ROH – This Means War II Review

ROH – THIS MEANS WAR II – APRIL 13, 2007 – LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK

Introduction

BG says: The Video Wire for this weekends shows start off with clips from Jonny Fairplay’s appearance in ROH. They show Erick Stevens’s victory over Alex Payne in full (beings as short as it is), Rocky Romero’s introduction to the No Remorse Corp, highlights of Dragon Gate’s presence over WrestleMania weekend and Jim Cornette’s return to (and final appearance in) ROH. It finishes up with hype for Nigel McGuinness’s upcoming title shot against Takeshi Morishima, showing clips of both wrestlers and wrapping up with Nigel’s dominance over Fairplay and Chris Hero. No new footage this time around.

Daizee Haze kicks off the show by promising to brawl with Lacey. But tonight she’s wrestling Sara Del Rey, so there’s no need to brawl. It’s going to be a peaceful wrestling match. Seeing as how wrestling is inherently violent that’s a pretty stupid thing to say.

JZ says: Daizee Haze opens the show with a backstage promo. She says she pretty much likes everybody, but Lacey is one person she cannot stand. So instead of fighting Lacey tonight, she’s going to fight Sara Del Ray. She says they’ll take ROH higher, and then spouts off some hippy jargon. I think I’ve made my feelings on women in ROH abundantly clear.

MATCH #1: Pelle Primeau vs. Kevin Steen

BG says: They lock up and Steen sets Primeau up top. Primeau slaps the smirking Steen and hits a head scissors takedown. He hits another and a hurricanrana. He blocks a blind charge but Steen blocks a DDT and throws Primeau into the air. He hits a senton and chops Primeau down. He pokes Primeau’s eyes and hits a forearm for 2. He hits a back suplex and a somersault legdrop for 2. He throws Primeau into the corner and hits a clothesline. He hits a cannonball for 2. Primeau finds his swinging DDT and hits a double stomp and a senton. He rolls Steen up for 2. He climbs the ropes but Steen catches him and hits the Go Home Driver for 2. He hits a pumphandle neckbreaker but misses a moonsault. He hits a powerbomb and package suplex into the turnbuckle. He hits a pumphandle neckbreaker but misses a moonsault. He hits a powerbomb and package suplex into the turnbuckle. He hits the package piledriver for the win moments later. This was more competitive than I thought it’d be, and was actually rather enjoyable.
Rating: *¾

JZ says: Steen tries to overpower Primeau, and Primeau tries to use his agility. Steen wins round 1 and slams Primeau to the ground and hits a senton on his back. Steen chops Primeau, and then teases another one but actually pokes him in the eyes instead. That allows him to hit a running clothesline and a back suplex. He follows it up with the front flip legdrop. Steen continues to abuse Primeau, but the plucky underdog won’t give up. Steen hits a nasty suplex into a neckbreaker on his knee and he goes up for the Moonsault, but Primeau rolls out of the way and Steen lands on his feet. Primeau comes charging in and Steen hits a powerbomb and tosses Primeau into the turnbuckles in innovative fashion. The Package Piledriver is enough to get the fall at 5:30. That was a nice high energy opener, and both of these guys should be seeing an expanded role in ROH in the near future.
Rating: **

MATCH #2: Daizee Haze vs. Sara Del Ray

BG says: Haze grabs Sara’s arm to start. Sara comes back with a mid-ring avalanche. She hits it twice more for 2. Haze hits a head scissors takedown and then completely screws up a roll up attempt so Sara stomps her. Sara hits a bodyslam and a legdrop. She puts on a chinlock and pins Haze for 2. She puts on a camel clutch and hits a double chop. Haze goes for a crossbody but Sara counters to two fall away slams for 2. She blocks a blind charge and drags Haze up top. Haze comes back with a hurricanrana for 2. She hits a dropkick off the top for 2. Sara hits a German suplex for 2 but Haze counters the Royal Butterfly to a roll up for the win. Sara reacts poorly to the loss. Haze moved like a drunken two year old in there, and if it wasn’t for Delirious I don’t think she’d be working in ROH. When Sara was in control this was alright but Haze really made me cringe.
Rating: *

Mark Briscoe is excited back in the ring but Jay warns him to take it easy until he’s cleared to wrestle. Tonight Jay is going to finish Claudio Castagnoli off once and for all.

JZ says: I wish Haze’s gimmick wasn’t entirely that she’s just a pothead. This match has much the same dynamic as the last one, with Del Ray using her power and Haze using her quickness. They blow a spot early on, and I try not to be judgmental. Del Ray takes over and goes to the rear chinlock. Every time Haze tries something, Del Ray is able to counter it. Haze finally fights back and tries for a rana off the top, and Del Ray looked like she was trying to roll through it, but they can’t make that happen. Haze hits a missile dropkick for two. Haze calling out the Heart Punch costs her, as it should, because people who call out the names of their moves deserve to have them countered. Del Ray puts on the Butterfly Lock, but a slightly awkward sequence leads to Haze getting a sunset flip for the pin at 6:18. They had some good ideas going there, but they blew several spots and looked nervous out there, which is par for the course with women’s matches in ROH.
Rating: *¾

The Briscoes are backstage, and Mark is ready for a title defense tonight. Jay warns him that he should pay heed to the doctors. Jay has a singles match with Claudio Castagnoli tonight, and he recommends that Castagnoli man up.

MATCH #3: Four Corner Survival – El Generico vs. Eddie Edwards vs. Jason Blade vs. Erick Stevens

BG says: Blade and Edwards start and run through the usual. Edwards hits a lariat and both men tag out. Generico uses his speed to nullify Stevens’s power. Stevens puts him down with a powerslam and hits Blade with an overhead suplex. He hits a Cactus clothesline on Edwards. Generico tries to dive on both of them but Blade trips him. Generico kicks Blade to the floor but Stevens catches him with a one-armed powerbomb for 2. Generico and Edwards go at it until Generico tags to Blade. Blade hits a back suplex on Edwards for 2. Stevens tags Blade out and drops Edwards on the top rope for 2. Blades and Generico sends Edwards and Blade to the floor and dive out onto them. Generico hits Edwards with a swinging DDT but Blade hits him with a swinging slam. Stevens hits Blade with a powerslam but Edwards catches him with a flying knee. Generico suplexes Edwards into the corner and hits the Yakuza kick and the brainbuster. Blade hits Generico with a neckbreaker but Stevens hits him with a German superplex and the Doctor Bomb for the win. This was just fine but never really captured my imagination.
Rating: **¼

After the match Austin Aries offers Stevens a spot in his group, which he dubs the Resilience. You can actually hear someone in the audience making a vomiting sound at Aries’s announcement of his group name. Stevens accepts. Roderick Strong comes out and asks Stevens to reconsider. While Stevens mulls it over Davey Richards and Rocky Romero attack him and Aries from behind. Matt Cross runs out to even things up and everyone brawls to the back.

JZ says: Blade and Edwards start it off and do a few things before tagging out to Stevens and Generico. Stevens is the biggest man in the match, and Generico has the most ROH experience, which isn’t much. Edwards and Stevens have a pretty solid strike exchange, and Stevens wins that with a clothesline over the top rope. That brings Blade and Generico back into the ring. As usual, everyone gets a chance to fight with everyone. The match breaks down into a huge brawl and Stevens winds up hitting the Doctor Bomb on Blade to get the win at 11:42. That was the usual four-way with the new guys, but Stevens looked especially strong and that’s what they were going for, so it’s a success.
Rating: **¼

Austin Aries comes out after the match. He congratulates all four guys on a match well fought, and then berates someone in the crowd for expressing his opinion. He calls Stevens back into the ring and offers him a spot in his horribly named group, The Resilience. Stevens accepts the offer and Aries compliments his haircut. I really don’t find Aries funny. Roderick Strong comes out and Stevens for joining Aries’ group, and then the rest of the No Remorse Corps come out and we’ve got a pier-six brawl, to set up for the six-man elimination tag match later tonight.

MATCH #4: Colt Cabana vs. Delirious

BG says: This is the comedy stop on Cabana’s farewell tour. Delirious puts on the Masterlock to start but Cabana counters to a leglock. Delirious gets to the ropes. Cabana can’t release on his own and needs the referee’s help to get out. Delirious goes after Cabana’s leg and ends up pulling off is boot. He puts on a nerve hold but Cabana tickles him until he releases. Cabana baits Delirious into chain after chain and gets 2. Delirious kicks out and somehow Cabana ends up mounting the referee. Delirious gets a roll up for 2. Cabana dropkicks him to the floor so Delirious crawls under the ring. Cabana goes after him but Delirious runs into the ring. Delirious wants a count out win but there are no count outs in ROH. Cabana gets back in the ring wearing the Matt Classic mask and Delirious cowers away. They go back under the ring again and Delirious reemerges wearing the Matt Classic mask and Cabana has the Delirious mask on. Delirious pulls off the Classic mask, scared that he’s looking at someone wearing his own mask. Cabana hits him with the Neverending Story clotheslines and pulls off the mask. He misses the Flying Asshole and Delirious kicks his butt. He rams Cabana into the post and continues to kick his butt. He dropkicks the butt and then jabs the butt. He hits an atomic drop and then forces the referee to kick Cabana’s butt. Delirious kicks the referee’s butt and then forces the referee to give Cabana an atomic drop. He rolls Cabana up for 2. He double stomps the butt for 2. He climbs the ropes but misses an elbowdrop. Cabana comes back with jabs and hits an uppercut to Delirious’s butt. He hits the Flying Asshole but can’t capitalize and Delirious sits down on a sunset flip attempt for the win. Really funny stuff and the wrestling wasn’t bad either. Cabana’s farewell tour is already much less self-serving than Joe’s was.
Rating: ***¼

JZ says: This is a rematch from Fifth Year Festival: Finale. This is the beginning of the four-show Colt Cabana Farewell Tour, since he’s on his way to WWE. Let’s hope they get him involved with Punk somehow. They start off with some comedy/mat wrestling, and get referee Todd Sinclair involved in some spots. Delirious pulls Cabana’s boot off and helpfully retrieves it for him. Delirious tries some kind of nerve hold on Cabana, who literally tickles his way out of it and then he further embarrasses the masked man. Cabana goes under the ring and comes out with a yellow mask on. They both go under the ring and Delirious has the yellow mask on now and Cabana has a green mask on. Delirious takes off the yellow mask and now both guys are in green masks. Cabana executes the Roots Clotheslines on Delirious. Cabana takes off the mask and goes for the flying asshole but misses, so Delirious goes to work on the ass. You sure don’t say that every day. They involve Sinclair some more in some contrived spots. Cabana finally hits the flying asshole. He then tries a sunset flip but Delirious sits down on him a la Bret vs. Bulldog from Summerslam ’92 and gets the pin at 11:05. That was amusing to a point, but I can already barely remember anything from it.
Rating: **

MATCH #5: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Jay Briscoe

BG says: They lock up and Claudio grabs a toehold. Jay hits a hurricanrana and a leg lariat for 2. He hits a clothesline and a basement dropkick for 2. Claudio comes back with a bodyslam and an elbowdrop for 2. He this the giant swing for 2. He hits a European uppercut for 2. Jay misses a dropkick and Claudio hits another elbowdrop. He hits a gutwrench suplex and a European uppercut through the ropes. Jay clotheslines him to the floor but Claudio comes back with a clothesline over the barricade. Jay bleeds from the back of the head as Claudio puts a metal sheet over him and checks him into the apron. Jay hits an enziguiri and a tope and rolls Claudio back into the ring. He climbs the ropes and hits a huge splash for 2. Claudio hits a bicycle kick and a Chimeraplex for 2. Jay hits a DVD for 2. Claudio hits a European uppercut and an enziguiri on the top rope. Jay brings him down with a facebuster off the top for 2. Claudio hits a springboard European uppercut and the Alpamare Waterslide for the win. Solid match, but they’d go on to top it in tag action in a big way.
Rating: ***

After the match Claudio challenges the Briscoes to a tag title match. Mark accepts on behalf of his brother. He says Claudio will have his tag title shot as soon as he heals up. Kevin Steen and El Generico rush the ring. Steen talks about almost beating the Briscoes and teases Mark for missing his shooting star press. He wants a title shot too. Mark’s says his memory may be screwed up since he bumped his head, but he remembers beating Steen and Generico cleanly. He doesn’t think it’ll be hard to beat them again so he grants their shot too. He calls Steen fat, so Steen hits his head. Mark goes down like a rock so Jay and Claudio brawl with Steen and Generico. This angle is great.

JZ says: Mark is still injured from the fall he took back in Detroit, but he is in Jay’s corner tonight. They start it off with some mat wrestling, and Jay fights back with straight right hands. They trade strikes and holds for a few minutes with no one getting a sustained advantage. These two have fought in several tag matches, most notable last December at International Challenge and Final Battle 2006. The battle soon spills to the floor, and Jay has control initially, but Castagnoli comes back with a big clothesline sending Jay over the guardrail into the crowd. The back of Jay’s head is busted open now. Castagnoli uses the barricade as a weapon to further weaken Jay. They try going back in the ring but Jay recovers pretty quickly and hits a somersault dive to the floor. Jay controls for a bit until Castagnoli comes back and goes for a superplex. Jay reverses it and hits a gourd buster all the way from the top. He only gets a two-count, so he goes for the Jay Driller but Castagnoli avoids it and hits a springboard European uppercut. He follows that up with the Alpamare Water Slide to get the pin at 11:04. That was pretty solid, and presumably sets Castagnoli up for a title shot down the line. In fact, he grabs the microphone and issues that exact challenge. Mark accepts the challenge, which brings out Kevin Steen & El Generico, who want to throw their hats in the ring for a shot at the ROH World Tag Team Titles. Mark accepts their challenge too, and Steen takes a cheap shot at Mark’s head, which is a dick move. He should offer to pay for their breakfast. Jay and Castagnoli fight Steen and Generico to the back, while some students and referees try to help Mark to the back. That was a perfect segment for after that match, as it set up two exciting sounding matches, and put big time heat on the team of Steen and Generico.
Rating: **¾

MATCH #6: Homicide vs. Brent Albright

BG says: Albright attacks Homicide before the bell. He beats him down in the corner but Homicide sends him to the floor and hits him with an axe handle off the apron. Albright sends Homicide into the barricade but ends up getting rammed into it himself. Back in the ring the referee keeps Homicide from using a chair and Albright comes back with a vertical suplex for 2. He hits a back elbow for 2. Homicide shoulder tackles him to the floor and then follows him out with his topé. The fight into the crowd where Albrights hits a suplex onto a row of chairs. He rams Homicide’s head into the wall and chokes him with a chair. Homicide comes back by throwing a trash can and then hits a bulldog off the chair to the floor. Back at ringside Homicide goes for a hurricanrana but Albright grabs him and swings him into the barricade. J-Train takes a few shots at Albright so the referee ejects him. Albright swings Homicide into the barricade again and then hits the Undertaker chair choker. It gets 2 back in the ring. Albright hits a powerslam for 2. He hits a dropkick for 2. He sets Homicide up top but Homicide catches him in the Tree of Woe and hits a dropkick to the face. He hits a swinging DDT and a back elbow. He hits a running knee in the corner for 2. Albright misses a crossbody and Homicide hits the Ace Crusher for 2. Homicide climbs the ropes but Albright catches him with an overhead superplex. He hits the 908 and a swinging neckbreaker for 2. Homicide hits the Three Amigos and climbs the ropes. Albright tries to cut him off so Homicide sends him through a table on the floor. Back in the ring Homicide gets 2. He goes for the Cop Killer but Albright blocks it. Albright hits the half nelson suplex for 2. He hits it again for the win. This did very little for me.
Rating: **½

After the match Shane Hagadorn runs in and beats on Homicide. J-Train runs back out and hits a lariat on Hagadorn. Homicide regains his composure and hits Hagadorn with a short-arm clothesline and a spike piledriver onto a chair.

JZ says: Albright attacks Homicide right away and it’s a brawl from the get-go. Homicide comes back and tosses Albright to the floor. They’re soon back in the ring and Albright gains control until Julius Smokes distracts him and Homicide uses that opening to go to work on the Gun for Hire. Homicide won’t let Albright control the action for long, as he knocks him outside the ring and hits the Tope Con Hilo. Homicide is in the crowd so Smokes throws Albright over the guardrail, which is blatant interference right in front of the referee. That guy is really testing my patience. They fight on the outside for a while, and Smokes blatantly interferes again, so the referee finally ejects him from ringside. Now it’s one-on-one, and neither man can gain an advantage for a prolonged period of time. Albright gets the Half Nelson Suplex but Homicide kicks out. Albright lands another one and that actually gets the three-count at 16:00. That was certainly a surprising finish but I liked it. Albright was technically the heel but with Smokes getting thrown out the roles in the match seemed a little skewed, but the action was good and Homicide put Albright over totally clean. Shane Hagadorn comes out after the match to take a cheap shot on Homicide. He tries to leave but Smokes throws him back in the ring and Hagadorn actually bumps for him. I’m sorry, Shane. Homicide and Smokes then execute a spike piledriver on a chair, which seems like a bit much.
Rating: ***

INTERMISSION

BG says: Rebecca Bayless lets us know that Mark Briscoe is on his way back to the hospital. Larry Sweeney, Chris Hero and Tank Toland stroll over for some promo time. Hero is a main eventer now that he’s dumped Claudio, and he’s going to beat Nigel tonight, no way around it.

JZ says: Rebecca Bayless is backstage, and she continues to make me wonder why anyone would pay her to do what she does. She is joined by Larry Sweeney, Chris Hero, and Tank Toland, who are here to brag about how Hero is in the main event tonight and Claudio Castagnoli isn’t.

MATCH #7: Shingo vs. Jack Evans

BG says: This ought to be great. They lock up and Shingo overpowers Evans. Evans puts Shingo on the mat and then hits a springboard spinning kick. He hits a back elbow and a double stomp into a standing shooting star press for 2. He opens up with kicks for 2. Shingo comes back with a spinebuster for 2. He puts on a half crab and floats into the STF. He hits a kneedrop for 2. He puts on a chinlock and hits a delayed vertical suplex for 2. Evans hits a cartwheel kick and a spinning kick. He hits a hurricanrana and Shingo bails. Evans follows him out with a springboard 450. Back inside Evans hits a twisting splash for 2. He hits a handspring elbow and a springboard knee. He hits the Ong Bak kneedrop and a standing corkscrew moonsault for 2. He blocks a blind charge but Shingo catches him with a hanging DDT for 2. Shingo hits a gutwrench toss for 2. Evans hits a flying knee for 2. Shingo counters a handspring elbow to a facebuster and hits a lariat for 2. He goes for the Blood Fall but Evans counters to a reverse hurricanrana for 2. He climbs the ropes but Shingo cuts him off. Evans hangs him in the Tree of Woe and hits the Ong Bak kneedrop. He pulls Shingo down and climbs again to hit the 630 senton for the win. Solid match, but I expected quite a bit more as it took them a while to capture the crowd’s attention.
Rating: **¾

JZ says: This is a rematch from the final pairing of the first-ever Four-Way Fray back at Fifth Year Festival: NYC. These two have also been a team in the past. Shingo uses his power early on and Evans uses his amazing agility. They’re both moving quickly, trying to get the better of each other. Shingo is able to ground Evans and go to work on the knee. Evans fights back with a flying knee. Evans tries a handspring elbow but Shingo is having none of that as he hits a face-first slam and a huge lariat but it only gets two. Evans fights back and hits a reverse rana but Shingo kicks out. Shingo tries for a superplex of some kind, but Evans hits a version of Senshi’s Warrior’s Way with the knees, and then he follows up with the 630 senton to get the pin at 8:59. They packed a lot into a short amount of time, and these are two of the most solid workers in ROH, so it’s hard to go wrong with this match.
Rating: ***

MATCH #8: Six Man Elimination Match – The Resilience of Austin Aries, Matt Cross & Erick Stevens vs. No Remorse Corps of Rocky Romero, Davey Richards & Roderick Strong

BG says: The Resilience attacks before the bell. Everyone brawls on the floor to start. Back in the ring Romero kicks at Cross. Cross comes back with a hurricanrana but Romero boots him down. Strong tags in so Aries tags in. Seeing Aries, Strong stalls until Aries tags to Stevens. They trade roll ups and Stevens hits a back elbow. Strong stomps Stevens’s foot and tags to Richards. Richards goes for chops but they have no effect on Stevens. Stevens hits a clothesline on Richards and one on an interfering Romero. Cross tags in and hits a dropkick for 2. He hits a standing moonsault for 2. Aries tags in and kicks the chest for 2. He hits a DDT and tags to Stevens who gets 2. Stevens hits a bodyslam and an elbowdrop for 2. Aries tags in and hits a slingshot elbowdrop for 2. He puts on a chinlock but Richards chops him to the floor. Strong follows him out and rams him into the barricade. Romero goes out and hits a high knee. Back in the ring Richards gets 2. Romero tags in and kicks Aries around for 2. Strong tags in and hits a fall away slam and tags to Romero. Romero hits a bodyslam and a kneedrop. Richards tags in and hits a snap suplex for 2. Strong tags in and misses a chop, allowing Aries to tag to Stevens. Stevens cleans house, throwing Romero into his teammates and hitting him with the TKO. He hits Strong with a powerslam for 2. He hits him with an Oklahoma slam for 2. The Resilience sends the No Remorse Corp into the corner and triple-team them. Stevens kills Strong with a lariat for 2. He goes for the Doctor Bomb but Richards blocks it with an enziguiri and Strong eliminates him with the Sick Kick and the tiger driver.

Romero hits cross with a spinebuster for 2. He hits a Manhattan drop but runs into a dropkick. Cross hits Strong with a DDT and hits Romero with a facebuster. Strong puts Cross in a chinlock but Cross fights out. Strong hits him with a dropkick for 2. Richards tags in and they make a wish on Cross. Richards hits a bodyslam and an elbowdrop for 2. Romero tags in and hits an elbowdrop and a kick to the back. He hits a fisherman suplex for 2. Strong tags in and dumps Cross into the corner. Richards tags in and hits a northern lights suplex for 2. He puts on a chinlock and hits a kneedrop for 2. He hits a knee to the gut and a running forearm. Cross hits an enziguiri and tags to Aries. Aries knocks Romero and Strong off the apron and hits Richards with a slingshot splash for 2. He hits a moonsault press on Romero and Strong and the Finlay roll on Richards. Cross tags in and hits a springboard double stomp for 2. Aries and Cross send Strong and Romero to the floor Aries and follows them out with the Heat Seeking Missile. Cross goes for a dive but Richards hits him with a gutbuster. Cross gets a victory roll on Richards for 2. Richards hits him with the Alarm Clock and the D.R. Driver to eliminate him.

Romero hits Aries with a bodyslam. He hits a kneedrop and tags to Strong. Aries counters a suplex to a roll up for 2. Strong hits a butterfly suplex for 2. Richards tags in and chokes Aries on the middle rope. Strong tags in and puts on a leglock. Aries fights out and hits a chinbreaker. Richards tags in and hits a backbreaker. Romero tags in and the NRC members all take turns kicks Aries. Romero kicks Strong by mistake and Aries tosses him into Richards. He hits Strong with a roaring forearm and nails one on Richards. He hits Richards with two-thirds of the Aries Flurry but Richards dodges the shooting star press. Strong hits him with the gutbuster and Romero hits a series of kicks to the head and the tiger suplex for the win. Aries’s decision to bring up new guys for this feud seems to be bad one. The story here was solid throughout, but the match got less exciting with each elimination. Still, the effort was there and this did a lot to establish the dynamic between the two teams. The beating on Aries continues after the match until Delirious makes the save.
Rating: ***½

Bayless catches up with Sara Del Rey who has a few words for Daizee Haze. She says Haze got lucky tonight and wants a rematch to prove that she’s the best women’s wrestler in the world. The way Bayless subsequently introduces the main event makes me think we need a man back on interview duty.

JZ says: Stevens is pulling double duty tonight, after already winning a four-way earlier in the card. The Resilience runs down right away and the brawl starts outside the ring. Romero and Cross wind up in the ring and they exchange moves and counters and both refuse to back down from the other. Aries gets tagged in and he wants Strong. Stevens gets him instead, and I would love to see these guys have a singles match in ROH. Romero tries to sneak in and help Richards double-team Stevens, but the FIP Florida Heritage Champion has none of it, and he tags out to Cross. The Resilience takes control of Richards and works him over for a few minutes. Richards fights back on Aries and dumps him to the floor. Strong and Romero double-team Aries while Richards distracts the referee and Stevens & Cross. Stevens winds up the unfortunate victim of a double-teaming from Richards and Strong that culminates in Strong hitting a Tiger Driver to eliminate him at 12:02. This gives the NRC a one-man advantage, and they go right to work on Cross, the smallest man in the match by far. Aries and Cross make a brief comeback but Richards hits the DR Driver on Cross to eliminate him at 21:42. Aries now faces 3-on-1 odds. Aries fights back on all three and hits the kick to the face and brainbuster on Richards. He goes up for the 450 but Strong stops that. Romero then hits a series of kicks to Aries’ head and a Tiger Suplex to get the pin and eliminate Aries and end the match at 27:45. The NRC continues to abuse Aries after the match, until Delirious comes out and makes the save. That was a very good tag team match, and I like the heel team being so initially dominant.
Rating: ***½

Rebecca Bayless is backstage with Sara Del Ray, who dwarfs her. Del Ray says that Haze got the win on 80% luck and 20% skill, so she wants a rematch. Women shouldn’t be allowed to cut promos.

MATCH #9: Takeshi Morishima & Chris Hero vs. Nigel McGuinness & Doug Williams

BG says: Nigel and Doug’s theme music is just about the most fitting possible for their team. Their matching ring jackets also kick ass and make me wish Williams was in ROH fulltime. I’ll call the team Guinness and Birds. If you know why you are a true fan. Nigel and Morishima start. Nigel opens up with forearms but Hero runs in and helps Morishima hit double big boots on Nigel and Williams. They double-team Nigel in the corner until Williams pulls Hero to the floor. Morishima hits a butt butt and a butt lariat on Nigel. Hero tags in and pins Nigel for 1. He hits a senton for 1. Nigel comes back with the corner combo and tags to Williams. Williams and Nigel put on a double wristlock. Williams stays on Hero’s arm and tags to Nigel. Nigel headbutts the arm and tags to Williams. Williams hits a bodyslam and a series of kneedrops for 2. Nigel tags in and works the arm. Williams tags in and gets hit with a chinbreaker. Morishima tags in and Hero hits Williams with a dropkick. Morishima drags Williams to the floor and rams him into the barricade. Back in the ring Morishima puts on an abdominal stretch. Hero tags in and hits an exploder for 2. Morishima tags in and hits an avalanche. He hits a legdrop for 2. He puts on a rear naked choke and pins Williams for 2. He hits a bodyslam and tags to Hero. Hero hits a senton for 2. Williams goes for the Chaos Theory but has to settle for a swinging DDT. He hits an enziguiri and tags to Nigel. Nigel sends Morishima into Hero and hits a superkick on Morishima. Morishima bails so Williams dives out onto him. Nigel hits a short-arm clothesline on Hero for 2. He hits a hammerlock takedown but Morishima breaks up the hold. Hero boots Nigel and hits a chokeslam. Morishima tags in and hits a handspring avalanche. He climbs the ropes but Williams cuts him off and Nigel hits the Tower of London for 2. He hits a running European uppercut and a superkick. Morishima powers through but gets taken down with a lariat. That gets 2 for Nigel. Williams and Nigel sandwich Morishima with European uppercuts and Nigel hits another lariat for 2. Williams tags in and hits a gutwrench suplex for 2. He hits the Bomb Scare for 2. Morishima hits a head-and-arm suplex but Williams catches him with a back suplex. Nigel tags in and goes for a sunset flip but Morishima sits on him. Hero tags in and hits a roaring forearm. He hits the Shiranui for 2. Nigel blocks Go2Sleep but runs into a big boot. Morishima clotheslines Nigel down but Williams hits him with a German suplex. Nigel hits a superkick on Hero and a lariat on Morishima. He hits another lariat on Hero and sets him up top. He and Williams hit a double-team Tower of London for 2. Morishima hits Nigel with a side slam and the backdrop driver for 2. Williams helps him block a second attempt and Nigel hits the Jawbreaker Lariat on Hero for the win. Hero hitting the signature moves of NOAH wrestlers he’d seen during his tour in Japan was cute. Most of the stuff between Nigel and Morishima was also very worthwhile. On the down side Williams was kind of a non-factor and the finish was far too crowded. All in all though this was a main event worthy main event.
Rating: ***¾

JZ says: I think if I could have one part-time ROH superstar in full-time, it would be Doug Williams. It starts off as a big brawl, with Williams quickly being tossed to the floor but not staying there for long. Hero and Morishima control the early going. Morishima and McGuinness club away at each other in the ring while Hero and Williams fight outside. Nigel takes a beating for a bit before tagging out to Williams. He goes to work on Hero, particularly the arm and wrist. The British duo continues to work on Hero, who after several minutes of abuse tags out to Morishima. The ROH World Champion drags Williams to the floor and throws him into the guardrail. Back in the ring Hero and Morishima continue to work over Williams. Both teams get sustained bits of offense. The focus of the match becomes Nigel vs. Morishima, as they brawl in the middle of the ring with Nigel hitting Morishima with all he’s got and Morishima brushing it off. Williams gets his shots in on the reigning champ too. Morishima hits a butt-splash on Nigel and tags out to Hero, who’s been using signature moves of various NOAH superstars. Nigel blocks the Go 2 Sleep and tags in Williams, and Morishima comes in, and everyone is in now. Morishima hits a side slam and a running boot on Nigel, followed by a Back Drop Driver. Hero goes for the cover but can only get two. Morishima tries another backdrop driver but Williams breaks it up, and Nigel is able to level Hero with a lariat to get the pin at 18:56. I’m still not super impressed with Morishima, but the action in this was really good and it made Nigel look strong going into his title shot tomorrow night.
Rating: ***¼

MVP

BG says: Chris Hero, for getting creative in the main event.

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 FIGHTING SPIRIT!