wrestling / Video Reviews
Views from the Hawke’s Nest: El Generico – Ole! Ole! – Disc 1
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Do or Die
Elizabeth, New Jersey
February 19, 2005
El Generico vs. Eddie Vegas (w/ Dave Prazak) vs. Josh Daniels vs. Arik Cannon
This was Generico’s ROH debut.
They all just went back and forth for what seemed like the longest time. The crowd did not care all that much, but some of Generico’s shtick got over. The match broke down, and they started busting out some bigger spots. Vegas hit a nice Asai Moonsault. Generico then hit his double-jump senton onto everyone. Vegas mercifully ended the match with a moonsault slam on Cannon.
This match went on for an absurdly long for time for no discernible reason. Generico was the only one doing anything of the value, but it’s not like he came across as a future all-time great worker (which he of course turned into) or anything like that.
Match Rating: *
Dragon Gate Invasion
Buffalo, New York
August 17, 2005
El Generico vs. Homicide
Homicide took it right to Generico, and this has all the makings of a squash. Generico actually managed to fight back though. Homicide cut him off again. Generico got to make a comeback. Generico avoided the Cop Killa’ and hit his swinging DDT for a nearfall. Homicide came back with the Cop Cutter. Homicide hit a few more movez before putting Generico away with the lariat.
I’m not entirely sure what this match was supposed to accomplish. It wasn’t a squash, and thus, Homicide didn’t look dominant. Homicide didn’t really seem to be taking the match seriously, but Generico never seemed like a serious threat despite him getting offense and the match getting time. Thus, Generico just seemed kind of there. Basically, I left the match unimpressed by both guys, which is pretty much the exact opposite thing you want out of any match let alone match like this.
Match Rating: **1/4
A Fight at the Roxbury
Boston, Massachusetts
June 8, 2007
El Generico vs. Matt Sydal
This should be good.
Sydal got control quickly and worked Generico over. Generico made a comeback after a leg lariat. Sydal cut him off, and they started going back and forth. Sydal had the momentum. Generico busted out the through-the-ropes DDT. He then hit his overly-fancy powerbomb in the ring for a nearfall. Sydal hit a standing moonsault for what a nearfall. It seemed like the referee counted to three. **Rewinding** He did count to three. Meh. Sydal survived the yakuza kick, and then reversed a brainbuster into a snap hurricanrana: 1…2…3!
While that referee botch was quite unfortunate, this was still a very good midcard match. They put together a ton of cool sequences that kept me interested the whole time. These two did not get to wrestle each other enough over the years.
Match Rating: ***1/2
Race to the Top Tournament Night 1 & 2
Deer Park, New York
July 27-28, 2007
We saw footage of Generico defeating Delirious, Chris Hero, & Davey Richards to reach the finals.
El Generico vs. Claudio Castagnoli [Race to the Top Tournament Finals]
I’ve watched this one a few times. It’s pretty great.
Claudio got control after a few minutes of tentative action. Generico managed to hit a diving crossbody, but Claudio cut him off shortly after that. Generico managed to dump Claudio to the floor and hit him with an Asai Moonsault. Through-the-ropes DDT! Claudio tried to come back with the Ricola Bomb, but Generico reversed it into a Yoshi Tonic: 1…2…NO! Claudio reversed a swinging DDT into a pop-up lifter for a nearfall. He got another nearfall with the Waterslide. Generico came back with the coast-to-coast flip dropkick. BRAINBUSTER: 1…2…NO! YAKUZA! Generico reversed a turnbuckle brainbuster attempt into a diving Waterslide: 1…2…NO! Generico reversed another Ricola Bomb. Claudio finally hit it, but Generico kicked out. They kept going back and forth. Claudio eventually hit a diving uppercut and then a Splash Mountain variation of the Ricola Bomb: 1…2…3!!!
You can see why these two would later excel in the WWE style. The structure of this match was very basic, but their timing and execution is just so impeccable. These two are world class performers.
It certainly didn’t hurt that their in-ring chemistry has always been top notch. I’ll never understand why ROH didn’t go back to this matchup more often in the ensuing years. It was a real missed opportunity.
Match Rating: ****
Motor City Madness
Detroit, Michigan
September 14, 2007
El Generico vs. Naomichi Marafuji
Generico teased a dive twice early on. Generico actually got control first. Fuji finally got control after springboad dropkicking Generico to the floor. That was cool. Fuji amused himself by repeatedly using a side headlock to control Generico. Fuji did not work especially hard here. Generico finally just fought back and hit a top con HELLO. They started going at it in the ring. Fuji got control again. Generico avoided the Shiranui and hit the coast-to-coast (maybe he missed it though?). They started going back and forth. Generico got a nice nearfall with a brainbuster. Fuji got the Shiranui, but Generico got his foot on the ropes. Coast-to-coast from Fuji…but Generico avoided it! They battled on the middle rope up until Fuji pulled off the Shiranui: 1…2…3
Marufuji put Generico over after the match. Generico came across like a much more important singles wrestler after this match.
This match accomplished the goal of getting Generico over for hanging with Marufuji. While that was ultimately the most important part of the match, I don’t think the match was particularly good. The match seemingly stayed in first gear for too long of a time. By the time they turned it up, they had already lost me. Like I said though, Generico coming across like a bigger star at the end of the match was far more important than the actual quality of this match.
Match Rating: **1/2
Eye of the Storm
Deer Park, New York
February 22, 2008
El Generico vs. Austin Aries
This was a first round match in a number one contender’s tournament.
They went back and forth for a while. Aries finally cut him off with the heat seeking missile. After a fairly long control segment, Generico made a comeback. Aries fought right back. Aries got busted open, as they started going back and forth. Generico caught him with a schoolboy: 1…2…3
They really were taking their time to get going here, and then the match ended. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a proper match between these two, and that is a real shame. This was somehow even more underwhelming than their 2008 PWG match.
Match Rating: **1/2
El Generico vs. Go Shiozaki
This is a semifinals match in a number one contender’s tournament.
Generico actually got control first by targeting Go’s left leg. In a great moment, Generico gave the leg a standing moonsault. Go came back quickly enough and then worked Generico over. Generico eventually sent him to the floor and hit him with a somersault plancha. Generico was in control for a while. Go eventually hit a superkick, and then they started going back and forth. Go got a nearfall with Orange Crush. Go hit a massive lariat and then the Go Flasher: 1…2…3
This was a pretty solid match featuring fine performances from both competitors. Both men would go on to do much better work in 2008 though. One-night tournament matches often don’t seem that great to me out of context though, and I’m possibly underrating this one a tad.
Match Rating: ***
Return Engagement
Chicago Ridge, Illinois
April 19, 2008
El Generico vs. Kota Ibushi
These two have tremendous chemistry, and I recall this match being quite great. This was Kota’s fourth match in ROH, but he had not won a match yet. They traded control early on. They started going back and forth. Kota ran through some of his trademarked offense. Generico caught him with a Michinoku Driver. Kota got a great nearfall with a bridging German. He then did the moonsault into the standing moonsault spot for a nearfall. Generico murdered him with a yakuza and then hit a splash for a nearfall. Generico hit another yakuza and called for the turnbuckle brainbuster. Kota reversed it into a super poison ‘rana: 1…2…NO!!!! PHOENIX SPLASH: 1…2…3!
That was Kota’s last stateside match for Ring of Honor. He later went on to work a match on one of the shows ROH did in Japan though.
You know exactly what kind of match these two had at this point in their careers. It’s a style that I greatly enjoy, and these were two of the best at it.
Match Rating: ****
Age of Insanity
Cleveland, Ohio
August 15, 2008
Nigel McGuinness(c) vs. El Generico [ROH World Championship]
I believe this was Generico’s first shot at the World Championship. I’ve seen his later attempts to take the title from Nigel but never this one.
Generico wiped out Nigel with an early pescado. Generico was then briefly in control. Nigel finally cut him off with a Divorce Court on the left arm. He then worked Generico over. He mostly targeted the left arm/shoulder. Eventually, Generico managed to send him to the floor and hit him with an Asai Moonsault. They then started to go back and forth in the ring. Generico took a Tower of London to the apron. Generico blocked a diving lariat though and then made a big comeback. He blocked the Jawbreaker and got a nearfall with a schoolboy. Nigel finally hit a lariat, but Generico kicked out. Nigel started throwing bombs but Generico always kicked out. Nigel wisely applied the London Dungeon on the injured arm. Kevin Steen ran down to cheer on Generico. Generico made it to the ropes. COAST-TO-COAST FROM GENERICO: 1…2…NO! Brainbuster: 1…2…FOOT ON THE ROPES! Nigel avoided the turnbuckle brainbuster and hit the diving lariat: 1…2…NO! RIPCORD LARIAT: 1…2…NO! DEATH LARIAT: 1…2…NO! London Dungeon..JACKKNIFE PIN FROM GENERICO: 1…2…NO! Nigel hit another Jawbreaker and then applied the Dungeon again…Generico had to tap.
If Generico wins this match, it probably becomes a perfect wrestling match. As it stands now, it’s “just” one of the greatest matches in either man’s career and the company’s history. The dynamic between these two was perfect. Nigel was at his peak of career at this point. Generico was coming into his own as a potential babyface singles star in ROH. There was even the great in-ring story throughout the match of Nigel going after Generico’s arm. Nigel started to panic as Generico came back and started to get lariat-happy. His ability to fight that urge though and return the London Dungeon was just phenomenal to me. As I said earlier, the only thing that this match needed to be perfect was for Generico to win at the end. (Yes, I’m aware that Generico winning would screw with long-term plans.)
Match Rating: ****3/4
Battle of the Best
Tokyo, Japan
September 13, 2008
El Generico, Dragon Kid, & Shingo Takagi vs. Masato Yoshino, Naruki Doi, & BedxBreakfast Hulk
Hulk was the first to get worked over for even a somewhat significant period of time. Generico was the next one to get worked over. Takagi made a hot tag. The match almost instantly broke down into a back-and-forth-DG-tag-fest. They all did lots of stuff. These DG trios matches almost always get more over in America based on my experience watching them. Generico teased the turnbuckle brainbuster, but Doi saved Hulk from it. The match just kept going and going. I would rather watch Generico work singles with all of these guys instead of this. Generico and Yoshino went at it to end the match. Generico eventually defeated him with a brainbuster.
Stylistically, I have been done with Dragon Gate tag matches for a while now. It just doesn’t excite me anymore. The effort they all put in is admirable for sure, but I no longer find it entertaining. Others likely enjoyed this more than I did.
Match Rating: **1/2
Watch El Generico matches for free!
Recently released: Sami Zayn vs. Alex Riley
El Generico vs. Kota Ibushi vs. Nick Jackson vs. Jigsaw [One of the best Chikara matches ever]
El Generico vs. PACÂ [2012]
El Generico vs. PACÂ [2007]
El Generico & Kevin Steen vs. Super Dragon & Excalibur
El Generico & Kevin Steen vs. The Young Bucks
El Generico, KENTA, & Kevin Steen vs. Chris Hero & The American Wolves
El Generico vs. Davey Richards
El Generico vs. Samuray del Sol
El Generico & Twiggy vs. zombies
