ROH Results 2/8/08

[TheFranchise 0]

ROH Death Before Dishonor VI Report

Hammerstein Ballroom, NYC 8/2/08

By Ryan Mulligan

 

The Briscoes defeated Ruckus and Jigsaw (with Julius Smokes) of the Vulture Squad. The returning Mark Briscoe got a well-deserved "Welcome back!" chant, as the match got underway. This was a fun, fast-paced, spot-oriented opener that went about five minutes. Since Ruckus was involved, there were consequently flips. The VS almost got the win following the Gin-N-Tonic, but, ultimately, the Briscoes were victorious following a springboard doomsday device on Jigsaw.

 

Cue Larry Sweeney, who said he'a big fan of the Briscoes' work and would like them to join Sweet N' Sour Inc. The Briscoes responded by leaving.

 

Chris Hero (with Larry Sweeney, Eddie Edwards and Bobby Dempsey) of Sweet N'Sour Inc. defeated Delirious. I may be biased because these two are my two least favorite wrestlers in ROH, but this match failed. Hero cut a promo prior to it proclaiming himself "The Knockout Kid," with his new gimmick being that he's now serious and is no longer interested in being entertaining. Shades of the former Y2J. The problem is that Hero's never had an impressive move-set, and so he winds up delivering "devastating" roaring elbows like they're Misawa-level. Needless to say, Bobby Dempsey was ten times more over than anyone else involved here. After less than ten minutes of less-than-stellar action, Hero pinned Delirious following a roaring elbow, which Delirious sold like death, needing to be helped to the back. No buys.

 

Eddie Edwards (with Sweeney, Hero and Dempsey) of Sweet N'Sour Inc. defeated Roderick Strong. Much better match, of course, with the crowd slowly but surely warming up to Edwards. Strong killed him with numerous chops early on and numerous backbreakers towards the finish. Strong eventually fell prey to yet another roaring elbow from a cheating Chris Hero, followed by a moonsault from Edwards for the three-count.

 

Brent Albright defeated Adam Pearce (with Sweeney, Dempsey, Shane Hagadorn and Sara Del Ray) of Sweet N' Sour Inc. to become the NEW NWA World Heavyweight Champion. Here's where the show took a major turn for the better. I can't say these two had a classic battle or anything, but dear God was Albright over here, and that heat translated into quite the spectacle. The match was largely wrestled old-school style, with Pearce busting Albright open and being a killer heel. The tide turned when, following much inferference from Sn'S, Roderick Strong returned and kicked a chair right into Sweeney's face to a monster pop. He then chased Hagadorn to the back. Albright later went to the top, but was shoved off and through a ringside table in a brutal spot. Albight eventually got the momentum and unleashed a series of 5 German suplexes, prior to getting Pearce to tap to the Crowbar for the title to a TREMENDOUS pop from the crowd. I was up in the balcony and people were literally jumping up and down and celebrating. It was like at the level of Rick Steiner's TV Title win at "Starrcade '88". Awesome stuff.

 

Austin Aries defeated Jimmy Jacobs and Necro Butcher of the Age of the Fall in a 3-way dance. Despite Necro shoving Jacobs off a ladder through a table last weekend, the two came out together, but the story of the match was their gradual disintegration. Jacobs continually forced Necro to assault Aries, but Necro finally had enough after an Eddie Guerrero-esque spot from Aries where he hit Necro in the back with a chair and then tossed it to Jacobs, who became the culprit in Necro's eyes. This led to Necro punching Jacobs out and leaving the match, and that led to Aries owning Jacobs with the brainbuster/450 combo. More of a storyline-match than a technically good one, but the story was good enough to keep it entertaining. Wicked mohawk on Jacobs, by the way.

 

Intermission

 

Delirious called out Daizee Haze. He finally got the courage to ask her out, but he was rudely interrupted by "Addicted to Love" Rhett Titus, who has the best theme song this side of "Biscuits and Gravy." Titus said that the Haze is used-goods and then proceeded to reveal her face on the back of his pants. Shades of Rick Rude and Cheryl Roberts. Hilarious. After he left, Daizee broke Delirious's heart by saying that she'd just like them to remain friends, which drew massive heel heat. She even broke out the "It's not you, it's me" routine, before leaving to boos-aplenty. The long-awaited heel-turn is complete.

 

Naomichi Marufuji defeated Go Shiosaki of Sweet N' Sour Inc. in an awesome match. Despite being a heel due to who he aligns himself with, Go worked as a face here, encouraging the crowd at numerous points to rally behind him. Among the many highlights of the match were Marufuji giving Go a brainbuster from the floor to the apron. Seriously. He also nearly ended Go's life with a Shiranui off the apron to the floor. Go connected with the Go Flasher, but Marufuji eventually defeated him with the Pole Shift. Great match.

 

Kevin Steen and El Generico defeated the Motor City Machine Guns Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin in another awesome match. I don't think it lived up to the hype, but realistically it probably couldn't have. The Guns began the match as faces, but the crowd eventually turned on them, chanting "Fuck TNA!" In the least tasteful spot of the night, Steen and Shelley traded spit and snot-rockets. The Guns worked over Generico for much of the match, utilizing their innovative double-team moves, but Steen eventually got the tag and went nuts on them. I should note that the match was billed as "Scramble Rules," but that tags were required throughout anyway. Whatever. The finish came when Generico annihilated Shelley with the BRAINBUSTA~! and Steen made Sabin tap to the sharpshooter.

 

ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness defeated Claudio Castagnoli, Tyler Black and Bryan Danielson in a four-way elimination match to retain the title. I was there for the Danielson/Aries/Morishima/Hero four-way back in December, and this match was somehow even better. Nigel has perfected the art of the dick-heel, as he constantly tagged in and out when most convenient. For some reason, the fans were totally anti-Claudio throughout, and once he was eliminated by Dragon, he made them pay for it by turning heel in most impressive fashion. He killed Dragon with a Ricola Bomb and stomped a chair on his head. Security and pre-show wrestlers tried to stop him, but he threw one of them across the ring and continued his assault. Nigel clapped for all of this, and finished Dragon off shortly thereafter with a lariat. This left Nigel and Black, and they did their best to recreate the vibe of the main event of the "Take No Prisoners" ppv, with Black refusing to be pinned following numerous lariats, a Tower of London, etc. Nigel eventually got the win following two brutal, successive lariats. The crowd responded by throwing garbage in the ring. Nigel said that he's now beaten everyone and nobody can stop him. At this point he spotted Marufuji, who had come out to watch Nigel and Black, and the crowd chanted "Marufuji!" as the show ended. This was the best match of the night, with tremendous heat throughout, particularly in the form of face-heat for Black in the final stretch. Black once again looked like a star, with his standing flips on dropkicks gone awry and his Phoenix splashes. It seems weird though that the Age of the Fall is comprised of a killer heel, a guy who often works babyface and a tweener.

 

All in all, this was a MUCH better show than the last Hammerstein show, and definitely the best NYC ROH show in a long time. Besides the Hero/Delirious failure, pretty much everything else delivered, with a huge surprise in the form of a thoroughly captivating Albright/Pearce match and three awesome matches in a row to end the show. For all of the complaints leveled at ROH, from time to time they're still able to put on amazing shows like this one to remind people just what they're capable of.

[bob_barron 0]

I was at this show, great stuff.

 

The main event, Albright-Pearce and Go-Marifuji were all awesome

[The Flamboyance 0]

Yeah, it was a pretty good show. My friend couldnt make it but the card looked to good so I went by myself and I had a great time. Albrigt and Pearce was probably my favorite match of the night. The crowd went nuts for Albright.

 

I kinda think it stinks that ROH won't back in Manhattan until December though. That's rough.

[Guest cobainwasmurdered]

How can anyone not like Delirious?

[bob_barron 0]

I liked him more when he was a comedy figure. He seems to lose all the time now

[Guest cobainwasmurdered]

I should add that I'm not up to date with ROH, I'm part way through 2007, so if his character is different now I might retract my statement.

[bob_barron 0]

It seems like he's been feuding with Sweet-n-Sour (or The Hangsman 3 or both) forever, and always seems to lose.

 

His storyline with Daizee and Rhett Titus is cute.

 

This was a great show though, Marufuji is the man

[Guest cobainwasmurdered]

Does he still speak in tongues? It always cracks me up when he cuts a huge promo like that.

[bob_barron 0]

Yes, its half tounges/half understanding him.

 

The crowd HATED Daizee so much that I couldn't even hear what she said

[cd213 0]

The show was awesome. The Pierce/Albright match was a great match. It started out slow and built to a great end. At the start, it seemed liked the crowd wasn't too into the match, but the place went nuts when Albright won. It was a classically built match. I thought the Briscoe's vs The Vulture Squad was an ok match, but nothing special, and I usually like the Briscoes. Hero vs Delirious really was a let down. I like Delirious, but Hero didn't impress me. I liked his stuff in CHIKARA a lot more.

 

I loved GO vs Marufuji. That match was awesome, simply awesome.

 

This was the first time that I saw Steen and Generico live, and damn was that match a lot of fun. I like the Guns, but Steenerico were amazing, and so over. They need to get the tag titles...NOW!

 

The main event was a lot of fun, and I liked the Claudio turn, but when he didn't leave the ring everyone knew what was about to happen. He just killed Dragon though, and I'm wondering where that. Nigel is a GREAT heel. He is so good that he was getting Black over as a face. When fans litter the ring with garbage when you win, you must be doing something right. He was awesome, tagging in every time someone was getting beat up, and tagging out when they would make a small comeback.

 

The first half of the show was good, but the second half was so much fun.

[HollywoodSpikeJenkins 0]

Are they really going to try and make Marufuji a title contender? Sure, as a one-off match where he jobs, but into a serious title contender against Nigel? Marufuji has jobbed against EVERYONE so far, multiple times to Nigel.

[The Flamboyance 0]

Are they really going to try and make Marufuji a title contender? Sure, as a one-off match where he jobs, but into a serious title contender against Nigel? Marufuji has jobbed against EVERYONE so far, multiple times to Nigel.

 

I stopped watching ROH since May and recently got back into it again, but up until about May, Marufuji has only been pinned in an ROH ring once or twice in two years, so I don't know what you're talking about unless he went through a series of jobs in a few moths. I'm pretty sure Nigel and Marufugi wreslted eachother only once, and that was at Glory By Honor two years ago when he defended the GHC title to Nigel, and Nigel obviously lost.

 

[HollywoodSpikeJenkins 0]

Are they really going to try and make Marufuji a title contender? Sure, as a one-off match where he jobs, but into a serious title contender against Nigel? Marufuji has jobbed against EVERYONE so far, multiple times to Nigel.

 

I stopped watching ROH since May and recently got back into it again, but up until about May, Marufuji has only been pinned in an ROH ring once or twice in two years, so I don't know what you're talking about unless he went through a series of jobs in a few moths. I'm pretty sure Nigel and Marufugi wreslted eachother only once, and that was at Glory By Honor two years ago when he defended the GHC title to Nigel, and Nigel obviously lost.

 

 

After looking it over, I've realized that Marufuji actually hasn't lost that much. It just happens to be every time I see him, he loses. My mistake.

[bob_barron 0]

Nigel v. Marufuji would be amazing- that could be the Glory by Honor title match.

[cd213 0]

Being from NY, seeing some of the fans that came out for the makes me embarrassed to be a wrestling fan. At the front of the line waiting to get in, there was a group of people, you can tell, wrestling was their life, and not in a good way. One of them walked around with a weightlifters belt covered in wrestlers pictures. He was holding it like it was a world title. A couple of them came dressed in suits like it was a fancy evening at the opera. You can tell that the only time they see women is during a wrestling show. Then you have the "smart" fans that try to put themselves over. During the Pierce/Albright match, Pierce was doing some submissions, and he did the STF, and the fans started to chant "Fuck John Cena." I found it funny that the fans were trying to "smarts" while coming off as marks here since the STF has been used for a lot longer time then when Cena has been using it. Then you get the "Fuck TNA" chants when the Guns were out. I like that one since everyone that chanted it probably watches TNA on a regukar basis. NY wrestling fans try to be too smart, but come off really markish (not all, but many).

[bob_barron 0]

Bix's Podcast

Wrestling merchandise discussion; DVDs, books, figures, & more!

www.davidbix.com

 

Awesome.

 

While I disagree with a lot of what you said about the fans, Belt Guy should be violently punched in the face

[King Cucaracha 0]

Hero vs Delirious really was a let down. I like Delirious, but Hero didn't impress me. I liked his stuff in CHIKARA a lot more.

 

All the CHIKARA guys seem to be treading water in ROH recently. Delirious is the most entertaining guy in the world in CHIKARA, but in ROH he's just not the same. Feuding with the Hangmen 3 didn't help because, well, they stunk. They managed to take maybe the most unique character in wrestling and make him disappear in the crowd. At least the stuff with Daizee and Rhett is something fun, I can't remember the last time watching Delirious was any fun in ROH.

 

Hero... this whole uber-serious Hero thing, people didn't want it I don't think. Because the fans enjoyed what he was doing as Chris Hero they felt the need to 'make him serious', which he's okay at but nowhere near what he was. So some people cheered him? So what? People used to cheer heel Flair all the time, but he was still the best heel in the NWA. They didn't make him drop everything that entertained people.

 

Claudio's maybe the most popular guy in CHIKARA, but somehow in ROH the booking's made him look like the biggest pussy in the world, to the point that nobody gave a crap about him challenging for the World Title when he should be a top contender by now. At least now they've apparantly reset him as a heel.

 

Don't even get me started on the debacle that is Jigsaw.

[cd213 0]

When I saw a picture of Jigsaw, sans mask, I couldn't believe it. My friend had told me he lost his mask, but he kind of look plane without it.

[Silence 0]

There's also the Lacey angle with the video that showed Jacobs about to spike her back in May, and that was the last time anyone had seen her. For 3 months, this has left fans wondering if this is Lacey's way of taking a hiatus from wrestling or if Gabe, for some reason, is telling her not to appear on ROH and other indy shows because of the angle.

 

 

[DangerousDamon 0]

Hero's KO Kid thing is so stupid. Did he go train throwing elbows with Team Quest or something? The Bypass Rolling Elbow was a transitional move and now he's knocking people out with it?!

[Silence 0]

Hero's KO Kid thing is so stupid. Did he go train throwing elbows with Team Quest or something? The Bypass Rolling Elbow was a transitional move and now he's knocking people out with it?!

 

Yeah, I really wish he'd quit trying to copy Misawa.

[DangerousDamon 0]

Hero's KO Kid thing is so stupid. Did he go train throwing elbows with Team Quest or something? The Bypass Rolling Elbow was a transitional move and now he's knocking people out with it?!

 

Yeah, I really wish he'd quit trying to copy Misawa.

 

It's not so much that he's trying to copy Misawa, it just seems kind of silly that Hero was never really known for his hard striking (in ROH at least, I've seen him beat Arik Cannon with a right hook in IWA) and now he's just knocking out people like he's Mike Tyson.

[The Flamboyance 0]

In Heros defense, and no I don't like his new elbow offense either, but in his defense, it's not like he's throwing one or two elbows and the match is over. During the Delirious match, Hero was constantly hitting him with elbows and mafia kicks to the head throughout, so it made sense for Delirious to eventually get KO'd.

 

Also, I miss not watching Chikara and should get back into that again.

[Steviekick 0]

For what its worth, I enjoy Delirious much more in Chikara than I do ROH.

[Hawkius Maximus 0]

I'd like to see Marufuji beat Nigel. He's not doing a whole lot in NOAH right now, and he's one of the best workers in the world.

 

He'd be a credible champion to go from Nigel to someone else for awhile. He's also pretty over in ROH if I remember right.

[TheFranchise 0]

Hawk52, JHawk and Hawk 34.

 

Damn, no wonder some random people got random pm's.