Rolling Germans Review: Ring Of Honor: Crowning A Champion

RING OF HONOR: CROWNING A CHAMPION

Christmas Compilations kind of slowed down (I get the feeling that people in Block B are actually waiting until after Christmas) so I’ve got a bunch of extra tapes sitting around and no new orders coming in. As such, I was able to pull out one of my three recording VCR’s and watch this show.

I had been looking forward to this show for some time. With all the threads about MOTYC cropping up on message boards, the main event of this show seems to be getting more and more nods as the tape is circulated. As a usual rule of thumb, I pick up every show with a viable MOTYC on it, regardless of whether the rest of it is crap or not. Thankfully ROH has a solid product and I don’t have to worry about one match cards. It’s truly quality material that I recommend everyone go out of their way to find and there’s no better place to do that than MARK OUT VIDEO. He’s got insanely great pricing (including a SICK deal that gets you five tapes for $33, a great idea if you want the first five ROH in one shot) and superb VQ considering all his material are commercial masters. You really can’t go wrong and he gets my highest recommendation.

Um… I don’t remember what this is brought to you by. I was more enthralled with my new couch in the basement than anything else. You see my basement is loaded up with fun gadgets that make wanting to leave an impossibility. However, it’s also got NO FURNITURE! Well there was one Lazy Boy chair that’s been in my family for 27 years but that was it. The rest of the “furniture” literally consisted of lawn chairs for the guys. So I went to my parents and played the Christmas Card to get a living room set put in the basement. The couch arrived a couple of days ago (just in time for the guys to sit on during Armageddon) and the Loveseat & Chair should arrive um… soon? So yeah; I can’t recall what I ate so I’ll plug the shit out of MY NEW COUCH! GREEN APOLSTERY THAT SHIT DOWN!

Back at “Ring Of Honor: Road To The Title” they had a sixteen man tournament where the winners of the four blocks would go on to a sixty minute Iron Man Match at this show. That’s pretty much the set up for this thing.

WE ARE LIVE FROM THE MURPHY DAY CARE CENTRE! WITH BASKETBALL NETS! AND NO AIR CONDITION IN FUCKING 95 DEGREE HEAT! THINK OF THE CHILDREN!

JEREMY LOPEZ vs TONY MAMALUKE
This is my first time taking a look at Lopez. From what I’ve read around the net, he’s a solid worker trained by Deano Machino and coming out of Wildside. He’s won their Junior Title on a couple of occasions so I had at relatively high hopes for something decent out of him. It’s been well documented I’m not a fan of Mamaluke. WHY THE FUCK IS HE ON MY SCREEN DAMN IT! These two are both Malenko students so they should know each other very well. We get a long feel out process to start. Mamaluke breaks it open with a Slingshot Leg Drop. Lopez meets him with a Discus Elbow off a blind charge for 2 and Ѕ. Flying Neckbreaker gets 2 and Ѕ. Mamaluke’s put on the top but stops whatever Lopez was thinking with a Tornado DDT for 2 and ѕ. Mamaluke fires off a Hip Toss into an Elbowlock but that’s countered into a Power Out Drop. Lopez gets awesome with a DOUBLE UNDERHOOK TORNADO DDT INTO A TIGER DRIVER for 2 and ѕ! That got the first “WOW” out of me for this show. Lopez looks for a German Suplex but Mamaluke gets a standing switch and fires off a Double Underhook Implant DDT segued into a Butterfly Lock for the submission. This was rock solid wrestling from both guys with Lopez looking very good. It’s always nice to have a guy you trained with working with you in your first match in a new fed. Mamaluke didn’t make me wretch and that’s always a plus. *3/4

Mamaluke asks James Maritato for an old FBI shirt but Maritato is all “NO GIMMICKS! I’M A SHOOTER NOW! SHOOOOOTER!” Boogalou shows up asking about shooting and Mamaluke takes a cheap shot about hoodlums and guns. You see Boogalou is mean and he’s BLACK so he’s obviously a hoodlum who KILLS people. Boogalou is all “I AIN’T SHOT NOBODY SINCE YESTERDAY” and we’ve got a tag match on August 24th.

PRINCE NANA/JACOB LADDER vs CHRISTIAN YORK/JOEY MATTHEWS (w/Alexis Laree)
Wow, I haven’t seen Laree since back in June for the first NWA TNA PPV. I thought she was Trinity at first when Divine Storm were on TNA but no dice. Nana’s had his head scrambled twice by Low Ki so he takes the time to tell the healthy Hardy Boyz not to attack his head. OK Captain Obvious, I’m sure they’ll be happy to oblige. I haven’t got a clue who Ladder is but there was a clip of him getting out of the TWA van so I assume he’s from there. Nana and Ladder dominate to start until YM come back with a Double Enzugiri on Nana. He bails and they smoke out Ladder with a Fireman’s Carry – Guillotine Legdrop combo for the victory. Well that’s 45 seconds I’ll never get back. DUD.

The Christopher Street Connection hit the ring and kiss guys. The fans cheer. I puke on my new couch. They’re all “oooohhh… we want to suck yous guys dicks off” but YM are all “WE ONLY FUCK RING RATS AND PROMOTERS!” So we get a big mess of a situation leading to Laree getting “branded” with sparkles from Carpet Cleaner 2002 Alison Danger. This is either going to end up in a six person or a straight up tag next month.

PAUL LONDON/DON JUAN vs MICHAEL SHANE/BIOHAZARD (ROH Contract Match)
All four guys are top players in the Texas Wrestling Academy with London and Shane being standout out from the pack. I saw Hazard for the first time last month and he got his ass handed to him by MOTHERFUCKING AMERICAN DRAGON in like two minutes. I’ve never seen Juan before. London had a pretty good match on Velocity a couple of weeks ago against John Cena. I hope he gets another shot in WWE as he’d be a nice addition to their Cruiserweight Division. The match basically works like this: The man that earns the fall gets an ROH contract. So what you’ve really got is a four way match with two guys that help each other out until it really counts. Shane and London bring the flip flop leading to London hitting an UGLY Somersault Plancha. More counter wrestling leads to what is becoming a disturbing spot in US Indies as Shane fires off a released Belly to Belly sending London into the turnbuckle and landing on his head. It was probably a year or two ago when I first saw that spot. At the time I thought it was great. However, now a days it seems to be integrated into so many movesets and used without much emphasis at all. We’re talking about falling on your head and neck here. It shouldn’t be used as a throwaway spot three minutes into the match. That’s just stupid and irresponsible. Anyway, Biohazard tags and fires off a Gutwrench Suplex followed with a Butterfly Suplex for 2 and Ѕ. London stops a blind charge with a headscissors and Juan tags in. Hazard brings the pain with a Jawbreaker and a Northern Lights Suplex for 2 and Ѕ. Double Jump Moonsault misses and Juan hits a DDT. Double KO leads to a Double Tag. London cleans house and hits a Double Jump Moonsault for 2 and ѕ. His charge is met with Sweet Shane Music for 2 and ѕ. It breaks down as Shane looks for the HBK Elbow on Juan but he moves and it hits Hazard. Juan looks to pin but London breaks it up leading to an argument where Shane nails Juan with Sweet Shane Music while London nails Biohazard with an STO DDT for a Double Pin. The referee only saw Shane’s pin and now we’ve got controversy. Bottom line is that Shane gets the contract though. This was an above average match from four guys that know each other very well. London and Shane both looked sloppy early but were clicking on everything later. Good work and solid booking for the finish means we’ll get more of London and Shane. Works for me. **

DA HIT SQUAD vs DIVINE STORM
This was set up last month when DHS were running their mouth about who the best tag team in ROH was. Divine Storm hit the ring and Quiet Storm was anything but quiet with his yelling and general four year old throwing a tantrum behaviour. Holy shit has Mafia lost a ton of weight or what? I can easily tell DHS apart now; something not even conceivable a few months ago. We get some brawling until Mafia looks for The Burning Hammer but Divine slips out and hits a FAT ASS DVD for 2 and Ѕ. WOW! That’s a pretty hefty feat of strength from such a small guy. Divine Spinebuster gets 2 and Ѕ. He charges but Mafia takes his legs out. Monsta Mack throws Mafia right into Divine with a Somersault Senton. BRUTAL! Mafia fires off a Butterfly Suplex and Mack hits THE FATTEST FROG SPLASH EVER for 2 and Ѕ. Storm brings the elbows and hits THE SKINNIEST FROG SPLASH EVER for 2 and Ѕ. Now Mafia heads up but DS cut him off and Storm hits a SUPER ACE CRUSHER for 2 and ѕ. Mafia throws Storm out and Mack FUCKING KILLS Divine with a HUGE LARIAT! He looks for another but Divine ducks and hits an OVERHEAD BELLY TO BELLY! HOLY SHIT! Divine = World’s Strongest Man. Divine looks for a Frankensteiner but Mafia turns it into a FUCKING SICK FOLDOVER POWERBOMB! Yeah that’s about all she wrote. No tags, all spots. Some of it was really cool through so we’ll go with a strong * for the whole thing.

JAMES MARITATO vs JAY BRISCOE
There’s not much backstory to this match outside of Mark having issues with Jay but that’s been covered in other reviews so we’ll get right to it. We get some nice chain wrestling leading to Maritato reversing a TKO attempt into a Wakigatame. The mat work keeps coming as Maritato looks for an STF but no dice. Briscoe tries to come back with a Texas Cloverleaf but that’s reversed into a Cradle for 2 and Ѕ. Briscoe reverses a kick to the gut into a Stunner variation (anyone seen this match know what that’s called? Is it a trademark Briscoe move?) for 2 and Ѕ. Briscoe looks for a Cross Body but he’s met with a BIG TIME Lariat and a Jujigatame but Briscoe makes the ropes. Maritato goes way out of character with a Springboard Cross Body but that misses (how insulting a transition was that? GIVE ME A FUCKING BREAK!) so Briscoe hits a DVD and a Dropkick for 2 and ѕ. Briscoe keeps it coming with an Electric Chair Drop (called a Niagra Slam by Donnie B., anyone got a confirmation on that?) and heads up but Maritato stops that cold and hits a Missile Dropkick. Maritato looks for a Superplex but that’s blocked and Briscoe hits a SUPER SPLIT LEGGED FACEJAM! 1… 2… 2 AND 9/10! Briscoe hits a Sit Out Powerbomb but Maritato uses the most fucked up reversal ever as he purposely lands on his ass and bounces up into a Seated Dropkick for 2 and 9/10. Super Fameasser (what was that called when he was in ECW?) gets 2 and 9/10. He looks for The Kiss Of Death but Briscoe throws that off and hits a Swinging DDT for 2 and 9/10. Mark elects to walk out on the match and leaves Jay distracted for The Kiss Of Death and a Maritato victory. Well… that was quite the abrupt ending to an otherwise fine match. This of course was to further the brother vs brother storyline that’s been brewing since the debut show. The match itself was a little disjointed but the work was fine otherwise. **1/2

NATURAL BORN SINNERS vs THE CARNAGE CREW (Bunkhouse Match)
This was has been a long time coming. HC Loc of TCC was the referee during The Natural Born Sinners vs Boogie Knights match at the debut show. Loc elected to DQ NBS after they beat the shit out of the Knights with a rubber chicken. So NBS was naturally pissed and beat the shit out of Loc culminating with the MOTHERFUCKING COP KILLA! Anyway Loc was all pissy about it and picked up Devito (think Da Baldies if you need to figure it out) for some help. Well TCC beat the shit out of NBS with hubcaps last month so now IT’S FUCKING ON! INSAAAAAANE BRAWL! This thing is all over the place as they beat the shit, piss, snot, blood (lots and lots of it) out of each other. Bats, chairs, barbed wire, fences, cow bells, hub caps. IT’S ALL FUCKING GOOD! Homocide bleeds from like five different spots on his head. Loc gets sliced up with the buckle of a weight lifting belt and then Homocide goes domestic violence on his ass lashing him with the leather belt. FUCK YES! I LOVE ALL THIS SHIT! Finally Homocide looks for The Cop Killa but Devito slips out and we get the neckbreaking turnbuckle spot that I hate but I LOVE IT HERE! BECAUSE IT’S ABOUT KILLING YOUR OPPONENT! KILL! Devito hits THE FAT ASS MOONSAULT ON BARBED WIRE FOR 2 AND 9/10! Boogaloo saves and then wraps the wire around his arm for a FUCKING BARBWIRE LARIATOOOOOO! Homocide is FUCKING INSANE hitting a FUCKING 100MPH TOPE RIGHT THROUGH LOC AND BREAKING THE FENCE! FUCKING AWESOME! BOOGALOO WITH THE FUCKING BARBWIRE CROSSFACE! BLEEEEEEED! TAAAAAAP! I LOVE IT! YOU LOVE IT! VIOLENCE THAT SHIT DOWN! ***1/2

The Carnage Crew bring MORE FUCKING VIOLENCE! NBS are beaten like it’s FUCKING COPS UNCENSORED! Then THE MOTHERFUCKING HIT SQUAD save the day but Homocide is all FUCK YOU FAT BOYS! I’M FUCKING HOMOCIDE! I DON’T NEED SHIT FROM YOU! So they yell and DHS are crying the bitter tears of being punked off by their trainer.

Meanwhile Carnage Crew are FUCKING PISSED that they didn’t get to make the 11 O’Clock news with the murder of NBS so they challenge DHS to a Boston Massacre Match next month. YES! MORE VIOLENCE!

ADAM JACOBS vs DAVID YOUNG vs AJ STYLES (3 Way Dance – NWA TNA X-Title)
Styles was still in the midst of his first reign as X-Champion at this point in time. He and Young had a pretty good match a few weeks prior to this one at a TNA PPV though I forget the date. All three guys are mainstays of NWA Wildside so they knew each other very well. We get lots of flip flop customary of these matches. The first “WOW” spot comes when Jacobs slingshots into the ring to Sunset Flip Young who uses the momentum to German Suplex Styles but he lands on his feet and goes for a cover on Young for 2 and Ѕ. Young is thrown out and Styles looks for a Standing Moonsault but no dice and Young hits a Quebrada Moonsault followed by a Jacobs Somersault Plancha. Back in the ring as Styles hits a Double Quebrada DDT for 2 and ѕ. NICE! Styles with a Tiger Mask Flip on Jacobs but Young meets him with a BRUTAL German Suplex and follows up with a HUGE Powerslam on Jacobs for a Triple KO. Styles looks for a Styles Clash on Young but Jacobs manages to save in a roundabout way with a Seated Dropkick to Young’s face. Styles is put on the top but he throws Jacobs off right into a FUCKING AWESOME ANDERSON SPINEBUSTER but Young turns around to take a FUCKING DRAGON RANA! AWESOME! MONSTER POP! 1… 2… 2 AND 9/10! Styles manages to put Young away with The Spiral Tap. Jacobs goes right on the attack with a Superkick for 2 and Ѕ. Jacobs looks for a Monkey Flip but that’s blocked only to have Jacobs rebound with a Tornado DDT for 2 and ѕ. Jacbos looks for a Rana but that’s reversed into a Styles Clash but that’s blocked so Styles switches into The Stylin Crab. Styles breaks and heads up for another Spiral Tap but Jacobs crotches him and looks for a Top Rope Frankensteiner but that’s reversed into a SUPER STYLES CLASH for the victory. Flip flop goodness for the whole family. This was really fast paced with lots of great spots and great heat. Everything clicked, which is rare for 3 way matches that are so dependent on new innovations. Styles was really on here and kept it together. **3/4

The Boogie Knights are in the back as Mike Tobin wheels his injured partner Bobby Drake around. Feinstein walks onscreen and I contemplate burning this tape right here and now. Anyway; he books Drake in a six man. Can you say throwaway?

MIKE TOBIN/MARCOS/DUNN vs BRIAN XL/DIXIE/BLACK GORDMAN JR.
This is so throwaway that it’s literally a highlight package. Can you imagine how much this must have sucked if an Indy promoter is clipping it to shreds? XL and Dixie break the code of honour with no hand shakes and bring all the spotty shit that’ll keep them from ever doing anything worthwhile in a big fed. Gordman gets pissy about it so they lay him out and Marcos (I think) gets the pin. Whatever, all this managed to do was rob me of a negative star rating.

Some HUGE black guy hits the ring and smokes out everyone with chokeslams. Sign #1 that you suck: Chokeslam is primary weapon.

XAVIER vs SCOOT ANDREWS
These two faced off at the debut show with Xavier going over with a Neckbreaker. Andrews went on a losing streak as a result and promised to leave ROH if he couldn’t win this match. The first half is clipped so we’ll jump to the second half as Andrews hits a Tiger Driver for 2 and ѕ. He looks for The Force Of Nature but that’s reversed into a Rolling Reverse Cradle for 2 and ѕ. Rolling Elbow gets 2 and ѕ. Muai Thai kicks leads to a Crucifix Powerbomb for 2 and ѕ. He looks for The Hangman’s Neckbreaker that put Andrews away in February but that’s reversed into a Gutwrench Facejam for 2 and 9/10. Andrews misses a dropkick and Xavier fires off a Pumphandle Split Legged Facebuster for 2 and 9/10. Second Rope Moonsault gets 2 and 9/10. Xavier looks for a Roundhouse but that’s ducked and Andrews hits THE FORCE OF NATURE for the victory. I’m not a big fan of clipping but the second half was very good with loads of great moves, hard work, big heat and lots of near falls. I’d venture to guess it was **3/4

DOUG WILLIAMS vs SPANKY vs CHRISTOPHER DANIELS vs LOW KI (60 Minute Iron Man Match – ROH Tournament Title Finals)
I sat down and recorded the PbP for this match but when I started to work on the review itself, I realized that sixty minutes worth of PbP text will eventually get boring, even if I try to spruce it up with humour and what not. So, I’m going to use a different approach to this match review as I’ll take more of a synopsis perspective and drop all the nutty cursing and caps that you’ve probably come to expect from me. The match is held under a point system. You get 2 points for a victory and lose one point for bring on the receiving end of a fall. Spanky had been on a huge roll coming into this match. He was undefeated in ROH and managed to beat Paul London and Jody Fleish to advance. Doug Williams was the European Monster with the great matwork everyone had come to respect after last month. He went over Jay Briscoe with relative ease and then put on a clinic against American Dragon (***3/4 by my count) to advance. Low Ki was the MOTY man having MOTYC in February, March, April and argueably in July though I didn’t think his match against Red was the MOTYC that others were saying. As mentioned, he beat Red and KO’d Prince Nana to reach this match. Daniels was the glue to the whole thing as he is the top heel in the promotion due to his refusal to adhere to the Code Of Honor. He squashed Scott Andrews and had the best match of the night (IMO of course, **** by my count) against AJ Styles to reach this match.

The match is laced with a few themes and one major storyline overlooking all of it. Spanky’s story basically boils down to him wanting to be considered the one and only showstopper while holding on to his undefeated record. His work in the match is very quick paced and flashy compared to the rest of the workers. His work leaves the perception that he wants to steal the show rather than work the match. Williams has no real backstory to him. However, his direction is very straight forward as he is intent on grinding his opponents down with mat work. He is absolutely relentless in his attacks on the limbs, especially Low Ki’s leg, something that would be very important later on. While these two play strong roles in the match, it is obvious from the get go that they were never a viable portion. They are the subsidiary players. They push the match forward but were never at the forefront. That role is held to the other two participants.

The issue between Daniels and Ki goes back to the first show. They, along with American Dragon, put on a spectacular Triple Threat Match (****1/4) with Ki eventually coming out the winner. At the end of the match, Daniels disrespected Ki and Dragon by refusing to shake their hands, saying that he’d show no respect in a match where it took two people to defeat him. After the 3/30 show, the issue between Daniels and Ki was pushed further as Ki went over Daniels and he again refused to shake hands. Daniels rationalized his actions saying that he had no desire to show respect to a man that had only fought once while he had fought twice (going over American Dragon in the opener, ****). At the end of the 4/27 show when everyone was throwing their hat into the tournament, Daniels tried to punk out Ki and that sent him over the edge as he locked on a Dragon Clutch and refused to let it go despite all of his friends attempting to pull him off. The issue truly was personal at this point. Daniels represents a true sense of disrespect to a company that holds honor in high regard. Ki represents the wronged fighter looking for vengeance while ensuring Daniels doesn’t take the top prize in Ring of Honor.

For those of you wondering, the match is held under a tag format. Truth be told, I was very grateful for that stipulation because if it was a true Fatal Four Way then all members would have been going for sixty minutes in 95 degree heat and that would have been disastrous to say the least. The match itself follows a very slow burn. This was obviously necessary in order to preserve the energy of the wrestlers and ensure there’s no “gassing out” as time goes on. The first half of the match is met without a fall. The primary storyline between Ki and Daniels plays out right from the start as Daniels demands Ki start the match only to tag Williams in. It’s so simple and yet so brilliant all at once as Daniels is going to make the angry Ki work for that first encounter. Williams is the catalyst for the first in ring story as he does what he does best; take0 it to the mat. His work, along with everyone else later is focused on Ki’s leg. If there is one trademark of Ki’s style, it’s that he is dependant on his kicks. Triple Strike, Koppo Kick, Matrix Kick, Tidal Crush, Roundhouse Kick are all integral weapons. Ki’s right leg is dismantled for nearly one half hour as each wrestler takes their shot at Ki while mixing it up with each other. In the meantime, Daniels and Ki continue to work their storyline. I was extraordinarily impressed with Daniels work. It’s not just a matter of working Ki over. It’s a matter of hurting him and even trying to cripple him. As the first half draws to a close, Ki is exhausted and can barely walk but Daniels doesn’t care. While working with the others, he continues to take cheap shots at Ki. Ki defenseless can only take the beating and try to pull himself up. Then when Ki gets his chance for payback, Daniels not only cuts him off but nearly cripples him as evidenced by a disturbing spot where Ki tries for his Triple Strike (using the left leg instead of the injured right) but Daniels ducks the Roundhouse and chop blocks him. Then as the match progresses to the first fall, Ki sucks it up for a Tidal Crush only to have Daniels chop block him on the handspring. The spot is probably the most disturbing in the match and really puts forth the idea that Daniels wants to put an end to Ki more than just defeat him. Ki is helpless and Daniels puts him away with The Last Rites and the first points. Daniels being booked with the first fall is very smart. First it gives the heel the 1 up on his primary opponent, not to mention the rest. The second reason being that Ki’s role as the babyface is taken to an even greater level as he now not only has to chase Daniels but chase the Title itself as he’s behind.

The second portion of the match tells the story of the fallen hero. Low Ki spent Ѕ hour being dismantled by the other three competitors and then has insult to injury placed on top of it all by having his nemesis gain the first fall. He’s beaten both physically and mentally, at least for the time being. Daniels, Williams and Spanky come to the forefront in this portion of the match. Daniels is in a position where he can’t afford to make a mistake or lose his lead. Williams and Spanky are the hungry underdogs who are willing to take risks to get their points. The groundwork was laid earlier where Daniels had his arm worked over by Williams and that work has a strong role in this part of the match. Williams is relentless in his assault on Daniels with what seems like an inexhaustible amount of stretches and submissions. Spanky on the other hand works with quick spots, cradles and various near falls. He isn’t the submission master that Williams is and he’s not the heavy striker that Ki is so he takes the basic premise of wearing his opponents down and hoping for a victory. In the midst of it all, Ki recovers and then when the time is right he strikes as he disposes of Daniels and works the last few minutes of the second fall with Williams. Their work leads to one of the most amazing spots I have ever seen as Williams looks for The Chaos Theory only to have Ki flip out of it and land right into The Dragon Clutch on a surprised Spanky for the tap out. So the hero waits in the wings and the heel fends off two men only to have his nemesis come out of nowhere and breathe down his neck with only one point separating the two of them.

The third portion of the match is what I can only consider a wake up call for the workers and the crowd who could (but were not from what I could tell) become complacent with the slower pace. It is a flurry of amazing moves and near fall after near fall as each competitor brings out all of their big guns in the hope of scoring a pinfall. Spanky in particular puts his role as upstart who’ll try anything to win to the forefront with some spectacular moves including a Tornado Double Underhook Piledriver. He is ever eager to get back into the ring despite being exhausted from the heat. After what seems like a never ending flurry of near falls the match breaks down and Spanky, ever hungry for a win, has his fortitude come to haunt him as he hits his trademark Sliced Bread #2 on Williams but is discarded by Daniels and thus gives Ki the opportunity to hit The Stardust Press on the prone Williams for the third fall and a lead on Daniels. Despite working his hardest to preserve the lead, Daniels is robbed of his placing by a nemesis who has yet to actually defeat him in the match. So now Daniels role changes and the hunted becomes the hunter.

There is only ten minutes left and the pressure is on Daniels to reclaim his points and put away his hated enemy in one strike. In the meantime, Williams and Spanky are both looking for a way to sneak out a victory. Williams and Spanky are left to pull out all the stops and again it’s a flurry of near falls as they both try to take apart Daniels and Ki with various high end moves. To their dismay they both end up falling short as Ki and Daniels refuse to fall despite a relentless onslaught. The end begins as the five minute announcement comes down. Spanky and Williams, despite a valiant effort will not see the end of this as Williams takes them both out with a brutal leaping swinging DDT from the apron to the floor. So now we have a climax to a great story as a battered and beaten Ki has his mettle tested by the hateful Daniels. Daniels throws everything he can at Ki and on one occasion after another, Ki manages to just stay alive. Finally, in a moment of desperation and in a truly suitable means to insult Ki, Daniels slaps on The Dragon Clutch with one minute left. Ki is battered but won’t give it up, especially to his own hold. He musters everything left and in a perfect ending to a spectacular match, reverses his hold into The Last Rites as the time elapses and Ki wins 3 – 2 over Christopher Daniels.

When you enter a sixty minute match; you never quite know what to expect. When you add the element of 95 degree heat, it adds an even greater dubious element to an already difficult task. I’m glad to see that everyone was up to the challenge. Every participant had a role to play and those respective roles were carried to perfection. I give infinite respect to Doug Williams who was the glue to the wrestling portion of this match and most folks probably won’t even realize is. He was the catalyst behind the story of the hurt hero. He was the catalyst for the pain brought to Daniels arm and thus the focal point of a major portion of the match. His submission work throughout the match kept a constant reminder in the minds of the fans and the viewer of what was worked on and why at any point that work could pay off in a submission. I don’t know if anyone else could have done the same job as well. Truth be told, I thought Spanky’s role while great, could have been done by just about anyone with a strong moveset and a high level of endurance. His role was too simplistic in that he just wanted to win the match and nothing more. Spots are great but like I said, anyone could have done them. Then you have Ki and Daniels; the two that carried the story behind the match. They brought the hard work but more importantly the emotion to pay off the story five months in the making. Ki managed to defeat a worthy foe and his prize was the Ring Of Honor Title. This is truly a match that must be seen (or as I did, seen twice) for wrestling fans that enjoy story and sport intertwined as one. ****3/4

Final Analysis: The undercard is worth looking at but you buy this tape for the main event. If it wasn’t for Ki vs Dragon from 3/30, this would probably be my Match Of The Year. Something about Ki vs Dragon keeps bringing me back though so I couldn’t give this main event the nod. Regardless, this show and the main event in particular are truly worth every cent you pay for it. With that in mind, make sure you have a word with MARK OUT VIDEO for this great show and so many other spectacular matches that have come from Ring Of Honor.

Justin Baisden
Rolling Germans Wrestling