Video Wire
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Wait!!! Make sure to watch the April 14, 2008 ROH Video Wires on the main menu before you view this event!!!
The Hunt Begins – Montreal, Quebec – 4.17.09
We open backstage with Tyler Black, who’s ruminating on various events past and future in his Ring of Honor life. He says that his entire focus is going towards Jimmy Jacobs from this point forward, until Jacobs is gone from ROH altogether.
MATCH #1: Tyler Black vs. Jimmy Jacobs
Both men wield chairs, and Tyler gets the better of the exchange. Tyler is fired up and completely in control early on. The crowd absolutely does not care. Lenny Leonard is obsessed with facial manipulation tonight. Jacobs gets an early End Time on and Tyler powers out of it. The crowd hasn’t popped once, and doesn’t seem to notice that Jacobs has taken over on offense. Tyler makes the comeback and the crowd is showing vague signs of maybe becoming interested. Jacobs counters God’s Last Gift with an Inside Cradle for two. He goes for the Contra Code and Tyler counters that with an F-5 for two. They fight towards the apron and Jacobs hits a Spear through the ropes and to the floor. Back to the ring Jacobs hits a Senton Bomb for two. Tyler gets to his feet and Jacobs locks on the End Time. A back body drop breaks the hold, and Tyler tries to hit a quebrada but Jacobs locks on the End Time once again. Tyler escapes by throwing Jacobs to the floor. Jacobs gets back to the apron and gets blasted with a Pele kick and gets pulled back into the ring with the Paroxysm for a two-count. Tyler goes up for the Phoenix Splash but Jacobs stops him and sets up for a Super Contra Code. That gets blocked and Tyler tries a sunset flip and they trade pinning combinations for near-falls. Jacobs tries a low cross-body and Tyler catches him and dumps him to the floor. Tyler follows out with a somersault dive over the ropes and holy crap the crowd is alive. Jacobs counters a running powerbomb into a head scissors, sending Tyler’s head crashing into the barricade. Back in the ring they trade fisticuffs. Tyler wins the exchange and tries God’s Last Gift. Jacobs blocks and hits a Spear for a close near-fall. He hits the Contra code and Tyler kicks out of that as well. He then sets Black on the top rope and goes for a rana but Tyler blocks it (shut up, Montreal), and drops Jacobs face-first onto the top turnbuckle. Tyler then tries the Buckle Bomb and Jacobs hangs on with the End Time, but Tyler powers out of that and hits a superkick for the pin at 15:41. The crowd was just not having anything that these two were doing, and even though the work was fine there was no life to the match until the last couple of minutes. It didn’t at any time feel like a hot blood feud. Tyler brings a chair in the ring but Jacobs bails.
Rating: **½
MATCH #2: Four Corner Survival – Austin Aries vs. Roderick Strong vs. Kenny Omega vs. Jay Briscoe
Aries cuts a condescending promo on Omega just to be a jerk. Aries takes Omega to the floor, so Jay and Strong resume their friendly rivalry in the ring. That doesn’t last too long before Aries gets back in the ring and tosses both Strong and Jay to the floor. Omega gets back in the ring and Aries becomes the first person not to fall for Omega’s idiotic stop sign. The good guys all team up on Aries and Omega gets to hit his little enziguiri. Omega tries to high-five Strong and Jay, but they decide to double-team him instead. I really don’t understand what anyone sees in Kenny Omega. Strong and Jay dispose of Omega and then Jay throws Strong to the floor. There’s just no momentum being generated in this match. Aries gets back in the ring and rakes Jay’s back. Everyone gets back in the ring, but Aries and Jay are soon gone. Strong hits a backbreaker on Omega and puts on the Stronghold. Aries breaks that up and locks Omega in the Last Chancery. That gets broken up. Strong and Jay finally get upset with each other and start throwing bombs, and the crowd is into them. Omega knocks Strong and Jay to the floor and goes up for a moonsault. He completely overshoots them and puts the front row in danger. Aries and Omega are back in the ring while Jay and Strong fight on the floor. Omega throws Aries to the floor and hits a dive over the top rope. They get back in the ring and the crowd is behind Omega. Aries ducks a clothesline and levels Strong and Jay with the Heat Seeking Missile. Back in the ring Aries takes control and hits the running dropkick in the corner. Aries takes forever setting up the brainbuster and Omega gets a backslide out of nowhere for the upset win at 10:19. I like the new guy going over Aries in that fashion, I just don’t like who the new guy is. The match was pretty disjointed as a whole, but the crowd was mostly into it.
Rating: **¼
MATCH #3: Claudio Castagnoli & Jimmy Rave vs. Brent Albright & Colt Cabana
Oh boy, I can hardly contain my excitement. I do have to admit though that I love the Embassy’s music. Rave & Claudio are accompanied by Prince Nana and Ernie Osiris. Prazak explains that Claudio is not an official member of the Embassy, but just an associate. Cabana starts the match with Claudio and they begin with mat wrestling. He and Albright control the first few minutes until the Embassy duo resorts to cheating. That actually doesn’t get them too far, and Cabana resumes control. Cabana fights both men on the ring apron, and Rave drops him with an STO on the ring apron. That leaves Cabana vulnerable to a brief beating. Cabana makes the hot-ish tag to Albright, and the crowd goes mild. Rave misses a running knee in the corner and tumbles to the floor. Albright follows him out with a slingshot dive. The match breaks down to a big brawl. Back in the ring Albright locks Claudio in the Crossface and Claudio reaches the ropes. Albright breaks this time. Cabana comes back in and they double-team Claudio. Albright puts the Crowbar on him but Rave breaks it up with a running knee. Cabana levels Rave with a clothesline. All four men are in the ring. Rave hits Cabana with Ghanarrhea, and then tries putting Albright in the Crowbar, which Albright reverses to a neckbreaker. Albright goes to suplex Rave back into the ring but Nana grabs the foot and Rave falls on top to score the pin Rick Rude style at 12:19. The heels never really got a lot of sustained offense, and the crowd wasn’t too into Albright most of the time so the match never really got off the ground.
Rating: **
MATCH #4: Kevin Steen, El Generico & Bryan Danielson vs. The American Wolves & Sylvan Grenier
Davey Richards gets on the mic to announce that he and Eddie Edwards won the ROH World Tag Team Titles from the hometown boys Kevin Steen & El Generico last weekend at the TV tapings in Philadelphia. He demands that the crowd sing the American National Anthem with him, but they don’t comply. Sylvan Grenier comes out to cut them off and cuts a promo in French. Apparently he was agreeing to lead the singing of the “The Star-Spangled Banner.†Steen, Generico, and their partner Bryan Danielson come down to cut them off, much to the delight of the crowd. Steen promises to regain the titles, and speaks some French as well.
Generico and Richards start the match. The good guys control the early minutes, so the bad guys bail and threaten to get counted out. This stalling goes on for quite a while, and we wind up with Danielson and Edwards back in the ring. Danielson easily handles Edwards, and then tags Steen, who of course wants Grenier. Of course Grenier avoids him and tags Richards, who then tags Edwards. The former champs isolate Edwards in their corner. The bad guys cheat to gain an advantage on Steen, and since Steen is hurt, Grenier is more than happy to tag in. Steen recovers enough to tag Generico, but the bad guys recover and work Generico over now. That goes on for several minutes until Generico hits a nasty Michinoku Driver on Richards and makes the hot tag to Danielson. He’s all over everybody until the Wolves double-team him to cut him off. The match breaks down to a big brawl in and out of the ring. Steen takes both Wolves out with a somersault dive off the top rope to the floor. Generico follows with a springboard Asai moonsault, wiping out both Wolves and Grenier. Edwards and Danielson wind up in the ring together and knocked each other down. Then they make respective tags to Steen and Grenier, and this is the battle people wanted to see, I’m told. Steen hits a powerbomb for two, and then rolls into the Sharpshooter, which Richards breaks up. Once again it’s a big brawl, and Generico nails Grenier with the running Yakuza kick. Steen hits a Swanton and Generico hits a big splash on Grenier. Edwards breaks up the pin. Steen goes for the Package Piledriver but Richards hits Steen with a low blow. They manage to blow a sunset flip, and Steen goes for another Sharpshooter. Meanwhile, Danielson locks Edwards in Cattle Mutilation, and Generico hits Richards with the Top Turnbuckle Brainbuster. Grenier taps at 22:34. It could have been a little shorter, and there was a LOT of stalling, but the last 10 minutes or so was fun, but certainly nothing amazing.
Rating: ***
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Tag Title Classic – Markham, Ontario – 4.18.09
Jay Briscoe and Roderick Strong are backstage talking about their prior matches together, particularly last night’s four-way and how that plays into their one-on-one encounter tonight. Oh my, Roderick Strong laughs like a girl.
MATCH #1: Colt Cabana vs. Claudio Castagnoli
If this is Special Challenge Match #2, then what was Special Challenge Match #1?! Naturally these two start with some back-and-forth chain wrestling. Cabana takes the early advantage and utilizes a variety of holds on his much more European opponent. Claudio can’t get anything going against Cabana here. He finally gets some offense in, throwing European uppercuts and applying a chinlock. Cabana comes back and hits the Flying Butthole and a lariat. Prince Nana and Ernie Osiris come out to try and help Claudio, but they get thwarted by Brent Albright and Cabana gets a jackknife cradle for the pin at 10:22. Claudio got almost no offense and the match was just Cabana doing his shtick. What does Claudio have to do to get a little respect?
Rating: **
MATCH #2: Austin Aries, Rhett Titus & Kenny King vs. Kevin Steen, Generico Dos & Kenny Omega
Generico was injured in the main event last night, and so Generico Dos will take his place. You may also know Generico Dos by the names Stupefied or Player Dos. Aries accepts the challenge and wishes Generico Uno a speedy recovery. He then kicks the crutch away! Steen attacks and the match is on. Aries is getting manhandled by Steen outside the ring, while Dos and Omega handle King and Titus in the ring. Steen throws Aries back in the ring for some triple-teaming. The match spills to the floor and the referee has no control. Finally order is restored, and Titus is getting worked over by the fan favorites. Titus thrusts, and Omega hits him with the Stop Sign Enziguiri. That is so stupid. King rescues Titus and pulls him to the floor, but Dos follows them out with a dive and wipes them all out. Dos tries to re-enter the ring from the top rope, but Aries knocks him down and now they’re in control. After several minutes of abuse Dos makes the hot tag to Steen, who abuses everyone’s testicles and sends Aries and Titus to the floor. Steen hits King with a cannonball for two. The Austin Aries Trio tries to regroup on the floor but Omega wipes them out with a dive. The crowd is way into him tonight. Aries turns the tide on Omega, but he comes back with a rana on Titus. Omega makes the tag to Dos. Once again the match breaks down and the ref doesn’t even appear to be trying to maintain control. Steen hits Titus with the Swanton and Dos follows with a Frog Splash. Aries breaks up the cover with a vicious kick to Dos’s head. He sends Steen to the floor and hits the Heat Seeking Missile. Meanwhile, Titus and King hit Dos with a double-stomp piledriver to get the win at 12:30. That was a really fun six-man tag, and Generico Dos played a good Ricky Morton here.
Rating: ***¼
MATCH #3: Markham Street Fight – Jimmy Jacobs vs. Delirious
Jimmy Jacobs is backstage to cut a promo, but before he can finish it Delirious attacks him from out of nowhere and make their way to the arena to start the match! Delirious is clad in red and black tonight, so you know he’s mad. They fight out in the crowd for a while before making their way to ringside. They finally get into the ring and Jacobs is in control. Delirious comes back by quickening the pace, so Jacobs brings the fight back to the floor. Jacobs regrets that decision when Delirious repeatedly hits him with a baking sheet. Delirious sets Jacobs up against the guardrail and hits the Panic Attack. The masked man sets up a table, but that gives Jacobs a chance to recover and hit Delirious across the back with a chair. Jacobs continues his assault with chairs, and grabs over a dozen chairs and throws them into the ring. He throws Delirious back in the ring, and Delirious uses one of the chairs to hit Jacobs, and then jumps off the top rope to the floor to hit Jacobs with another chair. Jacobs reverses the momentum and smashes Delirious’s face into the ring post. They’re back in the ring amongst all the chairs now. Jacobs suplexes Delirious on a standing chair for a two-count. He slams Delirious onto the pile and goes up top. Delirious throws a chair to knock him down and delivers a rana. He goes for Shadows over Hell but Jacobs moves and locks on the End Time. Delirious refuses to give up! He powers out and slams Jacobs down, and then locks on the Cobra Stretch. Jacobs gets the ropes to escape, which in a Street Fight I hate. Delirious tries to suplex Jacobs from the ring to the floor, but Jacobs blocks it and hits a devastating Spear through the ropes and into the table Delirious set up minutes ago. Daizee Haze comes out to check on Delirious. Jacobs takes offense and throws her into the ring. Haze tries to fight but Jacobs overpowers her and pulls out the Spike. Delirious crawls into the ring but is still hurt. He lunges at Jacobs and spits black mist into his eyes! Haze grabs the spike and hits Jacobs right between the eyes. Delirious hits the Cobra Clutch Suplex and then locks on the Cobra Stretch with a spike assist and Jacobs taps out at 15:56. That was a good brawl with an awesome finish that suited the storyline perfectly. Daizee Haze just shouldn’t talk though, ever.
Rating: ***¾
MATCH #4: Jay Briscoe vs. Roderick Strong
The friendly rivalry continues! The crowd supports both men as they take it to the mat in the opening minutes. Strong takes first control and nails an early backbreaker for two. He continues working on the back until Jay makes the comeback with a nice dropkick for two. Jay controls for the next minute or two, and then they fight on the apron and Strong regains control, knocking Jay to the floor and hitting a flying forearm off the apron. Back in the ring Strong stays in control, hitting a belly-to-back suplex for two. Jay comes back and hits a blockbuster for two. A gourdbuster gets another two for Jay. Strong comes back with a slingshot falcon arrow for two. He hits a backbreaker for another two. He locks on the Boston Crab but Jay reaches the ropes. Strong tries the Gibson Driver but Jay blocks it and h it’s a Death Valley Driver. Jay tries the Jay Driller but Strong blocks it. He hits a big boot to the face for two. He puts on the stretch plumb, which Strong counters to a small package for two. Jay misses a charge in the corner and eats a boot to the face, followed by a running Yakuza for two. Strong hits a gutbuster but Jay comes back with a spinebuster for a two-count. They fight up top and Strong hits a superplex, which leads to a double-pin situation but they kick out. Back to their feet they trade forearms much to the delight of the crowd. Strong gets a rollup for two, and they trade pinning combinations for various two-counts. Jay counters a Stronghold attempt into an inside cradle for the pin at 13:40. That was another excellent match, and makes me wonder why they’ve never made a serious effort with Jay as a singles wrestler.
Rating: ***½
Final Battle 2008 Trailer
ROH closed out 2008 in New York City! Bryan Danielson settles his feud with the monstrous Takeshi Morishima; Nigel McGuinness defends the ROH World Title against Naomichi Marufuji; Austin Aries and Tyler Black do battle in a #1 Contender’s match; plus much more! It’s an excellent show, you should read my review.
MATCH #5: ROH World Tag Team Title Match – The American Wolves vs. Tyler Black & Bryan Danielson
The Wolves have been the champions since 4.10.09, and this is their first defense. The champions are accompanied by Shane Hagadorn. Larry Sweeney is official done with the company by this point, and I wonder if they’ll offer any explanation. Former ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness has joined the commentating team. Edwards and Black start the match. They go toe-to-toe for a bit, and then Edwards tags in Richards. Soon after that Black tags Danielson, and he and Richards get aggressive with each other right away. Black and Edwards get in on the anger too, and a four-way shoving match disrupts the flow of the match, and Todd Sinclair has trouble breaking them up. Danielson and Edwards wind up in the ring and aggressively chain wrestle. I love the tone of this match. Edwards takes control and brings Danielson over to the corner and tags in Richards. Danielson makes the tag to Black, and he takes Richards down with a series of armdrags. Richards backs Black into the corner and the Wolves go to work on him. Edwards tags in and Black and Danielson regain control on him. The action in this one is happening pretty fast. The challengers overwhelm the champions, who threaten to leave the match and get counted out. Danielson and Black don’t wait around, dragging the champions back and battling them on the floor. Back in the ring Edwards takes a beating. The battle spills to the floor, where the Wolves take control. They beat on Black for several minutes until he makes the hot tag to Danielson, who unloads on Richards. Danielson has his way for several minutes before the Wolves comeback and double-team him. This is really hard to keep up with. It breaks down to a brawl again. Black goes up for a Phoenix Splash on Richards, but Edwards kicks him off the top rope through the timekeeper’s table! Richards locks Danielson in the Texas Cloverleaf and Danielson reaches the ropes. The Wolves viciously attack Danielson’s leg, as Black is out on the floor. Black finally recovers and Danielson makes the tag. He’s all over the champions, wiping out Edwards on the floor with a somersault dive. Richards follows him out and overshoots Black, endangering the audience for the second time tonight. Danielson leaps out into the crowd as well, and the people are going banana. Richards and Black make it back to the ring and slug it out. Black hits the Paroxysm for two. Edwards breaks it up and then hits an awesome Code Breaker on Black for two. We’ve got less than 10 minutes left at this point. Danielson grabs Edwards and sets up for the super back suplex, but Edwards blocks it. Richards tries to suplex Danielson, but Danielson counters it to Cattle Mutilation. Meanwhile, Edwards climbs the top rope and crashes down on Danielson’s injured leg. That was cool. Black comes back and hits Edwards with the Buckle Bomb and the superkick but Edwards barely gets his foot on the bottom rope! He goes up for the Phoenix Splash as we’ve got about five minutes left. Richards runs up the ropes and nails Black with a German Superplex and a running boot. The Wolves hit the Superkick/German/Jackknife Pin combination but Danielson breaks it up! The champs try the Doomsday Ace Crusher but Danielson avoids it. Danielson goes up and drops Richards with the belly-to-back superplex. All four men get back to their feet, and the Wolves lock on stereo Cloverleaves on their opponents. The challengers reach the ropes. They come back and hit stereo elbows to the faces of their opponents. Then they roll over into stereo Cattle Mutilations as we’ve got one minute left! Black pulls up and hits the God’s Last Gift but before the count can be made the time limit expires at 45:00 (for real). That’s the best match I’ve seen this year in Ring of Honor. Excellent tag team work, super intense, hot crowd, great match.
Rating: ****½
The Pulse:
The main event of night two is reason enough to buy this DVD – it’s one of the best tag team matches in ROH history. I can’t wait to see the rematch. The three matches leading up to the main event were all very good as well, so the second half of this DVD really saves a pretty dull first half and makes it a worthwhile pickup. You can purchase it Right Here.
