Ring of Honor Live Review: Manhattan Mayhem II; 8/25/2007
With Glory by Honor V, night 2, Final Battle 2006, Fifth Year Festival: NYC, and Respect is Earned, Ring of Honor is batting 1.000 in terms of quality shows at the Manhattan Center. In addition Ring of Honor has sold essentially every seat in the venue at each of these shows. It is safe to say that the Grand Ballroom at the Manhattan Center is the best venue that Ring of Honor runs both in terms of sales and show quality. Will Manhattan Mayhem II live up to both the history of quality of the venue and the legacy left behind by the original Manhattan Mayhem which still holds up as one of the best shows in RoH history? Read on and find out.
Opening Contest: Jigsaw and Mike Quackenbush vs. The Resilience of Matt Cross and Erick Stevens
This was a great way to start the show. Quackenbush is one of the top wrestlers out there period right now, Stevens noticeably improves with every match, Cross seems like he finally gets it, and Jigsaw is the type of wrestler who can always be counted on for solid matches. Quack showed just how good he really is by figuring out inventive ways to account for and counter the raw power of Stevens. The highlight of the match for me came when Jigsaw set up Cross for the Jig’n’tonic (basically an axe guillotine drive if you ever played Day of Reckoning 2 for Gamecube) and Stevens clotheslined Jig which led into a Yoshi-tonic by Cross. It was not the finish, but it was an awesome spot. Stevens ended up getting the win after a Doctor Bomb.
Winners Stevens and Cross via a Doctor Bomb; ***1/4
Like I said it was a great opener and a great mix of styles as opposed to a clash of styles which is what it could have easily become.
Special Attraction match: Jimmy Jacobs vs. Top of the Class Trophy holder Mitch Franklin
Mitch Franklin gets rewarded for his victory over Pelle last night by being fed to a returning Jimmy Jacobs. Jacobs comes to the ring with a bad ass pimp cane, which is awesome. Jacobs new offense including the face smashes into the ground; and the running drop kick into the ring post on the outside are awesome. I am not sold on the guillotine choke as a finish, but it is fine for what its worth. I cannot wait to see Jacobs come back in full and get involved in another storyline or angle.
Jimmy Jacobs wins via guillotine choke; *1/2
It was fun, it did its job. It is a rare thing that other companies can say the same about what are essentially throw away matches on their cards.
Six Man Tag Team Action†Adam Pearce, BJ Whitmer, and “The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come†Brent Albright vs. Nigel McGuinness, Pelle Priemeau, and Delirious
This match was made in response to the action after the four corner survival from Hartford which saw Delirious get his mask stapled to his face. Before the match Pearce got on the mic and updated the crowd about BJ finding his true self. Pearce is one of the best on the microphone on the indies today, even if this particular promo did not showcase it.
The match was fun and featured a lot of brawling, which besides the random insertion of Pelle Primeau makes sense. The other five men have clear heat with one another. Delirious did the bulk of the work for his team with Nigel coming in occasionally to clean house via his many and varied lariats. The finish came when BJ hit a sit down tombstone pile driver which many refer to as the “Owen-driver†on Pelle.
BJ Whitmer pins Pelle Primeau via “Owen-driver;†***
This was fun and cemented the force to be reckoned with that this new heel stable should be. It certainly seems as though they are not Project 161, but who knows.
After the match Whitmer gave Primeau a hellacious beating drawing blood from the youngster. Albright, Pearce, and Whitmer proceeded to hit their big moves on Pelle. I thought it would have been funny if after all of those high impact moves Hagadorn hit Pelle with a body slam. It didn’t happen, but it would have made me laugh.
Davey Richards vs. PAC
This is not a -** match as Pulse Glazer said. It still was not very good. PAC has a long way to go before he deserves another shot on the RoH roster. He does many unnecessary flips, and does a poor job of timing them. This match was full of miscues, especially on PAC’s behalf. It was not helped by the Chris Benoit related chants that came from a few members of the crowd. To the credit of both men rather than giving up on the match since the crowd turned on them, they worked their asses off to try to salvage something from the mess the match had degenerated into. PAC has some very impressive offense including his shooting star knees and the twisting shooting star press he hit to the outside, but there is enough he does poorly to not make him worthwhile in my eyes. Davey won after a tombstone piledriver and the key lock.
Davey Richards wins via keylock; *
PAC could learn a lot from guys like Matt Cross and Jack Evans who have learned to tone down their flips and only hit them at opportune moments, rather then unnecessary flips that add no momentum or speed to your offense.
Founding Fathers of Generation Next Explode: Austin Aries vs. Jack Evans vs. Roderick Strong
Before the match Jack Evans got on the mic and cited his lack of work ethic for the reason behind his failure to find men for his crew, but he did introduce his first ally who would certainly be able to hype him up. That man was Julius “The Devil’s Son-in-law†Smokes. It is great to have J-Train back, and I think he is a great fit for Jack’s stable.
This match was awesome from the start. All three men were firing on all cylinders, and it had all the makings of a classic triple threat match. I like that Aries has added some parody of Jeff Jarrett into his repertoire, and while Roderick and Jack have very similar matches every time out, they are good matches. This match was heading towards amazing and then the ref got bumped, which I think make it the 8th such instance in RoH history (that is not an actual count, it is a joke, don’t try to find the actual number). The match broke down at this point and Jack and J-train were able to introduce their new member: Ruckus. It is cool to see Ruckus in RoH, and I think he fits in nicely with Jack’s stable.
From here the match became a fight, and Aries took a nasty bump through a table. The Resilience came out to save their fallen leader after Jack and Ruckus started going after Aries too. Surprisingly enough Aries was able to get the win after a 450 splash on Roderick.
Austin Aries wins via 450 Splash on Roderick Strong: ***1/2
I don’t mind so much about the over-booking in this match because it was done well and put the necessary heat back onto the stable wars. This angle should play out until at least Final Battle. In reality I would like to see a Round Robin Challenge of some kind come out of this.
Intermission
Special Attraction Match: Ruckus vs. Eddie Edwards
This is Ruckus official in ring debut for RoH, but he is a well known name so he is hardly a newcomer in the truest sense. The match was sound, but man does Ruckus do a lot of flips. Unlike PAC, however, Ruckus’ flips either add to the momentum or force of his moves and/or make perfect sense. He could tone them down a bit, but it hypes the crowd, and that is fine with me. Edwards proved that he is the better wrestler, but this match was about Ruckus getting a win and showing his stuff. Edwards is that one match away from truly breaking out and proving that he belongs. Ruckus won with a sky-twister press, by the way.
Ruckus wins via Sky-twister press; ***
Like I said, this match was the Ruckus show. It was good and a great way to bring the crowd back after intermission.
Grudge Match: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Chris Hero with Larry Sweeney, Sara Del Rey, and Bobby Dempsey
These guys have undeniable, unbelievable chemistry. Claudio is well on his way to becoming one of the most popular babyfaces in the company, and Chris Hero is easily one of the most consistent wrestlers on the roster. This match was start to finish awesome. Neither man really went insane with high spots or anything like that. These two just hit crisp moves, worked a consistent story, and in the process put on an awesome match. In a bit of a surprise, Claudio won the match after a Ricola Bomb.
Claudio Castagnoli wins via a Ricola Bomb; ****
Ring of Honor World Championship Match: “American Dragon†Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima ©
Wow.
That is really all that needs to be said about this match. Just, wow. Morishima wrestled out of his mind and Danielson was his usual awesome self. This was one of the stiffest matches that I can remember. Morishima’s strikes were looking less than stellar in a few previous outings, but that was not the case on this night. Dragon used the best strategies he knew of to try and take down the Japanese behemoth; on August 25th however, American Dragon’s best was not enough. Morishima won with a back drop driver.
Morishima wins via a back drop driver; ****3/4
This is the best match I have seen live all year, and since I have not seen Dragon vs. Nigel that will air on Driven it is basically the best match I have seen all year period. The crowd was almost unanimously behind Danielson, which added to an already great atmosphere for the match. As much as I hate to contradict him, Bryan Danielson is the best wrestler in the world, after the match Dragon said that the best wrestler in the world is the holder of the RoH tag team championship and apologized for not winning. It is almost a guarantee that Dragon will be the man to dethrone Morishima, but that will come another day.
Two out of Three Falls Ring of Honor Tag Team Championship Match: Jay and Mark Briscoe © vs. Kevin Steen and El Generico
I understand the logic for putting this match on last, but the crowd was totally spent from Morishima vs. Dragon. The Briscoe/Steenerico feud has been at its best in straight matches. The street fight from Boston might be the exception, but I think my favorite matches have been the non-hardcore ones.
This match started off as a brawl outside the ring, and it was super violent. The highlight was El Generico bashing Jay’s head in with the metal guard rail cover. Eventually things settled down into a straight tag match. Generico was eventually isolated and pinned by Jay after a top rope splash.
The second fall started in a great way. It looked like Steen was going to walk out on Generico, but instead the Briscoes gave Generico the sickest beal toss to the outside. I really hoped that Steen and Generico would pick up this fall, but it was not to be. The match ended in spectacular fashion though, as Jay and Mark took a page from Steen and Generico’s book. Jay hit the Jay driller on Steen and rolled him through into a Cut-throat Driver by Mark in much the same fashion that Steen and Generico would hit the package piledriver and the brainbuster. Awesome finish to an awesome match.
Jay and Mark Briscoe win two falls to none; ****1/4
This really should have been the end of the feud, but Steen after seemingly shaking hands with the Briscoes after the match swerved the fans and kicked them both in the balls before getting a ladder and forcing Generico help him attack the Briscoes. Steen and Generico then walked off with the belts that they literally have no claim on.
The match was awesome, but it should have been the feud ender. They do need to end this feud on Pay per View since a ton of heat has been put on it on each of the first two Pay per View specials. Still, Jay and Mark have proven that they are the better team. It seems that the blow-off will be a ladder match which I am sure will be awesome, but it seems overkill at this point.
In Conclusion
The final three matches were all four stars or better including one match of the year candidate. This show was awesome, and may be the second best Manhattan center show behind Glory by Honor. Final Battle is very close, and it is really unfair to make that decision. With the exception of Davey and PAC nothing was terrible. Jacobs vs. Franklin got a low rating but did exactly what it needed to, so it’s fine. I cannot recommend this show highly enough for the DVD release.
I’ll see you next time
