2. He hits a back suplex for 2. He hits a side Russian legsweep and ties up Whitmer’s arm and head. Whitmer gets to the ropes. He suplexes Rave over the top rope to the floor and falls out as well. Back in the ring Whitmer hits an exploder. He hits a leg lariat and a spinebuster for 2. He hits a German suplex but Rave comes back with a spear for 2. He hits a hurricanrana into the turnbuckle and the running knee for 2. Whitmer dropkicks the leg and hits a knee to the head for 2. He hits a big boot and a powerbomb for 2. They block each other’s finishers and Whitmer gets a backslide. Rave rolls through and hits the Pedigree for the win. They looked blown up about halfway through this short match, and the crowd didn’t respond to it at all. Just a note; the Samurai TV production makes marks on the wrestlers bodies more clear, and oddly Rave more than Whitmer appears to have a TON of acne on his back.
Rating: **

The Briscoes cut a very similar promo to the one they cut on Driven but this time they bring out Naomichi Marufuji and reveal that he’ll be partnering with them tonight.

JZ says: They start off with some basic mat wrestling, as Prazak puts over that these two guys have had the most ROH matches amongst the active roster. Garoon is checking on that. Whitmer takes control in the early going as Rave gets frustrated. Whitmer attacks Rave’s previously injured jaw. Rave recovers and goes after the neck. Whitmer comes back and goes for a suplex and they both spill over the top rope to the floor. Back in the ring Whitmer hits an exploder. They keep going back and forth exchanging moves and it’s never getting any more interesting. A neat little finishing sequence leads to Rave hitting the Pedigree to get the pin at 10:10. Judging by the looks of this one it could have been dubbed “battle of the bacne.” The match itself was duller than dishwater and the fans barely popped for anything.
Rating: **

The Briscoe Brothers and Naomichi Marufuji are backstage getting ready to Man Up for their big six-man tag team match tonight against Matt Sydal, Ricky Marvin, and Atsushi Aoki.

MATCH #4: ROH vs. NOAH – Bryan Danielson vs. Go Shiozaki

BG says: Shiosaki is looking much bigger than the last time I saw him. A few English speakers in the crowd chant “You’re going to get your f*cking head kicked in,” which surprises me because I didn’t know any Americans made it to the show. Danielson evades Shiosaki to start. He puts Shiosaki on the mat with a leglock but Shiosaki gets to the ropes. Danielson goes after a cross armbreaker but Shiosaki blocks it. They trade armdrags and dodge each other’s strikes. Danielson stays on the arm and hits a dropkick. Shiosaki bails and dodges Danielson’s dive attempt. He chops Danielson over the barricade and then chops him back to ringside. He whips Danielson into the barricade and shoves him into the post. He gets 2 back in the ring. He hits a back elbow and puts on a chinlock. They fight over a surfboard stretch and Shiosaki comes out on top. Danielson gets to the ropes. Shiosaki hits a bodyslam and a kneedrop for 2. He puts on a top wristlock but Danielson forces him to the corner. They trade chops and it becomes obvious that Danielson is outmatched in that area. Shiosaki puts on a chinlock but Danielson hits a chinbreaker to escape. Shiosaki chops his back so Danielson fires back with European uppercuts. Shiosaki sets Danielson in the Tree of Woe but Danielson dodges a dropkick. Shiosaki chops him into position and hits the dropkick for 2. Shiosaki climbs the ropes but Danielson dropkicks him to the floor. Shiosaki whips Danielson into the barricade again and rolls him onto the apron. He goes for a German suplex to the floor but Danielson lands on his feet and pulls Shiosaki off the apron into the barricade. He wraps Shiosaki’s arm around the barricade and kicks it. He knocks it into the post and rolls Shiosaki back into the ring for 2. He puts on an armbar and turns it into a cross armbreaker but Shiosaki gets to the ropes. Danielson challenges Shiosaki to chop him, knowing it can’t be as strong as it was earlier. He stomps on Shiosaki’s elbow and hits the thigh stomp. He goes back to the cross armbreaker but Shiosaki gets to the ropes.

Now things really start to pick up. Danielson stays on the arm with armbreakers and European uppercuts but Shiosaki slaps on a sleeper hold. Danielson hits a clothesline and a forearm but Shiosaki stands strong. Shiosaki hits a shoulder tackle and chops with his left hand. He hits a bodyslam and a kneedrop off the second rope for 2. Danielson twice blocks a brainbuster with knees to the head so Shiosaki grabs his knee and hits a fisherman buster for 2. Danielson kicks the arm and hits an elbow to the head. Shiosaki bails so Danielson hits a baseball slide and a springboard dive! Back in the ring Danielson hits a missile dropkick. He hits a suplex for 2. He climbs the ropes and hits a diving headbutt for 2. He puts on the crossface chicken wing but Shiosaki gets to the ropes. Danielson sets him up top but Shiosaki fights back and hits a swinging bulldog off the second rope for 2. Shiosaki hits a superkick but Danielson comes back with the roaring forearm. Shiosaki hits a lariat but Danielson comes back with a back suplex. Shiosaki hits another superkick and both men retreat to opposite corners. Danielson hits a German suplex for 2. Shiosaki hits a German suplex for 2. He hits another for 2. Danielson gets a backslide for 2. Shiosaki hits a delayed vertical suplex for 2. He hits a bodyslam and climbs the ropes. Danielson cuts him off and hits the back superplex for 2. Shiosaki gets a backslide for 2. He hits a superkick and a lariat with his bad arm. He hits a bodyslam and climbs the ropes. He misses the moonsault and Danielson puts on the Cow Killer. Shiosaki gets to the ropes. Shiosaki blocks a tiger suplex with headbutts but Danielson gets a takedown to grab the double underhook and hits the tiger suplex for 2. He lays in the unprotected elbows and puts the Cow Killer back on for the win. After the first five minutes or so this turned into an epic match. The crowd was on fire for it and with good reason. Fantastic match that blended the ROH and NOAH styles very well, just like the opener. After the match Danielson asks for a title shot against the winner of the main event.
Rating: ****

JZ says: The only time I’ve seen Shiozaki was in ROH last August, so I admit I don’t know a lot about him. Danielson goes after the leg in the early going, and Shiozaki escapes the submission hold. They trade holds on the mat for a little bit and Shiozaki stomps on Danielson’s face. They battle to a double dropkick. Danielson then goes for the arm. The fight soon spills to the floor where Shiozaki is able to gain control with some stiff chops. Back in the ring Shiozaki stays in control. Shiozaki just levels Danielson with chops and the former World Champion tries to fight back but just isn’t able to. Danielson finally comes back with a dropkick that sends Shiozaki to the floor. That allows him to take control and they fight outside the ring again. Back in Danielson goes for the arm and shoulder once again. Shiozaki tries to fight back but Danielson appears to be in the zone. Shiozaki finally does come back with a big shoulder block and starts throwing chops again but can’t use his right arm to the full effectiveness because of the damage Danielson has done. Danielson knocks Shiozaki to the floor and yells for the fans to get out of the way. HE leaps from the top rope all the way into the crowd to knock Shiozaki down and the crowd LOVES it. Back in the ring Danielson hits a missile dropkick and he’s feeling it tonight. Shiozaki recovers and both men are trading strikes now and the crowd is going nuts. Shiozaki gets a suplex and tries a Moonsault but Danielson hits a super back suplex instead. Shiozaki comes back with a sick combo and knocks Danielson down long enough to try the Moonsault. He misses and Danielson locks on Cattle Mutilation. Shiozaki reaches the ropes. Danielson hits a Tiger Suplex for two and then delivers a succession of elbows to Shiozaki’s head and puts on Cattle Mutilation again and Shiozaki taps out at 26:41. That match was pretty great, and if they do bring Shiozaki in to ROH he’ll get over in no time.
Rating: ****¼

Danielson gets on the mic after the match to challenge the winner of the Takeshi Morishima vs. Nigel McGuinness World Title match tonight. Then he shakes hands with Shiozaki.

INTERMISSION

BG says: Rebecca Bayless couldn’t make it to Japan so Todd Sinclair is interviewing wrestlers at intermission! That’s an improvement from where I sit. He asks Ricky Marvin what it’s like to be in ROH. Marvin cuts a promo in Spanish and Sinclair realizes he has to get back to the ring to referee a match. Some fans are shown getting autographs from Danielson.

JZ says: Todd Sinclair is filling in for Becky Bayless tonight. He’s with Ricky Marvin, who says something in Spanish. That was awkward, but still much better than the alternative. Then they show Danielson signing a few autographs.

MATCH #5: Fight Without Honor – Roderick Strong vs. Delirious

BG says: Things start off fast with a leaping clothesline from Delirious. He hits a back bodydrop and dropkicks Strong to the floor. Strong comes back with chops and a bodyslam. He hits an elbowdrop for 2. He dumps Delirious to the floor and beats him up until Delirious fights back and rolls him back into the ring. Strong sets Delirious up top and goes for a superplex to the floor. Delirious knocks Strong to the floor and dives out onto him. Strong comes back with a press slam into the post. He throws two chairs into the ring and throws a table at Delirious. Back in the ring Strong gets 1. He hits a dropkick for 2. He hits a running forearm and a slingshot suplex for 2. He puts a chair on Delirious’s face and stomps on it. He does the same to Delirious’s back Delirious gets a sunset flip for 2. He sets Strong up top and hits a hanging neckbreaker. He goes to the floor and pulls a ladder from under the ring. He sets it between the ring and barricade and whips Strong into it. Back in the ring Strong hits a superplex for 2. He throws a chair at Delirious and then sets the chair up in the corner. He hits a backbreaker and puts on the pendulum, swinging Delirious’s head into the chair for 2. He hits a butterfly suplex and puts the ladder in the ring. He puts the ladder in the corner and goes for a suplex into it. Delirious blocks and hits the Panic Attack. He hits a hiptoss into the ladder and then drives the ladder into Strong’s head for 2. He sets the ladder between the apron and the barricade again and tries to suplex Strong onto it. Strong blocks and hits the half nelson backbreaker for 2. He sets up a chair and hits a gutbuster on it before hitting his own gutbuster for 2. Delirious bits Strong’s leg to block the tiger driver and hits a back elbow. He hits the Bizarro Driver for 2. They fight to the apron where Strong hits a back suplex onto the ladder. Hearing the Japanese fans chant “holy shit” is priceless. Back in the ring Strong gets 2. He sets Delirious up top but Delirious fights him off and hits the Shadows for 2. He puts on the Cobra Stretch and then hits a cobra clutch suplex. Strong hits the Sick Kick but Delirious comes back with Chemical Imbalance II for the win. For a Fight Without Honor this wasn’t very intense, but I blame that on the quiet Japanese crowd. Usually brawls like this benefit from being very heated. Chalk this one up to a lesson in knowing your audience.
Rating: ***

Nigel McGuinness doesn’t have much to say about his upcoming match with Morishima except that it’s huge. Fifteen years ago when he watched SummerSlam ’92 live he never thought he’d be in a main event title match on a wrestling show in Japan. Back at Fighting Spirit he said he’d stop having great matches and start winning matches. He hasn’t done that. He threw everything at Morishima in their last title match and still lost, but he knows he can beat Morishima because he pinned him with the Jawbreaker Lariat in the tag match. He’s going to do it again tonight. Well, I guess he did have a lot to say about the match.

JZ says: Delirious starts out on fire, but Strong soon cuts him off and starts going to work. They fight on the floor in the early going, and Strong tries to suplex Delirious off the top rope to the floor, but Delirious knocks him down and hits a somersault plancha on the FIP Champion. Strong comes back and throws Delirious into the ring post, and then tosses a table on top of him. Back in the ring he only gets a one count. Strong continues to dominate, hitting a series of strikes and suplexes on the masked man. Delirious comes back and hits a neckbreaker with the assist of the top rope but he can’t cover Strong because he’s under the ropes. Delirious then goes to the outside and introduces a ladder, tossing Strong chest-first into it. Back in the ring Strong rebounds with a superplex. Strong then sets up a chair in the corner and executes a pendulum, knocking Delirious’ head against the chair a few times. They go back and forth now, with each guy going for increasingly bigger moves. Strong hits a pair of gutbusters but Delirious kicks out at two. The ladder is set up between the apron and the guardrail, and Strong drops Delirious back first onto it, and the Japanese fans chant “holy shit.” They trade a few more maneuvers, and Delirious is able to hit the Chemical Imbalance II to get the win at 17:48. That was fine and all, but outside of a few spots really lacked the hatred necessary to sell a Fight without Honor, even though these two have been feuding for months.
Rating: ***

Nigel McGuinness is backstage reflecting on his surroundings and his main event World Title shot at Takeshi Morishima tonight. All the background noise makes this interview seem pretty bush league. It’s a little thing, but it’s the kind of thing ROH needs to really avoid as they grow into a bigger company.

MATCH #6: All Star Six Man Tag – Naomichi Marufuji, Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Matt Sydal, Ricky Marvin & Atsushi Aoki

BG says: Aoki is filling in for the injured KENTA, which is just ridiculous. Sydal’s NOAH partners come out to the Briscoes’ music, and by the looks on their faces it’s not intentional. You know you’re in Japan when the babyfaces pose for a photo in the ring before the match starts. Marufuji and Sydal start. Marufuji grabs a headlock but Sydal comes back with a head scissors takedown. Marvin and Jay tag in and Jay dodges a handspring attempt. Marvin hits a head scissors takedown and tags to Aoki. Mark tags in and puts on a cobra clutch. He hits two kneedrops for 2. He slaps Aoki across the face and hits a belly-to-belly suplex for 2. Marufuji tags in and gets hit with a dropkick. Sydal tags in and hits part of his corner combo. Marvin tags in and they hit a double back elbow. They hit a double-team facebuster for 2. Jay tags in and stands on Marvin’s throat and Mark & Marufuji stand on Jay to add weight. Jay hits a clothesline in the corner and a seated dropkick for 2. Mark tags in and hits a delayed vertical suplex for 2. Marvin comes back with a German suplex. Aoki tags in and hits a dropkick for 2. He puts on a wristlock but Mark comes back with a back elbow. Jay tags in and the Briscoes double-team Aoki for 2. Jay hits a dropkick for 2. He puts on a chinlock but Aoki gets to the ropes. Jay hits a bodyslam and tags to Mark. Mark hits a slingshot double stomp and tags to Marufuji. Marufuji hits a slingshot elbowdrop for 2. He slingshots over the ropes and hits a momentum kick before jumping back into the ring and stomping on Aoki. Marufuji tags out and Aoki gets triple-teamed in the corner, ending with a triple kick to the face. That gets 2 for Mark. Mark hits a Finley roll and a twisting senton for 2. Mark calls Marvin a dirty Mexican, which is lost on this crowd. He hits a back suplex and tags to Jay. The Briscoes hit the double shoulder tackle for 2. Jay hits a bodyslam and a legdrop for 2. Marufuji tags in and hits a triple superkick with his team for 2. He puts on the crossface chicken wing but Aoki gets to the ropes. Mark tags in and hits two dropkicks in the corner for 2. He hits a gutwrench suplex and a kneedrop for 2. Jay tags in and hits an elevated legdrop for 2.

Aoki gets a crucifix pin for 2 and puts on a cross armbreaker. Mark breaks it up. Aoki hits a back suplex and tags to Marvin. Marvin hits an enziguiri in the corner and a moonsault press for 2. He hits a handspring DDT for 2. He hits a bodyslam and climbs the ropes. He walks the ropes and dropkicks Mark off the apron before hitting Jay with a kick to the face. Jay hits a hurricanrana and the Complete Shot into the corner. Marufuji tags in and rams Marvin into the corner. He sets Marvin up top but Marvin comes back with a hurricanrana. Marufuji hits a powerbomb. He stomps Marvin’s head into the mat and they trade kicks. Aoki tags in and gets tagged with an enziguiri but hits a northern lights suplex for 2. He hits a running forearm and a roll up for 2. Marufuji hits a dropkick to the face and tags to Mark. Mark hits the yelping dropkick on Aoki and a superkick on Sydal. He hits a superkick and the yelping splash on Aoki for 2. He hits a moonsault press off the top for 2. He hits a powerbomb for 2. Aoki hits a triple jump dropkick and tags to Sydal. Sydal hits an enziguiri and the Slice for 2. He hurricanranas Mark off the second rope for 2. He hits the standing moonsault for 2. He hits the clothesline in the corner but Mark catches him with a suplex. Marvin sunset flips Sydal to help him hit a German suplex on Mark. Marufuji hits Sydal and Marvin with clotheslines but Aoki hits him with a dropkick. Jay hits Aoki with a Yakuza kick but Sydal catches him with a DDT. Jay tags in and watches Mark get hit with a hurricanrana. He misses a dropkick and Sydal rolls him up for 2. Sydal gets a victory roll on Jay for 2 to block the Doomsday Device. Moments later Jay and Marufuji catch Sydal on their shoulders and Mark completes the Doomsday Device for the win. The match turned crazy the minute Aoki’s heat segment was over and never slowed down.
Rating: ***¾

JZ says: I’ve never seen or heard of Aoki before. He and Marvin don’t get an entrance, and the Briscoes and Marufuji come out together to the Briscoes’ music. Marufuji and Sydal start it off in a rematch of their Reborn Again singles match. Sydal soon tags out to Marvin, who is one half of the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions with Kotaro Suzuki. So it seems weird to me to split those two up. I kind of wanted to see the Briscoes against Marvin and Suzuki after hearing Brad rave about the matches they had against each other. Aoki is filling in for the injured KENTA, who got injured last night at NOAH’s Budokan Hall show. Aoki tags in and Mark Briscoe goes to work on him. Aoki tags out to Sydal, as no one can take a sustained advantage. The Briscoes and Marufuji are able to gain said advantage, as they go to work on Marvin. Aoki soon gets tagged in, and he also takes abuse from the Briscoes and Marufuji, who work very well together as a team. Aoki takes a beating for several minutes, as his partners are unable to tag in. Marvin finally is able to get the tag and he shows his otherworldly athleticism right away. The action in this one starts to pick up to the point where I have trouble following it. Sydal hits a few big moves as does Marvin, but the Briscoes and Marufuji mostly control the match. All six man are coming in and out of the ring. During the confusion the Briscoes and Marufuji hit a springboard Doomsday Device on Sydal to get the pin at 22:37. That was a really good but not quite spectacular six-man tag.
Rating: ***½

MATCH #7: ROH World Title Match – Takeshi Morishima vs. Nigel McGuinness

BG says: Morishima hits a shoulder tackle and a big boot to start. He blocks the Jawbreaker Lariat but the backdrop driver is countered to a crossbody. Nigel goes after the arm with an armbar and a hammerlock takedown. He hangs Morishima’s arm over the top rope and goes for a sunset bomb on the floor. Morishima blocks it by sitting on Nigel’s chest on the apron. He hits a running boot and sits Nigel in a chair. He hits the Olé Butt Splash and then hits a double stomp back in the ring. He puts on a chinlock and pins Nigel for 2. Nigel bails so Morishima hits a shoulder tackle off the apron. Nigel hits the floor version of the rebound lariat and climbs the ropes to hit a crossbody. That gets 2 back in the ring. He goes back to work on Morishima’s arm but Morishima levels him with a forearm. He hits the butt lariat and chokes Nigel over the middle rope. He misses the handspring avalanche and Nigel hits the corner combo. He hits a running European uppercut and a short arm lariat for 2. Morishima blocks the handstand kick with a big boot and hits a lariat. He climbs the ropes but Nigel catches him with the Tower of London for 2. Nigel hits the handstand kick but Morishima tackles him down. He climbs the ropes again and hits the dropkick. Nigel hits another lariat for 2. Morishima blocks the Jawbreaker Lariat and hits the backdrop driver. Nigel avoids the butt splash to the chest and hits three superkicks. Morishima comes back with a lariat. He puts Nigel up top but Nigel fights him off and hits the second rope lariat for 2. They go back up top and Nigel hits the Tower of London the apron. That gets 2 back in the ring. Whitmer and Evans cheer Nigel on as Danielson watches quietly. Nigel goes for another second rope lariat but Morishima ducks it and hits a side slam off the apron to the floor. Back in the ring Morishima gets 2 when Nigel grabs the bottom rope. He hits a clothesline in the corner and clubs Nigel down. He shoves the referee away and goes for the pin. What a dummy. He hits the backdrop driver for 2. Nigel hits a pair of lariats that do nothing and then comes back from a butt butt with the Jawbreaker Lariat for 2. He goes for another but Morishima blocks it. Nigel gets a roll up for 2. They trade forearms and Nigel hits another lariat but Morishima stands strong and hits one of his own. He hits a running lariat for 2 and the backdrop driver for the win. While it’s true that these two beat the crap out of each other for this match I didn’t think the whole thing came together as well as their match from Jersey. The final five minutes were crazy, but the arm work went nowhere and the finish didn’t connect to the early portion of the match nearly as well as it did in their first encounter.
Rating: ***¾

After the match Danielson gets in the ring, grabs the title belt and slaps Morishima. He goes to leave so Nigel hits him with a European uppercut and hands the title belt back to Morishima. This time around Morishima shakes his hand and doesn’t knock him out. Morishima also gets a trophy, because after all what is a Japanese wrestling show without at least one trophy.

JZ says: Morishima has been the champion since 2.17.07, and this is his twelfth defense. This is McGuinness’ second shot at Morishima, and his sixth overall. Morishima starts to use his size to his advantage in the early going, but Nigel starts going after the arm and shoulder of the champion. In a rather creative spot Nigel tries to sunset flip powerbomb Morishima to the floor but he ends up getting sat on instead. That is neat. Morishima hits an Ole Kick and an Ole Butt Bump. They spend quite a bit of time on the floor, with both guys hitting big dives. Morishima is able to regain control back in the ring, using his size to dominate the challenger. Nigel makes the comeback, which of course includes a lariat for a near fall. Nigel tries the headscissors but the champ will have none of it. They go back and forth with Nigel trying lariats from various positions and Morishima is able to kick out every time. Nigel sort of gets a Tower of London on the ring apron. Back in the ring it only gets two. They fight back on the apron and Morishima hits a side suplex to the floor. Back in the ring Morishima knocks down the referee and hits a Back Drop Driver but Nigel kicks out. Nigel hits the jawbreaker lariat but Morishima kicks out. Morishima finally grows weary of his challenger and hits the Back Drop Driver to get the pin at 20:14. That was good but a bit of a disappointment, as I hoped it would be better than the Fighting Spirit match, but it wasn’t quite.
Rating: ***½

Bryan Danielson comes out and declares the ROH title to be his belt, and slaps the Champion in the face. Nigel takes exception to that and hits a European Uppercut on Danielson. Nigel respectfully hands the belt over to Morishima and they shake hands.

Aftermath

BG says: The No Remorse Corp gets a post-show promo. Strong was thinking of cutting Evans a break in their match in Osaka until he stopped the NRC from beating up Delirious. Richards and Romero have heard they’ll be facing another dream team in Osaka, but they don’t think they’ll have any more trouble than they had tonight. Romero found some girls to party with but Richards is worried about there being non-alcoholic drinks available.

Back in America Brent Albright heard that Morishima retained the belt. Albright has a title shot coming up, and he’s walking out of Philadelphia the ROH Champion. I’m so proud of Albright for cutting a promo without introducing himself to start it off.

JZ says: The Dork Squad is backstage to gloat about their victories tonight and they say the same is going to happen tomorrow night in Osaka.

Brent Albright reacts to Morishima retaining the title tonight. He says that Morishima didn’t want him in Japan because he was worried about losing the title in his home country. Albright promises to win the title in his home country, more specifically Philadelphia.

The Race to the Top Tournament is coming soon, and we get a video package hyping the first round matches. It looks like a good tournament.

BONUS MATCH – Sara Del Ray & Portia Perez vs. Daizee Haze & Ariel, Deer Park, NY, 7.27.07

BG says: This match is actually from the upcoming first night of the Race to the Top Tournament. Ariel and Perez start. Perez slaps Ariel across the face so Ariel slaps her back. Ariel hits a clothesline and a bodyslam. Haze and Sara tag in. Sara dodges a dropkick but not a head scissors takedown. Haze hits an armdrag and a crossbody for 2. Sara throws her across the ring so Ariel tags in. Sara hits a body block and a double kneedrop. She hits a splash to the back for 2. Perez tags in and hits a neckbreaker for 2. Sara tags in and hits a headbutt. She hits a senton for 2. She hits a bodyslam, a legdrop and a kneedrop for 2. Perez tags in and goes to the eyes. She dropkicks the back for 2. She goes for a crossbody but Ariel counters to a slam. Haze tags in and cleans house. She hits a bodyslam on Perez but can’t hit one on Sara. She hits Sara with a hurricanrana and hits Perez with the heart punch. Sara hits Haze with a big boot but Haze comes back with a roll up for 2, slamming her own head into the mat in the process. Sara hits another big boot and puts on the Gory Special. Haze comes back with a facebuster and tags to Ariel. They hit Sara with a double northern lights suplex. Perez dumps Haze and Sara hits a German suplex and the Royal Butterfly on Ariel for the win. It’s nice to see the women putting forth really good efforts on the pre-shows, which I think adds to my argument that this is where there matches belong.
Rating: **¾

JZ says: I’m not sure why this match would be included on this DVD, but here it is. Del Ray is the SHIMMER Champion, and is accompanied by the great Larry Sweeney. Perez appears to be about 13 years old. At any rate, she starts the match with Ariel and feigns a test of strength but instead slaps Ariel in the face. Ariel returns the favor and knocks Perez down. Haze gets tagged in and Perez quickly tags out to Del Ray. Haze uses her agility to almost pin Del Ray but can’t quite hold her down. Del Ray and Perez soon take over on Ariel and work her over for a few minutes. The commentators note that Perez looks young but assure us that she is 20 years old. Ariel fights back with a powerslam on Perez and makes the hot tag to Haze. Del Ray gets tagged in as well, but Haze is able to dominate both of her opponents. Del Ray recovers and knocks Haze on her ass. Del Ray executes the Gory Special on Haze, but Haze escapes and tags Ariel. They double team Del Ray until Perez comes in and pitches Haze to the floor. Del Ray hits a sick German Suplex on Ariel, and the referee rightly doesn’t count the fall since Ariel’s shoulders were not down. It’s of little consequence however, as Del Ray hits the Butterfly Powerslam to get the pin on Ariel at 8:12. That was a perfectly acceptable pre show match, which is right where it belongs to be.
Rating: **

MVP

BG says: Bryan Danielson gets it this time around for having a phenomenal match with Go Shiosaki and then making his presence felt in the main event scene.

You can pick up this show, as well as all other ROH shows at ROH Wrestling Dot Com.

Coming soon will be our review of LIVE IN OSAKA!

The 411: BG says: A good show all around. The opener, main event, six man tag and Danielson/Shiosaki matches were all worth checking out. The Fight Without Honor was a little disappointing but aside from that only two matches dipped below ***. That’s a great debut show for a new market if you ask me. JZ says: The crowd was a little bit different than the average ROH show, but the matches were ROH quality so this show is an easy thumb’s up. The main event was slightly disappointing but still very good, and Danielson vs. Shiozaki and the six man tag are also good enough to warrant a purchase on those three matches alone. ROH continues to roll.

Final Score:  7.5   [ Good ]