ROH – How We Roll DVD Review

ROH – HOW WE ROLL – LONG ISLAND, NY – 5.12.06

Review by Brad Garoon and Jacob Ziegler

Honor Roll 59 (as voted on by The ROH Message Board)

The first number in parentheses represents the position each wrestler was in on the last Honor Roll, and the second number represents how many consecutive Honor Rolls they have been listed.

ROH WORLD CHAMPION: Bryan Danielson (since 9.17.05)
ROH PURE CHAMPION: Nigel McGuinness (since 8.27.05)
1) Austin Aries (1, 11)
2) Roderick Strong (2, 17)
3) Christopher Daniels (3, 4)
4) Delirious (NR, 1)
5) Colt Cabana (NR, 1)

Introduction

BG says: Be sure to check out the ROH Video Recap available on the main menu of the DVD. Included are Delirious’ challenge to Bryan Danielson for another title match, highlights of the CZW/ROH feud and Jim Cornette’s appeal to Homicide for help. You can view this for free at ROHVideos.com.

Lieutenant Commissioner Adam Pearce kicks off the show by calling out to Homicide for help against CZW. He hopes that appealing to him as a fellow wrestler that he’ll help out now that himself, BJ Whitmer and Samoa Joe are all injured. He’ll go to him personally if he has to but he hopes it won’t come to that. Solid promo, but Pearce doesn’t need the potty mouth to get over.

Pure Champion Nigel McGuinness thinks Bryan Danielson got counted out in their match because he didn’t want to get back into the ring with him. Soon he’ll be the ROH World Champion.

The DVD reminds the viewer here to go back and watch the ROH Video Recap, which is linked to from the DVD menu. You can watch it on your computer by clicking [here].

JZ says: Lt. Commissioner Adam Pearce is the first face we see, as he reiterates Jim Cornette’s plea to get Homicide on their side against CZW. He switches gears to talk to Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli, and Necro Butcher, hoping that they will show up tonight for a fight.

Nigel McGuinness is on “some Long Island” in New York, telling ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson that he will win the ROH World Title.

MATCH #1: Matt Sydal vs. Jimmy Yang

BG says: Word was already out that Yang was headed back to WWE at this point. They lock up and Yang powers Sydal to the corner. Sydal gets a roll up for 1. They trade holds and Sydal hits a hurricanrana, sending Yang to the floor. Back in the ring Yang attacks with strikes. Sydal gets a sunset flip for 2. He hits the elevated legdrop for 2. He puts on an armbar but Yang goes to the eyes. Sydal gets a head scissors takedown for 2 and goes back to the armbar. Yang gets to the ropes and hits an armbreaker. They fight to the floor where Yang rams Sydal’s arm into the barricade. Back in the ring Yang stays on the arm. Sydal hits an enziguiri but Yang comes back with another armbreaker. He rams Sydal’s arm into the post and hits a legsweep. He puts on the royal octopus and rolls Sydal up for 2. He hits a third armbreaker and puts on an armbar. Sydal comes back with a back elbow and a back bodydrop. Yang hits a spin kick and dodges a dropkick. He goes low and hits a leg lariat for 2. Sydal hits a dropkick and Yang rolls to the floor. Sydal climbs the ropes and hits Yang with a moonsault. Back in the ring Yang kicks Sydal in the face and then brings him down from the top rope with the Duff Drop for 2. He sets Sydal back up top and hits a palm strike. He hits another but his hurricanrana is blocked. Sydal responds with a shooting star press for the win. Yang wrestled as a heel here and was much more interesting than usual.
Rating: ***

JZ says: Dave Prazak and that new guy welcome us to the show. Yang is acting like a prick in the early going, which is likely due to the fact that he re-signed with WWE shortly before this show. Sydal is on his way to Dragon Gate after this weekend’s shows. Sydal tries using his athleticism, but Yang’s chicanery overcomes it. Yang works on the shoulder until Sydal comes back with a flurry of offense. Yang whiffs on a spin kick and then they screw up a spot until Yang hits a spin kick for real. The crowd lets them have it. Sydal moonsaults to the floor to get the crowd back into it, and they pop for it. Yang comes back and hits a swinging neckbreaker off the top for two. Sydal gets the pin a few moments later with a nice shooting star press at 9:25. That never really got off the ground and there was no chemistry there.
Rating: **

MATCH #2: Four Corner Survival – Delirious vs. Colt Cabana vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Nigel McGuinness

BG says: Before Nigel can make his entrance NWA Champion Christian Cage comes out to the ring. He puts over ROH and turns his attention to Cabana. He says that Cabana impressed him the most on the ROH DVDs that he’s watched so he asks him to be his partner in the tag team main event against Bryan Danielson and a partner to be named later. Cabana agrees in order to bring the Christian and the Jew together as one to conquer evil. When this promo started I was hoping to make a joke about that but Cabana just had to go and do it himself. Danielson comes out and blames television for making wrestling fans stupid. He’s glad that he doesn’t defend his title on television and says that that reason alone makes the ROH title better than the NWA title. Cage starts making fun of Danielson’s skin so Danielson retorts by reminding everyone that he beat Cabana in five minutes. He then asks Daniels to be his partner. Daniels agrees on the condition that Danielson give him a title shot. Danielson agrees to the condition on the condition that they win the match.

JZ says: Before the scheduled three-way match can begin, Christian Cage comes out to cut a promo. He says that he wants Cabana to be his partner tonight. They exchange some funny material until Bryan Danielson comes out to interrupt and cut a fantastic heel promo. This leads to him asking Christopher Daniels to be his partner. Daniels agrees under the condition that if they win he gets another title shot. The Champ agrees and our main event is set. That was great mic work from all four guys involved. We still need to have a three-way though, but we’re down to one guy!

MATCH #2: Nigel McGuinness vs. Delirious vs. Kikutaro

BG says: I believe Kikutaro was scheduled to face Shane Hagadorn before he lineup change, so this still could have been a four way. Nigel’s title is not on the line in multipurpose matches. Nigel attacks Kikutaro on his away to the ring. Kikutaro challenges him to an arm wrestling match and then stomps him. Nigel comes back with an armdrag and a European uppercut. Delirious hits Nigel with a missile dropkick to the back. He and Kikutaro yell at each other and then do their infamous slow motion chain. Nigel comes in after the Shining Wizard and takes out Kikutaro. He hits a side suplex on Delirious. He suplexes him by the arm as Kikutaro stretches on the floor. Nigel hits the rebound lariat for 2. Delirious comes back with the Panic Attack and Shadows over Hell. Kikutaro comes in and they double-team Nigel. Kikutaro double-crosses Delirious and gets a roll up for 2. Nigel starts directing traffic until Delirious rolls him up for 2. Nigel hits the handstand kick on Kikutaro for 2. Kikutaro dropkicks the knee and hits the Shining Wizard. Delirious forces the referee to DDT Kikutaro and then puts on the cobra stretch for the win. Most of the match was decent comedy with nothing too special, but that finish was beyond awesome.
Rating: **¾

JZ says: Nigel McGuinness comes out to join the match. Kikutaro comes out to make it an official three-way, one-fall match. Nigel’s Pure Title is not on the line, of course. Kikutaro can’t faze Nigel in the early going, so he gets down on the mat and challenges him to an arm-wrestling contest. Kikutaro was bluffing though. Delirious tags in and we have a partial rematch of last May’s The Final Showdown. Nigel spoils everyone’s fun so Delirious goes to work on him. He and Kikutaro double team Nigel until Kikutaro turns on his pseudo-partner. Delirious attacks Kikutaro and cleverly gets the referee to execute a DDT on Kikutaro. Delirious puts on the Cobra Stretch and it’s all over at 7:55. That had some funny stuff in it, but it felt pretty long and it didn’t even hit the eight minute mark. At least Delirious looks strong going in to his title match tomorrow.
Rating: *¾

MATCH #3: Alex Shelley & Jimmy Rave vs. Homicide & Ricky Reyes

BG says: The winners supposedly get a tag title shot on an upcoming show. Everyone is technically a heel at this point and thus we get an intense amount of stalling before the match. Reyes and Shelley start. They lock up and Shelley gets a wristlock. Reyes brings the chain wrestling right back to him but Shelley controls with a half crab. He bites the hand and tags to Rave. The crowd gets on Rave’s case so be bails. Back in the ring Reyes puts on a hammerlock and hits a stiff kick to the back. Rave bails again only to get caught in the hammerlock back in the ring. Homicide tags in and embarrasses Rave on the mat. Rave puts on a chinlock and tags to Shelley. Shelley sledges the arm and then tweaks his knee after some quick maneuvering. Homicide responds with slaps to Shelley and Rave’s groins. He gives them a double noggin knocker but Nana trips him up. Smokes trips Rave in response. Smokes and Nana look to square off but Rave and Shelley attack Homicide instead. Rave hits a bodyslam for 2. He puts on a chinlock but Homicide comes back with a scary overhead suplex. Reyes tags in and kicks away. He hits a bodyslam and tags to Homicide. Homicide hits a splash off the top for 2. Rave gets a roll up for 2. Homicide shoves him to the floor and follows him out with his tope. He rams Rave into the barricade and then tosses him into the crowd. Nana attacks Homicide on his way back into the ring allowing Shelley to take control. Rave tags in and sets Homicide up top. Homicide fights him off and comes down with a DDT. Shelley catches him with a clothesline and Rave chokes him with his wrist tape. Shelley tags in and gets a roll up for 2. Homicide grabs a cross armbreaker but Rave breaks it up. They hit a spear/clothesline combo for 2. They hit a double backdrop but Homicide returns fire but ramming Shelley’s leg into Rave’s groin. Reyes tags in and cleans house. He hits a neckbreaker on Rave for 2. Shelley hits him with an enziguiri but misses a running knee in the corner. Homicide hits Rave with the lariat for 2. Lame. Reyes puts on the dragon sleeper but Nana breaks it up. Rave puts the dragon sleeper on Reyes frustrating Smokes enough to interfere and give the Embassy the win by disqualification.

This had way too much stalling and too much interference from the managers. Interference is fine when done well but there was no real issue here and it came off as overkill. By the end the match was just dragging unbearably and the finish absolutely sucked.
Rating: *½

After the match Homicide asks the kids in the audience to put their hands over their ears. He then goes on a crazy rant about how he’s been in ROH since day one but he’s tired of getting screwed. He tells ROH to buzz off, in not-so-nice words. The match was terrible, but it did lead to the start of a great angle.

JZ says: The winners of this match supposedly get a rematch for the World Tag Team Titles against Austin Aries & Roderick Strong. It’s great to have Prince Nana back at ringside. Julius Smokes I could do without. Shelley and Reyes start, with Shelly outwrestling the aggressive Rottweiler. The crowd taunts Rave, so the Embassy threatens to bail on the match. The crowd continues to mock Rave, so he continues to stall. Shelley and Homicide get in the ring and do some chain wrestling. Shelley tries to nip up but he appears to injure his leg. Homicide flicks both Embassy members in the nuts and tosses Shelley outside. The managers both come in the ring ready for a fight and the crowd is ready to see them go at it. Turn it into a six-man tag! Sadly that does not happen. Reyes and Homicide take over on Rave, with Shelley breaking up several pinning attempts. Outside the ring we go again, as Daizee Haze goes after Julius Smokes and in all the confusion Nana levels Homicide. Smokes chases Nana but can’t get a hold of him. Back in the ring and Shelley goes to work on Homicide. More outside the ring and Homicide goes after Daizee and Shelley breaks it up. This is just really disorganized. Homicide makes a hot tag to Reyes, who dominates both Embassy members with kicks and suplexes. Homicide comes in and levels Rave with a lariat, but Rave is able to kick out at two. Reyes locks on the dragon sleeper and Shelley can’t break it up. Nana can though. Rave goes for the Dragon Sleeper of his own and Smokes comes in to break it up and the referee sees that and disqualifies the Rottweilers at 19:40. That was a long match for that finish, and I don’t see why one of the teams couldn’t go over clean. Sadly, the Embassy would never get this tag title shot, as Alex Shelley would injure himself while burning a bridge and leave ROH. Homicide, in a fit of rage, says “fuck this company.”
Rating: **¼

Top 8!

BG says: Lacey starts cutting a promo on Jimmy Jacobs but it’s interrupted when Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli and their referee Bryce Remsburg come to the ring. In a nice touch they’re wearing the CZW Tag Team Championship belts. Hero rips on ROH for alienating Homicide. Claudio finds it ironic that Jim Cornette calls him a deserter and yet he’s not even in the building. They call ROH a sinking ship just before Adam Pearce, BJ Whitmer and their ROH referee come down to the ring for a match.

JZ says: Lacey starts cutting a promo while putting a shirt on, but she gets cut off to go back to the ring, where Chris Hero, Claudio Castagnoli, and Bryce Remsberg are making their way through the crowd. They’re wearing the CZW Tag Team Titles, and I start thinking about how much a champions versus champions match would kick ass. Hero talks about how ROH’s #1 guy Homicide sees through the ROH crap, and Claudio says Cornette is not here because he is a coward. Pearce and Whitmer come out with Todd Sinclair and the match is on.

MATCH #4: CZW vs. ROH – Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli vs. Adam Pearce & BJ Whitmer

BG says: Pearce and Whitmer control to start. Whitmer pairs off with Hero and Pearce does so with Claudio. Pearce gets a head scissors takedown and follows Claudio to the floor with a suicide dive. Hero hits a dropkick on Whitmer but Whitmer comes back with a back bodydrop. He hits an ugly hurricanrana for 2. Pearce hits a spinebuster on Claudio for 2. Claudio knocks Pearce to the floor with a European uppercut and the Kings of Wrestling double-team Whitmer with very slick combos for 2. They Hero somersaults Claudio into a spear for 2. Claudio rams Pearce hard into the barricade as Whitmer tries to fight back against Hero. Claudio cuts that off and the Kings try more double-teaming, but this time it doesn’t look as nice. Hero drops Pearce on the barricade as Claudio works over Whitmer. Hero monkey flips Claudio into a splash on Whitmer for 2. They hit a double big boot on Pearce to knock him back to the floor. Whitmer hits a lazy exploder on Claudio and a lariat on Hero. Pearce finally gets some momentum back when he comes off the top with a missile dropkick on both opponents. He hits a dropkick on Claudio and a suplex on Hero. Whitmer makes Hero crotch Claudio up top and hits him with a back suplex. He brings Claudio down with a superplex and Pearce follows up with a big splash. It gets 2 when the CZW referee stops the count. Hero knocks out the ROH referee and Necro Butcher interferes. The crowd chants for Samoa Joe but he never shows. Hero sets Whitmer up top and holds him for an enziguiri from Claudio. Hero follows that up by hitting a snap mare off the top rope through a table on the floor. Pearce runs in only to get hit with the Hero’s Welcome, Kings of Wrestling Edition to give the win the CZW. This was mostly just a way for the Kings to be showcased. The whole thing felt very choreographed and would have been a wash had it done not done a good job in furthering the angle.
Rating: *¾

Joe comes out to the ring after the match far too late to be of any help and the CZW guys leave without giving him a fight. Joe talks about their match the following night and puts over ROH. I can’t say I agree with Joe’s choice to come out after the match had ended when his boys were getting so unfairly destroyed. Bad form

JZ says: This starts off as a big brawl, with Team ROH dominating in the early going. Pearce tosses Claudio to the floor and hits a big dive. Hero and Whitmer are fighting inside the ring. The brawl continues as Hero and Claudio double team Whitmer inside the ring. Referees Remsberg and Sinclair are alternating counts, and both seem to be doing a fair job. The CZW guys are able to isolate both men to maintain a constant 2-on-1 advantage. The heels dominate for a while until Whitmer makes a comeback with an exploder and big lariat on Claudio and Hero, respectively. Pearce finally gets into the ring and commences to kick ass. Pearce and Whitmer execute Power & Glory’s finisher and Sinclair goes for the three-count but Remsberg breaks it up. Sinclair takes a bump and Necro Butcher runs in to interfere. The numbers are too much for Team ROH to take. Hero tosses Whitmer off the top rope through a table, and that guy has taken a ton of sick table bumps lately. A double-team Hero’s Welcome on Pearce is enough to get the victory at 14:17. That was just a big brawl that advanced the feud but wasn’t all that engaging. Samoa Joe comes out to take on all four of the CZW guys, and they all run away.
Rating: **

Intermission

BG says: Delirious goes on another almost-understandable tirade, mumbling about his discontent over Bryan Danielson’s ruthless beating on him. He’s going to be the ROH Wooow Heavywaaaah Chapiaaaah.

JZ says: For all your DVD needs, head to rohwrestling.com or call 215.781.2500!

Delirious cuts a promo in his own language. He’s probably detailing what he wants to do to World Champion Bryan Danielson tomorrow night in their big rematch.

MATCH #5: Samoa Joe vs. Apocalypse

BG says: Apocalypse is a big dude wearing a cape from Canada. He grabs a wristlock but Joe comes back with a headlock takedown. He gets a wristlock of his own but Apocalypse reverses to a hammerlock. Joe gets a fireman carry to escape. He hits the STJoe and kicks away for 2. He hits a running forearm in the corner and a Pele kick. He washes Apocalypse’s face for 2. They trade chops and Apocalypse surprises Joe with a back heel kick and a roundhouse for 2. He hits an elbowdrop for 2. He puts on a chinlock but Joe fights out. Apocalypse goes to the eyes but Joe catches him with a powerslam for 2. Apocalypse comes back with a sidewalk backbreaker for 2. Impressive. Joe hits a Manhattan drop and a big boot. He hits a back senton for 2 and follows up with the musclebuster for the win. Apocalypse kind of looks like Chris Hero, Necro Butcher and Claudio Castagnoli all wrapped into one with a much deeper voice, so hopefully Joe got out some of his CZW aggressions here. The match was a decent enough power match to keep Joe busy while he heals up.
Rating: **¼

JZ says: I have not seen nor heard of this fellow Apocalypse. This is his one and only ROH appearance that I know of. This is the ROHVideos.com match. Joe has an injured knee and is working Necro Butcher tomorrow night, so I assume that is why he has this off night of sorts. Apocalypse gets in a few token shots on offense, but it doesn’t last long before Joe just goes on cruise control. Apocalypse actually gets a few nice moves in on Joe for a couple of near falls. Joe decides to end it with the Muscle Buster at 6:29. That was a good showcase for Joe, and Apocalypse looked okay. I’d rather see him again than Spud, at any rate.
Rating: **

MATCH #6: Roderick Strong vs. Mark Briscoe

BG says: I understand why they paired these guys up the way they did, but ever since the 8-man tag at Generation Next I’ve wanted to see Strong vs. Jay Briscoe due to the way they interacted in that match. They lock up and Mark grabs a hammerlock. Strong comes back with a headlock takedown and floats into a stepover surfboard. Mark puts on a headlock and gets a roll up for 2. Strong gets a wristlock and stomps the elbow. Mark hits a clothesline in the corner and a bodyslam. He hits an elbowdrop for 2. He hits another bodyslam but misses a springboard senton. Strong lays the chops in and hits a backbreaker for 2. He dumps Mark out of the ring and rams him into the barricade. Back in the ring Strong puts on a chinlock. Mark gets to the ropes. Strong hits a butterfly suplex for 2. He hits an elbowdrop for 2. Mark dodges enough of Strong’s offense to hit a springboard dropkick for 2. He hits a gutwrench suplex and a kneedrop for 2. Strong comes back with a clothesline for 2. Mark goes to the eyes and hits a snap suplex for 2. He puts on a chinlock but Strong fights out and hits an enziguiri. Mark bails and baits Strong out so that he can throw him into the barricade. Back in the ring he gets 2. He hits another gutwrench suplex and climbs the ropes. Strong cuts him off with a dropkick and hits a superplex. They trade chops and Strong takes control, obviously. He hits a pair of clotheslines but gets crotched on the top rope. Mark hits a weak looking springboard clothesline sending Strong to the floor. He goes to dive out onto Strong but lands flat on the floor. Ouch. Back in the ring he gets 2, despite just completely wiping out. He hits a northern lights suplex for 2. Strong comes back with the gutbuster and the tiger driver for 2. He bleeds from the nose as he chops Mark in the corner. He sets Mark up top but gets brought down with a springboard Ace Crusher. It gets 2. Mark hits a T-bone suplex and a fisherman buster for 2. He climbs the ropes but misses a shooting star press. Strong hits the Sick Kick for 2. He puts on the Stronghold but Mark gets to the ropes. Mark blocks the half nelson backbreaker and hits the cutthroat driver for the win. This was beyond disappointing and reminded me a lot of Strong’s match against Yang at Arena Warfare in terms of wasted potential.
Rating: **½

JZ says: They start off slow, with some mat wrestling and feeling out each other a bit. They battle to the outside, where Roderick uses the guardrails to his advantage and mugs with the crowd. Back in the ring Strong applies the Camel Clutch. Mark takes over by overpowering Roderick and hitting him with several chops. Strong fights back so Briscoe pokes him in the eye. Both men recover and start trading blows in the center of the ring. Strong wins that exchange. Briscoe sends Strong to the floor and goes for a plancha to the floor and Strong moves. Briscoe gets a northern lights suplex for two, and Strong gets a Tiger Driver. I refuse to call it by the name they’re using. Strong appears to have a broken nose. Mark hits a springboard Ace Crusher for a near fall. Fisherman Buster gets two. Mark goes for the Shooting Star Press but Roderick moves and hits a big boot to the face for two. He goes for the Strong Hold but Briscoe reaches the ropes. Strong goes for the half-nelson backbreaker but Briscoe blocks it and hits the Cutthroat Driver to get the win at 15:46. That match didn’t have much flow, but they hit hard and the effort was certainly there.
Rating: ***

Lacey’s Angels Update

BG says: I Lacey finally gets to cut her promo. She’s proud of Jimmy Jacobs for winning at the Weekend of Champions, which is why she gave him this weekend off. She thinks it’s a shame that nobody is around to compliment her on her skimpy outfit however, but if Jacobs keeps up his winning ways he’ll get to be around her more and more.

JZ says: Lacey is backstage explaining that Jimmy Jacobs is off for extra training this weekend, since he impressed her by winning at the last show. She’s only upset that he’s not there to tell her how great she looks.

MATCH #7: Jay Briscoe vs. Austin Aries

BG says: They lock up and then pie face each other. Aries hits a pair of armdrags and puts on an armbar. He creatively escapes a hammerlock and puts on a headlock. He hits the springboard elbow but runs into a back elbow. Jay hits a dropkick for 1. Aries goes back to the headlock and then escapes the inevitable head scissors and hits a kick to the chest. He hits a roaring forearm and Jay bails. Aries follows him out with the low suicide dive. He rakes the back and rolls Jay back into the ring. He hits a slingshot senton and a fistdrop for 2. He hits a bodyslam and the replay kneedrop for 2. With so little heat for the match it made Jay look silly for just laying there, as is the problem with all such moves. Aries hits an STO but Jay dodges the powerdrive elbow. Jay blocks the corner elbow and hits a shoulder breaker after ramming Aries’ shoulder into the post. He tosses Aries to the floor and follows him out. He tosses Aries into the barricade and again shoves his shoulder into the post. Back in the ring he goes to work on the shoulder. He hits a vertical hammerlock suplex for 2. He stays on the shoulder but Aries comes back with a roll up for 2. Jay hits a big boot and resumes his focused attack. Aries blocks a blind charge and goes for the crucifix bomb but his shoulder gives out and Jay reverses to the TKO. That was astonishing. Jay hits a hammerlock slam and wrenches the shoulder. Aries hits a shinbreaker and a back suplex. He hits a clothesline with the bad arm, which leads to Jay taking advantage and hanging his arm over the top rope. Aries comes back with a slingshot splash for 2. He hits an Asai moonsault for 2. He can’t hit the brainbuster because of his shoulder and Jay hits a vertical suplex into a backbreaker for 2. He sets Aries up top and goes for a super Jay Driller but Aries shoves him away and hits a missile dropkick. He hits a corner dropkick for 2. Aries slips the brainbuster in for 2. He goes for the 450 splash but Jay dodges it. Aries gets a backslide for 2 but Jay keeps contact and hits the Jay Driller for 2 when Aries gets his foot on the bottom rope. Jay cuts his losses and puts on a cobra clutch for the submission victory. Unlike the last match this was strung together well and the structure of the match made Jay look like a cunning threat, unlike Mark who looked lucky. With both Briscoes winning on this show it was obvious that Strong and Aries would keep the belts the following night, but Jay’s performance here is worthy of a title win.
Rating: ***½

JZ says: It doesn’t take long for tempers to flare in this one. They take turns exchanging offense for the first few minutes before Aries maintains control with a side headlock. Briscoe escapes and they trade blows, with neither guy much interested in selling for the other. They fight outside the ring for a few minutes and Aries gets the better of that exchange. They go fight outside the ring some more, and this time Jay dominates by throwing Aries into the steel barricades. Briscoe dissects Aries’ left arm, but Aries uses it to do stuff anyway. He tries to sell it afterward though, so points for effort. Aries fights back and hits a running dropkick to the face for a two count. Aries hits the brainbuster and goes for the 450 but Jay moves and Aries lands on his arm. Backslide by Aries but Jay rolls through and hits a Jay Driller but Aries is able to get his foot on the bottom rope. Briscoe puts on a Cobra Clutch with a body scissors and Aries has to tap out at 18:31. That was cool because all the work on the arm paid off in the finish. That was quite a bit better than their counterparts’ match. The Briscoes go up 2-0 on the champions.
Rating: ***½

MATCH #8: Christian Cage & Colt Cabana vs. Christopher Daniels & Bryan Danielson

BG says: Cage proves he’s no liar by wearing the Cabana gear that he previously professed a desire for. Danielson makes Bobby Cruz call him the best champion in the world today. Cabana and Daniels start. Danielson performs a front “roll” to tease Cage. Cabana shows everyone how he rolls and it turns into a pissing contest. They trade holds and Cabana struts around the ring. Daniels gets a headlock takedown and hits a leg lariat for 2. He hits a back elbow for 2. Cabana hits a hiptoss and a dropkick and Danielson tags in. Cabana hits a monkey flip but Danielson returns fire and then puts on a triangle choke. He switches to a cross armbreaker but Cabana gets to the ropes. Cage tags in and finally shows everyone how he rolls. Danielson tags out despite Daniels’ disapproval. Cage and Daniels trade holds and Cage blocks a blind charge. Daniels hits a shoulder block for 2. He puts on a hammerlock but Cage comes back with a powerslam for 2. Cage gets distracted with Danielson and Daniels hits an enziguiri. Danielson tags in and takes advantage. He puts on a bridged cravat but walks into a back elbow. Cage hits a tornado DDT for 2. Cabana tags in and they hit a double-team reverse DDT for 2. Cabana tries to work over Danielson’s neck but Danielson responds with forearms and knee strikes. Daniels tags in as Danielson pulls Cabana to the floor and rams him into the barricade. Back in the ring Daniels hits a vertical suplex for 2. Danielson tags in and stomps on Cabana’s thighs. He puts on a spinning toehold and tags to Daniels. Daniels hits a DVD and uses the spinning toehold himself. He puts on a figure 4 leglock but Cabana gets to the ropes. Danielson tags in after not picking up an obvious cue to tell the referee that Daniels has till five. Cage makes a tag but the referee misses it. The crowd doesn’t care. Danielson dropkicks Cabana’s knee and puts on a leglock. Cabana tries to escape so Danielson adds arm pressure to the hold. He starts unloading with his deadly elbows but Cabana gets away. Daniels tags in and runs into a clothesline. Danielson and Cage tag in and Danielson tries to bail. Daniels won’t let him and Cage hits a leaping forearm. The crowd still doesn’t care about any of this. Cage hits a spear for 2. Cabana hiptosses Daniels to the floor and follows him out with an Asai moonsault. Cage and Danielson trade forearms until Danielson goes to the eyes. He reverses the Unprettier to the Cow Killer but Cabana breaks it up. Cage hits an inverted DDT for 2 and climbs the ropes. Danielson crotches him and hits a superplex for 2. He puts on the crossface chicken wing and Daniels puts Cabana in the Koji clutch. Cage gets to the ropes. Daniels tags in and hits a uranage. Danielson comes off the top with a diving headbutt and Daniels quickly follows with the triple jump moonsault for 2. Cabana fights them off and baits Danielson into hitting a roaring forearm on Daniels. Nice continuity there. Cage hits a frog splash on Daniels for 2. Danielson hits Cage with a missile dropkick for 2. Cabana hits the Flying Asshole on Danielson but gets dumped to the floor. Cage knocks Danielson to the floor. Daniels slaps Cage down and goes for the Angel’s Wings but Christian reverses to the Unprettier for the win. Danielson had a chance to save but opted not to.

Nothing at all happened for the first ten minutes of the match. The run-of-the-mill legal man spots did nothing for the crowd or myself leaving the majority of the match dull. Daniels was the only one with anything on the line but he still chose to keep Danielson from wrestling deviously. That doesn’t make sense from his character’s standpoint, even at this juncture in his ROH career. The final few minutes were good, but this was a long match and the end didn’t make it great. Another disappointing match given the talent involved. Danielson leaves after the match and the other three put each other over for a while.
Rating: ***

JZ says: Christian gets a few streamers and a decent pop for his introduction. Daniels and Cabana start it off, and when Daniels executes a front roll, he yells to Christian “that’s how I roll!” Cabana and Daniels then trade rolls. This is fun! They stall some more and some in the crowd are getting restless. Jimmy Bower interrupts to plug the Straight Shootin’ DVD with Christian Cage, which will be available shortly. Danielson finally tags in, and Cabana resists tagging out to Christian. They chain wrestle for a few minutes before Christian finally tags in. Danielson is not amused with the NWA Champion’s antics. He even avoids Christian. So Daniels comes in and he and the NWA Champ exchange holds for a while, with Christian mostly having the advantage. Danielson tags in when Christian is down. Danielson and Cabana go at it for a bit and the Fallen Angel is tagged back in. Cabana runs into the ropes and Danielson is holding them open so Cabana spills to the outside. This allows Daniels and Danielson to isolate Cabana and go to work on his legs. Daniels puts on a figure-four leglock, but Cabana reaches the ropes. Christian makes the hot tag finally and Danielson tries to escape but it’s a no-go. Cabana and Daniels bump to the floor, leaving just the champions in the ring. Christian goes for the Unprettier, but Danielson reverses to Cattle Mutilation. Cabana breaks that up. Danielson locks on the Cross Face Chicken Wing, while Daniels puts Cabana in the Koji Clutch. The holds get broken, but Christian takes a diving headbutt and best moonsault ever but kicks out at two. Cabana comes in and causes miscommunication between Danielson and Daniels. With Daniels down, Christian goes to the rope and hits a frog splash for two. Danielson and Cabana spill to the floor, and Daniels goes for the best moonsault ever and the Angel’s Wings is reversed to the Unprettier and Christian gets the pin at 28:25. Danielson had a chance to break it up but didn’t do it, likely so that he wouldn’t have to defend the title against Daniels again. That match took a while to get going but it was a lot of fun when it did. It could have easily been 5-8 minutes shorter, but Christian looked good and I think the response will get better on his subsequent returns.
Rating: ***½

Aftermath

BG says: Adam Pearce and BJ Whitmer are tired of getting beaten up by CZW, but it’s not going to stop them from fighting. Pearce doesn’t know where Homicide stands but he knows where he and Whitmer stand. Tomorrow night they want to fight the CZW crew again. Samoa Joe pops in to let us know that he wants to fight too. You know Joe is tough because he asks for a fight wearing the worst jacket ever.

JZ says: Adam Pearce and BJ Whitmer are here to talk about how they will not quit fighting no matter what. Pearce lays out a challenge for tomorrow night in New Jersey. Samoa Joe edges his way in and says they’re not the only ones looking for a fight.

MVP

BG says: Jay Briscoe picked up the slack where Mark let it fall. He was the driving force of the match of the night, which I’ve found is pretty much my criteria for MVP these days.

JZ says: Christian Cage, for getting right in the thick of things and not looking too out of place. Honorable mention goes to Bryan Danielson, for really going heel to keep Cage over.

THE FOLLOWING MATCH IS NOT ON THIS DVD

BONUS MATCH: NWA World Heavyweight Title Match – Jeff Jarrett vs. Christian Cage, TNA Against All Odds, 2.12.06

BG says: This is a great example of the biggest problem with Jeff Jarrett being champion in TNA. If Sting or Abyss were NWA Champion at this point then Christian being the challenger wouldn’t make this look like a WWE Intercontinental title match. But Jarrett is the champion so this looks like a match that should have happened in 1998. Mike Tenay admits that Jarrett has been champion for over half of TNA’s existence. TNA has smart fans, so that’s not a wise thing to say. Earl Hebner is the special referee and Dave Hebner is out there with him. The fans chant “please retire,” presumably at Jarrett. They lock up and Cage grabs a headlock. He hits a pair of shoulder blocks for 1 and goes for the Unprettier early. Jarrett hits a drop toehold and then smacks Cage. Cage gets a sunset flip for 2. They fight to the apron where Cage hits an inverted DDT. Wow, Christian’s wife is quite a looker. Cage comes off the top rope but Jarrett moves and Cage hits the barricade. Jarrett swings Cage into the barricade and then shoves him into the commentators’ table. He catapults him onto it and then rolls him back into the ring. He hits a dropkick for 2. He hits a blue thunder bomb for 2 and puts on a chinlock. Cage fights out but Jarrett hits a stun gun. Hebner gets physical with Jarrett to stop a choking session but Jarrett stays resilient with a Bossman slug. Gail Kim hits a hurricanrana on Cage with the referee’s back turned. It gets 2 for Jarrett. Cage gets a sleeper and then hits a powerbomb. He puts on a figure 4 leglock but Kim pulls Jarrett to the ropes behind the referees back. Jarrett hits an enziguiri and puts on the Sharpshooter. Sigh; there is WAY too much emphasis on Hebner in this match. Cage reverses to one of his own but Jarrett powers out. Cage hits an inverted atomic drop and a clothesline. He hits a flying forearm and a DDT for 2. Jarrett slides into Hebner’s ankle by mistake and takes him out. Cage goes up top but Kim distracts him and Jarrett brings him down with a Stroke off the top. Hebner takes a while to get his wits about him and Jarrett only gets 2. Hebner gets knocked out again just before Cage hits the Unprettier. A new referee runs in but only gets to 2. Cage goes for the Stroke but Jarrett goes low. The new referee goes to disqualify him so Jarrett knocks him out. Kim throws Jarrett a chair but Cage dropkicks it into his face. There’s no referee so Cage goes after Kim. He tries to hit her with the Unprettier but Jarrett uses the distraction to hit him with a guitar. Hebner wakes up and counts 2. Kim goes for another hurricanrana but Cage hits her with a powerbomb. Jarrett goes for the Unprettier and the Stroke but Cage blocks the both and hits the Unprettier himself for the win and the title. That final sequence was pretty cool and the crowd went wild for it but the rest of the match was a complete overbooked joke.
Rating: **

JZ says: Earl Hebner is the official for this match. Gail Kim is in Jarrett’s corner, and Dave Hebner and Larry Zbyszko are also going to be at ringside. Jarrett had been champion since 11.3.05, and this was just his second title defense in TNA, though I’m sure he made some defenses elsewhere. They do some brawling outside the ring early on, with Jarrett mostly dominating. Hebner asserts himself by not backing down on the Champ. Jarrett distracts Hebner long enough for Gail to interfere and hit a top rope rana. Christian comes back with a powerbomb and his own figure-four leglock. Jarrett comes back and puts on the sharpshooter, because apparently WWE isn’t the only company who wants to beat that fucking Montreal thing into the ground. I was just thinking about how great it would be if no company ever mentioned what happened that day and just kind of left it as some kind of urban myth, how much cooler it would be. Oh, Gail Kim’s boobs, now I’m back into the match. Christian fights back and Hebner gets bumped. Jarrett hits a top-rope Stroke and the referee is slow to make the count. Jeez, every Jeff Jarrett title match has to have a spot where he has the other guy pinned, just to show that he can do it. What an ass. Hebner takes another, bigger bump, and Christian hits the Unprettier. Mark Johnson comes in to replace him, but Jarrett kicks out at two. Christian goes for the Stroke and Jarrett hits a low blow, and when Johnson goes to disqualify Jarrett he kicks him in the balls too. Gail throws a chair into the ring, which ends up backfiring on Jarrett, but there’s still no referee. Gail interferes again, allowing Jarrett to hit Christian with the guitar, but still no referee. Hebner rolls over to count and the challenger kicks out at two. Gail tries to interfere one more time, but she eats a powerbomb for her trouble. Jarrett goes for the Unprettier, then the Stroke, but Christian reverses to the Unprettier to get the win and the title at 16:14. That was going along just fine until the ridiculous over booking that this match did not need. Christian should have pinned Jarrett clean with no chicanery, to get his title reign off to a good start.
Rating: **3/4

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 RING OF HOMICIDE!

Have any thoughts, comments, or concerns? Like how we’re doing our reviews? Let us know!

E-mail Brad at [email protected]
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The 411: BG says: I was, wait for it, disappointed with most of the show. The opener was fun but I’m afraid due mostly to the low expectations I’ve had for Yang lately. Good promos and angle progression keep the bulk of the DVD from driving me crazy and then there’s the admirable match from Aries and Jay. The main event is the selling point of the DVD however, and unfortunately it doesn’t deliver. Unless you’re a huge Christian fan I can’t recommend this one for you. JZ says: I enjoyed seeing Christian Cage in ROH, and the reception he got was pretty good. I think Danielson played a big part in keeping Christian over as a babyface by being such a good heel. The match was good but not great, and it was the second best match on the show. The best (Jay Briscoe vs. Austin Aries) wasn’t that much better, so this is a pretty forgettable show. It’s not a bad show, but it’s not a necessary one either.

Final Score:  5.5   [ Not So Good ]