ROH – Glory By Honor V Night 2 DVD Review

ROH – GLORY BY HONOR V NIGHT 2 – NEW YORK, NY – 9.16.06

Introduction

BG says: ROH gives you TWO video recaps for the price of one on this DVD, and you need to watch them both before you watch the main program! The first sees Bryan Danielson dehydrated after his 2/3 falls match against Nigel McGuinness and injured the following night after his match against Cabana. It shows Danielson retiring the Pure title and giving the belt to McGuinness. Homicide’s feud with the Briscoes is highlighted. They advertise for Glory by Honor weekend, including the match that never happens in Danielson vs. Austin Aries. Jim Cornette doesn’t usually go out east but he’s going to be in New York City for night two of Glory by Honor. He gets fired up talking about Homicide but Delirious interrupts him to ask for higher profile matches. Cornette chases him off and spews venom in Homicide’s direction. Finally they show the Briscoes get into it with Homicide and Joe at the end of Fight of the Century.

The second video recap starts off where the first left off. Homicide and Joe fight off the Briscoes and then challenge them to a tag match in New York City. You can read about it in more detail in our Fight of the Century review. Jim Cornette announces that Bruno Sammartino will be in New York City. The show will be huge as Strong and Aries will defend the tag titles against the Kings of Wrestling, Naomichi Marufuji will defend the GHC Heavyweight title against Nigel McGuinness and finally KENTA will challenge Bryan Danielson for the ROH World Championship. Delirious interrupts again to ask for bigger matches. Cornette gets frustrated and puts him in a match against Adam Pearce in New York City. Danielson, with his arm in a sling talks about pain being temporary and pride being forever. He’s injured but he’s been thinking about the pain people go through to do important things so he’s not going to take any serious time off to heal. The belt is too important so he’ll still defend against KENTA in New York, and he’s going to be successful. Austin Aries’ new match against Davey Richards is hyped up as part of a big video package running down the cards for both nights. The ROH Video Wire is coming soon to replace the Video Recap! Let’s finally get on to the show! Exclamation Marks!!!

Bryan Danielson stands in front of Madison Square Garden and talks about the legacy that Bruno Sammartino cemented in the building. He walks forty seconds down the street to the Manhattan Center, where tonight he’ll solidify his own legacy at KENTA’s expense with Sammartino in attendance. They then show a cool video hyping the main event.

JZ says: ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson is in the shadow of Madison Square Garden, and he’s excited about Bruno Sammartino appearing at the show tonight. I was just walking down those streets last April! In fact, where Danielson is standing is right in front of a movie theater, at which I stood in line for two hours at the Tribeca Film Festival to try and get a ticket to Jeff Garlin’s “I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With.” I didn’t get in, but luckily I saw it at the Traverse City Film Festival, where Garlin actually appeared and I got to tell him my story and actually hung out with him since I was working with Fox and Paramount. He’s as funny in real life as he is in person. Anyway, that veered wildly off track.

Next up is a video hyping tonight’s ROH World Title match, Bryan Danielson versus KENTA.

MATCH #1: Jack Evans vs. Davey Richards

BG says: This match is happening as a result of the end of the Generation Next’s Last Stand match that saw Richards pin Evans. They lock up and Richards powers Evans to the ropes. Evans uses his agility to counter Richards’s power and hits a hurricanrana and a dropkick. Richards rolls to the floor and Evans fakes a dive. Back in the ring Richards puts Evans on the mat but Evans comes back with a back flip kick. He hits a handspring elbow but Richards kicks him to the floor. He follows Evans out and sends him into the barricade. Back in the ring he gets 2. He hits a snap suplex for 2. He hits a gutbuster and hangs Evans on the top rope. Evans falls to the floor and breaks though a table. Back in the ring Richards hits a backbreaker for 2. He puts on a chinlock but Evans comes back with a roll up for 2. Evans hits a springboard back flip elbow and Richards bails. Evans follows him out with the Space Flying Tiger Drop and gets 2 back in the ring. He climbs the ropes but the 630 senton hits knees. Richards hits a running forearm and a running powerslam for 2. He puts on the Stretch Muffler but Evans gets to the ropes. Evans hits a hurricanrana for 2. Richards kicks his face and hits a modified Go 2 Sleep. He hits a powerbomb and puts on the Stretch Muffler for the submission victory. Both guys looked great here and got the crowd worked up into a frenzy. This could have gone at least another five minutes.
Rating: **¾

Nigel McGuinness talks about the futility of life and the rarity of great moments we get. He’s going to have one of those moments tonight when he wrestles Naomichi Marufuji for the GHC Heavyweight Championship. He’s going to give it 100 percent and that’s all he can do. This was pretty somber for a McGuinness promo.

JZ says: It’s a battle of two guys from Washington State that is. Space needle. Eddie Vedder. Mudhoney! “Running with the Devil” is terrible entrance music. But wow, the atmosphere in this building is freaking awesome. Dave Prazak and Jared David are the hosts. Evans starts the match by bringing the awesome in ways only he can imagine. I seriously can’t keep up with his awesomeness. Richards can though, and kicks Evans to the floor. Richards follows and beats on Evans outside the ring. Back in the ring Richards maintains control by being “intense guy.” He drops Evans stomach-first on the top rope, and Evans breaks off the edge of the timekeeper’s table on the way down. Evans comes back with a roll up and a springboard elbow. Richards powders but Evans hits the Super Space Flying Tiger Driver with an extra corkscrew and gets a two-count back in the ring. Richards tries a superplex but Evans blocks it and goes for the 630. Richards gets his knees up and goes all “intense guy” on Evans again. A running powerslam gets two. The stretch muffler follows and Evans reaches the ropes. Richards unleashes Kawada kicks but Evans comes out of it. Richards comes back with a kick and a powerbomb followed by the stretch muffler. Evans taps at 7:35. Well it would have been nice had Richards worked on the leg at all during the match, but that was pretty damn fun for a short match.
Rating: **¾

Nigel McGuinness is here to talk about diapers and things in the ground. I really wish people wouldn’t chew gum during promos. He promises to give 100% tonight.

Bruno Sammartino

BG says: Bobby Cruise welcomes Bruno Sammartino to the ring. A good portion of the roster surrounds the ring for Sammartino’s promo. For a 71-year-old Bruno looks great. This guy has so much charisma that he gets the crowd to love him just by talking about his age and weight. He used to be in love with wrestling but when the WWWF became the WWF and his complaints fell on deaf ears he decided to bow out of the business. He did get a chance to watch some ROH DVDs and he’s been very impressed. Bruno puts a huge smile on my face by humbly saying, “I don’t want to take up too much of your time because you have a lot of great matches coming up,” as though him talking all night wouldn’t keep the crowd completely tuned in. He’s excited to see wrestling in a wrestling company again and he’s excited to see wrestling fans interested in it. What a classy guy. As the wrestlers file out Samoa Joe and Takeshi Morishima bump into each other and get into a pull-apart brawl. It takes a good portion of ROH’s roster and security as well as the NOAH contingent to keep them apart.

JZ says: Bruno looks good for his age, and the crowd gives him a big (and respectful) pop and chants his name. They also chant “welcome home.” He notes the age disparity between himself and the crowd. In a nice touch, all the wrestlers surround the ring to listen to the Living Legend. He puts over ROH as wrestling the way he likes it. He thanks everyone and thinks both he and them will enjoy the show. That was brief but perfect, and a really awesome segment for ROH to run. I’ll say one thing, Bruno has him some nasty cauliflower ears. While making their way to the back, Samoa Joe and a giant of a man named Takeshi Morishima get into a forced confrontation that leads to Joe getting in the ring and challenging him, and they try to fight but the ROH locker room fights to separate them.

ROH Wrestling Dot Com is your place to get all the latest shows and Straight Shootin’ Interview, in case you didn’t know.

MATCH #2: Adam Pearce vs. Delirious

BG says: Pearce attacks Delirious on his way into the ring. He chokes him with his tassels as the crowd calls him fat. Delirious gets a roll up for 2. He hits an armdrag into a roll up for 2. He hides under the ring and then sneaks up behind Pearce and hits him with a somersault dive off the apron. Back in the ring Pearce hits a spinebuster. He hits a military press slam to the floor and follows him out. He rams Delirious into the barricade and chokes him with the tassels again. Back in the ring Pearce goes to the eyes. He hits a backbreaker and climbs the ropes. He goes for the big splash but Delirious gets his knees up. Delirious hits a back elbow and a clothesline. He hits a leaping clothesline and the Neverending Story clotheslines. He hits a bulldog for 2. He climbs the ropes and comes down with a dropkick. He hits the Panic Attack but Pearce blocks Shadows Over Hell. Shane Hagadorn runs down and hits Delirious with a pair of brass knuckles. Pearce hits the dazed Delirious with a jumping piledriver for the win. The match was fun enough until the shady finish. After the match Pearce thanks Hagadorn and dubs him his personal manservant.
Rating: **¼

JZ says: Pearce attacks Delirious before the bell and goes to work. Delirious comes back with a headbutt to the midsection and then goes on offense on the much bigger Pearce. He fools Pearce into thinking he’s under the ring, then delivers a Cactus Jack flip from the apron and hits some chops and headbutts. Pearce comes back and whips Delirious into the guardrail. Back in the ring Pearce goes for the big splash but hits nothing but knees. Delirious comes back with a series of lariats and Pearce goes down. This leads to the Roots Clotheslines, 50 of them as a matter of fact. Oh wait, he’s not done, so he delivers about 10 more and a bulldog. Delirious hits a missile dropkick and the Panic Attack. He goes up for Shadows Over Hell, but Shane Hagadorn hits Delirious with a pair of brass knuckles and Pearce follows up with a piledriver and Delirious is finished at 8:18. That was fine while it lasted. Pearce gets on the microphone after the match to officially introduce his new assistant, Shane Hagadorn. He calls Hagadorn his personal man servant and they hug. That’s kinda not straight.
Rating: **

MATCH #3: Triple Threat Match – Jimmy Jacobs vs. Colt Cabana vs. Christopher Daniels

BG says: Jacobs cries before the bell. Cabana and Daniels lock up as Jacobs sulks. They do some chain wrestling as Lacey tries to motivate Jacobs. Jacobs takes the cue but ends up getting tossed from the ring. Cabana cops a feel on Lacey and then looks up her skirt. Jacobs flips out on Cabana and gets rolled up by Daniels. Jacobs comes back with a clothesline but won’t hit Cabana as per Lacey’s request. Daniels puts a headlock on Daniels but Cabana gets him out of it. He shoulder tackles Jacobs by mistake and knocks Daniels to the floor. Jacobs puts Cabana in a headlock but stops when Lacey tells him to. He hits a baseball slide on Daniels and bites him back in the ring. Cabana tells Jacobs to clothesline Daniels but then moves him out of the way to embarrass him. Jacobs rains elbows down on Daniels and tries to hit a guillotine elbowdrop with Cabana but Cabana again moves Daniels out of the way. Cabana puts Daniels in the body scissors as Jacobs laments in the corner. Cabana keeps Jacobs from pinning Daniels but helps him hit a running clothesline. Jacobs isn’t into it and spears Cabana with Daniels’s help. Daniels hits Jacobs with elbows and clotheslines. He hits a back bodydrop and the STO for 2. Jacobs comes back with a fisherman neckbreaker for 2. Daniels hits the uranage and the triple jump moonsault for 2 when Cabana breaks it up. Cabana hits a hurricanrana on Daniels for 2. He hits the Flying Asshole but Daniels counters the lariat to a flatliner. He puts on the Koji clutch but Cabana gets to the ropes. Cabana dumps Daniels to the floor and hits him with an Asai moonsault. Everyone gets back into the ring and Jacobs hits a low blow and the Contra Code on Cabana for the win. Not much of a match but it set the tone for the Jacobs/Cabana angle well. Jacobs is ecstatic that he won but Lacey is quite upset.
Rating: **

JZ says: The crowd respectfully chants “she’s a whore” at Lacey. Jacobs is emotionally distraught to start the match (he might even be crying), so Cabana and Daniels just decide to wrestle on their own. Lacey finally sics Jacobs on Daniels, and a neat little sequence leads to Cabana “accidentally” grabbing her boobs. This of course pisses Jacobs off, but since he promised Lacey he wouldn’t hit Colt, so he doesn’t. A few minutes later he goes for a headlock on Cabana but Lacey makes him break it. Cabana seems to be enjoying this. Jacobs really goes after Daniels, presumably to impress Lacey. This is more of a handicap match, and Cabana makes Jacobs look foolish. He’s once again on the verge of tears. He gets back into the match and Daniels tosses Jacobs into Cabana for an accidental spear. Daniels goes after Jacobs with a flurry of offense and an STO for two. Jacobs fights back with the fisherman neckbreaker with a pin for two. Daniels hits the Best Moonsault Ever on Jacobs but Cabana breaks it up. Daniels ends up getting the Koji Clutch on him, but Cabana makes the ropes. Lacey berates Jacobs on the outside of the ring trying to get him to get in the ring and help Cabana. Daniels goes for the Angels Wings, but Cabana backdrops him to the floor and hits an awesome looking Asai Moonsault. He throws Daniels back in the ring as Jacobs is on his way back in. Cabana goes for the Colt 45 but Jacobs hits a low blow and the Contra Code on Cabana to get the pinfall at 11:06 and a pretty good sized pop from the crowd. Jimmy thinks Lacey should be happy but she’s concerned with the status of Cabana’s balls. Jacobs is confused. The match was a bit on the dull side, but from a storytelling perspective and for advancing the angle it was absolutely awesome.
Rating: **½

ROH Commissioner Jim Cornette

BG says: Jim Cornette and the Briscoes come to the ring for what is sure to be an awe-inspiring promo. His promo in Chicago went on for seventeen minutes and he basically had nothing new to say. Cornette again makes fun of Homicide’s friendship with Low Ki and then complains that the New York fans still don’t get why he’s been giving Homicide such a hard time. He painfully repeats what he said in Chicago in a slightly abridged fashion. He runs down New York City and then makes a decree. He promised Homicide a title shot and he’s going to keep his word. Keeping in mind that Homicide is going to leave the company if he doesn’t win a title by the end of the year he’s giving him his title shot at Final Battle 2006, the last show of the year. However, if he loses his tag match tonight he won’t get the shot until January or February of 2007. He then goes on a bigoted tirade and praises the southern United States as the only part of the world worth a damn. It took him eleven minutes to say what could have been said in two in a backstage promo. Sigh. Anyway, Joe and Homicide come out for this now-important tag team match.

JZ says: Jim Cornette is on his way to the ring with the Briscoe Brothers, as we see clips of Death Before Dishonor IV where Cornette’s beef with Homicide started. Tonight the Briscoes will take on Homicide and Samoa Joe in a tag team match. He talks about how the Chicago ROH fans are smarter than the New York ROH fans. He invokes George W. Bush by saying “you’re either with me or against me.” He has an announcement to make. He asks for a show of hands to see who’s on his side in his battle against Homicide. A few people raise their hands (including the Briscoes). But of course, more people raise their hand for Homicide. He goes off on those fans. The crowd chants “shut the fuck up,” and Cornette finally gets to his announcement. He says that Homicide will get his ROH World Title shot on December 23 in this very building. However, he has to win the match tonight in order to keep that shot. He continues to insult the fans until Samoa Joe and Homicide’s music cuts him off. I’m beyond sick of Cornette.

MATCH #4: Samoa Joe & Homicide vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe

BG says: Everyone brawls to start. Joe and Homicide toss the Briscoes to the floor and follow them out with stereo suicide dives. Mark and Homicide start the match proper. They lock up and Mark hits a cheap shot in the corner. Homicide hits a clothesline in the corner and tags to Joe. Mark blocks a blind charge but Joe casually dodges his crossbody attempt. Jay tags in and Joe hits him with the Big Joe Combo. Homicide tags in and hits a splash off the top for 2. He hits the Three Amigos for 2. Joe tags in and they hit a double shoulder tackle. How insulting. Joe hits an enziguiri and puts on a chinlock. He hits a jumping knee strike and tags to Homicide. Homicide hits a Tree of Woe dropkick for 2. Joe tags in and hits a falcon arrow. Homicide tags in and rakes the back. Jay goes low and dumps Homicide to the floor. Mark repeatedly bangs Homicide’s head into the barricade and rolls him back into the ring. He tags in and hits a second rope kneedrop for 2. He hits a belly-to-belly suplex and tags to Jay. Jay hits a back elbow and a bodyslam. Mark tags in and hits a slingshot double stomp for 2. Joe tags in and hits a Manhattan drop. He hits a big boot and a back senton. He washes Mark’s face and hits a discus chop to the face. Mark hits a leg lariat and tags to Jay. Mark tags back in and they hit the double shoulder tackle for 2. Jay tags in and puts on a chinlock. He hits a dropkick and goes back to the chinlock. Joe fights out and slams Jay to the mat. Homicide tags in and hits an overhead suplex. He hits a back elbow on Jay and a second rope DDT on Mark. He hits a running knee on Jay. He goes for a top rope Ace Crusher but Mark blocks it. He suplexes Mark to the floor but Mark comes back with a plancha. Jay hits a big boot on Joe but Homicide catches him with the Ace Crusher. Mark hits a side suplex on Homicide. Joe hits a lariat on Mark. He and Homicide hit a clothesline/backdrop driver combo on Jay for 2 when Mark saves. Joe keeps the Briscoes from hitting the Doomsday Device on Homicide but Jay hits Homicide with a German suplex. Homicide hits an enziguiri and the Cop Killer on Jay for the win moments later. The match moved at a much slower pace than I was expecting. It did pick up at the end but the finish felt out of nowhere, probably because there were almost no false finishes to build up the drama.
Rating: ***¼

After the match Jim Cornette says he’ll grant Homicide his title match at Final Battle, but he’s not going to make the time between now and then easy for the Notorious 187.

JZ says: It’s a brawl from the get-go, and the ROH Mega Powers hit dives to the outside of the ring. Back in the ring Mark and Homicide start it off. Joe and Jay are tagged in and Joe does not appear to be in the mood for messing around. Homicide comes in and hits a top rope splash for two. Julius Smokes takes a cheap shot, and Homicide hits a variation of the Three Amigos. Joe comes back in and Jay continues to take a beating. The Briscoes eventually come back and go to work on Homicide inside and outside of the ring. Homicide finally makes the hot tag, and Mark is ready for him. Even so Joe dominates. Smokes comes over and barks in Mark’s face. Joe just unleashes fury on Mark, but Jay interferes and Mark is able to tag him in. Joe gets beat up for a few minutes but he’s able to tag Homicide back in and he goes to work on Jay. The Briscoes illegally double team Homicide, but Mark eats a second rope DDT for his trouble. The match breaks down now with two on the outside and two on the inside. Homicide hits an Ace Crusher and signals for the lariat but it gets blocked. Joe hits a lariat and everyone is down. Jay takes a sick bump on his head but Mark makes the save. Homicide goes for the Cop Killa but can’t hit it. He nails it on the second try though and gets the pin at 18:00 flat. That was a fun tag team match and set up Homicide challenging for the World Title in this building quite nicely. The crowd chants “Next World Champ.” Cornette has to get on the microphone again to tell Homicide that he’s going to make his life a living hell.
Rating: ***½

Intermission

BG says: The Scoopster is backstage with Lacey and an injured Colt Cabana. His groin is in bad shape after the low blow from Jimmy Jacobs. Jacobs comes in, beaming because he beat top guys in Cabana and Daniels. Lacey doesn’t care because he hurt Cabana’s manhood. She demands that Jacobs apologize for his cheating ways. Cabana asks for a massage so Lacey kicks Jacobs out of the room. Poor guy can’t catch a break.

They show KENTA doing a little dance in a dark room in preparation for his match. They couldn’t ask him to do something a little more exciting?

Bruno Sammartino compliments Bryan Danielson on his great reign as the ROH World Championship reign. He turns around and congratulates Naomichi Marufuji on winning the GHC Heavyweight Championship. Danielson looked like a little kid with Santa Claus here.

JZ says: Lacey is with Colt Cabana, tending to his balls. Jimmy Jacobs bursts in, gloating about his victory tonight. Lacey wants him to apologize for hitting Cabana in the nuts. She is absolutely terrible. Lacey orders everyone out.

KENTA is doing some kind of stretching somewhere in the building.

Bruno Sammartino reminds Bryan Danielson of his responsibilities as World Champion. He also puts over Marufuji, and mentions his tours of Japan and Giant Baba. He puts over both guys. That was a nice little segment.

MATCH #5: ROH World Tag Team Title Match – Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli

BG says: Aries’ ribs are heavily taped here. The Kings attack the champs before the bell. Strong and Aries come back with chops. The Kings duck out of the ring and the champs chop each other’s hands by mistake. Strong and Claudio get the match going as Strong puts Claudio on the mat. He puts on an anklelock and chops both Kings. Aries tags in and hits a slingshot senton. He hits a splash for 2. Strong tags in and hits a butterfly suplex for 2. Aries tags in and hits a slingshot splash for 2. Strong tags in and they hit a double atomic drop and a double back suplex for 2. Strong drapes Claudio on the top rope and hits a legdrop for 2. Aries tags in and they hit the Hart Attack for 2. Strong tags in and hits a bodyslam. Aries tags in and climbs the ropes. Hero pulls him down ribs-first onto the top rope. He tags in and keeps pressure on the ribs. He hits a bodyslam and tags to Claudio. Claudio hits an elbowdrop and puts on an abdominal stretch. Hero grabs his arm for leverage and then tags in. He hits a boot to the face and gets a roll up for 2. He hits a splash to the back and then sits on the ribs. Claudio tags in and hits a butt splash to the ribs. He puts on a chinlock while pressing his knee into Aries’s ribs. Hero tags in and hits a Canadian gutbuster. Claudio comes in illegally and hits a senton off of Hero’s back. He hits a dropkick to the ribs for 2. He military pres slams Aries onto the top turnbuckle and tags to Hero. Hero hits a double kneedrop on the ribs. Claudio tags in and holds Aries for a dropkick from Hero before hitting a rib breaker for 2. Hero tags in and boots Aries off of Claudio’s shoulder for 2. He puts on a camel clutch and tags to Claudio. Hero tags back in and they hit a double big boot for 2. Hero puts on a double hammerlock but Strong breaks it up with a boot to the face. Claudio tags in and Aries is able to make the tag to Strong. Strong cleans house, hitting a clothesline on Claudio and an enziguiri on Hero. He suplexes Claudio onto Hero and then dropkicks him to the floor. Aries dives onto the Kings with a suicide dive and Strong follows with the Strong-Man-Outta-Control dive. Back in the ring Strong hits a tiger driver on Claudio for 2. Hero tags in and forearms Strong down. Claudio tags in and hits a gutwrench powerbomb for 2. He hits the Alpamare Waterslide for 2. Strong comes back with a clothesline and Aries hits Hero with a dropkick. Strong hits the Sick Kick on Hero. The champs hit a double backbreaker and the chop/brainbuster combo. Strong hits the half nelson backbreaker but Claudio stops the 450 splash with a briefcase shot to the ribs. The Kings hit the Hero’s Welcome Kings of Wrestling Edition on Strong. Aries tries to fight back while bleeding from the mouth but the Kings catch him with the KRS-1 for the win and the titles. This reminded me a lot of the CM Punk & Colt Cabana vs. Briscoe Brothers match from Round Robin Challenge 3. There wasn’t a lot of heat throughout the match but it was so well focused that it didn’t matter much. Hero and Claudio winning made sense because they fought with a more cohesive strategy than the champs and were able to exploit Aries’s weakness. Color me impressed with them for the first time. Aries has to be carried to the back after the match.
Rating: ***½

BJ Whitmer, wearing a NOAH T-shirt and sitting on his couch with his leg heavily taped up, cuts an angry promo on Jimmy Jacobs. He congratulates Jacobs on doing what CZW couldn’t in putting him on the shelf, but Jacobs didn’t end his career. Every second he spends out with injury is a second that he thinks about what he’s going to do to Jacobs when he returns. Whitmer really needs to try something different with his promos.

JZ says: Aries and Strong have been champions since 12.17.05, and this is their nineteenth defense. Aries has his ribs taped up again. A surprisingly loud “Kings of Wrestling” chant gets started, and the others chant “shut the fuck up.” Hero and Claudio don’t follow the Code of Honor and refuse to shake hands and then attack the champions. They do a really contrived double-chop spot and the challengers bail. Strong and Claudio are going to start the match off proper. They do some mat work with Strong coming out on top. Claudio holds Strong for Hero to hit, but another contrived spot leads to the Kings hitting each other. Aries comes in with a springboard senton and a splash of all things and barely sells the ribs. The champions continue to dominate Claudio. Aries goes up top and Claudio stops him, and some chicanery allows Hero to drop Aries on his ribs on the top rope. Claudio now tags Hero in and Aries is definitely selling the ribs now. Strong finally gets the hot tag and he comes in and kicks the crap out of both challengers. They soon take back over and are able to work on Strong for a bit. Castagnoli nails Aries in the ribs with a briefcase and he goes down hard. Strong takes a double-team Hero’s Welcome and both of the champions are laid out on the floor. Aries makes a valiant comeback but falls victim to the KRS-1 and the Kings of Wrestling are the new ROH World Tag Team Champions at 21:34. That was pretty good in the end, but the Kings do a lot of “cute” stuff that I’m not into, but I do think this was a good choice to end the reign of Aries and Strong.
Rating: ***¼

BJ Whitmer is sitting at home in a cast. He commends Jimmy Jacobs for actually being able to injure him bad enough to put him out. However, he didn’t get the job done, BJ says. He says the doctors recommend that he not wrestle for 12-16 weeks. We get to see some clips from their past encounters during this promo.

MATCH #6: GHC Heavyweight Title Match – Naomichi Marufuji vs. Nigel McGuinness

BG says: The GHC title announcement gets its own entrance music. ROH should rip that off. Morishima, Takashi Suguira and Mohammad Yone accompany Marufuji to the ring. Marufuji is looking a good deal thicker than when he last appeared in ROH. They lock up and Nigel powers Marufuji to the corner. Marufuji does the same and then puts on a wristlock. Nigel comes back with the head scissors but Marufuji escapes. They trade forearms and Marufuji hits a back heel kick. He hits a dragon screw between the middle and top ropes and keeps pressure on the leg. He slams Nigel onto his neck and kicks at his leg. He wraps the leg around the post and then dragon screws it onto the apron. He puts on a figure 4 leglock and they trade slaps. Nigel gets to the ropes. Marufuji dropkicks the leg but Nigel is able to send him shoulder-first into the post. He follows Marufuji to the floor and rams his shoulder into the barricade. He headbutts the shoulder and rolls him back into the ring. He puts on an arm submission and then suplexes Marufuji by his arm for 2. He slams Marufuji’s arm to the mat for 2. He hits a hammerlock DDT for 2. He puts on a unique arm submission and kicks Marufuji’s face. He puts on a cobra clutch and then hits a lariat for 2. He puts the cobra clutch back on but a second lariat misses. Marufuji hits a clothesline and dropkicks the leg. He hits another clothesline for 2. He hits an elbow in the corner and another clothesline for 2. Nigel hits a chinbreaker and a short-arm clothesline for 2. He hits the handstand kick for 2. He crotches Marufuji on the top rope but the second rope lariat misses. He snaps the top rope into Marufuji’s face but walks into a superkick on the apron. Marufuji hits the Shiranui from the apron to the floor and to finally wake the crowd up. Marufuji gets back in the ring at 5 and Nigel gets back in at 17. Marufuji pins him for 2. He sets Nigel up top but Nigel crotches him on the top rope and hits the second rope lariat for 2. He hits the Tower of London but Marufuji pops up and hits the Shiranui. Both men collapse to the mat. Back on their feet they trade slaps. Nigel hits a back elbow and a running European uppercut. He hits the rebound lariat for 2. He sets Marufuji up top and hits the Tower of London on the apron. Back in the ring he gets 2. They trade slaps and Marufuji hits a superkick. Nigel comes back with a superkick but Marufuji hits a roundhouse kick and another superkick for 2. Nigel goes for another handstand kick but Marufuji stops it with another superkick. He sets Nigel in the Tree of Woe and hits a Van Terminator. He sets Nigel on the second rope and hits the Shiranui from there for the win. The leg and arm work of the early going was pretty much forgotten by the end, but Marufuji showed more fire here than he did in his last singles match in ROH. The final six or seven minutes of the match are really what made it, and they packed a lot into them.
Rating: ***¾

JZ says: Nigel is presumably using his NOAH entrance music as an intro for his regular ROH entrance music. This match is treated with great prestige, as it’s a pretty big deal. The Code of Honor is followed and we’re underway. They chain wrestle to start and the crowd is appreciative. Jimmy Bower invades the booth to talk about how cool it is that this match is happening at an ROH show. Marufuji is able to control the action by working on the leg. Prazak notes how the NOAH rules should be no problem for Nigel, since the 20-count on the floor is the same as in Nigel’s lengthy Pure Title reign. They fight on the floor and Marufuji winds up taking the ringpost to the shoulder. After about 10 more minutes I think, my power goes on and off three times in the course of three minutes, so if ya’ll don’t mind I’m going to pick it up where I left off. Marufuji gets the top rope snapped right into his eye in an awesome spot, but he follows it by delivering the Shiranui to the floor. The crowd enjoyed that. The referee starts the count and Nigel makes it back in the ring at 17. Back in the ring a cover gets a near fall for the champion. Nigel hits the Tower of London but Marufuji no-sells it and hits the Shiranui and THEN sells the move. I know that’s Japanese style or whatever, but I don’t like it. Huge lariat by Nigel gets two. Nigel hits the Tower of London on the apron and both men are down outside the ring. Back in the ring they exchange slaps and kicks. Marufuji wins that battle. Nigel goes for the headstand but gets kicked in the face. Marufuji puts him in the Tree of Woe and hits a corner-to-corner dropkick. A top-rope Shiranui follows and that’s enough for Marufuji to retain the title at 23:32. It took a bit to get going, but the last eight minutes or so was pretty awesome and the hot crowd did a lot to help them. I actually think Nigel looked like a bigger star than Marufuji.
Rating: ***¾

MATCH #7: ROH World Title Match – Bryan Danielson vs. KENTA

BG says: KENTA tore a path through the ROH roster to get this title shot, pinning Danielson twice in the process. Danielson is going into this match with a badly injured shoulder and a massive amount of fatigue. His reign has taken such a toll on him that half of his last six title defenses have gone to sixty-minute draws. His last title defense saw him come within sixty seconds of losing the title and forced him to postpone his title defense against Austin Aries. KENTA has the NOAH contingent as well as Davey Richards in his corner.

KENTA powers Danielson to the corner to start. He does it again and slaps Danielson across the face. Danielson slaps him back but with less authority. They knuckle up and Danielson puts on a wristlock. KENTA kicks Danielson’s shoulder so he bails. Back in the ring KENTA kicks the shoulder again. Danielson returns fire with strikes. KENTA kicks the back and then goes after the shoulder again. Danielson grabs a headlock to stop KENTA’s momentum. He puts on a chinlock and leans all the way back. KENTA gets to the ropes. He puts on a wristlock but runs into a dropkick and bails. Danielson follows him out but KENTA regains control with kicks to the shoulder. He rams Danielson’s shoulder into the barricade. Back in the ring KENTA kicks the shoulder some more. He puts on an armbar and drops a series of knees on the arm. He hits the afterthought kick and uses a Danielson temper tantrum to put on an inverted cross armbreaker. Danielson gets to the ropes. Danielson goes for a double stomp but gets slapped for 2. Danielson hits a cravat suplex and a back heel kick. He hits a vertical suplex and drags KENTA’s eyes against the top rope. He can’t put on the Mexican surfboard so he hits the thigh stomp. He puts on a spinning toehold and then grabs a figure 4 leglock. He grabs the ropes for added leverage but KENTA gets to the ropes. Danielson catapults him into the bottom rope but KENTA comes back with a vertical suplex. He hits a dropkick and kicks at the shoulder. He hits a springboard missile dropkick to the shoulder for 2. He hits a butterfly suplex for 2 and puts on a cross armbreaker. Danielson quickly scrambles to the ropes. He slips on a half crab and turns it into one nasty stretch. KENTA gets to the ropes and hits an enziguiri. Danielson hits a roaring forearm and set s KENTA up top. He hits a superplex for 2.

Danielson puts on the crossface chicken wing but KENTA gets to the ropes. Danielson hits a bodyslam and climbs the ropes. KENTA kicks him in the face when he goes for the diving headbutt. Danielson blocks a springboard dropkick with a dropkick of his own. Danielson trades running headbutts for KENTA’s Yakuza kicks. Danielson hits a German suplex but KENTA comes back with a fisherman suplex. Danielson hits a roaring forearm but KENTA comes back with a discus lariat. KENTA clotheslines Danielson to the floor but runs into an overhead suplex out there. Danielson hits a baseball slide knocking KENTA into the crowd. He follows him out with the springboard dive, injured shoulder edition. Back in the ring Danielson hits a top rope dropkick. KENTA counters a roaring forearm to an armbar but Danielson gets to the ropes. KENTA catches Danielson with an Ace Crusher and puts the armbar back on. Danielson gets to the ropes. He hits the Regalplex for 2. He sets KENTA up top and hits a back superplex for 2. He puts on the Cow Killer but KENTA gets to the ropes. Danielson hits a neck wrench suplex and climbs the ropes. KENTA tries to hit the pop up falcon arrow but Danielson fights him off. KENTA catches him on his shoulders on the way down and hits Go 2 Sleep for 2 when Danielson gets his foot on the bottom rope. He goes back to work on Danielson’s shoulder and hits the Busaiku knee kick to the back. Danielson side steps another Busaiku knee kick and gets a roll up for 2. KENTA hits a big boot and goes for Go 2 Sleep again but Danileson counters to a crucifix pin for 2. He holds on and hits the unprotected elbows but KENTA powers up. Danielson slips on the Cow Killer but KENTA rolls him over for 2. Danielson hits a tiger suplex for 2 and then floats into the Cow Killer. He hits a few more elbows and then locks in the Cow Killer one final time for the win.

The build to this match was reminiscent of when CM Punk took on Aries for the ROH title, using a neck injury and grueling defense schedule against Aries to win the match. Danielson’s schedule in August definitely added to the speculation that KENTA would win the belt here. KENTA had an answer for everything Danielson did in the first part of the match, usually exploiting the injury. The second half of the match was just great back and forth action and the home stretch was extremely intense and hard fought. I hate to sound like a nitpicker but had Danielson sold the very real injury more this probably could have hit *****. This was easily KENTA’s best match in ROH and one of the best matches of the year so far.
Rating: ****¾

JZ says: Listen, I lost power about four times during this match and lost my progress every time, and I just can’t bare to start it all over again. This is one of those matches I don’t feel the need to say much about anyway, since it’s gotten as much hype as it has; hype which is well deserved I might add. It’s a truly awesome match, a nearly perfect one (Danielson could have sold a little more), and my very close number two for 2006 Match of the Year. Danielson got the win via tap out to the Cattle Mutilation at 33:01. This is really one of the best matches in ROH history.
Rating: ****¾

The ROH Video Wire is coming soon!

MVP

BG says: Bryan Danielson for doing what he does best and putting on Match of the Year quality matches, even with a severely injured shoulder.

JZ says: I’ll split it between KENTA and Danielson, for putting on a phenomenal main event.

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 SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST 2006!

The 411: BG says: Some people are making claims that this is the best show in ROH history. I’d still give that nod to Manhattan Mayhem in a landslide for overall quality, but this had some great qualities too. Firstly the show steadily improved as it went on, which is something I always love. From the absolutely outstanding main event to Homicide solidifying his title shot to the phenomenal Sammartino appearance this was a show filled with moments any ROH fan should see. JZ says: The main event is reason enough alone to get this DVD, but the rest of the show is pretty good too. There’s a really good semi-main event (overrated in some circles), two good tag team matches (one of them a historic title change), a good opener, good advancement in the Jimmy Jacobs-Lacey-Colt Cabana storyline, and last but not least an appearance by the Living Legend Bruno Sammartino in an awesome segment. This may not top Manhattan Mayhem, but its damn close.

Final Score:  9.0   [  Amazing ]