Review of Honor: Sixth Anniversary Show

Sixth Anniversary Show
February 23rd, 2008 | Manhattan Center in Manhattan, New York

Here’s my third “Review of Honor” and my randomizer has selected a third show that I attended live. During this time period, Ring of Honor was running shows in my hometown of New York, pretty much bi-monthly. The Anniversary Show would run in New York from the 5th (as part of a series of events) until the 8th and then again for the 10th. I recall this event being excellent so let’s see.

The show starts with the very hot Rebecca Bayless going into the locker room of the Vulture Squad to interview them. For those who don’t know, the Vulture Squad consisted of Jack Evans, Jigsaw, Ruckus, Mercedes Martinez and Julius Smokes. Smokes is being his annoying self. Martinez is introduced as the “Bootylicious Vulture”. This is awful as it is just Smokes yelling and Bayless does no interviewing.

Delirious vs. Human Tornado
At this time, I remember hearing a lot about Human Tornado, so I was intrigued to actually see him compete. Once the bell rings, Delirious goes nuts, which is his trademark. Tornado combats that with some dancing, complete with his music coming back on. The way he incorporates the dancing into his moves is really fun. He hits the POUNCE…PERIOD! When he does some dancing stomps, the Age of the Fall run out to bring this to a no contest.

The Age of the Fall here is Tyler Black, Jimmy Jacob, Zach Gowen and Lacey. Man, I was and still am in love with Lacey. She looks phenomenal here.

She gets in Delirious’ face, bringing out Daizee Haze to continue her lifelong rivalry with Lacey. This leads to a tag team match. It’s impromptu like ECW or something!

Delirious and Human Tornado vs. Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black w/ Zach Gowen and Lacey
Human Tornado and Delirious drop some elbows on Tyler Black to start things. As Delirious tags out, the one coherent thing he shouts is “JIVE SOUL BRO”. Tornado hits a moonsault for two. Delirious makes a mistake on a cross body, as Black catches him and just body slams him to the outside. Jacobs and Black had won the ROH World Tag Team Titles their last time in New York, but lost them a month later. They work some solid double teams on poor Delirious for a while. Gowen gets in a cheap shot with his cane. It’s weird seeing him as a heel. Black tries a springboard splash but is met with a headbutt. The hot tag comes to Tornado, getting in his unique offense. From the apron, he leaps and hurricanranas Black to the outside. Then he dives over the turnbuckle out onto both opponents! He and Delirious hits some tandem moves, ending with Tornado doing a split stomp into Black’s groin. He rolls up Jacobs but Black cuts it off. Delirious gets dropkicked off the top by Black, who then hits Tornado with the Buckle Bomb. Jacobs locks him in the End Time, and Tornado passes out.

Winners: Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black in 9:52
A really fun opening contest here. The New York crowd was very hot for Human Tornado, as it was a rare appearance and he delivered. They did a good job in building towards the hot tag. While Tornado and Delirious worked well together, it was clear that the guy who would become a star out of this match was Tyler Black. ***

Nigel McGuinness, the Ring of Honor World Champion at the time, comes out next. The fans at their last show in New York were adamant about him dropping the title due to injury. He kept it and says he’s in great condition tonight except for his head due to concussions. He is worried about that because of his opponent tonight, Bryan Danielson, and the style he wrestles. The always great “you’re gonna get your fucking head kicked in” chant starts. Nigel says that they have a Pay-Per-View in a month and if Danielson injures him tonight, there would be no headliner. This is perfect as the fans are rabid. They straight up say they don’t care if Nigel ends up as a vegetable. He threatens to relinquish the belt, bringing out Danielson. He cuts a passionate promo about how important the title is to him. He then goes on to say that to make sure the match happens, he won’t hit Nigel in the head. He says he has a million ways to beat him.

Brent Albright w/ Shane Hagadorn vs. El Generico
The fact that Brent Albright comes out to Ozzy Osburne fit him great. He was part of the Hangmen 3 here, and they were wrapping up a feud with Delirious, Kevin Steen and El Generico. This is your classic battle of power vs. speed. Albright swings Generico into the guardrail as commentary mentions that Albright put Generico through a table back in November in this building. I remember that because I was sitting by the aisle and never saw Generico leave. It’s like he went through the table and just took a nap there for the rest of the show. Albright works over Generico until he is able to send him outside and connect on a dive. Inside, he gets two on a split legged moonsault. Albright comes back with a big wheelbarrow suplex. A “Jim Belushi” chant starts, causing Albright to shout “I AM NOT JIM BELUSHI!” Albright works a rest hold but when he goes up top, Generico connects on the Yakuza Kick, sending him to the floor. He follows with a pretty springboard moonsault. Back inside, both guys hit big moves, but neither has a clear advantage. They go up top where Generico gets two on a sunset bomb. Albright blocks the Brainbuster and hits a release German. Generico comes back with the Yakuza Kick though his Brainbuster is again countered. Albright hits a half nelson suplex before Albright starts delivering some rough knee strikes and the official calls for the bell.

Winner: Brent Albright in 13:06
Better than I remembered. Brent Albright was a pretty good stronger guy and El Generico is always great at selling for those types. He got in more offense than I expected and this was a very fun match. ***

The amazing theme music of Larry Sweeney hits as he comes out for the Larry Sweeney Show with Bobby Dempsey at his side. He puts over his win at their last show in New York and how he’s undefeated. The crowd loved Dempsey. Sweeney brings out his guest, Allison Danger. Danger was the manager for Christopher Daniels for a while, is a pioneer of SHIMMER and is Steve Corino’s sister. Sweeney wants to ask her about the rumor that she’s a slut backstage. He drops some good quips about her needing knee pads. She gets in his face but he knocks her out when she tries to leave. He wants Bobby to become a man and throws him on Danger’s lifeless body. This got cut down quite a bit for the DVD. Being there live, it dragged on for a bit too long and was a bit awkward. A lame segment but the crowd LOVED Larry Sweeney. He uses this moment to announce that Sweet n’ Sour Inc. is starting a hostile takeover of ROH.

Kevin Steen vs. Joey Matthews
It’s weird that both of these guys have prominent roles on WWE TV in 2015. Before the bell, Kevin Steen mocks the paparazzi MNM stuff that Joey was formerly a part of. He no-sells most of Matthew’s shots, though they exchange some hard slaps. Steen is coming off of a win over Bryan Danielson during a tournament that he also won the night before. Matthews uses the referee as a shield to gain the upper hand with a cheap shot. Matthews goes on the offensive, trying to keep Steen on the mat. Steen comes back with the popup powerbomb but is too worn down to pin instantly. Matthews blocks a Package Piledriver. Steen plays some possum, but can’t capitalize as he gets crotched. Matthews blocks a super Package Piledriver, leading to a hurricanrana. Steen rolls through right into the Sharpshooter and Joey taps.

Winner: Kevin Steen in 11:06
The rise of Kevin Steen was beginning here. Joey Matthews was always a solid hand, but something about his ROH run didn’t click for the most part. Count this among those. The match isn’t bad, but it’s not very good either. The crowd was surprisingly quieter than usual for it too. **½

Backstage, Daizee Haze cuts a short promo about her SHIMMER Title match tonight. I love SHIMMER so I’m looking forward to reliving this match. She pinned Sara Del Rey, the champion, at a recent ROH PPV.

Austin Aries vs. Go Shiozaki
Austin Aries is running as a tweener while the Age of the Fall try and recruit him. They start by trying to feel each other out and each guy escapes a headscissors. That was always kind of Aries’ thing. Aries does his best to avoid Go’s chops, while commentary does a good job of selling how vicious his are. Aries finally runs into one and it was worth the hype. The chops that Aries uses have little to no effect but Go brutalizes him with his own. Outside they go and Aries takes control with a dropkick and some knees. Aries had recently won a best of three series against Bryan Danielson to be considered the “Ace of ROH”, but then fell to Nigel McGuinness in an absolute classic, leading him down his more tweener path. He sells the hell out of Go’s chops, though maybe they legit hurt like hell. Go now has firm control and sets Aries up in the tree of woe. He delivers some more hard chops but runs into some kicks. Aries comes out with a variation of a Stunner. That was certainly innovative. They move to the apron where Aries back suplexes him to the floor. He follows that with the heat seeing missile, which is my favorite variation of a suicide dive. Inside, Go avoids the punt and rolls through a school boy right into a German for two. Go goes into a big combination that includes a superkick and another chop for a near fall. He seems to have won over the New York crowd. Aries rallies with four consecutive corner dropkicks. Up top they go and Go connects on a super swinging urange for a near fall. Shiozaki climbs up but misses a beautiful moonsault. Aries moves right into the Horns of Aries but Go reaches the ropes. Go hits Orange Crush for two. Aries manages to his some elbows and the Brainbuster but can only score two. He uses the kickout to go right into the Horns of Aries! Go won’t tap, so they come back to their feet. Go tries a Brainbuster of his own but Aries knees out of it. OR SO HE THINKS! Go holds on and hits the Brainbuster but it’s still not enough! Go hits some huge shots but Aries dodges one and hits a crucifix bomb. He follows that with a punt kick to the head, Brainbuster and 450 splash to finally win.

Winner: Austin Aries in 20:03
That was fantastic. This was my first time seeing Go Shiozaki and he absolutely delivered. They built towards a hot finish and it delivered. The near falls were all close but not overdone. It showed that Austin Aries was still the “ace” and that Go Shiozaki was headed for a bright future with Ring of Honor. Go see this one for sure. ****¼

The lights go out after the match and Jimmy Jacobs appears on one of the balconies in the Manhattan Center. He cuts a promo as the group continues to try and recruit Austin Aries. Tyler Black and Lacey are in other parts of the balcony. Man, Lacey still looks damn good. “Back in Black” hits and out comes Tammy Sytch. She’s in a rather tiny skirt, showing off everything as she enters the ring. She offers her services to manage him. He says he’s going to mull it over and exits, leaving Tammy and Lacey to trade barbs.

Rebecca Bayley interviews the No Remorse Corp. She’s adorable as we find out that Roderick Strong made Davey Richards clean his FIP Title. Davey hilariously forgot his Tag Title at the hotel and finds out that the guys are going out without him tonight. Funnier than I expected.

SHIMMER Championship
Sara Del Rey (c) vs. Daizee Haze
This is after intermission and every remaining match is for a belt. Sara Del Rey was the first and only SHIMMER Champion at this point. Both girls trade the advantage on the mat. Haze takes the champion over with a series of headscissors. Her third attempt is countered though. Del Rey hits a big kick showing off those incredibly powerful legs. She uses those to try and choke Daizee, but she makes the ropes. Haze hits a plancha to the outside but struggles to get Del Rey back inside. DYNAMITE COMES IN SMALL PACKAGES! She fires away on Del Rey and hits a missile dropkick. She gets some near falls with rollups before nailing the Heart Punch. She impresses with a German but only gets two. They counter each other’s finishers but as Del Rey escapes a backslide, she gets up and delivers a SICK axe kick to the head. Royal Butterfly hits to retain.

Winner and Still SHIMMER Champion: Sara Del Rey in 8:29
I’ve seen better from both girls. This was done to showcase SHIMMER but there was much more potential in this. Rather disappointing but that axe kick was awesome. **½

ROH World Tag Team Championship
Davey Richards and Rocky Romero (c) vs. The Vulture Squad w/ Julius Smokes and Mercedes Martinez
If the Vulture Squad loses, Jigsaw must remove his mask. He starts with Davey Richards, and they have a fun little exchange. Ruckus comes in leading to just high flying spots. Rocky Romero gets the upper hand and dances. AZUCAR! This has been going at a breakneck pace. Rocky goes to remove Jigsaw’s mask but is unable to. As it slows down, Jigsaw takes the heat for a while. Ruckus gets the tag and comes in to dive out onto both champions. He does his usual athletic spots. When Jigsaw comes back in, he hits a nice top rope hurricanrana but the champions take over and nail Ruckus with a super MNM snapshot. Jigsaw breaks the pin. He dives out onto Davey as Ruckus hits a Van Terminator like front flip dropkick for two on Rocky. Davey lights up Jigsaw with a series of chops and headbutts in the corner. That’s not a combo I see often. Jigsaw rallies with a double stomp for a close near fall. Jig and Tonic connects but Rocky saves the day. The high risk style backfires on Ruckus as he’s knocked outside. Davey goes into a series of offensive moves on Jigsaw but it’s not enough. Then, he hits some kicks and a Liger bomb to win, but it felt very anti-climactic.

Winners and Still ROH World Tag Team Champions: Davey Richards and Rocky Romero in 11:15
A fast paced tag team match that was actually pretty fun. Going in, I didn’t expect much since the style of the Vulture Squad isn’t my favorite. However, they wisely let Jigsaw do most of the heavy lifting and it worked out for the best. ***

As Davey Richards and Rocky Romero celebrate, Kevin Steen and El Generico appear in the crowd. Kevin Steen brings up how they challenged the Briscoes on this stage a few months back and it led to a brawl. They want a shot at the titles. Davey calls him fat like three times and tells them to bring the fight. However, they flee once their potential challengers reach the ring.

No Disqualifications FIP Championship
Roderick Strong (c) vs. Erick Stevens vs. Necro Butcher w/ Lacey
Erick Stevens attacks during Roderick Strong’s entrance. Stevens took the FIP Title from Roddy at Final Battle 2007 in New York but lost it back to him the week before this. Strong and Stevens chop each other a ton. Necro tries to commit murder with a plastic bag on Stevens. Inside they go, along with a steel chair which quickly is used as part of a Strong suplex on Necro for two. These are three of the hardest hitting guys I ever saw live. Necro leaps from the apron with a front flip senton to surprise me. Strong comes at him with the sick kick outside before Stevens brings back the chops. Necro just starts throwing chairs into the ring, with the help of Lacey. He also hits Stevens with the ring bell before ringing it. He was good at mixing the comedy with the violence. He slides chairs at both opponents, which always made me chuckle. Roderick pulls Necro by the beard and steps on Necro’s bare feet. Smart stuff. He hits a backbreaker onto an open chair for two. Stevens had a bandage on the side of his skull and it comes off revealing a gross gash. Necro takes an unprotected chair shot and then Roddy eats a release German. All three guys are down. When they get up, they go into a chop war that just sounds BRUTAL. Necro ends this with a big right hand. They spill outside, allowing Strong to flip over the top onto them. As Strong lays into Stevens, we see Stevens telling the official about his cut. It still looks bad. So what does Necro do? HE HITS IT FLUSH WITH A CHAIR! His cut is back open but it raises his aggression. He wipes out Necro with multiple chair shots, but Necro just throws one at his knees because why not? He then hits a DVD onto an open chair, but Strong breaks the pin with a loud kick. He rolls Stevens outside, focusing on Necro. He tries a Gibson Driver through a table but it comes off odd and looks like a Pedigree. Inside, Strong hits another Gibson Driver that still looks bad and wins.

Winner and Still FIP Champion: Roderick Strong in 17:07
Absolutely brutal and non-stop excitement. All three guy went out and just beat the stuffing out of each other for our enjoyment. Those they messed up a few moves it was still really good. This match made Necro super popular with the New York crowd. Some seriously violent things happened here, in a good way. ***¾

We get a really cool video showing highlights from ROH’s last year as a thank you to the fans for six years of support.

ROH World Heavyweight Championship
Nigel McGuinness (c) vs. Bryan Danielson
The “Final Countdown” entrance is still my favorite of all-time to see live. These two had arguably the best rivalry in ROH history. Coming into this match, Nigel McGuinness had never beaten Bryan Danielson in a singles match. The early portion of the match is centered on each guy countering each other as they do some mat work with nobody gaining a clear upper hand. Danielson gets the crowd to chant “USA” which turns into a Jim Duggan “HOOO”. As Danielson hits a dropkick, commentary points out that it was to the body and not the head. He follows with a suicide dive and missile dropkick, complete with a nip up. As Nigel takes a back suplex, he rolls outside to complain about getting hit in the head. Genius heel work. He strikes the referee and gets himself disqualified. He tries to leave but Kevin Steen, Austin Aries, Delirious and even heel Roderick Strong come out to stop him. Either he defends the belt with honor or he has to go through the four of them. The match continues with Nigel in control. He just picks Bryan apart with his vicious looking offense. Danielson begins to rally, firing away with kicks. Nigel suplexes Bryan to the floor. Those always look rough. Danielson retaliates with a massive dive into the crowd, just a row or two in front of me. It was really cool. Back inside, the triangle choke gets applied, but Nigel escapes and hits a big time lariat. Nigel tries for the Tower of London but Danielson counters and sends him outside. Nigel hits Tower of London outside. Tit for tat between these two here. Nigel is bleeding a bit and applies Cattle Mutilation to the crowd’s dismay. Brilliant. The jawbreaker lariat misses but he hits one with Danielson on the ropes. Tower of London hits but Danielson kicks out. Nigel moves to the London Dungeon, which is one of my favorite submissions. Danielson counters it into a rollup for a very close near fall. Danielson nails chaos theory before they exchange some big shots in the middle of the ring. Danielson hits a top rope back suplex and the crowd sense the end is near. He applies Cattle Mutilation and moves it over into the MMA elbows but decides against it due to his promise to not to hit Nigel in the head. A tiger suplex gets two and he does the elbows to the ribs instead of the head. This moves into the triangle choke because Bryan is a machine. He again doesn’t throw elbows to the head. Nigel seems to have passed out but is alive and kicking. Bryan attacks in the corner, trying to get Nigel counted out like this is boxing. That fails and Bryan goes back in, but Nigel headbutts him. This is sold perfectly as Danielson is hurt and stunned that Nigel would use his head. He hits a few more, including one to Bryan’s injured eye. Nigel hits a big lariat and then does Bryan’s MMA elbows like a total dick. The last one hits Bryan’s eye and then the London Dungeon is locked in. Bryan is out cold and Nigel gets the win.

Winner and Still ROH World Heavyweight Champion: Nigel McGuinness in 31:38
As usual, these two absolutely deliver in the ring together. Their chemistry always created magic in different ways. They’ve had more intense matches but storytelling was crucial here. From Bryan Danielson not going after the head to Nigel McGuinness using Bryan’s moves to Nigel using his own head in the end. This was all just masterful and is another example of why these are two of the best ever. ****½

8.5

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

From my Ring of Honor DVD collection, I am three for three in picking out great shows. Some things on this show weren’t great but nothing was bad outside of the Larry Sweeney segment. There was a bit more talking than I’m used to on an ROH show but that was offset by the great main event and superb Aries/Shiozaki match. Add in a brutal FIP Title match, fast paced Tag Team Title and a few other good matches and you’ve got a winner of a show.