ROH Vendetta DVD Review

ROH – Vendetta – Chicago Ridge, Illinois – 11.5.05

Review by Brad Garoon and Jacob Ziegler

Intro

BG says: Bryan Danielson kicks off the show the way Roderick Strong ended Showdown in Motown, by telling Dave Prazak that he wants to do his talking in the ring.

JZ says: Dave Prazak is with ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson, who cuts a short and sweet promo saying that he and Roderick Strong will settle things in the ring tonight.

MATCH #1: Ace Steel & Delirious vs. Chad Collyer & Nigel McGuinness

BG says: Back at Punk: the Final Chapter Chad Collyer bloodied Ace Steel up with a chair. Steel wanted a rematch, but Collyer has only been willing to do so in tag team form. Nigel and Delirious start. Delirious’ opening bell antics are massively over with the Chicago crowd. In the ring Nigel hits a European uppercut and puts on a legvice. He switches to a wristlock but Delirious puts his other hand in his mouth and then wipes it on Nigel’s face to escape. He hits 59 clotheslines in the corner and then tags to Steel. Steel pounds on Nigel on the mat and puts on a wristlock. Nigel does his handstand in the corner and dropkicks Steel. Collyer tags in and pounds on Steel. Nigel and Delirious tag in and Steel drops Nigel’s face onto Delirious’ knees. Delirious hits a hurricanrana and a leaping clothesline. Collyer runs in and hits a clothesline on Delirious. He tags in and hits a gutwrench suplex for 2 when Steel saves. Nigel tags in and out and knocks Delirious into a German suplex by Collyer for 2. Nigel tags back in and puts on a cobra clutch. Delirious hits a hiptoss and tags to Steel. Steel chases Collyer out of the ring and hits a dropkick on Nigel when he tries for the handstand fake. Steel and Delirious hit a guillotine legdrop. Collyer brings in a chair but Steel grabs it. He hits Nigel by mistake and then pins him for the win. Cute finish, but the rest of the match was meh. I wonder if Steel will get a Pure title shot now.
Rating: *¾

JZ says: I love Beer & Girls as a tag team. This Ace’s first time teaming with Delirious, who has no beef with either Beer or girls. Ace has a beef with Collyer however, since last time they were in Chicago he bleed buckets due to Collyer. Nigel and Delirious start it off, as Delirious goes nuts for the opening bell. The crowd is behind him every step of the way. He really should get booked more. Collyer and Nigel take control of Delirious and Collyer avoids Ace at every cost. They do some back and forth and Collyer brings a chair into the ring, and Ace takes it away and goes to hit Collyer, but he accidentally makes contact with Nigel instead, which is enough to get the three-count at 9:15. Clever finish and Ace should really get a Pure Title shot now.
Rating: **¼

Backstage

BG says: Homicide wants Colt Cabana to know that their rivalry isn’t a joke, and the superplex through the table last night should teach him that this feud isn’t going to be based on comedy or wrestling. J-Train needs to stop trying to be the focal point of these things. It looks like Homicide feels the same way.

JZ says: Homicide and Julius Smokes address the rumors about Cabana being injured from their altercation last night in Detroit. He says that he might end Cabana’s life, and Smokes barks a lot. He is so profoundly irritating as a human being.

MATCH #2: Sal Rinauro vs. Jimmy Jacobs

BG says: They lock up and Sal HUSSes at Jacobs. Jacobs grabs a headlock and goes for a Manhattan drop but his leg isn’t big enough for it to do any damage. Sal hits an atomic drop and a Manhattan drop. Jacobs goes back to the headlock but Sal gets out with the same set of moves as before. Sal hits them again and Jacobs falls to the floor. Sal goes for a dive but Jacobs moves. Sal sneaks up from behind them and the panic stricken Jacobs runs into the post. There’s another spot Sal has already used in FIP. Some of us watch both promotions Rinauro! Sal hits an atomic drop and Jacobs falls into the crowd. Back in the ring Sal blocks a blind charge and goes to the top but Jacobs dumps him to the floor. Back in the ring Jacobs hits the big elbow drop for 2. Jacobs gets distracted with the crowd’s HUSSing but hits a bodyslam. He hits an elbow drop off the bottom rope for 2. He hits one off the second rope for 2. He goes for one off the top but Sal gets a boot up. He hits an atomic drop and a clothesline. He hits a leg lariat for 2. He hits a neckbreaker and a German suplex for 2. He sets Jacobs on the top rope but Jacobs fights him off. He hits the senton bomb for 2. Sal blocks the Contra Code and hits a hanging inverted DDT for 2. Jacobs comes back with the Contra Code for the win. Logic would dictate another title shot for Jacobs and Whitmer as a result. The match was a nice little slice of comedy.
Rating: **½

JZ says: Jacobs is back in his heel character after a baffling one-night face turn last night in Detroit. Rinauro with a title belt just looks goofy to me. Rinauro’s partner Tony Mamaluke is out of action this weekend due to a concussion. They do some comedy to start, with atomic drops for all. Jacobs drops two elbows and takes off his elbow pad and calls for the “big elbow” before dropping a third. Someone must have told him to do that. The crowd is just begging him to Huss. Jacobs hits the senton but Rinauro kicks out at two. Jacobs then gets the Contra Code a few moments later to get the win at 11:05. There was some good stuff there, but it never really kicked into a higher gear.
Rating: **¾

Special Appearance by Jim Cornette & Bill Watts

BG says: Commissioner Jim Cornette comes to the ring and tells the Chicago fans that their hometown hero Bobby Heenan is recovering well from some recent surgery. He runs down the accolades of “Cowboy” Bill Watts and then brings him out to the ring. Watts doesn’t look terribly enthusiastic about being there. He starts talking very quietly for a short time before Adam Pearce comes out to the ring. He says that Watts gave lots of guys opportunities over the years, and now he wants Cornette to give him an opportunity. Cornette asks Watts for his advice, and Watts says to hook him up. Who says flattery will get you nowhere?

JZ says: Cornette offers a hello on behalf of Bobby Heenan. ROH desperately needs to get microphones that connect directly to the cameras, so we don’t get that tinny sound that we always get on their promos. He puts over one of his greatest influences and then introduces Bill Watts. You know, I think this is the first time I’ve ever actually seen what Watts looks like. It’s nearly impossibly to understand what Watts is saying, so Adam Pearce comes out to get a better vantage point. Cornette says that Pearce is not slated to wrestle tonight. Pearce says he deserves an opportunity. Cornette defers to Watts on this one, who agrees with Pearce. I’m not sure what the point of all that was to be honest.

MATCH #3: BJ Whitmer vs. Claudio Castagnoli

BG says: This was originally scheduled to be Whitmer taking on Tony Mamaluke in a match to compliment the previous one, but Mamaluke’s brain doesn’t work so well anymore and we get this match instead. Normally I’d be thrilled to take Claudio over Mamaluke, but I fear a clash in styles. Claudio taunts Lacey to start. He grabs a wristlock but Whitmer reverses to his own. Claudio gets his back on and thwarts all of Whitmer’s attempts to reverse. Whitmer slaps him so Claudio responds with a European uppercut. Whitmer tosses him into the turnbuckle and hits a dropkick in the corner. He hits a snap suplex for 2. He puts on a sleeper hold but Claudio fights out. Whitmer hits a spinebuster for 2. They both go for crossbody blocks and hit the mat. Claudio trips Whitmer up and hits a European uppercut. Whitmer bails and Claudio follows him out with a suicide dive. Back in the ring Claudio gets 2. Whitmer hits a boot to the face for 2. Claudio comes back with the Match Killer for 2. I have yet to see that move kill a single match. Whitmer hits a brainbuster for 2. Claudio hits an inverted powerslam for 2. Whitmer blocks the Ricolabomb and hits an exploder suplex for 2 and then hits the wrist-clutch exploder for the win. The commentators really put over the fact that he’s won four straight matches hard. This was good stuff, but the fact that there was no issue going in and nothing on the line was felt in the match.
Rating: **¾

JZ says: Okay, now the crowd is just randomly hitting the barricades. For the love of everything that is holy STOP DOING THAT. Whitmer gives a mean-spirited handshake. Whitmer has won three matches in a row, and Claudio is in the midst of a feud with Pure Champion Nigel McGuinness. Leonard calls Whitmer a former two-time ROH Tag Team Champion, but that is incorrect. Whitmer won the titles twice with Jimmy Jacobs, but has also won them twice with Dan Maff, though neither of those reigns really made an impact, since the first one was won and lost in the same show, and the second one only lasted a few weeks before Dan Maff was forced out of ROH. Maybe they’ve re-written Maff out of history, the way WWE does. Whitmer was originally supposed to face Tony Mamaluke on this show; I don’t know what Claudio was originally going to do. They do some back and forth stuff as neither man has advantage for any extended period of time. Whitmer finally gets the Wrist Clutch Exploder to get the win at 9:55. That was a fine little match but it didn’t really establish much about either guy.
Rating: ***

MATCH #4: Christopher Daniels vs. Samoa Joe

BG says: Joe and Daniels are involved in sort of a non-feud here, as the commentators talk about an issue between the two of them but it’s never really discussed in detail why they’ve decided to start fighting each other again. Daniels is still boycotting the handshake, long after it has stopped meaning anything. Joe kicks at Daniels’ thigh to start. Daniels ducks a kick and grabs a headlock. Joe fights out and shoulder blocks Daniels out of the ring. He gets back in the ring and puts on the headlock. Joe fights out but Daniels trips him up. He goes back to the headlock but Joe rolls out. He hits a drop toehold and hits a series of crossface forearms. Daniels comes back with a leg lariat for 2. He puts on a chinlock and hits a kneedrop. He goes back to the headlock but Joe fights out. Daniels hits a knee strike in the corner but Joe catches him with the STJoe. He hits the Big Joe Combo for 2. He hits a bodyslam and puts on the Samoan crab. Daniels gets to the ropes. Joe hits a nasty kick to the chin and a knee strike in the corner. He washes Daniels’ face and poses in all his glory. The crowd asks for another but Daniels blocks and hits a dragon screw. He dropkicks the knee and puts on a grapevine ankle lock. Joe gets to the ropes. Daniels stays on the leg with leg locks and an Arabian press. He ties Joe’s leg up in the ropes and dropkicks it. Joe catches him with a DVD out of the corner. Daniels hits a chin breaker but walks into a powerslam. It gets 2. Joe hits a powerbomb for 2 and goes right into the STF. Daniels goes for the ropes so Joe floats into a crossface. Daniels goes for the ropes again so Joe puts on the Rings of Saturn. Daniels finally gets to the ropes. Joe goes for the muscle buster but Daniels escapes and hits an STO for 2. Joe blocks the Angel’s Wings but Daniels puts on a leglock. Joe fights out and kicks Daniels in the head. Daniels goes for a figure 4 leglock but Joe slaps him away. Joe hits the Sick Kick in the corner for 2. Daniels goes for a roll up but Joe catches him in the choke. Daniels elbows the knee to escape and rolls back for 2. Daniels hits a uranage and the triple jump moonsault for 2. Joe crotches Daniels on the top rope and hits the muscle buster for the win. Really great stuff here, as Daniels was only able to gain control when he went after the knee. Joe couldn’t even put him away with the choke when Daniels attacked the knee. It was when he got too fired up at the end that he got his muscles busted.
Rating: ***¾

JZ says: This feud has been simmering since Redemption back in August. They show clips from their Pure Title match at Night of the Grudges II in August. Both men are tenuous to start. Joe breaks out the heavy artillery early on and dominates, but Daniels goes after the legs and they trade off on that for a while. The crowd is pretty hot for this one, much more so than when they fought in New Jersey. Prazak pauses to announce that doctors will not clear Homicide to wrestle tonight, so his match with Colt Cabana is off. They talk about the match that happened last night, but there was no match between the two last night. They were supposed to be in the four-way, but they just brawled instead, and Jimmy Jacobs and Adam Pearce took their places. I’ll pause to announce that this match is wicked cool, with Joe’s power against Daniels’s cunning, with a hot crowd to boot. Joe delivering the one-legged Muscle Buster is enough for the victory at 20:25. That match was all kinds of awesome and made me want the feud to continue.
Rating: ****

Full Impact Pro

BG says: An advertisement for FIP Bring the Pain is shown. Check out my review of that show RIGHT HERE!

JZ says: Go to www.fipwrestling.com and support them too.

Intermission – Homicide & Colt Cabana Escalate The Violence!

BG says: Colt Cabana and Homicide fight it out at ringside during intermission. It wouldn’t be a violent brawl without Jimmy Bower coming onto commentary to bug me. Cabana hits Homicide over the head with two chairs. They toss chairs at each other in the ring as the timekeeper rings the bell over and over again for no reason. That kills me. The thought process behind the timekeeper doing that normally during beat downs is because the attacking wrestler might not realize the match is over, and thus the bell rings over and over again to get his attention. This was never a match, so it shouldn’t be happening. There’s way too much no-selling of chairs going on here. Homicide hits the lariat and J-Train powerbombs Cabana onto a chair. Homicide duct tapes Cabana to the ropes in the corner and then rips his face apart with his fork. He pulls out a giant pair of scissors and goes to cut out Cabana’s tongue but Ace Steel makes the save. This was the first time I’ve bought any emotion from this feud.

JZ says: Jimmy Bower is on to call this impromptu fight between two hated rivals. Dave Prazak had Nigel McGuinness backstage for a promo, but they’re going to stick with this instead. They throw chairs at each other and the referee is calling for a bell, so I’m not sure if that’s supposed to be an official match or what. They brawl and Homicide duct tapes Cabana to the ropes and attacks him with the fork. He then goes for a big scissors and tries to cut Cabana’s tongue out, but Ace Steel finally comes out to save his fellow Second City Saint, and Homicide gives up pretty quickly. That one segment made the feud seem more heated than it has in all of their other segments combined.

MATCH #5: Adam Pearce vs. Davey Andrews

BG says: I can only take this as a joke on Pearce from Cornette. Pearce chokes Andrews to start. He ducks the Hagadorn Killer and bails to the floor. Andrews follows him out and knocks him around. Back in the ring Pearce hits a vertical suplex. He hits a powerslam for 1. He hits a spinebuster for 2. He hits a bodyslam and climbs the ropes. He misses a senton and walks into a back elbow. Andrews hits a clothesline and Pearce begs off. He goes to the eyes but gets hit with a Yakuza kick for 2. Pearce comes back with a neckbreaker and a piledriver for the win. That was just there to show us what Pearce is all about.
Rating: *¼

JZ says: This is Pearce’s big opportunity. Andrews goes for the big running kick twice in the early going. Pearce soon takes over and jaws with the crowd, really trying (and doing a pretty good job) of getting himself over as an “old school” heel. Andrews makes rookie mistakes, Pearce capitalizes, and wins with the piledriver at 5:18. Not much doing there.
Rating: *

MATCH #6: ROH World Title Match – Bryan Danielson vs. Roderick Strong

BG says: Strong tapped out to Danielson a week prior to this, but managed to piss Danielson off enough in the process to get a rematch. You’ve gotta love the Boondock Saints opening to Strong’s entrance music. Danielson demands that Bobby Cruise introduce him as the best wrestler in the world. The crowd is solidly behind Strong. Strong asks for a handshake and Danielson slaps him. That serves him right for trying to shake hands with his left.

Strong comes back with a dropkick and Danielson bails. Back in the ring they lock up and Danielson gets rough. Strong gets a wristlock but Danielson goes to the corner and chops away. Strong chops back and Danielson bails. Oooooh, his chest is bleeding. Back in the ring Danielson grabs a headlock. He hits a shoulder block and Strong bounces all over the ring. They knuckle up and Danielson gets a monkey flip for 2. Strong gets a monkey flip for 1. Danielson puts on a strangle hold but Strong gets to the ropes. Danielson chops and kicks him around the ring. He hits a kneedrop but Strong comes back with chops. Danielson bails and Strong follows. He chops him around ringside but back in the ring Danielson takes over. He hits a neck wrench suplex for 1. He puts on a cravat but Strong goes to the corner. They trade strikes and Danielson stomps on Strong’s gut. He puts on a wristlock but Strong reverses to his own. Danielson tries to reverse but Strong rolls him up for 2. He hits a crossbody for 2. He puts on a hammerlock and hits a kneedrop for 2. He stomps on the elbow and hits a butterfly suplex for 2. Danielson steps on Strong’s face in the corner and then slams his leg to the mat. He hits a pair of bodyslams and stands on Strong’s face. He hits a German suplex for 2. He goes for the Stronghold but Strong gets to the ropes. Danielson blocks the gutbuster but Strong hits the Sick Kick for 2. Danielson comes off the second rope into a dropkick. Strong hits a powerbomb for 2. He puts on the Stronghold and the crowd calls for Danielson to tap but he makes it to the ropes. Danielson darts up with a headbutt to the gut and hits a backbreaker. He hits three more and Strong bails. Danielson follows him out but gets bodyslammed on the ramp. He recovers and rams Strong into the barricade. Strong does the same to Danielson and rolls him back into the ring. Danielson responds to Strong’s chops by spitting on him but chops are stronger than spit and Strong gets 2. Danielson mounts him and palms his face. He turns him over and puts on a sleeper hold but Strong fights out and hits a backdrop driver. It gets 2. Danielson hits a backbreaker and puts on a bow and arrow lock. He yanks on the leg and hits another backbreaker. He climbs the ropes and hits the diving headbutt for 2. He sets Strong on the top turnbuckle and goes for a back superplex but Strong reverses to a crossbody for 2. He goes for another crossbody but Danielson reverses to an armbar. He floats into the Cow Killer and rolls Strong over for 1. He puts the Cow Killer back on but Strong is in the ropes. Strong hits the uranage backbreaker and a torture rack backbreaker for 2. He puts on the Stronghold and the crowd is dying for Danielson to tap but he gets to the ropes. Danielson ties Strong’s leg in the ropes and then dropkicks him out of the ring. He rolls him back in and goes to work on the leg. He puts on a deathlock and then ties Strong in a knot. Strong gets to the ropes. He ties Strong’s leg in the ropes again and goes for another dropkick but Strong moves and hits another Sick Kick. He hits a clothesline for 2. Danielson struggles for and eventually hits a belly-to-belly suplex to the floor and jaws with the fans. Strong bleeds as Danielson goes to the floor to work the cut. Back in the ring Danielson hits a dragon suplex for 2 when Strong grabs the bottom rope. Danielson loses it. He puts on the crossface chicken wing but Strong fights it off and hits the gutbuster for 2. He sets Danielson on the top rope and hits a superplex for 2. He puts on the Stronghold but his knee gives out. He goes for it again but Danielson blocks it and hits a roaring forearm. He puts on the crossface chicken wing but Strong gets to the ropes. He sets Strong on the top rope and hits a back superplex for 2. They trade forearms and chops until Danielson goes to the eyes. He reverses the half nelson backbreaker to a crucifix pin for 2. He holds onto the crucifix and elbows Strong’s face until the referee calls for the bell.

Holy shit what a match. I liked their first match a lot but this completely blew it and everything else from ROH this year away. I have no idea how they kept up that kind of pace, intensity and impact up for almost an hour, but they did it and made it look good. There are only three 2005 ROH shows left for me to review, and as of yet this is the only really serious challenger to Samoa Joe vs. Kenta Kobashi for top honors. Best match I’ve ever seen from either guy.
Rating: ****¾

Danielson beats on Strong a little bit more after the bell and then leaves while jawing with the fans. After a while Strong gets to his feet and stumbles to the back amidst the cheers and gratitude of the fans.

JZ says: A noticeable “next World Champ” chant comes up over Roderick’s introduction. Danielson makes the ring announcer call him the best wrestler in the world. Jeez he’s paranoid. They don’t waste any time in kicking each other’s asses. Roderick gets the early advantage and Danielson bails. Danielson’s chest actually starts to bleed as a result of Roderick’s chops. Strong works on the arm in between the chops. I’m not writing much because I’m too into just watching these guys. This is a phenomenal match. Roderick chops, Danielson spits. Danielson puts on the Cattle Mutilation but the cradle out of it only gets one. The crowd is absolutely rabid for Strong to win. When he starts hitting backbreakers the crowd just goes ballistic. Prazak says we’ve passed the forty-minute mark, but it sure doesn’t feel that way. Danielson throws Roderick to the outside, where he hits his head on a guardrail and gets busted open. Then he gets dropped on his head with a Dragon Suplex but it only gets two and Danielson is LIVID. Roderick comes back with a superplex and the Stronghold, but he can’t hang on. Danielson reverses out of another attempt and nails a roaring elbow. Danielson goes crazy on Strong and gives him a series of ridiculous elbows to the face and referee Todd Sinclair calls for the bell, awarding the match to Danielson at 47:17. Wow, that was awesome, and both men looked like credible World Champions. Roderick Strong definitely should be the one to take the belt from Danielson, but now wasn’t the right time. That was just stellar, and I think I might like it more than Joe versus Kobashi. Strong gets the Steve Austin pop for getting up on his own power and walking out of the ring. The effect is similar.
Rating: ****¾

The Prophecy

BG says: Christopher Daniels starts cutting a promo on Samoa Joe but is interrupted by Lacey’s Angels. Whitmer suggests that Daniels could have used some of the help he turned his back on in his match tonight. Daniels plays dumb, but Whitmer says he’ll know what he’s talking about soon enough. Lacey makes one of her “typical male” comments in this, undermining the essence of what a Whitmer/Daniels feud would be about.

JZ says: Christopher Daniels is out to talk about his feud with Samoa Joe, but is interrupted by Lacey’s Angels. You know, Jimmy Jacobs is the only one of the Angels that can cut a promo that’s not irritating (Lacey) or goofy sounding (Whitmer), yet he’s the only one who doesn’t get to talk. Lacey calls Daniels the typical stupid male, and I wonder what exactly he did to make her want to say that. I hate her. Whitmer at least has motivation for his line, which is that he thinks Daniels turned his back on him (and ostensibly, Dan Maff) and the Prophecy. Daniels doesn’t understand what Whitmer means.

MATCH #7: 8 Man Tag Team War – Austin Aries, AJ Styles, Jack Evans & Matt Sydal vs. Jimmy Rave, Alex Shelley, Abyss & Prince Nana

BG says: A few of my thoughts before the match. My theory here is that Styles was going to wrestle Danielson on this show on the strength of his win over Aries at This Means War, but Strong/Danielson got over to the point that a rematch was needed so he and Styles switched spots for this show. Generation Next coming out with two bubbly girls, in this case being Jade Chung and Daizee Haze, takes away from their edge. Nana’s Ghana action commando fatigues rule over anyone else’s gear, period. Okay, onto the match, which is being held to determine whether Generation Next or the Embassy get the advantage in Steel Cage Warfare, ROH’s version of War Games. ROH is all about wrestling, not sports entertainment coin tosses!

Aries and Rave start. Rave stalls for a while until Aries catches him with a dropkick. He pushes him into his corner where his partners help him put on a beating. Styles tags in and pounds away. Sydal tags in and gets his shots in. Evans tags in and hits a chop. Aries tags in and cuts off Rave from making a tag. Styles tags in and doesn’t do much. Sydal tags in and hits a running knee strike. Aries tags in and hits an elbow drop. He knocks Shelley and Abyss off the apron and encourages Rave to tag to Nana. Nana bails so Rave gets beat on. Sydal tags in and hits a dropkick. Styles, Rave and Aries fight to the floor as Sydal and Shelley get into it in the ring. Shelley hits a leg lariat but gets pulled to the floor. Sydal hits him with a no hands plancha. Abyss ends up on the floor so Evans hits him with the Space Flying Tiger Driver. Everyone but Nana brawls on the floor. Aries goes after Nana but Shelley blocks it. Aries hits Shelley with a senton and an elbow drop for 2. He goes after Nana but Abyss takes him down. Styles attacks Abyss and hits him with a dropkick. He hits Rave with a backbreaker and a delayed vertical suplex. Evans tags in and smacks Rave around. He hits a roundhouse kick and a crazy springboard flippy kick for 2. He goes for another springboard move but Nana knocks him off the rope. Abyss knocks him down on the floor. Shelley tags in and hits a backbreaker for 2. Abyss tags in and hits the Choo Choo avalanche. Shelley tags in and gets 2. Rave tags in and hits a faceplant for 2. Shelley tags in and they hit a double clothesline for 2. Shelley pulls Evans’ head back to the souls of his feet but Aries breaks it up. Nana tags in and hits a kneedrop. He hits some weak chops in the corner and tags to Rave. Nana taunting Generation Next is the best thing I’ve ever seen. Rave puts on a chinlock and tags to Abyss. Evans escapes and goes to make the tag but Nana cuts it off. Shelley hits Evans with a back suplex and puts on a really gross chinlock. Nana tags in and Evans tags to Aries and Sydal. They clean house and go after Nana. Abyss tries to save but hits Nana by mistake. Everyone attacks Abyss but Rave and Shelley spoil the party. Shelley hits a superkick on Styles and Rave hits him with a spear. Abyss brings a table into the ring and ends up alone with Evans. He slams Evans to the mat and hits the Black Hole Slam. Sydal and Aries save but Abyss ends up slamming Sydal onto Aries. He goes for chokeslams but they block and Styles German suplexes him through the table. Shelley comes in and gets hit with the power drive elbow and a standing moonsault. Nana brings Haze into the ring so Aries shoves her out of the way. Sydal and Aries go after Nana but Haze turns on them by going low! Jade goes after Haze but Nana shoves her into a Daizee Cutter. Nana hits the butt splash on Sydal and Aries. The Embassy pick up the win when Shelley hits Aries with the Air Raid Crash and Rave pins Sydal with his new finisher, the Pedigree. This was chaotic overbooked nonsense at its best, finally giving the Embassy the much needed credibility they needed going into Steel Cage Warfare.
Rating: ***¾

JZ says: The Generation Next and AJ Styles team has two girls while The Embassy have none. I don’t think that’s fair. I love that the winners of this match will get the advantage in Steel Cage Warfare. Matches with stuff on the line make me happy. The babyface team dominates Rave to start, with lots of tags and teamwork. Aries knocks all the heels down except for Prince Nana, and Aries begs Rave to tag him. That’s cool. It turns into a melee involving everyone except Nana, who avoids all confrontation. The babyface team continues to dominate, with the Embassy getting almost no offense. You know what that means. Nana finally interjects himself and knocks Evans off the ropes, and then Abyss clobbers him. Now Evans is the babyface-in-peril. Shelley bends Evans in unnatural positions, of course. Nana finally tags in after Evans has been beaten up for a long time. Evans finally makes the hot tag to both Sydal and Aries, which shouldn’t be considered legal. It’s one or the other, man! The whole thing breaks down and Gen Next regains control. Abyss brings a table into the ring and threatens to put Evans through it. Abyss then kills everyone, because he’s awesome. In the confusion through, AJ sneaks up behind Abyss and gives him a German Suplex through the table. Aries looks to legitimately be trying to steal Sydal’s spotlight. Nana grabs Daizee Haze, so Aries and Sydal go after him, and Daizee nails them both in the nuts. Jade Chung tries to interfere, but Daizee hits the Daizee Cutter on her. I called that happening the night before, by the way. Shelley hits the Air Raid Crash on Aries while Rave debuts his new finisher, the Pedigree, on Sydal to get the dual three-count at 20:05. That was a super hot tag team match with the right team going over and a necessary heel turn to nicely put the pieces in place for Steel Cage Warfare.
Rating: ***¾

Aftermath

BG says: Colt Cabana is banged up and has a lot to say. ROH is his home promotion and Chicago is his home town. He’s said words that Homicide didn’t like. He violated some street ethics that he didn’t know about because he’s a wrestler. He didn’t know what to say and what not to say. He does know that the ethics of professional wrestling don’t say anything about chairs, tables, duct tape, forks or scissors. He gets riled up and rambles about Homicide trying to cut out his tongue. He doesn’t need his tongue because he has his fists, his soul and his heart. See, this is what the feud has been missing. Now we see that Cabana is just a silly schmuck who got in over his head saying the wrong thing to the wrong guy and now he has to deal with it. Good stuff.

JZ says: Colt Cabana is hanging out in the building after the show, and cuts a promo about what he went through tonight. He cuts an awesomely intense promo, which is quite a departure from his usual comedy routine.

Breaking News

BG says: Roderick Strong and Jade Chung were attacked in the parking lot and Jade was seriously injured. Not much is known as of now, but there will be more information on a future release.

JZ says: Roderick Strong and Jade Chung were attacked in the parking lot. To learn more, tune in to the next ROH home release!

MVP

BG says: Roderick Strong. If there was ever any doubt about whether or not he should be main eventing, his match on this show should completely squash it.

JZ says: Also Roderick Strong. No one else put on the performance he did.

BONUS MATCH: Sara Del Ray vs. Lacey

BG says: Each woman has other participants from the SHIMMER show in their corner. Del Ray hits a kneedrop for 2 at the bell. She puts on a headlock and hits a butterfly suplex for 2. She blocks a crossbody and sets Lacey in the corner for a double kneedrop. Lacey bails and then hits Del Ray with a neckbreaker on the second rope. Back in the ring she hits an elbow drop for 2. She runs Del Ray hard into the turnbuckle for 2. She hits a running knee in the corner and a lung blower for 2. She hits a drop toehold and puts on a reverse bow and arrow lock. She hits an elbow drop for 2. Del Ray comes back with a series of big boots. Lacey catches her with a neckbreaker into a guillotine choke. Del Ray tosses her off and hits a Polish Hammer. She hits a kick to the face for 2. She hits a Samoan drop for 2. She hits a running forearm for 2. Lacey comes back with a backbreaker and a DDT for the win at 7:14. Decent stuff and a good preview for the SHIMMER show the following night.
Rating: **½

JZ says: This match actually took place before the show, a “dark match” of sorts, if you will. It appears on the SHIMMER Volume 1 DVD; Brad’s review of that will be up in a few weeks. Lacey is doing her irritating gimmick, and uses the word “agreeance,” which isn’t actually a word. Del Ray is a student of Bryan Danielson, so I assume she knows what she’s doing. And given the fact that I’ve watched the entire SHIMMER DVD, I can vouch for that. Lacey, who earlier in the match had told fans not to cheer for her, now tells them not to cheer for Del Ray. That’s not being a heel, that’s just irritating. Lacey eventually hits the Implant DDT for the win. That was a good little match, and a nice exhibition of the SHIMMER product.
Rating: **½

The 411: BG says: I can't recommend this show enough. It has a match that gives Joe/Kobashi a run for its money as well as two other really good matches. It also fleshes out the Homicide/Cabana feud, although an actual solid match between the two would help even more. Get this now. JZ says: This is easily one of the best ROH shows of 2005, with three outstanding matches, one of which is good enough to sell the DVD itself. I strongly recommend this.

Final Score:  9.0   [  Amazing ]