ROH This Means War II
ROH This Means War II (4/13/2007)- Long Island, NY
DAIZEE HAZE PROMO- good.
KEVIN STEEN vs. PELLE PRIMEAU- 4/10. Did a great job of getting Steen over, and Pelle plays the singles version of the Ring Crew Express perfectly.
SARA DEL REY vs. DAIZEE HAZE- 4.5/10
BRISCOES PROMO- Good exposition
FOUR CORNER SURVIVAL MATCH: Eddie Edwards vs. El Generico vs. Erick Stevens vs. Jason Blade- 6/10
AUSTIN ARIES PROMO- GREAT!
COLT CABANA vs. DELIRIOUS- F*CKING HILARIOUS!!!!!
CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI vs. JAY BRISCOE (w/Mark Briscoe)- 6.5/10. Great aftermath, planting the seeds for everything that would happen at Respect Is Earned.
BRENT ALBRIGHT vs. HOMICIDE (w/Julius Smokes)- 5.5/10. This match is an excellent example of why I hated the whole “no count-outs, but you can get DQed at the ref’s discretion if you are out there too long” thing in ROH. IMO 10 minutes... and any time that you get all the way to the back of the crowd… counts as “too long.”
JACK EVANS vs. SHINGO- 6.25/10
ELIMINATION TAG TEAM MATCH: The No Remorse Corps (Roderick Strong, Davey Richards, & Rocky Romero) vs. The Resilience (Austin Aries, Matt Cross, & Erick Stevens)- 6/10. The ringwork was solid, but I think that Gabe made a MAJOR booking mistake here. Erick Stevens should not have been eliminated first. He was undefeated and utterly dominant. Throwing his first defeat away like this squandered a lot of potential, and having him be eliminated first takes away the train (CHOO-CHOO!) of momentum he was riding. Instead, I would have had Stevens, rather than Aries, be the guy to be left for the Resilience, down 3-to-1. This would put Stevens over by showing that it takes THREE of ROH’s top guys to put him down, and it would help to build him into a star, rather than Aries, who doesn’t need it.
NIGEL MCGUINNESS & DOUG WILLIAMS vs. TAKESHI MORISHIMA & CHRIS HERO (w/Sweet N’ Sour Inc.)- 7.25/10. Wasn’t very exciting and just felt very small. There was also a sub-theme running through this match of Hero using the moves of a bunch of NOAH guys, which I didn’t like, especially the few he didn’t do too well (like his attempt at Taue’s chokeslam. Uch).
Overall, this wasn’t a very good show from ROH. When the best match of the night is a comedy match…. That isn’t a good thing. Other than that, the only significant things on this show are that Erick Stevens joined the Resilience, and that it sets up for Respect Is Earned with the aftermath to Jay vs. Claudio. Also working against this show is the DVD cover. I’m not usually one to care about these things, so you know that if I am commenting on it, it must be pretty bad. I don’t know if it was the lighting or the angle or what, but all four guys (the cover is advertising the main event) look really bad. Definitely a skippable show, and if not for the amazing comedy match, I’d even say “don’t buy it.”
DAIZEE HAZE PROMO- good.
KEVIN STEEN vs. PELLE PRIMEAU- 4/10. Did a great job of getting Steen over, and Pelle plays the singles version of the Ring Crew Express perfectly.
SARA DEL REY vs. DAIZEE HAZE- 4.5/10
BRISCOES PROMO- Good exposition
FOUR CORNER SURVIVAL MATCH: Eddie Edwards vs. El Generico vs. Erick Stevens vs. Jason Blade- 6/10
AUSTIN ARIES PROMO- GREAT!
COLT CABANA vs. DELIRIOUS- F*CKING HILARIOUS!!!!!
CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI vs. JAY BRISCOE (w/Mark Briscoe)- 6.5/10. Great aftermath, planting the seeds for everything that would happen at Respect Is Earned.
BRENT ALBRIGHT vs. HOMICIDE (w/Julius Smokes)- 5.5/10. This match is an excellent example of why I hated the whole “no count-outs, but you can get DQed at the ref’s discretion if you are out there too long” thing in ROH. IMO 10 minutes... and any time that you get all the way to the back of the crowd… counts as “too long.”
JACK EVANS vs. SHINGO- 6.25/10
ELIMINATION TAG TEAM MATCH: The No Remorse Corps (Roderick Strong, Davey Richards, & Rocky Romero) vs. The Resilience (Austin Aries, Matt Cross, & Erick Stevens)- 6/10. The ringwork was solid, but I think that Gabe made a MAJOR booking mistake here. Erick Stevens should not have been eliminated first. He was undefeated and utterly dominant. Throwing his first defeat away like this squandered a lot of potential, and having him be eliminated first takes away the train (CHOO-CHOO!) of momentum he was riding. Instead, I would have had Stevens, rather than Aries, be the guy to be left for the Resilience, down 3-to-1. This would put Stevens over by showing that it takes THREE of ROH’s top guys to put him down, and it would help to build him into a star, rather than Aries, who doesn’t need it.
NIGEL MCGUINNESS & DOUG WILLIAMS vs. TAKESHI MORISHIMA & CHRIS HERO (w/Sweet N’ Sour Inc.)- 7.25/10. Wasn’t very exciting and just felt very small. There was also a sub-theme running through this match of Hero using the moves of a bunch of NOAH guys, which I didn’t like, especially the few he didn’t do too well (like his attempt at Taue’s chokeslam. Uch).
Overall, this wasn’t a very good show from ROH. When the best match of the night is a comedy match…. That isn’t a good thing. Other than that, the only significant things on this show are that Erick Stevens joined the Resilience, and that it sets up for Respect Is Earned with the aftermath to Jay vs. Claudio. Also working against this show is the DVD cover. I’m not usually one to care about these things, so you know that if I am commenting on it, it must be pretty bad. I don’t know if it was the lighting or the angle or what, but all four guys (the cover is advertising the main event) look really bad. Definitely a skippable show, and if not for the amazing comedy match, I’d even say “don’t buy it.”