Paid Members Dearly Devoted Dexter Posted May 8, 2009 Paid Members Share Posted May 8, 2009 Poor old ROH - talk about fiddling while Rome burns Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greeby Posted May 8, 2009 Share Posted May 8, 2009 Poor old ROH - talk about fiddling while Rome burns  How so? A company that's still around 5 years after their promoter was exposed on national TV as a paedophile. Not to mention losing a great deal of their established names to the other two companies, can pretty much survive anything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cum Doctor Posted May 9, 2009 Share Posted May 9, 2009 <-- click on 'spoiler' to show/hide the spoiler Delirious Vs. Ricky Reyes Reyes is the first on the list of people the ROH fans crapped on and didn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members GlennCullen Posted May 9, 2009 Paid Members Share Posted May 9, 2009 They have to have Super Smash Bros vs The Young Bucks, have to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members gadge Posted May 10, 2009 Paid Members Share Posted May 10, 2009 I just filled this in on the ROH board, and thought I'd share it here...  1. Are you up to date with the most recent ROH releases (i.e. have purchased and have watched)? I have purchased up to "Final Battle 2008" plus the Florida shows from '09  2. If yes, do you watch all ROH shows on DVD? Do you skip only to certain matches/angles? Something else?  I watch everything...  2a. If no, how many shows are you behind?  ...though the last show I watched was "Wrestling at the Gateway", so when I purchase the January '09 shows in the current sale, I'll be 9 DVDs behind in viewing what I have purchased.  3. Do you consider yourself an "ROH Completist" meaning that you must own all of the shows released on DVD?  Yes  4. Has your DVD buying pattern changed in the last 6 months? 1 year? How?  I've got further behind than usual in the last six months. I think negative vibes, or even worse disinterest, have been building towards the company from many parts of the internet since, well, possibly since before the PPVs started. So a general lack of buzz has just kind of quelled my eagerness. Then, many shows seemed to lack any standout moments, then the booking change happened and live reports of shows just went from bad to worse.  However, I'm happy to report I've really enjoyed 3 of the 5 shows from the new booking regime on DVD, and thoughts of reducing my DVD buying from 'every show' to 'some shows' starting with Final Battle '08 has kind of gone by the wayside... so far, at least.  I think a live fix here in the UK would help !  Also, here are the Edison results from last night to go with Friday nights Boston results posted by mr v.1 there... warning, the results are backwards in terms of the show and a bit messy.  <-- click on 'spoiler' to show/hide the spoiler Main Show: -Jerry Lynn beat Jay Briscoe via a Cradle Tombstone Piledriver. Jay kicked out of a Package Piledriver and Lynn kicked out of a JayDriller. "no crowd heat for the finish". Post match, Lynn cuts an in-ring promo telling the negitive fan in the crowd to "shut the F up and go watch WWE". "Disappointing ME, never got into the next gear... disappointing finish to an otherwise good show" -The American Wolves beat Bryan Danielson and Kevin Steen to retain the ROH Tag Team Titles when Edwards made Danielson tap to a Half Boston Crab. Big brawl to start. Steen threw a table early making it 2 on 1. The Wolves worked Dragons hamstring all match and he stayed on the mat for awhile after tapping. "Legit 4 star match" -Colt Cabana beat Joey Ryan via submission with the Billy Goats Curse. Post match saw Ernie Osiris attempt to jump Cabana, but gets beaten down instead. -Kenny King and Rhett Titus beat Grizzly Redwood and Alex Payne with their Blockbuster/Powerbomb combo. -Intermission. BC tie color: Fuschia. Attendance: "typical Edison attendance". Return Date: 11.28.09 -Delirious and Necro Butcher beat the Embassy after Delirious rolls up Rave. Huge TP shower for Rave and Nana got hit in the nuts by a roll. Nana says we are all a bunch of swine flu pigs! Jimmy has been spending most of the match avoiding Necro. Finish saw Nana try to give Rave a chair and Necro knocked it away allowing Deli to roll him up. -Chris Hero beat Sonjay Dutt with a loaded boot shot to the face. Hero is getting face pops as both guys are very over. -Erick Stevens and Brent Albright beat The Super Smash Bros. when Albright gave Player Dos a Half Nelson Suplex from the apron into the ring. SSB looked good and received "Please Come Back" chants. -Eddie Kingston beat Ricky Reyes with a Spinning Backfist. "Short, stiff match". Post match has Chris Hero come out and reminds Kingston isn't in his leauge.  PreShow: -Maverick beat ???, in polka dots -Bobby Dempsey and Matt Tanin beat Gio Giovanni and ??? Patel  [close spoiler] ");document.close(); Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Dearly Devoted Dexter Posted May 10, 2009 Paid Members Share Posted May 10, 2009 I'm tempted to make my first ROH buys in months due to the 40% off sale...maybe get the remaining 2008 shows. I've almost finished watching Return of the 187, review will be up soon. In the meantime...  1. Are you up to date with the most recent ROH releases (i.e. have purchased and have watched)?  Nope, I've fallen way behind over the last few months, mainly due to the relatively unfavourable exchange rate  2. If yes, do you watch all ROH shows on DVD? Do you skip only to certain matches/angles? Something else?  I generally watch everything - excpet women and student matches  2a. If no, how many shows are you behind?  A lot. Last show I bought was "Bound by Hate"  3. Do you consider yourself an "ROH Completist" meaning that you must own all of the shows released on DVD?  Yes, although whether this will be the case in six months time is another question  4. Has your DVD buying pattern changed in the last 6 months? 1 year? How?  As mentioned above, the dollar falling against the pound hasn't helped. Plus I've been somewhat discouraged by the general lack of must see matches/ storylines in the 2008 shows I've seen so far. Having fallen way behind I'm trying to make an effort to catch up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members gadge Posted May 10, 2009 Paid Members Share Posted May 10, 2009 The 40% sale is pretty good, and the paypal exchange rate is almost $1.5 to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Dearly Devoted Dexter Posted May 11, 2009 Paid Members Share Posted May 11, 2009 Yeah, it's slightly up at the moment...still along way from the glory days of $1.90 to the Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vito Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 It's great to see  SPOILER - Highlight the black box to read Kingston  finally getting some decent matches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members gadge Posted May 12, 2009 Paid Members Share Posted May 12, 2009 (edited) If ROH had traditional style TV, with a weekly show building to a PPV called "Rising Above", then the last episode before that PPV could easily be titled "Escalation".  As a DVD, Escalation has some watchable wrestling, but feels inconsequential with a few storyline points to set up the Rising Above PPV taping that takes place the next night, but nothing to really make you feel like you are getting value for your DVD purchase.  Brent Albright and Davey Richards have a watchable opener. I'll leave it for Dearly Devoted Dexter's eventual review to say who should be getting a push and who should be getting the push here though.  A Four Corner Survival is all about FIP Champ Go Shiosaki clubbering some people. Sami Callahan gets a small opportunity to make an impression, and the other two in the match are Rhett Titus and Grizzley Redwood...  Irish Airborne vs The Briscoes? What is this, 2006?  Roderick Strong vs Chris Hero in a Lights Out match has some drama and is way better than their previous ROH encounter (also in Dayton). However, WWE does 'Last Man Standing' matches so well, I found this lacking overall.  Steeen and Generico defend the tag titles against Jimmy Jacobs and Delirious. Watchable but inconsequential, like the show as a whole.  Bryan Danielson and Claudio Castagnoli had easily my favourite match of 2008 (from ROH) up to this point, at 'Northern Navigation', this match is good but like everything else, could be more meaningful. It's mainly here so that after Danielson wins (with a small package reversal), Claudio can bash his leg in so he can work a bad leg story into his title match with Nigel at the PPV.  Then lastly, Nigel McGuinness vs Austin Aries vs Tyler Black is a non-title three way. It was scheduled as a title match going in, but Nigel changes it earlier in the show, as he's beaten both guys or something. The resulting match brings back memories of Joe vs Punk vs Homicide at Scramble Cage Melee in 2004, as the title not being on the line reduces the match from dramatic to watchable but nothing more. Aries pins Black for the victory, which presumably is to send the fans home happy.  A nothing show that runs just 2 hours 10 minutes, if you were given it for free it'd be worth watching but it's definitely not worth purchasing. There's a bonus match between Samoa Joe and Tyler Black, but that's also on the Rising Above DVD release, so we'll get to that in a moment...  Rising Above 2008 - 22.11.08  Ring of Honor's tenth PPV taping, from the always rowdy Frontier Fieldhouse in Chicago Ridge. As Dave Prazak "welcomes everyone to Ring of Honor" from inside the ring, the new production is immediately obvious. My own personal thought on the view from the hard cam was "holy crap!", as it looks scarily, scarily similar to ECW Barely Legal...  Kevin Steen and El Generico vs Jay & Mark Briscoe kicks things off. After being called out by the Briscoes, Steen says he and Generico would prefer to face the Briscoes at 100% due to Mark having a bad leg, but the Briscoes jump them anyway. They control for a few minutes early on, but when Steen gets a mildly hot tag to Generico, Generico gets a flurry then things break down. There isn't time for Generico to get beat down, as after a couple more minutes of good action, Mark Briscoe's leg buckles when he attempts the cut-throat driver, and Steen capitalises by booting him in said knee and nailing the package piledriver for three. There goes the undefeated PPV streak of the Briscoes in under ten minutes... it was good while it lasted though.  Dave Prazak then interviews Claudio, which is good. He's Very European, don't you know. I like.  MsChif vs Sara Del Rey for the SHIMMER title is a good, nearly ten minute women's match. I liked lots of things here... from Larry Sweeney and Death Rey's prerecorded comments, the way MsChif was made to look good against the more established in ROH Del Rey, the great use of MsChif's flexibility, the gradual build of the match, leading to MsChif getting the win with the Desecrator to retain her title. I think I need to buy me my first full SHIMMER DVD soon.  Silas Young vs Claudio Castagnoli vs Sami Callahan vs Alex 'Sugarfoot' Payne in a Four Corner Survival is overshadowed to start by Nigel McGuinness joining the commentary team. Claudio is the clearly the star here, and the match is woven around him. Sugarfoot's involvement works, as for some reason he's a cult favourite in Chicago. Callahan and Payne flesh the match out a bit with some good work.  HEEEEEYYYYYYYY!  Oh yeah, and the crowd chant HEY at Claudio A LOT. I find it fun, mainly due to Claudio's great selling of getting the HEY treatment. After some underdog effort from Payne, Claudio puts him away with a European Uppercut and a Ricola Bomb. He then goes to stomp a chair into Sugarfoot's head as well, but Bryan Danielson makes the save. The crowd chant "Next World Champ!". More on that later....  Roderick Strong, Brent Albright and Ace Steel vs Davey Richards, Go Shiosaki and Chris Hero - I am so bored of Sweet 'n' Sour Inc, and couldn't get into this at all. The surprise return of Chicago's own 'Crazy' Ace is edited off, which probably got a nice pop. As with most ROH PPV matches, the tempo is a step above the usual you'd expect from everyone involved, but there are still things lacking. Where is the hatred and aggression between Strong and Richards? Go always lacks emotion, but at least has Roderick to exchange chops with. Hero stomps, and elbows, and *yawn* stomps and elbows. There's a new ref who looks like Bam Neely, and counts really slow like Scott Armstrong does on ECW. Finally, there's one minute of REALLY good action between Strong and Richards, ending with Roderick blasting Davey with the Gibson Driver for 2, then the Boston Crab, at which point Sweeney jumps on the apron, Hero blasts Strong with a chair, and puts Richards on top for 3. Dreadful finish. Match was OK I guess.  There's a really cool video of former ROH alumni, and a video documenting the Aries/Lacey/Jacobs story on which your view will probably depend on your taste for low budget hype videos. So...  I Quit: Austin Aries vs Jimmy Jacobs  Unlike Strong and Richards, at the very least you can't argue that these two guys haven't shown emotion and aggression in this feud. After a really, really good Dog Collar match at "Bound By Hate", I wondered if this supposed blow off match could go any better. The answer is... probably not from an action standpoint. There's plenty of development for both wrestlers personas, and the peripheral players in the saga, which is fine as a story. How you judge the match probably depends on whether you give a damn about all that or not. Me? Well...  Tyler Black is in Jacobs' corner, and while Aries had the option to have someone in his corner, he says he's going it alone. Jacobs gets the advantage using the Dog Collar Chain from their previous match. It is Aries' turn to bleed here to start with, after Jacobs bled everywhere at Bound By Hate. Jacobs nails a spear through the ropes to the floor that was possibly riskier than it looked, then his usual dive onto his opponent on a chair at ringside. A duelling chant seems very out of place, but happens anyway.  Back in the ring, Jacobs ties Aries (badly) to a chair, which seems contrived to me. Then, as Jacobs gets another chair to bludgeon Aries with, Lacey makes a suprise (and thus far one-off) return, complete with a towel. Jacobs asks if she's there for Aries, who tells her not to throw the towel in. As her distraction continues, Aries unties himself and nails the heat seeking missile, starting his BIG comeback. Aries is ace in this position. He nails Jacobs with a brainbuster on a chair, then wraps his fist in the chain and busts Jacobs open. Aries ties Jacobs (pretty well) in the corner, and pummels him, and as the ref tries to ask Jacobs if he quits, Aries won't let him. Nice.  After eventually untying Jacobs, Aries tries to put him through a ringside table, but eventually they both crash through. Jacobs gets a dramatic nearfall (nearquit?) with a low blow then the End Time, then tries the Last Chancery, but Aries can escape his own hold (you rake the eyes, apparently). Jacobs goes for the railroad spike, but misses, and ends up in the Last Chancery himself. Aries then switches that into a crossface, then grabs the spike and starts jabbing Jacobs in the head with it. Tyler Black is called to throw in the towel, but Lacey stops him and Jacobs has to say "I Quit". Lacey has got what she wants and leaves before Aries can talk to her. Jacobs then berates Tyler on the outside for not throwing the towel in and he walks out on Jacobs. And so the story moves on...  I found this better on second viewing, but Jacobs gaining the upper hand on Aries for so long in the opening half doesn't totally work for me. I really enjoy Aries explosiveness when he comes back from a long beatdown, but Jacobs attempts at 'psychological' warfare aren't that interesting to watch. At least in storyline he's usually unsuccessful with it, I guess I'm trying to say "Hey Jimmy, more bludgeoning and less babbling". Yes. The last few minutes are really good stuff, and I'm ready for Jacobs vs Black now, shame there's bound to be other complications before they get to that...  ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Nigel McGuinness vs Bryan Danielson  "McGuinness vs Danielson? Again?" I hear you say... well, this particular match, for the title, on pay-per-view, has been building since "Undeniable" when McGuinness won the title. Sure, they wrestled in the Manhattan Center at the Sixth Anniversary show since then. A good match, that one, but the story of that match only led more fuel to the fire for this match on PPV. They wrestled again in Japan, but that near-exhibition can be ignored. This is the one to see, and is up there with the Unified and Driven (2007) matches as their top three.  The first thing going for it is that Danielson's technical proficiency means you're not going to get the predictable routine of McGuinness' recent defences. Then, there's the story started the night before with Danielson having a bad leg, which really factors into this match when it gets caught in the corner and Danielson's early control ends abruptly.  From there, Nigel blatantly steals Danielson's surfboard routine with a cocky swagger. Overall, Nigel working the leg is much more fun than his usual armwork which later helps him with the London Dungeon. Nigel uses a figure four, but when Danielson escapes the crowd support for him distracts the champ, and he forgets the gameplan momentarily, and Danielson can fire back in an exchange of European Uppercuts. Danielson then tries the crossface chickenwing, a move he hasn't used much in recent times even though he won the World title with it, and so the pace slowly builds, with the crowd getting hotter when Danielson gets the chickenwing locked in.  Nigel then takes control nicely, with lovely work leading to his first lariat. Then Danielson manages to hit his huge springboard senton, into the aisleway here when it often goes into the crowd, and the events of earlier in the night come into it. Nigel recovers, and him grabbing a chair leads to the ref abandoning his 20 count and stopping him from using the chair, but then he misses Claudio attacking Danielson on the ramp and stomping a chair into his head. Nigel rolls into the ring and Todd Sinclair starts the 20 count, only for Sugarfoot to come out and help Danielson just make it in by 19. The crowd erupts, and it's really on from there.  I won't go too much into the nearfalls and near submissions aplenty from there on out, but the seven minutes or so that forms the end are really, really great. I love the way the new production captures the crowd rising for Danielson's transition into a cross armbreaker, and they are on their feet from there on out. Nigel and Dragon don't quite hit the finisher insanity (you could say overkill, though I wouldn't) of the Unified and Driven matches, but the finish works for me, as Danielson takes a headbutt to the back of the head and sways punch drunk into the Jawbreaker lariat for three. The crowd seemed shocked that Danielson hasnt won the belt, and it's PPV over.  As a PPV it was really good, I'd say. The production and the important feel of the top two matches make it feel like a major event by their standards. The undercard is nicely rounded too, even if I didn't like the six man. It's easily one of the top shows of the year, and the second DVD purchase worthy show out of 4 for the new booking crew.  There's also two bonus matches to add value for your DVD buying cash...  First off, Delirious vs Rhett Titus has a build up video, which suggests it may have been set for the PPV at one point. Not much to the actual match bar Dave Prazak on commentary getting Titus' phrases out there, then Delirious wins with the Shadows Over Hell. Afterwards, Delirious goes mad on Titus with his Top of the Class Trophy, finishing when he hits the Panic Attack on Rhettski the Jetski through the trophy.  Finally, of course is the much hyped return of a former ROH Champ. Samoa Joe vs Tyler Black certainly isn't a worthy enough bonus for anyone to have bought the DVD of "Escalation" for while Rising Above was on PPV. It's definitely a good standalone match though. Bizarrely, seeing as how it's been less than two years since Joe left, it's almost a nostalgia match, as Joe gets most of his trademark sequences in. Tyler gets to hang in there and show some of his athleticism, and while there's never any doubt about Joe winning, Tyler is at least booked to pass out in the choke, never tapping out. Joe then cuts a nice, honest promo for the crowd, where he basically admits he'll almost certainly never be back, and another one backstage.  That's all folks. Buy the DVD from ROHwrestling.com (or a-merchandise, if you're paranoid about international shipping...) should you so desire. Edited May 12, 2009 by gadgetboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members gadge Posted May 12, 2009 Paid Members Share Posted May 12, 2009 In case anyone is wondering, yeah, the above review is in progress. One match to go as I type this. Anyway... Â A Canadian Legend Makes His Return Monday, May 11, 2009 Â It Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Flying Tiger Drop Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 Lance Storm's in ring return is a very good thing indeed. Could be an idea to listen to his booking idea's whilst he's there too Adam... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members gadge Posted May 12, 2009 Paid Members Share Posted May 12, 2009 The reviews keep on coming today...  Wrestling at the Gateway - Collinsville, IL - 5.12.08  ROH debuts in the St Louis area, in a venue that looks about the standard size for ROH, with a fair crowd in.  Kenny King vs Kenny Omega  Before the show starts we get a promo from King, Sal Rinauro and Rhett Titus. Somewhere between the YRR and the King/Titus team I've seen on the TV show, I'm glad they dropped Rinauro, as he's still rubbish. Anyway... the battle of the Kennys, as a result of the events of "The French Connection". A fun opener, it's nice to have fresh talent and athleticism in ROH, though Omega's entrance is ridiculous. Omega gets the upset victory, which I found myself marking for. Good job guys.  Sal Rinauro and Rhett Titus vs Grizzly Redwood and Bushwhacker Luke  Yes, you read that correctly. I actually had a giggle at this, it's nice to see some undercard shenanigans once in a while rather than the same old stuff. They structure the match well, with Rinauro and Titus comedically overselling for the majority, Grizzly and Luke working well as a team (!) then the heels winning in rapid order near the end when Titus pinned Grizzly with his feet on the ropes. Woah! Yay!  Tag Team Gauntlet  Haven't had one of these in a while. A match with Kensuke Sasaki and Katsuhiko Nakajima at Final Battle is at stake to the winner of this. So, bearing that in mind, why do we have Irish Airborne in there? After Brent Albright and Erick Stevens dispose of them in a few minutes, Davey Richards and Bobby Dempsey are team 2. Richards is as much beating up Dempsey here as facing the team of Albright and Stevens. Dempsey eventually manages to pull out a few moves, much to his own suprise. The S 'n' S Inc. team then score a suprise win with a screwy DQ, but their luck runs out against the Briscoes when Davey goes down to a Jay Driller. Watchable card filler overall, it didn't make the match with Sasaki and Nakajima seem like that big of a deal...  Necro Butcher and Ace Steel vs Jimmy Jacobs and Delirious  This one fills your brawling match quota for this ROH DVD. Necro and Delirious have pretty good brawling chemistry, and the hold Jacobs has over Delirious is played out quite well. The inevitable story bit comes when Delirious goes to nail Necro with Jacobs' spike at the end, but Daizee Haze has arrived at ringside and she and Jacobs end up arguing with the masked man about whether or not to spike Necro. In the end he drops the spike, only for Necro to then pin Delirious, I think with the Tiger Driver. Solid.  Austin Aries vs Tyler Black  With Jimmy Jacobs defeated and Tyler Black subsequently walking out on Jacobs after the I Quit match at Rising Above, Aries is able to talk Tyler into having a straight, athletic style match here. The booking and commentary both seem to have forgotten that these two already had two singles matches in ROH, one at Unscripted III, and one at Age of Insanity where Tyler asked for a similar stipulation.  That said, this match is better than either of those, and features plenty of very exciting exchanges. As things progress, both men end up with bad necks, and finally, when Aries nails a kick to the head and goes for the brainbuster, Tyler counters with God's Last Gift for the win. You could say this was a mild upset, unless you were paying attention to the commentary which quite blatantly telegraphed the outcome by talking about how Tyler needed a big singles win so badly. Still, this was a real good match. Afterwards, Aries leaves with a weird grin on his face...  Bryan Danielson and Jerry Lynn vs Nigel McGuinness and Claudio Castagnoli  Main event time (what? already?) and it's yet more tag team action. Team Very European work very well here, Danielson is Danielson and Lynn is on form too. I'm much preferring Nigel away from the standard title defense formula, which may be part of the reason I enjoyed this so much. It means he hasn't got to go lariat crazy, and earlier on the tag match formula is easier for them to keep the crowd interested. After 21 solid minutes, Lynn pins Claudio with the cradle piledriver. Booking wise, this builds nicely to Danielson vs Claudio in a no-DQ match and Lynn vs Nigel for the title the next night, yet as a standalone match it was a worthy main event and gave the crowd plenty to get their teeth into.  Overall, while on paper this is a B show, and the main card is another short one at 2 hours, 14 minutes, it's a lot better than "The French Connection" and "Escalation", with two good main events and some undercard fun. Things feel a lot fresher to me than for much of 2008, and the lack of overkill actually works on this show with clean finishes mostly intact. There's also a bonus match that I particularly enjoyed...  Daizee Haze vs Sarah Stock  This is from SHIMMER VOL. 15, and is for the #1 contendership for the SHIMMER title. The two had their first match ever on SHIMMER VOL. 13, and here Daizee is looking to use the experience of that loss to gain a victory. Stock, meanwhile, has experience from CMLL and brings some lucha stylings, which makes Daizee's efforts to keep up more difficult. I was mostly engrossed for the fifteen and a bit minutes of action on offer here, furthering my desire to get a SHIMMER DVD in. Maybe I'll go for VOL. 16 to see how the winner got on in her title shot... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Dearly Devoted Dexter Posted May 13, 2009 Paid Members Share Posted May 13, 2009 (edited) Return of the 187 Edited May 13, 2009 by Dearly Devoted Dexter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emperorseb Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Is ROH still on it's way out or is it here to stay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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