ROH – Fourth Anniversary Show DVD Review

ROH – MILESTONE EVENT – FOURTH ANNIVERSARY SHOW – EDISON, NJ – 2.25.06

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) Roderick Strong (1, 11)
2) Austin Aries (2, 5)
3) Jimmy Yang (NR, 1)
4) Alex Shelley (4, 4)
5) Colt Cabana (NR, 1)

Introduction

BG says: The Milestone Series kicks off with this show. From what I’ve seen live and have come to understand through reports, this is ROH’s most booming period so far. Seven shows stretching from this, the fourth anniversary, to the company’s 100th show. Let’s see how things start off.

Commissioner Jim Cornette greets us. He can’t be at the show this evening but he’s looking forward to kicking off the fifth year as the company’s commissioner. He’s going to be getting live reports throughout the evening and making announcements accordingly.

JZ says: Jim Cornette opens up the show by thanking all the fans for their support. He apologizes for not being able to be at the event in person. He says he’ll be getting live updates throughout the show though.

MATCH #1: Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Sal Rinauro & Tony Mamaluke vs. Kid Mikaze & Jason Blade

BG says: Before the match can begin a familiar song plays and THE BRISCOE BROTHERS come down to ringside. Jay grabs the microphone and tells everyone that he wants to prove that the Briscoes are the best tag team in the world. They ask for it to be turned into a three way dance, and that’s what we get.

The Briscoe Brothers vs. Jason Blade & Kid Mikaze vs. Tony Mamaluke & Sal Rinauro
Jay takes out the former tag team champions as Mark goes to work on Blade & Mikaze. They work Mikaze over in the corner, hitting the double boot scrape. Mark catches everyone on the floor with a moonsault and Jay hits Mikaze with a DVD for 2. Blade tags in and they hit a Hart Attack-style Shining Wizard for 2. Blade hits Jay with a dropkick for 2. Mikaze tags in and they hit a double Japanese armdrag. Mamaluke comes in and takes the same move. Mark tags Mamaluke out, who previously looked like he couldn’t remember where he was. Sal tags Mark out and puts a wristlock on Mikaze. Mamaluke tags in and armdrags Sal onto Mikaze for 2. He hits an armbreaker and puts on a hammerlock. Sal tags in and they hit a double faceplant for 2. Sal hits a dropkick for 2. He hits a delayed vertical suplex for 2. He puts on a fruity looking inverted legvice but Mikaze escapes and hits a back heel kick. Blade tags in and hits a missile dropkick. Mark tags in and hits a missile dropkick on Blade. He hits a leg lariat and a side suplex on Mamaluke. Jay comes in and hits a big boot on Sal. Blade hits a back suplex and a faceplant on Jay. The Briscoes then hit their new finisher, a cutthroat DVD/top rope legdrop combo on Blade for the win. I’m going to call that the Bullet until they come up with another name for it. Like me the crowd wasn’t interested when a Briscoe wasn’t in the ring, and those parts of the match were pretty bad. The stuff including the Briscoes looked great, as they destroyed a pair of tag teams and looked like serious threats to the tag titles right out of the gate.
Rating: *¾

JZ says: This was originally scheduled to just be Rinauro and Mamaluke against Mikaze and Blade, but as soon as they all shake hands some familiar music comes on and it’s the MOTHERFUCKING BRISCOE BROTHERS. They propose to make the match a three-way dance, and I can’t see this ending well for anyone in this match that does not have the last name Briscoe. Dave Prazak and Lenny Leonard are the hosts. The Briscoes dominate, as to be expected. The jobber teams try to wrestle each other, but when the Briscoes come in they just kill everybody. They hit Blade with a combination guillotine legdrop / cutthroat driver to get the win at 6:32. That was the perfect way to start this show and the perfect way to reintroduce the Briscoe Brothers and make them look like the two baddest dudes ever. However, any time the Briscoes weren’t in the ring it was a mess and once they got there it was a squash. So it doesn’t rate very high but I certainly loved that last minute or so.
Rating: **

The Prophecy

BG says: Christopher Daniels complains that BJ Whitmer has been annoying him for the last few months with his comments about Daniels not contacting him while he was out of ROH. He talks about all the good times as champions together, which is nonsense because the two of them were both officially in the Prophecy only for two shows, and at no time during the “who shot Lucy” angle did the Prophecy hold gold. Daniels says the reason he didn’t contact Whitmer while he was out was because of the way he treated Allison Danger. This is also ridiculous as the whole Danger thing was Dan Maff’s idea, and problems there didn’t start until months after Daniels had left ROH. Tonight Daniels wants to end this issue with one match. Lacey approaches Daniels after his promo and offers him advice about BJ Whitmer. Danger suggests that Lacey worry about Jimmy Jacobs’ advances towards her, but Lacey insists that she help Daniels to get back at Whitmer for hurting a woman.

JZ says: Christopher Daniels tells BJ Whitmer that he doesn’t owe him anything, and furthermore, he tells Whitmer that he doesn’t want to reform the Prophecy with him because of what Whitmer and Maff did to Allison Danger last year. That gives a pretty good explanation to this simmering feud. After the “promo” is over, Lacey comes in and offers to tell Daniels all of Whitmer’s secrets. Allison Danger says Lacey should be concerned about her deal with Jimmy Jacobs right now. Lacey offers her support due to feminism. Daniels agrees.

ROH February Top 5 Rankings

5) Low Ki
4) Jimmy Rave
3) Alex Shelley
2) Christopher Daniels
1) Roderick Strong

MATCH #2: Four Corner Survival – Adam Pearce vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Jay Fury vs. Azrieal

BG says: After getting better for a little while it seems that ROH is back to having a string of worthless four corner matches. Pearce and Azrieal start. Pearce overpowers Azrieal and taunts Claudio’s cheer. They struggle through Azrieal’s comeback and Claudio tags Pearce out. Claudio outwits Azrieal so he tags out to Fury. Fury flips around for a while but gets pummeled down when Pearce tags back in. The match turns into a grudge between Claudio and Pearce. Pearce hits a spinebuster on Fury, getting the first real near fall of the match. Fury comes back with a great double stomp from the top. Pearce kills Fury with a clothesline and climbs the ropes but Claudio cuts him off with a European uppercut. Azrieal and Fury trade enziguiris, with Fury getting 2. Claudio goes for a high knee and falls to the floor. Fury follows him out with a dive leaving Azrieal open to take the big splash from Pearce, giving him the win. Azrieal’s loss got him booted from ROH. This match was pretty tame, even by four corner survival standards.
Rating: **

JZ says: Pearce uses his size to dominate Azrieal in the early going. Claudio is tagged in and he is very over on the east coast. Claudio and Pearce battle with each other for who gets to be in the ring with one of the smaller guys so that they can do all their moves. Each guy gets a chance with the other guy. Azrieal does some of his usual stuff and one guy in the crowd boos loudly and I thought that was really funny. Azrieal gets knocked down, Claudio gets knocked to the floor, Fury hits a dive on Claudio, allowing Pearce to hit the big splash off the top rope to get the win at 11:03. I like that Pearce went over but the match never really hit a groove or anything. Prazak thinks that Azrieal’s spot may be in jeopardy now, and a few days later it was announced in an ROH News Wire that Azrieal was no longer with the company. That’s pretty good foresight on Prazak’s part.
Rating: **¼

MATCH #3: Samoa Joe vs. Jay Lethal

BG says: Lethal has added a bandana to his clueless cool guy image. Lethal turned on his former mentor Samoa Joe back at Steel Cage Warfare. They tussled in a four way at Final Battle 2005, which saw Lethal keep his distance from the big man. Joe missed the next few shows due to a staph infection and a TNA commitment, but now he’s back for revenge. Lethal tries to attack from behind but Joe catches him and unloads. Lethal hits a knee lift and Joe rolls to the floor. Lethal follows him out with a suicide dive. He rams Joe into the barricade and rolls him back into the ring where he gets 1. He hits a neckbreaker for 1. He hits a snap mare and a dropkick for 1. He goes to work on the neck and hits a leg lariat. He hits a European uppercut for 2. He goes for the running suplex but can’t get him up. Joe goes for one himself but Lethal responds with a knee to the head. He hits a kneedrop for 1. He puts on a legvice but Joe reverses to a series of stiff kicks to the chest. Lethal pulls Joe out to the floor and rams his head into the barricade. Back in the ring Joe takes Lethal down on a leapfrog attempt. He hits a high knee for 2. He hits the Big Joe Combo and pulls Lethal around the ring by his hair. He hits a delayed vertical suplex and a fall away slam for 2. He slaps Lethal around but Lethal reverses the STJoe to an ugly neckbreaker for 2. He goes for the dragon suplex but Joe blocks. Lethal hits a powerslam but gloats too long and only gets 2. Joe hits a Manhattan drop and a big boot. He hits a senton for 2. He hits a powerbomb for 2 and puts on the STF. Lethal gets near the ropes so Joe yanks back on his head. He hits a running knee in the corner and sets up for the muscle buster. Lethal goes to the eyes to escape and hits the running suplex. He climbs the ropes and hits the diving headbutt for 2. He goes for another suplex but Joe blocks it. He sets Lethal up top, hits an enziguiri and then the muscle buster for the win. The first half of the match was slow but sensible, and the second half was the ass beating that we’d all bee waiting for.
Rating: ***¼

JZ says: Lethal’s sunglasses rule. Joe comes in with a flurry to start but Lethal uses chicanery to take control. Lethal and Joe are two of just four men to appear on each of ROH’s Anniversary shows. Leonard promises a highlight video of ROH’s fourth year coming up after this match. Any time Lethal gets a little bit of offense in Joe comes back and hits something big on him. Joe hits a big muscle buster and pins Lethal clean at 14:20. Well, that was certainly emphatic. Prazak basically buries Jay Lethal and thus it is no surprise that he, along with Azrieal (and Low Ki, Abyss, and Milano Collection AT) would be cut from the ROH roster soon after this show. It’s too bad; I was enjoying this run as a heel. The match was fine but pretty slow and lacked the sizzle of their prior matches.
Rating: ***

ROH Year Four Highlights

BG says: They show clips of the fourth year of ROH. Highlights are shown of every show from the beginning of the third anniversary up until Punk’s farewell. Well, the first farewell. Included are every title change, big moment, nasty bump and great match. A very cool collection of clips here, which I think was more effective than the usual twenty to thirty minutes of clips to stretch anniversary DVDs out to two discs.

JZ says:
– Third Anniversary Celebration, Pt. 1: Austin Aries vs. Colt Cabana (***¾)
– Third Anniversary Celebration, Pt. 1: Scramble Cage Match (*)
– Third Anniversary Celebration, Pt. 2: James Gibson vs. Spanky (***¾)
– Third Anniversary Celebration, Pt. 2: Jimmy Rave vs. AJ Styles (****)
– Third Anniversary Celebration, Pt. 3: Bobby Heenan and Jim Cornette (N/A)
– Third Anniversary Celebration, Pt. 3: Bryan Danielson vs. Homicide (**¾)
– Third Anniversary Celebration, Pt. 3: CM Punk vs. Jimmy Rave (***¾)
– Trios Tournament 2005: Jay Lethal vs. John Walters (**¾)
– Trios Tournament 2005: Generation Next vs. ROH Students (DUD)
– Trios Tournament 2005: The Rottweilers vs. Generation Next (**¾)
– Back to Basics: CM Punk & Spanky vs. Samoa Joe & Jay Lethal (***¾)
– Best of American Super Juniors Tournament: Bryan Danielson vs. Spanky (****)
– Best of American Super Juniors Tournament: Dragon Soldier B vs. James Gibson (DUD)
– Best of American Super Juniors Tournament: BJ Whitmer & Jimmy Jacobs vs. Samoa Joe & Jay Lethal (***¾)
– Stalemate: Homicide vs. Bryan Danielson (**¾)
– Stalemate: Austin Aries vs. James Gibson (****)
– Manhattan Mayhem: Samoa Joe vs. Jay Lethal (***¾)
– Manhattan Mayhem: Samoa Joe & Jay Lethal vs. Homicide & Low Ki (***½)
– The Final Showdown: Homicide vs. Bryan Danielson (***½)
– The Final Showdown: Austin Aries vs. James Gibson (***¾)
– Nowhere to Run: CM Punk vs. Jimmy Rave (****)
– Nowhere to Run: Austin Aries vs. Bryan Danielson (***¾)
– New Frontiers: Roderick Strong vs. Alex Shelley (***½)
– New Frontiers: Samoa Joe vs. James Gibson (****)
– New Frontiers: Austin Aries vs. Spanky (***¾)
– The Future is Now: The Carnage Crew vs. Dunn & Marcos (¼*)
– The Future is Now: Six Man Mayhem (**½)
– The Future is Now: Jay Lethal attacks Low Ki (N/A)
– The Future is Now: Shane Douglas promo (N/A)
– Death Before Dishonor III: AJ Styles vs. Petey Williams (***½)
– Death Before Dishonor III: CM Punk vs. Austin Aries (****¼)
– Sign of Dishonor: CM Punk signs his WWE contract (N/A)
– Sign of Dishonor: Austin Aries vs. Samoa Joe vs. James Gibson vs. Homicide (***½)
– Escape From New York: Mick Foley confronts CM Punk (N/A)
– Escape From New York: The Carnage Crew vs. BJ Whitmer & Jimmy Jacobs (**½)
– Escape From New York: Austin Aries vs. Samoa Joe (***½)
– Escape From New York: CM Punk vs. Roderick Strong (****)
– Fate of an Angel: AJ Styles vs. Roderick Strong (****)
– Fate of an Angel: Christopher Daniels attacks CM Punk (N/A)
– Fate of an Angel: Matt Hardy vs. Christopher Daniels (***½)
– The Homecoming: AJ Styles vs. Jimmy Rave (***)
– The Homecoming: Jade Chung is put on a leash (N/A)
– The Homecoming: BJ Whitmer & Jimmy Jacobs vs. The Carnage Crew (**¾)
– The Homecoming: CM Punk vs. Christopher Daniels (***)
– Redemption: Homicide vs. Matt Hardy (***¼)
– Redemption: CM Punk vs. James Gibson vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Samoa Joe (****½)
– Punk: The Final Chapter: Samoa Joe & Jay Lethal vs. Low Ki & Homicide (***½)
– Punk: The Final Chapter: Matt Hardy vs. Roderick Strong (***¾)
– Punk: The Final Chapter: CM Punk vs. Colt Cabana (***)

This concludes part one of the Year Four highlights. That’s a pretty good selection all in all, I can’t think of much that’s missing.

MATCH #4: Christopher Daniels vs. BJ Whitmer

BG says: Lacey is out with Daniels and Danger. They lock up and neither man moves. Whitmer bails and goes after Lacey. Whitmer powers Daniels to the corner and takes a cheap shot. He hits a high knee for 1. Daniels tosses Whitmer hard into the turnbuckle and then hits him with a back elbow. He hits a running forearm but Whitmer kicks his thigh out. Danger rushes in the ring to check on him, distracting Whitmer long enough for Daniels to hit a spear. He clotheslines Whitmer to the floor and rams him into the barricade. He hits Whitmer with a chair, sending him into the crowd. Whitmer comes back with a chair shot of his own and they brawl through the fans. Chris Hero and a whole bunch of other CZW wrestlers enter the ring and the match is basically thrown out here. The match while it lasted was really annoying. I realize they were just killing time until the brawl, but the “match” was so ass backwards. Daniels brings out two women to help him beat BJ Whitmer? No chance. Danger’s bit in the ring was ridiculous too, unless she really thinks Daniels is so much of a pussy that he’d need help after getting a stiff kick to the thigh. Ridiculous.
Rating: DUD

Hero starts singing a not-so-happy birthday to Ring of Honor as ROH wrestlers try to take back the ring. The CZW guys keep them on the floor for a while, but Pearce sneaks in and takes it to Hero. The rest of the ROH wrestlers get into the ring and it’s a HUGE ASS BRAWL. Everyone but Hero brawls to the floor so Samoa Joe rushes the ring. Joe goes insane with knees as confetti falls into the ring. The rest of ROH comes to his aid and CZW finally hits the road. Now that was a hot angle right there! After the dust settles we find Austin Aries left in the ring with the Briscoe Brothers. The Briscoes attack and Roderick Strong makes the save. A bunch of jobbers and students come out to separate them. Nice ECW-style booking there. Speaking of which, Homicide and Colt Cabana brawl out from the back to the ringside area, presumably to start their fight.

JZ says: Daniels has both Allison Danger and Lacey with him in his corner. Jimmy Bower joins the commentary team to talk about Lacey and make sexual entendres. Whitmer tries to go after the knee but that turns Daniels into the aggressor as the battle spills to the floor. Some commotion starts in the ring and this one is a no-contest at about 5:20. It never really had time to do anything, which is fine given what happens next.
Rating: *

They don’t go on for very long, but while they’re on the floor, Chris Hero and some other CZW invaders jump into the ring and starts singing “happy birthday” to ROH. Some jobbers try to break it up, but only when Adam Pearce gets in do the ROH guys start to filter out. It looks like the whole roster is out there beating on the CZW crew. Hero says that no one can stop him, but Samoa Joe begs to differ, as confetti starts falling from the ceiling now. The fans rabidly chant “ROH.” The Briscoe Brothers take this chance to attack Austin Aries and Roderick Strong, who don’t really appreciate that. The ROH guys try to keep the teams separate. As Aries and Strong make their way to the back, Homicide and Cabana tumble out and we have our next match.

MATCH #5: Ghetto Fight – Homicide vs. Colt Cabana

BG says: This is basically an I Quit match. Homicide hits a leg lariat when the fight enters the ring. Cabana hits a big boot and pounds away. Homicide hits a dropkick and Cabana falls to the floor. Homicide follows him out and rams his head into the barricade. He rakes the back and rams Cabana into the post. Cabana bleeds so Homicide works over the cut. Homicide takes the steel plate off of a guardrail and drops it on Cabana’s head. Back in the ring Homicide drops a chair on Cabana’s head. He props the steel in the corner and wipes Cabana’s blood on his bandana. J-Train hands him a razor with which he rubs Cabana’s forehead. He whips Cabana into the steel and pokes his eyes. He hits the running knee in the corner but Cabana comes back with a butt-butt. Homicide hits a swinging DDT and puts on the Tequila Sunrise. Cabana won’t quit so Homicide goes for the diving headbutt. Cabana rolls out of the way and goes for the Colt 45. Homicide blocks so Cabana hits a lariat. He puts on a strangle hold and hits a bodyslam. Homicide dodges a moonsault and hits the lariat. He puts on a camel clutch and J-Train hands him a coat hanger. He wraps it around Cabana’s neck and the referee calls for the bell. Cabana never quit and he demands the match be restarted, ringing the restart bell himself. Homicide runs in and hits an Ace Crusher. Cabana blocks the Cop Killer and hits an armbreaker. He stays on the shoulder, ripping off Homicide’s bandages and working him over in the ropes. He puts a nerve hold on Homicide’s bad shoulder and then bites it. He goes for a chair shot but J-Train distracts him. Homicide smacks Cabana across the back with the chair and then motions for J-Train and Ricky Reyes to help him. They tie Cabana to the turnbuckle and Homicide tosses the chair at his face. He does it again and the referee calls for the bell again. Homicide gets in Cabana’s face, telling him that the issue is settled. The referee unties Cabana who calls Homicide back to the ring one more time. He mentions Homicide’s son and that’s all the motivation he needed. Cabana fights off both J-Train and Homicide for a few moments. He tries to piledrive Homicide through the table on the floor but J-Train runs out and pours rubbing alcohol in his cut. Homicide hits the piledriver, basically missing the table and hitting it from the apron to the floor, and that’s enough for the referee to call the match for good.

Reading the result to this match on paper I was pretty deflated. A match getting restarted twice usually slows things down. However, I have to say that I loved all of this. The violence felt real, the blood was there, Cabana seemed completely out of his element but determined to continue and the heels cheated like crazy even in a no disqualification setting. Homicide is so cocky at this point in the feud that he’s using Konnan’s offense to throw Cabana’s insults back at him. I think this was just the thing this feud needed to kick into overdrive.
Rating: ***½

Homicide gets on the microphone and tells the referee to tell Cabana that nobody talks about his son, and that he wants a Fight Without Honor. He looks into the camera, wipes blood on it, and declares that the issue with Cabana goes beyond ROH and CZW, it’s Rottweiler business. The lights come on for intermission and referees help Cabana to the back. This just became my favorite feud in the company, which is crazy considering how lame I thought it was a few months ago.

JZ says: This one starts as a brawl outside the ring right away. They fight and Cabana gets busted open so Homicide gets really sadistic on him, battering him with everything at the ringside area. It gets sicker when Julius Smokes hands Homicide a razor blade and he tries to cut Cabana with it. Colt tries to make comebacks but Homicide keeps cutting him off. By the way, a Ghetto Fight can only end by submission; pinfalls do not count. They fight some more until Homicide gets the coat hanger out again and chokes Cabana, forcing referee Todd Sinclair to stop the match and award the decision to Homicide at 12:36. Cabana recovers and gets on the microphone to challenge Homicide to continue the match, saying that to end the match he’ll have to fucking kill him. Cabana restarts the match himself. Smokes and Reyes just blatantly interfere and tie Cabana to the turnbuckles. Homicide throws a chair at Cabana’s unprotected face and Sinclair calls for the bell again at 6:04 (18:40 total time). Cabana once again tells Homicide that it’s not over, so they get back into the ring again and restart the match. Homicide tries to give Cabana a piledriver through a table on the floor, but the table slides out from under them and they take a nasty fall. Sinclair awards the match to Homicide for the third time at 1:20 (21:00 total time). Homicide says something about a Fight without Honor in Chicago, I think. That was a sick brawl that did a lot to bring the feud right to its boiling point. As a match it wasn’t much but I think it was effective at showing how important this feud is to both guys and how far they’re both willing to go. That was the exact right match to have at this point and the violence was sick and both guys looked exactly how they should have. At first I wasn’t wowed with the match due to its almost squashy nature, but after thinking about it I became really impressed with its layers and not to mention the sheer brutality.
Rating: ***½

Intermission

BG says: Jim Cornette gets a phone call from the show telling him about the CZW intrusion. Cornette says that when he got his tooth knocked out he did two things. He went to the dentist, but first he went to a baseball bat factory and grabbed one off the assembly line. ROH is banding together, and if CZW wants war it’s war they’re going to get! Cornette’s backstage promos are great and make me wish he’d shorten up his live promos.

JZ says: Cornette is furious about the CZW invasion earlier on tonight. He goes off on a rant that includes calling them all jizz-moppers and shows them that he bought a baseball bat and he’s not afraid to use it. He names his bat Thelma Lou.

MATCH #6: ROH World Title Match – Bryan Danielson vs. Jimmy Rave

BG says: This is kind of a strange match to have right after intermission but ROH wanted to prove that they love tag team wrestling so the tag title match is going on last. Rave got this shot by winning the trios tournament. He and Danielson met as part of the main event tag team match on the previous show, where Rave fell to CM Punk.

Rave wipes the handshake off on his tights, making him my favorite person in the world. Danielson takes him to the mat but Rave pie faces away. They knuckle up and Danielson hits a monkey flip. Rave hits a hiptoss into an armbar but Danielson reverses to a pin for 2. Rave tries putting Danielson on the mat but Danielson shoves him hard. He puts on a headlock and they pie face each other back and forth. Danielson hits a stiff kick to the back and Rave bails. Back in the ring Rave reverses a headlock to a legvice and Danielson has trouble nipping up. He ends up reversing to a leglock but Rave gets to the ropes and bails. Back in the ring Rave chops Danielson from post to post. Danielson goes for the Mexican surfboard but Rave powers out. Danielson puts on a wristlock but Rave gets to the ropes. Rave puts on the Mexican chinlock but Danielson powers out and hits a kneedrop. He puts on a strangle hold and drives his knees into Rave’s back. Rave reverses to a pin for 2 and puts the strangle hold on himself. Danielson whips out but Rave comes back with chops. The crowd is just all over Rave here. Danielson blocks a blind charge and hits a second rope European uppercut. He hits a running forearm and a slingshot suplex for 2. He puts on a full nelson but Rave reverses to a roll up for 2. He hits a spear and a neckbreaker for 2. Danielson blocks a leapfrog and puts on the Mexican surfboard. He drops him into a chinlock and then pins him for 2. He hits a European uppercut and stands on Rave’s face. He sets Rave up top but gets dropped over the top rope. Rave runs across the apron and hits a dropkick, sending Danielson tumbling to the floor. He rams Danielson into the barricade and gets 2 back in the ring. He puts on a camel clutch and floats into the Cow Killer. Danielson gets to the ropes. Nana takes a cheap shot and Rave sets Danielson up top. He hits a superplex and puts on the Cow Killer. Danielson gets to the ropes. He fires back with chops and hits a beautiful enziguiri. They trade strikes and Rave is outclassed. Danielson hits the neck wrench suplex and climbs the ropes. He hits the diving headbutt for 2. Rave blocks the Cow Killer but not a stiff kick to the back. Danielson hits a German suplex for 2. Rave rushes to the ropes when Danielson goes for the chicken wing and then sits down on a sunset flip attempt with a handful of ropes for 2. He hits a side suplex but Danielson reverses the running knee to a half crab. Rave boots Danielson away and pummels him. He hits a back heel kick but Danielson comes back with a dropkick. Rave puts on a sleeper hold but Danielson fires up. He puts on a sleeper of his own and tosses Rave over his shoulder. He slaps on the Cow Killer. Rave gets to the ropes. Danielson sets him up top and hits the back superplex as Rave bleeds from the mouth. Danielson gets 2 and puts on the Cow Killer. He hits a tiger suplex for 2 when Nana pulls the referee out of the ring. Danielson takes Nana out with a suicide dive and then climbs the ropes. Rave catches him coming down with a spear. He hits Ghanarea and the running knee for 2. He puts on a butterfly hold but Danielson gets to the ropes. Danielson blocks Greetings from Ghana and hits a forearm. He hits the Regal-plex for 2. He puts on a crucifix hold and elbows Rave in the head until he passes out, picking up the win.

The story of the match was neat, as Rave used Danielson’s moves and strategies against him in the hopes that a champion’s tactics would make him champion. This was spectacular, aside from a dull segment on the floor and Danielson having to wrestle neutral due to Rave’s uber-heel shtick. The sum of all parts left Rave looking like little more than a roadblock for Danielson on his way to the Alex Shelley defense, but both men busted out new stuff for this match so it still felt special.
Rating: ****

JZ says: This is Jimmy Rave’s first shot at the World Title, and he earned it by being on the winning team at the Trios Tournament back in January. They do some mat wrestling to start and Rave actually slips out and pie faces Danielson. Rave takes a powder as Jimmy Bower joins the commentary team to put over the Milestone Series and thank the ROH fan base. Danielson goes for the surfboard but Rave actually reverses it. That’s awesome. Rave then gets his own surfboard / chinlock on a few minutes later. They do some great back and forth for a while, with Danielson putting Cattle Mutilation on a few times, and hitting a Dragon Suplex out of it, but Nana pulls the referee out of the ring. Danielson, weary of Nana’s interference, crushes him with a dive. That allows Rave to resume control and he hits a sick running knee but it only gets two. Danielson fights back and locks Rave in a submission and hits a series of vicious elbows to the head, causing Sinclair to call for the bell and award the decision to Danielson at 31:59. Next up is Alex Shelley. That was a tremendous match that made Rave look like a more than credible challenger and continued Danielson’s reign of awesomeness.
Rating: ****

ROH Year Four Highlights, Part II

BG says: We get more clips from ROH’s fourth year, starting with the end of the Cabana / McGuinness feud all the way up to Unscripted II. The most noticeable thing to me here was the lack of Samoa Joe, who has really been de-emphasized in favor of Roderick Strong & Bryan Danielson. Nothing wrong with that in and of itself, I just wish Joe could have insane performances on a consistent basis in ROH like he did before he started with TNA. I guess this just how the TNA guys are being used now.

JZ says:

– Night of the Grudges II: Colt Cabana vs. Nigel McGuinness (***¼)
– Dragon Gate Invasion: CIMA vs. AJ Styles (***¾)
– Dragon Gate Invasion: Nigel McGuinness vs. Samoa Joe (***½)
– Glory By Honor IV: Jimmy Rave vs. AJ Styles (***)
– Glory By Honor IV: Bryan Danielson vs. James Gibson (****½)
– Survival of the Fittest 2005: Survival of the Fittest Match (***½)
– Joe vs. Kobashi: James Gibson vs. Jimmy Yang (***¼)
– Joe vs. Kobashi: Jimmy Rave vs. Roderick Strong (***)
– Joe vs. Kobashi: BJ Whitmer & Jimmy Jacobs vs. Tony Mamaluke & Sal Rinauro (***)
– Joe vs. Kobashi: Homicide vs. Jack Evans (*¾)
– Joe vs. Kobashi: Samoa Joe vs. Kenta Kobashi (****¾)
– Unforgettable: ROH gets a new commissioner! (N/R)
– Unforgettable: Roderick Strong vs. James Gibson (****¼)
– Unforgettable: Kenta Kobashi & Homicide vs. Samoa Joe & Low Ki (****½)
– Enter the Dragon: Bryan Danielson Promo (N/R)
– Enter the Dragon: Samoa Joe & Jay Lethal vs. Jimmy Rave & Alex Shelley (***¾)
– Enter the Dragon: Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries (***½)
– Buffalo Stampede: Generation Next vs. The Embassy (***½)
– Buffalo Stampede: Bryan Danielson vs. Steve Corino (***¼)
– This Means War: Nigel McGuinness attacks Claudio Castagnoli (N/R)
– This Means War: Curry Man vs. Jay Lethal (***¼)
– This Means War: Bryan Danielson vs. Roderick Strong (****¼)
– Showdown in Motown: Homicide and Colt Cabana brawl (N/R)
– Showdown in Motown: Austin Aries vs. Alex Shelley (***)
– Showdown in Motown: AJ Styles & Matt Sydal vs. Jimmy Rave & Abyss (***½)
– Vendetta: Generation Next vs. The Embassy (***¾)
– Vendetta: Bill Watts makes an appearance (N/R)
– Vendetta: Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels (****¾)
– Vendetta: Bryan Danielson vs. Roderick Strong (****¾)
– A Night of Tribute: Colt Cabana vs. Homicide (***½)
– A Night of Tribute: Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Samoa Joe & Jay Lethal (***¼)
– Steel Cage Warfare: Lance Storm makes an appearance (N/R)
– Steel Cage Warfare: Samoa Joe vs. Jay Lethal (***½)
– Steel Cage Warfare: Homicide vs. Steve Corino (*¾)
– Steel Cage Warfare: Generation Next vs. The Embassy (****)
– Final Battle 2005: Homicide attacks Colt Cabana (N/R)
– Final Battle 2005: Tony Mamaluke & Sal Rinauro vs. Austin Aries & Roderick Strong (***¼)
– Final Battle 2005: KENTA vs. Low Ki (****½)
– Hell Freezes Over: BJ Whitmer attacks Christopher Daniels (N/R)
– Hell Freezes Over: AJ Styles vs. Matt Sydal (***¾)
– Hell Freezes Over: Bryan Danielson vs. Chris Hero (****)
– Tag Wars 2006: CZW Invades (N/R)
– Tag Wars 2006: The Embassy vs. Matt Sydal, Jack Evans & Jimmy Yang (***¾)
– Dissension: Bryan Danielson vs. AJ Styles (****)
– Unscripted II: Bryan Danielson vs. Xavier (***½)
– Unscripted II: CM Punk is all over the show (N/R)

MATCH #7: Rottweilers vs. Generation Next – Ricky Reyes vs. Jack Evans

BG says: This stems from Austin Aries’ beef with Reyes over his treatment of the ROH wrestling school students. Reyes attacks before the bell. Evans reverses a powerbomb to a sunset flip for 1. He hits a dropkick and Reyes bails. Evans hits a baseball slide and a springboard 450 to the floor. Back in the ring Reyes hits a side suplex, dropping Evans on his head. He hits a bodyslam and a kneedrop. He hits a back suplex for 2. He unloads with kicks for 2. Evans goes for a springboard hurricanrana but screws it up quite nicely. Reyes hits a sit-out powerbomb for 2. Evans reverses another powerbomb to a hurricanrana. He hits a handspring elbow and a springboard kneedrop for 2. He dropkicks Reyes’ knee and hits a spinning enziguiri. Reyes bails and Evans hits a baseball slide. He presumably goes for his double moonsault, but off the top rope instead of off the top of a cage, but doesn’t make much contact with Reyes and SPLATS AGAINST THE FUCKING GROUND. How this kid isn’t dead is beyond me. Between basically falling on his head off the top of the cage in December and this I’d say Evans has used up most of his nine lives. Reyes rolls him back into the ring and hits a triple powerbomb for 2. The crowd did not pop for that near fall at all. Evans hits a fisherman’s suplex and climbs the ropes. Reyes crotches him and hits a hanging DDT. He puts on the dragon sleeper and it’s mercifully over. After the bump the match stopped being enjoyable, as I just wanted Evans to be able to go rest somewhere.
Rating: *¾

JZ says: Reyes does not follow the code of honor, as per usual. Evans hits a dive on both Reyes and Smokes early on. Evans just got back from a two-week tour of Dragon Gate in Japan. We’ll hear more about that promotion a little bit later. Evans does his flippy stuff and Reyes does his power stuff. Evans goes for a springboard moonsault on the floor and Reyes inexplicably is not there to break Evans’s fall and he hits the floor with a disgusting thud. Back in the ring Reyes hits a series of powerbombs but Evans for the love of all that is holy kicks out. Reyes gives Evans an elevated DDT and locks on the dragon sleeper and gets the win at 7:58. That wasn’t very good or anything, but that bump Evans took has to be seen to be believed. I can’t believe someone who’s been wrestling as long as Reyes didn’t catch Jack on that, I’m just flabbergasted.
Rating: *½

ROHWrestling.com has merchandise from wrestling companies all over the world, so you should go there and buy some stuff. Do it! Or call 215.781.2500.

MATCH #8: ROH World Tag Team Title Match – Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. AJ Styles & Matt Sydal

BG says: Strong and Sydal start. Strong grabs a wristlock but Sydal flips around and puts one of his own on. Sydal takes Strong to the mat and pins him for 2. They knuckle up and Strong grabs an inverted STF, taunting him for taking the title shot. Styles tags in and puts on a wristlock. Aries tags in and puts on a headlock. He takes Styles to the mat where Styles reverses to a legvice. Styles rolls out of the way of the dropkick and they trade chops. Sydal tags in and hits a hiptoss for 2. He hits a climbing knee and tags to Styles. Styles hits a kneedrop for 2. He hits a vertical suplex for 2. Strong tags in and hits a backbreaker for 2. He puts on a chinlock and tags to Aries. Strong hits a dropkick getting 2 for Aries. Styles hits a hurricanrana so Strong tags in. Styles hits a dropkick and Strong bails. Styles goes for a dive but Aries cuts it off with a clothesline, getting 2 for Strong. Aries tags in and hits a slingshot splash for 2. Strong tags in and hits a back suplex for 2. He hits a delayed vertical suplex for 2. Aries tags in and hits the corner elbow. He hits a northern lights suplex for 2. Strong tags in and hits a butterfly suplex for 2. He puts on a chinlock but Styles gets to the ropes. Aries tags in and hits a side slam for 2. Styles hits the Pele kick and tags to Sydal. Sydal cleans house, hitting the Rocker Dropper on Aries and a standing moonsault on Strong for 2. Strong comes back with chops but Sydal hits an enziguiri. He dropkicks Strong to the floor and climbs the ropes. Aries cuts him off so Styles hits Strong with a plancha. Aries catches Styles with a suicide dive, and Sydal follows up with a moonsault from the top. Back in the ring Sydal gets 2 on Strong. Strong hits a back elbow but walks into a hurricanrana. Sydal gets 2. Styles tags in and hits a backbreaker for 2. Sydal tags in and they hit a double delayed vertical suplex for 2. Sydal puts on a front facelock and gets a roll up for 2. Styles tags in and hits a DDT for 2. Sydal tags in and hits a double stomp to the back. Strong tosses Sydal into his corner and tags to Aries. Aries comes in with a missile dropkick and dropkicks Styles off the apron. He hits the power drive elbow on Sydal for 2. Sydal hits a chin breaker but Aries comes back with a big powerbomb for 2. Styles hits Aries with a backbreaker and puts on a torture rack. Strong breaks it up but Styles hits both champions with the flip DDT, getting 2 for Sydal. Styles and Sydal sandwich Aries’ head with kicks for 2. Strong kicks Styles off the ropes on a springboard attempt and hits Sydal with an over-the-head backbreaker for 2. The champions hit a Hart Attack on Styles and Strong hits the gutbuster on Sydal. Aries hits Sydal with the brainbuster for 2 when Styles saves. Styles hits a backdrop driver on Strong. Aries sets Sydal up top but Styles brings him down with a back suplex. Sydal comes off the top with a shooting star press for 2 when Aries gets his foot on the bottom rope. Styles goes for the Styles Clash but Strong breaks it up with the Sick Kick. Spot of the night right there. He hits the half nelson backbreaker on Sydal and Aries finishes things up with the 450 splash for the win. The second half of the match was a beautiful spotfest. The crowd, and I myself, couldn’t get into the match when the challengers were in control of the straight segment, but it was sandwiched between two great portions of match.
Rating: ***¾

After the match the Briscoes attack everyone. They hit Strong with the spiked Jay Driller and bails to the ramp. Dig the best heel tag team today!

JZ says: The Matt Sydal saga continues! Jimmy Bower joins the commentary team to prove his competence by giving the history of this tag team title match that features stable mates battling each other. Styles, Strong, and Aries were all in one of the main events at last year’s Third Anniversary Celebration. Matt Sydal was doing the Air Devils thing in the opening matches, so he’s grown quite a bit in the last year. Prazak relating the delayed vertical suplex to the Fourth Anniversary is pretty fun considering someone did the move in almost every math on the card. Aries and Strong keep Styles in the ring and isolate on him. Sydal makes the hot tag and it’s nerd on the loose! He and AJ take control and go to work on Strong. The referee loses all control by the end and is just letting all four men in the ring at one time. Sydal has a really nice Shooting Star Press. AJ goes for the Styles Clash on Aries but Strong kicks him in the face extremely hard. With AJ out, Roderick hits a backbreaker and Aries follows up with the 450 to get the win at 23:10. That started off slow but got really good by the end. I would have rather had Danielson versus Rave by the main event, but this was worthy as well. They go for the quadruple handshake, but the Briscoe Brothers come out and attack everybody and hit a spike Jay Driller on Strong. That was just mean.
Rating: ***¾

Aftermath

BG says: Christopher Daniels stands outside of the Murphy Recreation Center, but before he gets a chance to talk the screen fades to black and we get a Back to the Future ending. Cliffhangers bum me out.

JZ says: We get a shot of Christopher Daniels standing outside a building in Philadelphia, and that will be continued. Well that seems kinda silly to show that.

MVP

BG says: I want to give it to Jack Evans for being a trooper, but his bump did more to put me off wrestling than it did to make me enjoy it. With that in mind I’m going with Jimmy Rave for actually outperforming Danielson in their match, in my opinion.

JZ says: I also have to give it to Jimmy Rave, because he doesn’t get nearly enough credit.

THE FOLLOWING MATCH IS NOT ON THIS DVD

BONUS MATCH: For the Last Time – Brother vs. Brother – Mark Briscoe vs. Jay Briscoe, ROH One Year Anniversary Show, 2.8.03

BG says: They lock up and Jay shoves Mark away. They knuckle up and Mark grabs a wristlock. They trade holds for a while until Mark grabs a cross armbreaker and Jay reverses to crossface forearms. He hits a huge boot to the face and Mark looks to be out cold. Turns out he was playing possum and he goes to work on the leg. He dropkicks the knee and puts on a chinlock. They go back to trading holds until Jay releases a legvice to unload with chops. He hits a leg lariat and a snap suplex for 2. He hits a dropkick for 2. He hits a delayed vertical suplex for 2. He goes for the Jay Driller but Mark reverses to a pin for 2. Jay tries again but Mark reverses to a hurricanrana. Jay hits a uranage and a clothesline in the corner. Mark comes back with a Yakuza kick and an overhead suplex for 2. He puts on a half crab but Jay gets to the ropes. Mark hits a gut wrench suplex and a kneedrop for 2. He hits a northern lights suplex for 2. He hits a back bodydrop but Jay comes back with a Cactus clothesline. They fight it out on the floor until Mark rams Jay’s head into the post. He goes back into the ring and jumps onto Jay with a springboard somersault dive. Jay is busted open and Mark climbs the ropes again. He hits Jay with a moonsault from the top to the floor. Back in the ring Jay hits a superkick. He hits a torture rack into an over-the-knee backbreaker and a DVD for 2. Mark hits a climbing knee strike and sets Jay up top. He brings him down with a springboard Ace Crusher for 2. They go for their finishers but both block. Mark hits an Alabama slam and sets Jay back up top. He goes for the Ace Crusher again but Jay manages to hit it first. Jay hits a Yakuza kick and a sit-out powerbomb. He hits a senton from the top for 2. Mark comes back with a uranage and the Jay Driller for 2. Jay dodges a moonsault and hits three rolling Jay Drillers for the win. The finish was overkill and the rest of the match couldn’t touch their encounter from Honor Invades Boston. They were going for something different because it was something of a tribute match, but it fell a little more flat for me.
Rating: ***¼

JZ says: Brad and I thought this match apt since it’s also on an anniversary show and it features the Briscoes, who made their big return at the Fourth Anniversary Show. This feud had been simmering for almost a year, because Mark wasn’t old enough to wrestle in Philadelphia, which is where ROH ran most of their shows at that time. Chris Lovey lets us know about the personal tragedy Mark Briscoe has undergone in recent months that has changed his attitude. He is no longer a member of the Prophecy, and he has dedicated this match to his friend that died in said tragedy. This will be the last time Mark and Jay will fight each other. They will be a tag team after this. Jay kicks Mark in the head and it looks like Mark is knocked out. He was playing possum though and he goes after the leg of Jay. Mister and Missus Briscoe are in the audience watching their kids beat each other up. These two are just killing each other. They exchange some wicked offense until Jay gives his younger brother three rolling Jay Drillers to get the pin at 16:38. That had some sick stuff in it and both guys went all out. It’s not quite as good as their first match from Boston, but it’s pretty close.
Rating: ***¾

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 ARENA WARFARE!

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: You can't lose here. The only dog with no redeeming value is the four way, but I've come to expect that from ROH. Everything else is either a good to great match or a match that leads to something important. Also, someone almost dies. I give a solid recommendation to this show. JZ says: This show is as good as parts two and three of the Third Anniversary Celebration, making it one of the best anniversary shows ROH has ever put on. The title matches are great, Homicide and Cabana rocked the shit, Joe looked like a beast, CZW invaded, and the Briscoes came back. What’s not to like?

Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]