411 Video Review: Death Before Dishonour

Again- thanks to RF Video for these tapes. DBD is actually a 2 tape set because there is a LOT of stuff on here- and it’s worth every penny. You can pick up the tape here-

http://www.rfvideo.com/merchant/index.cfm?action=moreinfo&id=8001

This show was held in Elizabeth, NJ in front of ROH’s biggest crowd ever. 1,200 people packed the RexPlex ready to see Jeff Hardy’s return to wrestling and Paul London’s farewell to ROH.

CM Punk says tonight is the most important night of his life since he’s going to be connected to a guy who he has no respect for. He talks about how at Wrestlerave he had a moment of clarity seeing Raven spit up and turn blue. Punk then tells a story about his alcoholic dad almost choking to death on vomit and how he saved his life (and regretted it) Colt Cabana wanders in with a chain and Punk goes off on him for being stupid. Punk leaves and Cabana is left alone to cut a promo. He’s a modern day ‘Dave Coulier’ who cried during My Girl. He can see the #1 contenders trophy right next to his hop scotch trophy from 1995.

Special K comes out to rave. The show isn’t supposed to start so we cut to…

Gary Michael Cappetta is with Samoa Joe. Paul plans to leave us with a special moment- him winning the belt. Joe scoffs at the special moment- tonight- it’s gonna be a special moment for Joe.

Special K continues to rave.

Gary Michael Cappetta is with Homicide and J-Train. He wants to know what happened at Wrestlerave between them and Low Ki- Homicide ain’t talking. J-Train once again gets to talk- and I as usual don’t understand a word. Homicide challenges Steve Corino and J-Train gets to talk again.

Special K continues to rave with the highlight being Becky Bayless leaning over the ropes. The ring announcer tries to start the show and gets shoved down. The Christopher Street Connection come out. The CSC lead the crowd in a ‘You Suck Dick’ chant. They don’t want a rave- they want a disco. This lasts all of 2 seconds before Special K attack them. Special K goes to rave again when LOW KI’S music hits! Low Ki didn’t come here to see anyone dance. Cloudy, Deranged and Hijinx stay in the ring to confront Low Ki. Low Ki SLAPS THE SHIT out of Cloudy. The crowd chants ‘You Got Bitchslapped’. Low Ki locks Hijinx in the Dragon Clutch and he taps.

Deranged v. Low Ki

Deranged hits a low blow and mocks Low Ki. Deranged hammers away. He goes for a moonsault on Low Ki but he catches him but Deranged turns that into an armdrag. Deranged with a hurricarana and a spinkick for two. Deranged stomps a way and chokes him. Deranged continues beating on him but walks into a kick to the face. Deranged shrugs it off and continues to work over Low Ki. Deranged dumps him and hits a springboard moonsault to the outside. Deranged hits a springboard dropkick to the back of the head. Deranged goes for a something but Low Ki blocks it and just beats the fuck out of him with kicks. Low Ki chops him and hits the Tidal Crush. Slugger runs in and chokes the life out of Low Ki but Low Ki uses the TESTICLE SQUEEZE OF DEATH to take him down. Deranged tries to attack but he walks into a Krush Rush and a Ki Crusher. Dragon Clutch wins it. This was a fun match and was a great way to bring back Deranged. Poor Deranged though- he took a major beating. ***

Christopher Daniels (from all the way in Japan) on Koji Kanamento’s phone tells Allison Danger to offer ‘him’ the spot. Daniels congratulates ROH on having their biggest show ever but reminds them that all they’ve done is capitalise on his efforts. He brings up Low Ki’s return and talks about how he’s associated with Danny Maff- Low Ki’s friend.

The Field of Honor is coming SOON.

Jimmy Rave v. Matt Stryker

They lockup and Stryker gets a hammerlock. Rave reverses but Stryker counters that into an armlock. Rave with a headlock but Stryker reverses into an hammerlock. Rave gets a headlock and an armbar. Stryker counters and they trade counters and rollups before meeting off in the centre. Knucklelock- Stryker wins but can’t pin Rave. Rave kicks out and rolls into an armlock. Stryker counters into a waistlock. Rave gets an armbar but Stryker gets an armdrag into an armlock and knees away. Stryker covers him for two. Rave with a backbreaker and suplex for two. Rave chops him but walks into a big boot. Stryker goes for a leglock but Rave reverses into a rear chinlock. Stryker sends him into the corner to break. Stryker charges but gets dumped on the top rope. Rave chops him and they fight on the top rope. Rave hits a belly to belly off the top but Stryker charges at him and tosses him off. They trade forearms and chops. Rave with a knee to the gut and he hits the Shining Wizard for two. Stryker boots him and hits a leg lariat. Powerslam- two. Rave blocks a DVD and locks in a sleeper. Stryker breaks it with a jawbreaker. Stryker brings the Europen uppercuts but Rave catches him in a cross armbreaker. Stryker makes the ropes. Stryker comes back with a DVD for the win. **3/4

The Carnage Crew (Loc, DeVito, Masada and Justin Credible) v. TWA (Fast Eddie, Don Juan, Rudy Boy Gonzales, Hotstuff Hernandez) in a weapons match

At the First Anniversary Show the Carnage Crew laid out the TWA kids because they were upset about not being booked. At Round Robin Challenge 2 the Carnage Crew took on the TWA kids in a brutal weapons match that the Carnage Crew won.

A big brawl starts us off. Loc and Rudy Boy go in the ring. DeVito uses a Singapore cane on Fast Eddie. Eddie sends him into the guardrail. Hotstuff crotches Masada on the top rope and him and Eddie jump off the top rope and try to kick a chair into him but it doesn’t happen. Rudy Boy sends DeVito into the rail. Credible beats the hell out of Don Juan. Credible powerbombs Juan. Eddie goes after Masada but DeVito saves. Rudy Boy whips Justin into the crowd and they brawl. Fast Eddie hits a moonsault to the outside onto Loc and DeVito. Don Juan hits a bodypress to the outside on Masada. Fast Eddie Germans Masada onto a chair. Loc with a suplex through the fence on Don Juan. Masada hits a top-rope release German onto Fast Eddie THROUGH A CHAIR. Justin and Rudy Boy get whipped into ladders. DeVito gets suplexed through a ladder. Loc cracks Don Juan with a chair and then hits him with a neckbreaker through one. Credible hits Hotstuff with a ladder. Fast Eddie DDTs Masada through a chair. DeVito hits a corner Northern Lights suplex onto Don Juan. Masada throws a chair at Hotstuff Hernandez. Fast Eddie climbs up a ladder. Don Juan hits a neckbreaker to the floor (through two chairs) on Masada. DeVito superplexes Fast Eddie off the top of a ladder. Hernandez and Masada trade chops- which Hotstuff wins. Loc throws a chair at Don Juan. Masada breaks a chair over Hernandez’s head. Loc and DeVito hit a spike piledriver from the apron to through a table. Rudy Boy and Justin have brawled out of the match. (To cover for a injury to Justin) Hotstuff chucks Fast Eddie to the floor onto Masada. Hotstuff does a tope to the floor onto Masada but hits head on the way down. Rudy Boy is back having made Justin a bloody mess (We don’t see Justin though). Masada meets the guardrail. Hotstuff hits the Razor’s Edge on Masada through two chairs for the win.

This was a sick brawl that just ran way too long. It would’ve been a lot better cut to 10 minutes. Everyone worked hard here and it showed. Hotstuff Hernandez has a lot of potential and could be a major player one day. The Carnage Crew have really stepped it up and it’s great to see them being rewarded with a push in ROH. They truly deserve it. This was a really good hardcore match. ***1/4

The Purists v. The Outcast Killahs

The Purists are John Walters and Tony Mamaluke. They are making their debut as a team.

Mamaluke and Tortuga start. Mamaluke controls him on the mat. Walters and Santiago come in. Diabalo hangs with Walters on the mat but Walters soon takes control. The Outcast Killahs come back with some double team moves. John Walters crosses Tortuga’s arms and then drives a knee into his back. Diabalo comes in and gets clotheslined. Walters beats on both Outcast Killahs and stretches them both. Mamaluke comes in and stretches Diablo. Walters comes in and Diabalo takes more punishment. Diabalo gets a blockbuster and tags Tortuga. The Outcast Killahs get some offence in but Walters takes Diabalo out and the Purists stretch the hell out of Tortuga to win. ** This was basically a squash to show off the Purists. They worked really well together as a team and had some great double team offence.

DUNN AND MARCOS!!! show up to mock the Outcast Killahs for their constant losing. They got a point. Xavier then shows up. Dunn and Marcos use the power of the AIR GUITAR!~ but Xavier kicks both their asses. Gary Michael Cappetta shows up to ask Xavier what the meaning of all this is. Xavier says he wants to be in the Field of Honor.

Doug Williams v. Tom Carter

They work the mat to start- Carter works on the arm but Williams reverses. Carter takes Williams down with a hammerlock. Williams rolls through and works on the arm. Carter reverses and Williams is able to break out of it. Lockup- Williams gets a waistlock, Carter rolls through to a hammlock as the commentators insult the Lance Storm boring stuff. Williams is able to get a front facelock but Carter goes back to the arm and tries for a pinfall as the commentators bring up the Code of Honor. Williams uses his legs to try to break Carter but Carter keeps going back to the arm. Williams gets a headlock but Carter immediately counters to a hammerlock. Williams goes to the ropes and bails out. Carter offers a handshake but Williams boots him and locks in a headscissors. Carter rolls through and hooks a bow-n-arrow. Williams takes him down and rolls over for a nearfall. Williams brings the European uppercuts and stomps away. Williams drops a knee and rams him into the turnbuckle. Williams elbows him down and hits a hangman’s neckbreaker for two. Carter escapes a go behind and takes him down with an armbar. Williams makes the ropes. Carter works on the arm and drops his arm on the canvas. Carter hooks a Fujiwara armbar but can’t pin Williams. Williams rolls over but can’t get a pinfall. Williams with a European uppercut and they trade go behinds. Carter goes back to the arm but Williams makes the ropes. Carter stomps away and kicks him. Williams bails. Carter gets pulled out and they brawl on the outside. Williams goes for a suplex but Carter blocks it. Williams blocks Carter’s attempt and pays homage to a fellow countrymen but hitting a standing vertical suplex for two. Williams with a forearm and he gets a DDT for two. Williams drops a knee and places Carter on the top rope. Williams dumps Carter off the top to get Carter off his arm. They trade forearms with Carter winning. Carter with a dropkick and he hits a moonsault press for two. Williams with the running knee combo for two. Williams with a neckringer and a running knee lift gets two. Williams with forearms but Carter spikes him down face first. Carter hits two Shining Wizards for two. Carter goes up top and spikes Williams with a second rope swinging DDT. Carter hits a frog splash for two. Carter with an armbar but Williams lifts him up and dumps him in the corner to break. Williams hits the Chaos Theory but he hurts his arm doing it. Carter goes back to the arm and rolls him up for the three.

If you’re into scientific wrestling- check this match out. This was just some beautiful psychologically sound technical wrestling between two of the best in the game. It’s a shame that Carter and Williams aren’t in ROH that often- I’d love to see a rematch. ***3/4

Tom Carter runs into Allison Danger. Danger wants him in the Prophecy but Carter just walks away.

“Classic” Colt Cabana v. BJ Whitmer v. Homicide (w/Julius Smokes) v. Dan Maff (w/Allison Danger) for the #1 contendership

Okay- Cabana and Whitmer have an issue dating back to Whitmer’s mini-feud with Punk. At Night of Grudges Cabana pinned Punk in a bloody tag match. At Do or Die Maff defeated Whitmer- but only after help from Allison Danger. Maff’s joining of the Prophecy has angered Homicide. Homicide was the man who trained Maff and he believes in everything the Prophecy does not.

3 of these guys were in a 4-way at Revenge on the Prophecy in January but that match was won by Paul London.

Whitmer and Homicide start. They battle on the mat with them trading headlocks and scissors. Whitmer counters a headlock with a rollup twice and then throws him off. They trade armdrags and Homicide gets a flying headscissors. Whitmer blocks a monkeyflip and they trade armdrags. Whitmer tags Maff. Cabana blind tags Homicide. And then dances. Cabana hammers away at Maff but then eats a right hand of his own. Cabana gets a headlock but can’t take Maff down. Cabana gets him down with a shoulderblock and then rolls him up for two. Cabana with a headlock but Maff counters with a backdrop driver for two. Maff misses a flying headbutt and hits a vicious lariat. Maff headbutts him and tags Whitmer. Lockup- Cabana gets a headlock but Homicide tags himself in. Whitmer forearms him but Homicide gets a dropkick that sends Whitmer out. Homicide goes for his CRAZY TOPE CON HILO! But he misses. Back in- Whitmer powerslams him and hits a Northern lights suplex for two. Cabana saves and tags Whitmer. Cabana chops away at Homicide but Homicide chops back. Homicide with a running forearm. Cabana grabs his arm and dances and then does a swinging suplex into a front facelock. Whitmer tags himself in. Whitmer kicks Homicide but he shakes it off. Homicide kicks Whitmer who also shakes it off. Whitmer kicks him multiple times but Homicide is too tough to show pain. Homicide chops the hell out of him and then kicks the everloving shit out of Whitmer. Maff trips up Homicide and sends him into the rail. Maff dumps Whitmer out. Maff goes for a crazy cannonball (ducking a Cabana clothesline in the process) but he OVERSHOOTS it and goes FLYING INTO THE CROWD! HOLY SHIT! Cabana does an Asai moonsault to everyone on the outside and the crowd is going wild. Whitmer and Maff trade chops in the ring. Homicide comes in and thumbs Maff’s eyes. Whitmer Germans Maff. Whitmer Germans Homicide who lands on his feet. Homicide sends Whitmer into Maff who gives him a half nelson suplex right on his HEAD. Homicide with the Ace Crusher on Maff and hits a running knee to Whitmer’s face. Maff follows up with a cannonball. Homicide hits Maff with the Mafia Kick. Cabana comes in. Cabana gives Homicide a fisherman’s buster at the SAME TIME as Maff Germans him. Whitmer is still breathing and hits Maff with a high knee. Whitmer blocks the Colt 45 and hits Cabana with a crazy inverted DDT but Homicide saves. Homicide goes for the Cop Killah but Whitmer blocks it. Homicide lariats him but Maff saves. Maff hits a running clothesline onto Homicide but misses the cannonball. Cabana hits a crazy bulldog on Homicide but Maff saves. Maff ballshots Cabana and hits the Burning Hammer but Whitmer saves. Whitmer hits him with a T-bone suplex but Homicide saves. Homicide with a Mafia kick to Whitmer. He hits a running forearm to Maff. Whitmer KILLS Homicide with a top-rope German and hits a top-rope exploder suplex on Cabana for the win. ****1/4 Maff won’t shake hands after the match and spits at Homicide.

That match was the definition of a showstealer. Stiff hard hitting manoeuvres, crazy double team moves and lots of high flying. It was 14 minutes of non-stop action. I wish the match could’ve been given 10 more minutes because then I truly think it could’ve become a high end MOTYC.

The 4-ways are perfect for ROH. You get to see so many different combinations and matchups and everyone gets a chance to go in and show off their best work. So when you have four good workers in there- you know you will get something special. And that’s what this match was.

Daniels is on the phone with Allison Danger. Daniels is shocked about Xavier coming back. When Daniels thinks the camera is on he talks about how happy he is that Xavier is back- and how he knew it all along. The gag where Daniels is always on camera when he doesn’t know it is funny stuff.

Gary Michael Cappetta is with Low Ki. He issues threatening words to Danny Maff and anyone else who disrespects the Code of Honor.

We get a look back at Wrestlerave where Special K had a big rave and beat up the Backseats.

Backseat Boys and the SAT v. Mikey Whipwreck, Dixie, Hydro and Angeldust (w/the rest of Special K)

The SATs and Special K have been feuded forever it seems like. The feud escalated at Final Battle when Special K did a major beatdown on them. At the First Anniversary Show, the SAT teamed with Da Hit Squad, Trinity, Divine Storm and Mikey Whipwreck to take on Special K. They were victorious- but Mikey ended up turning on them and joining Special K. At Night of Champions- Mikey helped Special K defeat the SAT and Quiet Storm. At Round Robin Challenge II the SAT gained a small measure of revenge by defeating Special K in a 4-team scramble. At Night of Grudges the SAT once again were victorious- defeating Mikey and Dixie.

The Backseats-Special K issue began at Epic Encounter when Mikey said he would use the Backseats as a stepping stone. At Do or Die the Backseats defeated two members of Special K in an insane scramble match. At Wrestlerave Special K attacked The Backseats following Trent’s match against Homicide.

Hydro and Joel start. Joel does a Mexican armdrag and kills him with lariat. Angeldust dumps Joel. Kashmere comes in and gets offered Ecstasy. Kashmere shoves it down his throat and chops him. Kashmere spears him. Kashmere with a figure four but Brian XL saves. Jose and XL go. Jose gets an enziguri. Mikey comes in and blows mist at Trent Acid. Mikey with a face first X-Factor. Everyone all runs in and they do a big suplex sequence where everyone in SAT and Backseats suplexes everyone in Special K. The SAT/Acid give Angeldust a Doomsday Device. They camel clutch Hydro and the Backseats and Joel baseball slide into his face. Joel kicks Hydro in the face but Angeldust comes in with a springboard jawbreaker for two. Special K hit stomps off the rope onto Jose. Mikey drops Jose onto Joel in the corner. Brian XL works over Jose. Jose drops Angeldust on his head but XL hits him with a crossbody. Joel hits the Maximo Explosion onto XL. Dixie with a Tornado DDT onto Joel but Kashmere comes in with a cradle breaker. Mikey hits the Mafia kick but walks into a Mafia kick of his own by Acid. Acid kicks Hydro. The SAT hit the Spanish Fly onto Hydro. Miscommunicaton befalls the SAT and Acid. Mikey hits a Whippersnapper onto Acid for the win. * The Backseats lay out the SAT post-match with the T-Gimmick and Dream Sequence.

This was a trainwreck- and not in a good way. None of the spots were that spectacular and it just seemed like everyone was going through the motions.

Krazy K v. Joey Matthews v. Jeff Hardy

The crowd chants ‘Fuck You Hardy and ‘Hardy Sucks’ and basically boos Jeff out of the building. Jeff comes out wearing his Willow mask and slips on the rope during his entrance. The crowd chants ‘You Got Fired’.

This is like Hogan v. Rock- only it’s the complete opposite.

The crowd is now chanting ‘We Want Matt’. Matthews and K start. Matthews hits a forearm and then attacks Jeff. Matthews dropkicks K and then goes back to Jeff. Matthews tosses K. Jeff comes back (to huge boos) and takes off his mask. Jeff does his nut stomp and the crowd chants ‘You Suck’. Jeff and K clothesline Matthews out. K gets a horrible clothesline and Jeff fires back with a bad backdrop. Krazy K gets a horrible DDT and the crowd lets him have it. Krazy K gets a dropping legdrop. Matthews dumps K. Jeff kicks Matthews and they brawl on the outside. Krazy K hits a dive to the floor. K and Matthews go in the ring. Hardy and K beat on Matthews. A horrible Poetry in Motion gets huge boos. Jeff does a nice kick to Matthews. Krazy K rolls up Jeff for two. Jeff powerbombs K. Jeff goes up top but gets shoved to the floor by Matthews which gets the biggest pop of his career. It’s all for naught as Jeff hits the Swanton on Matthews. Jeff finishes off Krazy K soon after. DUD Hardy gets the Konnan treatment afterwards.

Everything that has needed to be said about this match has been said. The match is worth watching just to see the crowd completely turn on Jeff Hardy. Whether you agree or disagree with what they did to him- it certainly is a sight to see the crowd just have so much hate for one man.

We get a video package of the Punk v. Raven feud including Punk’s amazing promo from Wrestlerave.

CM Punk v. Raven in a dog collar match

Raven and Punk have been feuding for quite some time now. When it was announced that Raven would be debuting in Ring of Honor- CM Punk was very unhappy. CM Punk takes his straight edge beliefs very seriously and looked down upon Raven- someone who has battled addiction to drugs and alcohol in the past. Punk seemed personally angered that Raven threw away his career to do his vices.

At Expect the Unexpected Punk pulled off a major upset and bloodied Raven up en route to making him tap out to the STF. Raven was the master of mind games so he recruited Colt Cabana to team with him to take on Punk and the trainer of Punk and Cabana- Ace Steel. Raven’s team got the win- but he pinned Steel, not Punk. Punk then one-upped him in the mind games department when Cabana turned on Raven. This marked the official formation of the Second City Saints. At Epic Encounter- Raven was not present but he sent Trinity there to send a message to the Saints. Also at EE- Punk and BJ Whitmer had a brutal match that ended in a draw when Punk gave Whitmer a German from the apron through the table. Punk was very cocky about the match and talked down to Whitmer and acted like he won the match. At Round Robin Challenge II another minion of Raven showed up but he was laid out by the debuting Lucy (a.k.a. Dafney from WCW) At Do or Die- Punk cut a terrific promo where he talked about his straight edge beliefs.

At Night of Grudges Raven teamed with Whitmer to take on the Second City Saints. It was a wild bloody brawl and the Second City Saints won. After the match Punk kicked Raven’s ass and put him through a table.

Two weeks later at Wrestlerave Raven had an even bigger partner- Chris Daniels. It was another wild bloody brawl and Punk bled all over the place. Once again the Second City Saints were able to get the win when Punk pinned Raven. After the match Punk choked out Raven with a chain and left him coughing up bile. Raven wanted another shot at Punk and challenged him to a DOG COLLAR match at Death Before Dishonour.

In a promo cut after Wrestlerave- Punk revealed that his father threw away his life because of alcohol- just like Raven did. He saw his father in Raven and it made him angry and made him want to kick Raven’s ass for reminding him of the life he had to grow up with.

Punk has a microphone and points out that the RexPlex doesn’t sell booze and once again points out that he is better then everyone. The crowd chants ‘Shut the fuck up’. Punk starts talking about how Raven is like his alcoholic father so the crowd chants ‘Alcohol’. Punk points out Danny Doring sitting in the crowd. He mocks Doring (who is drinking a beer) and the crowd chants E-C-Dub. ROH booker Gabe Sapolsky (a great man) holds Doring back as Punk goes back to taunting Raven. Tonight Punk ends it. Raven finally interrupts Punk. Punk figures that he’s beaten Raven so many times so- why have a dog collar match? He proposes all these different gimmick matches as the crowd chants ‘You’re a Pussy.’

Punk finally attaches himself to the collar as the crowd chants ‘CM Pussy’. Punk tries to bail but Raven pulls him back in using the chain. Raven hits him with the chain twice and clotheslines him. Raven whips him with the chain and chokes him out. Raven sends Punk into the corner and crotches him with the chain. Raven does a Russian leg sweep into the guardrail. Punk blades. Raven does another Russian leg sweep into the guard rail and hits him with a ring bell. Raven chokes him with the chain and sends him into the rail twice as Punk bleeds all over the place. Raven hits him in the head with a chair. Raven sets up a table but gets ballshotted. Raven kicks him and hits a knee lift. Punk whips Raven into a table. Punk hits him with a neckbreaker and knees him in the face. Punk kicks him and beats him with the chain. Punk chokes him with the chain and hammers away. Punk sends Raven into the rail as Raven starts to bleed. Raven gets sent into another guardrail. Punk dumps Raven into the crowd but Raven pulls on the chain and Punk goes into the rail. They brawl into the crowd. Raven goes into a lightstand. Punk hiptosses Raven into a bunch of chairs. Punk kicks his ass but Raven hits him with something. Raven clotheslines him down and then pulls him over the rail and back into the ringside area. Punk goes into another guardrail. Raven dumps Punk into the crowd and kicks him in the face. Raven gives a fan a chair and whips Punk into it. Raven gives a fan another chair and whips Punk into it. Raven goes to the top of the bleachers and poses. Punk pulls on the chain and Raven goes flying down the bleachers. Punk continues beating on him with the chain. Punk elbows him down. Punk gets the mike and starts mocking Raven as he beats the crap out of him. Punk crotches him with the chain while sitting on the top rope. Raven pulls him down but can’t dislodge the mike from him. Punk: Is that all you got Flamingo?? That pisses Raven off and he explodes with punches. He hits seven clotheslines and Raven is on fire! Raven with clothesline #8 and he hits a knee lift for two. Raven places a chair in the ring and does his patented drop toehold into the chair for two. Raven spits in his face. He goes to chair Punk but he accidentally chairs the ref. Raven uses the chain to abuse Punk and hits the Raven Effect! But there’s no ref. Colt Cabana runs in and ballshots Raven and hits a DDT onto the chair. Danny Doring runs in and clotheslines Cabana out. Punk rolls over and covers for the three count. ***3/4 This match was what a dog collar match should be. An intense bloody brutal war with each men unleashing their hatred out on the other person. Probably the best Punk v. Raven match I’ve seen.

Raven is a bloody and beaten man. Punk ties him to the ropes on the outside. Punk taunts Raven and gets a beer. He decides to send Raven back to rehab and pours beer down his throat. Punk continues taunting Raven when TOMMY DREAMER SHOWS UP!!!! THE CROWS GOES CRAZY. Punk turns around only to eat a chairshot and the crowd has come unglued as Dreamer mouths ‘I love you guys.’ Dreamer gives Punk a Dreamer DDT. Dreamer ties Punk to the ropes as Dreamer looks to be having the time of his life. The crowd chants ‘Fuck him up Dreamer/fuck him up.’ Dreamer unties Raven and they face off. Raven offers his hand to Dreamer and they embrace- I’m getting goosebumps just watching this. The crowd chants ‘E-C-W’ and then switches to ‘R-O-H’.

Raven starts mocking Punk. “Wanna knock me back off the wagon? That’s okay- I wasn’t very good at staying off anyway.” Raven reminds Punk that he’s never had a beer before (while holding a beer can in his hand) Punk: Don’t you fucking dare. The crowd chants ‘CHUG CHUG CHUG’ and Raven POURS BEER DOWN PUNK’S THROAT. Dreamer then slams the beer can against his own head as Punk practically has a seizure.

That moment right there is probably my favourite non-Paul London moment in all of ROH.

Paul London cuts a nice promo about his ROH career. He talks about his matches with Shane, Danielson (I will NEVER forget Epic Encounter) and AJ Styles. He then brings up his three-way and his matches with Xavier. Tonight’s his last match and he has a special feeling- he won’t let the fans down.

We get a video package of the Briscoes v. Amazing Phenomenon.

Amazing Phenomenon (w/Alexis Laree) v. The Briscoes for the ROH Tag Titles

At Night of Champions Amazing Phenomenon had their first title defence and it was an incredible match against the Briscoes. The ROH fans voted for a rematch and at Epic Encounter Amazing Phenomenon again defeated the Briscoes in another great match. The fans wanted one more so ROH booked one final match between the two teams. If AP retain- the Briscoes get no more title shots. If the Briscoes win- AP do not get a rematch.

Styles and Jay lock up and lock wrists. They end up falling to the floor. Mark elbows Red before he does a dive. Mark dives to the outside but AJ moves and Mark eats guard rail. Jay sends AJ into the rail. Jay chops AJ but Red powerbombs Jay for two. AJ and Red chop Jay but he boots Red. AJ clotheslines Jay but Mark springboards in with a dropkick onto AJ. The Briscoes chop AJ and work him over but AJ kills Jay with a lariat. Mark blocks the Styles Clash twice but gets slingshotted into the corner. Red comes in and they superkick and enziguri Mark. Red kicks Mark in the back but eats a hard chop. Red kicks him again and hits a baseball slide for two. Tag AJ. AJ hammers away and gets a dropkick for two. AJ with a neckbreaker for two. Tag Red. Red kicks him and chops away. Red with a drop toehold and kicks him for two. Red keeps kicking and punching him because of an injured knee. Mark kicks him right in the knee and tags Jay. Jay beats on Red. The Briscoes do a switch-a-roo and Mark comes in and hooks a Maple Leaf crab. Jay comes in and slams Red. Jay hooks a Maple Leaf crab and spits at AJ. AJ runs in allowing Jay to choke out Red. Mark is tagged in. Red can’t even run the ropes. Mark with a vicious dragon screw and he elbows him. Mark kicks at his knee and Jay is tagged in. The Briscoes continue to taunt AJ and use dirty tactics to work over Red. Mark and Red trade brutal chops and Red gets a forearm. Mark powerbombs Red to end that rally. Red comes back by dropping Mark on his head. Hot tag AJ who cleans house. Powerslam to Jay but Mark saves. Mark suplexes AJ who kicks out. Red fires at the Briscoes with kicks but Jay takes him out with a Mafia kick. AJ with a slingshot crossbody onto Jay for two. AJ and Mark battle on the top. AJ suplexes Mark and Jay powerbombs AJ at the same time. That’s insane. Red and Jay chop each other. Jay hits the Jaydriller on Red. AJ throws Mark into Jay to break it up. The Briscoes hit AJ with the Doomsday Device for two. AJ hits Mark with an inverted DDT. Jay goes for a Jaydriller but Red saves with a Shining Wizard. AJ then hits Jay with the Styles Clash for the win. Red’s injury caused this to be not as good as their previous encounters. The crowd was also worn out from Raven v. Punk so the match didn’t have as much heat as it deserved. This was still some fine tag team wrestling with the Briscoes playing effective heels. ***

Jim Cornette cuts a promo about how people are wondering why he is going to Ring of Honor on August 9th. The usual greatness from JC.

We get a look back to Epic Encounter where London beat Dragon in an epic 2/3 falls match.

We get a look back to Night of Grudges where London fought AJ in a MOTYC.

We look back to Round Robin Challenge II where Joe beat Doug Williams, at Frontiers of Honour where Joe beat the Zebra Kid, at Do or Die where Joe killed Homicide and at Wrestlerave where he defeated Maff.

Samoa Joe v. Paul London for the ROH World Title

This is Paul’s last appearance before he is WWE bound. Can he capture the one thing that’s eluded him on his last night?

Paul hugs fans on his way to the ring. During the ring introductions- streamers are thrown into the ring as a show of respect for everything Paul has done.

Joe shouldertackles London twice. London with a drop toe hold but Joe gets a waistlock. London kicks him to break. Lockup- London with a headlock. Joe takes him down but London gets an armdrag and they battle on the mat. London gets a high knee but Joe kills him with a forearm. Joe chops him as London’s forearms don’t phase him. London rolls Joe up for two. London dumps Joe out and hits a baseball slide to the outside. London forearms him on the outside. Joe charges at him with a boot but London blocks it and hits a moonsault to Joe. London goes back in with a splash onto Joe. London hits a running forearm but that just pisses Joe off. Joe hits a sidewalk slam. Joe chops and kicks him. London tries to fight back as the crowd chants ‘Let’s Go London’. Joe with a back suplex for two. Joe kicks away at his knee. Joe tries to facewash him but London blocks it. London comes off the second rope but gets caught and Joe drops him on the rope. Joe hangs him in the Tree of Woe and gives him an upside down facewash. London moves out of the way of a bootscrape and Joe goes outside. London flies out onto Joe but gets caught and rammed into the turnbuckle. Joe has London take a seat and OLAY OLAY OLAY OLAY OLAY OLAY! Joe hits his running kick to the face and puts him in another chair. OLAY OLAY OLAY OLAY OLAY OLAY OLAY! Joe hits him with another running kick to the face. Joe hits a missile dropkick from the second rope. Joe with a German for two. London fights back with chops but Joe knees him. London blocks the Island Driver with a sunset flip for two. Rollup- two. Joe blocks La Magistral but London gets another rollup for two. London with a dropkick and Joe goes to the corner. London plays possum and hits a DDT. London goes for the London Star Press and HITS IT! 1…2.. BUT JOE KICKS OUT! Joe locks in a triangle choke but London rolls over for two. London misses a kick and Joe boots him. Joe hits a Dragon suplex for two. London with a sunset flip for two but he walks into a lariat that gets two for Joe. Joe slaps him and chops his chest. Joe keeps kneeing him and he hooks a choke. London tries to elbow out and ballshots him for good measure. Joe just locks it in again and there’s no escape. The ending sucks because the crowd was just not expecting it all. ***1/2 Aside from the abrupt ending- this was a great way for London to go out. This match had lots of near falls and told a good story of London doing everything he could to take the big man down and finally live his dream. Joe was his usual great self. He established the role of the heel early on and didn’t try to overshadow London. A great way for Paul to go out.

The crowd chants ‘Thank You Paul’. The entire locker room runs out and stands around Paul. Joe hugs Paul and says something to him. The crowd continues to chant Thank You Paul. Devito hugs Paul and BJ and Doug put him up on their shoulders. Everyone kneels before him in a show of respect. Not one person is sitting down- EVERYONE is standing to pay respect to Paul London.

Paul gives a very nice speech (including some nice jabs at AJ) He seems shocked by the whole thing. Paul and Rudy Boy embrace and Paul thanks the NYC Bus Trip for the banners. The crowd chants ‘Thank You’ as Paul embraces everyone in the ring and then bows to the fans. It was great seeing the crowd be so appreciative of Paul on his last night out- he deserved all the accolades he got. After the show Paul actually stayed behind for 30+ minutes just talking to the fans who came out to see him. He’s a true class act.

Raven is backstage with a cage. Raven brings up the fact that his feud mirrors Raven v. Dreamer. Punk may have held help in his wins but Raven doesn’t care because payback is hell. Raven doesn’t think Punk has suffered enough and calls him an arrogant piece of shit. Raven guarantees that he will win their cage match.

The Carnage Crew are backstage talking about their ugly wives and bratty kids. They celebrate the fact that they snuck away from the picnic and went to a nudie bar. They’re happy they got to make someone bleed tonight and make them feel the misery they feel every day. Carnage Crew start cutting a promo on how they hate those miserable rich Special K kids. They call Mikey a crippled old man. Ouch. The usual funny stuff from the Carnage Crew.

Christopher Daniels is backstage. He cuts a promo on Amazing Phenomenon and promises to win the tag titles. He then challenges Joe and promises to become ROH champion.

Rob Feinstein asks Punk to cut a promo for the tape. Feinstein tells him that Raven challenged him to a cage match. Punk shoves Feinstein down and promises that he will kick Raven’s ass.

The Bottom Line- A fantastic show from top to bottom. The 4-way and Punk v. Raven are worth the price of admission alone but Paul’s farewell, Low Ki’s return and the Jeff Hardy incident is also must-see. This was ROH’s biggest show ever and they did not disappoint. The tapes also have lots of promos and video packages so you are up to date on everything ROH related.

Highest Recommendation

Once you again- you can pick up the tape here-

http://www.rfvideo.com/merchant/index.cfm?action=moreinfo&id=8001