ROH THE 100TH SHOW

ROH – MILESTONE EVENT #7 – THE 100TH SHOW – PHILADELPHIA, PA – 4.22.06

Review by Brad Garoon and Jacob Ziegler

Honor Roll

JZ says: I’ve been using the top 5 as voted on by the ROH message board. After each show (or double (and in this case triple) shot weekend), go to The ROH Message Board and vote for the top 5. In parentheses after a guy’s name is his position in the last Honor Roll, and how many consecutive times he has been listed.

ROH WORLD CHAMPION: Bryan Danielson (since 9.17.05)
ROH PURE CHAMPION: Nigel McGuinness (since 8.27.05)
1) Austin Aries (2, 9)
2) Jimmy Rave (NR, 1)
3) Samoa Joe (NR, 1)
4) Roderick Strong (1, 15)
5) Christopher Daniels (4, 2)

Introduction

BG says: The show picks up where the last left off. Bryan Danielson signs on to be the head trainer of the ROH Wrestling School. Austin Aries peacefully hands over the keys. ROH owner Cary Silkin tells us who he is and what’s happening. Danielson then cuts a promo on Cary, basically saying that he runs ROH now. This was totally pointless. We didn’t get a promo when Aries took over for Punk and yet the point was still made that he was the new trainer.

Colt Cabana is finally feeling great now that his feud with Homicide is over. Tonight with all his momentum behind him he’s going to take the World Championship from Danielson.

Lacey tells us that she won’t be in Jimmy Jacobs’ corner tonight because he hasn’t been winning matches, but she’s got some positive reinforcement for him. If Jacobs wins his match tonight she will take off her clothes for ROHVideos.com. You can see this promo on ROHVideos.com, and when you read what happens in the match you’ll know whether or not a subsequent stripping video is up.

JZ says: We open the show with ROH President Cary Silkin signing the papers that make Bryan Danielson the new head trainer at the ROH wrestling school. Austin Aries hands the keys over to Danielson and is happy to do so. Danielson says that he pretty much owns the place and he calls the shots. That was an intensely pointless thing to include on the DVD, and made Aries, Danielson, and Silkin (who should never appear on camera in any kind of official capacity) look silly.

Colt Cabana recaps what happened at the end of Better Than Our Best three weeks ago in Chicago. He seems to be back to his old self, and tells Bryan Danielson that he’s coming for his title tonight.

Lacey is here to tell Jimmy Jacobs that she won’t be in his corner tonight because he hasn’t been winning. That’s stupid, because nary less than a month ago she told him she didn’t care if he won the match or not, and was in fact the direct reason he did not pin BJ Whitmer after the Contra Code. That’s girls for ya. She tells him that if he wins tonight, she will take off her shirt on ROHVideos.com. It’s hard for me to care about her because I don’t like how she cuts promos and I don’t find her particularly attractive. I really like the Jimmy Jacobs character though and he needs a Lacey to play off, so I’ll go with it.

MATCH #1: Christopher Daniels vs. Claudio Castagnoli

BG says: There is a section open to the CZW fans, who chant for Chris Hero during Claudio’s entrance. Daniels gets a Pure Title shot on the following show and is using Claudio as practice here. They battle for the fans’ approval to start. They trade holds for a good while and then move on to a battle of unique armdrags. This leads into a very cool sequence that ends with Daniels grabbing a leglock. Claudio hits a delayed vertical suplex that lasts just under a minute. The CZW fans are not impressed but the ROH fans shout them down. Daniels goes after the knee and takes control. He hits an Arabian press on the knee for 2. Claudio comes back with strikes and the Match Killer for 2. He goes after Daniels’ knee with the Neutralizer but Daniels gets to the ropes. Claudio can’t hit the Alpamare Waterslide because of his knee and Daniels rolls him up for the win. This was as technically sound as it gets but extremely slow for an opening match.
Rating: **¾

Daniels gets on the microphone and puts over the importance of the 100th show and the Milestone Series. He decides to create his own milestone right then and there by shaking Claudio’s hand. It’s important because it’s the first time he’s been genuine about a handshake in ROH. He feels Claudio is the future of the company. I guess this was as good a time as any for Daniels to shake hands, but the idea that it’s actually a big deal expired a couple years back. Daniels leaves and Chris Hero comes out. He rips on the ROH fans and Claudio for not aligning with CZW. He goes to the CZW section where the fans chant his name. The ROH fans chant back and it all makes for a very cool visual.

JZ says: Dave Prazak welcomes us to the show along with Lenny Leonard, noting that half of the building tonight is made up of CZW fans. Claudio is very gung-ho in his support of ROH, which Daniels also backs up. Daniels used to be so anti-ROH that it seems kinda silly. Jimmy Bower joins the announce team to thank the fans for supporting ROH throughout the years. Both Christopher Daniels and Allison Danger were a part of the first show all the way back in February of 2002. They chain wrestle to start, something both guys are very good at. OMG Prazak like totally mentions the internet fans on the message board! That makes him a high-end Commentator of the Year Candidate right there folks. Claudio hits the first of what is sure to be many delayed vertical suplexes. He holds if for over a minute, an impressive feat. Daniels then gains control and goes to work on the knee. Claudio makes a comeback after a bit and starts hitting some of his signature stuff, before Daniels hits a Death Valley Driver for two. Daniels misses a knee charge in the corner and Claudio puts on a submission hold instantly but Daniels reaches the ropes. He gets up and hits a chinbreaker but misses an enziguiri. Daniels gets a rollup out of nowhere to get the win at 15:53. That was a solid opening technical match, but not as good as Claudio’s other opening technical match, the awesome one against Alex Shelley back at This Means War. Daniels gets on the microphone to put over the history of ROH, and says he’s going to create his own milestone tonight. With that he shakes Claudio’s hand because he says he respects him and this company, and that Claudio is the future of said company. Daniels thanks the fans for making ROH what it is today!
Rating: ***

Chris Hero appears in the crowd as they are chanting Claudio’s name. Most in the crowd are chanting nasty things at Hero. He responds by insulting them, calling them “smart marks.” It’s hard to argue with that. Hero continues his promo from the CZW bleachers, and the fans over there are chanting his name. This is a really cool visual. The crowd chants “Joe’s Gonna Kill You” at Hero as he makes his way to the back.

ROH APRIL TOP 5 RANKINGS

5) Roderick Strong
4) Jimmy Yang
3) Samoa Joe
2) Christopher Daniels
1) Colt Cabana

MATCH #2: Four Corner Survival – Jimmy Jacobs vs. Jimmy Rave vs. Delirious vs. Jimmy Yang

BG says: There are too many Jimmys in this match. Yang has Taimak with him again. Jacobs has an oversized picture of Lacey with him to which he sings his entrance song. Delirious scares the jimmies out of the Jimmys at the bell. Yang starts the match with Jacobs but wants Rave. He humps the picture of Lacey, infuriating Jacobs. Delirious gets the first near fall of the match with the Panic Attack on Yang. With Yang down, Rave tags in and attacks. The commentators say boobies a lot; in reference to the consequences of a Jacobs win. There isn’t much there boys, don’t get too excited. Yang gets busted open but I don’t see from what. He goes after Prince Nana but Daizee Haze takes that opportunity to kick his head off. Yang gets a moonsault press on Rave but Haze distracts the referee. Taimak chases Nana to the back in response. Things pick up fast between Jacobs and Delirious. Rave gets in on the action with a spear. Yang comes in with kicks but misses Yang Time. Jacobs hits the Contra Code on Yang but stops at 2 for obvious loser crush reasons. Delirious takes advantage with a cobra clutch backbreaker and the cobra stretch for the win. The last few minutes of this were fantastic.
Rating: ***

JZ says: One of these things is not like the other. Jacobs is getting a pretty good number of cell phones going up during his entrance. He has a large cardboard picture of Lacey that he’s carrying with him in her absence. Funny, it has about as much personality as Lacey. The crowd chants “let’s go Jimmy,” and I think it’s safe to say that it’s not for Jimmy Rave. Delirious takes a few warm up laps to start off with. Jimmy Bower invades the booth to root for Jimmy Jacobs so that he can see Lacey’s boobs. I don’t think I ever want to hear Jimmy Bower say the word “boobs” again. Yang makes an obscene gesture at the Lacey picture, so Jacobs gets all uppity. Bruce Leroy is at ringside for Yang. Delirious and Yang engage in a test of strength. Bower says really gross things about the prospect of seeing Lacey naked. Prazak sneaks in a quick plug for SHIMMER. Nana interferes and grabs Yang so that Daizee Haze can kick him hard in the head. Yang’s face gets busted open so Jacobs and Rave work as a bit of a team to stick it to Yang. That doesn’t last long however, as Rave hits a spear on Jacobs and goes for Greetings from Ghana. Yang breaks it up and goes for Yang Time but Jacobs moves out of the way and hits Yang with the Contra Code but he gets up at two, even though he had Yang beat. Delirious sneaks in and locks on his new submission hold and Jacobs taps out at 13:00 flat. That had some good action at the end and had some new faces in these four-ways. The end was a bit more interesting than most, as I’d like to hear Jacobs’s explanation for not pinning Yang when he had the chance. I suspect he wants Lacey’s boobs all to himself.
Rating: ***¼

MATCH #3: ROH Tag Team Title Match – Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Homicide & Ricky Reyes

BG says: This is the culmination of the Rottweilers/Generation Next non-feud. Homicide bashes the CZW fans for chanting for CZW’s BLKOUT stable. Reyes and Strong start. Reyes tags out when Aries tags in. Homicide and Aries fright on the mat and Homicide bails. Back in the ring Homicide plays attempted murderer-in-peril and the crowd can’t be bothered to care. Reyes catches Aries on the floor and slams his leg into the barricade. Homicide works the leg back in the ring. Reyes tags in and stays on the leg. Strong cleans house, hitting the Sick Kick on Homicide for 2. The Rottweilers take control of Strong. Homicide suplexes him on a table on the floor and then double stomps him through it. Aries cleans house but Homicide cuts him off by twice trying to and then finally succeeding in clipping the leg. He hits an Ace Crusher and a lariat for 2 when Strong saves. Reyes gets the dragon sleeper on Strong but Strong gets to the ropes and Aries immediately hits the 450 splash on him for the win. This was all over the place and never really got focused.
Rating: **½

JZ says: The crowd has trouble slapping the guardrails, as usual. Homicide yells at the CZW fans in the early going. Homicide and Reyes refuse to shake hands. Aries and Reyes have been in a bit of feud the last few months. The Rottweilers cheat like crazy to take control for most of the early going. They dissect Aries’s leg; he plays such a good face-in-peril lately. They do some boring tag team work for a while until it all falls apart and they just start brawling outside the ring. Now Strong is playing the face-in-peril. The Tiger Driver has been renamed the Gibson Driver by Prazak, a change I find highly irritating. Reyes recovers and locks the Dragon Sleeper on Strong, but Aries breaks it up with a 450 Splash to get the win at 15:10. It felt a lot longer than that; this was definitely not one of Aries and Strong’s better matches as a team. It had no flow and no build.
Rating: **¼

MATCH #4: ROH World Title Match – Bryan Danielson vs. Colt Cabana

BG says: Alarm bells should have been going on that this was occurring so early in the show. The CZW fans chant “overrated” at Danielson. He has Bobby Cruise respond during the introductions and then moons them. Danielson and Cabana knuckle up. Danielson can’t escape and Cabana gets 2. The ROH fans chant “Hero tapped out” at the CZW fans in reference to the World Title match at Hell Freezes Over. Cabana gets a series of quick pins for 2. Danielson responds with the Cow Killer roll up out of nowhere for the win. You read that right, that’s the entire match. Cabana falls to the mat in disbelief. This was too short to evolve passed being a roll up fest.
Rating: *¾

JZ says: Cabana won this title shot by virtue of his victory over Homicide at the last show. This is Danielson’s sixteenth defense since he won the title back on 9.17.05. Half the crowd chants “overrated” at Danielson and the other half chants “shut the fuck up.” Bobby Cruise notes that Danielson is the least overrated wrestler in the world. Prazak notes that this is Cabana’s first title shot since his shot at James Gibson back at Dragon Gate Invasion. Danielson moons the CZW fans, which Prazak helpfully dubs “dorks.” They do some mat wrestling in the early going, but Cabana looks a little rusty. Danielson gets a rollup out of nowhere and actually pins Cabana in 5:00 exactly. The crowd is not thrilled with that finish. Cabana is taken completely off guard by this but Danielson couldn’t be prouder of himself. The match was almost literally nothing, but I’m sure it’s leading to something for the future.
Rating: *

INTERMISSION

BG says: The Scoopster is backstage with Jimmy Jacobs. Jacobs reveals that he couldn’t win the match because he didn’t want everyone to see Lacey get naked on the Internet just so that he could get a win in the record books. Freaking emo kids. Cabana wanders out, still in shock over the quick loss. The Scoopster promises to get a word in with Cabana later on.

JZ says: GMC is with Jimmy Jacobs, and he asks him why Jacobs didn’t take the opportunity to win. Jacobs proves that wrestlers aren’t that bright by saying that love is a many-“splendid” thing. Well, I assume that love has taken over his brain.

GMC tries to get a word with Colt Cabana, but he’s far too upset to talk about it.

MATCH #5: Derrick Dempsey vs. Pelle Primeau

BG says: A lot of people have problems with the students being on the main shows. I think it’s fine, but I wish that since they’re going to be doing it that the students could be allowed to develop personalities that set them apart from one another. This typical student match goes on for a brief period of time and Dempsey picks up the win to retain with a spinebuster.
Rating: *¼

JZ says: The top of the class trophy is on the line in this all-important match. Primeau shows that he is not intimidated despite his small stature. I keep seeing people misinterpret his name as “Kelly” and with the handful of DVDs that he has appeared on I don’t see why they keep making that mistake. Dempsey, the holder of the trophy, pretty much dominates here. He hits a spinebuster and jackknife pins Primeau at 3:19.
Rating: ¾*

The Champ Is Back

BG says: Bryan Danielson comes back out to the ring. He breaks down the nature of CZW, saying that the wrestlers are so physically weak that strikes and wrestling moves from them can’t possibly hurt anyone so they have to resort to using bizarre weapons. He tears into the CZW fans and then takes lighter shots at the ROH fans. He puts over the ROH students because he’s the new head trainer. And since he’s the head trainer as well as the champion, he feels he can call the shots. He’s not satisfied with beating Cabana in six minutes and wants another challenger. He decides to wrestle a winner from the first half of the show, and since he’s already beaten Daniels, Strong and Aries he calls out Delirious. This was, in my opinion, easily Danielson’s best promo in ROH so far. Delirious comes out and cuts a promo in Delirioush before the match.

JZ says: Bryan Danielson comes back out, for reasons unknown. He goes through a whole list of things that are way more overrated than him. He mocks the CZW fans and then says the ROH fans are good, in so many ways. He puts over the students, which are now his students. He sends them to the back because he has some business to attend to. He leads the crowd in a chant of “You’re Gonna Get Your Fuckin Head Kicked In,” so CZW fans chant “that was gay.” Danielson says he doesn’t want to let the fans down, so he’s going to defend the title again. He says he wants to defend it against a winner from the first half of the show. He runs through Christopher Daniels, Austin Aries, and Roderick Strong, but he’s already beaten all of them. This only leaves Delirious, whom Danielson is more than happy to call out for a title match! That was one of the best interview segments I’ve seen Danielson do outside of his work at Arena Warfare back in March. Delirious cuts a long, coherent promo that leads to him singing Danielson’s theme music, which the Champ does not appreciate, and we have an impromptu title match here.

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

BG says: Danielson attacks Delirious during the musical portion of his promo. He puts on a Mexican surfboard right off the bat and then stomps on Delirious’ thighs. He keeps Delirious on the mat while pulling at his mask. Delirious comes back with Shadows over Hell and the Panic Attack for 2. Danielson reverses a leaping clothesline to the Cow Killer but Delirious get to the ropes and comes back with the cobra stretch. Danielson gets to the ropes. He slams Delirious’ head into the post and rips the top of his mask apart. Delirious bleeds as the top of his head is revealed! Danielson hits a dragon suplex and puts on the Cow Killer. Delirious gets to the ropes. Danielson sets Delirious up top where his hand gets ripped open by the post and hits a back superplex. He follows up with unprotected elbows to the face until the referee awards him the match. This was a nice, systematic beat down that made Danielson look like a killer while not completely jobbing out the completely blood soaked Delirious.
Rating: ***¼

JZ says: This is Danielson’s seventeenth defense (second tonight!) since he won the title back on 9.17.05. Danielson slaps Delirious in the face several times and gets a surfboard right away. He’s super pissed. He locks on various submission holds to express his anger. He then uses the curb stomp, a favorite maneuver of CZW’s Super Dragon. Prazak dubs the Alhambra Arena the “miscellaneous independent arena” in response to CZW fans calling it the CZW Arena, which I find hilarious. Danielson also appeared on the first show in the main event along with Christopher Daniels, as well as Low Ki. In fact, the original main event was going to be a rematch of that original main event, but Low Ki bitched about something or other, so he cancelled off. Danielson is just dominating Delirious here. Delirious finally fights back by knocking Danielson off the top rope. He actually hits Shadows over Hell but can’t follow up. Danielson locks on the Cattle Mutilation, but Delirious reaches the ropes. Delirious utilizes the airplane spin, one of the Champ’s favorite maneuvers. He puts on the Cobra Stretch, the movie he used to beat Reyes and Jacobs, but Danielson reaches the ropes. Delirious hits a sweet dive but Danielson soon gains control and whips Delirious into the guard rail. Danielson executes the airplane spin on the floor, and then tosses his head into the ringpost. Delirious has been busted open and Danielson tears at his mask so that he can expose the cut. He even bites him. Back in the ring Danielson puts Cattle Mutilation back on but Delirious once again reaches the ropes. He goes for the diving headbutt and Delirious kicks him in the side of the head. Delirious hits the Roots Clotheslines and puts Danielson up top for something, but Danielson reverses to a super back suplex and he delivers a series of hard elbows to the face of Delirious and referee Todd Sinclair stops the match at 15:37. That was a super fun match awesomely heeling it up and Delirious playing the plucky underdog to perfection.
Rating: ***¾

MATCH #7: The Briscoe Brothers vs. Matt Sydal & AJ Styles

BG says: This match came about due to the Briscoes getting involved in Styles and Sydal’s match with the champions. Sydal threw out the challenge, which can be found in an ROH video recap on ROHVideos.com, but not on any DVD. The Briscoes try a sneak attack but Styles and Sydal catch them. Mark becomes my hero when he blocks a kneestrike from Sydal with his hands. The Briscoes go through an awesome double-team sequence. Styles and Sydal respond with highflying tactics. Styles struggles with some of his offense, a problem he was having against his Do Fixer opponents in Detroit. The Briscoes hit the coolest looking springboard Doomsday Device ever for 2. The spike Jay Driller picks up the win for the Briscoes when Styles is unable to keep Mark hitting his springboard portion of the move. This was a very fun match that saw the Briscoes’ teamwork overcome the speed and flight of Styles and Sydal.
Rating: ***¾

JZ says: The girls in the crowd go nuts when AJ’s music hits. His “angry hick” character doesn’t really do much for me. All four of these guys are ridiculously athletic, so this should really be something. They trade a lot of offense in the beginning until the Briscoes isolate on Sydal. He eventually makes the hot tag to AJ and he takes over on offense. The Briscoes have some awesome double team stuff and just some awesome offense in general. Sydal gets back in and the Briscoes take more heat on him. AJ won’t even let himself get knocked off the apron, because he’s just so cool! AJ finally gets the hot tag and he kills both Briscoe Brothers and blows a gutbuster. The crowd is actually more behind the Briscoes in this one. He goes for the Styles Clash on Jay but Mark breaks it up. Sydal goes for a big splash but it ends up more knees to the chest than chest to chest. AJ and Sydal execute a sick looking neckbreaker / powerbomb combination. The Briscoes hit a springboard Doomsday Device but AJ breaks it up. Jay goes for the Jay Driller but Sydal hits a standing moonsault instead. No matter, as he eats a Spike Jay Driller a few seconds later and that quite clearly finishes the match at 12:42. That was a bit on the short side, but it was still good, as are just about all matches involving the Briscoe Brothers.
Rating: ***½

99 Shows Worth of Great Moments & Matches

BG says: A recap of the first 99 shows in ROH is shown. There are a lot of great moments shown, some of which I’d forgotten about and was glad to be reminded of. It is a very good video overall.

JZ says: I usually do a list of all the things included in these packages, but this one is really long so I just don’t feel like it. It has a lot of great moments and matches in it, and is another in the very good run of ROH highlight videos.

VERBAL DEBATE – Jim Cornette vs. John Zandig

BG says: The Scoopster comes out to mediate the big debate between ROH Commissioner Jim Cornette and CZW owner John Zandig. The whole thing becomes a complete mess right from the get go, as Zandig can’t even begin to keep up and Cornette gets so complacent that he runs off on a tangent about WWE. I didn’t like this at all and I’d recommend that everyone skip it entirely unless you’re into old fat guys embarrassing themselves. To be fair however, Cornette did get a few good jabs in. In the end the CZW participants for the main event come through the crowd and scare Cornette until Samoa Joe and BJ Whitmer join him and Adam Pearce in the ring.

JZ says: I watched this when I first got the DVD a few weeks ago with one of my roommates, and it just went on and on and was two old guys yelling at each other. Cornette says a few funny things, but I think I’ve heard most of them before out of Cornette’s mouth, so this was pretty awful to sit through again. GMC is allegedly moderating this thing but he says nothing after the introductions. Adam Pearce is out there with Cornette, who has to walk out with crutches. They scream at each other for a while and say ridiculous things, and I can’t believe this is happening on a ROH show. After a while the CZW guys come out from the crowd and Joe’s music hits (the crowd pops huge) and we have our main event. Some fans might like this segment because Cornette verbally dominates Zandig, but that’s about as big of an achievement as being named the best wrestler at a CZW show. Oh, snap!

MATCH #8: ROH vs. CZW – Samoa Joe, Adam Pearce & BJ Whitmer vs. Chris Hero, Super Dragon & Necro Butcher

BG says: There’s no commentary over this match, but you’ll hardly notice due to the crowd heat and mostly constant action. There are two referees; Todd Sinclair for ROH and Bryce Remsburg for CZW. Joe pairs up with Hero, Whitmer with Dragon and Pearce with Necro. Claudio runs out and grabs Zandig’s barbed wire baseball bat and takes it to the back. Joe dominates Hero but Necro gets the better of Pearce. Pearce is the first to bleed and he bleeds hard. Joe and Whitmer double suplex Dragon onto a bunch of chairs on the floor. Pearce’s cut gets hard to look at as Joe dominates Necro and Hero. Pearce and Necro bring it to the ring where Pearce gets the first near fall of the match with a top rope fistdrop. Dragon gets distracted with some fans, which allows Whitmer to nail him with a chair. Necro takes the first successful shot at Joe by choking him and hitting him with chair shots. Whitmer gets 2 on Hero with a suplex. The beauty of having two referees is finally revealed as Dragon hits a top rope senton on Whitmer and referee Remsburg makes the count. So the CZW ref only counts for CZW guys and the same goes for the ROH referee counting for ROH guys. Joe kills Necro with a backdrop onto a teepee made of two chairs. He brings a table to ringside, which he side slams Dragon through. Dragon comes back with a Curb Stomp on Pearce but Whitmer kills him with a lariat and an exploder through a chair. Necro beats Whitmer with chair shots and Dragon hits him with a top rope double stomp onto an upright chair. Dragon follows up that little bit of carnage with a Psycho Driver from the apron through a table to the floor, which looks absolutely neck breaking and devastating. Whitmer is understandably out for the rest of the match. Zandig comes back out and the referees fight until Necro knocks out Sinclair. Claudio comes out to make the save but then turns on Joe with a European uppercut. I for one knew the turn was coming but thought that it was executed very well. The timing was just perfect. The crowd chants for Homicide but he never shows up and Hero and Claudio hit Joe with the Hero’s Welcome: Kings of Wrestling Edition for the win. This brawl was crazy, violent, full of big spots and great heat and completely appropriate at this point in the feud. The CZW crew celebrates with their fans in the CZW section of the crowd as Whitmer is carried to the back unconscious.
Rating: ****

JZ says: This is actually my third time watching this match, so I’m very familiar with it. The commentators never even start with this match, but the crowd is so loud at this point I think it’d be hard to hear them anyway. Claudio Castagnoli comes out early on to take John Zandig’s barb wire baseball bat away from him. I won’t be doing much play-by-play because it’s all just a big brawl on the floor and in the ring, and the crowd is just molten for it. Pearce’s head is badly busted open just minutes into the match. I like that both ROH’s Todd Sinclair and CZW’s Bryce Remsberg are presiding over this match. Joe kills Necro in the ring while Hero looks on despondently from the crowd, seeming to say “what have we gotten ourselves into?” Dragon actually delivers the Psycho Driver through a table to the floor on Whitmer. That looked like it broke BJ’s neck. Back in the ring Hero is going to work on Joe, while Pearce and Necro are fighting outside. Zandig tries to get involve and Joe goes right for that disgusting creep and the crowd goes nuts. Remsberg and Sinclair are getting it now and Necro takes Sinclair out from behind. Hero takes control of Joe with a cravat, so Claudio comes out and tosses Zandig to the outside and goes after Hero, but instead he takes out Joe and joins CZW! Big boos for that as Hero and Claudio hug in the ring. Pearce tries to fight them but the defection has given CZW the advantage. The crowd is chanting for Homicide at this point, like he’s Hulk Hogan at the Silverdome in 1987. Claudio and Hero hit a double team move on Pearce and Remsberg counts to three at 25:24. That was a phenomenal fight, with some great storytelling surrounding some sick spots. Joe is the only man on Team ROH to even be conscious anymore, as the CZW team goes up and celebrates in their bleachers. The crowd chants “Match of the Year,” which is a bit much but I’ve seen it three times now and I liked it the most this last time. Joe talks a little trash. Whitmer is carted out on a stretcher. I now love that match.
Rating: ****¼

Aftermath

BG says: The Scoopster catches up with Cabana backstage. Cabana apologizes to the fans for losing so quickly. He forgot how to wrestle after turning adjectives into verbs… I mean brawling with Homicide for seven months. He’s going to start at the bottom of the card and work his way back up to Danielson so that he can prove to himself and everyone else that he’s a champion.

Adam Pearce gets cleaned up and we see the big cut that caused all the bleeding. It’s in the shape of a huge “H.” That dastardly Chris Hero!

JZ says: GMC gets a word with Colt Cabana, as promised. Cabana thinks that maybe he forgot how to Pure Wrestle after the months of out and out fighting Homicide. He says he has no problem starting over from the bottom and working his way back up to the top. He promises that American Dragon will meet him again one day.

We end the Milestone Series with a disgusting shot of the cut on top of Adam Pearce’s head. It’s oddly shaped like an “H.” Hero left his mark!

MVP

BG says: BJ Whitmer for taking those crazy bumps and adding drama to the already superheated main event. Whitmer is starting to become Jack Evans-like in his willingness to kill himself for this feud.

JZ says: I’ll give it to BJ Whitmer as well, for his willingness to sacrifice his body for the good of the CZW feud. Plus his in-ring work just keeps getting better.

THE FOLLOWING MATCH IS NOT ON THIS DVD

BONUS MATCH: Mark Briscoe & Christopher Daniels vs. Jay Briscoe & Amazing Red, Scramble Madness, 11.16.02

BG says: This was a dream partner tag match for the Briscoes, and the 100th match in ROH. The Briscoes were feuding with each other at the time, and in this match Mark began his very brief stint with the Prophecy, probably just to get under Jay’s skin. Mark attacks Jay from behind before the bell as he argues with Daniels. He hits a leg lariat but Jay comes back with a Yakuza kick. Red tags in and flips around the ring with Mark. Mark stops him with an overhead suplex and tags to Daniels. Red gets a head scissors takedown and hits a dropkick. He hits a thrust kick in the corner for 1. Jay tags in and hits a dropkick for 2. Mark tags in and gets stuck in a chinlock. He fights back and puts on his own chinlock but Jay fights out and kicks the side of Mark’s head. Mark puts on a leglock and floats into an STF. They work the mat some more and Jay gets an STF until Daniels breaks it up. Red tags in and they hit a Hart Attack style flatliner for 2. Daniels dumps Red to the floor and rams his head into a chair. He hangs him up on the barricade and rolls him back into the ring. Mark hits a vertical suplex and tags to Daniels. Daniels hits a clothesline and dumps Red again. Mark attacks and rolls Red back into the ring. Daniels hits a gutwrench suplex for 2. Mark tags in and hits a bodyslam. He hits a kneedrop for 2. Daniels tags in and they hit a double hiptoss. Mark hits an elbowdrop and Daniels hits a legdrop for 2. Mark tags in and chokes away. He hits a back suplex for 2. Daniels tags in and hits a slam into a half crab. Mark comes in illegally and keeps the crab on. Red gets to the ropes so Mark steps on his head for 2. Daniels tags in and gets rolled up but Mark distracts the referee. Daniels hits a bodyslam and tags to Mark. Mark hits a bodyslam and tags to Daniels. Daniels hits a back suplex and tags to Mark. Mark mimics Daniels again and then puts on a surfboard stretch before pinning Red for 2. Daniels tags in and slugs Red down. He hits a uranage and the triple jump moonsault for 2. Mark tags in and brings Red off the top rope with a springboard Ace Crusher for 2. Daniels tags in and gets hit with an inverted DDT. Mark hits Red with a powerbomb when he crawls to the wrong corner. Red hits a hurricanrana on Daniels and tags to Jay. Jay wipes up the mat with Daniels, hitting a big facebuster for 2. He hits a fisherman buster for 2. Mark comes in and gets hit with a DDT. Daniels blocks the Jay Driller with an enziguiri and Mark clotheslines him to the floor. Red dropkicks Daniels and tags him with a pair of kicks for 2. He hits the Code Red for 2. He goes for another hurricanrana but Daniels reverses to the Last Rights for the win. This was a solid match that played up the new relationship between Daniels and Mark well, but the rivalry between Mark and Jay was largely ignored as the match was completely consumed with Red’s face-in-peril act.
Rating: ***

JZ says: Mark is the newest member of Christopher Daniels’ Prophecy, so he cheap shots his brother to start the match. The Briscoes look SO different today that it’s bizarre to go back and see them here. Daniels and Mark dominate in the early going, giving Red a beating. Jay gets tagged in and he and Mark do some nice wrestling. Red tags back in and he plays Ricky Morton for a while as Daniels and Mark abuse him. Jay finally tags in and goes to work on Daniels and his own brother. Red comes in and hits Code Red but Daniels comes back and hits the Last Rites to get the three-count at 15:46. That was a good formula tag team match and a good way to put Mark Briscoe in the Prophecy. It wouldn’t last due to some unforeseen circumstances, but it was a good idea at the time I’m sure.
Rating: ***

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 WEEKEND OF CHAMPIONS NIGHT ONE!

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The 411: BG says: This show just flies by. Aside from the main event there are no matches that are required viewing, but the show is booked excellently and feels much shorter than its 3:15 runtime. The main event was just what the CZW feud needed to stay strong and does so well. This is a great (albeit depressing from an ROH standpoint) way for the Milestone Series to end, and leads nicely into the Weekend of Champions. Solid recommendation for The 100th Show. JZ says: This is an awesome way to close out the Milestone Series, with CZW gaining the upper hand in the feud to keep it going really strong. The match itself was pretty great too, so that’s a double bonus. Bryan Danielson was also fantastic on this show, making two title defenses, helping to elevate Delirious even though he basically squashed him. The only dull spot on the show is the ridiculous debate between Cornette and Zandig, but that’s short enough and it leads in to the main event. The Milestone series is now complete.

Final Score:  8.0   [ Very Good ]