The ROH debut in the Manhattan Center in New York City was built up to be something extraordinarily special - and it really delivered the goods. With the much anticipated ROH World title defense by American Dragon, taking on Pro-Wrestling NOAH Super Star KENTA - plus a rare appearance by one of the most legendary wrestlers of all-time. Bruno Sammartino made a name for himself in the New York territory, spending a combined total of about eleven years as the WWWF World Champion. Mr. Sammartino worked a plethora of main events in the famous Madison Square Garden, and that is where the journey begins for this ROH DVD.

The DVD starts with ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson standing in front of Madison Square Garden, where he explained that Bruno Sammartino became a legend wrestling in that building. Danielson then takes a short walk down the street, followed by the ROH camera man, to the Manhattan Center, and

proclaimed that this is where he will build HIS legend. This was a very classy opening segment, similar to what they did in Philadelphia a few months back when Christopher Daniels drove from the Murphy Recreation Center to ECW Arena with an ROH camera man in the backseat. Ring of Honor goes to great lengths to share the historical significances of many important things.

Jack Evans was coming off a big victory the previous night in a Four-Corner Survival match, and Davey Richards was fresh off a disappointing loss to Austin Aries. Jack Evans did one of his psychotic flip-flop corkscrew dives over the top rope onto Davey Richards, but it looked like Evans took at least a small portion of the impact right on his face. Evans fought his way out of the first Stretch Muffler attempt, but a few minutes later was forced to tap out to a second Stretch Muffler by Davey Richards ( 7.5 / 10 ). The opening match on any given ROH card can often pass for a main event in any other independent promotion in the world.

Nigel McGuiness cut a promo talking about how life is short. Nigel said there are rare moments where the world comes to a stand still and you can really live in the wrestling business. Nigel promised that he will experience one of those nights in the Manhattan Center tonight when he captures the GHC Heavyweight title from Naomichi Marufuji.

The next segment featured an in-ring appearance by the legendary Bruno Sammartino. The ROH roster and crew surrounded the ring as the 71-year old Mr. Sammartino entered the ring and was showered by chants of "Welcome Back!" - Bruno Sammartino briefly talked about his wrestling career and his decision to leave the wrestling business because of his disappointment with the direction it was taking. Bruno said he was given some ROH DVD's and was very impressed, and he praised the ROH wrestlers. Bruno said that he loved to see the wrestling come back to the wrestling business. Bruno finished by thanking the ROH fans for appreciating good talent. The crowd erupted with chants of "Thank You Bruno!" as he made his way backstage. Just awesome ( 10 / 10 ). Although the microphone feed did not come through the video all that great, it was still an inspirational appearance by one of the all-time greats.

As the ROH wrestling filed out of the tightly packed ringside area, Samoa Joe bumped into NOAH heavyweight Takeshi Morishima. Joe, feeling obviously disrespected, got into a shoving match with the young powerhouse. Joe slide into the ring and challenged Morishima to a fight and he quickly obliged. I've never seen a crowd erupt like it did when Joe and Morishima started fighting - but they were quickly separated by all the other wrestlers. Man, when THAT match finally happens, the roof is going to blow off the building!

Adam Pearce returned to Ring of Honor with a tainted victory over Delirious with an assist from Shane Hagadorn ( 5.5 / 10 ). Adam Pearce was one of the focal points of the ROH vs. CZW feud, and became a monster babyface due to his heart and courage taking on the invading force of CZW. Adam Pearce is now a heel all of a sudden - one of Jim Cornette's henchmen. Adam Pearce is a natural heel, but didn't that happen a little fast? After the match, we were introduced to Adam Pearce's new "assistant" Mr. Shane Hagadorn.

It was then time for the soap opera portion of tonight's ROH program. Lacey escorted the broken-hearted Jimmy Jacobs to the ring for his triple threat match with Colt Cabana (Lacey's boyfriend) and Christopher Daniels. Jimmy Jacobs was so depressed he could be a perfect candidate for a mental institution. Colt Cabana initiated some hilarious X-rated comedy with Lacey which I'm too embarrassed to describe in this review. Christopher Daniels was really the insignificant factor in this match, as everything was focusing on the storyline between Lacey, Jimmy Jacobs and Colt Cabana. Lacey kept ordering Jacobs to go after Daniels and leave Cabana alone. It somewhat resembled a handicap match with Cabana and Jacobs working together. Just like the previous night in East Windsor, Colt Cabana purposely made Jimmy Jacobs look ridiculous over and over. Colt and Lacey are such jerks to Jacobs, it often comes off as uncomfortable to me a viewer. Jimmy Jacobs eventually had enough of being taken advantage of and low-blowed Colt Cabana and finished him off with the Contra-code to win the match ( 6.7 / 10 ). Jimmy Jacobs finally won a match, which is what Lacey wanted him to do all along. So naturally Jacobs thought he had finally won Lacey's heart. However, Lacey was more concerned with Cabana's testicles being injured and instead of praising Jacobs, she berated him. Man, talk about head-games!

Jim Cornette came to the ring with his bodyguards the Briscoe Brothers to address the hometown hero, Homicide - or as Cornette called him HOMOCIDE. Cornette said he explained his side of the story in last month, and the Chicago fans there accepted it probably because they're smarter than the New York fans. Cornette said the only person he has a problem with is Homicide, AND anyone who takes Homicide's side over him. Jim Cornette polled the fans with a show of hands whose side they were on, and obviously Homicide got the bigger reaction. Cornette got aggressive with the "New York Pricks" and yelled insults at the city and the people who live there. Jim Cornette announced that Homicide will get an ROH World title match in New York City at Final Battle 2006 if, and only if, he wins his match with the Briscoes tonight.

Homicide couldn't have chosen a better partner to go up against the Briscoe Brothers. Nobody knows the Briscoes better than Samoa Joe, who feuded extensively with the brother tag team a few years ago. Joe and 'Cide lit it up immediately taking the fight to their opponents and working the NYC fans into a frenzy. This was a do-or-die situation for Homicide, because he has promised to QUIT Ring of Honor if he doesn't win a championship before the end of 2006. Samoa Joe and Homicide were victorious over the Briscoes in an really fantastic tag team match ( 8 / 10 ). After the match, Jim Cornette promised to make Homicide's life a living hell between now and December 23.

During intermission, Gary Michael Cappetta tried to interview Lacey but she was more interested in nursing Colt Cabana's testicles back to health. Jimmy Jacobs entered the room rejoicing over his victory, but Lacey scolded him for winning with a low-blow - adding that Lacey's Angel's doesn't resort to those tactics. Huh? Lacey forced Jimmy Jacobs to apologize to Colt Cabana and sent him packing so she could massage Cabana's wounded area in private.

The legendary Bruno Sammartino spoke to both ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson and GHC Champion Naomichi Marufuji. Mr. Sammartino praised both wrestlers and stated that both championships were well respected all over the world. Bruno Sammartino also mentioned that he used to wrestle for Giant Baba's promotion over in Japan.

Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli, collectively known as the Kings of Wrestling, made their way to the ring to Queen's "We Are The Champions," to challenge Austin Aries and Roderick Strong for the ROH World Tag Team titles. Aries (working with broken ribs again) and Strong have held the titles for nine glorious months, and elevated the belts to World title status in the process. They explained that Aries and Strong found out that it was the Kings of Wrestling who stole their belts a few months ago by reading Chris Hero's live journal. It turned out to be the end of the line for Aries and Strong, as the King's of Wrestling were successful in their quest to capture the ROH World Tag team titles ( 7.5 / 10 ). The King's targeted Austin Aries' injured ribs and even smashed them in with a briefcase. They took advantage of the injury and nailed Aries with their finisher to win the match, and walked away with the ROH World Tag Team title belts around their waistsg! Half the crowd popped, and the other half started a "BULLSH*T" chant.

B.J. Whitmer appeared in a taped message cutting a promo from his home with a cast on his ankle. Whitmer talked about his injury and rehab and said Jimmy Jacobs has cross the line, and there is no turning back now. For the first time ever, Pro Wrestling NOAH's GHC Heavyweight title was being defended in the United States of America. This was clearly a tremendous distinction for Ring of Honor, who jumped at the chance to feature the prestigious title on their Glory by Honor card. Former GHC (Global Honored Crown) champions include the likes of Mitsuharu Misawa, Jun Akiyama, Kenta Kobashi, Akira Taue and the current champion Naomichi Marufuji. Nigel McGuinness challenged Marufuji on this very special and momentous occasion. Nigel McGuinness has carried himself like a true champion for months, but it was not his night, as Marufuji retained his GHC championship in what amounted to a tremendous wrestling match ( 9 / 10 ). The final minute was a fantastic thrill-ride, but I won't spoil it. "American Dragon" Bryan Danielson defended his ROH World title against NOAH star KENTA with an injured shoulder, which (they say) needs surgery. My only beef with KENTA is that he wears the same ring gear every time he comes to ROH - brown and yellow gets boring FAST. This match was several months in the making, and if I didn't already know the outcome, I might have thought KENTA was going to walk away as ROH champion. Bryan Danielson did, in fact, retain his ROH World title after 40-minutes of world class wrestling drama ( 9.5 / 10 ).

DVD Extras: Jimmy Jacobs cut a promo about wrestling with many different broken bones in the past but now he is wrestling with a broken heart. The theme was the "power of love," as Jacobs spoke about B.J. Whitmer and how he is handling Lacey's "physical" relationship with Colt Cabana. Jimmy Jacobs then presented a new music video featuring a new song that he wrote for Lacey "The Victory of Love" - Very funny stuff if you've been following the Jacobs/Lacey storyline since the beginning :) Final Thoughts: What a contrast from Night 1 of the Glory by Honor V weekend. They should have renamed the first show something else like "The Tent Event" and make GBH a single event. This show was packed from beginning to end with awesome matches and memorable moments. This has to be one of my longest ROH DVD reviews of all time. The better it is, the more I write. 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