Yes, I’m aware it’s cliché, but with Gabe gone, I’m doing it anyway. Here are all my favorite things ROH did this year so far, also known as, What I’m thankful for in ROH this year . Here we go.
10 Under-Rated, Great Matches
Bryan Danielson vs. Brent Albright from Proving Ground gave us the first glimpse of an Albright that could hang in the main event gimmick free. A perfect mid-card match, this made me serious about Albright.
Roderick Strong vs. Nigel McGuinness from Without Remorse is just hard hitting goodness. Nigel basically works heel, while Roderick works face, which is strange since this is before both turned, but it’s to the match’s benefit.
Roderick Strong vs. Erick Stevens vs. Necro Butcher from Sixth Anniversary Show got a great buzz right away, but has been forgotten. It’s the best hard hitting brawl and the best three way in ROH this year.
Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries from Take No Prisoners is overshadowed by Nigel vs. Tyler from the same show, but may be their best encounter. Fast paced, crisp technical wrestling with great selling from two of the best, it may be better than the more famous match-up from the same show.
The Motor City Machine Guns vs. the Briscoes from Return Engagement is a short-list Match of the Year Contender and better than their more hyped bout from the year before. This is due to a few less flashy spots and less overkill, but if you think at all while you watch wrestling, you’ll get how special this one truly is, especially if you’ve seen the first.
Bryan Danielson vs. Erick Stevens from A Battle for Supremacy is not only way better than their first match at Transform, but a great match in its own right. Essentially a throwaway rematch after the Stevens push stalled, these two quietly went out and tore the house down.
Delirious vs. Kenny Omega from Northern Navigation isn’t that great, but Omega arrives and pretty much immediately announces himself as a future star, carrying himself with a presence rarely seen.
Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black vs. Marufuji and Go Shiozaki is a clinic in the little things early in the match that make the overkill ending work. These guys brutalize each other, but it doesn’t devolve into a spotfest, but instead Jimmy and Tyler’s personality shine through to make everything matter.
Nigel McGuinness vs. Jimmy Jacobs from The Tokyo Summit is freaking awesome. Nigel is better in the ring as a face, despite his character and charisma improvements as a heel, but if you want character and charisma, look no further than Jacobs who works the Japanese crowd to a frenzy, while working awesomely with Nigel.
Adam Pearce vs. Brent Albright from Glory by Honor VII is by no means as good as their Death before Dishonor VI MOTY, but it’s still intelligently put together and great fun.
10 Great Moments
At A New Level, Brent Albright got the Hammerstein Ballroom rocking unbelievably when he turned on and destroyed Sweet and Sour, Incorporated.
Also at A New Level, the Necro Butcher came out to Tom Petty’s “Won’t Back Down.†I marked the eff out.
Right upstairs from that, several months earlier, The Human Tornado nearly stole the Sixth Anniversary Show with awesome dancing and great high flying.
At Up for Grabs, Lenny Leonard notes that Team Work would be a great name for Aries and Danielson, causing an immediate giggling fit. Innovative double teams litter the match between these two and Roderick Strong and Davey Richards, making it even better.
After a huge issue brews between them, Jimmy Jacobs and Austin Aries finally get in the ring with one another at Vendetta 2… only for Jacobs to immediately kiss Aries. How awesome is that.
Speaking of Jacobs, in the aforementioned match from Fueling the Fire against Shiozaki and Marufuji, after he takes a beating he spends a good few minutes badly trying to get his energy up in the corner. Damn, it looked like that man was beat to pudding pops.
Coming out for New Horizons and a match against Tyler Black, the announcers go through all the places Danielson has wrestled in the last month, including, but not limited to ROH, the WWE, WxW in Germany and Japan.
Samoa Joe, patriarch of ROH, returns at Rising Above 2008. I didn’t see it; I don’t care. It’s my list and this has to make it.
El Generico’s matrix sequences this year, first against Kota Ibushi at Return Engagement and then with Taiji Ishimori at Toyko Summit have to be seen to be believed.
Also at the Tokyo Summit, when KENTA and Kota vs. Marufuji and Nakajima hits the time limit draw, all men glare at each other, absolutely dripping sweat before deciding to go five more minutes.
10 Storylines that really Worked
Erick Stevens vs. Roderick Strong through ROH and FIP for the FIP World Title went from a sporting rivalry to something far more bitter, managing to be awesome every step of the way.
Nigel McGuinness and Bryan Danielson had a storied history, but Nigel made things personal when he took to mocking Danielson’s “Best Wrestler in the World†and “I have till 5†catchphrases while stealing some key maneuvers.
The Motor City Machine Guns came to ROH to prove they were the best and simply took on a who’s who of top teams- Aries and Danielson, Steen and Generico, Black and Jacobs, and Jay and Mark Briscoe. Sometimes they won, sometimes they lost, but it always felt special.
Davey Richards turning on Roderick Strong and then going to Japan for months was awesome. It built the hype for their match incredibly, especially with rumors of how much Davey had improved.
Nigel had beaten Kevin Steen three times, at which point he decided that he should beat up on El Generico as well. Generico, the little sidekick buddy, gave Nigel far more than he expected as the little underdog that could.
The NWA Title wasn’t in ROH for long, but from its debut to its last day it felt special. A huge part of that was Albright’s great work chasing it after leaving Sweet and Sour.
Jimmy Jacobs was always in Alex Shelley’s shadow. Now a leader, he wouldn’t let Shelley’s ROH homecoming go smoothly.
Tyler Black has yet to defeat Nigel, Aries, or Danielson in a singles match. The top up and comer is growing into his role and his big win will be huge.
Kevin Steen and El Generico just wanted a damn tag title shot. They kept coming so close, but they didn’t deserve a shot when the Briscoes had it after being dominated in 07 and were ducked by the NRC of Romero and Richards until after they lost the belt. Even Tyler and Jacobs would make them run a gauntlet before finally getting their shot.
Bryan Danielson and uber-athlete Claudio Castagnoli split a pair of matches. After the second, which Danielson won, he declared himself the best in the world. Claudio faced Nigel twice to try for the title. The first time his effort wasn’t respected. After the second, Nigel showed respect, but the fans expected him to leave after comments leading to this before the match. Castagnoli seeing the fans and their icon Bryan Danielson as the enemy, after Danielson again pinned him, costing him a shot at the ROH World Title, decided to destroy Danielson, and anyone else in his path, with a chair.
That’s it for this week. Be sure to check the ROH Show Compendium for tips on the Black Friday Sale.
