With Black Friday and ROHWrestling.com having a huge sale, I thought this would be a good time to update the Database of shows for this year. The sale lasts through the weekend, so I’ll be updating soon with what’s missing here.
What follows will be a list of matches *** ½ (very good) or more from this past year in Ring of Honor, as sorted by DVD. There will be no spoilers here, merely ratings and show recommendations. This is intended as a DVD buyers resource and will be updated regularly. If you would like to buy something, just click on the show name, but before you order, check the steps for using ROH’s sale (promotional code Friday35 for orders under $100 for 35% off, or code Friday40 for 40% off above $100).
Proving Ground– Proving Ground- Boston, MA 1/11/08
Bryan Danielson vs. Brent Albright (*** ½)
Kevin Steen vs. Necro Butcher in a Street Fight (*** ½)
Erick Stevens © vs. Austin Aries for the FIP Title (**** ¼)
Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black © vs. Mark & Jay Briscoe vs. Brent Albright & BJ Whitmer vs. Jack Evans & Jigsaw in a World Tag Team Title Ultimate Endurance Match (*** ½)
Other Notable Information: The YRR make their ROH Stable Debut, Puder has a rare ROH match, and the Ultimate Ultimate Endurance debuts.
Show Rating: *** – This is a good show on the lower end of the second tier.
Transform– Edison, NJ 1/12/08
Erick Stevens © vs. Bryan Danielson for the FIP Title (*** ¾)
Other notable information: This is Mike Quackenbush’s only ROH appearance this year, Daniel Puder makes one of few appearances, and an all but forgotten upset is in the undercard.
Show Rating: * – arguably the weakest ROH show of the year.
Breakout– Dayton, OH 1/25/08
Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black (**** ¼)
Nigel McGuinness © vs. Chris Hero in a Cage Match for the ROH World Title (*** ½)
Other Notable Information: Joey Matthews debuts here and the FIP Title is defended.
Show Rating: ** – the surprisingly impressive Black breakout match carries this.
Without Remorse– Chicago Ridge, IL 1/26/08
Claudio Castagnoli vs. El Generico (****)
Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black © vs. BJ Whitmer & Brent Albright vs. Rocky Romero & Davey Richards vs. Qualifying Match Winner for the World Tag Team Title Ultimate Endurance Match
Nigel McGuinness © vs. Roderick Strong for the ROH World Title (****)
Other Notable Information: Team Work of Bryan Danielson and Austin Aries forms here. Delirious and Pearce blow off their feud with a Dog Collar match.
Show Rating: **** – an overlooked great show. Not a lot of story progression (besides one big change), but almost everything here works really well.
Eye Of The Storm– Deer Park, NY 2/22/08
Go Shiozaki vs. El Generico (*** ½)
Kevin Steen vs. Bryan Danielson (*** ½)
Other Notable Information: This was an unscheduled tournament due to snow to create a new challenger. The Human Tornado makes his East Coast ROH debut.
Rating: *** -despite a lack of great matches, everything here came together really well to create a fun show. Tournament marks should definitely get this.
6th Anniversary Show– New York, NY 2/23/08
Austin Aries vs. Go Shiozaki (**** ¼)
Roderick Strong © vs. Erick Stevens vs. The Necro Butcher for the FIP World Title (****)
Nigel McGuinness © vs. Bryan Danielson for the ROH World Title (**** ½)
Other Notable Information: A huge heel turn, a controversial Larry Sweeney and Allison Danger segment, an extremely fun opener, and both a Tag and Shimmer Title defense round out this show extremely well.
Show Rating: **** ½ – in the top tier of ROH shows ever.
Double Feature– Dover, NJ 3/14/08 & 3/15/08
Davey Richards vs. Kevin Steen (*** ½)
Byran Danielson and Austin Aries vs. Go Shiozaki and Nigel McGuinness (*** ¾)
Other Notable Information: This is two shows for the price of one. The shows are slightly disjointed due to taping around scenes from the movie The Wrestler.
Show Rating: ** – this is a two for one for a reason.
Take No Prisoners– Philadelphia, PA 3/16/08
Kevin Steen vs. Roderick Strong (*** ½)
Davey Richards and Rocky Romero © vs. Ruckus and Jigsaw for the ROH World Tag Team Titles (*** ½)
Austin Aries vs. Bryan Danielson (**** ¼)
Nigel McGuinness © vs. Four Corner Survival Winner for the ROH Title (**** ½)
Naomichi Marufuji and Takeshi Sugiera © vs. The Briscoe Brothers for the GHC Heavyweight Tag Titles (****)
Other Notable Information: This is a Pay Per View taping, so a double DVD with the PPV and extra features is present. The GHC Tag Title match was taped in Japan on 3/2/08, while the ROH Tag Title match is taped at an ROH show on 3/29/08. For the IWA-MS fan, Dingo faces Davey Richards, while a major stable comes to an end.
Show Rating: **** ½ – a lot of the best stuff isn’t from this show, but since it’s on the DVD this is still extremely strong, top to bottom.
Dragon Gate Challenge II– Orlando, FL 3/28/08
Kevin Steen and El Generico vs. Naruko Doi and Masato Yoshino (**** ¼)
BxB Hulk and Shingo vs. Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black (****)
Jay and Mark Briscoe vs. Ryo Saito and Dragon Kid (*** ½)
Roderick Strong, Davey Richards and Rocky Romero vs. Go Shiozaki, CIMA, and Erick Stevens (*** ½)
Other Notable Information: This show features the stars of Dragon Gate facing off against the stars of ROH in tag team match and, as such, there are a lot of tag spotfests.
Show Rating: **** – the perfect gift for a TNA fan.
Supercard of Honor III– Orlando, FL 3/29/08
Roderick Strong vs. Erick Stevens (****)
Jay and Mark Briscoe vs. Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black (****)
Kevin Steen and El Generico vs. Shingo Takagi and BxB Hulk (**** ½)
Nigel McGuinness © vs. Austin Aries for the ROH World Title (**** ½)
Typhoon (CIMA, Dragon Kid, & Ryo Saito) vs. Muscle Outlawz(Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino & Genki Horiguchi) (**** ¼)
Other Notable Information: The tag title match is taken off this to be put on Take No Prisoners, but the follow up is left here as it leads in to both a great match and a future angle. Dingo and Bushwacker Luke both wrestle, as do the YRR. The Austin Aries and Jimmy Jacobs storyline begins here.
Show Rating: ***** – the of the best shows in ROH history? Probably.
Bedlam In Beantown– Boston, MA 4/11/08
Davey Richards vs. Kota Ibushi (*** ¾)
Necro Butcher vs. Kevin Steen in a Boston Massacre Match (*** ½)
Other Notable Information: This is Kota’s American debut. The ROH World Title is defended and Sweet and Sour Incorporated get a new member. Kota vs. Davey is one of Lance Storm’s favorite matches; take from that what you will.
Show Rating: * ½ -a weak show that will depend on how much you like the two matches above.
Injustice– Edison, NJ 4/12/08
Kota Ibushi vs. Claudio Castagnoli (*** ½)
Nigel McGuinness © vs. Kevin Steen for the ROH World Title (*** ½)
Davey Richards and Rocky Romero © vs. Jay and Mark Briscoe for the ROH Tag Team Titles (*** ½)
Other Notable Information: A big change occurs here. Kota was supposed to face Aries, but Aries got hurt.
Show Rating: ** – a weak show only worth buying for those who want all big changes.
Tag Wars 2008– Detroit, MI 4/18/08
Nigel McGuinness and Claudio Castagnoli vs. Kevin Steen and El Generico (*** ¾)
Jay and Mark Briscoe vs. Kota Ibushi and Austin Aries (*** ½)
Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin vs. Tyler Black and Jimmy Jacobs (**** ½)
Other Notable Information: If you’re unfamiliar with the Briscoes or Kota, you’ll like that match a lot more than I did. Matthews vs. Jigsaw is perversely fun, while Silas Young and DDT’s Michael Nakazawa debut.
Show Rating: *** ½ -if you like tag wrestling, the Motor City Machine Guns, spotfests, or really well put together shows with hot crowds, then get this. Aries vs. Jacobs begins to pick up steam here.
Return Engagement– Chicago Ridge, IL 4/19/08
Jay and Mark Briscoe vs. Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black (**** ½)
Kota Ibushi vs. El Generico (**** ¼)
Nigel McGuinness © vs. Kevin Steen for the ROH World Title (*** ¾)
Other Notable Information: This is Kota’s last American ROH match thus far and the MCMG’s rematch with the Briscoes from last years Good Times, Great Memories won by Jay and Mark.
Show Rating: **** -a slow start builds to a great sequence of matches near the end.
Southern Navigation– Manassas, VA 5/9/08
Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black (**** ¼)
Takeshi Morishima, Naomichi Marufuji, and Go Shiozaki vs. Roderick Strong, Davey Richards and Rocky Romero (****)
Other Notable Information: This is ROH’s debut in this area. The undercard is energetic if underwhelming.
Show Rating: *** -a good show that builds to a satisfying, but not blow-away climax.
A New Level– New York, NY 5/10/08
Kevin Steen and El Generico vs. Rocky Romero and Davey Richards (****)
Bryan Danielson vs. Naomichi Marufuji (**** ¼)
Nigel McGuinness © vs. Claudio Castagnoli for the ROH Title (*** ½)
Other Notable Information: This is ROH’s debut at the Hammerstein Ballroom and a great crowd carries much of the show, which was stronger at the start than the finish. Roderick Strong vs. Erick Stevens vs. Go Shiozaki and Necro Butcher vs. Morishima are both great fun. A major turn occurs here.
Show Rating: *** ½
Up For Grabs– Hartford, CT 6/6/08
Roderick Strong and Davey Richards vs. Austin Aries and Bryan Danielson (****)
Other Notable Information: This is a tournament for the tag titles. It’s an entertaining, fast paced affair.
Show Rating: *** – A solid, slightly above average show carried by the great match above and awesome heat for Jacobs and Black.
Respect Is Earned II– Philadelphia, PA 6/7/08
Roderick Strong vs. Erick Stevens in a Fight Without Honor (**** ¼)
Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black © vs. Austin Aries and Bryan Danielson for the ROH Tag Team Titles (**** ½)
Necro Butcher vs. Jay Briscoe in a Philadelphia Street Fight (****)
Other Notable Information: This is a Pay Per View taping, so a double DVD with the PPV and extra features is present. Eddie Kingston takes on Jigsaw in a rare Kingston ROH match. Albright vs. Pearce begins here.
Battle For Supremacy– Dayton, OH 6/27/08
Bryan Danielson vs. Erick Stevens (**** ¼)
Roderick Strong vs. Chris Hero (**** ¼)
Kevin Steen and El Generico vs. Jimmy Jacobs and Joey Matthews (*** ½)
Other Notable Information: Despite the strength of the under card, the main event features an NWA vs. ROH World Title Unification between Adam Pearce and Nigel McGuinness that was underwhelming. Nigel played a face in Dayton, where he began to make a name for himself in the states. Roderick as a face vs. SnS begins here. There is a major step in the Aries vs. AOTF feud here.
Vendetta II– Chicago Ridge, IL 6/28/08
Nigel McGuinness vs. Jerry Lynn (****)
Jimmy Jacobs vs. Austin Aries in a Street Fight (**** ½)
Other Notable Information: Jerry Lynn makes his ROH return. Pelle Primeau and Chris Hero have a very fun match.
Show Rating: *** -a lot of this show will depend on how you like Danielson vs. Castagnoli. I didn’t. Most others did.
Northern Navigation– Toronto, Ontario 7/25/08
Erick Stevens vs. Go Shiozaki (*** ½)
Bryan Danielson vs. Claudio Castagnoli (**** ½)
Naomichi Marufuji vs. Roderick Strong (****)
Nigel McGuinness © vs. Kevin Steen for the ROH World Title (****)
Other Notable Information: Kenny Omega does his first major show and looks like a star against Delirious. Lance Storm makes his ROH return here, though not in a match. The crowd is extremely hot for the Toronto ROH debut.
Show Rating: **** ½, a hot crowd with a mix of dream matches and top rematches make this a must-own show.
New Horizons– Detroit, MI 7/26/08
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Nigel McGuinness (**** ¼)
Tyler Black vs. Bryan Danielson (**** ¼)
Other Notable Information: This is a PPV taping with a hot crowd. Aries and Jacobs have a major point in their war here, as does Necro.
Show Rating: *** ½ – A well put together show that builds to a great final two matches. Marufuji and Go Shiozaki are on this show.
Fueling The Fire– Manassas, VA 8/1/08
Motor City Machine Guns vs. Bryan Danielson and Austin Aries (****)
Brent Albright vs. Chris Hero (*** ½)
Go Shiozaki and Naomichi Marufuji vs. Tyler Black and Jimmy Jacobs © for the ROH Tag Team Titles (**** ½)
Other Notable Information: The World Title is defended by Nigel against Ruckus.
Death Before Dishonor VI– New York, NY 8/2/08
Adam Pearce © vs. Brent Albright for the NWA Title (**** ½)
Naomichi Marufuji vs. Go Shiozaki (****)
Kevin Steen and El Generico vs. Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley (****)
Nigel McGuinness © vs. Bryan Danielson vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Tyler Black in a ROH World Title Elimination Match (**** ½)
Other Notable Information: This is the Hammerstein return. There’s a major change and a major turn at this show. Necro’s involvement with Jacobs vs. Aries changes. The show has perfect ebbs and flows, creating a uniquely satisfying card.
Show Rating: ***** -nearly a perfect show, only comparable to Supercard of Honor III this year.
Age of Insanity– Cleveland, OH 8/15/08
No Rating Yet.
Night of the Butcher II– Chicago Ridge, IL 8/16/08
No Ratings Yet.
Battle of the Best– Tokyo, Japan 9/13/08
Roderick Strong vs. Davey Richards (**** ¼)
Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness (****)
Other Notable Information: This plays strongly off Dragon Gate Challenge 2, though it slows things down significantly. The ROH Tag Team Titles are defended, so if you like the Briscoes and Age of the Falls standard brawls, check that out.
Show Rating: *** – This had the potential to be much more, particularly with the Dragon Gate 6-man, but at least what delivered was really great.
The Tokyo Summit– Tokyo, Japan 9/14/08
Bryan Danielson vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru © for the GHC Jr. Title (**** ¼)
KENTA and Kota Ibushi vs. Marufuji and Nakajima (**** ¼)
Kensuke Sasaki vs. Roderick Strong (*** ½)
Nigel McGuinness © vs. Jimmy Jacobs for the ROH World title (**** ¼)
Other Notable Information: The GHC Jr, and ROH World Titles are on the line here. Kensuke Sasaki and Nakajima make their ROH debuts here. Generico has a really fun match with Taiji Ishimori, and Tyler has a good opener with Austin Aries.
Show Rating: (**** ½) – This is what a Japan show should be: a dream match or two, an awesome pure Puro match, and an awesome pure American style match.
Driven 2008– Boston, MA 9/19/08
No Ratings Yet.
Glory By Honor VII– Philadelphia, PA 9/20/08
No Ratings Yet.
