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Dark Pegasus Video Review: Ring of Honor – Glory By Honor
April 3, 2006 | Posted by
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Loading...These are dark times for Ring of Honor. After spending months battling back and forth with Low Ki and American Dragon over RoH’s policy of sportsmanship, “The Code of Honor,” Christopher Daniels formed the Prophecy with west-coast friend Donovan Morgan and the underutilized Simply Luscious.
Together, Daniels and Morgan were able to fight their way to the first ever Ring of Honor tag team championship finals where they defeated American Dragon and Morgan’s mentor, Michael Modest.
But that’s not all.
Clean-cut babyface Xavier had challenged RoH Champion Low Ki to a title match for the last several months. At a critical time in their match at “Unscripted,” Christopher Daniels came out and distracted Low Ki long enough for Xavier to gain an advantage and cripple the champion. Xavier won the title with relative ease after that point. Now, the Prophecy controls all of the titles, and with them, the fate of Ring of Honor.
Ring of Honor — Glory by Honor (10.05.02)
A scramble match means that no tags are necessary. Special K refuses to shake hands, so they catch an early beatdown. Trinity takes Elax to the back so he can’t interfere. Homicide doesn’t have a partner because Boogalou was injured a few shows back. Izzy starts with Joel Maximo and hits a rana. Joel comes back with an enzuigiri and locks in a reverse figure-four. Jose and Quiet Storm tag in and go into a brief lucha libre sequence. The Maximos lock Special K in the Taffy Machine (Boston Crab with a Crucifix Hold). Homicide Ace Crushes Storm and slaps and STF on him, so Divine comes in and puts him in the Crippler Crossface. Izzy and Joel fight on the top rope, and Joel hits a wicked lariat off the top that knocks Izzy for a loop. Joel catches him with the Maximo Explosion (Axe Guillotine Driver). Dixie sneaks in with a Tornado DDT on Joel. Divine hits a Dragon Screw on Dixie but gets hit with a Tornado DDT by Jose. Homicide comes in but misses the Cop Killa (Vertebreaker) and the Shining Wizard. Funny spot follows as Izzy wants to do some sort of dive onto the pile, but everyone keeps stopping him and doing their own. Finally, he just springboards into a corkscrew plancha onto everyone. The Tower of Doom spot doesn’t quite work out that well as they don’t all fall at the same time. Still a lot of carnage, though. Dixie hits a Schwein Neckbreaker on Joel, but Divine counters another attempt to a sunset flip for two. Divine catches Dixie on top and throws him to the mat with a Dragon Suplex throw. Quiet Storm catches Jose with an Electric Chair Driver, but Joel makes the save and gets two off a Blue Thunder Driver. Izzy catches Homicide with a dropsault but misses the moonsault. Homicide slams him down and destroys him with the Cop Killa. Dixie comes in to save but gets caught in the STF for the tap out at 13:52. As with all of these “innovative” guys, a lot of stuff was just goofy instead of being totally mind-blowing. It’s not boring, though. **3/4
We get a big brawl off the handshake, and Corino hits Kashmere with a powerslam. Homicide nails Acid with a SUPER ACE CRUSHER! The BB hit Corino with a double corner charge and bulldog him down for two. Acid tries to use a chair, but Homicide drop toeholds him into it. Corino cuts off a Kashmere charge with a superkick and gets two off a Northern Lights Slam. Homicide boots Acid in the face with a corner Yakuza Kick, as it looks like the RoH guys might finish it early. Kashmere hits a pair of spears, however. Acid breaks up Corino’s shinni no make, and the Backseat Boys bust out the lightning-quick doubleteams. Corino catches Acid with a Super T-Bone suplex, and Homicide comes off with a splash. Corino doesn’t want him to get the pin, though, so he shoves him away and gets two. Homicide accidentally hits Corino with an elbow, so Corino waits for him to go for the Cop Killa and kicks him in the nuts. The Boys finish with the T-Gimmick (Double Crucifix Bomb) at 6:44. **
The CSC grab Y&M’s asses after the handshake, triggering a big brawl. Y&M hit a doubleteam Tornado DDT on Mace, but JPB trips up Matthews. Joey gets caught in the wrong corner and molested until he delivers a reverse DDT. Buff E breaks up the tag, though. Alexis eventually gets the tag and tears into the CSC, hitting a Tornado DD Ton Buff E. Japanese Pool Boy gets involved, pushing Matthews off the top, so Alexis slaps him to the floor. The CSC catches Alexis with the Gay Basher (Thesz Press off the top) for the win at 4:45. York & Matthews take the loss out on Japanese Pool Boy. 1/2*
If Tony wins, he gets the FBI gimmick. If Maritato wins, the gimmick is dead. Mamaluke jumps him from behind as Maritato is taking off his shirt. Lots of matwork follows, with both guys going after each other’s arm. Maritato counters a slam to a reverse legscissors, but Mamaluke reverses to one of his own. Mamaluke catches him with a front slam, but Maritato reverses to a wakigatame. Mamaluke rolls through into a Butterfly Lock, but he doesn’t get the bodyscissors in, so Maritato is able to hold out. How sad is it that out of the Mamalukes (Tony, Johnny the Bull & Big Vito), Tony is the most talented but never got much of a shot in the big time? James throws everything he has at Mamaluke — the Sicilian Slice; a missile dropkick; and the Kiss of Death (Unprettier) — but he still can’t finish him off. Mamaluke hits a Shoryuken and a superplex into the Butterfly Lock w/Bodyscissors, and that’s enough for the tap out at 8:30. Nice story here as the elder FBI member realized he couldn’t outwrestle Mamaluke, got desperate and started hitting the high spots, only to fall into Mamaluke’s trap. ***1/4
Think we’ll get a lot of highspots here? Hidaka is closing out his U.S. tour here. Lots of flippy flop stuff to start, but none of feels forced, so I have no problem with it. They take it to the outside and chop away at each other. Back in, now they start with the more contrived “martial arts” duels. Red tries to plancha out on Hidaka, but Ikuto catches him with a dropkick. Back in, Hidaka nails him with a Tornado DDT, but Red catches him with a spinning kick to block a springboard. Red catches him with a glancing blow on a somersault plancha, injuring Hidaka’s shoulder, which was bandaged coming into the match. Back in, Red scissors him into an armlock, but Hidaka makes the ropes. Hidaka presses Red overhead and nails him with a dropkick on the way down. Hidaka blocks a Tornado DDT and counters to a kneebreaker. A springboard missile dropkick takes out Red’s knee. Hidaka German Suplexes him and floats over to a side spinning leglock. Red makes the ropes, though. Hidaka tries to roll him up, and they go into a one of those Jackknife/Sunset Flip reversal sequences. I used to love that sequence when Guerrero and Malenko did it, but now it’s clichéd. Hidaka and Red clothesline each other. Hidaka recovers first and hits an Argentine Ace Crusher. Hidaka charges after Red but gets caught with a 718 (a 619, but Red’s from Brooklyn). Crowd boos that one. Red slingshots into a Pendulum Bomb for two. He counters a powerbomb to a legdrop and hits the Infrared, landing on Hidaka’s eye and breaking his orbital bone. Ouch! The Red Star Press finishes at 13:41. Good stuff from both guys, with Hidaka’s Battlearts past able to settle down Red’s tendency to push the match over the top with highspots. The only thing it lacked was intensity. ***3/4
Rudy Boy Gonzales is at ringside observing his students. This is just an exhibition for Rudy’s guys. Eddie hits a nice spinkick, but Juan catches him with a Reverse DDT Drop. Eddie flips over him and delivers a German Suplex. Eddie avoids Juan’s charge, sending Don Juan to the floor. Eddie Asai Moonsaults out on top of him. Back in, Eddie tries to springboard back in, but Don Juan catches him springboarding off the rope. Don Juan goes up, but Eddie hits a springboard dropsault. Eddie finishes with a backflip frontslam at 3:23. Too short to be good or offensive. After the match, Michael Shane distracts Rudy Boy while Biohazard attacks Eddie and Juan. Steve Corino comes out to talk trash to Rudy, so Rudy calls him a Dusty Rhodes wannabe and decks him. 3/4*
Rudy hits a superkick and gets the first pin inside of a minute. In case you’ve never seen a Texas Death Match, you get a ten count to get up after a fall. If you can’t make it to your feet, you lose. To the outside, Rudy misses a charge and goes through the railing. Corino is busted open but in control. Back inside, Corino hits a corner dropkick and a Facewash that sends Rudy to the floor. Corino starts pummeling him, but he can’t even get one fall. Rudy hits a DDT to come back, but Corino slaps on the shinni no make to put Rudy out. Rudy is unconscious and can’t make it up at 8:04. Smart booking there. After the match, Corino and his lackeys attack Rudy again, but Paul London brings out a ladder to make the save. He tries that crazy ladder climb into a somersault plancha that he did last month, but he lands in the crowd instead. The match was way too short for a Texas Death match and just served to further the Shane/London feud. *
This is a fight without honor. Joe is making his debut here as a paid assassin brought in by Christopher Daniels to take out longtime rival Low Ki. Yes, Joe got his big break thanks to Christopher Daniels. What a difference three years makes. Joe actually gains the advantage off a battle of strikes, which is hugely important because Low Ki has been portrayed as a complete bad ass striker that can knock you out (ask Prince Nana). Joe no-sells a series of chops and wins another battle of strikes. Low Ki avoids a Yakuza corner kick and rolls into Joe with a Kappou kick. Joe kicks out at one and says, “Not bad. Does your husband wrestle?” Joe takes him down and rolls into a Crippler Crossface. Low Ki rolls out and they jostle around until Low Ki swings into a hanging arm scissor. An enzuigiri finally puts Joe down. Low Ki gets two off a Bridging Tiger Suplex. Low Ki goes after the knee, trying to destroy Joe’s vertical base. They just start slapping the everloving shit out of one another. Joe hits a corner Yakuza kick and busts out his first Ring of Honor Facewash. It’s odd that Corino debuted that in the match just before him. Jow powerbombs Low Ki and steps over into an STF. Ki reaches for the ropes, but Joe slips out and segues to the crossface. Low Ki flips over into the jujigatame. Ki goes after the arm again, and swings back into that hanging armbar. Ki can’t get a submission, so he segues to the Dragon Clutch. Joe grabs his head and powers into a Death Valley Driver. Joe picks him up and drops him with Emerald Frosion (the Island Driver). ONE, TWO, THRE-NO! Low Ki gets his foot on the ropes. Ki explodes with kicks, but Joe just gets pissed off and slaps him in the face. They stop the match to take off their wrist tape. Suddenly, it’s Kawada vs. Kobashi as they slap each other, leading to Ki unloading a series of boots to the face, countered with lariats by Joe. Ki suddenly explodes again with a series of kicks and strikes, and he falls on top for the win at 16:27. Great finish with no goofiness and no doubt about who was the better man on this day. Ki just pummeled Joe until he couldn’t stand up anymore. After the match, Joe turns his back on Prophecy policy and shakes Ki’s hand. Another strong MOTYC. ****1/4
Is Elax patterned after Casper from “Kids?” Elax was briefly partnered with Nana, but that worked out about as well as Nana’s other partnerships. Nana destroys him and finishes with a Double Underhook Driver at 0:59. After the match, Dunn & Marcos get in the ring and talk trash to Nana, but the big black guy from the past few shows climbs in the ring and destroys them. 1/4*
The Prophecy didn’t want Xavier to defend the title in a marquee match on Ring of Honor’s biggest show to date, so Mark Briscoe volunteered his older brother Jay for an ass-kicking. Jay Briscoe is probably the second best example I’ve seen of a negative push working (the first being Dean Malenko, of course). Lots of basic stuff to start as Levy speculates on how long Xavier has been a part of the Prophecy. Xavier slaps him right in the face and tries to slip over Jay, but Jay slaps him back. Jay backflips off a hiptoss attempt and gets clotheslined. Xavier gets one of the ARROGANT COVER~! Xavier picks him up and gets two off an Inverted Samoan Drop. The crowd boos the hell out Xavier for choking Jay old school. Jay ducks a swing and drops the champ right on his head with a DVD. Jay goes up but misses a double ax-handle off the top and goes right into the railing. Xavier whips him into the railing, which seems to be a Prophecy standard. Jay gets tied in the tree-of-woe and Xavier spears him. Xavier lifts him up and drops him with a Reverse DDT off the top for two. Jay suddenly comes back with a Bridging German for two and a series of elbows. Jay hits a seated gourdbuster, setting up a guillotine legdrop off the top. Xavier slows the match down with a Cobra Clutch then hits a Cobra Clutch Suplex (Gargoyle Suplex) for two. Jay slips out of a Jericho Powerbomb and hits the JAYDRILLER! ONE, TWO, THREE! Jay picks up the upset win at 13:21. After the match, Christopher Daniels and Samoa Joe attack and dismantle Jay. Xavier hits the 450-splash and lets Daniels count a meaningless pin. Low Ki and Doug Williams hit the ring and chase the Prophecy away. Jay really toned down his usual style to fit in with a more “main event” style of wrestling (read: WWE style). It was a bit awkward and slow as a result. **1/4
These teams have been fighting basically since the beginning of RoH. The CC cost the Squad their shot at the RoH Tag Titles. Da Hit Squad comes through the crowd and grabs a piece of the railing. They double spear the Crew from behind and ram the rail into Devito. It spills out into the crowd pretty quickly. Fans gets shoved out of the way as Devito and Mack fight to the back door. Loc goes for a DDT on Mafia, but Mack takes him down with a lariat. Mafia sets up to powerbomb Loc through a table, but Loc fights out of it. Devito crawls up, and they PILEDRIVE Mafia through the table! Devito falls on top for the win at 6:50. Low Ki comes out to check on Mafia as the CC exits to scattered applause. The usual ECW-ish brawl ending in a big spot at the end. Not much to see here, but not bad either. **
Winner gets the name of “Showstopper.” Spanky and Shane are both arrogant heels that hate each other. London is the nice guy babyface. Spanky jumps Shane from behind, and London hits a dropsault. London and Spanky fight over who gets a piece of Shane. London hits Spanky with a pair of dropsaults and lands on his head. Shane sneaks in with an enzuigiri. London hits a series of Northern Lights on Shane and delivers a Fallaway Bridge Suplex (called a Blizzard Suplex by Gorman). London springboards off of Spanky into an SSP on Shane for two. Spanky knocks London off the top to the floor and charges, but Shane cuts Spanky off. That seems to be the story of the first part of the match; Shane gets beat up but waits for one of the others to turn his back and jumps them from behind. Shane suplexes Spanky to the outside, but Spanky skins the cat back in and somersault planchas out on top of him. Back in, Spanky sets London up for a superplex, but Shane sneaks in and powerbombs Spanky off the ropes. London SKIES over Shane with an SSP, but Spanky rolls out of the way and knocks him out with Sliced Bread #2. Shane superkicks Spanky and falls on top of London for the cheap pin at 9:20.
The crowd dies after London is out. Shane tosses Spanky back in and then back out. Shane gets whipped into the railing as Spanky stops for a sip of water. Back in, Spanky comes off the top but gets caught on the way down. Shane grabs a sleeper and hits Spanky with a reverse lariat. The Picture Perfect elbow gets two. Spanky hits Sliced Bread #2, but he can’t crawl into the pin in time. It only gets two. Spanky springboards into a missile dropkick and hits a 3/4-Nelson chinbreaker. Spanky hits a Northern Lights Bomb and a frogsplash, but they only get two. Shane drops him with the Tornado DDT. Spanky gets a backslide for two, but Shane hits him with the Superkick and finishes with the Picture Perfect Elbow at 19:27. Shane becomes “the New Showstopper,” but he doesn’t want to take someone else’s name. He just didn’t want anyone else using it. **1/2
This was supposed to be Togo vs. Williams for the right to face Daniels, but Togo was injured during his U.S. Tour. If Daniels wins, Williams can never shake hands in RoH. If Williams wins, Daniels has to shake hands. It’s a bigger deal than it might sound. Daniels’ plan is to destroy the Code of Honor, so if those that normally follow the Code can’t shake hands, the Code starts to become meaningless. If Williams wins, how can Daniels tell his Prophecy not to follow the Code while he has to shake hands? They both start out going hard after the pinfall. Williams gets a Jackknife roll for two. He backrolls through to an anklelock, but Daniels rolls through to a wristlock. Williams takes him back down into an anklelock. Daniels spins him away and limps to the outside. Luscious grabs Williams’ leg, allowing Daniels to jump him. It doesn’t help much because Williams ties him up in an Indian Deathlock/Butterfly Lock. Daniels can’t get him up in a suplex, but he takes him down with a Russian Legsweep. Daniels blocks the Chaos Theory and counters to an Ace Crusher for two. Williams goes for a Tornado DDT, but Daniels counters to an Atomic Drop for two. Daniels drops him with the Flatliner but can’t float over into the Koji Clutch like he usually does. Instead he covers and only gets two. Daniels blocks another Chaos Theory but gets stuck by the Tornado DDT this time. Williams drops a knee off the top for two. A Fisherman’s Buster gets two more. Daniels counters a third Chaos Theory attempt to an STO. Daniels catches him with Blue Thunder for two. The Uranage sets up the Best Moonsault Ever! ONE, TWO, THR-NO! Williams tries desperately to finish off the match now with a Jackknife Rollup and a Majestral Cradle. Finally, he hits the Chaos Theory, but Daniels is in the ropes. Williams moves in again, but Daniels scoops him up with in a Flair pin at 12:29. Daniels mockingly offers his hand, knowing Williams can’t shake it. Dick Togo hobbles down and hits Daniels with his crutch. Jay Briscoe follows him out and drops Daniels on his head with the Jaydriller. This was a case of Ring of Honor building up expectations for great main events in the past, and this was merely good. ***
The 411: A marked improvement over "Unscripted." This show featured yet another great match in Low Ki vs. Samoa Joe and a number of good/very good matches. A few of the matches were outright bad, but those were kept very short. Also, I like where the storylines are going as you have these two heel factions led by Steve Corino and Christopher Daniels that just don't like one another, plus a babyface group led by Low Ki. It makes for an interesting dynamic. Thumbs up for "Glory by Honor." |
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| Final Score: 6.5 [ Average ] legend |
