ROH – Survival of the Fittest 2006 DVD Review

ROH – Survival of the Fittest 2006 – Cleveland, OH – 10.6.06

Introduction

BG says: The first ever ROH Video Wire is featured on this DVD and it’s a doozy. Colt Cabana is the first host and he’s excited about the debut of the show. He tells us a different person will be hosting each edition. Later in the wire he’s going to bring two very important wrestlers together, but first Lacey comes in and tells him that she’s excited to tell him about something big. He makes a sexual innuendo and the whole thing just feels awkward. The DVD doesn’t have it but you can watch Dunn & Marcos take on the Kings of Wrestling by going to ROHVidoes.com and watching this video wire there, or by getting the Glory by Honor V Night 1 DVD. What is on this DVD is Jack Evans announcing that he’s taking off for Japan for the rest of 2006. He’ll be back in January and he’s going for some gold. Back to Cabana as Lacey tells him that she’s secured him a tag title shot with Jimmy Jacobs as his partner. Jacobs shows up, gritting his teeth to apologize to Cabana for hitting him in the balls and ask Cabana to team with him. Cabana agrees and takes us to some highlights from Glory by Honor. We see Bruno Sammartino put over ROH, Shane Hagadorn helping Adam Pearce win a match against Delirious and be announced as Pearce’s man servant, clips of Samoa Joe and Homicide taking on the Briscoes, Jim Cornette giving Homicide his promised World title match at Final Battle but promising to make the road to the title very difficult for him. We get a clip of Claudio Castagnoli cheating to win the tag team titles with Chris Hero (sort of), clips of Nigel McGuinness vs. Naomichi Marufuji for the GHC Heavyweight title and clips of KENTA vs. Bryan Danielson for the ROH World Championship. After that we see a NOAH official introduce Samoa Joe to Takeshi Morishima. Joe is a bit condescending and Morishima is less than thrilled. Lacey and Cabana flirt on a couch to wrap things up just before the camera pans to Jacobs sitting on the other side of the couch, stewing over the goings on.

The Briscoes are excited to get their hands on Homicide, even if it means they have to run through Roderick Strong to do so. Jimmy Rave interrupts their promo because he knows they’re tight with Jim Cornette. He’s upset that he came back from Japan only to find that Prince Nana and Sal Rinauro are nowhere to be found. The Briscoes tell him to man up before talking to them like that.

Austin Aries talks about his bittersweet history in the Survival of the Fittest tournaments, being the runner up in both previous tournaments. This year he’s going to win it all.

JZ says: I was actually at this show, but I don’t think you can spot me anywhere (until the very end). I think that Brad’s lobbying to keep this event is what made it possible, by the way.

The Briscoe Brothers open up the show by saying that teamwork will make them winners tonight. Jimmy Rave busts in and wants to know where Prince Nana and Sal Rinauro are. They tell him to man up.

Next we get a promo from Austin Aries’s biggest fan, and he goes over Aries’s history with the Survival of the Fittest event. He says this is finally his year.

MATCH #1: Qualifying Match – Davey Richards vs. Matt Sydal

BG says: Before the match Dave Prazak announces the rules of the tournament, including new rules (newly announced anyway) that each qualifying match will have a twenty-minute time limit and if a match goes to a draw neither participant will be in the finals. Sydal and Richards lock up and Richards puts Sydal on the mat. He gets a roll up for 2. Sydal grabs a hammerlock but Richards counters to a headlock. Sydal gets a takedown and hits a Japanese armdrag. Richards hits a side suplex and dumps Sydal on his head. He kicks Sydal’s chest for 2. He hits a back suplex for 2. He unloads with kicks to the chest for 2. He puts on the head scissors but Sydal gets to the ropes. Richards hits a snap suplex for 2. Sydal comes back with a dropkick but Richards comes back with a running kick to the chest. Sydal hits a dragon screw and a hurricanrana. He sends Richards to the floor and follows him out with a hands-free dive. Back in the ring Sydal hits the Slice for 2. He hits a standing moonsault for 2. He hits a hurricanrana and a clothesline in the corner. He climbs the ropes but Richards catches him coming down with a gutbuster. He hits a running powerbomb for 2. He climbs the ropes but Sydal catches him coming down with a leg lariat. Sydal hits a big slap but walks into the handspring kick. Richards hits a discus lariat for 2. He sets Sydal up top but Sydal fights him off. He misses a shooting star press but gets a roll up for 2. Richards gets a backslide for 2. Sydal hits an inverted tombstone piledriver out of nowhere for the win. A lot of people picked Richards to win the tournament so this was a pretty big upset. This had a lot of flash and got the crowd excited, which is perfect for the opening match.
Rating: **¾

Roderick Strong wears a shiner as he reminisces about his win over Matt Hardy and his 2005 Survival of the Fittest tournament win. He says he needs to become the two-time tournament winner to get enough momentum to accomplish his goals. He hasn’t forgotten about the Kings of Wrestling stealing the tag titles from him either.

JZ says: They do some work on the mat to start, a bit of a feeling out process. They do some neat-o reversals and counters and stuff, all looking very choreographed. Sydal tries to shoulderblock Richards down, but Richards will have no part of it so he drops Sydal on his head with a suplex. Richards starts unloading with his kicks. Richards continues to dominate using his superior strength and size. Sydal comes back with a dragon screw leg whip and a headscissors. They trade some more stuff and Richards comes back with a Liger Bomb for two. They trade slaps now and Sydal actually gets the better of it. Richards hits that handspring kick that any good wrestler should be able to spot from a mile away. Discuss clothesline by Richards gets two. He sets Sydal up top but gets knocked down. Sydal calls out for the Shooting Star Press (when will people stop calling their moves out loud?) but Richards moves and they do another series of reversals and counters. Sydal hits an inverted piledriver with a cradle to get the pin at 12:23. The selling in this one was inconsistent at best and non-existent at times, but it was energetic and the crowd was into it, so that’s worth something.
Rating: **¾

Roderick Strong cuts a promo about winning Survival of the Fittest last year. I think he’s getting better, but wow he still looks to be struggling.

MATCH #2: Qualifying Match – Delirious vs. Jimmy Rave

BG says: Rave puts on a headlock and gets a roll up for 2. Delirious gets a roll up and runs around the ring. Rave gives chase in what is supposed to be a comical moment but the crowd doesn’t care. Back in the ring Delirious gets a crossbody for 2 and Rave bails. Delirious takes a Jimmy Rave sign from a fan and eats it. Back in the ring Rave puts the headlock back on. He opens up with headbutts and hits a knee to the gut. He stomps Delirious’s face for 2. He dumps Delirious to the floor where Daizee Haze gets a few shots in. Back in the ring Rave puts on an abdominal stretch. He hits a back suplex for 2. He goes back to the abdominal stretch and my mind wanders. Delirious hiptosses out and hits a clothesline. He hits a back bodydrop and a leaping clothesline for 2. He hits a dropkick to the back but Rave catches him with a spear. They fight to the apron where Rave hits a clothesline. Back in the ring Rave hits a slingshot dropkick for 2. Delirious blocks Greetings from Ghana and gets a pin for 2. Rave hits the running knee for 2. Delirious hits a drop toehold and puts the cobra stretch for the win. Dull and heatless match.
Rating: **

JZ says: Rave still uses his old Embassy music, and Daizee Haze is with him. This is Rave’s second Survival of the Fittest and the first for Delirious. They mat wrestle to start and Delirious runs Rave around the ring a few times to tire him out. The crowd is deathly silent. Rave takes over and dominates with his heel offense. Delirious makes a comeback. Rave comes back with a spear. I can’t believe how dull this is; I remember their 15-mintue draw from earlier this year being kind of good. Delirious is finally able to lock on the Cobra Stretch to get the win at 10:22. I’m glad Delirious went over but that was downright difficult to watch at times.
Rating: **

MATCH #3: Qualifying Match – Austin Aries vs. Christopher Daniels

BG says: Aries gets on the microphone and talks about how he lost his gear and is wearing Pelle Primeau’s tights. Leave it to Aries to find a way to cut an in-ring promo on a show that largely does without the wrestling angles for a night. They lock up and Aries grabs a headlock. He hits an elbowdrop and puts the headlock back on. He hits a pair of Japanese armdrags but Daniels puts on the head scissors. Daniels avoids Aries’s typical counter to that hold and bails. Aries tries to dive out onto him but misses. Back in the ring Daniels puts on a headlock. The commentators are making a big deal out of the time limit, which is kind of silly considering that no qualifying match in this tournament has ever gone to a draw before. Daniels gets a backslide for 2. Aries hits a dropkick to the face and Daniels bails. Aries follows him out with the Heat Seeking Missile. Back in the ring he hits a slingshot senton and an elbowdrop for 2. He puts on a chinlock and hits a knee to the gut for 2. Danger gets annoying on the floor as Aries hits a second rope maneuver for 2. Could have been an axe handle or a kneedrop, or even a splash but neither the commentators nor I can really tell which. He hits a pancake and stretches Daniels’s neck. Daniels gets to the ropes. Daniels hits a DVD and Aries bails. Daniels rolls him back into the ring and snaps his neck on the top rope for 2. He hits a back suplex and stays on the neck. He hits a neckbreaker for 2. He shoves Aries to the floor to ram him into the barricade. He rolls him back into the ring and hits a blue thunder bomb for 2. He misses the Arabian press and Aries hits a slingshot splash for 2. He hits an Asai moonsault for 2. He hits a roaring forearm for 2. Daniels hits the STO and the Arabian press for 2. He slips on the Koji Clutch but Aries gets to the ropes. He hits two uranages but can’t hit the triple jump moonsault. Aries hits the crucifix bomb and a corner dropkick for 2. He climbs the ropes but Daniels catches him with a palm strike. Aries fights back and hits the 450 splash for the win. This match showed how much of a pro Daniels is, as he led the match through the silence to a really fun place.
Rating: ***¼

Bryan Daniels talks about winning the first tournament and not wanting to give Samoa Joe a rematch for the title. He’s going to beat Joe in the tournament tonight to prove that he doesn’t deserve another title shot.

JZ says: I think this is the first time these two have wrestled each other one-on-one. Aries cuts a promo before the match to talk about how he lost his gear and whose stuff he’s actually wearing. It looks a lot like his normal gear, so who the hell knows why he felt the need to explain that. They start with some mat wrestling, with Aries using the headlock early on. Daniels tries to come back but Aries counters him. Aries goes back to the side headlock. He varies it up a bit and is able to continue dominating. Daniels has gotten almost no offense since this match started. He finally comes back with a Death Valley Driver, and Aries rolls to the floor. Back in the ring Daniels goes to work on the neck. Aries comes back with some of his signature moves, including a roaring elbow. Daniels comes back and locks on the Koji Clutch, but Aries gets the ropes. Daniels tries the Best Moonsault Ever but can’t land it, so Aries hits the crucifix bomb. A running dropkick to the face gets two. Aries finally nails the 450 Splash to get the win at 17:09. That was technically sound but not all that exciting.
Rating: ***

Bryan Danielson cuts a promo about his history in this event. He is the one who put the event on the map he says, and since he won the first one (and still the best match) I tend to agree with him. He maintains that Samoa Joe doesn’t deserve another shot at him.

MATCH #4: Qualifying Match – Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Homicide & Roderick Strong

BG says: Jim Cornette comes out with the Briscoes and, just like before every other Briscoes match he cuts a rambling. I just don’t care that he doesn’t like being booed anymore so I’m going to go see if there’s a new cartoon up at HomestarRunner.com. Yeah, I still like that site. Anyway, he wants the Briscoes to hurt Homicide so that he can’t be in shape to win the title in December, but he really doesn’t have anything against Roderick Strong.

Unlike the impromptu qualifying tag match in 2004 both men on the winning team here will advance to the main event. Normally I’d complain about the rules changing from year to year, but really ROH officials couldn’t have predicted that Generation Next would cause the tag match to happen two years prior, so this gets a pass. Jay goes after Homicide before the match but the referee gets things under control for the opening bell. Strong and Mark start. They lock up and Mark gets a takedown. They knuckle up and Mark grabs a headlock. Strong gets a roll up for 2. Mark gets a backslide but Strong escapes and tags to Homicide. Jay tags in and hits a back bodydrop. Mark knocks Homicide to the floor and follows him out with a dive. Back in the ring the Briscoes hit the double shoulder tackle. Homicide knocks them both down and sends Mark into the barricade. Mark comes back with a chair shot and the referee keeps Homicide from returning the favor. Back in the ring Homicide hits a corner clothesline. Strong tags in and hits a back suplex for 2. Homicide tags in and they hit a double pancake. Homicide hits a dropkick to the face and a T-bone suplex. Strong tags in and hits a dropkick for 2. Homicide and Mark tag in and Homicide sends Mark to the floor. Jay hits him with a second rope overhead suplex and Mark comes off the top with a side kick for 2. He hits a gutwrench suplex and a kneedrop for 2. He hits a northern lights suplex for 2. He puts on the Tazmission and pins Homicide for 2. Jay tags in and hits what I think was supposed to be a second rope Rocker Dropper for 2. He hits a dropkick for 2. Mark tags in and hits a dropkick in the corner for 2. Homicide hits a butterfly suplex and tags to Strong. Strong hits a slingshot shoulder tackle and a leg lariat. He hits the uranage backbreaker for 2. He hits another backbreaker and a vertical suplex. Homicide tags in and monkey flips Mark into a clothesline from Strong for 2. He hits a neckbreaker and tags to Strong. Strong puts on the leggy nelson and rolls Mark over for 2. Homicide tags in and puts on a butterfly hold. He gets a crucifix pin for 2. Jay and Strong tag in but Mark makes a blind tag and hits a slingshot double stomp. He hits a back suplex for 2. Jay tags in and chops at Strong. Mark tags in and hits an elbowdrop for 2. Jay tags in and puts on a chinlock. He hits a knee to the gut and a snap suplex. Mark tags in and they hit a double hiptoss for 2. Strong hits an enziguiri and tags to Homicide. Homicide hits an overhead suplex on Mark and a spinning DDT on Jay. He hits a kneedrop on Mark and a suicide dive on Jay. Mark hits a leg lariat but Strong hits him with the Sick Kick. He sets Mark up top and hits a superplex. Homicide follows up with a frog splash for 2. The Briscoes hit the powerbomb/neckbreaker combo on Strong. Homicide hits Jay with the Three Amigos. Cornette gives Mark his tennis racket and Mark hits Homicide with it for the win. The match was picking up a bit at the end after struggling in front of a dead crowd and that finish didn’t help matters.
Rating: **½

JZ says: Crap, Cornette has to cut a promo before the match. I refuse to recap anything he says. This one gets heated very quickly. I like the idea of varying it up a little bit with one tag team match, like they did in 2004 (Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. John Walters & Josh Daniels), though this year both members of the winning team get to go to the finals. Strong and Mark start it off. They do some chain wrestling for a few minutes and then both partners are tagged in. Homicide gets knocked to the floor and Mark hits a nice dive. This one falls apart a little bit, with Homicide and Mark on the outside with Jay and Strong inside. Now everyone is outside. The Briscoes use a chair, and it’s clear that there will be no disqualifications in this match. Homicide will have to face the Briscoes tomorrow night in Detroit too, but in a no-holds-barred match with Samoa Joe as his partner. Back in the ring Strong and Homicide take over on Jay. Mark takes a nasty face bump from the ring to the floor, hitting has face on the guardrail. Mark recovers way too quickly and hits a springboard missile dropkick. They control for a few minutes until Homicide is able to tag in Strong. The Briscoes soon take over on him and go to work. He is able to make a comeback and tag out to Homicide, who is the proverbial domicile on fire. Prazak announces that only two minutes are left in the time limit as Homicide hits a Tope Con Hilo. A frog splash gets two on Mark. Homicide gets sent to the outside and now there’s only one minute left. Cornette comes down and gives Mark the tennis racket. Homicide gets nailed in the chest with it from off the top rope and that’s enough to get the pinfall at 19:50. The crowd does not like that one bit. The match was a little disjointed but it was energetic and served a purpose.
Rating: ***

MATCH #5: Qualifying Match – Bryan Danielson vs. Samoa Joe

BG says: The ROH Newswire had been advertising a stipulation that if Joe won this match he’d be guaranteed a World title shot whether he wins the tournament or not. Danielson powers Joe to the ropes to start. They knuckle up and Danielson puts on a strangle hold. He puts on a wristlock but Joe uses his size to escape. Danielson pts on a cross armbreaker but Joe gets to the ropes. Joe slugs Danielson down in the corner and kicks his chin. He hits an enziguiri and washes Danielson’s face. He hits the STJoe and Danielson bails. Joe follows him out and powers him into the barricade. Back in the ring Danielson can’t put on the Mexican surfboard so he hits the thigh stomp. Joe blocks a butterfly suplex and gets 2. He hits a kick to the chest but Danielson comes back with a second rope European uppercut. It gets 2. Danielson hits a butterfly suplex for 2. He puts on the cross armbreaker but Joe quickly gets to the ropes. Danielson hits a series of kneedrops and puts on a leglock. He slams Joe’s leg on the mat and then sits on it. Joe counters a second attempt at a European uppercut to an Ace Crusher. He hits a powerslam for 2. He puts on an armbar but Danielson gets to the ropes. Joe goes for the Muscle Buster but Danielson fights him off and hits a dropkick off the top rope. He hits a running forearm and the neck wrench suplex. He climbs the ropes and hits the diving headbutt for 2. He goes for the crossface chicken wing but Joe blocks it and hits a powerbomb for 2. He puts on the STF and switches to a crossface. Danielson rolls back for 2. He puts on the Cow Killer but Joe gets to the ropes. Joe hits a Manhattan drop and a big boot. He hits a senton and an enziguiri. The time limit runs out but Joe puts on the choke anyway. He releases as Prazak announces that neither man will be in the main event. The crowd isn’t happy about that. This was easily the most ordinary match between these two that I’ve seen.
Rating: ***

After the match Joe and Danielson tease five more minutes, as though they had a choice in the matter, and Danielson beats Joe down with the title belt. Nobody makes the save and Danielson swats away the students who came to check on Joe to get a few more shots in.

JZ says: This is Joe’s third year straight in the tournament, this is Danielson’s second. Danielson’s gear clearly didn’t arrive either, but he looks considerably goofier than Aries. They start off slowly, reminiscent of the Fight of the Century, where they wrestled to a 60-minute time-limit draw. They trade some strikes and holds early on, with no one taking a clear advantage. Joe takes advantage and knocks Danielson to the floor. Joe can’t connect with a dive but he is able to knock Danielson into the guardrail. Joe tries to take advantage back in the ring but Danielson bails and is able to get Joe in position for the surfboard but he can’t seem to pull him back. He continues to go to work on Joe, going after the legs and trying lots of covers. Joe gets a few hope spots but Danielson mostly is able to cut him off and maintain the advantage. Joe locks on an STF and then a crossface as we hear that there are two minutes left in the time limit. They do some more stuff and time runs out at 20:00. Neither man advances, meaning we have an oddball 5-man elimination match for the main event. Neither Joe nor Danielson seems to be able to beat the other man. The match itself was okay, but never really kicked into a high gear. Danielson feigns a handshake and then beats up Joe with the ROH World Title belt.
Rating: ***

INTERMISSION

BG says: Dave Prazak hypes the main event before being interrupted by Jimmy Rave. He wants to know what’s going on with the Embassy and demands that Prazak find Jim Cornette for him by the end of the night.

JZ says: Dave Prazak hypes tonight’s main event, but Jimmy Rave interrupts him to once again ask where Prince Nana is and what’s up with the Embassy. Prazak doesn’t know, so Rave demands that Prazak find him Jim Cornette by the end of the night.

MATCH #6: ROH World Tag Team Title Match – Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli vs. Colt Cabana & Jimmy Jacobs

BG says: Lacey gets on the microphone before the match and complains that Jacobs’s Ballad of Lacey is unacceptable as entrance music and demands that Cabana’s music be played during the team’s walk to the ring. Cabana dances with Lacey, causing Jacobs to cry. Cabana tells Jacobs to dance with Lacey but he probably should have asked her first because she just snaps at the little man. Hero and Claudio enter through the crowd, even though they’re the champions now. Jacobs and Hero start. They lock up and Hero grabs a wristlock. He hits a bodyslam but Jacobs comes back with a headlock. Hero misses a dropkick and Jacobs hits an armdrag. He hits a dropkick and the head scissors takedown. Cabana tags in but Jacobs won’t help him double team Hero. Claudio tags in and hits an arm whip. Claudio gets a headlock takedown and puts on a strangle hold. Cabana counters to his own and sits on Claudio’s lap. He hits a hurricanrana and a monkey flip. Jacobs tags in and hits a series of double stomps. He follows it up with an elbow and hits a really cool head scissors takedown. Hero tags in and hits a back elbow. He hits a bodyslam and tosses Jacobs around by his hair. Claudio tags in and they make a wish on Jacobs. Hero tags in and they ram Jacobs against the turnbuckle. Jacobs gets a sunset flip for 2. Claudio tags in and hits a bodyslam for 2. He puts on an abdominal stretch and tags to Hero. The Kings slam Jacobs to the mat for 2. Hero puts on a surfboard stretch but Jacobs escapes and tags to Cabana. Cabana hits a crossbody on Hero and elbows on both Kings. He kicks Hero’s rear into Claudio’s face and hits the Flying Asshole. He hits a moonsault press for 2. Jacobs tags in and hits the missile headbutt on Hero. Claudio tags in and Hero boots Jacobs off of his shoulder for 2. Cabana and Jacobs start showing some good teamwork to get the advantage. Jacobs hits a fisherman neckbreaker for 2. Cabana tags in and get speared accidentally by Jacobs. The Kings follow up with the Hero’s Welcome Kings of Wrestling Edition for the win. This match had a lot going for it; an engaging story, Cabana’s early exchange with Claudio, Jacobs showing good fire and Hero displaying his usual heel goodness. Unfortunately it went too long. After the match BJ Whitmer attacks Jacobs. Jacobs dropkicks his knee and Cabana breaks it up. The crappy crowd sat on their hands through the whole thing.
Rating: **¾

JZ says: Jimmy Jacobs’s music hits but Lacey comes to the ring and demands it be turned off. She wants Cabana and Jacobs to come out to Cabana’s music instead. Cabana and Lacey do some suggestive dancing, but when Cabana realizes that it hurts Jacobs’s feelings, he offers him a shot. Lacey denies him and then screams at him while the crowd boos. Poor Jimmy, he just loves Lacey so much. The Kings of Wrestling have been champions since 9.16.06, and this is their first defense. Hero and Jacobs start it off with some chain wrestling. Jacobs does some cool stuff and gets the crowd to chant his name. Cabana and Claudio come in and they trade holds for a while. Cabana and Jacobs gain an advantage and actually work pretty well together as a team. Hero gets tagged in though and he goes to work on Jacobs. Jimmy Bower comes into the booth to talk about how disgusted he is with the ROH World Tag Team Champions. Jacobs finally makes the hot tag and Cabana is and he is able to control both Kings. Jacobs gets back in and goes for the Contra Code on Hero but he blocks it and the Kings hit a double team kick to the face for two. Jacobs gets a few rollups for near falls. His fisherman neckbreaker into a cradle gets two. Cabana is tagged back in. Jacobs tries a spear but Cabana gets hit with it and Jacobs is tossed from the ring. The Kings hit a double team Hero’s Welcome on Cabana to get the win at 17:28. That was a solid first title defense, but like most first title defenses it never really felt like the challengers had a real shot at winning. It was good for the Jacobs-Cabana-Lacey storyline though. BJ Whitmer comes out from the back to brawl with Jacobs, who immediately goes after the knee. Cabana pulls him off and Jacobs tries to get Lacey to leave with him.
Rating: **¾

MATCH #7: Survival of the Fittest Match – Matt Sydal vs. Delirious vs. Austin Aries vs. Jay Briscoe vs. Mark Briscoe

BG says: The first tournament final was my runner up for ROH Match of the Year in 2004. The second was significantly less good but still a solid match. Mark Briscoe was in the finals of the first tournament and Aries has been in the finals of both previous tournaments. The other three are first-timers. This is the first year that less than six competitors are involved. Last year Aries & Strong teamed up to eliminate everyone and then settled it between themselves, and this year the Briscoes could potentially do the same thing. Aries has been the runner up the last two years. Now that we know all preliminary information lets get to the match. Sydal and Delirious start. They fight to the mat and Delirious puts on a headlock. Sydal gets a roll up for 1. They knuckle up and Delirious goes back to the headlock. He hits an armdrag into an armbar. Sydal comes back with a monkey flip and Delirious tags out to Aries. Aires wants one of the Briscoes so he shoves Sydal into their corner. Jay tags in and Aries goes after him systematically. Jay slaps Aries to the mat and tags to Mark. They hit a Hart Attack leg lariat and pull Sydal into the ring. They toss Sydal onto Delirious and Aries on the floor and clobber Sydal down back in the ring. Mark hits a running vertical suplex for 2. He hits a gutbuster and tags to Jay. Jay hits a second rope legdrop for 2. He hits a snap suplex and puts on a chinlock. He hits a pancake and a neckbreaker for 2. Sydal hits a second rope hurricanrana and tags to Aries. Aries hits a snap side slam and a corner dropkick on Jay. Mark tosses him off the top rope and the Briscoes hit the springboard Doomsday Device to eliminate him.

Sydal goes after Jay so the Briscoes toss him high into the air. Delirious tries to attack them but gets sent to the floor. Sydal communicates with Delirious to turn this into a tag team match of sorts. If this were FIP it’d be one officially, but it’s ROH so the partners could still technically pin each other. Mark hits a crossbody on Sydal for 2. He hits a Samoan drop for 2. Sydal hits an enziguiri and a clothesline in the corner. He hits a slingshot sunset flip for 2. Delirious tags in and gets 2 after Sydal hits the cannonball legdrop. He slams Mark on the mat and tags to Sydal. He puts on a camel clutch and Sydal dropkicks Mark in the face for 2. Jay tags in and hits a dropkick for 2. Mark tags in and hits a split legged corkscrew senton for 2. He hits an overhead suplex for 2. Jay tags in and hits a clothesline. He hits a DDT for 2. Mark hits a double stomp on the apron and for the first time you can see that the crowd is looking very small. Jay hits a DVD on Sydal for 2 when Delirious makes the save. This is a rare occasion where that makes sense, as Delirious knows that if Sydal gets eliminated he’ll have to deal with the Briscoes on his own. Sydal dodges the Doomsday Device and gets a roll up on Jay to eliminate him. Delirious tags in and hits a back suplex on Mark for 2. Sydal tags in and hits Mark with a slingshot legdrop for 2. He hits a fisherman suplex for 2. He hits a leg lariat for 2. Delirious tags but Mark fights them off. He sets Sydal up top and hits a springboard Ace Crusher for 2 when Delirious saves. Now it makes no sense for Delirious to help, but I guess there’s a bond there now. Mark hits him with a back elbow but Delirious comes back with the Panic Attack. Sydal follows up with a shooting star press to eliminate Mark.

Delirious hits a crossbody sending both men to the floor. They trade chops at ringside and Delirious rakes the back. Sydal suplexes Delirious on the hardwood but Delirious rams him into the barricade. Sydal dumps him into the crowd and climbs to the top rope. He hits a moonsault onto Delirious in the crowd and gets the first replay of the night. He chokes Delirious with one of his tassels and rolls him into the ring where he gets 2. Delirious blocks the standing moonsault but runs into the pumphandle piledriver. It gets 2 for Sydal. Delirious blocks a hurricanrana and hits the Panic Attack. He hits it again and follows them up with the Bizarro Driver for 2. They trade strikes and boot each other down. Delirious gets a roll up for 2 and puts on the cobra stretch. Sydal gets to the ropes. They fight up top and Delirious hits Shadows Over Hell for 2. He puts the cobra stretch back on but Sydal rolls back for 2. Delirious gets a crucifix pin for 2. Sydal gets a roll up for 2. He hits the standing moonsault for 2. The crowd FINALLY wakes up as Sydal hits a leg lariat. He sets Delirious up top and hits the overhead superplex for 2. He climbs the ropes but Delirious cuts him off and dusts off the Chemical Imbalance II for 2. He sets Sydal up top but Sydal fights him off. He misses the shooting star press and Delirious rolls him up for 2. He floats into the cobra stretch and with a tassel wrapped around his face Sydal taps out.

Like in year one the match told a really good story during the elimination period. Like year two that period didn’t exactly flow well. The final stretch between Sydal and Delirious was better than the one between Strong and Aries but not as good as the one between Aries & Danielson. Quality wise this falls between its two predecessors in every way. Delirious’s post-match victory speech is pretty great as well.
Rating: ****

Prazak directs Rave in the direction of Cornette, who is outside. Rave confronts him about Nana’s status. Cornette says that Nana tried to pull a power play so he’s been let go. He tells Rave that he should help him find his car if he doesn’t want his career to go in the same direction.

JZ says: Sydal and Delirious start it off as Prazak and David speculate on how this match is going to go, and who will follow in the footsteps of Bryan Danielson and Roderick Strong. They trade holds and moves, as Prazak illuminates the history the two of them share. They go for quite a while until Sydal gets an advantage and Delirious tags out to Aries. Sydal then tags out to Jay Briscoe. The Briscoes work as a team to try and wear down all three of their opponents. They work on Sydal for a while until he is able to tag in Aries. He fights both brothers but winds up taking a Doomsday Device and is the first man eliminated. Sydal and Delirious agree to work together to take the Briscoes out. Somehow Sydal is able to understand Delirious, which may explain why he’s such a prolific tag team wrestler. The Briscoes are soon back in control and working over Sydal. They try the springboard Doomsday Device but Sydal gets a victory roll on Jay to pin and eliminate him. A few minutes later a beautiful shooting star press is enough to eliminate Mark. That leaves Delirious and Sydal as the final two. They battle on the outside of the ring right way and Delirious has the advantage. Sydal comes back and hits an awesome moonsault on Delirious in the crowd. The crowd is really into both guys. Sydal hits the Here It Is Driver but it only gets two. Bizarro Driver by Delirious gets two. A few moments later he is able to lock on the Cobra Stretch but Sydal reaches the ropes. Delirious hits the Shadows over Hell for a two-count and then puts on the Cobra Stretch again and almost pins himself then almost pins Sydal. They trade pin covers but neither man can hold each other down. Sydal is able to hit the moonsault belly-to-belly but this time Delirious kicks out. Shooting Star Press follows and Delirious kicks out of that too. Delirious reverses a pin attempt by Sydal to the Cobra Stretch once again and this time Sydal taps out at 34:51 and Delirious wins Survival of the Fittest. That wasn’t nearly as good as the first year but as good (if not better than) last year’s. It got really good when it got down to the last two, and I can see this as being a coming-out party of sorts for both of them. They do the mutual respect stuff after the match, which I could do without.
Rating: ***¾

Dave Prazak tells Jimmy Rave that Jim Cornette is leaving so Rave runs out to catch him. He asks where Nana is, and Cornette says that Nana tried to pull a power play so he fired him. That’s about the worst blow off to the Embassy I can possibly imagine.

MVP

BG says: While I’m tempted to give it to Sydal for putting in a great effort in the main event and having one of the better qualifying matches, it really should go to Delirious. He brought his A game to the main event and even though he was also in the worst match of the show he’s getting the honor tonight.

JZ says: Delirious and Matt Sydal, for proving that they’re going to be a force in the ROH main event scene from now on.

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 MOTOR CITY MADNESS!

The 411: BG says: I complain about quiet crowds a lot, and I have to say that I’m not sad that this quiet crowd is no longer an ROH host. The show was solid throughout, but not quite as much as last year and much less than the year before. The finals are definitely worth checking out however, so if you’re a fan of the tournament or Delirious or Sydal then pick this one up. JZ says: While there was nothing outright bad here, nothing outside of the main event is really good. Everything else is between ** and ***, and there was some good angle advancement with Jacobs/Cabana, Danielson/Joe, and Homicide/Briscoes, but this one probably falls under the “skippable” category.

Final Score:  6.5   [ Average ]