*** ROH DVD Reviews by Brad Dykens ***
January 26, 2007 – Chicago Ridge, Illinois
[ WITHOUT REMORSE ]
ULTIMATE ENDURANCE QUALIFYING MATCH
“American Dragon” Bryan Danielson & Austin Aries vs. Jay Briscoe & Erick Stevens: In an attempt to get Austin Aries back on the right track, Bryan Danielson has decided to form a seemingly unstoppable tag team with him which could very well save Aries from falling in with the wrong crowd. Danielson and Aries found great respect for one another after a classic Best of Three Series in 2007. Mark Briscoe was scheduled to face off with Joey Matthews from the Age of the Fall later, so big brother Jay enlisted the services of FIP World Heavyweight champion Erick Stevens for this match. What a bizarre feeling seeing these four main eventers in the opening match of what will without a doubt turn out to be a huge card of matches. Late in the match, American Dragon pulled out his famous Airplane Spin that seemed to go on forever and ever – much to the delight of the ROH fans. Dragon also pulled his classic “I’ve got ’til five, referee!” gimmick out of his bag of tricks. It was really cool how Erick Stevens stepped right in and successfully performed a lot of the trademark Briscoe offense along side Jay. Dragon used a flurry of elbows and his patented small package to pin Jay Briscoe and win the match. Aries high-fived Dragon and for the first time in a long time it looked like Aries was at peace with himself.
GRUDGE MATCH
Pelle Primeau vs. Shane Hagadorn: They sure have put a lot of time and effort into this feud, but to be completely honest with you, I couldn’t care less. Hagadorn used a foreign object to beat little Pelle, and then ranted and raved on the microphone. Hagadorn sure does know how to generate some heat. Hagadorn said tonight was the night of HANGMEN 3, and made a promise that Adam Pearce would defeat Delirious in the Dog Collar match tonight. Hagadorn also predicted that B.J. Whitmer & Brent Albright would win the ROH World Tag Team titles in the Ultimate Endurance match.
INTERGENDER TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH
Chris Hero & Sara Del Rey vs. Alex Payne & Kyle Durden: Larry Sweeney was hot under the collar about what happened the previous night when Chris Hero was “cheated” out of his opportunity at the ROH World title. Sweeney said that Ring of Honor was refusing to sanction the Intergender Tag Team titles. Sweeney went ahead with the Intergender Tag Team title match anyway, bringing out Kyle Durdan & Alex “Sugartits” Payne – yeah Sweeney called him Sugartits, making him the female member of the challenging team. Chris Hero & Sara Del Rey made short work of their challengers and Sweeney celebrated loudly and claimed that the Intergender Tag Team titles were more prestigious than the ROH World title.
INTERGENDER TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH
Chris Hero & Sara Del Rey vs. Jigsaw & Daizee Haze: Daizee Haze came out and said the only thing prestigious and the only champion worth a damn in the ring right now was Sara Del Rey, the SHIMMER champion! The Haze said she doesn’t respect Larry Sweeney or his little act that he brought into Ring of Honor. Sweeney ordered Chris Hero to “get” the Haze, but Jigsaw ran out to stand next to Daizee. They challenged Hero & Del Rey to put up the Intergender Tag Team titles. Sweeney agreed to the match, but claimed the Haze & Jigsaw were not ranked so the belts would not be on the line! Boo! As usual, the SHIMMER girls stole the show until Hero callously knocked the Haze out cold with a forearm to the head! Hero finished off Jigsaw to win the match for Sweet & Sour Incorporated.
SINGLES MATCH
Claudio Castagnoli vs. El Generico: A rematch from the finals of the “Race to the Top” tournament in Las Vegas back in July, a match which was won by Claudio Castagnoli. Both men are still adored by the fans, so it makes for a very festive atmosphere when two fan favorites lock it up in an ROH ring. It was a very competitive match which ended in a 20-minute time limit draw. Backstage after the match, Castagnoli praised Generico and accepted his challenge for a rematch – any time.
GRUDGE MATCH
Mark Briscoe vs. Joey Matthews w/The Age of the Fall: The previous night in Dayton saw the shocking return of Joey Matthews to ROH. The recently released WWE star passed his initiation into the Age of the Fall when he assaulted Mark Briscoe with a stiff DDT. It’s a rare opportunity for a wrestler to get revenge on someone only 24 hours after the crime has been committed. The new Age of the Fall girl, Allison Wonderland, is extra spicy and gets three thumbs up from me. Before the match, Jimmy Jacobs once again threw out an invitation to Austin Aries to join the Age of the Fall. Jacobs said everybody in the AOTF has a purpose and Joey Matthews purpose tonight is to scar Mark Briscoe. The ROH fans heckled poor Joey Matthews to no end with chants of “you got fired!” and “we want Nitro!” Matthews used the old school indy stalling tactics of refusing to stay in the ring and lock up to get heat with the fans. It started out as a traditional indy-style match, but slowly morphed into a more intense situation as the hatred over-flowed and Mark prevailed with a beautiful Shooting Star Press!
DOG COLLAR MATCH
Delirious vs. “Scrap Iron” Adam Pearce w/Shane Hagadorn: The blood feud between Adam Pearce and Delirious has been developing for quite a few months now, and began to really heat up when Pearce and his henchmen stapled the green lizard mask to the face of Delirious. They skipped the foreplay and insane brutality took over. A chain match can be especially brutal if the two wrestlers do their homework and figure out how to do it right. Pearce was bloodied by a couple of shots to the head with a chain-wrapped fist! Delirious tossed Pearce over the top rope and hung him by the neck. Delirious went for a dive off the top rope but Pearce, with help from Hagadorn, pulled on the chain, sending Delirious crashing down to the ringside floor. A few minutes later, Pearce hit a Pile-driver on top of the chain, but pulled up on the pin so he could dish out more punishment. Pearce used a body-scissor while choking Delirious with the chain in an attempt to finish the masked man off. Delirious mounted a comeback, but ended up flying over the top rope to the floor. Hagadorn helped his mentor pull up the protective mats, exposing the concrete floor. Pearce tried to Pile-drive Delirious on the floor, but Delirious reversed it with a back-drop. The chain broke off from the collar of Delirious, causing the referee to make some adjustments on the fly. Delirious locked in the Cobra-stretch with the chain going through Pearce’s mouth. Hagadorn saved his mentor, jumping in the ring and whacking Delirious with a chair to break up the submission. Hagadorn set up a table in the ring. Delirious blew the mist into Hagadorn’s face and laid out Pearce on the table. Delirious did a splash off the top rope putting Pearce through the table for the 1-2-3 to win the match, and more importantly win the feud!
ULTIMATE ENDURANCE – ROH WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH
The Age of the Fall (Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black w/Lacey & Allison Wonderland) vs. The HANGMAN 3 (B.J. Whitmer & Brent Albright) vs. Austin Aries & American Dragon vs. The No Remorse Corps (Davey Richards & Rocky Romero):
* * * FIRST FALL – SCRAMBLE RULES: The first fall was fought under Scramble Rules, which pretty much means nonstop action until somebody makes a mistake. The loser of the fall would be eliminated, and the other three teams would advance to the next stage. In an incredibly shocking turn of events, the Age of the Fall fell victim in the first fall, thus guaranteeing new ROH World Tag Team champions before the end of the night!
* * * SECOND FALL – I QUIT MATCH: The match slowed down, as the wrestlers modified their strategies in order to wear down and make one of their opponents give up. American Dragon’s leg had become injured in the first stage, so it quickly became a huge target for the Hangmen 3. Davey Richards & Rocky Romero decided to drop off the apron, realizing if they weren’t in the ring they wouldn’t be eliminated. There was a really cool spot where Richards, Albright, and Dragon all had submission holds on in the ring and the referee called for the bell. All three teams thought they had won, but since Dragon & Whitmer were the legal men, Dragon/Aries were declared the winners and the Hangmen 3 were eliminated!
* * * FINAL FALL – ROH WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: It came down to American Dragon & Austin Aries vs. Rocky Romero & Davey Richards for the now vacant ROH World Tag Team titles. I’m sure everybody in Chicago felt that it was a safe bet that Dragon & Aries were going to walk out with the belts. After a dramatic tag team match, Dragon & Aries were going crazy with an amazing flurry offense and it looked like they were on a roll. Right in the middle of all the chaos, Davey Richards rolled up Austin Aries for the 1-2-3 to capture the ROH World Tag Team titles for the No Remorse Corps! This just added to Austin Aries’ frustration, as he was clearly upset over losing the match.
ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH
Nigel McGuinness vs. Roderick Strong: The No Remorse Corps were officially on a roll, and all that was left was for Roderick Strong to bring home the ROH World title, but he had to go through a very dominant champion by the name of Nigel McGuinness. Strong was confident as always, and surely considered his stable-mates victory in the previous match a major sign of momentum. McGuinness was lucky to have survived his steel cage match with Chris Hero the night before, and wasn’t in the mood to play games with tonight’s challenger. Nigel was upset at Roderick because he disrespected him after he won the ROH World title by interrupting his victory speech at the beginning of the next show. That was a long time ago! This long grueling match once again put Nigel McGuinness to the test and put his reign as ROH champion in serious jeopardy. Late in the match, Strong hit the running Yakuza kick followed by a Gibson-driver, but McGuinness managed to kick out! McGuinness made a comeback and used the deadly Jawbreaker Lariat to pin the No Remorse Corps leader and retain his ROH World championship!
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