Ring of Honor has once again combined the best of two shows into one super amazing awesome DVD…maybe. The first Double Feature was a fun but mostly inconsequential show. It was a huge step below what RoH was doing at the time. RoH now is mostly fun inconsequential shows. This at least has one match guaranteed to deliver. Which one? Read on to find out…
The DVD starts with “The Hunt Begins†which one would think deals with the America Wolves, but we start the show with a surprisingly competent promo from Tyler Black talking about Jimmy Jacobs hunting him and him taking out Jimmy Jacobs. Remember…I said competent, not good.
Tyler Black vs. Jimmy Jacobs
The dissolution of the Age of the Fall has been one of the bigger storylines of the first half of the RoH year. This is just another chapter in said feud. These two make me believe that they hate one another, and that really is the cornerstone of any wrestling feud. Jimmy Jacobs does his best to hold this match together, but Tyler Black just doesn’t hold up his end of the bargain. As a result the match doesn’t have a whole lot to its credit. Tyler doesn’t make Jacobs look like a threat to beat him, and in a feud/match like this that creates a problem. This match has a lot of nice spots, but isn’t a spotfest. There are enough levels that it didn’t click on, though, to severely hold it down. Tyler ends up getting the win after a super kick. Blech.
Winner: Tyler Black via pinfall, *1/2
After the match Tyler decides to get a little extra-curricular with a chair, but Jacobs gets his butt out of there.
Four Corner Survival Match: Austin Aries vs. Roderick Strong vs. Kenny Omega vs. Jay Briscoe
Aries gets on the mic to start and runs down the new kid on the block, Kenny Omega. He also keeps referring to Montreal, Quebec as France. Man, I love Austin Aries. Aries plays his cocky self. Roddy and Jay play the rough and tumble good guys. Kenny Omega gets beat up but shows moments of flash. Like every other Four Corner Survival this match is fun but ultimately totally inconsequential. For a while this was RoH’s three way dance, it isn’t quite there anymore. Omega tried a moonsault to the outside and totally missed everyone except the patrons in the first few rows. Ouch. With that one flub as an exception, Omega stood out in this match. He stood out so much that he was able to steal a win via a backslide on A-Double himself. Aries is not happy about it.
Winner: Kenny Omega via pinfall, **1/2
The Embassy of Jimmy Rave and Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brent Albright and Colt Cabana
It seems that this feud is begging to be settled in yet another Steel Cage Warfare match. Colt’s Crew is even facing the Embassy in another elimination match at the upcoming Toronto shows. I don’t mind so much because I really dig pretty much everyone involved. Nana gets on the mic to start and the awesomeness just oozes out of him. The Montreal faithful don’t agree because mid sentence he gets tagged in the face with a roll of TP…still, it’s awesome.
Colt and Brent come out and we are underway. Colt does his usual shtick which doesn’t bother me in the least. I would really like to see a Claudio/Colt singles match instead of all the Claudio/Albright matches. Luckily, there is one on the second half of the DVD. Their stuff in this match is good fun. This match is your classic tag formula stuff. Claudio and Rave do a great job as heels, and Nana is his usual awesome self on the outside. The match kind of devolves into four singles matches going on at once, both faces vs. both heels, but it is still good fun. Nana uses some chicanery to hold Albright’s foot down ala Bobby Heenan at Mania V to give Claudio and Rave the win. After the match Albright and Cabana get a modicum of revenge by beating up Ernie Osiris.
Winners: Jimmy Rave and Claudio Castagnoli via pinfall, **
Six Man Tag Team Match: The American Wolves with Shane Hagadorn and Sylvain Grenier vs. Kevin Steen, El Generico, and Bryan Danielson
Davey gets on the mic and tells the Canadian fans that he is going to do things his way and demands that people rise for the “Star Spangled Banner.†The crowd starts singing “O Canada,†a severely underrated national anthem. Davey’s singing is thankfully cut short by Sylvain Grenier…wait, what?
Sylvain cuts a promo in French, but I thought he was the bad guy. Sylvain then starts singing an even worse version of the Anthem which makes him a bad guy. I still think he sucks. That brings out Steen, El Generico, and Danielson. Steen makes fun of Grenier in French too. I wish I spoke more of it to translate.
After all of that mishegas, the main event finally gets underway. We get treated to a Memphis stall in the early going. The good guys take turns beating on Eddie Edwards which puts the tag format on its ear just a bit. Generico eventually becomes the whipping boy and all is right with the world. The match breaks down and then gets very exciting. Not surprisingly, Sylvain is mostly absent in this segment. The work of five guys in this match is pretty awesome. Grenier brings so much suck it makes it hard to watch. Steen locks Grenier in the sharpshooter while Danielson has Eddie Edwards in the Sharpshooter and Generico hits the BRAAAAAAIIINNNBUUUUSSSTAAAAA!!!! on Davey Richards. Sylvain eventually taps and the heroes triumph. Even Grenier’s suck couldn’t bring this match down so much.
Winners: Kevin Steen, El Generico, and Bryan Danielson via submission, ***
After the match Steen teaches American Dragon to say “le meilleur du monde†which means “Best in the world.â€
Big Andy Mac’s Big Andy Midpoint Thoughts: They say that good wrestling can transcend the language barrier. I guess that didn’t count for French because the Montreal crowd is definitely on the quiet side. The matches didn’t give them a whole hell of a lot to cheer for, though. The main event was fun. I really hope “Tag Title Classic†tops it. Shouldn’t be hard.
We start the second half of the show called “Tag Title Classic†with Jay Briscoe and Roderick Strong talking about continuing their competitive rivalry. They have had some awesome matches, I hope it continues.
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Colt “Boom Boom†Cabana
I wanted to see this after their tag match last night. I got my wish granted. Not surprisingly, they do a lot of technical and “Catch style†stuff in the beginning. This reminds me a lot of the early matches between Nigel and Colt with Colt doing European style to get under his opponent’s skin. The match has plenty of cuteness, but it goes on a bit too long. Apparently, Prince Nana and Ernie Osiris had enough too and make their presence known. They are foiled by their own plans as the distraction allows Brent Albright to throw Osiris’ shoe at Claudio so Colt can steal a rollup win. Cute stuff and a shmozz ending equals two and a half stars in my book.
Winner: Colt Cabana via pinfall, **1/2
Austin Aries, Rhett Titus, and Kenny King vs. Kevin Steen, Generico Dos (aka Player Dos/Stupefied), and Kenny Omega
Steen informs the crowd that Generico won’t wrestle and his spot will be taken by Player Generico Dos. Aries gets on the mic to respond and says he is OK with Generico Dos because he is paler and skinnier than El Generico. Aries puts over the struggles of El Generico, and then punches him in the face…awesome. This raises the ire of Steen and we are underway. Dos and Omega show off their fancy flying skills early. The risks leave limited reward and the heels take control giving the business to Dos. Dos eventually gets the tag and it all breaks down. Dos and Steen even run through some of the classic Steenerico double teams. It proves to not be enough as Dos succumbs to a nasty Double Stomp Piledriver from King and Titus. This match was actually a lot of fun.
Winners: Austin Aries, Kenny King, and Rhett Titus via pinfall, ***
Dos is able to walk it off, but that move was nuts.
Jimmy Jacobs is in the back to talk about his match with Delirious. He gets interrupted by the man from the Edge of Sanity, and they start brawling right away. That means…
Markham Street Fight: Jimmy Jacobs vs. Delirious
Delirious is in the Poison red garb which means crazier Delirious. This match starts as a brawl through the crowd but makes it to the ring rather than the other way ‘round. We even get treated to the dreaded cookie sheet. This is just a straight up fight, which is a nice palette cleanser from the technical stuff every once in a while. Jacobs takes a sick Panic Attack while up against the guardrail and the blood, she starts a’flowin’. This apparently makes him decide to take chairs from the fans and throw them in the ring. The rest of the match is spent wrestling in a pile of chairs. That is until Jacobs hits a ridiculous spear through the ropes sending Delirious through a table on the outside. Daizee Haze comes out to check on Delirious. Jacobs tries to spike her, but Delirious comes in with the Black Mist. Daizee then spikes Jacobs which didn’t get nearly the pop it should have. Delirious takes the spike and uses it to aid his Cobra Stretch to force Jacobs to tap out. This was actually a lot of fun.
Winner: Delirious via submission, ***1/2
Jay Briscoe vs. Roderick Strong
These guys had a kickass opener at Stylin’ and Profilin’. They decided to try and recapture the magic here. Things start fast and furious and the pace just keeps going through the whole match. Both guys throw everything they can at each other and neither can get the win. This frustrates poor Roddy, but Jay will not be denied. Roderick tries for the Strong Hold but gets caught in a rollup and pinned. Jay Briscoe and Roddy are now tied at one apiece.
Winner: Jay Briscoe via pinfall, ***1/2
RoH Tag Team Title Match: The American Wolves of Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards © with Shane Hagadorn vs. “American Dragon†Bryan Danielson and Tyler Black
This one starts out very slowly with both teams feeling each other out, and Danielson and Black figuring out their dynamic as a team. Davey Richards does a great job of pissing off everyone around him. He does a lot of the little things that get a character over. They do a cute series early on in which Danielson and Black take turns body slamming Eddie Edwards and the Wolves counter by alternating suplexes on Danielson. This reminds me of an old NWA match in a lot of ways. The Wolves are clearly the better tag team, but Danielson and Black are exceptional enough as singles stars to hang with the champs. These four do a really good job of not making the match simply a series of “hot tags.†Both teams work a lot of quick exchanges and tag out whenever the opportunity presents itself. The match becomes a handicapped match for the challengers when Tyler gets pushed off the top rope through a table. The Wolves capitalize by beating the holy hell out of Danielson’s leg. Tyler makes the miraculous save, but Danielson’s injuries forces them to switch their roles, thus Tyler falls to the mercy of the tag champs. It’s after this that they kick the match into high gear. I know what you’re thinking: What gear were they in before? They were going full bore, but they just kick it up another notch. The last few minutes feature stereo cloverleafs by the champs which eventually get turned into stereo elbows and stereo Cattle Mutilations by the challengers. Tyler Black even manages to hit the Small Package Driver as time expires. Guess what the fans started chanting. If you said anything besides “five more minutes!†I really don’t know what else to tell you. This match was unbelievable. This is definitely my favorite RoH match of the year so far. After the match, Davey Richards gets on the match and teases giving five more minutes. He doesn’t deliver. Danielson gets on the mic at the end and thanks the fans. Just to add some icing on the cake we get “The Final Countdown†at the end of the show…yay.
Result: Time limit draw, ****1/2
Big Andy Mac’s Big Andy Final Thoughts: The second half of this disc more than made up for the dreck that was the first half. This is the second “must buy†DVD I have seen this year with the other being Supercard of Honor IV. The tag match alone makes this worth the price of admission, but a great Strong/Briscoe match and a fun brawl between Jacobs/Delirious just add to the quality of this dvd. The first half also has Sylvain Grenier, but don’t let that stop you from buying the show.
I’ll see you next time…
