So I have attended the past four Ring of Honor shows, and I must say that they have all been very good to great. The best of the bunch though was almost certainly Saturday night in the city that never sleeps. I really don’t have much else to hype for show, so let’s go headlong into the review.
Tag Team Challenge Match: Jay and Mark Briscoe vs. The Vulture Squad of Jigsaw and Ruckus w/ Julius Smokes
It was nice to see Julius Smokes back in the corner of the Vulture Squad. It is also interesting to note that the Briscoes have opened the past three Ring of Honor shows. While I am not the biggest Briscoe Brothers fan, I have to say I do like this start from scratch rebuild to the top. The Briscoes are in shorter matches so they are forced not to get all of their crazy spots in, which was make me tired of them more than anything, so now when they inevitable return to the top of the card, the crazy spots that they haven’t been hitting all of the time will seem new and fresh again.
The match itself was fun with the first move of the match being a Gory Driver by Jigsaw (that just doesn’t make sense). There were fun dive sequences, decent strike exchanges, and all of the things that pop a crowd that belong in a first match. It was short and fun. Not surprisingly the Briscoes won with the springboard doomsday device.
Winners: Jay and Mark Briscoe via pinfall; **1/2
Larry Sweeney decides that now would be as good a time as any to try and recruit the Briscoes into Sweet and Sour Inc. The Briscoes showed no interest in getting the big money, which totally could have bought more beer and chewing tobacco. Anyways, this brings out “That Young Knockout Kid†Chris Hero who tells the fans that all he cares about is knocking people out, and not impressing them. Little does he know…knocking people out impresses many fans. He calls out Delirious for a little bit of that cold appetizer called REVENGE!!!
Delirious vs. “That Young Knockout Kid†Chris Hero
I have to believe that Chris Hero is priming to be the champion after next. He is far to big a heel to take the belt from Nigel, but he is marching to the top of the card and could be the guy to end a short babyface reign from someone like Dragon or Roddy.
The match itself was nothing special. Delirious did his normal stuff, and Hero threw the ‘bows and the forearms in an attempt to score that knockout. He eventually did and scored the victory.
Winner: “That Young Knockout Kid†Chris Hero via pinfall; **
Eddie Edwards vs. Roderick Strong
Chris Hero stayed at ringside with Larry Sweeney for the newest member of Sweet and Sour Inc. As much as I hate to say it, I think the white boy braided dreads was a better look for Eddie Edwards since it made him stand out. Now he is just another face in the crowd. His match with Roddy was a lot of fun. Fans that have only seen Eddie’s RoH stuff did not know how good he was/is at the striking game. He showed it here tonight standing toe to toe, or is it edge of the hand to edge of the hand, with one of the best strikers in RoH: Roderick Strong. Eddie Edwards was able to get the win which I am sure killed the people dumb enough to bet on professional wrestling. Hero interjected himself with a roaring elbow to knock out Roddy, allowing Eddie Edwards to hit the quebrada for the win.
Winner: Eddie Edwards via pinfall; ***
Larry Sweeney sent his two victorious soldiers to the back after a job well done and introduced the “Greatest NWA Champion of all time†Adam Pearce. Pearce had the red leather belt worn by the likes of Harley Race and Jack Briscoe. Let me say that for the first time seeing the belt in color, it is an awesome looking championship. This of course was the prelude to…
NWA World Title Match: Brent Albright vs. “Scrap Iron†Adam Pearce©
Albright was just as over on Saturday night as he was when he turned on Larry Sweeney and Sweet and Sour Inc a few months ago. The match I think blew almost everyone in the Hammerstein Ballroom away. These two guys who have never been totally embraced by the Ring of Honor faithful won over pretty much everyone with this match. It was light on flash but high on everything else that makes wrestling great. The drama was out of sight. Throughout the entire match the winner was always in doubt. About the only thing they gave away was that Albright would get the win through his superior wrestling acumen, but Pearce could just as easily steal away a victory with his devious mind. Like the best matches everyone involved was perfect in their role. Sweeney was amazing proving that he is one of the best managers in the business. He knew when to pick his spots to add to the drama of the match rather than bring the focus onto him they way a lot of other managers do.
The match really had everything. It had its fair share of violence as both men were bloodied. There was psychology and submission wrestling by Albright sold perfectly by Adam Pearce. The finish was full of drama as Albright recovering from a nasty fall through the ringside table was able to lock on his crowbar submission to score the win. The highest compliment that I can give to this match is that it reminded me of a lot of the classic NWA title bouts, but with a few modern twists to keep it current. The match is also historic because it is the first time that the NWA title has changed hands in the Mecca of wrestling that is New York City.
Winner and new NWA Champion: Brent Albright via submission; ****1/4
Triple Threat Match: Austin Aries vs. Jimmy Jacobs vs. The Necro Butcher
This match was more about angle advancement than anything else. The build in this feud has been nothing short of amazing. The matches have been good to great as well. If this blows off before the end of the calendar year, Aries vs. Jacobs has to be considered one of the best of the year. Jacobs and Necro came out together as a sign of solidarity and most of the match is two on one. Necro attempts a pin after some chair shots on the former RoH world and tag team champion, and Jacobs does not take too kindly. Jimmy once again tries to get Necro to go after Aries’ eye, but Necro acts confused.
There are a couple of things that aren’t sitting right with me in this angle, but they could absolutely pay off. First, the Necro Butcher doesn’t seem like the guy that would be reluctant to take out someone’s eye. His first words on camera when he re-debuted with the Age of the Fall were something to the effect of, “Now that someone let me outta my cage, I’m gonna stack the bodies to the sky.†A guy that says that, shouldn’t mind ripping out an eye or two. It could just be that he doesn’t like being told what to do.
Secondly, at the beginning of the Age of the Fall, Jacobs never called himself the leader. But now after much psychological trauma he has declared himself the leader, and Necro his soldier. It almost seems too simple for the level of attention that Jacobs’ pays to his feuds. I have to assume this is going somewhere.
Anyways, while Necro was hemming and hawing, Aries got up and delivered a soft chair shot to the Necro Butcher, threw the chair to Jacobs, and laid back down playing possum. Necro flipped beat up Jacobs and Aries was able to get the win after the brainbuster and the 450 splash. The match was more about story than substance, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it.
Winner: Austin Aries via pinfall; ***
***Intermission***
Special Attraction Match: Go Shiozaki vs. Naomichi Marufuji
This was basically an exhibition match. A great exhibition match, but an exhibition match nonetheless. Go has improved during his time spent stateside, but he proved that he is not yet in the same league as Naomichi Marufuji. Go is clearly one of the best strikers in RoH, and he has even added a submission to his arsenal. He really needs to win a match or two with the Dragon Sleeper, though before it gets over. That move has been built up as too devastating to never score a victory. Go, in his best efforts, did take Marufuji to the absolute limit though. The former GHC champion needed to bust out the Pole Shift, his lights out finisher a sit out fisherman’s buster, Michinoku driver extravaganza.
Winner: Naomichi Marufuji via pinfall; ***1/2
Tag Team Dream Match: Kevin Steen and El Generico vs. The Murder City Machine Guns of Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin
This match was contested under Texas Tornado rules meaning the winner had to break his foot an…nope I just can’t go there. No tags are necessary. The match was awesome, and stuck pretty closely to the standard tag team formula. It never really took advantage of the no tag format either. Still it was an excellent match. El Generico took most of the heat from the Machine Guns and Kevin Steen was not as much the clean-up hitter as he has been in the past. Everyone is clamoring for the two of them to climb the tag team mountain, but I think that there are more plans for them to be singles stars that occasionally team to great effect. These two teams have remarkably similar dynamics as well. Steen and Shelley are both clearly the captains of their respective squad while Sabin and Generico are the followers who are willing to put their body at risk more to get the victory. Oddly enough, it was Shelley who put his body at risk taking the full brunt of the BRAAAIIINNBUUUSTAAAAA!!! from El Generico. This allowed Steen to get the sharpshooter submission victory. Expectations may have been way too high for this match, but they still put on a great show, and I really can’t imagine how anyone could be disappointed by what they saw.
Winners: Kevin Steen and El Generico via submission; ****
Main Event Four Way Elimination Match for the Ring of Honor World Championship: Tyler Black vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. “American Dragon†Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness ©
This was my match of the night. It featured four performers that I thoroughly enjoy. It had great moments, great wrestling, and a great overall story. The introductions were a bit surprising. Tyler and Dragon got huge babyface reactions. Nigel got a huge heel reaction. The surprising part was the abject silence that Claudio Castagnoli was greeted with. Sure the fans yelled, “Hey!!†on cue, but other than that there were very few cheers or boos for him. Apathy was not a reaction he would generate later though.
Nigel was great as the heel champion picking his spots. Tyler Black is unique in that somehow he is a babyface when wrestling in singles matches but a heel when wrestling in tag matches. He even changes his style to fit the scenario. There are big things in his future, but he still has a little way to go.
Claudio was the first soldier to fall Danielson caught him in a surprise small package. Herr Castagnoli must have had some bad shellfish for lunch or something because he was in a bad mood. He flipped his lid on the American Dragon and beat the holy hell out of him. Claudio has now executed two of the most effective heel turns in company history. First by turning on the company and specifically Joe at the 100th show, and the second was Saturday night. When he placed the chair on Danielson’s head and stomped on it, the place violently turned on the man from the United Banks of Switzerland. It took all of the students three separate tries to get Claudio from the back. Nigel was great in his capitalization on this beat down. He picked Danielson up, hit an unnecessary lariat and got his first pinfall victory over the American Dragon.
The match came down to Nigel McGuinness and Tyler Black. Many were expecting a rehash of their much vaunted encounter at “Take No Prisoners.†It was a little different. This time around Tyler was hitting the home runs and Nigel was proving his mettle as a champion. Nigel needs to have a couple of more moves that can generate pinfalls besides the lariat and the already killed Tower of London. He either needs to start getting wins with the Tower again, or will fall right back into the stagnation he was in before his heel turn. Either way, Nigel threw lariats a-plenty, and after about eleventy billion of them was able to get the three count on the young upstart Tyler Black. This match was as good as a four way elimination match could be. Even the three wrestlers on the losing end came out looking better. Claudio is rejuvenated via his tremendous heel turn, Dragon needed a vicious beating and chair shots to be eliminated and thus has another title shot in him. Tyler Black stood toe to toe with the champion yet again and deserves another title shot. Also of note, once the match came down to Tyler and Nigel, Naomichi Marufuji came and watched the match from the top of the entrance ramp. Fans will remember that their only previous encounter was for the GHC championship in a classic at the first show in the Manhattan Center. They will also remember that Marufuji won. So we essentially got three title matches built up out of this one and a brand new feud between Dragon and Claudio. Excellent work, just excellent work.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness via pinfall; ****1/4
Big Andy Mac’s Big Andy Final Thoughts: This was the show that Ring of Honor needed to present. Many fans were disillusioned with the merely slightly above average show that was “A New Level.†This show has to be considered one of the best they have presented. It is probably not quite as great as Manhattan Mayhem, Supercard of Honor III, or Glory by Honor V: Night 2, but it is not far off. It didn’t have any matches that truly blew away expectations or anything, but everything served its purpose. I had a wonderful time, as I do at all Ring of Honor shows, and like I said in the beginning of the past four shows I have been to, this was certainly the best.
I’ll see you next time…
