ROH Injustice II

ROH Injustice IIROH Injustice II

By Big Red Machine
From January 17, 2009
Discussion

ROH Injustice II (1/17/2009)- Edison, NJ

We get a fun little backstage segment setting up the opening match.

Then we get a good backstage promo from Larry Sweeney

RHETT TITUS vs. BRENT ALBRIGHT- 4.5/10 No botches, but not very exciting at all.

FOUR CORNER SURVIVAL MATCH: Necro Butcher vs. Delirious vs. Damien Wayne vs. Sean Denny- 5/10.

AUSTIN AIRES PROMO & SEGMENT WITH TYLER BLACK, JIMMY JACOBS, & JAY BRISCOE- This was great. It set up both the main event and the next match very well while also displaying Aries' new attitude.

JAY BRISCOE vs. AUSTIN ARIES vs. JIMMY JACOBS- 6.25/10- told a good story, and really got Aries and Jacobs over as frenemies.

LUMBERJACK STRAP MATCH: The American Wolves vs. Roderick Strong & Erick Stevens- 6.5/10. This was pretty well done for a Lumberjack match where there was no real story going on with the Lumberjacks themselves in a feud where the Lumberjacks weren't necessary.

GRIZZLY REDWOOD vs. CHRIS ESCOBAR- No rating. Bison Smith runs in and destroys both men.

JERRY LYNN vs. BRYAN DANIELSON- 7.5/10.

ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Nigel McGuinness(c) vs. Tyler Black- 9.5/10
I LOVE this match. I ate up every nearfall, and was 100% convinced that Tyler was going to win the belt that night.

This match also contains my favorite (and possibly the best) piece of overbooking that works in wrestling history. During the match, as Tyler was about to hit a Phoenix Splash, Jimmy Jacobs came out and distracted but Tyler and the ref, allowing Aries to push Tyler off the turnbuckle down to the floor, then hit him with a Brainbuster. Jacobs distracted the ref while Aries laid the boots in to Tyler... but the ref was busy with Jacobs, which allowed Jerry Lynn to sneak into the ring and hit Nigel with a Cradle Piledriver, keeping the champ and challenger even. Lynn started to brawl with Aries and Jacobs, and was quickly aided by Jay Briscoe. Then the Wolves came out, followed by Albright, Strong, and Stevens, leading to a shcmoz. Just when the crowd was certain that the ref would throw the match out (and started to chant "BULLSH*T!"), Bryan Danielson came out, mic in hand, talking the whole way down the ramp:
"GUYS! GUYS! LISTEN TO THESE PEOPLE! THIS IS NOT WHAT RING OF HONOR IS ABOUT! I WANT ALL OF YOU TO GET TO THE BACK RIGHT NOW! THIS IS AN ROH TITLE MATCH! THIS IS NOT ABOUT THIS KIND OF GARBAGE!"
Dragon was soon jumped from behind by Jacobs, and the schmoz soon cleared out, spilling over into the crowd (Jimmy Jacobs almost ran me over!). If there is one mistake the ROH made in 2009, it was not doing anything with this speech of Dragons. It is one of my favorite moments in ROH history, and had SO MUCH potential (I will try to do something with it when I book ROH after Gabe).
Anyway, this schmoz was amazing because of Dragon's promo, because it kept the champ and challenger ever, and because it build up from one interference into a schmoz in a way that made sense was easy to keep track off. Every interference had a purpose. Also, it gave Tyler and Nigel a chance to catch their breath and rest.
This show, infamously got its name due to an error in the world title match. Either Nigel and Tyler went through the match too quickly or the ring announcer messed up and rang the bell too early, but this match only went about 48 minutes. A lot of fans picked up on this, and "FIRE PEARCE!" chants started. On the DVD it is very awkward because, in an attempt to pretend that they are calling the match live, Prazak and Leonard acted like they had no idea what was happening. This major error is the ONE flaw in this match. I absolutely LOVED this match to hell both live and on the DVD. Without this blemish, I would have given this match 10/10. This error, though, is big enough to lower it down to 9.5/10

Also, as a side note that I'm sure will encourage millions around the world to purchase this DVD... at 1:50:40, when Nigel is about to punch Tyler in the corner by the barricade, there is an extremely handsome young man standing up two rows back wearing a dark blue jacket and with his bangs hanging down over his eyes due to being three weeks overdue for a haircut. Any guesses?

Overall, this show isn't very good. It definitely felt like it lacked starpower (no Hero, no Claudio, no Steenerico, no Mark Briscoe, Jacobs and Aries crammed on the early card). Some of the matches are solid, and although I personally LOVED the main event, I'm sure there are many people who wouldn't like the overbooking at all. Unless you are a HUGE fan of Tyler or Nigel (and maybe even if you are) your money would be better spent on a different show.

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