ROH 105 – Destiny – 3rd June 2006
This is the first ROH event in Connecticut since last October and the This Means War show. The previous building in Woodbridge is no longer available and ROH transferred all their booked CT dates to Philly for double-headers with CZW (Hell Freezes Over in January and Arena Warfare in March). Now they’re returning to the market promising the fans a big show to make up for their absence. The headline matches look pretty good too. After the controversial duelling pin finish at Ring Of Homicide it’s a GeNext/Briscoes Tag Title rematch at the top of the bill. After his heroics on the last show, Homicide himself is rewarded with a World Title shot meaning it’s Danielson/Homicide 68 tonight. There’s also Daniels/Whitmer in a long overdue singles match, the debut of Davey Richards, SHIMMER action and Samoa Joe is running too. Incidentally, this building is instantly my second favourite ROH venue (behind the Cleveland building). It’s a sports complex and has an artificial grass (soccer pitch?) type floor which looks really neat. This is in East Windsor, CT. Dave Prazak is once again joined by Jared David.
ROH VIDEO RECAP (19/05/06) – This recap is dedicated to the ROH Champions – which are proclaimed to be the strongest field of champions in the promotion’s history. Are they destined to continue with their belts or will the first title change of 2006 happen tonight?
– Nigel McGuiness says he’s the greatest of them all since he’s held his belt the longest and beaten all the other champions in defence of his belt.
ROH VIDEO RECAP (25/05/06) – Clips from Ring Of Homicide and past Homicide/Dragon matches serve to pimp the ROH Title match.
– BJ Whitmer challenges Necro Butcher to a barbed wire match at the next Dayton show. In front of his home-state fans he wants the ultimate redemption for the beatings he has taken at the hands of CZW.
Austin Aries and Roderick Strong say that it wasn’t luck last time against the Briscoes – they were the better team and they’ll prove it again tonight. Aries says he wants to talk to Roddy about the whole ‘Generation Next’ thing. Roddy should never ever talk on camera.
Jimmy Rave vs Davey Richards
This is the long awaited debut of independent wrestling’s newest rookie sensation. Despite having less than two years experience he’s set the scene on fire – looking awesome in PWG (where he regularly teams with Super Dragon) and winning the 2006 ECWA Super 8. He was scheduled to debut last month (I think at the How We Roll/Ring Of Homicide weekend) but injury meant it was pushed back. He comes in with a big match against Jimmy Rave who is kinda bouncing around the midcard these days. He is a heat machine though and is the perfect guy to put Davey against in his ROH debut match. Davey instantly earns cool points for using Van Halen’s ‘Running With The Devil’ for entrance music.
Richards looks so up for this. Prazak rather surprisingly pimps his accomplishments in other feds as he cartwheels into a wristlock. Rave piefaces him away though. Davey is renowned for his strikes so it’s important for Jimmy to avoid them. He can’t because Richards can hit them from anywhere, and he ends up bridging into a kick to the torso. Jimmy spits in his face and gets STIFFED with more kicks. He asks the fans if he wants more, then dishes out a chops/floatover kick combo for 2. He eventually misses a running elbow in the corner and Rave floors him using a northern lariat. The Crown Jewel takes control and negates the kicking power of Davey by stomping him down then choking him in the ropes. He surfboards Richards then starts raking over his face, using all the shortcuts he can think of to keep his explosive opponent down. Richards attempts a dropkick but gets nothing but air, and Rave follows up with a camel clutch. He powers away from that only to run into a knee to the gut. Jimmy goes on from there to apply an abdominal stretch. Rave eventually makes a mistake by trying to climb to the top rope. Richards climbs after him with headbutts then drops him from the top with a big ass superplex. SLAP DUEL! Davey tries to fire up and run the ropes only for Rave to pull his hair and drag him down again. He goes for a shoulder charge in the corner and falls to the floor. TOPE SUICIDA from Davey! He brings it back in again with a springboard dropkick. A kick combo followed by a GORGEOUS German suplex gets 2. But Richards keeps going for running elbows and eventually charges straight into a SPEAR! Rave gets 2 with his gutbuster/DDT combo then locks in the RAVE STRETCH! Greetings From Ghana is blocked into a horse collar but Rave is able to get the ropes. Both men up…HANDSPRING ENZIGURI BY RICHARDS! He reels off a big running forearm smash then a lariat but it’s still just 2. Jimmy ducks more kicks and hits an STO backbreaker. GHANAREA gets 2. Jimmy tries to lift Richards onto his shoulders but it’s blocked…BUTTERFLY BRAINBUSTER! Richards wins in 17:44. What a hell of a debut!
Rating – **** – Probably the best opening match of 2006, although it’s only really got the Tag Wars ’06 opener for company in truth. That was a great match and a tremendous way to debut Richards. He looked great out there, and his style is something of a mesh between 2002/3 Low Ki and Austin Aries. Think lots of strikes mixed with some explosive offensive flurries. But in truth it was the performance of Jimmy Rave that was more eye-catching. He helped Davey to great first showing with an awesome story. The first 5 minutes were all about showcasing what the new guy could do. Lots of kicks, lots of Rave being out-wrestled. But then Jimmy did what he does best – cheat and use dirty tactics. He stomped, punched, used the ropes, raked and used all the holds he could to keep Richards down (work his midsection for the GFG) and stop him kicking. That got some good heat and I liked the finishing minutes which had some tight big move-exchanges. What did we learn from this? Davey in ROH should be good – and Jimmy Rave is still awesome even when he’s curtain-jerking.
Derrick Dempsey vs Shane Hagadorn – Top Of The Class Trophy Match
Yay…it’s the students. Unfortunately until they start putting on legitimate good matches I’m just not going to care about them. It doesn’t matter that Hagadorn is mildly entertaining as a goofball heel. It doesn’t matter that the last time Derrick made a DVD he put on a surprisingly decent 3 minute match with Pelle Primeau. I wish they’d keep this dudes on the pre-show until they can put on something that’s up to ROH standard. That being said, I hope they put the trophy on Hagadorn here, since he’s probably closer to that standard than anyone else.
Dempsey starts stronger by waistlocking Shane. He hits a Saito suplex too but runs into a knee to the stomach. Hagadorn keeps him down with a running stomp to the top of the head. He chinlocks Derrick then switches to a neck crank. DD goes for a suplex but ends up getting punched square in the face. Hip attacks by Shane followed by a running variant hip attack for 2. They botch a clothesline spot…which probably sums up why I don’t think these matches should be on the main card. Dempsey hits a nice German to take both men down. He gets 2 with a spinebuster. Hagadorn traps him in a side headlock camel clutch and that’s enough to earn a tap-out win and the TOTC Trophy at 06:16.
Rating – DUD – Pretty much sucked ass I’m afraid. I’m not adjusting my ratings to take into account how green they are. There were some signs of promise but it was just so basic and uninteresting. It really has no business being on an ROH show. Leave the Trophy matches on the cutting room floor unless they’re any good.
Sara Del Ray vs Daizee Haze
SHIMMER action next, as two of the promotion’s top stars do battle in a promising match. Del Ray is a student of Bryan Danielson (she calls herself the American Angel) and helped to put SHIMMER on the map with her hard-hitting classic against Mercedes Martinez on the first show. Daizee is one of the top babyfaces but obviously, since she’s a heel in ROH that’s how she’ll be working tonight.
Thankfully the commentary drowns out the inevitable moronic fans. Sara has a clear size advantage and she throws the Haze in the corner to prove it. Daizee stomps the foot in order to grab a hammerlock but even then it’s still an even contest at best. Del Ray powers out of headlocks and shoulder charges Haze, then drops her straight on her face. RUNNING ASS to the stomach! Daizee is completely winded and Sara dumps her out of the ring like trash. She crawls back in only for Del Ray to trap her in an inverted surfboard. Haze comes back with a flurry of offence on the mat. She attempts a crucifix only for Del Ray to catch her and go for a DVD. Daizee counters again into a nice armbreaker though. She dropkicks Sara’s knee next and stays on it with a MutaLock. Sara is able to escape that though and hits a series if running boots to the gut for 2. Daizee chokes Del Ray in the ropes but eventually gets shoved over them to the outside. She gets whipped CHEST-FIRST into the railings. In the ring again where Haze takes a Samoan drop but kicks out at 2. Daizee reverses a whip into a facebuster. Heart Punch ducked but Haze is able to block Sara’s cross-arm German. HEART PUNCH…botched Yakuza kick. In the end they roll into the ropes in a mess. Del Ray catches Daizee on her shoulders and hits a sit-out powerbomb. Death Ray wins with the Butterfly Lock/Butterfly Powerslam combo at 11:29.
Rating – ** – It was going pretty well for the first 8 minutes or so. It wasn’t always pretty but they were telling a solid story of Sara using her power to dominate Daizee who occasionally produced some nifty counters. Unfortunately the last couple of minutes were really ugly with frequent messy spots and all-out botches that totally killed it for me. I judge the girls like I do the men and it hurt the final rating. It’s still one of the better female matches ROH has ever done, but if you get the occasional SHIMMER DVD like I do you’ll know the girls are capable of much more. The Haze/Del Ray match that main events SHIMMER Volume 3 is better.
Bryan Danielson comes to the ring to congratulate his student and puts over their match as better than anything the WWE puts on (which bar Trish/Mickie from Wrestlemania is probably true). He calls Sara the best women’s wrestler in the world…which isn’t surprising since he trained her and he’s the best wrestler in the world. He cuts an entire promo dissing the Connecticut market and walks out saying he hopes they never come back again. It seems like a waste of time but…unfortunately ROH is a DVD product and this was somewhat necessary. The fans in attendance may not have seen the Ring Of Homicide show from a couple of weeks ago and if they haven’t seen Homicide’s big babyface turn then this promo gives them a reason to cheer him.
Jason Blade vs Delirious vs Adam Pearce vs Colt Cabana
The winner gets himself a World Title shot down the line, despite the fact that none of these guys really deserve one. Delirious is fresh off losing two title matches already, but did put in a career-defining performance last show against Bryan Danielson and I’m sure would love one more shot at him. Adam Pearce has been losing to CZW for months. Jason Blade is making his first appearance for a few months. It looks like Kid Mikaze has been ditched and now he’s getting a lock as a solo guy. He’s won like once in his whole ROH tenure. Cabana lost his last title match in 5 minutes and dropped to the bottom of the card to earn another shot. He’s been beating jobbers since then but it’s stretching it a little to say he’s already done enough to warrant another chance. Still, this fourway does seem very obviously set-up to push him into the aforementioned rematch.
Delirious eats his streamers whilst Blade and Cabana start off the action. Colt pretty much wrestles rings around him – making the point that he’s worked off some of the rust that ruined his last title match. Blade does manage to land a dropkick and some armdrags to avoid looking like a complete jobber. Pearce comes in and throws Jason into the corner where Delirious gets the tag. He’s quicker than Adam but is completely over-powered and Pearce tackles him down (whilst Cabana comically narrates the whole thing). Delirious with a clothesline flurry in the corner then a bulldog for 2. Cabana hiptosses Pearce to the floor then throws Delirious and Blade out after him. ASAI MOONSAULT onto the whole pile! He’s not the legal man though so his pin on Delirious isn’t counted. Pearce’s is after he hits a powerslam and it gets 2. Colt and Adam slug it out until Cabana dropkicks his adversary through the ropes. They go at it again only for Blade to hit a diving crossbody on both of them. He catches Colt on the top rope with an enziguri. Delirious joins them up top as Pearce gets to his feet. POWERBOMB DOUBLE SUPERPLEX CAR WRECK! Delirious hits the Panic Attack on Pearce but his Cobra Stretch is countered with the JUMPING PILEDRIVER! Cabana breaks the pin so Pearce gives him a spinebuster. Delirious kicks Adam to the floor as Blade hits a moonsault on Cabana. Delirious is on the top…SOMERSAULT PLANCHA TO THE FLOOR! Cabana walks into a superkick but is able to grab Blade and roll him up. The referee botches the pin so Cabana quickly turns it into a random stretch and Jason has to tap out and look like even more of a b*tch at 13:41.
Rating – ** – That was actually pretty entertaining with some great spots in places but the flat finish and general calibre of wrestling wasn’t so hot. Jason Blade looked nervous and generally out of place whenever he got involved – but then again he was duly treated like a complete nobody for most of this match. Babyface Pearce in non-brawling singles competition is incredibly lame. He’ll need quite a gimmick change after the ROH/CZW feud. As a babyface he has an incredibly limited shelf-life…and Jimmy Rave basically wrestles exactly the same way as him as a heel so his upward mobility prospects as a heel are pretty minimal too. Delirious is hot coming off his big matches with Danielson so I’m glad he was at least able to look semi-decent here. However, in truth the only real star in the match was Cabana. This was a match specifically booked and wrestled to make him look ready for a rematch with American Dragon and he delivered. In his exchanges with Jason Blade he showed he can wrestle again, and his heated clashes with Adam Pearce showed he’s able to take wrestling skill, and his fun-loving style whilst still retaining the more ruthless edge he developed during the Homicide feud.
Lacey b*tches at Bryan Danielson for calling Sara Del Ray the best womens wrestler. Man I’d love to see Dragon vs Lacey to shut her mouth! She wants Jimmy Jacobs to win more when he returns.
Christopher Daniels vs BJ Whitmer
At the end of 2005/start of 2006 these guys were developing quite a rivalry before the CZW thing really took off. BJ Whitmer wanted revenge on Daniels for abandoning The Prophecy back in 2004, leaving him and Dan Maff left to brawl with the Second City Saints, then stuck with the increasingly deranged Allison Danger – who is at ringside looking incredible. Their match at the Fourth Anniversary Show was ruined by a CZW invasion but now they have a chance to settle things.
Whitmer gets on the mic and says that after his battless with CZW he realises he doesn’t hate Daniels or Danger, even apologising to her for him and Maff beating the sh*t out of her at the 3YA Part One. That was horribly corny and totally kills all the heat on the match. Cue an indifferent crowd as they a basic opening sequence. The main theme established there is that these two are respectful and give each other clean breaks. Daniels gets in a few hiptosses and Whitmer rolls out to break his momentum. Coming back in he is able to block a hiptoss with a clothesline. He hits a jumping heel kick but after taking a few shots to the heat Daniels is able to fire back with a heel kick of his own. BJ gets 2 with a neckbreaker then, because the opening 8 minutes of this match have been too exciting for words, has to slow it down with a chinlock. Daniels goes for a springboard quebrada press but Whitmer sidesteps it and drops him again with a swinging neckbreaker. Chinlock again because there was a flash of actual excitement. Daniels back suplexes out of the hold then leaves both men reeling after an STO. Front lungblower from the Fallen Angel, followed by a top rope crossbody for 2. Whitmer counters the standing urinage which sets up for the BME and nails a spinebuster. He boots the neck and flattens Daniels with a lariat which gets a nearfall. An exploder suplex scores 2 as well. Daniels rolls out of a brainbuster to apply the Koji Clutch. BJ manages to get to the ropes though. Daniels looks for a superplex but Whitmer tries to counter to his Jimmy Jacobs bomb. In the end he rolls through a Daniels rana attempt for 2. Daniels hits Angel’s Wings but this time Whitmer kicks out. In the end it takes the BME to get the job done. Daniels wins at 16:04.
Rating – ** – That was a real disappointment. It wasn’t like it was bad wrestling, it was just never really that exciting to watch, and after the dumb promo at the start, nobody had any reason to care. The fact is, whilst the CZW feud might be getting guys like Whitmer and Pearce over, nobody actually that excited them in straight singles matches with no feud behind it. This needed to be a hard-fought, hard-hitting battle to prove who the best former-Prophecy member was. Nobody really wanted an athletic, respectful, mostly dull “who’s the better man” match.
As if Whitmer’s pre-match promo wasn’t enough, the nauseating, needless Prophecy lovefest continues. Daniels puts Whitmer over for all he’s done in the CZW war – fulfilling the potential Daniels himself saw in BJ when he brought him into the Prophecy in the first place. He offers a rematch or to be Whitmer’s tag partner anytime he needs one. Allison Danger starts apologising too and has everyone reaching for the sick bags. They hug it out and they all throw up the Prophecy sign one more time. Poor match…vile segment. I guess you can consider that an official line drawn under The Prophecy’s run in Ring Of Honor.
INTERMISSION – Capetta is silenced by Prince Nana. Jimmy Rave is irate and cuts the promo of his life. He talks about all he’s been through in ROH, all the great feuds and the like, and yells down Davey Richards. He wants a rematch to prove that his loss tonight was a fluke.
Shingo Takagi vs Ricky Reyes
This is Shingo’s second ROH appearance. He made his debut at Dragon Gate Invasion (since he’s a Dragon Gate wrestler) where he lost to Curry Man. Reyes must be on his way out of ROH. There’s no way he’s over enough to be babyface, and now that Homicide has turned that signals the end of his usefulness as Cide’s back-up. It’s a shame because he started the year looking promising, getting over and putting on some decent little matches.
They start out hot and heavy with some vicious forearms. Reyes sends Takagi outside with a headscissors then dropkicks him through the ropes. Shingo tries to chop Ricky but gets kicked in the head. Reyes busts out a nice combo – double underhook suplex floated into a cross armbreaker. Takagi absorbs more kicks and nails a swinging sleeper slam. Reyes gives him an enziguri but he counters a fisherman suplex with a brainbuster for 2. Swinging neckbreaker from Ricky then he’s able to land the fisherman buster for 2. He goes for the Dragon Sleeper but Shingo backs into the corner and blasts him with a clothesline. To the top rope…SUPER BRAINBUSTER! That was all power on Takagi’s part. He goes for a Burning Hammer but gets KICKED IN THE HEAD! Reyes slaps on a triangle choke only for Takagi to lift him into a powerbomb. LARIATOOOO for 2! Shingo wins with a SIT-OUT Burning Hammer variant at 06:51.
Rating – ** – I can’t really go higher because it was so short but that was a whole heap more exciting than the tedious Daniels/Whitmer bout from pre-intermission. This did everything it needed to – lots of hard hitting, a few big moves thrown in at the end. Reyes again proves his usefulness on the undercard. However, he just jobbed to an outsider. I think that all but confirms that he’s being faded out. Good match though…
Samoa Joe takes on guest ring announcing duties here, which is cool considering his history with Homicide and his inevitable upcoming title match with Dragon.
Bryan Danielson vs Homicide – ROH World Title Match
Should you really need an introduction for this one? These two have one of the longest-running rivalries in ROH. It started in 2004 at Reborn Stage 2 when Homicide used a low blow to overdome Dragon in an absolute classic. Danielson got his win back in early December of the same year at All Star Extravaganza 2 and the ensuing feud took is into their violent Best Of 5 Series spanning the first half of 2005. After winning the first two matches Homicide went on to lose the final three and the series – culminating in the longest airplane spin ever with Dragon winning inside a steel cage. However, after that match he promised Homicide the feud could continue after he won the World Title (he won a title shot at then-champion Austin Aries the next show). Maybe this wasn’t quite how he thought it’d work out but his promise can now be fulfilled. This match is Homicide’s reward for helping ROH against CZW at the previous show. But ROH officials will understandably be a little nervous about this match. One of the on-going themes in ROH since 2002 has been how desperate Homicide is to win the World Title, and how violent he gets after he loses title matches. At Reborn Stage 1 there was a fireball. At Generation Next he tore up ringside, then went on to steal the title belt the following show. At Death Before Dishonor 2 he and the Rottweilers disrespected the belt by spitting on it. He refused to shake Austin Aries’ hand after their match at Best Of American Super Juniors, and his fans went on to ruin the whole show after he was disqualified from a triple threat title match at Night Of The Grudges 2. Homicide in and around the World Title is dangerous. What will happen here? Many say it’s his destiny to win the ROH Championship. Now he has to prove it…
There’s no handshake, immediately making the point that there’s still heat between them. Danielson goes for the face but Homicide counters away and spits at him. They’re even on the mat at first, which makes sense considering the amount of time they’ve spent in the ring with each other. In the end Dragon gets fed up and forearms Cide in the face. Homicide goes after Dragon’s hand and slams it into the railings – just like Danielson did to him at Reborn Stage 2. He thinks about using the ringbell but doesn’t want to be DQ’d so drops it. That gives AmDrag a chance to recover and he whips him into the steel. Suplex ONTO the timekeepers table! Homicide is hurt and he ends up nailing Danielson with the title belt. He tries to suplex Danielson off the apron but he blocks it. Cide Yakuza kicks him off then dives on top of him with a cannonball senton. To the floor again…Danielson BACK DROPS Cide onto the table! Back in the ring he attacks Homicide’s arm – and it’s the right (and previously injured against Corino), lariat throwing arm too. Outside again for Dragon to wrap the arm in the metal rail and HIT IT WITH A CHAIR! Homicide replies with a swinging DDT but he’s having to use his left arm and Danielson is able to counter a second attempt. He does Reyes’ butterfly suplex cross armbreaker.
Cide has a superplex attempt blocked for Dragon to hit the Misawa missile dropkick. Anytime Homicide throws a strike with his right arm it hurts him, and Danielson makes it worse again by throwing him shoulder-first to the ringpost. Outside AGAIN for more opportunities for Dragon to send his injured arm into metal objects. Finally Homicide is able to counter something with an inverted atomic drop from the top. NECKBREAKER ON THE FLOOR! He cracks a chair across the spine as well! In the ring again he gets 2 with an Ace crusher. FROG SPLASH MISSES! DIVING HEADBUTT MISSES! Both men down after missing big spots. They both get up to throw right hands before Homicide hits a YAKUZA KICK! LARIAT COUNTERED TO CATTLE MUTILATION! Cide refuses to tap and makes the ropes. He blocks a superplex…FROG SPLASH gets 2! He winds up for the Lariat again but Danielson meets it with a dropkick. DRAGON SUPLEX…CROSSFACE CHICKENWING! HOMICIDE LOW BLOWS…LARIATOOOOOOO! REBORN STAGE 2 FINISH
BUT DRAGON KICKS OUT! Homicide goes for the Cop Killa but Dragon attacks the shoulder. SUPER REGALPLEX FOR 2! MMA ELBOWS TO THE NECK AND SHOULDER! The ref stops it at 25:45! Danielson retains…
Rating – ****1/2 – To be honest, I didn’t want to give this one an extra ½ star, but it’s one of those instances where my policy of not doing the whole gay ¼ star thing works against me. Because this match WAS better than 4*, but I don’t think it was an MOTYC – which I generally reserve this rating for. It was better than Rave/Richards from earlier. It was better than anything they did in their Best Of 5 Series. It was better than other 4* defences like Danielson/Sabin, Danielson/Marufuji, Danielson/Hero, Danielson/Storm etc. But it had some flaws and still wasn’t quite as good as their original Reborn Stage 2 contest. I absolutely LOVED the familiarity spots from that match though, they were awesome. Homicide trying to rip off Dragon’s arm attack, then Danielson using it again to get the win was cool. The Danielson kick out to the original finish of that match was a nice pay-off as well – although I think they’ve done it before. Plus the frequent trips to the outside of the ring to fight was an interesting addition stemming from their violent matches in ’05. But like I said, this wasn’t AS good. The first 5-8 minutes were slow. I got that they were even and equal very quickly and they really laboured the point. And Homicide’s sell-job on his arm wasn’t quite as good this time around. He simply stopped selling it in the stretch, basically after they both missed big top rope spots and that hurt it. It was still a great match though, and after their Best Of 5 Series disappointed me with so much brawling it was awesome to see them back wrestling again.
Everyone is pissed off about the finish – since Homicide didn’t tap out and clearly isn’t KO’d. He demands 5 more minutes (as do the fans, Smokes and even Samoa Joe) but since it wasn’t a draw that’s not really an option. Lt. Commissioner Pearce comes out with Jim Cornette on the phone. Jim wants to talk to the ref apparently. His eventual ruling – the result stands since the match was stopped in the best interests of wrestler safety. Homicide attacks Todd Sinclair like a psychopath…and in the melee Bryan Danielson clips Joe’s bad knee again! What a dick! Homicide walks out on ROH for the millionth time and leaves through the crowd.
Austin Aries/Roderick Strong vs Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe – ROH Tag Title Match
You can’t deny that their last match was a close contest and when that match ended Jay did indeed have one half of the champions pinned for 3. Unfortunately neither of them was legal and it was Aries’ pin on Mark at the same time which decided it. It’s fair to say that the controversial finish at Ring Of Homicide entitles the Briscoes to another shot so this is it. Will they get it done this time? Roddy is debuting new tights and, if wrestlers HAVE to wrestle in the homo-erotic manpants, they’re probably as good as it gets in that department.
The Briscoes congratulate their opponents on a good run before attacking them when their backs are turned to seize control from the bell. The champions quickly back drop them to the outside. TOP ROPE PLANCHA BY STRONG! ARIES HEAT SEEKING MISSILE! The battle stays away from the confines of the ring with all four man laying in some hard shots. Mark rakes Aries’ face across the ring apron. The Briscoes for duelling piledrivers but get blocked. Roddy stacks them as Austin climbs the ropes…SECOND TURNBUCKLE CACTUS ELBOW! GeNext grab Mark to work over first, and when he tries to bail Strong goes right after him and shoulder-charges him into the railings. He gets 2 with a backbreaker. Aries and Strong trade off chops in the corner, and anytime Mark tries to return fire he gets savagely clubbed back down. He finally manages to land a spinning heel kick and gets to tag Jay in. He continues the ferocity of the early exchanges, connecting with extreme crispness on everything he does. Strong goes for an enziguri and connects with the wrong opponent just like he did last time. Aries tagged and he FROG SPLASHES the stacked Briscoes for 2. Springboard back elbow on Jay but Mark catches his attempt with a NECK DROP URINAGE! HUGE DOUBLE BIEL on Austin. The Briscoes isolate him now with the majority of their offence working the head and neck. Aries finally gets the hot tag simply by grabbing the ropes when they Irish whip him. Roddy belly to belly’s one Briscoe on top of another for 2. STUNNER by Mark, followed by a big boot from Jay. A backbreaker/springboard knee combo gets 2. Aries throws Jay out then back drops Mark on his head! RUNNING DROPKICK…STRONG BIG BOOT! Jay Briscoe takes the Hart Attack before they grab Mark again. CHOP BRAINBUSTER…JAY SAVES! Mark catches Aries on the top…SPLASH MOUNTAIN NECKBREAKER by the Briscoes! Clearly they’re Carnage Crew fans. Aries ducks the springboard Doomsday Device by victory rolling Jay. Strong blocks the Jay Driller but Briscoe goes for the same roll-up as last night – for 2. Aries shakes the ropes to block the Spike JD. MISSILE DROPKICK BOMB! GeNext win at 18:11.
Rating – **** – An all round better match than last time. They really brought some intensity to this one and made it feel like they HATED each other. Again it was established that when using double team moves the Briscoes can control any opposition but it was the high-impact offence of the champions that led to their victory. I liked the frequent references to the first match – like Strong doing the enziguri (except this time Mark, who got kicked last time ducked, meaning Jay got kicked instead), and kicking out of the same roll-up that pinned him last time. It’s nice to see that Aries and Strong have adjusted that Missile Dropkick Bomb to use as a finish. Roddy turning it into a backbreaker as well simply made it too injuriffic for opponents. So why didn’t I give this a higher score? BECAUSE MARK WAS THE GODDAMN LEGAL MAN! After all the fuss of the last show about who the legal man was, they made a mistake here. It doesn’t ruin the whole match and I’m not as fussy as some over the whole legal man deal. But it’s stuff like that which separates good matches from MOTYC’s so. Either way this was a big improvement on their decent first match. They had a third match on the UK debut show which is supposed to be the best of the lot.
Austin Aries says that when they formed Generation Next, their goal was to take the top spots in ROH. But these days – they’ve done that. They’re main eventers now…and the GeNext name is redundant. He officially retires the name – they’re just Aries and Strong.
GMC has caught up with Davey Richards. The new guy accepts Rave’s challenge for a rematch, but says it’ll have the same result.
Tape Rating – *** – A bit of a mixed bag really. There were three really good matches in Richards/Rave, Dragon/Homicide and GeNext/Briscoes…but the rest of the card was somewhat weak. Lets face it, it won’t be winning show of the year, but I thought it was ok. Aside from the student match was actually really bad (unless the gay Prophecy lovefest counts) and with Davey Richards delivering on debut, Homicide and Danielson putting on their best match since 2004 and the official disbanding of Generation Next, you do have some significant reasons to get this show. I wouldn’t say it was MUST own but you could do a lot worse. It was refreshing to have a solely ROH show too. I’m loving the ROH/CZW feud but a night off from the run-ins and brawling was appreciated.
Top 3 Matches
3) Davey Richards vs Jimmy Rave (****)
2) Austin Aries/Roderick Strong vs Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe (****)
1) Bryan Danielson vs Homicide (****1/2)