I decided to head out to Philadelphia for Ring of Honor for the first time this weekend and what a great decision that worked out to be! Let’s go through the card and find out why.
Match 1: TJ Perkins vs. Nigel McGuinness
TJ is Puma for those that don’t know. This was really hot for a short match taped for the Video Wire. The crowd was into it and TJ looked really good. Nigel worked in all his usual spots (Tower of London, Lariats and European Uppercuts) and eventually finished with the Pendulum Lariat.
Nigel McGuinness defeats TJ Perkins (Pin, Pendulum Lariat, ** 1/2)
About as good as a match of that length can be with TJ working speed to counter Nigel’s brute force. Hopefully this leads to more Puma in the future.
Match 2: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Austin Aries
Claudio had all kinds of heat with the audience and Aries was wildly over. This is the basic very good match you’d expect from these two, with each countering and later working in their regular spots. Aries was a bit hobbled but didn’t let it affect his performance very much at all. Claudio looked fantastic and hopefully Gabe will find something to do with him soon. Aries finished with a brainbuster and then a 450 splash as usual.
Austin Aries defeats Claudio Castagnoli (Pin, 450, ***)
Aries is really ballsy going out and competing after hurting his already bad knees last night in New York and then putting on a good early card match.
After the match Aries called out Roderick Strong, who turned on him last night, and “Austin Aries light†Davey Richards. Jack again emerges to attempt to be the voice of reason, but Roderick and Davey cut a fairly weak promo running down Aries and telling Jack that if he isn’t with them he’s against them. This drew good heat, but Roddy’s promo dragged it down.
Match 3: Adam Pearce, Jimmy Jacobs, and Lacey vs. BJ Whitmer, Colt Cabana, and Daizee Haze
This was these guys usual wild brawl through the crowd and it’s becoming apparent the end is near for this feud as they’re running out of places to go with this. The heel trio of Jacobs, Pearce and Lacey used duct tape and the spike, but it wasn’t enough as BJ managed to hit a top rope exploder on Jimmy for the win.
BJ Whitmer, Colt Cabana, and Daizee Haze defeat Adam Pearce, Jimmy Jacobs, and Lacey (Pin, top rope exploder, ***)
From Andy Mac: “Jimmy Jacobs is as ahead of the curve now as Raven was in 1995.â€Â
BJ’s strong push to his title shot continues.
Match 4: El Generico and Kevin Steen vs. Jay and Mark Briscoe
This was the match of the night and might end up Match of the Year. Both teams just went at it amazingly with back and forth action to where even the heat sequences on Generico built perfectly. The explosion for the long ending sequence was absolutely amazing with Steen, not a small man by any means, hitting a swanton and moonsault and Generico crawling through the turnbuckles to DDT a Briscoe on the floor. The Briscoes worked in all their usual great spots and the false finishes had everyone on their feet. No one going in though Generico and Steen could win, but by the end, everyone bought it. The Briscoes finished when Jay hit a guillotine leg drop while Mark hit a Shooting Star Press.
Jay and Mark Briscoe defeat El Generico and Kevin Steen (Pin, Shooting Star Press and Guillotine leg drop combination, **** ¾)
This might have been 5*, but I want to wait to see it on DVD first. Kevin Steen needs a permanent roster spot now. That match was fantastic.
Match 5: Samoa Joe vs. Jimmy Rave
Joe came out to his original ROH music “Another Body Murdered†and got a gigantic pop. Jimmy was dominated at the start, but used some clever timing with an STO type maneuver on the apron to gain control. Jimmy working in the Flair style leg work makes me very happy and I’m a ton more comfortable with him at the top of the card now than I was three days ago. Joe couldn’t get Rave in the Muscle Buster so he broke out the Island Driver (Emerald Frosion) for the win.
Samoa Joe defeats Jimmy Rave (Pin, Island Driver, *** 1/2)
Very good match as Jimmy continues to impress while Joe is a legitimate threat to go undefeated on his farewell tour. Reportedly, Rave hurt his throat in the match, making it even more impressive that he performed as he did.
After the match Joe gave a speech about hardcore wrestling fans being birthed in Philadelphia and nearly cried again. ROH without Joe is going to feel strange for a long, long time.
Intermission
Match 6: FIP Title Match: Roderick Strong (c) vs. Delirious
Roderick works a lot slower as a heel and has abandoned all his backbreakers and chops, but as a heel he’s very over. If this continues as is, this is one of the most effective heel turns in ROH history. Aries chased down Roderick before the match, but Roddy escaped until security intervened.
Delirious was hurt early on and Roderick powerbombed Del on a guard rail to get the countout win to good heel heat.
Roderick Strong defeats Delirious (Countout, Powerbomb on the guard rail, *)
Not much there, but it does a great job establishing Roderick as a heel, so it’s definitely got some worth. Delirious suffered a bad concussion in this one.
Match 7: World Tag Team Title Match: Matt Sydal (c) and Christopher Daniels(c) w/ Allison Danger vs. Jack Evans and Shingo
Somewhat surprisingly the crowd wasn’t as into Daniels as much as it was Evans. He looked great early and Daniels ended up playing Ricky Morton. They slightly mistimed the hot tag leading to it not getting much of a pop. A note: if the crowd is clapping along for the hot tag, waiting until 30 seconds after they stop for the tag will cause them to not care about it.
After the tag, the match picked up considerably, but the big spot, an Evans hurricanrana of Shingo onto their opponents, was badly botched and Evans actually hit Shingo for a moment, so that what followed didn’t get the build and the crowd, while receptive, never got to the level it needed to be. The build suffered a lot for that one spot.
The end of the match saw a double team Angel’s Wings with Sydal pushing down on the upside down legs while Daniels hit the sit out Pedigree, which was enough to get the three.
Chris Daniels and Matt Sydal defeat Shingo and Jack Evans (Pin, double team Angel’s Wings, ***)
Good match, but could have been much more if both teams worked more crisply.
After the match Evans apologizes to Shingo and says his mind was elsewhere, a very good kayfabe reason for the flubs.
Aries emerges and Jack again refuses to choose sides. Both men decide they are going to recruit their own armies for the upcoming wars, citing “new talent.†Here’s hoping Joey Ryan is included in that.
Main Event World Title Match: Homicide (c) w/ Julius Smokes vs. Takeshi Morishima
Homicide got a small reaction from the tired crowd. This was a decent match, with each man controlling, but a lot of the action was on the outside, which hurt things as I missed a lot of it. Homicide hit the big lariat, but no one bought it as the finish and it wasn’t. He really needs to ditch that and find a new secondary finisher. It didn’t go over with the crowd in the Joe match or here.
Morishima looked good, but worked a lot less stiffly with ‘Cide than with Joe. He managed to win the title, but it took a backdrop driver, wicked lariat, and then another backdrop driver to do it.
Morishima defeats Homicide (Pin, backdrop driver, ***)
This might deserve more, but with a bit of the match missed, it’s hard to say. Homicide was a lame duck champion. The crowd was barely behind him after his perfectly booked title win. He’s a lot more interesting now that he’s lost what he wanted and can be a true wild card again. Morishima leaves the title in an interesting place – no one has any idea who might dethrone him. I like him as a monster champion and, as Shawn Smith noted, he’s quite a bit like Bam Bam Gordy in all the good ways.
This was a fantastic show with very little not working, one fantastic match, and a ton of angle development. This is a must see and highly recommended. I brought along a friend who had never seen Ring of Honor and he’s now in for any and all live shows. That makes eight live show converts and counting. Have a good one and be sure to check back Friday for my regular column, A Modest Response, with next weekend’s ROH previews and tons more.
