A2Z Analysiz – From Love to Hate: The Jimmy Jacobs Story

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~DISC 1~

75 minute Jimmy Jacobs Shoot Interview

In the interest of full disclosure, I am in fact friends with Jimmy Jacobs and even lived with him in Kalamazoo for about two years in 2005-2006. I’ve known him for over a decade since I met and lived with his brother at Western Michigan University in 2002-2003. In fact, the buddies he mentions driving with him to Asbury Park in the beginning of the shoot interview was me and a girl named Sarah that I was meeting for the first time. We don’t see each other much anymore, but for a while we were pretty tight and we still text from time to time.

This is easily the selling point of the DVD, as it’s the first ROH compilation to have the documentary portions in a straight shot rather than splicing it in between matches. Jacobs is brutally honest about all the stages of his ROH career, including his four previous Tag Team Championship runs, his feuds with Colt Cabana, BJ Whitmer, and Austin Aries, his run with The Age of the Fall, his exit and return to the company. He even mentions wanting to (storyline) rape Austin Aries and how he got shut down on that.

MATCH #1: Four Corner Survival – Jimmy Jacobs vs. Alex Shelley vs. BJ Whitmer vs. Tony Mamaluke, Wrestlerave ’03, 6.28.03

This is the debut for both Jacobs and Shelley. Tony Mamaluke is replacing the originally scheduled Johnny Kashmere. I think it’s a trade-up. Shelley and Mamaluke start the match with some mat wrestling. Mamaluke takes the advantage so Shelley makes the tag. Jacobs comes in. HUSS! Jacobs and Mamaluke trade pinning combinations for a series of near-falls. Shelley tags back in to battle his Michigan nemesis. They go back and forth a bit until Whitmer tags in and hits them both with an exploder at the same time! Mamaluke comes in and cuts Whitmer off by going to work on the leg. Whitmer fights back using his power and tags Shelley back in. The referee struggles to maintain control, as Jacobs comes in and gives Shelley a big boot and Whitmer follows with one for Jacobs to send him to the floor. Order is restored and Whitmer is abusing Shelley in the ring. Mamaluke tags in and puts Shelley on the top rope. Shelley knocks Mamaluke back and then Whitmer crotches Shelley. Jacobs comes in and boots Whitmer to the floor. He goes for a super rana but Shelley catches him and drops him face-first on the top turnbuckle. The referee loses control and people are all over the ring. I’ve lost track of who the legal man is. Whitmer murders Shelley with a lariat and a kick to the back for a two-count. Mamaluke puts Whitmer in a Fujiwara Armbar. Jacobs breaks that up. So Mamaluke puts him in a hammerlock with a bridge. Shelley breaks that up with a Superfly Splash. That was cool. Mamaluke tries a leg submission on Shelley but Shelley reaches the ropes. Whitmer murders Mamaluke with a lariat. Shelley gets Whitmer in a small package for two. Whitmer hits Shelley with the Wrist-Clutch Exploder. Mamaluke traps Shelley in a submission hold while Whitmer hits Jacobs with a vicious exploder to get the pin at 14:35. That was a very good debut for the two youngsters from Michigan. Whitmer looked like a monster and Mamaluke held it all together.
Rating: ***½

MATCH #2: ROH Tag Team Title Match – Jimmy Jacobs & BJ Whitmer vs. Samoa Joe & Jay Lethal, Best of the American Super Juniors Tournament, 4.2.05

Whitmer was a Tag Team Champion with Dan Maff, but the titles were declared vacant on 3.28.05 when Maff was supposedly involved in a car accident and had to leave the wrestling business. Jacobs and Lethal (the current ROH Pure Champion) start the match. They chain wrestle back and forth a bit and Jacobs hits the first big move with a headscissors from hell. Jacobs calls out Joe, who finds that very amusing. Joe uses his power to dominate and Jacobs tags out. Now it’s a more even match-up size-wise. Joe takes advantage of Whitmer as well. Tags are made and we’re back where we started. Commentator Jimmy Bower notes how far Jacobs drove to be on tonight’s show. I can actually say it wouldn’t have happened without me and it’s true, how do you like that? Joe and Lethal isolate Jacobs and wear him down in their half of the ring. Jacobs tries a missile dropkick and Lethal swats him out of the air. After several minutes Jacobs is able to knock Lethal and Joe together, disorienting them long enough to make the tag. Whitmer is a house afire, throwing Lethal around the ring. Lethal comes back with a leaping DDT off the second rope for a near-fall. Joe tags back in and unloads on Whitmer with strikes. Whitmer fires back with a superkick but then runs right into the STJoe for a two-count. Joe tries some Kawada Kicks and Whitmer catches him with an exploder. Both men are down. Tags are made and Lethal and Jacobs go back-and-forth, and Jacobs catches Lethal with a bulldog. Jacobs and Whitmer hit the Doomsday Rana but Lethal kicks out! Lethal hits a leg lariat and both men are down. Again. Tags are made and Joe starts chopping everyone in his path. Joe hits a snap powerslam on Whitmer, and when Jacobs tries to break up the cover with a senton off the top rope Lethal catches him and dumps him to the floor! That’s a great spot. Jacobs is able to make it back in the ring to break up the next cover. Lethal slams Whitmer and goes up top as Joe wipes out Jacobs with a tope to the floor. Whitmer joins Lethal on the top rope and hits a super Wrist-Clutch Exploder to get the pin and win the titles at 17:41 (shown). That was a very good tag team encounter that didn’t really deviate from the formula but didn’t really have to.
Rating: ***½

Dissension, 1.28.06

Some months later, after dropping the tag team titles (first to the Carnage Crew before winning them back) to Sal Rinauro and Tony Mamaluke, Jacobs and Whitmer turned heel and tried to regain the belts. Austin Aries and Roderick Strong won the gold in December, and Jacobs and Whitmer got a shot at them on this show from Dayton, OH. They lost the match and Whitmer blamed Jacobs, so he have him a Wrist-Clutch Exploder to officially break up the team.

MATCH #3: Jimmy Jacobs vs. BJ Whitmer, Dragon Gate Challenge, 3.30.06

Brad Garoon and I are in the front row here, I think because Brad won a trivia contest on the ROH Message Board. Remember when that monstrosity existed? They start with some chain wrestling and Jacobs lands a spinning headscissors. Whitmer rolls to the floor and goes after Lacey. Jacobs follows him out and pays for it when Whitmer whips him hard into the barricade, three times. Back in the ring Whitmer goes to work on his much smaller rival. Jacobs fights back with a headscissors that sends Whitmer into the buckles. He follows with a double stomp to the back. Jacobs then sets Whitmer against the ring post and dropkicks his head right into it. That gets a two-count. Jacobs continues the abuse and goes up top for a back senton but Whitmer gets his knees up. Whitmer hits an exploder. Jacobs rolls under a big boot attempt tries the Contra Code but Whitmer counters it by dropping Jacobs on the top turnbuckle. Whitmer then hits a German Suplex and a dragon suplex but when he goes for the powerbomb Jacobs gets a sunset flip for two. Jacobs gets a schoolboy rollup for two. Both men are back to their feet and Whitmer goes for a suplex and they both tumble to the floor. Good bump there. Jacobs goes up to the apron and tries a rana but Whitmer catches him and powerbombs him onto the barricade! Back in the ring Whitmer hits a brainbuster but only gets two! Whitmer hits a running boot to the head but again only gets a two-count! He goes up top and Jacobs knocks him down. Jacobs goes up top and they battle. Whitmer sets up for a powerbomb but slips backwards and both men fall down to the floor! Jacobs hit his head on the top, middle, bottom rope and apron but was shockingly fine. Whitmer broke his ankle on the landing. That was legit one of the scariest things I’ve ever seen in my life and watching it live I was wondering how I was going to tell Jacobs’ parents that their youngest son broke his neck. I get goose bumps watching it even today. Back in the ring Whitmer gets a two-count and the look of shock on his face is awesome. Jacobs is actually able to hit the Contra Code, but instead of going for a cover Lacey tells him to put Whitmer through a table. Lacey sets up the table on the floor and Jacobs goes up top, but gets distracted blowing Lacey kisses. Whitmer pops up to the top and delivers a belly-to-belly suplex, and then kills Jacobs dead with a lariat for the pin at 15:15. It’s a miracle both guys survived that match. If not for the Dragon Gate guys later on, that match totally would have stolen the show. It’s remembered mostly for The Bump but it was good outside of that too. Jacobs and Whitmer had great chemistry as a team and as opponents.
Rating: ****

~BONUS~

This is an amazing set of bonus features. You get all three of Jacobs’ music videos, all four of his date videos with Lacey, and a bevy of Age of The Fall promos. More than anything else the bonus features here show what made Jacobs stand out as a performer, and why he was able to make it as high up the card as he did. No one else in Ring of Honor could have made the music videos or date videos work, and I don’t think Jacobs gets the credit he deserves. Though as outlined above, I may be a little biased.

Ballad of Lacey
The Victory of Love
Kiss2Kill
Love to Spare
Can’t Buy Me Love
Falun Apart
Behind Closed Doors
The Age of the Fall Viral
‘Society’
Insurgents
‘You Need Us’
‘Join Us, You’ll Have Fun!’
‘The Ball’s In Your Court’
Disappointment
Change
Still the Leader
The Learning Tree
The Most Important Week Ever

~DISC 2~

MATCH #4: ROH World Title Elimination Match – Jimmy Jacobs vs. BJ Whitmer vs. Bryan Danielson, Throwdown, 6.23.06

Danielson has been the Champion since 9.17.05, and this is his twenty-fourth defense. All three men are in the ring from the bell. They do some three-way submission spots, and Whitmer and Jacobs can’t contain their hatred for one another. Danielson gets involved and Jacobs tries the headscissors on him but the Champ counters with an airplane spin. Whitmer breaks that up with a dropkick that sends Jacobs to the floor. Danielson goes to work on Whitmer and keeps Jacobs on the floor. Jacobs gets back in the ring and Whitmer rolls to the floor for a breather. The crowd performs dueling chants, likely due to being near Jacobs’ hometown, since he’s not normally that over. They come full circle as Whitmer comes in and Danielson goes to the floor. Whitmer goes for an exploder on Jacobs but Danielson comes in and suplexes both of them. Jacobs rolls back to the floor. Danielson hits Whitmer with a Dragon Suplex for two. He puts on Cattle Mutilation and Jacobs breaks that up with a senton off the top rope. Jacobs covers Danielson for two. He then hits Whitmer with a Death Valley Driver for a near-fall. Jacobs goes for the Contra Code but Whitmer blocks it and sets Jacobs on the top rope. Danielson shoves Whitmer out of the way and goes for the belly-to-back superplex. Whitmer sneaks up and puts Danielson on his shoulders and Jacobs comes off with the Doomsday Rana! They both cover but Danielson kicks out at two. That was awesome. Whitmer clobbers Jacobs with a lariat for two. They go to the same corner as the disaster from last time they were in Detroit. Jacobs sets up a Contra Code, and Danielson comes over to add a helpful powerbomb and they both pin Whitmer to eliminate him at 13:25.

Danielson and Jacobs appear to make a pact to not fight anymore, but the Champ quickly goes back on his word and starts picking Jacobs apart. The fight spills to the floor and Danielson is looking dominant. Lacey tries to fire Jacobs up but she can’t stop him from getting hit with the diving headbutt and locked in the Cattle Mutilation. Jacobs is able to reach the ropes. He then catches Danielson with a Spear and both men are down. Back on their feet Jacobs hits a step-up enziguiri and a Fisherman Neckbreaker into a cradle for two. Danielson tries a leap off the second rope but Jacobs spears him out of the air. Jacobs goes for the Contra Code but Danielson blocks it and hits a Regalplex for two. They fight up on the top rope and Danielson knocks Jacobs down. Danielson goes for a sunset flip off the top and Jacobs kneels down a la Bret/Bulldog and gets a very close near-fall. The crowd bought it. Jacobs hits the Contra Code for another close near-fall and the crowd is losing it. HE puts on Cattle Mutilation but Danielson breaks out of it and hits a huge forearm to the face. Danielson follows with elbows to the face and then locks on the Crossface Chicken Wing for the tapout win at 24:46. The three-way stuff with Whitmer was fun and when he was gone the crowd heat made Jacobs versus Danielson very entertaining. Jacobs got a couple of close near-falls and Danielson made him look good, like he does with all of his opponents.
Rating: ****

MATCH #5: Windy City Death Match – Jimmy Jacobs vs. Colt Cabana, Fifth Year Festival: Chicago, 2.24.07

This was the blowoff to a rather ingenious and unique feud for ROH. They start slugging at each other right away. The fight spills to the floor and Cabana is throwing Jacobs all over the place. Cabana rearranges the furniture and tries to put Jacobs through a table but Lacey stops him. That distracts Cabana long enough for Jacobs to clip his knee from behind. Lacey tries to help Jacobs further but Daizee Haze comes out to stop her and the two women brawl to the back. Cabana reclaims control and introduces a ladder. Unfortunately for him he gets it kicked back into his face. Cabana fights back with elbows that bust Jacobs open, and we learn it’s because Cabana had scissors hidden in his elbow pad! That’s cool. Cabana further uses the scissors to work on Jacobs’ bloody head. He tries a running stab but Jacobs moves and Cabana hits nothing but turnbuckle. The scissors is stuck there now. Jacobs cracks Cabana with a chair and goes for the spike, but it turns out Cabana sneakily stole it from him! Cabana hits Jacobs in the face with the spike and digs it into his head. They go back to the floor and Cabana abuses Jacobs with a Chicago flag. Back in the ring Jacobs kicks the middle rope into Cabana’s junk. Jacobs takes control of the flag and takes the flag off to use the pole as a weapon. Now Cabana is busted open as well. Jacobs uses the flag to wipe the blood from his eyes and choke Cabana with it. He uses the spike and a chair to abuse his rival. Cabana avoids the Contra Code and is able to retrieve the scissors. He jams the office tool into Jacobs’ head and then throws a series of punches. Cabana picks up a chair and waffles Jacobs across the head. He calls for the Colt .45 but Brent Albright runs out and hits a half-nelson suplex. Albright puts Jacobs on top but it only gets two. BJ Whitmer runs out to even the odds and run Albright off. Everyone except Cabana gets knocked to the floor so Cabana hits an Asai Moonsault onto both Jacobs and Albright. Cabana grabs a hammer from under the ring and uses it to drive the spike into Jacobs’ head! He hits the Flying Apple and then throws two chairs. He sets a chair on top of Jacobs and hits a moonsault for two. Cabana sets up a table but nothing really comes of it because the table is too weak. He sets up a ladder between the barricade and the apron. Jacobs tries setting up another table and Cabana throws a chair at his face. Cabana sets Jacobs on the table and goes up top but Lacey pushes him down, crotching him on the top rope. Now Cabana is set up on the table. Jacobs climbs a very tall ladder and crushes Cabana with a senton! That was awesome. Back in the ring Jacobs covers but only gets two! Lacey puts a table in the ring and Jacobs sets it up in the corner. Jacobs charges and Cabana sidesetps him, so Jacobs crashes through said table. Lacey gets on the ring apron and yells at Jacobs to getup. She tries to hit Cabana with her shoe but Cabana gets a hold of it and hits Jacobs in the head and throat. Cabana kills Jacobs with a lariat and then hits the Colt .45. He also hits the Colt .45 on Lacey and pins them both at 22:54. That was a great hardcore brawl, with unique spots and plenty of blood from both guys. It was the perfect finish to this feud.
Rating: ****¼

MATCH #6: Steel Cage Match – Jimmy Jacobs vs. BJ Whitmer, Supercard of Honor II, 3.31.07

Jacobs is accompanied by Lacey, Whitmer has Daizee Haze with him. The match starts when Jacobs sails through the cage door to wipe Whitmer out before he can even get in the cage. Jacobs throws Whitmer into the barricade and jumps off a chair to deliver an elbow. He picks up an empty water bottle of all things and throws it at Whitmer. Unfortunately for Jacobs, the bottle bounced back and hit him right on one of his front teeth and chipped it. If you go to Wikipedia and look up Jacobs’ page there’s a picture I took when we got back to Brad’s place that night where you can sort of see the chipped tooth. Whitmer fights back and they make their way into the cage.

They slug away at each other and try to use the cage as a weapon. Whitmer uses his strength to take control, throwing Jacobs into the cage repeatedly. He tries to use a chair but Jacobs kicks it back into his face. Whitmer perseveres though and stomps Jacobs down in the corner. He sets the chair up against his face and hits it with a dropkick. Whitmer charges in and Jacobs again kicks it back in his face. The chair continues to be a big part of both men’s attack plan. Whitmer cracks Jacobs on top of the head with it. Jacobs responds with a drop toehold into the chair. Both men pull out spikes and they stab each other in the head! They then unload on each other’s foreheads with the spikes and both men are bleeding. Whitmer lands a Buckle Bomb and a big boot. Rhett Titus runs out in a Staff shirt and hands Whitmer a barbed wire baseball bat. Who knew that over five years later they’d be a tag team? Whitmer can’t connect but Jacobs gets a hold of the bat and hits Whitmer in the face with it! Jacobs then hits Whitmer in the arm to bust it open, and then he puts the barbed wire in his own mouth and then sticks it to his hair. He’s sick. Jacobs continues to abuse Whitmer’s arm with the barbed wire. He goes back to the spike and actually licks blood off Whitmer’s head just to spit it back in his face! Ewwwwww. Jacobs grabs both spikes and unleashes on Whitmer’s arm and forehead. He sets Whitmer face-down on the barbed wire bat and then cracks his head with the chair. Jacobs sets up a chair in the corner and goes for a Spear and Whitmer sidesteps him. Whitmer hits an exploder and both men are down. Jacobs tries a rana but Whitmer catches him and powerbombs him into the cage. Whitmer uses the bat to wear Jacobs down. He sets up the chair and hits a brainbuster! Amazingly that only gets two. Whitmer tries to climb out but Lacey slams the door on his head. Jacobs takes Whitmer down with the bat for two. He goes up top and hits a huge senton bomb for two. They fight on the top rope and Whitmer drops Jacobs down face-first on the top turnbuckle. Whitmer hits a German Suplex/Dragon Suplex, Powerbomb/Jackknife Pin combinations but only gets two. Bobby Dempsey and some other rube bring out a table. Whitmer and Jacobs fight on the top rope again and this time Jacobs hits the Super Rana that went wrong once and kicked off the year-long feud being settled by this match. #Synergy. Jacobs goes for the Contra Code but Whitmer catches him and hits an Owen Driver for two! Lacey missed her cue there breaking up that cover. She tries to slap Whitmer but gets hit with an Owen Driver as well! Whitmer goes to the top of the cage and misses a Frog Splash. Jacobs hits the Contra Code but only gets two! That’s the bump that messed up Jacobs’ knee. Jacobs goes over to check on Lacey and asks for a table. Titus and Dempsey throw it in the ring and Titus helps him set it up. What the hell? That makes no sense. Anyway, Jacobs sets Whitmer on the table and goes all the way to the top of the cage. Whitmer joins him up there and almost knocks Jacobs to the floor. Jacobs knocks Whitmer down. He sets Whitmer back on the table and goes back to the top of the cage once more. This time Jacobs hits the senton to break the table and get the pin to end this feud at 24:31. That was an awesome blowoff to the feud and both guys looked tougher than nails. The violence was unique and the match was structured perfectly. It may be either guy’s best match eve in the company, and the only thing that drags it down is the weird involvement of the students.
Rating: ****¾

The Age of The Fall Appears

After a grueling Ladder War victory over Kevin Steen and El Generico, the Briscoes were distracted by a group of fans all dressed in black and wearing ski masks and then attacked by Jimmy Jacobs, Tyler Black, and Necro Butcher, collectively known as The Age of The Fall. The new group tied Jay upside down and hung him from the ceiling, while he poured blood from his head and Jacobs stood directly underneath him. Jacobs talked about how the Briscoes were preordained for success but he and his group had to fight for everything they were given. The crowd was initially hot but the promo went a little too long and they got restless. Still, the sight of Jimmy Jacobs dressed in all white and getting bloodier the longer he stood under Jay is an iconic image in ROH and one of the sickest things I’ve ever seen.

MATCH #7: Jimmy Jacobs vs. Bryan Danielson, Unscripted III, 12.1.07

This was a very important match in the early history of Age of The Fall. Jacobs attacks before the bell but Danielson quickly takes Jacobs down to the mat to dominate him. Jacobs takes a powder and regroups with Allison Wonderland. Back in the ring they go back down to the mat and guess who has the advantage there? Danielson attacks the legs and puts on the surfboard. He turns that into the nasty looking Dragon Sleeper. Jacobs once again rolls to the floor. Jacobs removes his knee brace before reentering the ring. They take it back down to the mat. The momentum shifts back and forth several times as both guys try to set the pace. Danielson fights Jacobs off and hits a diving European Uppercut off the second rope. He unleashes a flurry of offense, including a leaping knee strike and a snap butterfly suplex. Danielson goes up top and lands the diving headbutt for a two-count. Jacobs avoids Cattle Mutilation by driving Danielson’s head into the turnbuckle. He goes up top and hits the back senton. Danielson comes right back with Cattle Mutilation and Lacey distracts the referee, forcing Danielson to release the hold. Jacobs tries to use his cane as a weapon, but Danielson takes it from him. A cocky Danielson turns his back, but Jacobs had a spike hidden in the cane! Jacobs hits Danielson square in the face with the spike! That gets a two-count. Danielson’s head is busted open and Jacobs goes to work on it. Jacobs traps Danielson in the Tree of Woe and dropkicks him. He then dropkicks his head into the steel ring post. The battle spills to the floor and Jacobs sets Danielson in a chair and wipes him out with a house show dive. Back in the ring Jacobs continues the abuse. Jacobs goes up top but Danielson knocks him down on the crotch. Danielson hits a superplex and both men are down. Back on their feet they exchange strikes and Danielson wins that battle. Danielson dumps Jacobs to the floor and wipes him out with a suicide dive. He comes back in the ring with a missile dropkick but then runs into a boot. Jacobs goes to the second rope and leaps right into the End Time, which gets no pop. Danielson breaks out of it and goes to the second rope but jumps right into a Spear for a two-count. Jacobs goes for the Contra Code but Danielson avoids it and hits a German Suplex. Danielson then locks on Cattle Mutilation and then turns it into the elbow strikes. Jacobs breaks free and hits the Contra Code for two. He goes up and tires the back senton again but this time Danielson gets his knees up! Danielson starts kicking Jacobs’ head in and then puts on the triangle choke. Jacobs reaches the ropes. Danielson puts Jacobs on the top rope for the belly-to-back superplex but Jacobs fights it off and hits a Super DDT! Jacobs rolls it into the End Time and Danielson passes out at 23:31! That’s a huge upset and shows Danielson was willing to do the right thing since Jacobs needed a win to be a credible cult leader and a main event player in the company. Jacobs more than did his part here and these two showed some impressive chemistry. I think they had one more match against each other in 2009, and it’s a shame they never did anything higher profile.
Rating: ****

MATCH #8: ROH World Tag Team Title Match – Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe, Final Battle 2007, 12.30.07

The Briscoes have been the Champions since 3.30.07, and this is their twentieth defense. Jay and Mark are accompanied by Daizee Haze, while Jacobs and Black have Lacey in their corner. The Briscoes surpassed Austin Aries and Roderick Strong in both longevity and number of title defenses (19) last night, making them the most successful tag team Champions in ROH history to that point. They even would have had 20 defenses had Mark not injured himself during WrestleMania weekend and have to be replaced by Delirious for one match. Their title defense record still stands, but the Kings of Wrestling surpassed them for longevity with their second reign from 2010-2011. The Briscoes by far though still have the most days total as Champions, with 732 days spread over seven reigns to go along with 35 total defenses.

Jacobs and Jay start the match. Jay is on fire from the get-go, so Jacobs rakes his eyes and makes the tag. The Briscoes continue to dominate the challengers. This is the first time the combination of Jacobs and Black have faced Jay and Mark. The fight spills to the floor and the referee threatens to throw the match out if they don’t get back to the ring. Jay and Mark comply and continue to control the action. They go for the Doomsday Device early but Jacobs breaks it up with a Spear. Now the challengers are in control. After a few minutes Jay hits the Flatliner into the buckles on Black. Mark gets the hot tag and he unleashes the Redneck Kung Fu. He goes for a moonsault but Black pushes him down and Mark ends up in the Tree of Woe. The challengers hit a simultaneous dropkick on Mark for two. Black hits Paroxysm for two. Mark catches him with an exploder suplex. The Briscoes hit the double-team neckbreaker for two. Jay hits Black with a Falcon Arrow for two. Jacobs and Mark take the fight to the floor. Jay goes for the Jay Driller but Jacobs breaks it up and hits Jay with a neckbreaker. Jacobs goes up top but Jay knocks him down. Jay goes for a Super Jay Driller but Black breaks that up and the challengers hit the Doomsday Rana for two. Black puts Jay in a torture rack and Jacobs hits a back senton off the top rope, and Black slams Jay down. Jacobs then locks on the End Time and Mark breaks it up with a springboard double stomp. Mark and Jacobs slug it out now and Mark ends that battle with a powerbomb for two. The referee loses control and all four men are in the ring. Black dumps Mark to the floor, but moments later the Briscoes hit Black with a Doomsday Device on the apron! Holy shit indeed New York City. Mark hits Jacobs with the Cutthroat Driver but amazingly it only gets two! The Briscoes are not real happy with the referee. They hit Jacobs with the springboard Doomsday Device and Black makes the save! Out on the floor Black hits Jay with a powerbomb into the barricade. Meanwhile Mark and Jacobs battle on the top rope. Black joins them and helps Jacobs hit a Super Contra Code! Black follows with a Phoenix Splash and we’ve got new ROH World Tag Team Champions at 18:54! These teams have good chemistry and the crowd was pretty hot for this one. As usual with the Briscoes they did some wicked cool spots, and the finish was good too. They would go on to do better but this is a great start.
Rating: ***¾

MATCH #9: Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black vs. Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin, Tag Wars 2008, 4.18.08

Jacobs and Shelley had a storied rivalry in 2004-2005, and I believe that is the last time they were in the ring together. Black and Sabin start the match. It doesn’t take long for both guys to get aggressive with the other. When Shelley tags in it’s more of the same. The Guns control early, and Black hits a chinbreaker on Shelley to break the momentum. Jacobs tags in and the rivalry is renewed! They have a heated exchange and when Shelley gets the better of it Jacobs tags out. The guns continue to control the action, wearing Black down in their half of the ring. Jacobs tags in and the Guns work him over too. Finally Black cheats and pulls Shelley to the floor and sets him in a chair. Jacobs then wipes him out with a house show dive. Black goes after Sabin on the other side of the ring. Back in the ring the Guns wipe out the AOTF advantage and go to work on Jacobs. Black comes to the rescue and hits Shelley with Paroxysm. Jacobs covers for two. The AOTF keep Shelley isolated from his partner. After a few minutes Shelly catches Jacobs and Black in a simultaneous Flatliner and DDT. Sabin gets the hot tag and lands a missile dropkick on Black and a basement dropkick on Jacobs. The fresh Machine Gun is a house afire, sending Jacobs to the floor and hitting Black with a Tiger Suplex for two. Sabin locks Black in an Octopus Stretch and Black runs him backwards into the corner to break it. Black goes for a superplex but Shelley breaks it up and the Guns stack their opponents in the corner and unleash an offensive flurry. Shelley catches Black in the Border City Stretch and Jacobs tries to break it up with an elbow off the top rope but misses. Sabin flies in with a guillotine legdrop to the back of Black’s head. Jacobs dumps Sabin to the floor and goes for the Contra Code on Shelley, who catches Jacobs and drops him face-first on the top turnbuckle. Shelley charges into a boot and then gets caught in the End Time, which Shelley reverses to the Border City Stretch! Jacobs re-counters and puts on the End Time. Sabin breaks it up. He hits Jacobs with a backbreaker and holds him for Shelley to deliver a flying knee drop. Sabin hits an enziguiri and Shelley follows with the Shellshock but only gets two! The referee has no control of the match. Black catches both Guns with a springboard lariat. The AOTF hit the Doomsday Rana on Sabin but can’t make a cover. Black hits Shelley with a Buckle Bomb and a big Yakuza Kick. He goes up top and hits a Frog Splash and Jacobs follows with a back senton off the top rope for two. Black misses a Phoenix Splash and Shelley turns him inside out with a clothesline. Jacobs and Shelley slug it out now and when Sabin gets involved Jacobs hits him with the Contra Code. Shelley takes the headscissors from Jacobs and then Black puts him in a Torture Rack and Jacobs comes off the top rope with a back senton. Shelley fights back and hits Black with a tornado DDT. He hits Jacobs with a superkick and tires the Contra Code but Jacobs counters it and hits one of his own for a near-fall! Jacobs goes for the back senton again but Shelley gets his knees up. Shelley goes up top and Black joins him, only to get tossed to the floor. Action starts coming from all over and all four men wind up down on the canvas. Back on their feet the Guns are better off, and they double-team Jacobs. Shelley hits the 2K1 Bomb but Black breaks up he cover. Sabin hits Black with Cradle Shock and Black rolls to the floor. The Guns unload on Jacobs with kicks but can’t put him away. Sabin misses a dive to the floor and we’re down to Jacobs and Shelley in the ring. Shelley goes for an Air Raid Crash but Jacobs counters it and locks on the End Time! That forces Shelley to tap out at 32:42! That was a long match but it didn’t really feel like over 30 minutes. There was a ton of action and the Jacobs versus Shelley exchanges were electric. This is a bit of a lost gem.
Rating: ****½

MATCH #10: I Quit Match – Jimmy Jacobs vs. Austin Aries, Rising Above 2008, 11.22.08

I thought the Dog Collar match was terrific, so I hope this one measures up. Aries gets on the microphone before the match to announce that even though Jacobs has Tyler Black in his corner, he will have no one in his corner. They lock up aggressively and immediately head to the floor. Aries gets back in the ring but Jacobs takes a quick breather. Black tries to distract Aries but it doesn’t work. They start throwing punches and once again roll to the floor. Jacobs gets the advantage and throws Aries into the barricade. Jacobs brings a table out from under the ring. Aries prevents him from using it, but winds up getting tossed into the barricade again. Jacobs and Black set up the table, giving Aries time to come back and throw Jacobs into the barricade. He sets Jacobs on the table, but Black saves his tag team partner. Aries is still in control though, and he knocks Jacobs off the apron and down to the floor. He tries the Heat Seeking Missile but Jacobs apparently found the dog collar from their match two weeks ago, and rams it into Aries’ face. Aries is busted open, so Jacobs goes right for the wound. He chokes Aries with the chain, but Aries won’t quit yet. Jacobs brings a steel chair into the match now, dragging Aries to the floor and setting him up. Aries fights back but Jacobs cuts him off and hits a Spear through the ropes and all the way to the floor (kind of like Edge and Foley at WrestleMania 22, except without the burning table). Jacobs sets Aries up in the chair again and hits a dive through the ropes on him but Aries still won’t quit. Back in the ring Jacobs sets up another chair and ties Aries to it with the dog collar. Jacobs grabs the broke chair from ringside, and then Lacey makes her return! They should have disfigured her somehow. Her showing up didn’t quite get the pop I hoped it would. She has a towel and wants to throw it in to save Aries, but he convinces her not to. Jacobs responds by pulling out the spike. He grabs Lacey by the hair and she slaps him. Aries has freed himself and fires up on Jacobs. He throws Jacobs to the floor and this time hits the Heat seeking Missile. Back in the ring Aries hits a brainbuster on the steel chair. Aries takes his turn using the chain, ramming it into Jacobs’s head. Jacobs is busted open now as well. Aries uses the chain to tie Jacobs up in the corner and dishes out the punishment. Senior Referee Todd Sinclair tries to ask Jacobs if he quits but Aries pushes him away, which is cool. Aries hits the running dropkick in the corner and uses the microphone as a weapon. He unties Jacobs and brings him to the floor to set him up on the table. He sets a chair on top of him and goes to the top rope. Jacobs recovers and throws the chair at Aries’ face. They’re both up on the ropes now and they wind up crashing through the table together. Neither man will quit, so they’re back in the ring slugging away at each other. Aries wins that battle, so Jacobs responds with a low blow and locks on the End Time. Jacobs unleashes knees to the head and puts on the Last Chancery, but Aries still won’t quit. Black gives Jacobs another spike, but Aries avoids getting hit with it and delivers knee strikes to the head. Jacobs won’t quit so Aries kicks him in the head and puts on the Last Chancery. He still says no, so Aries locks on the Crossface and has the spike in his hand. Jacobs calls for Tyler to throw in the towel, but Lacey takes it from him, giving Aries free reign to spike Jacobs’s forehead until he finally says “I quit” at 21:59. Lacey immediately retreats up the ramp, while Jacobs chastises Tyler Black for losing the towel to a woman. Tyler walks out on the Age of the Fall leader, leaving questions about the group’s status. The match started a little slowly but once Jacobs started taking heat it got really, really good. Lacey’s involvement didn’t feel like it had the impact it should have, but the finish was still awesome and it was a fitting end to this bloody feud.
Rating: ****¼

MATCH #11: Steel Cage Match – Jimmy Jacobs vs. Tyler Black, Violent Tendencies, 6.26.09

For anyone who might be wondering, Brad Garoon and I walked into this event just as the cage was being set up, and it was the last live ROH match either of us has seen to date. Jacobs is wearing his blood-stained jacket from the night Age of the Fall debuted some 21 months ago. In contrast, Black is wearing a lame purple t-shirt. Jacobs tries to jump Black at the bell, but Black is able to thwart his former mentor and go to work on him. Black throws an already bloody Jacobs around the ring and into the cage. Jacobs tries to climb out of the cage early, but when Black joins him at the top of the cage Jacobs throws him down, and now Jacobs goes to work. He uses the satellite headscissors to ram Black’s head into the cage. After a few minutes Black fires up with a series of strikes and then bodyslams Jacobs directly into the cage. Black hits an F-5 for two. Jacobs comes back by grabbing Black by the tights and ramming his head into the cage. He tries a spear but Black avoids it and hits the Paroxysm for another two-count. Then Jacobs goes into his boot and takes out the Spike, and stabs Black in the head with it to avoid feeling the Buckle Bomb. Jacobs continues working Black over with the Spike, and he even pulls his own hair out. He tries another satellite headscissors but Black counters it, and then hits the Buckle Bomb and a superkick! Black climbs to the top of the cage, but Jacobs shakes it and Black crotches himself. Jacobs climbs up to the top with him, and you can totally see Garoon and me in the background. They briefly fight on top of the cage, and both men go crashing to the floor! The fight continues on the floor, as Black misses a lariat off the barricade, but lands on the cage and hits it from there. Jacobs hits a side Russian Legsweep into the barricade. Back in the ring Black hits a second Buckle Bomb, but when he goes for the Superkick Jacobs reverses it to the End Time. Black reverses it to a Northern Lights Suplex but Jacobs still hangs on to the hold! Eventually Black escapes, and when Jacobs tries a Spear, Black locks on an End Time of his own! Jacobs escapes and this time hits the Spear. He goes up to the top of the cage and Black joins him. Jacobs hits a super-rana and the Contra Code, and then a Superkick, but Black kicks out at two! Once again Jacobs picks up the Spike and abuses himself, and then he goes to the floor to grab a table. Back in the ring Black hits the Pele kick and both men are down. They get up and Black has the Spike, but Jacobs has a backup Spike. They trade Spike shots, and Black gets the upper hand. Black hits another Buckle Bomb and the Superkick, and then hits God’s Last Gift. He then sets Jacobs up on the table, and hits a splash from the top of the cage to end the feud at 22:01.

Immediately after the bell, a group of men dressed in all black rush the ring just like when Age of the Fall debuted. They beat Black down, and then carry Jacobs out like their messiah as they chant “Age of the Fall.” What an awesome post-match segment to a really good match. It wasn’t quite as epic as Jacobs’s cage match with BJ Whitmer in March of 2007, but it was still really good and the post-match stuff definitely makes it memorable.
Rating: ****

The Pulse

This is another great set from Ring of Honor and certainly one of their best. The unbroken 75-minute shoot interview is a main reason this one stands out, and all ROH compilations should go this route in the future. Bonus features are plentiful and do a great job accentuating the main program. The match selection effectively highlights the best of Jacobs as a wrestler, and prove what an important but underrated player he is in ROH lore. You can purchase this DVD at the ROH Shop.

I grew up and now I write for Inside Pulse. Oh, and one time I saw a blimp!