Chris Hero vs. Ruckus
Fun enough opener. Hero is still a great wrestler, as his PWG work shows. He’s just never gotten in the hang of having great matches in ROH. Not that he has a great worker in the ring with him in this match. Ruckus flips around and Hero gets his knock out gimmick a little more credible.
**
Kenny Omega vs. Delirious
Omega’s ROH debut. He definitely has potential to be a main stay in the company. I really like Omega’s selling here. Probably the most I’ve been entertained by a Delirious match since March 2007.
**3/4
Sara Del Rey vs. Jennifer Blake
Squash match. Blake does manage to get in some botched offense before Del Rey proceeds to cave her head in soon after.
½*
Erick Stevens vs. Go Shiozaki
Neither of these guys is great at being a ring general, so they make up for it by beating the shit out of each other. Works for me. Go isn’t a very good heel here. I mean, refusing to shake hands and then hi-fiveing a fan on the outside doesn’t really work. Canada is not a fan of Stevens, but they still go out there and put on a fun match.
***1/2
Bryan Danielson vs. Claudio Castagnoli
Incredible match. The more and more I see of Danielson, the more I convinced that he is an all time talent. Literally everything he does is gold. Only Michaels is even close to where he is now. His selling here is especially top notch. They play off their Chicago match nicely as well, mixing in some fun “top this if you can” stuff, before it becomes all about who is a better wrestler. Claudio is more than game to hang with Dragon here. The finish plays off the first match perfectly. A top 10 match of 2008.
****1/2
Roderick Strong vs. Naomichi Marufuji
Starts off a little slow with no real identity but then kicks into high gear towards the end. Really great stuff, but the slow build keeps it out of **** range.
***3/4
Nigel McGuinness vs. Kevin Steen (ROH World Title)
Another fantastic match. Steen takes a sick bump into the side of the ring and that becomes the story of the match for Nigel. He proceeds to work a great methodical WWE style and works over the back of Steen for the majority of the match. Steen puts in a great performance throughout. Easily his best singles match that I’ve come across. Great nearfalls from Steen as he clearly has Nigel scouted and the crowd in his pocket. In the end, Nigel is just better and Steen leaves his country a broken man. Should have main evented, but I guess I understand why with the whole “Fans go home happy” feel that ROH likes to have.
****1/4
Jacobs/Black w/Necro vs. Jay Briscoe/Aries w/Mark Briscoe (No DQ)
Typical Briscoes brawl for the most part. Mark and Necro come out to interfere, leaving the match to be 3 on 3, but then they both end up going to the back and the match finishes the way in began. Some storyline advancing helps make this stand out. Still fun, but if you’ve seen a brawl in ROH then you’ve seen this.
***1/4
Definitely top show of the year along side 6th Anniversary Show, Supercard of Honor III, Death Before Dishonor V and (apparently, even though I’ve yet to see it) Final Battle.
Monday, February 9, 2009
2009 Royal Rumble Review
Swagger vs. M. Hardy (ECW Title)
I think I like this more than anyone I've seen. Matt did a great job selling the arm in this one. Swagger continues to impress me in the 2nd match I've seen of his. Not feeling the opie haircut and attire but that can be changed. He's really solid in the ring and he's in there with a great wrestler so that lead to a really fun match. Perfect opener style which is important, imo. Got the crowd pumped but not deflated.
***1/4
Phoenix vs. Melina (Women's Title)
Solid stuff from these two. That spot where Melina kicked herself in the head had everyone I was watching with in tears. Good stuff. Can't believe Beth lost the title, though. I figured it would be around her waist til at least Mania. I'm not sure I buy Melina as the plucky babyface but that's a small complaint.
*3/4
Cena vs. JBL w/HBK (World Title)
I was watching with the peeps I'm going with to Mania and we exploded when Taker confronted Shawn backstage. I'm a pessimistic person and I still think JBL/HBK happens in Houston, but this got my hopes up. Match was really fun for the most part. I usually like these guys' matches more than most (WM 21 - **, JD 08 - **1/4, ONS 08 - **3/4) so I was looking forward to this more than pretty much everyone. I loved the spot where they played off the Cena/HBK match where JBL moved the ropes closer. Shawn SK'ing both guys was pretty awesome. Can't wait for Raw to see how this continues as I'm really interested in the story. If this was happening at any other event than Mania I'd be loving the ride there.
**3/4
J. Hardy vs. Edge (WWE Title)
Another really fun match. When Jeff started climbing the ladder on the outside, I began wondering where the ref or camera guy was to hold the bottom so he wouldn't...you know...die. Pretty bad move on whosever job that was as I'm sure Vince was throwing shit against the wall backstage. I loved the Spear counter into the Twist of Fate. Once Matt came out the fate of Jeff's title reign was obvious, but that doesn't mean I didn't mark when Matt killed him dead with the chair. I know a lot of people are pissed that it looks like we aren't getting Hardy/Christian at Mania, but I like this better anyway. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm more of a Christian guy but this feels like a Mania type blood feud match. I fully expect them to jump off high stuff at Mania. Should be fun to watch.
***1/4
Royal Rumble
WWE has figured out that near eliminations are as big a pop as a near fall in a regular match and they went all out with them here. Mysterio was awesome here. I adored the Miz --> Morrisson --> steel steps hop scotch spot. The Punk elimination was truly great too. Just Punk refusing to go down until Big Show said "fuck off" with his fist. The right guys started this match too. Just good workers coming in and building up until HHH and Orton's time came. I had no idea MVP was so over. Do something with him Vince. I hadn't read the spoilers that were surfacing yesterday, but RVD returning had me marking out the hardest I had in a while. The Legacy was built as a true threat to anybody in this match. In less than an hour they were built as more important than the Main Event Mafia has been in TNA, who had been killing people for months. Undertaker tripping Hornswoggle as he ran out of the ring was damn soothing. Ending was obvious but it worked I guess. I always like the final 2 guys doing battle to determine who goes to Mania, but you can;t do that every year.
***1/2
Overall more goodness from the WWE as the "watchable - great" PPV trends continues.
I think I like this more than anyone I've seen. Matt did a great job selling the arm in this one. Swagger continues to impress me in the 2nd match I've seen of his. Not feeling the opie haircut and attire but that can be changed. He's really solid in the ring and he's in there with a great wrestler so that lead to a really fun match. Perfect opener style which is important, imo. Got the crowd pumped but not deflated.
***1/4
Phoenix vs. Melina (Women's Title)
Solid stuff from these two. That spot where Melina kicked herself in the head had everyone I was watching with in tears. Good stuff. Can't believe Beth lost the title, though. I figured it would be around her waist til at least Mania. I'm not sure I buy Melina as the plucky babyface but that's a small complaint.
*3/4
Cena vs. JBL w/HBK (World Title)
I was watching with the peeps I'm going with to Mania and we exploded when Taker confronted Shawn backstage. I'm a pessimistic person and I still think JBL/HBK happens in Houston, but this got my hopes up. Match was really fun for the most part. I usually like these guys' matches more than most (WM 21 - **, JD 08 - **1/4, ONS 08 - **3/4) so I was looking forward to this more than pretty much everyone. I loved the spot where they played off the Cena/HBK match where JBL moved the ropes closer. Shawn SK'ing both guys was pretty awesome. Can't wait for Raw to see how this continues as I'm really interested in the story. If this was happening at any other event than Mania I'd be loving the ride there.
**3/4
J. Hardy vs. Edge (WWE Title)
Another really fun match. When Jeff started climbing the ladder on the outside, I began wondering where the ref or camera guy was to hold the bottom so he wouldn't...you know...die. Pretty bad move on whosever job that was as I'm sure Vince was throwing shit against the wall backstage. I loved the Spear counter into the Twist of Fate. Once Matt came out the fate of Jeff's title reign was obvious, but that doesn't mean I didn't mark when Matt killed him dead with the chair. I know a lot of people are pissed that it looks like we aren't getting Hardy/Christian at Mania, but I like this better anyway. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm more of a Christian guy but this feels like a Mania type blood feud match. I fully expect them to jump off high stuff at Mania. Should be fun to watch.
***1/4
Royal Rumble
WWE has figured out that near eliminations are as big a pop as a near fall in a regular match and they went all out with them here. Mysterio was awesome here. I adored the Miz --> Morrisson --> steel steps hop scotch spot. The Punk elimination was truly great too. Just Punk refusing to go down until Big Show said "fuck off" with his fist. The right guys started this match too. Just good workers coming in and building up until HHH and Orton's time came. I had no idea MVP was so over. Do something with him Vince. I hadn't read the spoilers that were surfacing yesterday, but RVD returning had me marking out the hardest I had in a while. The Legacy was built as a true threat to anybody in this match. In less than an hour they were built as more important than the Main Event Mafia has been in TNA, who had been killing people for months. Undertaker tripping Hornswoggle as he ran out of the ring was damn soothing. Ending was obvious but it worked I guess. I always like the final 2 guys doing battle to determine who goes to Mania, but you can;t do that every year.
***1/2
Overall more goodness from the WWE as the "watchable - great" PPV trends continues.
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