ROH – Fifth Year Festival: Liverpool DVD Review

ROH – FIFTH YEAR FESTIVAL: LIVERPOOL – MARCH 3, 2007 – LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND

Introduction

BG says: The Video Wires for this weekend’s shows are just clips from last weekend’s shows. Included are clips of the Briscoe Brothers winning the tag titles, clips of Morishima’s matches against BJ Whitmer, Homicide & Samoa Joe and the ovation Joe got in Chicago. ROH has been advertising these video wires as ten minute TV shows, but this was just a six-minute recap of the weekend. Even WWE’s most useless shows have more content than that.

The Chicago installment of the Fifth Year Festival ended with Roderick Strong promising to tell us who beat Jack Evans up in New York. This show begins with Strong revealing that he did it himself. He never liked Evans and just used him to further his own ends. Tonight he’s going to break PAC in half as a preview of what he’ll do to Evans later.

Jimmy Jacobs had a terrible flight across the pond. He had to sit next to a fat guy instead of Lacey on the plane because Colt Cabana gave her the Colt 45 in Chicago. The match was a good one even though he didn’t win, because Lacey only wanted him to hurt Cabana. Lacey told him that she’s proud of what he’s done. Tonight his mission is to put Cabana or BJ Whitmer in a body bag, and then he gets rewarded with whatever she’s been whispering to him.

JZ says: Roderick Strong reveals that it was ME! IT WAS ME ALL ALONG AUSTIN, I mean, EVANS! Strong says he used Evans as a doll. That just doesn’t sound right. He threatens to make PAC unable to walk out of the ring tonight.

Jimmy Jacobs is in front of a brick wall. He says that in place of Lacey on the plane tonight he had a fat guy snoring in his ear. This is because last weekend in Chicago, Colt Cabana injured her with the Colt 45. He says that Lacey was proud of him even though he lost the match. So he’s going to do her proud and send one of Cabana or Whitmer home in a body bag.

MATCH #1: Davey Richards vs. Homicide

BG says: This was originally signed as an ROH Championship match but Homicide dropped the ball on that one. Richards powers Homicide to the corner to start. They fight on the mat where Richards puts on a half crab. They take a little break so Homicide can remind everyone that he smokes pot. Richards kicks the leg but runs into a roll up getting 2 for Homicide. Homicide kicks Richards to the floor but ends up getting rammed into the barricade and kicked into the crowd. Back in the ring Richards hits a bodyslam and an elbowdrop for 2. Homicide hits a crossbody for 2. He puts on an armbar and hits a back elbow for 2. Richards throws Homicide into the ropes and hits a backbreaker for 2. He puts on the body scissors but Homicide escapes and gets a sunset flip for 2. Richards hits a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. He hits a snap suplex for 2. He hits a knee to the gut and tosses Homicide to the floor. He follows Homicide out but Homicide crotches him on the barricade and then nails him with a topé con hilo. Back in the ring Homicide hits an overhead suplex for 2. He counters a powerbomb to a hurricanrana and then hits his running knee in the corner for 2. Richards hits a Manhattan drop and unloads with kicks. Homicide hits an exploder for 2. He hits a swinging DDT but Richards comes back with a side suplex. He hits a gutbuster and a powerbomb for 2. He puts on an inverted cloverleaf but Homicide gets to the ropes. Richards hits a bodyslam and climbs the ropes. Homicide cuts him off and brings him down with the Ace Crusher. Richards hits the handspring kick but Homicide rebounds with the lariat for 2. Richards hits the Alarm Clock and a falcon arrow for 2. He puts the inverted cloverleaf back on but Homicide powers out. Richards drops him on his head with a German suplex but Homicide no-sells it and hits the Three Amigos. He climbs the ropes and hits a frosh splash for 2 before hitting the Cop Killer for the win. Decent match but nobody was selling anything, quite a bit of sloppy execution and there wasn’t much flow to the whole thing. Richards is now nine matches into a losing streak.
Rating: **¾

JZ says: Homicide gets an enormous pop. Dave Prazak and Lenny Leonard are hosting tonight. Tonight and tomorrow night’s shows will conclude the Fifth Year Festival. This is the first time these two have met in Ring of Honor, but I’m pretty sure they’ve fought in FIP. They do some mat wrestling to start. It’s not long before a fight breaks out on the arena floor and Richards connects with a huge kick to Homicide’s face. Homicide gets monkey flipped but in a rare moment of success he actually lands on his feet instead of his knees and the look of sheer joy on his face is priceless. Richards soon takes control and works on Homicide’s back. He pitches Homicide to the outside, where Julius Smokes blatantly interferes in front of the referee and he doesn’t do anything about it. This allows Homicide to hit the Tope Con Hilo. In the ring Richards tries a Liger Bomb but Homicide gets a rana and a running boot to the face in the corner. He follows it up with a swinging DDT and tries the lariat, but Richards counters with a Saito suplex. Another Liger Bomb connects but it only gets two. Richards tries the inverted cloverleaf, but Smokes helps Homicide reach the ropes. He signals for the Shooting Star Press but Homicide blocks it and hits a Super Ace Crusher. Homicide is able to hit the Lariat after no-selling the handspring kick, but Richards actually kicks out. Richards comes back with a Falcon Arrow and the inverted cloverleaf again but Homicide escapes and tries the Cop Killa, which Richards reverses to a nasty German Suplex. Homicide no-sells that and hits three straight vertical suplexes. A frog splash follows and gets two. Seconds later Homicide hits the Cop Killa to get win the win at 16:08. I liked some stuff about this match as an opener, but there was too much blatant Smokes interference and a lot of no-selling. It was still good fun though.
Rating: ***¼

MATCH #2: Sara Del Ray vs. Allison Danger

BG says: Danger has an AJ Styles-esque ring jacket and uses Christopher Daniels’s mannerisms during her entrance. These two make up the Dangerous Angels tag team most of the time. They lock up and Danger puts Del Ray on the mat with an armbar. The chain wrestling goes on until Danger gets a roll up for 2. Del Ray sits down on a sunset flip attempt and hits a snap suplex for 2. He puts on an abdominal stretch and rolls Danger up for 2. Danger gets a jackknife pin for 2. She gets a backslide for 2. Del Ray hits a kick to the gut but Danger comes back with the STO. She hits a running forearm and a clothesline. She hits a neckbreaker for 2. Del Ray boots her down for 2. She hits a Samoan drop for 2. Danger hits a drop toehold and the Curb Kick for 2. She puts on the body scissors and a cravat at the same time. Del Ray stands up and flips Danger into the Royal Butterfly for the win. The crowd was distracted and the match never got out of first gear, but at least the finish was cool. The tag partners embrace after the match.
Rating: **

JZ says: The women hug before this SHIMMER showcase match. These two have formed a successful tag team as of late in ROH, with two straight victories in New York and Chicago. Del Ray was trained by Bryan Danielson; Allison Danger was involved in the first segment of the first ROH show. They do a lot of back and forth stuff because they know each other so well from teaming together. Danger uses her superior wrestling to take advantage, and Del Ray uses her superior power when she’s on the advantage. Danger is able to hit a lot of her signature moves, like the Lovelace Choker and the Curb Kick, all while avoiding Del Ray’s butterfly lock. Speaking of that move, Del Ray is able to counter a submission hold and hits the Butterfly Lock slam to get the pin at 8:28. That was fine for the time given. They share another hug after the match.
Rating: **½

New ROH World Tag Team Champions

BG says: The Briscoe Brothers are very excited to be the new ROH tag titles. LOOK AT THE CAMERA! Tonight they’re going to put down Shingo and Naruki Doi and tomorrow they want to take on the best that Europe has to offer.

JZ says: The Briscoes do one of those stupid not looking at the camera promos, but their point about being the best team and everyone else manning up is still made.

MATCH #3: Jimmy Rave & Jimmy Jacobs vs. BJ Whitmer & Colt Cabana

BG says: Cabana’s business with Jacobs is done; Whitmer should get a new partner to fight the little guy. Jacobs & Rave attack Whitmer and Cabana during their entrance. Everyone brawls into the crowd. Cabana chokes Jacobs with his ring jacket as Whitmer and Rave fight up to the balcony. Whitmer tries to toss Rave off the balcony but Rave escapes the predicament. Back at ringside Whitmer powerbombs Jacobs onto the barricade. Inside the ring Jacobs hits Whitmer with the ring bell. Rave hits Whitmer with a DDT and tags to Jacobs. Jacobs hits a senton, two double stomps and an elbowdrop. Rave tags in and stomps Whitmer’s face. He hits a second rope stomp for 2. He puts on a chinlock and tags to Jacobs. They trip Whitmer and slug away. Jacobs hits two second rope elbowdrops for 2. Rave tags in and hits a side Russian legsweep. Jacobs kicks Whitmer’s face, getting 2 for Rave. Whitmer hits an exploder and tags to Cabana. Cabana cleans house with bodyslams and jabs. He hits a moonsault press on both opponents for 2. He hits the Flying Asshole on both opponents and tags to Whitmer. Whitmer hits a running knee on Rave for 2. Jacobs spears Cabana and Rave spears Whitmer for 2. Jacobs tags in and hits a top rope senton on Whitmer for 2. Whitmer comes back with a spinebuster and a brainbuster for 2. He sets Jacobs up top but Jacobs fights him off and hits the super Contra Code for the win. The brawl to start was pretty dull but once things got organized in the ring they picked up nicely.
Rating: ***

JZ says: Jacobs just blew off his feud with Cabana, is about to blow off the feud with Whitmer, and Rave is just here for the fun of it. The heels waste no time attacking their opponents, and it’s a big brawl on the floor to start. Lacey is not with Jacobs tonight because of the Colt 45 she received in Chicago last weekend. Whitmer and Rave go fighting up some stairs while Jacobs and Cabana brawl at ringside. WE get the picture-in-picture to follow the action. They trade dance partners after a few minutes, with Cabana and Whitmer gaining a decided advantage on the Jimmys. The crowd is chanting for Whitmer after he delivers a powerbomb onto the guardrail on Jacobs. They finally get to the ring and its Rave and Whitmer battling. Jacobs hits Whitmer with a chair behind the referee’s back and that turns the tide. The heels use some double teaming and chicanery to maintain the advantage on Whitmer. Rave delivers most of the offense while Jacobs comes in to deliver the odd cheap shot or so. Whitmer is finally able to knock Rave down and makes the hot tag to Cabana. He does his usual spots and the crowd is really into him and Whitmer too. The heels regain control and Jacobs hits the senton on Whitmer for two. He tries the Contra Code but Whitmer blocks it and hits a spinebuster and a brainbuster for two. Rave and Cabana fight outside the ring while Jacobs is able to hit a Super Contra Code on Whitmer inside the ring and that’s enough to finish Whitmer at 13:43. That had some good brawling it was also clearly just a placeholder in the scheme of Whitmer vs. Jacobs.
Rating: **¾

MATCH #4: Two out of Three Falls Match – Delirious vs. Matt Sydal

BG says: Delirious freaks out at the opening bell so Sydal waits for him to calm down on the ramp. In the ring they prove to have each other’s offense scouted. Sydal misses a dropkick and Delirious gets a roll up for 2. Sydal puts on the body scissors and rolls Delirious up for 2. He hits a monkey flip and the cannonball legdrop for 2. He hits a dropkick in the corner and puts on a seated abdominal stretch. He hits a hiptoss for 2. Delirious comes back with a back suplex for 2. He kicks the back but Sydal catches him with a hurricanrana. Sydal hits a dropkick and a series of strikes in the corner for 2. He hits a low blow and a slingshot dropkick for 2. Delirious hits a series of clotheslines and a soccer kick. Sydal hits another low blow and rolls Delirious up to win the first fall. Sydal stays on Delirious while he’s down and chokes him with one of his tassels. He sets Delirious up on the apron and hits a slingshot legdrop. He puts on a chinlock but Delirious gets to the ropes. He throws Delirious to the floor by his mask and follows him out. Delirious rams him into the barricade and hits the Panic Attack on the floor. Back in the ring Delirious tosses Sydal around by his head. He puts on the cobra clutch and flings Sydal across the ring. He hits the Bizarro Driver for 2. Sydal hits a standing moonsault for 2. He sets Delirious up top but Delirious fights him off and hits Shadows Over Hell. He puts on the Cobra Stretch to win the second fall. Sydal blocks the Neverending Story clotheslines and a dropkick before rolling Delirious up for 2. Delirious hits a drop toehold and the Panic Attack for 2. He goes for the Cobra Stretch but Sydal bails. They trade strikes on the floor until Delirious rolls Sydal back inside. Sydal hits a huge DDT for 2. He hits a clothesline in the corner but wastes too much time jawing at the crowd and gets hit with a hanging neckbreaker. It gets 2 for Delirious. They lay each other out with big boots at the same time. Sydal hits the Slice and climbs the ropes. Delirious dodges the shooting star press and rolls into the Cobra Stretch. Sydal rolls back for 2. Delirious hits Chemical Imbalance II for 2. He climbs the ropes but Sydal shoves the referee into the ropes to crotch him and hits Cyclorama for the win. Sydal busted out some new offense which is always a treat and used the match to solidify himself as a full-blown heel. Unfortunately things didn’t get really interesting until the third fall and each fall felt way too short. I guess I can let the first and third falls pass because Sydal cheated, but the second fall in particular felt very rushed.
Rating: ***½

JZ says: These two have an extensive history together here in ROH. And here it is – Sydal pinned Delirious at ROH Reborn Stage One, Jimmy Jacobs won a six-man mayhem match which they both participated in at World Title Classic, Sydal pinned Delirious at Do or Die III, Trent Acid won a four-way at Death Before Dishonor II Pt. 1 and Acid also won a six-man mayhem match at Death Before Dishonor II Pt. 2, Nigel McGuinness won a four-way match at Punk: The Final Chapter, Sydal pinned Delirious at Epic Encounter II, Delirious won the Survival of the Fittest match over Sydal at Survival of the Fittest 2006, Delirious pinned Sydal at Suffocation, Christopher Daniels & Sydal beat Delirious & Davey Richards at Black Friday Fallout, and CIMA, Shingo & Sydal beat Aries, Strong & Delirious at Final Battle 2006. That leaves Sydal with a slight 3-2 advantage in their one on one encounters, which is what we have here tonight. Delirious freaks out to start and Sydal just rolls to the outside of the ring and basically ignores him. They start off slow because they know each other so well that they’re tentative. They soon start busting out the fast offense and the crowd is already into it. Sydal gains the first sustained advantage. Delirious makes a comeback, but when the referee isn’t looking Sydal kicks Delirious in the balls and wraps Delirious up in a small package and wins the first fall at 10:13. I really like the new heel Sydal. He continues to act like a jerk as the second fall gets underway. Sydal continues to control until they go to the outside, where Delirious takes advantage and hits a Panic Attack. Back in the ring Delirious gets aggressive with his longtime rival. A Bizarro Driver gets two. Moments later the Shadows over Hell followed by the Cobra Stretch gets the second fall for Delirious at 16:43. We’re all even now. They stay pretty even for the first part of this final fall. They start going for some of their bigger moves, including the Shooting Star Press and the Cobra Sleeper. Chemical Imbalance II by Delirious gets a near fall. The masked man goes to the top rope but Sydal pushes the referee into the ropes to knock him down and then he climbs up and hits the Moonsault-belly-to-belly suplex to win the third and decisive fall at 23:19. I like Sydal’s heel edge a lot and this was another good match in the series between the two.
Rating: ***½

INTERMISSION

BG says: The Dangerous Angels let us know that we just witnessed women’s wrestling at its finest. I honestly hope they’re lying because a ** match shouldn’t be anyone’s finest. Eden Black and Jetta come out and say that they can’t call themselves the best until they wrestle women from the UK. The Angels aren’t intimidated. Eh, at least they looked into the camera.

A clip of Roderick Strong vs. Hallowicked from FIP Florida Rumble 2006 is shown. How come Florida Rumble 2005 was never released FIP? A clip from Strong vs. Richards from FIP In Full Force 2007 is also shown.

JZ says: Allison Danger and Sara Del Ray are backstage to talk about how they showed everyone what women’s wrestling is all about or something. Two British girls come in and interrupt them and challenge them to a match tomorrow night. The girls in question are Jetta and Eden Black. This is my first time seeing either of them, so I hope they’re good.

Full Impact Pro DVDs are available only at ROH Wrestling Dot Com. We get to see some highlights from recent shows, mostly Roderick Strong defending the FIP Title. He’ll make that a World Title tonight in Liverpool when he defends it against PAC.

MATCH #5: FIP Heavyweight Title Match – VS.

BG says: I’ve never seen a PAC match before, but he looks like a jacked up and high flying Mitch Franklin. Strong spits on him rather than shake his hand. They lock up to start and Strong slaps PAC against the ropes. They trade holds and PAC hits a hurricanrana. Strong hits a suplex but PAC catches him in an armbar. Strong comes back with an elbowdrop for 2. PAC shows incredible quickness and gets Strong back in the armbar. Strong fakes a chop and flicks PAC’s eyes. PAC hits pair of hurricanranas and Strong bails. He tries to dive out onto Strong but Strong intercepts him and drops him on the barricade. Strong throws PAC into the post and puts on the Mexican surfboard back in the ring. He hits a backbreaker for 2. PAC hits an enziguiri and a snap suplex. He hits a standing shooting star press for 2. Strong hits a chinbreaker and a backbreaker for 2. He tosses PAC to the floor and stretches him over the top of the barricade. He slams him onto the apron and then hits a back suplex onto the apron. PAC gets back in the ring at 18. Strong hits a knee to the gut and then stretches PAC on the mat. He hits a clothesline in the corner and kicks him to the apron. PAC comes back with a springboard dropkick and an inverted DDT. He ducks Strong’s chops and fires back with forearms. He hits a leg lariat and a pair of dropkicks. Strong bails into the crowd but PAC follows him out and rams Strong into the barricade. He climbs the ropes and dives out onto Strong with a twisting spiraling twirling dive. It gets 2 back in the ring. Strong hits a flip vertical suplex for 2. PAC dodges the gutbuster and hits a dropkick. He hits a backflip senton for 2. He climbs the ropes but Strong crotches him and hits a superplex. He hits the gutbuster for 2. PAC blocks the tiger driver and hits a swinging DDT. He climbs the ropes and hits a 450 splash for 2. He goes for another fancy dive but Strong dodges it and hits the Sick Kick and the tiger driver for the win. The FIP Heavyweight Championship is now the a world title and it became such in a great match. PAC really impressed with his style, but got greedy going for dive after dive and Strong took advantage to get the win. After the match Strong puts PAC in the Stronghold but Delirious makes the save.
Rating: ****

JZ says: This is my first time seeing PAC, but I’ve heard really good things. Strong has been the FIP Champion since 11.10.06, and this is his ninth defense. It also makes the FIP Title a World Title, sine it is being defended overseas. Would a title not be considered a World Title then if it was only defended in Mexico or Canada? It doesn’t take long for Strong to start acting like a jerk, as has become customary for his character. PAC shows his athletic ability early on, and I think we’ve established a nice dynamic early on. Strong takes the early control with his power. PAC uses his speed to counter, frustrating Strong. Strong regains the advantage and goes to work on the back. Outside the ring Strong abuses PAC some more. They go back outside the ring and Strong delivers a back suplex on the ring apron. That looked painful. Back in the ring the champion continues to work over the challenger until he comes back with a missile dropkick. PAC continues to go on offense, hitting some big moves on the arena floor. Back in the ring both men are exchanging moves, and PAC actually hits a Moonsault senton. That’s pretty sweet. PAC keeps coming back and fighting. Strong finally decides to end it and hits a vicious kick to the face and a huge Tiger Driver to get the pin at 18:07. That was tremendous fun and made me want to see more PAC. This was a good power vs. speed matchup and I would love to see it again.
Rating: ****

Kiss2Kill

BG says: Jacobs has more to say. In a strange turn he’s actually angry that he won because he didn’t have a chance to injure Whitmer or Cabana, and that was what Lacey wanted. He shouts for Todd Sinclair to go get Whitmer down in the basement for a fight. More on this later.

JZ says: Jimmy Jacobs is backstage all pissed off that he didn’t take out either Colt Cabana or BJ Whitmer tonight in the tag team match. He yells for Todd Sinclair to go get BJ Whitmer and tell him he’s ready for a fight.

MATCH #6: ROH World Tag Team Title Match – Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Naruki Doi & Shingo

BG says: The Briscoes are over like Rover in Liverpool. Mark and Shingo start. They fight on the mat until Shingo hits a forearm. Mark hits a northern lights suplex for 2. Jay and Doi tag in. They trade chops and Jay hits a hurricanrana. He hits a leg lariat and tags to Mark. The Briscoes hit the double hiptoss and Mark hits a vertical suplex for 2. Jay tags in and hits a back elbow for 2. Doi puts on a chinlock and tags to Shingo. Shingo hits a kneedrop for 2. Mark tags in and hits a second rope kneedrop for 2. He puts on the Mark Nulty Special but Shingo comes back with a series of headbutts. Doi tags in and they make a wish on Mark. Shingo tags in and they hit the Hart Attack for 2. Doi tags in and they hit a double spinebuster and an elevated dropkick for 2. Mark hits a leg lariat and tags to Jay. The Briscoes double-team Shingo, forcing him to bail. Back in the ring Jay puts on a chinlock. Shingo gets to the ropes. Jay hits a dropkick for 2. Mark tags in and they hit a springboard leg lariat Hart Attack for 2. Mark kicks Shingo’s back and hits a springboard kneedrop for 2. Jay tags in and they hit a guillotine split legged moonsault legdrop for 2. Mark tags in and forearms Shingo down for 2. Jay tags in and gets hit with the Complete Shot. Doi tags in and hits a suicide dive on Mark. Shingo hits a spinebuster on Jay for 2. He puts on a half crab and then floats into the STF. Jay gets to the ropes.

Shingo sets Jay in the Tree of Woe and forces Mark to dropkick him. Doi runs in and hits Dai Bosou! on both Briscoes. Doi tags in legally and ties Jay up. Shingo tags in and holds Jay over the second rope and Doi comes down with a senton for 2. Jay hits a neckbreaker and tags to Mark. Mark hits a yelping dropkick and an axe kick. He hits a Michinoku Driver for 2. He dives off the top onto Shingo on the floor with a shooting star press. Remember that spot. Doi and Jay trade forearms in the ring. Joe hits a leaping forearm for 2. He hits a spinebuster for 2. Shingo tags in and they hit a dropkick/back suplex combo for 2. Jay hits a chinbreaker and tags to Mark. Mark hits a yelping splash for 2. The Briscoes hit an elevated legdrop for 2. Doi and Shingo double-team Mark in the corner. Doi hits a second rope legdrop across the chest for 2. Mark hits a forearm and climbs the ropes. Doi cuts him off and hits a German superplex for 2. Jay hits Doi with a facebuster. Mark’s shooting star press hits knees and Doi hits the Doi 555. Shingo cuts Jay’s legdrop off with a superplex and Doi follows up with a frog splash for 2. Shingo clotheslines Doi by mistake. Jay hits Shingo with a superkick and boots him to the floor. The Briscoes hit Total Elimination on Doi. They hit the powerbomb/neckbreaker combo for 2. They go for the Doomsday Device but Shingo cuts Jay off and Doi rolls Mark up for 2. Jay hits a stunner on Doi. Mark hits an exploder and Jay hits a DVD for 2. The go for the spike Jay Driller but Shingo blocks it and hits Jay with a lariat. He catches Mark springboarding in with a lariat and hits the TKO on Jay for 2. Doi hits the Bakatare Sliding Kick on Mark for 2. Shingo escapes the cutthroat driver and hits the Last Falconry for the win and the titles.

This was just about the biggest upset since Xavier beat Low Ki for the ROH Championship back in 2002. Everyone expected a long title reign from the Briscoes and nobody expected a team of Dragon Gate wrestlers to win the belts. There were serious legal man issues keeping it from being truly astonishing but these four put in the best performances of the year so far, and the matches rating reflects that.
Rating: ****¼

The Briscoes look crushed following the loss. They get on the microphone and talk about how 2007 was supposed to be their year. Jay thinks they’re getting soft. They need to man up. He challenges Mark to a singles match tomorrow night so they can do just that. Mark is on board.

JZ says: The Briscoes have been champions since 2.24.07, and this is their first defense. I just get the feeling that this one will be tough for me to keep up with. The Briscoes take the early advantage on the challengers. They’re all fired up from just winning the titles last week, making them the only three-time tag champions in ROH history (unless you count BJ Whitmer’s four, but he did it with two different partners, I mean just as a team). Both teams go on offense for bits of time, but it looks like the champions have the majority of the advantage. I haven’t said much because they’re distracting me by being awesome. I still think the Briscoes are the best thing in wrestling, in any federation. The action in this one is just all over the place and all kinds of awesome. They do a lot of stuff to each other, and Shingo hits Mark with a move that I admit I don’t know the name of, and shockingly pins him to get the win and win the titles at 22:38! Naruki Doi & Shingo become the fifteenth team to hold the ROH Tag Team Titles, and the fifth team to hold them since they become World Titles. The Briscoes look despondent after the loss. That was a super tremendous tag team match between four of the most talented guys ROH uses. It’s too bad Doi doesn’t appear more often, and that Shingo is on borrowed time, because they are great. Jay is so angry that he challenges Mark to a match tomorrow night, so that they can man each other up.
Rating: ****¼

5TH YEAR FESTIVAL: WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES

BG says: This DVD’s Fifth Year Festival video focuses on the World Tag Team Titles. Aries and Strong are featured first in clips against a myriad of teams. Next up are the Kings of Wrestling, who stole the belts from Aries and Strong with a briefcase shot to Aries’s ribs. They dominate the division until Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal win the titles. The Briscoes’ title win is notably missing, but aside from that I like that no champions before Aries and Strong were featured because it was Aries and Strong that made the belts world belts.

JZ says: This starts off with highlights of Austin Aries & Roderick Strong’s Tag Team Title reign that stretched from 12.17.05 all the way to 9.16.06, and in the process made them into World Tag Team Titles. They made 18 successful title defenses, the most ever by far. The Kings of Wrestling, Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli won them from Aries & Strong, and they held them until 11.25.06. They made three successful defenses. Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal were the team to dethrone them, and they made three defenses also, before losing them to the Briscoes in Chicago on 2.24.07. Then in the last match you saw Jay & Mark lose the belts in their first defense to Naruki Doi & Shingo. That pretty much brings us up to where we are today.

MATCH #7: Samoa Joe vs. Nigel McGuinness

BG says: They lock up and trade holds to start. Joe slaps the back of Nigel’s head leading to a strike exchange. Joe sends Nigel to the floor but can’t hit the suicide dive. He trips Nigel on the apron and then sings him into the corner of the barricade. He hits two Olé Kicks, back in England where he hit it the first time. Nigel hits a rebound lariat on the floor and rolls him back into the ring. He hits the handstand kick and rams Joe’s shoulder into the post. He works over Joe’s arm by kicking it in a hammerlocked position. He hits a hammerlock takedown and then slams Joe to the mat by his arm. He puts on the modified Rings of Saturn but lets go and runs into the STJoe. Joe hits the Big Joe Combo for 2. He hits an enziguiri for 2. He puts on a chinlock and hits a knee to the gut for 2. Nigel hits the corner combo for 2. He hits a running European uppercut and a short-arm clothesline for 2. He sets Joe up top but Joe counters the Tower of London to the choke. Nigel escapes and hits the Tower of London for 2. Joe blocks a blind charge and hits a knee strike off the second rope for 2. He hits a powerslam for 2. He hits a powerbomb for 2 and puts on the STF. Nigel gets to the ropes and hits a lariat for 2. He goes for the Tower of London on the apron but Joe counters to the choke. Nigel escapes with a headbutt but Joe catches him with the Muscle Buster on the apron. Joe gets back in the ring as referees come out to check on Nigel. They start carrying him to the back as Joe gets on the microphone and asks Nigel to get back in the ring and shake his hand. Nigel keeps going to the back so Joe taunts him until he returns to the ring. Nigel slaps Joe rather than shake his hand and hits a superkick. Joe hits a Manhattan drop and a big boot. He blocks the Rebound Lariat with a slap and hits another Muscle Buster for 2. He hits a lariat for 2. He hits another lariat for 2. Nigel gets a roll up for 2. Joe blocks the handstand with a big boot and puts on the choke. Nigel rolls back for 2 but Joe keeps the choke on for the win.

Nigel should have faced Rave on this show, gotten beaten up before winning that and then toughed it out to beat Joe on tomorrow night’s show to really put him over as the next big thing in the company, but instead Joe goes over and reveals the whole tour was just there to make him look good on his way out. There’s really no reason that Joe couldn’t have gotten a win over Homicide on this show only to lose to Nigel the following night. That aside the match was great aside from the ridiculous extra curricular nonsense. Rather than have Nigel kick out of the Muscle Buster on the apron and look tough he looked like a loser for having to take a long break before flailing around and falling to Joe anyway. Nigel got in almost no offense after coming back, making this one of the more frustrating matches I’ve seen in a while. This might have been fun for the live crowd but it looked ridiculous on DVD. Take out the stuff between the apron Muscle Buster and Nigel’s return and you have a **** match, but as it is you don’t.
Rating: ***½

After the match Joe puts Nigel over and says he’s leaving the company in good hands. Why Joe? Because he returned only to get jobbed out further? Actually I guess that’s more than Joe did when he got injured in the matches against CZW. This farewell tour has officially gotten annoying. Joe gets down on one knee and puts over the company.

JZ says: These two have fought many times in the past. Joe got the first win over Nigel back on 1.15.05 at It All Begins; Joe then successfully defended the ROH Pure Title against Nigel at The Future is Now on 6.12.05; Nigel was then the one to take the title from Joe on 8.27.05 at Dragon Gate Invasion; he then successfully defended the title against Joe on 10.15.05 at Buffalo Stampede; Joe got a win back on Nigel at Dedicated on 1.26.07. That gives Joe a 3-2 advantage in the one-on-one series, and they’ve also met in many tag team and multi-man matches. And there’s a match going on too, and by now they’re on the outside of the ring and Joe is dominating Nigel. Nigel takes control when they get back into the ring, actually hitting the headstand mule kick out of the corner. The crowd is basically equally behind both guys here. Nigel takes control of the arm and bends it in unnatural ways. Joe uses his power to regain control but Nigel won’t give an inch. Nigel is able to hit the Tower of London but Joe kicks out. They fight on the apron and Joe delivers a Muscle Buster on the ring apron! That looked dangerous. Nigel is out and referees are out to check on him. Prazak and Leonard sign off and Joe gets on the microphone. Referees take Nigel out, and Joe says he should come back to the ring and shake his hand. Joe gets pissed and calls Nigel names, which causes the proud Brit to limp back to the ring. Nigel slaps Joe’s hand and then slaps him in the face and the match continues. I dunno, Nigel was knocked out for a long time, I would think that constitutes the end of this match. That whole scenario seemed so entirely unnecessary. Joe hits a Muscle Buster in the ring and Nigel actually kicks out. A big lariat by Joe also isn’t enough. Another lariat and Nigel kicks out at 1 this time. Nigel gets a quick rollup for two. Joe puts the choke on and Nigel almost pins him but Joe just cinches it in even harder. Nigel passes out at 22:51. Well that match had some good action, but the ridiculousness of the interruption of the match really dragged it down. It’s also irritating that Joe just went over totally clean again. Sure, Nigel looked tough, but he still couldn’t beat Joe. I’m guessing TNA had some kind of say in Joe not going under, but Joe has put nobody over on his way out. Joe tries to put Nigel over on the mic, but that always seems a bit cheesy.
Rating: ***

Aftermath

BG says: We go back to the basement where Jacobs is still shouting for Whitmer. Whitmer comes down and they brawl into a dark area. This brawl is “to be continued.”

JZ says: Jimmy Jacobs is still waiting for BJ Whitmer outside the building. That was nice of BJ to let Joe finish his speech before meeting Jimmy outside. They brawl and we fade to black.

TO BE CONTINUED…

MVP

BG says: Naruki Doi for making his return to the company by winning the tag titles in the match of the year so far.

You can pick up this show, as well as all other ROH shows at ROH Wrestling Dot Com.

Coming soon will be our review of FIFTH YEAR FESTIVAL: FINALE!

The 411: BG says: This is the first show of the Fifth Year Festival that measures up to some of the shows in the Milestone Series. It has two ****+ matches and nothing too far below expectations. The main event is beyond annoying but I could see the ROHbots being tricked into enjoying all the gaga. Even my frustration with the way Joe is leaving the company can’t take away from the fact that this was a really good show, hands down. JZ says: We’ve got two four-star matches here out of seven, so that’s a pretty high recommendation right there. The Samoa Joe vs. Nigel McGuinness match was highly disappointing so that left just a slightly bitter aftertaste in my mouth. But the bulk of the show is really quite good, and I think most people will disagree with me about Joe and Nigel, so this one is an absolutely must-buy.

Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]  legend