Number 1 American Indy promotion, Ring of Honor, aired it’s second ever Pay per View, ‘Driven’ on September 20th, via the DishNetwork. The PPV was taped on 23rd June in the Frontier Fieldhouse, Chicago, IL. This was part of a major step up for the company, as it has evolved into the main alternative wrestling promotion for hardcore wrestling fans.
To read my report of the first ROH PPV, Respect Is Earned, click here.
The show opens, with Dave Prazak welcoming the fans. The fans go nuts, chanting “ROH! ROH!†Prazak said tonight you will see that ROH is all about competition, and how DRIVEN the athletes of ROH are. The Resilience of Erick Stevens and Matt Cross come out, alongside Delirious. Stevens gets on the mic challenges the NRC to a Six Man Tag match, RIGHT NOW. Delirious then gets on the mic and cuts a promo. Oh yes. If you don’t know about Delirious’ promos already, they’re basically him cutting a normal promo in his really fast never stopping gibberish voice. And he does it here, and it’s great. He concludes it by saying “NO REMORSE CORPS, IT’S TIME FOR WAAAARR!â€
The show then goes into a highlight video recapping the last PPV; Respect is Earned. We see primarily the brawl between The Briscoe Brothers & Kevin Steen and El Generico, and the interactions between Bryan Danielson, Nigel McGuinness and ROH World Champion, Takeshi Morishima.
Then we return to Chicago, as the No Remorse Corps of Rocky Romero, Davey Richards and Roderick Strong charge the ring. It is on!
Match # 1: Six Man Tag Team Match: The No Remorse Corps (Romero, Richards & Strong) vs The Resilience (Matt Cross & Erick Stevens) and Delirious: All six men went at it in the ring. It all breaks down as the NRC reform on the outside. They then did the sequence where one man would enter, hit a move, then get hit with a move, leave the ring, next guy would come in, hit a move, get hit by a move, etc. The NRC wound up on the outside beating on Stevens as Delirious took them out with a huge top rope front flip dive!
Back in Delirious starts to work over Romero, but he soon cuts him off with some hard kicks. The NRC gang up on Delirious…isolating him from his partners. The commentators mention the Resilience’s leader (Austin Aries) being in attendance tonight, but only as a member of the crowd, not actually on the show. The NRC work over Delirious with their hard hitting style. Lots of strikes (chops and kicks specifically) and power moves (ie suplex variations). Delirious made his comeback, hitting a headbutt to the gut of a flying Davey Richards. He makes the hot tag to Erick Stevens!
Now, the match turns crazy. Stevens cleans house. Delirious gets Strong in the corner…Panic Attack! TKO from Stevens! 1…2…no. Cross gets Davey and Rocky on the outside…SASUKE SPECIAL (cartwheel corkscrew flip dive)! Pop-up Powerslam from Stevens on Strong! 1…2…Rocky saves Strong. Davey springboards…Missile dropkick to the back of Stevens! Cross gets Davey…REVERSE RANA puts him right on his head! Big kick from Rocky sends Cross down. Leaping lariat from Delirious on Romero, and all 6 men are down! The fans are loving this!
Strong grabs Cross…Guerrilla Press gutbuster! Big boot from Davey! Leaping DDT from Rocky puts Cross RIGHT ON HIS HEAD! 1…2…NO! Strong and Stevens trade HARD chops in the centre of the ring. Strong tries for his big boot…Stevens catches him and slams him to the mat! Stevens and Strong grab him…Wheelbarrow slam/double stomp combo. Davey comes in, as he and Stevens trade hard slaps. Stevens gets Davey…Release German Suplex! Shadows Over Hell from Delirious! TOP ROPE SHOOTING STAR PRESS FROM CROSS! 1…2…NO! The crowd explodes with “ROH! ROH!†chants. Cross grabs Rocky…Death Valley Driver neckbreaker. Up top…360 TWISITING MOONSAULT! 1…2…NO! That really should have been the finish. Cross and Romero have an exchange…Cross gets a wheelbarrow rollup! 1…2…NO! Rocky hits a series of sick kicks to Cross’s head. Davey grabs cross…BUTTERFLY BRAINBUSTER! 1…2…3!
Winners: The No Remorse Corps.
Wow, what a way to kick things off! To say that match was fast paced is an understatement. These 6 guys brought there A game here, producing one hell of an action packed multi man match. There was a big problem here though, and that was overkill. I love the long crazy finishing sequences as much as the next guy, but here there was just too many nearfalls, it really should have ended 2/3 nearfalls sooner. Despite that, this was an awesome way to kick off the PPV and get the audience (live and at home) excited. ***1/2.
The NRC continued to beat on Cross post match. Then, all of a sudden, AUSTIN ARIES starts walking to the ring! He enters the ring and takes it to the NRC! The fans are completely losing it. The commentators stress Aries wasn’t supposed to be involved in the show. Aries hits his suicide dive to the outside taking out the NRC, as the NRC bail to the back. Aries gets on the mic and cuts an awesome promo. He says he has a surprise for everyone, and takes a piece of paper out of his pocket. He says signing this paper is the key to his wrestling freedom, with that freedom, he would hunt down the NRC and beat some respect into them. Once he signs the paper, he’ll be the property of the best wrestling company in the world. He asks for a pen, and in a cool visual, the fans frantically shower the ring with pens. Aries signs the contract and says he’s back where he belongs, in ROH. He starts to put over the company a lot, a bit too much for my liking. He then mocks TNA by saying “We are wrestlingâ€. The fans continue to go nuts for him as he gives the signed contract to ROH’s owner, Cary Silkin.
The Briscoes are backstage. They talk about being in Japan for ROH. They start fighting each other, saying their catchphrase “Man Up!†Then, highlights are shown from ROH’s trip to Japan. They show clips from both shows, one in Tokyo (named “Live in Tokyoâ€) and one in Osaka (named “Live in Osakaâ€).
Match # 2: Matt Sydal vs Claudio Castagnoli: We’re cut straight to these 2 in the ring. Dave Prazak does the introductions, as video packages are played for both wrestlers, highlighting their signature moves and such. We cut back to Claudio leading the Chicago fans in the Hey Wave (he points to a certain section of the crowd and they jump up and yell “Hey!â€, kinda like a Mexican Wave), which is the greatest thing ever. One may notice these 2 were partners challenging for the RPOH World tag team titles at the 1st PPV, the announcers fill us in saying Sydal blamed Claudio for the loss, and requested this match with him.
They start with some lovely looking lucha exchanges. Lots of pretty arm drags. Claudio then used his power to gain control, hitting Sydal with a big slam out of the corner. Claudio works him over with some nice looking power moves. He hits a dead lift gut-wrench suplex and swings Sydal around for AGES in a Giant Swing. Sydal made a comeback by sweeping (a running) Claudio’s legs, sending him through the ropes to the floor! He followed it up with a nice looking reverse moonsault dive to the Claudio on the floor.
Back in the ring now. Big leg lariat from Sydal gets 2. Claudio grabs Sydal and puts him on his shoulders…Spinning Alpamare Waterslide (modified Angle Slam)! He tried pinning Sydal, but his shoulder was off the mat, so it was unsuccessful. Sydal got a rollup out of a hurricanrana attempt, but Claudio reversed the momentum and took it into his own pin attempt. They exchange pin attempts (each getting nearfalls) with neither man coming out on top. Sydal gets Claudio in place…Standing Moonsault! 1…2…no!
Sydal jumps up on Claudio…TRAPPED HEAD DDT! That was sick. 1…2…NO! Claudio kills Sydal on the top rope with some strike combo. BICYCLE KICK TO THE FACE! THE FACE! 1…2…NO! Sydal comes off the ropes…rolls up Claudio…throws himself up and comes down with a headscissors! Man that was crazy! Claudio goes for a powerbomb…Sydal jumps and STANDS on Claudio’s shoulders to block it…then comes back down into a snap hurricanrana! 1…2…NO! Sydal comes off the ropes…Claudio throws him up…Sydal hits another snap rana…but Claudio rolls all the way through it into a pin attempt! 1…2…3! Winner: Claudio Castagnoli.
What a great match! The story was Power vs Speed (every advantage Claudio got was through his power, every advantage Sydal got was through using his speed) with a little extra added; Claudio used his speed to catch Sydal off guard when he went for the rana at the end, flipping through it into the pin attempt. The wrestling here was just about as crisp as you’re gonna get, with Claudio being the top man on the Indies for working with smaller, flippy dudes, and Sydal being awesome in the flippy department. Like the last match, the only gripe I had here was too many nearfalls, but here it was more of a case there being too many nearfalls overall (some were just not needed), rather than it ending too late. On the whole, this was an extremely fun match which followed the opener well. ***1/2.
After the match, ROH show a replay of the finish, from a different camera angle. Damn that move is crazy.
As both men are ready to leave, Larry Sweeney along with Sweet ‘n’ Sour Incorporated (Chris Hero, Tank Toland and Bobby Dempsey) make their way down to the ring. Sweeney puts over his number 1 client, Chris Hero and talks about how Hero made Claudio, and carries him to the ROH World Tag Team Titles. They show a short clip of hero and Claudio celebrating together with the ROH World Tag Team Titles around their waists.
Sweeney came onto Sydal, asking him to join Sweeney and the group. He gave Sydal an SnS Inc. contract. Claudio snatches the mic off Sweeney though, and tells Sydal not to do it, calling Sweeney a scumbag. He then grabbed the contract, and ripped it up. SnS Inc. tried to attack him, but he made short work of them with European uppercuts. Then all of a sudden, Sydal turned and attacked Claudio from behind! The rest of SnS Inc. entered the ring sand beat down Claudio. Hero gave him his finisher, the Hero’s Welcome, and then applied one of his signature holds, the Hangman’s Clutch. By the end of the segment, we know Sydal has sided with SnS Inc.
A video package for Jimmy Rave is shown. We hear his voice in the background, saying it doesn’t matter how big Morishima is, he’s gonna win the ROH world title tonight.
Match # 3: Naomichi Marufuji vs BJ Whitmer: We cut back live, where unlike the last match, BJ and Marufuji’s entrances are shown. We see highlight packages for them, too.
Both men felt each other out to start. They traded holds and dropkicks, but neither man had an advantage. After a while, BJ gained an advantage with a leg lariat and a tope. Marufuji quickly took control off of Whitmer, hitting a dropkick to the head and a cool DDT on the apron. Marufuji worked Whitmer over in the ring, not for long though. He hit a nice Tiger Driver (butterfly powerbomb) into cross armbreaker move. Whitmer made a comeback, hitting a top rope superplex.
Both men are down as the ref applies the count. They both get back to their feet and exchange chops. Whitmer catches Marufuji off the ropes…German suplex! Dragon suplex! He goes for a powerbomb but Fuji escapes. Whitmer hits him with a knee strike to the head for 2. Marufuji catches Whitmer…Cross Armed German! 1, 2, no. Marufuji followed it up with a one legged Lungblower (backcracker) to the face. Marufuji comes off the ropes…Whitmer with a powerslam! Whitmer runs off the ropes…Marufuji follows him and nails him with a lariat! 1…2…NO! Whitmer reverses Sliced Bread #2…Brainbuster! It gets 2. Whitmer goes up top, but Marufuji cuts him off and hangs him in the tree of Woe. Fuji goes to the other side of the ring…VAN TERMINATOR! 1…2…NO! Marufuji hit 2 BIG superkicks, then hit Sliced bread #2! 1…2…3!
Winner: Naomichi Marufuji.
Good match. The story was both men were so even, reversing each other’s moves, until Marufuji used his quickness over Whitmer getting the reversal he needed to get the win. They kept the action fast and solid throughout, and I liked the Japanese heavyweight style the match was wrestled in. I thought it should have gone a little bit longer in the middle – some of the stuff there seemed filler compared to the long finishing sequence. A solid match overall. ***.
Rebecca Bayless is in the crowd. She says she hopes everyone at home is enjoying the show, and lists the markets ROH runs shows in as an advert for ROHWrestling.com is shown at the bottom of the screen.
Match # 4: Brent Albright vs Pelle Primeau: Pelle is the top graduate of the ROH wrestling school. He’s also about half the size of Albright. Like the last match, the wrestler’s entrances are shown. Pelle hits some forearms early, but Albright KNOCKS HIM THE FUCK OUT with a really hard forearm in retaliation. Albright pounds him in the corner, and then tosses him ¾ of the way across the ring. Pelle tried a comeback with a wheelbarrow, but Albright threw him straight overhead, in a German Suplex variation. Albright picks him up and gives him a sick Belly to Belly variation. He picks him up again and gives him a SICK Half Nelson suplex. Pelle is dead. Cover. 1…2…Albright picks up Pelle! He gets him in a military press, tosses him up then locks him in the Crowbar (arm submission finisher) on the way down! Pelle taps instantly.
Winner: Brent Albright.
That has to be one of the best squash matches I’ve ever seen, Albright destroyed Pelle in the best way possible. I’ll be shocked if new fans aren’t impressed with Albright after this. *.
A video package for ROHWrestling.com was shown. They showed Samoa Joe, Mick Foley, The Great Muta, CM Punk, Terry Funk, Ricky Steamboat, and more who have been a part of ROH in the past.
Match # 5: ROH World Tag Team Title Match: The Briscoe Brothers (c) vs Kevin Steen and El Generico: These 2 teams have been feuding for months now. Back at ROH’s ‘Fighting Spirit’ event, Steen and Generico brutally hurt (a head injured) Mark Briscoe, repeatedly dropping him on his head. Seeing as they won that (non title) match, they’re getting their title show here tonight. Both teams get full entrances, and the Briscoes are mighty over.
Generico and Jay started. They did the usual feeling out process. Generico gets a few armdrags in, as Jay got a standing hurricanrana. Steen and Mark tag in, and things pick up a bit. The Briscoes go crazy on Steen, hitting him with some big double team offence. Steen got out of trouble by throwing Jay into Mark, then hitting Jay with a nasty neckbreaker variation. Generico tags in, and he and Steen hit some nice double teams.
Steen works over Jay. He chokes him on the ropes and uses other dirty tactics. The crowd love to boo Steen. Jay made a comeback, hitting Generico with a jawbreaker. Mark tags in and hits some kneedrops to Generico’s face. The Briscoes work over Generico, hitting their usual power moves and double team offence. Things break down as Generico sends Jay to the outside. Steen follows Jay out with a flip dive! Mark then follows Steen out with a massive suicide dive! Jay sprints back in the ring, and takes out Generico with a massive clothesline, sending both him and Generico to the floor!
Things start to get crazy on the outside. Mark hits a moonsault off the barricade onto Steen. The Briscoes then grabbed Generico, and double hip tossed him all the way over the barricade, into the 5th row chairs! That was f*cking crazy. Steen speared Jay into the barricade, then Razor’s Edge powerbombed him over the barricade into the front row! That must have hurt. Back in the ring Jay and Steen trade forearms. Jay jumps up, but Steen catches him in a sitout powerbomb for a 2 count. Generico tosses Mark to the floor and hits a crazy top rope springboard moonsault. The action is crazy here.
Generico comes back in…HELLUVA KICK (Mafia Kick in the corner) to Jay! Package neckbreaker from Steen! Top rope SWANTON BOMB from Steen! 1…2…NO! Generico grabs Mark…Tornado DDT! Goes for the Helluva kick on Mark…Mark blocks and hits a wild springboard double stomp to Steen n the floor, through a table! Jay grabs Generico…Military Press Death Valley Driver! 1…2…NO! The fans are going nuts. The Briscoes grab Generico…SPIKE JAY DRILLER! 1…2…3!
Winners, and still ROH World Tag Team Champions: The Briscoe Brothers.
Awesome match. These 2 teams brought their A game here, and delivered one hell of an exciting 20 minutes. A lot of Briscoes matches nowadays go overkill, but this one didn’t/it was an intense fight for the tag titles, the Briscoes weren’t just doing flash moves for no reason. The story here, as it is in most Briscoes matches, was the Briscoes tag strategy was better than their opponent’s. They beat down one member of the opposing team until he can barely move and do their best to split the beating they take between them, counting on their toughness to get them through the rest of the match.
My only gripe with this match was the main heat period was on El Generico (a heel) from The Briscoes (the faces). That made things a little anti-climatic in the middle, but when the finishing sequence hit the match really picked up and ended great. Excellent match to get over the importance of the Tag Titles. ****.
Replays are shown of the double hip toss in the crowd and the Spike Jay Driller.
Post match, Steen attacked The Briscoes with a ladder! He nails mark right in the face with it. He grabs Generico and tells him he needs to act like him. Steen and Generico leave, with the Briscoes laid out on the floor.
Larry Sweeney was backstage with SnS Inc. He said he has Castagnoli exactly where he wanted him, and Claudio wouldn’t get his hands on Hero or Sydal until the price was right. Sweeney offered to let Sydal workout, but Bobby Dempsey was taking up the facilities doing exercises on a weight machine with Tank Toland shouting at him. Dempsey couldn’t do what his trainer wanted of him, so Tank offered him a cookie. Dempsey licked his lips while Toland asked him who the ‘cookie monster’ was. Dempsey reached for the cookie, but the weight machine snapped him away. Toland told him he wasn’t going to get any cookies, so Hero and Sydal ate them. Hero loves cookies.
Match # 6: ROH World Title Match: Takeshi Morishima (c) vs Jimmy Rave: Morishima charged at Rave before the ring bell was even rung. He pummeled Rave in the corner, while the ref was trying to calm him down. Rave regained control on the outside with punches. Back in Rave took Morishima off his feet with a Spear! Morishima came back, hitting an overhead belly to belly and a big top rope missile dropkick. He followed it up with a cartwheel splash in the corner. Rave tried for a Sunset flip, but Shima sat down (his full body weight here) on his chest! It got a 2 count.
He tried to do it again, but Rave moved, and hitting a running knee strike to the face. He picked Morishima up, and went his irregular finisher, The Pedigree. Morishima back dropped out of it. Rave caught his leg though, and locked him in the HEEL HOOK! Morishima teased tapping, but eventually reached the ropes. Rave came off the ropes, but Morishima stopped him momentum with a big side slam. LARIAT from Morishima! BACKDROP DRIVVAAA! 1…2…3!
Winner, and still ROH World Champion: Takeshi Morishima.
That was really good considering its length. Good storytelling from Rave, trying to end it ASAP, for in the past the longer people have gone with Morishima the more their chances of winning have decreased. Really good match for only 4 minutes long. **.
The commentators said for the final match on this PPV, they’re gonna switch us over to Philadelphia.
Adam Pearce is shown in the Frontier Fieldhouse, after the show. A graphic appeared at the bottom of the screen, saying “We’ll go to Philly in a momentâ€. Pearce cut an intense philosophical promo, just like the one at Respect Is Earned. He got close to the camera, and talked about man’s desire of need. He showed BJ Whitmer sitting in a chair in the background, sulking about his loss. He ends the promo by saying he knows what Whitmer needs, and in time, everyone will know how Pearce satisfies his needs.
He walks over to BJ Whitmer. The camera is far away, so we can see them talking but can’t hear what they’re saying. Pearce hugged Whitmer, and then floored him with a punch to the face. Brent Albright then walked by and laughed at Whitmer. He and Pearce then left.
Match # 7: ROH World Title Number 1 Contender’s Match: Bryan Danielson vs Nigel McGuinness: The Philly crowd are going insane. Massive reactions for both Nigel and Dragon. They shake hands in the ring, and already I feel like I’m watching something special.
They started feeling each other out on the mat. This wasn’t just your average hold exchanges; these 2 were doing some really brutal stuff. They went into some MMA like exchanges on the mat. This match is brutal, and it hasn’t even left the mat! Danielson outwrestled Nigel. Nigel got out of a hold, and both men were at a stalemate. Dragon offered a handshake, Nigel accepted, and then Danielson slapped him in the face! Dragon started to go dirty, going to Nigel’s eyes and kicking him while he was grounded.
Nigel got pissed, got up, and slapped Danielson hard across the face! They then start striking the f*ck out of each other, with an INTENSE slap exchange. This is great. Nigel does a headstand in the corner, then comes back down with a mule kick to Dragon’s face. Nigel started working over Dragon’s arm. He applied an insane submission on the mat, bending Dragon’s arms in sick ways, but Dragon escaped. Dragon came back, and started working over Nigel’s back.
Nigel came back, putting Dragon in a stranglehold. He lifted up Dragon into a standing Cobra clutch, and then swung him round into a short arm lariat! That made a sick sound. Danielson bailed to the outside. Then, for the next 5 minutes, these 2 wrestle the most brutal match I have ever seen. With chops, European uppercuts and lariats, they complexly kill each other on the floor. They repeatedly suplex each other on the floor and barricade. Nigel wipes out Dragon with a massive dive from the tope rope into the crowd! Man this is sick. Dragon got control with some punishing suplexes, then took things back into the ring.
Things slow down a bit, as Dragon works over Nigel’s back on the mat. Whenever Nigel gets momentum, Dragon viciously attacks his head to stop it. Dragon slaps Nigel on the face, but Nigel tells him to bring it. Dragon repeatedly slaps Nigel across the face, but Nigel still tells him to keep it coming! Nigel’s face must have been really sore the morning after this. Nigel tries an uppercut, but Dragon caught it and spun him around, but Nigel nailed him with a HUGE lariat! Both men are down as the ref puts on the count.
When they got up, Nigel nailed Danielson with his big offence. He hit a running European Uppercut in the corner, a superkick and a big lariat. It all got 2. Danielson saw Nigel was gaining momentum, so he tried knocking him out with 2 sick kicks to the head. They got a 2 count. Dragon ran off the ropes, but Nigel caught him with a powerbomb! 1…2…NO! Nigel saw he had Dragon down and applied the first hold that came into his head, a half Boston Crab. Dragon eventually reached the ropes, while the fans chanted “This is Wrestling!â€
Nigel does his headstand in the corner. This time, Dragon nails him with a dropkick to the face. Dragon puts Nigel up top…BELLY TO BACK SUPERPLEX! 1…2…NO! Crossface Chickenwing! Nigel escaped, and went for the Tower of London (Diamond Cutter off the ropes). He couldn’t lift Dragon up there because of the pain in his back. He finally fought through the pain his back, and got Dragon up top. Tower of London! 1…2…NO! Nigel picks up Dragon, forearms him. He crotches him on the top rope, then goes up top. LARIAT FROM THAT POSTION! 1…2…Dragon gets his foot on the ropes! Dragon hit an enziguri, as both men are down. This is epic.
Both men go head to head. Fuck this is intense. They start slapping the ABSOLUTE SHIT out of each other. This is incredible. They start hitting each other with DISGUSTING headbutts, as the fans are losing it. One of those headbutts must have busted Dragon open, as he is bleeding profusely. Nigel ducks a forearm…LARIAT! Both men got back to their feet! Nigel goes for the Jawbreaker Lariat, but Dragon stopped him with a Roaring forearm. TIGER SUPLEX FROM DRAGON! 1…2…NO! He holds onto the arms and lock in Cattle Mutilation! NIGEL ROLLS OVER! 1…2…NO! Dragon holds onto Nigel’s arms…UFC ELBOWS TO THE HEAD! This is crazy. Nigel starts to fade…CATTLE MUTILATION AGAIN! The ref checks on Nigel and lifts his arm up. It falls lifelessly. The ref rings the bell! Nigel was knocked out cold, Danielson is your winner!
Winner, and New Number 1 Contender: Bryan Danielson.
Oh, my God. That match was just…amazing. I could repeat that 100 times and it still wouldn’t do the match justice, that match was perfect.
Everything which makes pro wrestling awesome was here. Dragon and Nigel told an excellent story in the ring. Dragon underestimated Nigel earlier (for he’s beaten him many times before), then when Nigel became a threat Dragon would go to what had been successful for him in their previous matches, knocking Nigel out. Whenever Nigel sensed he was in trouble he tried to end the match as quickly as he could (with his lariats), but in the end Dragon’s strategy of knocking Nigel out cold was superior.
The intensity here was off the charts. Some of the strike exchanges had me screaming out loud (at the stiffness and greatness), they were that damn intense. The fans were MOLTEN during this match, which made for an awesome atmosphere and made you feel like you were watching something really special.
The pace these 2 wrestled this match at was crazy. For half an hour straight, they were going at it at twice the speed of your normal wrestling match. They kept me and the fans on the edge of their seats the whole way through. I’m not a fan of long matches, but this kept me interested and excited for a whole 1/2 hour – that’s a testament to how good it was.
I honestly could go on all day about how good this was. I’ve stated 3 of the main things that make wrestling great, and said how this match perfected all of them. But there’s one more thing that was excellent here. That was the fact it was a Number 1 Contender’s match for the ROH world title. That sounds like nothing on paper, but in this match, it put over the company (ROH). How hard Danielson and Nigel fought for Number 1 Contender-ship (for the ROH World title) put over the ROH World title, and essentially put over ROH as a company. This match didn’t just make you come out loving Danielson and McGuinness separately; it made you come out loving Ring of Honor. *****.
Post match, Dragon and Nigel shake hands with the fans applauding and chanting “Thank you both!†A graphic appears at the bottom of the screen, telling us to check our listing for ROH’s 3rd PPV, “Man Up “ in November.
The Inside Pulse
Overall thoughts: Another excellent PPV from ROH. Like the last PPV, this showcased what ROH is all about and highlighted every style wrestled in ROH well. Also like the last PPV, every style of wrestling was showcased here; fast paced wrestling, high flying, hard hitting, brawling and technical.
Every match was good to great. The first 2 matches were both very good, BJ/Fuji was good, the 2 squash matches served their purpose, the tag title match was excellent and the main event (Nigel vs Dragon) was the best wrestling match all year. This was an excellent PPV regarding match quality.
There a few minor production improvements since the last PPV. I found the picture to be crisper, the camera angles were spot on and the commentators did a good job explaining everything they needed to. It was a nice touch showing some replays after the matches, but ROH needs some sort of on screen graphic to come on screen before and after them, to make it clear when the replay starts and ends.
The promos and character development was consistent here. BJ’s losing streak and Adam Pearce’s interest in him continued, Morishima continued to look dominant, Faction warfare looks strong (NRC vs Resilience), SnS Inc. continues to grow, the Briscoes look like the team to beat and Bryan Danielson look stronger than ever.
All in all, this PPV was better than Respect Is Earned. As one may know, I am a hardcore ROH fan, and I’m going on a limb to say this was the best thing ROH has done all year. Danielson vs Nigel is one of the best matches I’ve ever seen (and easily the best from this year), if you’re not interested in anything else on here at least buy the PPV just to see that match.
This PPV is must buy.
