Ring of Honor Live Review: Death Before Dishonor V night One; Boston Massachusetts, 8/10/07
First I must apologize for the lateness of the review; family obligations prevented me from getting to it before today. Pulse Glazer was able to attend both shows and the link goes to his reviews which are well written as always. He also likes Jimmy Rave a lot, and although his arguments are sound, I am starting to wonder if payola has crossed into internet wrestling journalism. Before I get to the review proper, I must say that the Roxbury is an excellent venue
Anyways, on to the review
Grudge Match: Jack Evans vs. Davey Richards
This was a good way to kick off the huge Death before Dishonor weekend, as pretty much no one in RoH hypes up a crowd like Jack. Richards has settled quite nicely into his role as a heel. In many ways he is the Low Ki that Gabe always wanted. He is unafraid to do jobs, mostly, and while he might not be as good as Ki, he wrestles a similar style and can be counted on to fill a similar role on the card. The match was solid if unspectacular. Aaron was unimpressed by the lack of the clean finish; I didn’t like it either, but I can see why the NRC didn’t want their team to lose. It also put more heat on the Evans third of the faction wars which has been stalled due to Jack Evans Japanese commitments. The finish of course was Jack going for the 630 but being stalled by the No Remorse Corps.
Jack Evans over Davey Richards via DQ No Remorse related interference; **3/4
It was a good if unremarkable match where Jack was less crisp than normal. Davey was his usual solid self and the crowd was amped for the rest of the show.
After the match the Resilience comes to save Jack, but he says he does not need their help increasing the tension between the two baby face leaders in the faction wars.
SHIMMER #1 Contender Match: Daizee Haze vs. Lacey
I have not seen all of the SHIMMER exhibitions in RoH, but to date this might be one of the best one on one matches. It was topped the next night, but this was probably the best match Daizee has ever been a part of in RoH. Sara Del Rey came to the ramp to do some scouting, while she was there Lacey locked in the Royal Butterfly on Haze. An implant DDT a bit later and that was all she wrote. Since this takes place more in the SHIMMER universe than the RoH one, it makes sense to have Lacey vs. Del Rey. They are both heels in RoH, but it seems that Del Rey is more of a dominant babyface in SHIMMER despite her association with Sweet and Sour Inc.
Lacey over Daizee Haze via Implant DDT; **1/2
Like I said this was Daizee’s best output to date, and Lacey is one of the best woman wrestlers on the indies today.
Pure Wrestling Challenge: Chris Hero vs. Nigel McGuinness
I honestly thought that Larry Sweeney who was awesome in his role as usual was going to use his negotiating skills to make this match the revival of the Pure Title, but it was not to be. The story in this match was essentially a case of Chris Hero et al using Nigel’s Pure Champion tactics against him, which is a great story indeed. Early on in the match the lights went out and a voice, which was almost unmistakably Adam Pearce’s, began spouting off clichés about Project 161.
Hero, showing he knows how to work a crowd immediately put the heat back on himself and the match by informing ring announcer Bobby Cruise and then Todd Sinclair that Nigel had used all three of his rope breaks while the lights were out. Hero did scam Nigel out of all of his rope breaks and won with the Hangman’s Clutch.
Chris Hero over Nigel McGuinness via submission with the Hangman’s Clutch; ***3/4
Hero got a much needed win, and Nigel did not look too weak in defeat. It also succeeded in putting over the Hangman’s clutch as a finish as Nigel fought tooth and nail to avoid it. This may have been one of the most entertaining matches of the show, although it was not the best. Hero and his entourage are awesome, and one of the more unique things in Ring of Honor, there are similarities to the Embassy, but Sweet and Sour Inc. just take things to a whole new level. Nigel did get a modicum of revenge by lariating the bejeezus out of Bobby Dempsey after the match.
Six Man Mayhem: Eddie Edwards vs. Brent Albright vs. Delirious vs. Matt Cross vs. Jigsaw vs. Pelle Primeau
Pelle is the first person to actually shed the image of student as he did not seem like a student trying to hang with the regulars, but a wrestler trying to get a win. Kudos to Pelle! Edwards has yet to stand out on an RoH, but I think it is only a matter of time before he does. Brent and Delirious had some great interactions and it seems a few matches between the two are on the way. Jigsaw may have earned himself a roster spot with his performance, and Matt Cross got his elusive first individual win after a shooting star leg drop on Edwards.
Matt Cross over Eddie Edwards via Shooting Star Leg Drop; ***
This match was awesome, and succeeded in almost everyone looking better afterwards. Cross proved his worth, and it built towards future angles; that is all you can ask for in a wrestling match.
Grudge Tag Team Match: Austin Aries and Erick Stevens vs. Roderick Strong and Rocky Romero
An injury to Aries hampered this match, so I am remiss to rate it on a normal scale, the four men had a hard time keeping the crowd’s interest and the comebacks and hot tags were not perfectly timed. Stevens gets better with every match, and the biggest sign of this is that his “Choo Choo!†schtick is insanely over but he only does it once a match so as not to kill it. Either way Aries was able to score the win after the 450 splash despite his bad knee(s).
Aries and Stevens over Strong and Romero via 450 splash; **1/2
This was a below average match by Ring of Honor standards and the wrestlers involved, but injuries did play some small role. I liked it, but not a lot. Aries needs to take it easy for a while.
INTERMISSION
Special Challenge Match: “American Dragon†Bryan Danielson vs. Matt Sydal w/ Larry Sweeney
Sydal may as well have had North Face on his tights tonight since Dragon carried him like a backpack to an awesome match. Dragon just decided that he was going to slow the pace down to make Sydal’s speed look that much more dangerous and effective. Dragon reversed a high flying move into the triangle choke elbows and scored the win.
American Dragon over Matt Sydal via ref stoppage after Traingle Elbows, ***3/4
Dragon in an awesome match shocker! Sydal carried to near greatness .another shocker!
Ring of Honor World Title Match: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Takeshi Morishima©
This match was all sorts of awesome. Claudio looked like the most credible threat to Morishima since winning the title. Claudio is wrestling up to his place on the card and looked like he belonged in the main event. The match reminded me a lot of Joe vs. Aries in many ways. Claudio tried to hit his big spots but was unable to move the Japanese Behemoth. Claudio normally wrestles smaller guys that he can throw around, so it was interesting to see him struggle with moving an opponent around. When he finally hit the Ricola Bomb the place exploded, but it was not enough for the win. Morishima ended the challenge with a Backdrop Driver.
Morishima over Claudio via Backdrop Driver; ****1/2
Non-Sanctioned Boston Street Fight: Jay and Mark Briscoe vs. Kevin Steen and El Generico
I enjoyed this more than most of the brawl through the crowd matches, probably because I could see most of it and did not have to wait for DVD. These guys went all out and beat the holy crap out of each other. The weapons used were inclusive of but not exclusive to guard rails, chairs, shoes, ladders, and tables. Steen eventually got the win over Jay by hitting the package piledriver onto a decimated ladder in the ring.
Steen and Generico over the Briscoes via package piledriver; ****1/4
A great great brawl that put even more heat on the feud.
After the match Steen challenged the Ring of Honor champion when RoH returned to Boston.
Conclusion
This was an awesome show, and while nothing earth shattering happened it was top to bottom one of the most solid shows Ring of Honor has presented all year. Stay tuned for a look at some of the top shows of the year as a cross section of the Pulse Wrestling Staff will be reviewing the shows ranging from All Star Extravaganza III to Good Times Great Memories.
I’ll see you next time
