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Csonka Reviews This Week’s ROH Free Throwback Matches
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Csonka Reviews This Week’s ROH Free Throwback Matches
OFFICIAL RESULTS
– From War of the Worlds 2014: Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Kevin Steen @ 12:00 via pin [***¾]
– ROH Title Match [From Manhattan Mayhem II 2007]: Champion Takeshi Morishima defeated Bryan Danielson @ 20:17 via pin [****¾]
– Pure Title Tournament Finals [From Second Anniversary Show 2004]: AJ Styles defeated CM Punk @ 16:35 via pin to become the first Pure Champion [***¾]
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kevin Steen (War of the Worlds 2014): Steen mockingly staked hand and then hits a cheap shot, Nakamura is not amused so they start lighting each other up with forearm strikes. Nakamura takes Steen to the corner, works good vibrations and Steen tells him to calm down because it looks like Nakamura is having a seizure. I laughed. Steen cuts off Nakamura, hitting a belly to back suplex and then a standing dropkick; Steen takes a bow. He then tosses Nakamura to the floor, teases a dive and as he goes for the cannonball, Nakamura nonchalantly strolls out of the way, allowing Steen to crash to the floor. Nakamura lays in running knee strikes as Steen lays on the apron, but Steen eventually moves and then apron bombs the fuck out of Nakamura. Back in the ring, and they trade strikes. Great fire here, Steen in control until Nakamura hits a kick. Steen cuts him off hitting the apron DDT and senton for 2. Steen misses the cannonball, but quickly takes Nakamura down and hits Nakamura’s good vibrations and a cannonball for 2. Nakamura battles back, and sets Steen in the corner and hits the running knee strike and then follows with grounded knee strikes. Nakamura works a sleeper, but Steen escapes but Nakamura doesn’t give up and locks it back in. Steen escapes again, hitting a suplex for the double down. Steen teases the package piledriver, Nakamura escapes and hits the backstabber and then the reverse XPLODER. Nakamura looks for Boma Ye but runs into a pop up powerbomb for 2. Nakamura fights off the package piledriver, they battle up top, with Steen hitting the twisting suplex and covering for a great near fall. Nakamura hits Boma Ye, then a Boma Ye off the ropes BUT OWENS KICKS OUT AT 1! Nakamura says not today Cartman and hits a third Boma Ye and puts Steen away. Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Kevin Steen @ 12:00 via pin [***¾] This was a really good match, more of a Nakamura style match than the typical Steen match in some ways, but it flowed really well. Sometimes when you get two talented guys in the ring together, good things happen with ease, and this seemed to be the case here. Nakamura escaped the package piledriver, and had to use three Boma Ye knee strikes to finish off Steen. Nakamura looked great in victory, Steen looked like a valiant warrior, fighting off the big Boma Ye knee strikes until the third finally took him out. This was very good; I hope these guys make it to the big time some day.
Champion Takeshi Morishima vs. Bryan Danielson (Manhattan Mayhem II 2007): This was Danielson’s first shot at regaining the title after losing it in December of 2006. Danielson looks to stick and move early, staying away and working leg kicks. Morishima finally gets his hands on Danielson, laying in some clubbing strikes but Danielson escapes that attack. Morishima takes him to the ropes, looking for big clubbing strikes, but Danielson back to the leg kicks, working a smart strategy early. Danielson with more leg kicks and then rains done with forearm strikes. Morishima is getting pissed, tries to walk down Danielson and finally catches him and works him over in the corner with repeated strikes and Danielson is down, clutching at his face. Morishima continues his assault, and I think that’s where the eye injury happened (more on that below). It’s all Morishima here, hitting a charging kick and Danielson keeps favoring the eye. Danielson tries to work leg kicks from the ground, but Morishima them lays in kicks, mauling Danielson with ease here. Danielson is tossed to the floor, Morishima follows him and tosses him to the barricade. Morishima then sets him in a chair and lands another kick to the face, right on that eye. Morishima continues the attack, but Danielson avoids a charge and tosses Morishima into the crowd. Danielson then springboards from the ring onto Morishima in the crowd! This crowd is insane. Danielson struggles to get Morishima back into the ring, but firs works over Morishima ringside and then takes out him knee with chair shots. Back in the ring, Danielson hits the missile dropkick but Morishima no sells and decapitates him with a lariat. Danielson then counters the backdrop driver, and covers for 2. Danielson fires up and lays in strikes, attacks the knee and Morishima is down. Danielson rolls into a heel hook, continuing to try and keep the big man down and take out his leg. Morishima fights to his feet, hitting a German. The uranage follows for 2. Morishima up top, Danielson follow shim up and looks for a superplex, but gets tossed off; Danielson avoids the missile dropkick and attacks the leg once again. Morishima makes the ropes, as Danielson is still favoring the eye. Danielson looks for a German, but Morishima fights him off with elbows, and hits the Thesz press and works ground and pound; Danielson transitions into the single leg crab. Morishima with up kicks to the face breaks that and both men are down. Danielson then counters the backdrop driver into a small package for 2. Danielson follows with strikes and another roll up for 2. Danielson back to the leg kicks, tries a sunset flip but Morishima sits down on him and covers for 2. Danielson then hits the bridging German for 2 and then rains down with elbow strikes, but Morishima gets to his feet and Danielson with more leg kicks and Morishima is down. Danielson then connects with repeated kicks to the face and covers, getting 2. He then transitions to the cattle mutilation, but Morishima survives and gets the ropes. Danielson takes Morishima to the corner, set him up top and follows but Morishima counters the backdrop superplex into a cross body, but can’t cover as the knee is too damaged. They trade strikes, but kick fro Morishima, Danielson fires up but gets turned inside out with the lariat; Morishima hits the backdrop driver and Danielson is finally done. Champion Takeshi Morishima defeated Bryan Danielson @ 20:17 via pin [****¾] This was prime Danielson and also the time when many thought that Morishima was going to be the next Terry Gordy/next great big man. During this match, Danielson suffered a detached retina, and the muscles around the eye were loosened to the point where his eyeball rolled back in his head and he couldn’t see out of it. I haven’t watched this match in years, and it was an absolute joy to revisit. This is an outstanding piece of business, with both men working at the top of their game and playing the big man vs. little man formula about as perfectly as you can. The physicality is off the charts, and the fact that Danielson was so seriously injured and so early on, but continued through the end and had such a great match is just an amazing accomplishment. Danielson’s gameplan was excellent here, he never was out of the fight, but he just took so much damage that his body gave out and the monster took the win. The crowd was insanely hot for the match throughout and makes for an outstanding atmosphere that lacks in many big time ROH matches these days. All things considered, with the injury to his eye, this may very well be on of if not the best performances of Danielson’s career.
CM Punk vs. AJ Styles (Pure Title Tournament Finals – Second Anniversary Show 2004): Three new rules that make up the “Pure” division. You get three rope breaks before they stop counting; the other two rules are that there are no closed fists and a 20-count on the floor. If you use a closed fist, you lose a rope break. It was a good idea in theory, creating a secondary title with a specific set of rules to give fans something different with workers that use a different style than the rest of the roster. Unfortunately it never achieved like they wanted it too, but something like this would feel perfectly at home in current day EVOLVE. They talk trash, shake hands and we’re underway. They work some back and forth, Styles works the arm and Punk uses the ropes to back flip out, and the ref says that it was a rope break, which pisses Punk off. Styles looks for the clash, but Punk takes him down and looks for a submission and Styles has to use a rope break. They lock up and work around the ropes and brawl to the floor. They both break the count back in, and we see Traci Brooks arrive ringside. Styles looks to go after Brooks, allowing Punk to hut a dive and wipe him out. Styles hits a dropkick but starts to favor his leg on the landing. They brawl at ringside, but Punk sends him into the crowd and hits a high cross over the barricade. Punk rolls Styles back in and Punk locks in the Boston crab, sitting down deep and Styles has to burn a second rope break. Styles counters another crab into a head scissors and works a version of the tarantula and the ref claims that it was a Punk rope break, even though technically Styles was using an illegal hold. Punk then trips up Styles as he looked for a springboard attack, Punk then followed with a brainbuster, covering for 2. Punk keeps control, countering a neck breaker, and hitting an STO; Punk works a half crab now. Punk sits down, keeping Styles grounded and Styles uses his third rope break. Punk then hits a curb stomp, Styles fights back but Punk escapes and burns his final rope break. Punk sets Styles up top, follows him up and they battle for position; Styles hits a super gourd buster and both men are down. They make it back to the feet, trading strikes and chops. Pun then works head butts, but Styles hits the rolling lariat and sends Punk to the floor. Punk makes it back in, counters the tornado DDT and hits the shining wizard for a near fall. Punk lays in forearms in the corner, chops follow and Punk then charges, Styles counters and looks for a German. Punk escapes and counters into a piledriver. Punk then works a cloverleaf variation; Styles climbs up the ropes and uses kicks to escape. Punk again attacks the legs, looks for another shining wizard but Styles counters into the clash for a really good near fall, playing off of their Tradition Continues match. Punk avoids the lariat and hits the spike DDT but Styles is out at 2. Punk up to now, looking for the Pepsi plunge. Styles fires up with strikes, they trade forearms but Styles then hits the PELE and Punk is hanging in the corner, Styles snags him up and hits the Styles clash off of the ropes for the pin. Punk had a foot on the ropes, but it didn’t matter because he had burned all of his rope breaks (even if controversially so). AJ Styles defeated CM Punk @ 16:35 via pin to become the first Pure Champion [***¾] I thought that the finish was really smart and played into the set of rules they were establishing. First of all AJ had to use a more supersized version of the Styles clash to put away Punk, which makes Punk look like a top guy, but also Punk had his foot on the ropes but was out of rope breaks, so he was screwed. Overall this is a very good match, I thought they played to the gimmick well and that they delivered a strong tournament final, and Styles was a great choice for the first champion. If I have a complaint it is the fact that AJ’s lack of leg selling down the stretch and Punk’s overall lack of dedication to the work he put in earlier felt like it was forgotten at the end.
– End scene.
– Thanks for reading.
“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”
