Ring of Honor aired their fourth pay-per-view show last weekend, and by now ordering 3 hours of ROH goodness for only $10 should be a no-brainer for any wrestling fan. By the time this column appears online, many of my colleagues and fellow writers will have already posted live coverage, blow-by-blow reports, and in-depth analysis of the show. So I thought I’d spare you the detailed report and provide an overview of Undeniable.
TODAY’S ISSUE: ROH’s fourth ppv outing, Undeniable
ROH is hands down the best American wrestling promotion today, and they tossed their hat into the ppv ring with one hell of a splash last year. Their first three shows were magnificent, with many considering Driven to be the finest big event of 2007 by any company worldwide. Undeniable certainly had some big shoes to fill, so let’s see how it fared.
The show opened with Sweet & Sour Inc. and their usual shenanigans. Larry Sweeney channels the spirit of Bobby the Brain Heenan and it makes his character enjoyable in a love-to-hate him kind of way. Chris Hero won’t wrestle Claudio Castagnoli until the “money’s right†(read: he’s afraid of the beating Claudio will lay on him and doesn’t want to face him), so the opening match was removed from the card.
This gave the Age of the Fall the opportunity to take the ring and deliver a message. They want power and figure the tag belts will provide it, which is why they targeted the Briscoes in their debut at Man Up. But ROH won’t just hand them a title match unless they beat some teams first, so out came the Vulture Squad of Jack Evans, Ruckus, and Jigsaw (with Julius Smokes) to face the challenge of the men from Project 161.
The Age of the Fall (or DIFH or K2K) exhibited excellent teamwork and continuity throughout the match. Tyler Black almost biffed it badly by grazing the top rope on a tope to the outside. That was ugly; had he hit a bit more rope, he could have landed straight on his head. Glad his trajectory seemed unaffected.
This was my first look at Ruckus, who’s got some nice, flashy aerial stuff. Jack Evans is a high-flying wizard, and his steady wave of soaring strikes and leaping attacks mid-match was breathtaking. I hope he recovers quickly from his crushed face and makes his way back to ROH healthy and soon. Black absolutely launched Evans powerbomb-style into the metal guardrail outside the ring for a wicked bump that just looked spectacular.
The AOTF needed to go over to keep building their power base and backing up their big words. And they did exactly that, after a combination elevated-senton/thrust kick/inverted DVD on Evans, with Jacobs then forcing Evans to submit to the End Time. This was a fun, high energy, entertaining opening match, and the AOTF accomplished exactly what they needed to: they emerged looking like a serious new threat to the company just as they should have.
Next up was my first look at women’s wrestling in ROH. Female Wrestler of the Year Sara Del Ray took on Daizee Haze in a wrestling match. It’s worth noting that there were no stipulations about stripping your opponent naked, the ladies weren’t wearing lingerie, they didn’t wrestle in turkey gravy or chocolate pudding, and neither Dave Prazak nor Lenny Leonard lusted after these women’s bodies or discussed their physical characteristics. So THAT’S what women’s wrestling is supposed to be. Cool!
It wasn’t an amazing match, but they certainly didn’t do anything that forced me to fast-forward, and it was clear they were actually working a match like their male counterparts do. As a self-professed completist, nothing wears me out worse than sitting through mid-card garbage en route to the bigger and better matches. A company at this level should never waste valuable ppv time with filler. Their paying customers deserve better, and if they’re unable to deliver three hours worth of enjoyable action, then they shouldn’t air so many pay shows per year. Often those filler matches are women’s contests, but not in Ring of Honor. This match was worth watching.
Del Ray seemed the clear favorite going in, so Haze’s upset victory even ensured a rematch at some point. Storyline continuity = good, even on the undercard. Del Ray has the size, power, and gimmick of being aligned with S & S Inc., so I expect her to lead the women’s division if the ladies are going to be more heavily featured on future ROH shows. The match was mostly there to set the stage for Claudio to chase Hero afterward, but instead of getting revenge Double C got drilled with the Hero’s Welcome on the floor.
The house lights went down, and when they came back up Europe’s The Final Countdown echoed through the Sports Club in Edison, New Jersey, signaling only one thing: the entrance of former ROH world champion, the American Dragon, Bryan Danielson.
Danielson was tired of hearing about how Hero is the “best athlete in ROH todayâ€, and wanted Hero to back it up in the ring. I know the IWC loves the guy, but I’ll admit it – I don’t care for Chris Hero. He’s good in the ring when he wants to be, but his cocky showboating often hurts matches he’s involved in, and there’s too much comedy, preening and posturing that takes me out of the moment. That being said, THE MAN Bryan Danielson and Hero had a very good match, which speaks to Dragon’s storytelling ability and Hero’s skill-set, plus the fact that they kept Hero’s comedy stuff to a minimum.
After a surprisingly strong effort from Hero, his showboating routine eventually cost him when Dragon locked up both his wrists and literally stomped Hero into submission. In fact, the referee stopped the match and declared Dragon the winner via knock out. This is something I really like about ROH, they have a wider variety of match finishes, but they all flow so well from logic and plausibility like this one did. If a man of Dragon’s size, strength, and fighting knowledge were to repeatedly stomp your unprotected head, you’re damn right you’d get knocked out. This sort of finish adds a little touch of “reality†to ROH shows, and keeps things interesting. It was a very satisfying conclusion to a good match.
The next segment found Adam Pearce in the ring, inviting Kevin Steen out for a discussion. Pearce has really got a lock on this cult-leader character of his. He’s well spoken and believable as a guy who gets inside your head and makes you want to follow his lead. Pearce exhibits the right amounts of charisma, style, and anger in these promos to really make the gimmick work.
Pearce explained to Steen that the way he sees it, Steen’s long-time partner El Generico is the reason Steen’s dreams are not coming true. Generico is holding Steen back, and Pearce’s Hangmen 3 can expand to become the “Hangmen 4†to welcome Steen and improve his outlook for success, if Steen is willing to change his attitude. A sharp fan picked up on this comment and quickly yelled out, “what about your t-shirt?†Funny.
So out came the Hangmen 3, dragging a battered El Generico as an offering to their prospective new member. According to Pearce, all Steen had to do was pound Generico out of his life forever, join the Hangmen, and life would be sweet. But Steen did the honorable ‘big brother’ thing and attacked the Hangmen instead, stating that nobody but Steen himself can get away with knocking around his little buddy. The Hangmen, of course, were not pleased with Steen’s righteous stance and the beatings began.
Out came Delirious, the Hangmen’s most recent target, to even the odds and assist Steenerico, so the natural 6-man tag ensued. The match was another quality effort, if a bit disjointed at times. Delirious was the face-in-peril during the heat segment, eventually making the hot tag to Steen. Steen is a guy who does some impressive stuff considering his size. He and Generico delivered some of their cool tandem offense, and things broke down at that point.
The story of the match was that the faces cared more about exacting a little revenge than about winning. While Delirious was biting Pearce’s ear in the corner, he was completely unaware that Brent Albright was right behind him. Albright drilled Delirious with his Half Nelson Suplex to earn the Hangmen 3 the victory. There’s nothing wrong with advancing storylines and delivering hot in-ring action simultaneously. I can’t wait to see Delirious take the Hangmen down one by one.
Next we finally got the one-on-one grudge match between former championship tag team partners and stable-mates in Generation Next, Austin Aries and Roderick Strong. The leaders of the Resilience and the No Remorse Corps have had issues for months, and their factions went to war in singles matches at the last ppv, but Aries and Strong haven’t had a blow-off match for their feud yet, and this should be that match. From here Aries headed into his best-of-three series against Danielson, returning to the top of the card for his title shot at the March ppv.
While the action was good and the intensity was there, somehow this match fell short of all that I imagined it might be. Don’t get me wrong, these two guys know each other very well and know how to build good matches but it never quite developed into what I was hoping for. Still, a not-quite-there ROH match between these two guys is still miles ahead of anything WWE and TNA usually offer.
Unfortunately this contest went to that place Ring of Honor matches go from time to time; it lasted too long, each man endured too much punishment and my suspension of disbelief started to wane. Aries’ first 450 splash really should have been the finish, and when Strong kicked out I groaned. Even in a big match, it’s ok for a finishing move to end it. They don’t need the clichéd “kicking out of big finishers†sequence to convince us the match was important and exciting.
It took a brain buster from the apron through a table to the floor, and a second 450 splash to finally put Strong away, which was overkill. Maybe these two will have another chance to give us a truly epic match before permanently parting company. Still, this was a good match but I was just hoping for a bit more. There were some stiff, aggressive shots by both men, and neither was shy about drilling his former partner with mustard.
The tag team champs then defended against the other two NRC members, Rocky Romero and Davey Richards. Even if there were no Internet smart fans and ROH didn’t record their ppvs so far in advance, it was still obvious going into this match that the Briscoes would successfully defend their crowns, since the build to AOTF getting a title shot has been anything but subtle. Jacobs’ promo earlier in the night about needing wins against other teams, and the fact that this match is from a different show altogether because the ROH officials (kayfabe) don’t want AOTF and the Briscoes in the same building with each other, both indicate a future showdown between the champs and the newcomers who demolished them after their insane ladder match at Man Up.
Knowing the Briscoes are going to win means the only thing to do is strap in and hang on for the ride. Storytelling and selling be damned, say the Briscoes. They are spot-fest freaks who know how to generate crowd excitement and eye-popping moments.
Much to my surprise, they started out with mat wrestling and exchanging holds. After each team executed a few exchanges, the pace picked up. Thankfully they didn’t work too fast for their own good as the Briscoes sometimes do. Of course, the champs are explosive from bell to bell, and their double-team attacks must be seen to be believed.
Jay got to play Ricky Morton for a while as the NRC cut off the ring and tagged in and out in classic tag team strategy. Formula in a Briscoe brothers match? What a pleasant surprise! The NRC focused on Jay’s left arm and shoulder until he made the tag to brother Mark for a little redneck ninja action. He hit a wicked Ace Crusher-missile dropkick combo on both challengers and Richards barely escaped the pinfall attempt. But the NRC weren’t done yet and the action continued.
Romero kicked out of a vicious elevated neck-breaker combo, and a Death Valley Driver took some more of his starch, but things went a bit haywire from there with big move after big move. There was too much going on to document and eventually Romero locked Jay into his gorgeous Diablo Armbar, keeping with the earlier strategy of attacking his arm. Storytelling and psychology in a Briscoe brothers match? I’m shocked!
After Jay reached the ropes, the NRC executed an incredible top-rope knee strike into a sit-out powerbomb tandem maneuver. Wow! That was innovative. Mark rescued his brother and their championships as the high impact stuff continued with neither team showing any sign of backing up a step. Ultimately the champs delivered the Doomsday Device to Richards for the victory. Whew!
Briscoe brothers matches are like amusement park rides. They move fast, they thrill you, and leave you just a bit worn out and ready for a sno-cone. Or a churro; I love those! Anyway, once I learned what to expect from a Briscoe match, I learned to appreciate them for their own style and not to cringe due to their manic approach. The surprise here was that they didn’t stick to their usual petal-to-the-metal style throughout, and actually told a story in this match. Good stuff; I’d like to see more of it from the Delaware Destroyers.
And now for the main event. ROH World Champion Takeshi Morishima defended against Nigel McGuinness. Right off the bat, Prazak and Leonard did a phenomenal job of putting over the significance and importance of the championship, setting a great mood for this contest.
Both champion and challenger attempted their big finishers before 60 seconds had elapsed in the match, only to have them each blocked. Interesting start there. Morishima clearly doesn’t have the endurance to last in a long fight against McGuinness, so he was smart to try to end it early. Nigel was looking for that “one punch knock-out†because he knew he has rendered the juggernaut champion unconscious before. He continued trying his devastating lariats without success, and Morishima wisely attacked the arm to take Nigel’s best weapon away from him.
They repeated one spot from earlier in the match step-for-step when Nigel attempted a second rebound lariat and Morishima blocked it in the exact same manner. In this short of a match, it made them look like they were out of ideas, which was either an odd choice or an unfortunate truth. I wonder how much of a language barrier there was between the Japanese champion and British challenger.
Morishima took to the top rope no less than three times, with varying degrees of success. His huge missile dropkick was a big blow to Nigel, but the challenger caught Morishima on his way down the next time with a huge lariat to the face. They employed a slow, steady pace as Morishima uncharacteristically worked the left arm. Nigel showed that he could avoid or counter the infamous backdrop driver on several occasions, and Morishima got frustrated.
For once, somebody kicked Nigel square in the face when he did his corner headstand. I hate when his opponents just stand there, seemingly awestruck by a man who puts himself in a potentially precarious predicament. Well done, champ.
Nigel kicked out of a backdrop driver, which might have come as a surprise if we didn’t already know that Nigel is currently the reigning champ and that this is the match in which he defeated Morishima for the gold. Later, the challenger rolled through another backdrop driver attempt and drilled the champ with a rebound lariat. Morishima kicked out at 2.99999, but it really should have been the end right there. The rest of the action at that point felt unnecessary and forced, and was a classic case of ROH going just a bit too far.
They exchanged palm-thrusts in a hot little slugfest before another jawbreaker lariat earned McGuinness the victory and the Ring of Honor world championship. The match itself never fired on all cylinders. They seemed a bit slow, flat, and listless, and didn’t click well together. Still, seeing McGuinness celebrating in the ring with most of the roster afterward was a very cool “feel-good†moment.
Bryan Danielson immediately got in the face of the brand new champion, but heir apparent Austin Aries interceded and got Danielson out of the picture so Nigel could enjoy his moment in the sun. Much to his credit, the now former champion Morishima did the classy, honorable thing by handing Nigel the belt, bowing to him, and raising his hand. The crowd reciprocated this show of respect by chanting “Thank you ‘Shima!†to the fallen champion. Once again, ROH gave the fans a great moment to be proud of instead of ending it with somebody getting kicked in the balls.
Undeniable was not up to the standard Ring of Honor has set for their pay-per-views thus far, but a less-than-stellar ROH show is still far more enjoyable than much of what’s available to American wrestling fans. For the price, I’ll accept an occasional ppv of this caliber if it remains the exception to the rule. I’d still recommend it to those who aren’t familiar with ROH and their ppv history, but for those fans who do know how hot the first three shows were, I’d caution them that this one was good, but wasn’t a blow-away show like Respect is Earned, Driven, and Man Up were. We’ll have to wait for March to see how they respond. Was Undeniable a hiccup, or did it represent a new trend for ROH ppvs? Tune in to Rising Above to find out…
We now return you to your regularly scheduled reality.
p.s. – “Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.†– William B. Sprague
Before you go, check out our Roundtable for WWE’s Royal Rumble and Paul Marshall’s live coverage, then look below to see how we fared.
IP Staff Roundtable Results for the Royal Rumble
Matthew Michaels
WWE Royal Rumble (27 Jan 08): 4-1
Total: 103-88
Iain Burnside
WWE Royal Rumble (27 Jan 08): 4-1
Total: 108-55
Paul Beasley
WWE Royal Rumble (27 Jan 08): 4-1
Total: 25-14
Mark Allen
WWE Royal Rumble (27 Jan 08): 4-1
Total: 67-28
Paul Marshall
WWE Royal Rumble (27 Jan 08): 3-2
Total: 35-21
Danny Cox
WWE Royal Rumble (27 Jan 08): 3-2
Total: 120-100
Andrew Wheeler
WWE Royal Rumble (27 Jan 08): 3-2
Total: 61-27
Kace Evers
WWE Royal Rumble (27 Jan 08): 3-2
Total: 42-37
