*** ROH DVD Reviews by Brad Dykens ***
November 2, 2007 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
GLORY BY HONOR VI (NIGHT 1)
TAG TEAM MATCH
HANGMEN 3 (Brent Albright & B.J. Whitmer w/Shane Hagadorn) vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico: Shane Hagadorn came out and proclaimed “this one’s for you, Adam!” but the announcers didn’t know why Adam Pearce was not there. The fans were solidly behind the team of Steen & Generico, who were top notch heels six months ago! Steen & Generico scored the victory after Steen flattened Whitmer with a Senton-bomb! Shane Hagadorn jumped into the ring and threw powder in Mr. Wrestling’s eyes! Brent Albright put the boots to El Generico and nailed Kevin Steen with an Implant-driver. B.J. Whitmer picked up El Generico and dropped him with the Brain-buster, which incited a loud “F*ck the Hangmen!” chant from the fans. The dastardly trio congratulated each other and encouraged the heckling. Hagadorn looked into the camera and said “that was all for you, Adam!” on his way out.
SINGLES MATCH
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Hallowicked: Claudio Castagnoli is just finishing up a very successful year of character progression, but 2008 will be the true test for the man with the Swiss heritage. Hallowicked doesn’t win a lot of matches, but nevertheless he is still respected by the fans, who more often than not enjoy Hallowicked’s matches. Neither man could really afford to lose a match at this stage in their career. Claudio was the one who had his arm raised but his celebration was interrupted by the presence of “Sweet & Sour” Larry Sweeney. Sweeney claimed that he was going to buy Castagnoli’s ROH contract just to get rid of him. Sweeney said he would do Castagnoli a favor and sell his contract to Vince, just like he did to Matt Sydal. Castagnoli said that Sweeney’s contract will come in handy next time he runs out of toilet paper. Castagnoli said he loves Ring of Honor, and one day he will get his hands on Larry Sweeney and give him the beating he deserves.
SINGLES MATCH
Davey Richards vs. Delirious: Delirious might be moving on to his next feud with the HANGMEN 3, but I guess he still has some unfinished business with the No Remorse Corps. Consequently, if you ever see Delirious, be sure to ask him what the weather is like in his hometown of “Edge of Insanity.” Davey Richards worked over the arm of Delirious, and won the match with a Tombstone Pile-driver followed by a Kimura arm submission. Delirious failed to get closure but must now focus on the HANGMEN 3, while Davey Richards and the No Remorse Corps have to deal with the Vulture Squad. After the match, it looked like Richards was going to show some respect for Delirious by offering a handshake but he pulled it and walked away – laughing at the gullible Delirious in the ring.
ROH WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH
The Briscoe Brothers (Champions) vs. The No Remorse Corps (Roderick Strong & Rocky Romero): This match caught me off guard because I’m used to seeing the Briscoes in the main event or semi main event slot. I figured it would just be a throw-away match of zero consequence. I neglected to remember that when it comes to the Briscoes, NOTHING IS THROW-AWAY! The Briscoes fought hard with the Corps, and luckily retained their ROH World Tag Team titles. After the match, the Age of the Fall (Jimmy Jacobs, Tyler Black, Nerco Butcher, & Lacey) attacked the Briscoes and then had a standoff with the No Remorse Corps. Necro Butcher tried to get his stable-mates to retreat, but suddenly the Vulture Squad hit the ring to start their scheduled Six Man Scramble with the Age of the Fall.
SIX MAN SCRAMBLE
The Age of the Fall (Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black & Necro Butcher w/Lacey) vs. The Vulture Squad (Jack Evans & Ruckus & Jigsaw w/Julius Smokes): The Briscoes and No Remorse Corps brawled all the way to the locker room, so we should expect some kind of rematch at some point between those two teams. The Vulture Squad is quite a unique combination of wrestlers. It’s like an ice cream cone with three different flavors, and you know that can’t be bad. It seems like so many of these factions in ROH are heel, but the fans were solidly in the corner of the Vulture Squad. The Squad got some exciting offense but the Age of the Fall won when Jimmy Jacobs finished off Jigsaw with a Guillotine-choke! Necro Butcher picked up the ring bell and walked around the ring banging on it with a hammer – clang! clang! clang! clang!! The Briscoes returned to the ring to attack the Age of the Fall, followed by the No Remorse Corp (joined by Davey Richards) for a massive brawl filled with tons of chaos. Lacey grabbed the microphone and yelled for everybody who supports the Age of the Fall to stand up and come to the front line! Lacey went on an gravelly rant about how all the women should support the Age of the Fall if they want to fight oppression in the name of freedom. The crowd rebelled and called Lacey a whore, and Lacey said they would know because they all came from the wombs of whores! Very classy. Daizee Haze hit the ring to save our ears from Lacey’s screechy voice and took her out of the ring! Then suddenly Delirious showed up to get a measure of revenge on Davey Richards. Meanwhile, the carnage began to escalate on the ringside floor. The HANGMEN 3 (Brent Albright, B.J. Whitmer & Shane Hagadorn) joined in the battle, as did Kevin Steen & El Generico. Delirious climbed to the top rope and did a Superman dive on top of a dozen people at ringside. Tyler Black did a running backwards dive onto the same group. Daizee Haze was the next to leap off the top rope onto the mob. The fans encouraged Necro Butcher to do it too, and he was more than happy to do a crazy leap of faith onto the cluster. At this point it became over-kill, but the live crowd was losing their minds so it was okay. Jay Briscoe got a piece of the action by doing a running leap over the top rope. Then Rocky Romero, Davey Richards, and Roderick Strong flew over the top in succession. But then the Vulture Squad was in the ring ready to put everybody to shame with their superior flying skills. Jack Evans, Ruckus, and Jigsaw lined up and did flips over three different sides of the ring onto three different groups of victims. Dave Prazak screamed, “FACTION WARFARE IS RED HOT HERE IN RING OF HONOR!!!!!!!” It was definitely time for an intermission.
TOP OF CLASS TROPHY MATCH
Ernie Osirus (Champion) vs. Mitch Franklin: This was pretty much a quick throw-away match, made somewhat special due to Ernie Osirus winning the Top of Class Trophy. Good for him.
BEST OF THREE SERIES – MATCH #3
Austin Aries vs. “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson: It was time for Austin Aries to reclaim his position as one of the top stars of Ring of Honor, and remind everybody as to why he is a former ROH World champion. In my opinion, Aries has struggled to find his niche since returning to ROH about six months earlier. This match seemed slower and more methodical compared to the previous two matches in the series. That usually means the match would go long. Austin Aries survived both the Cattle Mutilation and a vicious flurry of elbows to the face from Bryan Danielson. Aries recovered and hit the Brain-buster and 450 splash off the top rope to get the 1-2-3 to win the match and more importantly win the Best of Three series!!!! I felt the match could have been longer, and I felt the crowd wanted to see more, but it was a great performance by both stars. Austin Aries has earned the right to call himself the “ACE” of Ring of Honor and cemented his position as the number one contender.
IN THE RING
Sweet & Sour Inc. (Larry Sweeney & Chris Hero & Bobby Dempsey & Sara Del Rey) + ROH World champion Nigel McGuinness: The DVD started with a promo from Nigel McGuinness talking about his injury – a severly torn bicep. The ROH World champion claimed it was from all the Lariats he has delivered over the years. McGuinness said he would be out of action for four months after surgery. Larry Sweeney saw this for the golden opportunity that it quite literally was, and came out with Chris Hero, Bobby Dempsey, and the devilishly sexy Sara Del Rey. Sweeney explained that when Chris Hero won the Survival of the Fittest, he earned the right to an ROH World title shot any time he wants. Sweeney said they would wait all night until Nigel McGuinness came out and defended his championship. Sweeney added that the legendary Mitsuharu Misawa would have to wait too. Chris Hero took the microphone and proceeded to insult Nigel McGuinness and called him a pathetic champion. Nigel McGuinness came out in a t-shirt and jeans, wearing the ROH championship around his waist. McGuinness said he cannot jeopardize his title reign by wrestling Chris Hero tonight, but when he is healthy he will gladly defend the ROH World title against Chris Hero. Sweeney said that isn’t the way the world works, and presented McGuinness with a contract that guarantees Chris Hero a title shot any time he wants. Sweeney said McGuinness must defend the ROH World title OR forfeit it. Sweeney wanted to show McGuinness what Hero was going to do to him, so he odered Hero to attack Bobby Dempsey and stretch his arm with a submission hold. Sweeney berated McGuinness on the microphone and called him a coward. McGuinness’ pride could only take so much, and he foolishly accepted the challenge and put the ROH World title on the line!
ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH
Nigel McGuinness vs. Chris Hero w/Larry Sweeney to retain the ROH World title: Chris Hero focused on the injured arm of Nigel McGuinness, which might as well have had a big red target on it. Whenever Nigel gained an advantage, he would go for a Lariat, but hesitate, and lose his concentration. After a few minutes, Chris Hero applied the arm submission and wrapped his legs around Nigel’s mid-section. The crowd chanted “please don’t tap!” and McGuinness inched his way to the ropes and hooked the ropes with his foot. The referee was in a bad position and didn’t see Nigel’s foot on the ropes. Nigel tapped out and Chris Hero celebrated with the ROH belt. The referee saw Nigel’s foot and corrected himself, and ruled that the match be restarted. Nigel suddenly got Superman syndrom, and dominated Chris Hero and forced him to tap out with an Arm submission of his own! Nigel McGuinness willed himself to victory and retained the Ring of Honor championship! The fans chanted, “Thank you, Nigel!”
MAIN EVENT FEATURING PRO WRESTLING NOAH
Mitsuharu Misawa & KENTA vs. Takeshi Morishima & Naomichi Marufuji: The appearance of the ultra legendary Mitsuharu Misawa will go down as one of the most anticipated and memorable moments in the history of Ring of Honor. I personally got goose-bumps during his entrance. The fans waved Japanese flags and showered the ring with colorful streamers before and during the ring introductions. Mitsuharu Misawa is the founder of NOAH and the reigning GHC Heavyweight champion at the time. The fans were chanting “this is awesome!” before the bell even rang to signal the start of the match. KENTA and Marufuji started the match, but the fans came alive when Morishima and Misawa entered the ring and started smashing each other with forearm strikes. There no way to do something like this justice when you only have the written word to assist you with your description. It’s one of those times when I can say without doubt that if you’re a fan of professional wrestling and all its culture then you will enjoy and appreciate this match. Unfortunately the live crowd was NOT happy when they witnessed a time limit draw. I thought it was a fair finish, since it really didn’t matter who won the match, as long as each wrestler gave everything they had.
If you would like to purchase this or any other ROH DVD, please check out ROHwrestling.com —- if you need some convincing, you can check out streaming video of various ROH matches for free at www.ROHVideos.com