ROH – Tag Wars 2006 DVD Review

ROH – TAG WARS 2006 – DAYTON, OH – 1.27.06

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 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 weeks 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 (1, 3)
2) Alex Shelley (4, 2)
3) Roderick Strong (3, 9)
4) Christopher Daniels (NR, 1)
5) Jay Lethal (2, 3)

Introduction

BG says: The title of this show is annoying, mostly because contained in this show is the 2006 Trios Tournament. That alone would have been a more appropriate title. The winners of the tournament get to book themselves in any match they want.

Bryan Danielson isn’t worried about the open contracts he’s sent out or the Embassy tonight. Tonight he’s concentrating on winning the tag team titles with Jay Lethal. He chose Lethal because he beat Samoa Joe in December. Lethal is now going to do what Joe couldn’t do by winning the tag team titles.

Nana and the Embassy with new member Daizee Haze are confident that they are going to win the trios tournament so that they can go after the ROH World Championship. Alex Shelley reveals that Nana paid Spanky to teach him Sliced Bread #2, with which he once pinned Bryan Danielson. Rave and Shelley argue over who is going to win the title from Danielson, but Nana and Abyss cool things down. Abyss playing peacemaker is priceless here.

JZ says: ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson starts the show by saying he is focused on winning the Tag Team Titles with his chosen partner Jay Lethal. Lethal still cuts awful promos, but the intent is there.

The Embassy, along with their newest addition, Daizee Haze, is getting pumped up for the Trios Tournament tonight. Shelley puts over Spanky, who taught him the Sliced Bread #2. Rave and Shelley argue over who’s going to win the ROH World Title from Bryan Danielson. Abyss tries to play peacemaker in a funny moment.

Ring of Honor Top 5

5) Christopher Daniels
4) Jimmy Rave
3) Alex Shelley
2) KENTA
1) Jay Lethal

MATCH 1: Trios Tournament Semi-Final Match – Jimmy Jacobs, BJ Whitmer & Adam Pearce vs. Matt Sydal, Jimmy Yang & Jack Evans

BG says: Jacobs is all over Lacey on the way to the ring, much to the chagrin of Whitmer. The heels attack before the bell. Yang and Whitmer fight in the ring. Yang hits the tiger flip and a dropkick sending Whitmer to the floor. Evans and Jacobs come in and Evans hits a leg lariat. Pearce wipes out Evans and then pounds on Sydal. Sydal hits a hurricanrana to the floor on Pearce and follows him out with a moonsault. Yang hits a leg lariat on Whitmer but walks into a hurricanrana from Jacobs. Evans hits the space flying tiger driver into a hurricanrana on Whitmer, which is just about the most acrobatic thing I’ve ever seen in wrestling. Back in the ring the babyfaces celebrate. Pearce hits a powerslam on Sydal and tags to Whitmer. Whitmer hits a back elbow for 2. Jacobs tags in and hits a bodyslam and an elbow drop for 2. He goes to the eyes and then tags to Whitmer. Whitmer powerbombs Jacobs onto Sydal for 2. He hits a spinebuster for 2. Pearce tags in and hits a delayed brainbuster. Jacobs tags in and puts on a chinlock. Sydal gets a roll up for 2 but Jacobs comes back with a neckbreaker for 2. Pearce tags in and beats on Sydal. Whitmer tags in and gets hit with a DDT after Sydal hits Pearce with a dropkick. Yang gets the tag and cleans house. He plays possum off a German suplex attempt and hits a series of kicks for 2. He hits a moonsault press for 2. Jacobs comes in and hits a spear. Evans hits Jacobs with a northern lights suplex and a fisherman’s suplex. Pearce hits Evans with a back bodydrop and climbs the ropes. He comes off the top with a splash but he’s not legal. Sydal hits a standing moonsault on Pearce but he’s no more legal now than he was then. Whitmer hits a German suplex, a dragon suplex and a powerbomb on Sydal but Sydal is not legal either. Yang hits a corkscrew moonsault press on Whitmer for 2. Whitmer comes back with an exploder and tags to Jacobs. Evans comes in as well and gets big booted. He blocks the Contra Code and hits a dropkick. Lacey gets into it with Evans which gets Jacobs distracted. Sydal uses the distraction to hit the pumphandle piledriver. Evans then comes off the top with the 630 senton for the win. What an awesome, exciting, action packed opener. This was already better than any of the matches from last year’s trios tournament. Lacey’s Angels argue after the match.
Rating: ***¾

JZ says: These are two interesting three-man teams. Matt Sydal is so vanilla. He’s a very good wrestler, just with a very bland personality. The heels attack right away. Leonard and Prazak are the hosts. The action is fast and furious here, with everyone hitting everyone with big stuff. Evans hits a ridiculous space flying tiger driver into a hurricanrana on the floor. The babyfaces celebrate the greatness of that and Evans dances. Pearce gets tired of the babyfaces doing cool stuff, so he knocks Sydal down and then Whitmer comes in and takes control. Yang eventually gets tagged in and plays awesome possum on a German Suplex. It turns into a pier-six brawl and Pearce actually hits a big splash on Evans of the top rope, but referee Todd Sinclair won’t count it because Evans is not legal. Lacey gets up on the apron and Evans lays his hands on her, and Jacobs is right on top of the situation to make sure that she is okay, and thus he ends up taking a Here it is Driver from Sydal and a 630 Senton from Evans to lose the match for his team at 11:23. That was a super hot opener with great action from everyone. Whitmer is pretty pissed but he still shakes everyone’s hand. Jacobs is very concerned about Lacey.
Rating: ***½

MATCH #2: Trios Tournament Semi-Final Match – Jimmy Rave, Alex Shelley & Abyss vs. Jay Fury, Tony Mamaluke & Sal Rinauro

BG says: Fury and Rave start. Rave stalls and then grabs a headlock. He goes to a wristlock but Fury reverses to his own. Rave puts him to the mat and slaps the back of his head. Fury comes back with armdrags and a leg lariat. Rave powders out and Mamaluke tags in. Shelley comes in and grabs a front facelock. Mamaluke reverses to a wristlock but Shelley gets one of his own. Mamaluke gets an armbar but Shelley gets to the ropes. Mamaluke stays on the arm so Shelley bites his thumb to come back. Rave tags in and bites along with him. Fury tags in and kicks at Rave’s back. He hits a senton for 2. Sal tags in and pounds away. Fury tags in and hits a crossbody while Rave is being double suplexed for 2. Sal tags in and gets slugged down. Shelley tags in and dodges an armdrag. He misses an elbowdrop and Sal puts on an armbar. He gets a sunset flip for 2. He gets a series of roll ups for 2. He hits a dropkick and Shelley bails. Sal chases him around the ring and ends up eating a crossbody from Haze. Back in the ring Abyss gets the tag. He hits the choo choo avalanche and Rave tags in. He gets 2 and then hits a bodyslam. Shelley tags in and chokes Sal on the bottom rope. Rave tags in and chops away. Sal tries to block his chest so Rave chops his face. Abyss tags in and tosses Sal to the mat. Shelley tags in and hits a bodyslam. He teases Fury with a tag but it backfires and Fury comes in. He cleans house and then dives onto Rave and Shelley on the floor. In the ring Mamaluke and Sal block a double chokeslam. Sal hits a Rocker Dropper and Mamaluke hits a side suplex on Rave. Abyss catches Mamaluke with a torture rack backbreaker. Fury blocks a superkick and hits an enziguiri. He misses a shooting star press and Shelley hits Sliced Bread #2 for the win. This was full of good heel stuff from the Embassy, but was a bit too plodding for my tastes.
Rating: **¾

JZ says: This would be Jay Fury’s main show ROH debut. He’s made a pretty good name for himself down in FIP. You know, it might have been cool if they had had quarterfinals on shows leading up to this show. But at least they made the right decision to not have eight six-man tag team matches on one show. This one is a little slower paced than the previous match, which is probably for the best. Mamaluke and Rinauro are former Tag Team Champions, but Rave & Shelley are not. Just sayin’. Rinauro is such a generic babyface. The Embassy generally dominates in this match, as one might think the team with Abyss would do. Fury comes in and hits some nice stuff. Big brawl erupts and we wind up with Fury and Shelley in the ring. Fury misses a beautiful shooting star press and Shelley hits the Sliced Bread #2 to get the victory and advance the Embassy into the finals at 15:46. Not as good as the opener but still as good as anything in last year’s tournament.
Rating: ***¼

Commissioner Update

BG says: Commissioner Jim Cornette announces that Colt Cabana and Homicide are being given a cooling off period, really a suspension, for not being able to go about their feud without letting things get out of control. Neither will be on this or the following show.

JZ says: Jim Cornette is voicing over a series of clips of the Homicide versus Colt Cabana feud. He informs everyone that due to their unprofessional behavior, both Cabana and Homicide have been banned from this weekend’s events.

MATCH #3: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Chad Collyer

BG says: Collyer gets a fireman’s carry takedown to start. Claudio grabs a wristlock but Collyer gets a takedown for 1. Claudio gets a front facelock but Collyer reverses to a headlock. Claudio grabs a headlock of his own and hits a dropkick sending Collyer to the floor. Back in the ring Claudio hits an atomic drop and a spear in the corner. Collyer sends him into the post and to the floor. He follows Claudio out and slams his hand to the apron and his shoulder to the post. Back in the ring Collyer stays on the arm for 1. He hits a hammerlock bodyslam for 2. He puts on an armbar and a boring chant can be heard from the crowd. The match gets aimless for a while as the crowd gets distracted by the hecklers. Claudio cleans things up with a springboard back elbow. The crowd chants naughty words at one of the hecklers, who can now be seen as Chris Hero. Claudio hits the Match Killer for 2. Collyer hits a German suplex for 2. He flushes the toilet for 2. Claudio hits an inverted TKO for 2. Collyer blocks the Ricolabomb and hits a side suplex for 2. He puts on an armbar but Claudio gets to the ropes. Necro Butcher can also be seen from the crowd now as Collyer goes for a chair. Ace Steel runs out and grabs the chair away from him allowing Claudio to roll him up for the win. Match was decent, but completely overshadowed by the angle.
Rating: *¾

Ace Steel beats on Collyer after the match. He cuts a lame promo about not dying and wrestling Collyer in Chicago at the end of March. He wants to start his scheduled match right now as well.

JZ says: Collyer has a full head of hair again. In a huge surprise, they mat wrestle to start. Claudio is ridiculously athletic for his size. Claudio misses a charge into the corner and hits his shoulder on the ring post, and Collyer thus goes after the arm relentlessly. The commentators talk about seeing somebody in the audience, and the crowd chant of “Fuck You Hero” lets me know that Chris Hero is in the building. Collyer tries to use a chair but Ace Steel grabs it from him and Claudio is able to wrap Collyer up for the pin at 10:54. That was a solid if unspectacular match. Ace goes after Collyer and cuts a rambling promo that is not very good.
Rating: **½

MATCH #4: Ace Steel vs. Sterling Keenan

BG says: Steel grabs a full nelson but Keenan gets to the ropes. Steel goes for a crab but Keenan blocks. Keenan grabs a front facelock as Hero and Necro start heckling again. Steel powers out and hits a running forearm. Keenan hits a back elbow for 1. He hits a back suplex for 1. He hits a neckbreaker for 2 as Jimmy Bower bitches about Hero and Necro on commentary. Keenan puts on a chinlock and then slams Steel to the mat by his hair. He hangs Steel on the second turnbuckle and hits a lung blower for 2. Steel comes back with a back bodydrop and a tiger driver for 2. He almost kills Keenan with a powerbomb when he gets distracted with the hecklers. Keenan blocks a blind charge but walks into a spinebuster. Steel puts on the stretch muffler but lets go to yell at Hero. The match ends here as a no contest, and was pretty lame while it lasted.
Rating: *

JZ says: This match just segues from the last one. Keenan has a real good look about him, I’d like it if they could find something for him to do. He’s way more interesting than Ace Steel. Then again, Mark Henry is more interesting than Ace Steel. Ace just HAS to get his two cents in on the mic, calling Keenan a CM Punk clone. Please go away Ace Steel and never come back. They mat wrestle to start and Keenan takes control. The commentators start talking about two guys in the audience trying to disrupt the show, one of which is Chris Hero. I assume the other is Necro Butcher. Jimmy Bower joins commentary to bury the CZW guys. Ace and Keenan are having a match, but I pretty much just want to know what Hero and Necro are going to do. They tease coming as Ace tries to talk shit. Finally they jump the barricade and ROH students and security try hold them back. The match, as it were, is a no-contest at 6:20.
Rating: ½*

CZW Invades

BG says: Steel gets on the microphone and calls Hero and Necro into the ring. They jump the guardrail but get taken down by security. Some of the wrestlers come out to help drag Necro to the back. Hero gets beaten down near the ring as Jim Cornette complains about a knocked out tooth. Man that’s nasty. As he bitches to Gabe Sapolsky over his new gap Hero gets booted from the building. Cornette comes to the ring all bloody mouthed and absolutely goes off. He craps all over CZW, and I’ll be damned if it wasn’t one of his front teeth that’s now gone. He guarantees he’s going to find out who knocked out his tooth. He challenges CZW wrestlers to show up to another ROH show so that they can get destroyed.

JZ says: Now guys like BJ Whitmer, Jimmy Jacobs, Adam Pearce, and some other guys come down to force the invaders out. Lenny Leonard pulls a Jimmy Bower circa Weekend of Thunder Night One. Cornette has been hit in the face and his face is all bloody. He gets into an argument with some guy named Gabe about it, and then he comes out to the ring. He cuts an impassioned, anti-hardcore promo. A few fans chant “boring,” so Cornette mocks them.

INTERMISSION

BG says: Dave Prazak is with Generation Next to talk about the tag team main event. Austin Aries, fruity choker and all, is confident that they’ll win because they’re all about teamwork. He then reprimands Sydal for agreeing to team up with AJ Styles to go after the tag titles. Jack Evans won’t let Sydal talk about the situation because he wants him focused on the tournament.

JZ says: Dave Prazak is with Generation Next in its entirety. Aries tells Sydal that he needs to concentrate on the good of the group, not winning the tag titles with AJ Styles. Prazak promises to catch up with Sydal before the night is through.

Main Event Spectacles, 11.1.03

BG says: Clips from the Styles vs. Danielson match from Main Event Spectacles are shown to hype the main event rematch for the following night.

JZ says: Jimmy Bower narrates a clip of AJ Styles versus Bryan Danielson from the above mentioned show, as Bower notes that AJ is up on Danielson 2-0 in their ROH series. Thus Danielson wanted to defend the title against him to exorcise the demons. I always like when they hype matches for upcoming shows on the DVDs.

MATCH #5: Non Title Match – Nigel McGuinness vs. Delirious

BG says: This is a non-title match and it can be found for free at ROH’s website. Delirious runs around the ring at the bell but walks into a forearm back inside. Nigel works over his arm but can’t get hold of a chinlock. Delirious gets a roll up for 2. Nigel gets one of his own for 2. Delirious hits an enziguiri and slaps Nigel down. He tries to stay away from the hand stand but ends up walking into the back kick. Nigel hits a hammerlock DDT for 2. He gets a hammerlock takedown for 2. He tosses Delirious across the ring by his arm but Delirious comes back with a dropkick. He hits the Panic Attack and a leaping clothesline. He gets a roll up for 2. He reverses a back suplex to a hurricanrana. Nigel dodges Shadows Over Hell and hits the rebound clothesline for 2. He hits a running European uppercut and punts Delirious’ back. He hits an elbow drop for 2 and the Tower of London for the win. Solid little match there.
Rating: **1/2

JZ says: This match is being taped for ROH Videos Dot Com, though it’s clearly always being taped for this DVD release. The commentators hype how Delirious has to win a match to stay on the roster. The crowd chants “you’re a wanker” at Nigel as this nothing match goes on. I like both of these guys a lot, but I’m not sure why this match is happening. Nigel hits the Tower of London for the win at 6:47. Eh.
Rating: *½

MATCH #6: Grudge Match – Christopher Daniels vs. Low Ki

BG says: This rematch from four years ago at Round Robin Challenge would have been huge had it happened in the middle to end of 2003, but as it is it’s just a replacement match because Samoa Joe had a staph infection. All three matches from that original tournament have now been redone. They lock up to start. Ki grabs the capture armbar and then drops to the floor. Daniels grabs a headlock but Ki reverses to a legvice. Daniels goes back to the headlock but Ki escapes and puts on a waist lock. Daniels gets a leglock but Ki fights out. Daniels gets a roll up for 1 and puts on a front facelock. He hits a bodyslam and an elbow drop for 1. He hits a leg lariat but gets tossed to the apron. Ki dropkicks him into the barricade and then works over his back on the floor. Back in the ring Ki gets 2. He hits a back elbow for 2. He puts on a legvice but Daniels gets to the ropes. He stomps hard on Daniels’ chest and then pulls Allison Danger into the ring. Daniels catches him with a roll up for 2. He gets another for 2. Ki blocks a sunset flip and hits a double stomp for 2. Daniels comes back with a flatliner and a running forearm. He hits a backbreaker and the STO for 2. He hits a blue thunder bomb for 2. He hits a uranage but Ki crotches him when he goes for the moonsault. He hangs Daniels in the Tree of Woe and climbs the ropes but Daniels slaps him to the floor. Finally that pays off for someone. He follows Ki out with an Arabian press. Back in the ring Daniels comes off the top with a crossbody for 2. He misses a knee strike in the corner and Ki hits a running forearm for 2. He hits a faceplant for 2. He sets Daniels in the Tree of Woe and blocks a slap to hit the double stomp for 2 when Daniels gets in the ropes. Ki dumps him onto a table on the floor. Daniels moves out of the way and Ki hurts his shins when he double stomps the table. Back in the ring Daniels gets a roll up for 2. Ki misses a dropkick but puts on the dragon sleeper. Daniels slips out and gets it on himself. Ki kicks away and flips back on an Angel’s Wings attempt for the win. This was about on the same level quality-wise as their first match, albeit a very different style of match. Daniels looked stronger going under here than he did there as well, but hindsight probably would have seen him winning.
Rating: ***¼

Daniels gets on the microphone after the match and talks about his attitude about wrestling back in 2002. He thought he was the baddest man in the business, and that he was too good to shake hands with another wrestler. He’s a different man now and he wants Low Ki to be the first guy to shake his hand. Ki’s still sore over Daniels not shaking in 2002 and he blows it off.

JZ says: They show some clips of the early ROH history between these two guys. Though now Daniels is the face and Ki is the heel, but I’m sure the crowd will cheer both. They start the dueling chants right away. This was going to be Samoa Joe versus Christopher Daniels in a 30-minute iron man match (I think), but this is just a regular match. Prazak is a fountain of good statistics on the match history between these two. Ki dominates in the early going as they do a lot of stuff on the mat. Danger tries to yell at Ki, so he pulls her into the ring, which allows Daniels to get an Ohkana roll and some other rollups for two, but Ki counters with a vicious double stomp. Ki goes for the one off the top rope with Daniels in the tree of woe, but Daniels successfully avoids it and hits an Asai moonsault to the floor. Ki eventually does hit the monster double stomp though, and then tries to give one to Daniels through a table outside the ring, but Daniels moves at the last second and Ki is hurt. Daniels goes for the Angel’s wings, but Ki flips over and is able to hold Daniels down to get the three-count at 20:52. That was a good solid match but no MOTYC or anything. Boy those letters are just irritating to type. I typed them only to prove that point to myself. And I feel better. After the match Daniels says that he wants the World Title. He talks about the whole shaking hands thing, and offers to shake Ki’s hand. Ki refuses because Daniels did not extend him that courtesy back in 2002. So the non-shake has come full circle.
Rating: ***½

MATCH #7: Finals of the Trios Tournament – Matt Sydal, Jimmy Yang & Jack Evans vs. Jimmy Rave, Alex Shelley & Abyss

BG says: After Steel Cage Warfare this is probably the last time we’ll see any Embassy versus Generation Next type stuff. I’m immediately happier about these finals than I was about last year’s because this has a face/heel dynamic whereas last year both teams were heels. Rave and Yang start. Rave stalls and then gets slapped down. Yang slaps Rave again, this time against the back of his head, and he bails. Back in the ring Yang grabs a headlock. Sydal tags in and they hit a double dropkick for 2. Sydal puts on a headlock but Rave fights out and tags to Shelley. Shelley chokes Sydal with the tag rope but walks into a leg lariat. It gets 1 for Sydal. Yang tags in and kicks away for 2. He hits a vertical suplex for 2. Sydal tags in but Shelley grabs his crotch. Rave tags in and Sydal gets pulled to the floor and rammed into the barricade by Abyss. Back in the ring Rave gets 2. Abyss tags in and hits a splash. Shelley tags in and hits a back elbow. He hits a back suplex and the Skull Fucker. Rave tags in and ends up getting Shelley’s head rammed into his crotch. Sydal steps up off of Shelley to nail Rave with a hurricanrana off the top. Yang tags in and hits a back bodydrop on Rave. He hits an enziguiri and a slap across the face for 2. He hits the tiger flip and a superkick for 2. He hits an enziguiri on Shelley but Rave catches him with a gutbuster and a nasty DDT for 2. Abyss tags in and pounds Yang down. He hits a big boot and tags to Shelley. Shelley taunts Yang and then tags to Rave. Rave kicks him once and tags to Shelley. Shelley goes to the eyes and hits a legdrop for 2. Rave tags in and they hit a double clothesline. Yang goes for a spear but hits the post and falls to the floor. Shelley tags in and presses Yang’s face against the post. Abyss tags in and dumps Yang to the floor where Rave rams him into the barricade. Back in the ring Abyss hits a side slam for 2. Rave tags in and climbs the ropes, only to eat Yang’s boot. Shelley and Evans tag in and Evans unloads with kicks. He hits a standing corkscrew moonsault for 2. Rave hits him with a clothesline from behind but Yang and Sydal double-team Rave. Abyss tags in and the babyfaces go after him. He knocks them all away but gets stuck in the corner. Evans’ springboard elbow is blocked with a boot to the back and Sydal gets tossed up and slammed. Abyss press slams him onto Yang on the floor and then teases a dive. Shelley blocks it by tagging himself in and berating Abyss for even thinking of it. He slaps Abyss who threatens to chokeslam him but Sydal comes in with a dropkick on Shelley. Abyss catches Sydal with the Black Hole Slam. Yang comes off the top with a dropkick on Abyss. Rave hits Yang with the running knee but Evans hits Yang with hits suplex combo. He hits the handspring elbow and a flying knee on Shelley. He goes for the 630 but Shelley moves and hits a superkick. He hits Sliced Bread #2 and goes for the pin but Rave breaks it up and hits Greetings from Ghana to get the pin himself and win the tournament for his team. The last few minutes of this match were insane, and the stuff leading up to it rocked the shit as well.
Rating: ***¾

JZ says: Abyss not knowing what to do with the toilet paper that is thrown at them is funny. Abyss is great. Rave gets slapped around by Yang to start off. Eventually Sydal comes in and Rave and Shelley go to work on him for a bit until Sydal is able to tag out to Evans. A few moments later we’re back to where we were, with Shelley beating up Sydal and being generally mean to him. Yang makes the hot tag and goes to town on Rave. Abyss tags in and Yang doesn’t have as much luck with him. Shelley comes in with some serious taunting and then tags out to Rave. Rave delivers a kick and tags out to Shelley. They’re so good together. Generation Next all try to take out Abyss, but since Abyss is a little bit big he can kinda dominate them. Abyss teases a dive, but Shelley makes the tag and starts abusing Abyss for not being smart. Abyss then goes to chokeslam Shelley but he thinks twice about it. The signature move brigade begins here and now. Shelley hits the Sliced Bread #2, but before he can get the pin Rave grabs Evans and hits the Greetings From Ghana to put Evans away at 23:37. What a fantastic match with all kinds of cool in-story with the Embassy and some great work from the Gen Next team.
Rating: ***¾

MATCH #8: ROH Tag Team Title Match – Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Bryan Danielson & Jay Lethal

BG says: Lethal wears sunglasses to the ring, which I think sums up his character perfectly. That is, he’s a lame guy who’s aware and insecure about it and is completely clueless about how to go about being cooler. Strong and Aries’ tag entrance is pretty great, and they look pretty intimidating as tag team champions. Aries gave Danielson this title shot because when Danielson won the ROH Championship he gave Aries the first shot at it. Clips of the Strong / Danielson feud are shown before the bell.

Danielson takes a shot at Strong during the handshake and then spits his gum at him. Strong and Danielson start. They lock up and Danielson takes cheap shots in the corner. He chops Strong and immediately tags to Lethal. Great stuff. Lethal kicks out Strong’s shin for a giggle. They knuckle up and Lethal tries to break to put on a cravat but Strong stops that with a backbreaker. Strong rules everyone else in this company, bar none. Strong ducks a chop in the corner and then chops Lethal to the floor. Aries tags in and soaks in the cheers of the fans. Lethal grabs a headlock and cartwheels into a dropkick to the face. Aries gets a headlock takedown and then teases his dropkick to hit a kick to the chest. Strong tags in and chops away. He hits a bodyslam and a kneedrop for 2. Aries tags in and tries chopping but admits he’s not as good as Strong at it and tags back to him. Lethal goes to the eyes and then washes Strong’s face. Danielson tags in and puts on a Mexican noselock. With the referee distracted Lethal comes in with a double ax handle. Danielson hits a bodyslam and tags to Lethal. Lethal hits a bodyslam and tags to Danielson. They cycle through four times more before Strong blocks one from Danielson and then chops away. Danielson comes back with a European uppercut but Strong chops him and he bails. Lethal and Danielson beat Strong on the floor. Back in the ring Danielson hits a bodyslam and tags to Lethal. Lethal hits a bodyslam for 2. He hits a drop toehold and an elbow drop for 2. He hits a bodyslam and teases Aries with a power drive elbow for 2. He puts on a strangle hold and then hits a back suplex for 2. Danielson tags in and comes off the top with a double ax handle. He crotches himself on the second rope and Aries gets the tag. He hits a rolling spear and a Finlay roll. He climbs the ropes and hits a frog splash for 2 when Lethal saves. He starts the airplane spin and tags to Strong. Strong takes over with the spin and knocks Lethal out. Aries tags back in and does it some more before slamming Danielson down. He tries a chop but again feels inferior to Strong and tags him in to chop harder. He hits a butterfly suplex and a second rope elbow drop for 2. Aries tags in and hits a slingshot splash for 2. He hits an Asai moonsault for 2. Lethal tags in and chops Aries, prompting Danielson to call him the best chopper in ROH. Aries comes back with a back bodydrop but Danielson stops his momentum. Danielson tags in and dumps Aries to the floor, telling Lethal to hit him with an Ole kick. Lethal does it, making me think Samoa Joe is going to kill him when he comes back. Back in the ring Danielson slaps Aries across the face. He tags to Lethal who hits a leg lariat for 2. He teases a bodyslam but sets Aries down and hits a clothesline. Danielson tags in and hits a bodyslam. He hits a kneedrop and sets Aries up top. He hits a superplex for 2. He hits another bodyslam and tags to Lethal. Both of them climb the ropes and go for diving headbutts but Aries moves. Strong gets the tag and cleans house with chops. He blocks the dragon suplex and hits a backbreaker on Lethal. He lifts Danielson into a backbreaker and hits the uranage backbreaker on Lethal for 2. Aries hits a missile dropkick on Danielson and then nails the corner dropkick. Lethal hits a leg lariat on Strong. He hits a lariat and tags to Danielson. Danielson sets Strong up top and hits a back superplex for 2 when Aries saves. He hits a roaring forearm to the back of the head and Lethal comes off the top with a DDT. Danielson puts on the Cow Killer but Aries breaks it up. Strong hits the half nelson backbreaker on Danielson and Aries hits a suicide dive on Lethal. Danielson dodges the Sick Kick and hits the roaring forearm for 2. He puts on the Cow Killer and then the crossface chicken wing. Strong fights out and hits the gutbuster and the Sick Kick. He hits another kick and a tiger driver for 2. He hits the half nelson backbreaker and puts on the Stronghold. Lethal tries to come in but Aries traps him. He goes for an enziguiri but Aries ducks and puts on a toehold. All of this goes on long enough for Danielson’s back to crap out and force him to tap.

This match, if nothing else, proves that anything involving Strong and Danielson is golden. Both teams played their rolls to perfection. Lethal and Danielson wrestled like the two biggest dick heads on the planet. Strong looked absolutely unstoppable and I can’t imagine anyone not wanting to see him take the title from Danielson now. Aries helped Strong do this by being a former champion and pretty much admitting throughout the match that Strong has surpassed him in ROH. Strong gets on the microphone after the match and demands a title shot on the basis of making Danielson submit. Tell him Roddy!
Rating: ****¼

JZ says: Lethal’s sunglasses are suitably ridiculous. Danielson has both the ROH World and FIP Titles with him. We’re shown clips of Danielson’s title defenses against Strong at This Means War and Vendetta. This is a star-studded match, as it has three of ROH’s four champions as well as the number on man in the ROH Top Five. Danielson starts off with Roderick but bails quickly. Roderick chops the shit out of Lethal. Aries tries to match Strong but concedes that he can’t. Danielson and Lethal tag in and out at alarming intervals, each giving a series of bodyslams. Strong finally reverses one and starts hitting the chops. Lethal and Danielson double-team their way back to getting the advantage and they go to work on Strong. Aries gets the hot tag and hits some fancy stuff and a frog splash on Danielson for two. Then he puts on the airplane spin. Strong takes in and takes over the spin for Aries. Aries comes back in and Strong passes Danielson off to him for more airplane spinning. The heels take control through much chicanery. Lethal steals moves from Joe and even Aries in this match. It breaks down and we get Danielson and Strong in the ring where Strong goes nuts and locks Danielson in the Stronghold and the Champion taps out at 29:18. What a phenomenal tag team match. Strong gets the microphone and says that Danielson owes him another title shot.
Rating: ****¼

Aftermath

BG says: Jimmy Jacobs loses his mind looking on as Lacey massage her legs. Whitmer tells Jacobs to snap out of it but all Jacobs can do is sing about being in love. Lacey tells Whitmer to stop stirring the shit, but BJ’s got it all figured out. Unlike everyone else in wrestling, he actually watches the DVDs of the shows he’s on. Back at Buffalo Stampede Lacey talked shit about Jacobs and Whitmer behind their backs. Lacey says she was joking. Jacobs buys it, Whitmer doesn’t. He wants everyone with their heads in the game to win the tag team titles tomorrow night.

Dave Prazak asks Matt Sydal if he’s reconsidered going after his teammates’ tag team titles. Sydal wants to make a few phone calls and sleep on it, and he’ll give us his decision tomorrow.

JZ says: Jimmy Jacobs admires Lacey until BJ Whitmer comes up and asks Jacobs where his head is. He proves to be the smartest man in wrestling, since he actually watches the company’s DVD releases and finds some incriminating footage of Lacey. That’s really cool. Whitmer says he plans on being a 5-time ROH Tag Team Champion after tomorrow night if Jacobs has his head on straight. Lacey walks away and Jimmy follows her like a lost puppy. I like that.

Prazak is with Sydal, as promised. Sydal says he has to make a few phone calls and sleep on it, and he’ll tell Prazak what his decision is tomorrow.

MVP

BG says: This is really difficult, as so many people performed so well tonight. I’m going to have to take the easy way out and give it to Roderick, for just further leaving me in awe of how far he’s come as an overall performer. Lethal also deserves mention for being 100 percent more enjoyable as a heel than he was as a face.

JZ says: Bryan Danielson, for taking part in the awesome main event and tapping clean to his biggest challenger so far.

THE FOLLOWING MATCH IS NOT ON THIS DVD

BONUS MATCH: Round Robin Challenge Match – Christopher Daniels vs. Low Ki, ROH Round Robin Challenge, 3.30.02

BG says: That’s a whole lotta’ bald in the ring. Ki asks for a handshake but Daniels slaps his hand away. Ki unloads on him but misses the Tidal Krush. He does hit a big Kawada kick for 2. He hits a stiff kick to the back for 2. Daniels kicks back but gets caught with a Koppo kick for 2. Ki hits a quick Stroke and puts on a crossface. Daniels rolls him over for 2. Ki hits the Krush Kombo and kicks Daniels’ bird away in the process and gets 2. I think I’d seen them do that spot in ECWA before this. Ki puts on a chinlock and then switches to a facelock. Daniels goes to the ropes to break and sets Ki up top. Ki dodges the palm strike and puts on the trapped armbar. Daniels hits an STO and then another. He hits an elbow drop and a clothesline for 2. He hits a delayed vertical suplex for 2. He hits a gut wrench suplex and puts on a chinlock. He hangs Ki up on the top rope and then comes off the second with a legdrop for 2. He puts on a half crab and switches to an STF when Ki gets close to the ropes. Ki gets close again so Daniels puts on a bow and arrow lock. Ki finally gets to the ropes. Daniels hits a falcon arrow for 2. He hits a uranage but can’t hit the triple jump moonsault. Ki comes back with the Tidal Wave. He hits a palm strike in the corner and goes for the Iconoclasm but Daniels blocks. Daniels hits a palm strike and the Iconoclasm himself for 2. He hits the Angel’s Wings for 2. Ki comes back with the Ki Krusher but he can’t cover. He hits the Tidal Krush for 2. He reverses the Last Rights to the Dragon Clutch and Daniels taps. Great finish to another really good match in the round robin.
Rating: ***½

JZ says: Ki cuts a ridiculous promo before the match. I wonder if he knows it’s fake. This is the second match of the initial Round Robin Challenge. Daniels defeated American Dragon in the first match, so he’s leading 1-1. Ki starts off with some kicks to try to end the match early. When Daniels is in control he goes to work on the neck and uses some heel tactics to keep Ki down. He hits the Iconoclasm for two. Angels Wings follows, but Ki kicks out of his finisher. I’m not sure I like Daniels’s finisher being kicked out of on the second show in company history. Ki then hits the Ki Krusher, but both men are down. Back up and Daniels goes for the Last Rites, but Ki reverses to the Dragon Clutch to get the win at 11:02. That was a solid match, but given what Low Ki had to do for the main event they definitely held back. After the match, Daniels gets on the microphone and refuses to shake Ki’s hand, and says he won’t fight Ki again until the ROH Title (which didn’t yet exist) is on the line.
Rating: ***¼

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 DISSENSION!

Have any thoughts, comments, or concerns? Like how we’re doing our reviews? Let us know!

E-mail Brad at [email protected]
E-mail Jacob at [email protected]

The 411: BG says: This show, on its own, did wonders in making me believe that there's something to be salvaged in the ROH tag team division. The trios tournament was infinitely better as a smaller tournament this year than it was the year prior. The main event was the first amazing tag team match not involving a Japanese wrestler since Manhattan Mayhem. Even the matches that weren't so good were that way so that the CZW angle could be spotlighted. Thumbs way up for this show. JZ says: I enjoyed the first show of 2006 quite a bit, but this one is even better. The main event is phenomenal, all three of the Trios Tournament matches are between three and four stars, and the stuff I didn’t like was very short. This is a must-own show.

Final Score:  9.0   [  Amazing ]