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Aniversario Zehn

May 22, 2010 ~ Tyngsboro, MA

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1. Green Ant vs. Amasis – **

Amasis does a touchdown dance with a football before entering the ring, is inside a sports complex…so this is going to be a very weird-looking show. Green Ant and Amasis trade holds and Amasis tricks Green Ant into doing a little dance. They trade some pinfall attempts but Amasis hits a nice powerslam for two. Amasis hits a suplex and continues to ground Green Ant, though the elastic ant continues to find ways to get quick pinfall attempts. A shoulder tackle gets “The Funky Pharaoh” two, as does a butterfly suplex. Green Ant rolls back into an ankle lock, but Amasis breaks it up with a pin attempt. Amasis tosses Green Ant on the outside and it causes Green Ant to hit is head awkwardly on the top turnbuckle…but he comes back in and repeatedly slams his own head into the turnbuckle showing that it is made of dolomite baby! Seriously, if this isn’t leading to him eventually becoming Bull Ant, I don’t get it. Green Ant starts throwing headbutts and hits a big splash. 1…2…Amasis kicks out. Green Ant hits a wrist-clutch marching Samoan drop and locks in the Texas Cloverleaf! Amasis tries to crawl away but Green Ant pulls him back. He finally makes it to the ropes and he and Green Ant trade strikes. Amasis goes off the ropes and Green Ant gets a flash pin attempt. 1…2…Amasis kicks out. Green Ant runs the ropes, but Amasis hits a run behind roaring elbow! 1…2…3! Amasis beats Green Ant in a perfectly fine opening match.

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2. The Throwbacks vs. Tursas & Daizee Haze – **1/4

Backstage before the match, Sugar Dunkerton says he wants to melt Daizee’s icy heart with his hot chocolate. Dasher is furious and leaves. Sugar says forget that and skis away. Tursas starts by tossing Sugar across the ring and tagging in Daizee. Sugar tells her she’s fine and Dasher continues to find this counterproductive. Sugar gives Daizee his basketball and she fires it into his chest claiming it to be a check ball. Sugar went for a hug and Haze turned it into a headlock. Sugar keeps putting her in submissions and asking her out. Everybody calls timeout. Time in and he continues to court Mrs. Haze. Tursas tags in and Sugar claims Tursas is jealous. The crowd agrees. Tursas destroys Dunkerton with a shoulder tackle, but Sugar and Dasher form one giant person to combat him. Sugar throws blows from up top but Daizee clips Dasher’s knee allowing Tursas to hit a frickin’ standing doomsday device and Daizee to hit a dropkick to Hatfield. The Bruderschaft duo beat down Sugar in brutal fashion, but he eventually leapfrogs Daizee and makes a tag to Dasher who throws some nice shots to the face of Tursas. The ‘Backs hit twin dropkicks to Tursas, but Sugar is distracted by Daizee, allowing Tursas to crush Dasher with a crossbody for three. Daizee & Tursas get the win in a really funny match. The action here wasn’t great, but Sugar is just some much fun that he elevates every match he’s in. There are a lot of funny lines that Sugar spouts during this, almost like an amusing commentary track to a good film.

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3. Ophidian vs. STIGMA – **3/4

This is Ophidian’s first match since winning the Rey de Voladores at King of Trios. STIGMA starts the match by planting Ophidian on the canvas with an elbow shot. Both men trade shots and Ophidian goes for the Death Grip. STIGMA turns it into a Tombstone, but Ophidian wiggles free. STIGMA continues to throw some sick elbows to ground Ophidian, but he counters with some nice lucha moves.  STIGMA counters a back rolling headscissors into a nice backbreaker. Ophidian gets a few lucha roll ups before drilling STIG with a roundhouse kick. He goes for a crucifix bomb but STIGMA turns it into an armdrag that sends Ophidian to the floor. STIGMA goes to dive, but Ophidian rolls back & STIGMA is now outside, so Ophidian hits a corkscrew plancha to the big man! Back inside, Ophidian looks for flying knees but STIGMA counters into knees of his own! STIG continues to beat down Ophidian, countering a headscissors by tossing Ophidian chest first onto the apron. He crawls back in and STIGMA hits a dropkick for two. STIGMA goes for the Tombstone yet again, but Ophidian counters with some awesome knees. He destroys STIGMA with a reverse roundhouse kick and a fisherman’s buster that drops both men. Ophidian runs to STIG in the corner and hits a handstand into a monkey flip. 1…2…STIGMA kicks out. Ophidian misses the double knees again and STIGMA hits a deadlift release German suplex! Face Wash! 1…2…Ophidian kicks out. STIGMA goes for the Tombstone again, but Ophidian turns it into victory roll. 1…2…STIGMA kicks out! Ophidian ends up on the apron and he hits a modified Jesus Walks for another two. STIGMA counters a corner charge with another German and then hits That Japanese Move, his finisher from the Shane Storm days! 1…2…3! STIGMA picks up the victory in an upset considering Ophidian just won the RVD tourney. Really nice match that suffers slightly due to the typical STIGMA sloppiness, though it wasn’t so bad that it ruined anything completely.

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4. Grudge Match #1: Equinox & Helios vs. Tim Donst & Lince Dorado – ***1/4

Tim Donst cuts another really good promo backstage and the BDK young lions take forever to start the match. Helios and Lince start things off, but Lince quickly bails and allows Donst to get the drop on Helios, but Donst gets embarrassed lucha-style. Jimmy “Equinox” Olsen and Dorado enter, and Jimmy hammers away at Lince. Donst runs in and hits a Lince-assisted Complete Shot and Dorado hits a standing moonsault. 1…2…Jimmy kicks out. Donst & Dorado beat up Equinox with stomps and chops, forcing him to make the BDK symbol with his hands. Donst hits a belly-to-belly from the apron on Donst for two. They continue the onslaught until Equinox slips outside and Helios gets in. He takes out everybody and drops Lince with a rolling dragonrana! 1…2…Lince kicks out. Helios hits the Tiger Flip and lands a sick flip dive over the turnbuckles on Donst! Jimmy hits Dorado with a missile dropkick and a sick superkick! 1…2…Lince kicks out! Jimmy is tripped by Lince into sitting on the second rope in the corner and Dorado hits a double stomp on Jimmy! 1…2…Helios breaks it up. Helios jumps to Lince’s shoulders, Donst goes up top and Lince pushes Helios so he’s standing on Dorado’s shoulders! SKY HIGH DOOMSDAY DEVICE! 1…2…HELIOS KICKS OUT! Donst applies the Inverted Chikara Special! Out on the floor, ‘Nox drills Lince with a Knockout Punch and breaks up Donst’s submission with a spike baby rana. Jimmy applies the Chikara Special! Donst fights it off and just as Jimmy is about to reapply the hold, Lince breaks it up with an abisegiri. Helios and Lince end up on the top rope and Helios gets the advantage. AVALANCHE DOUBLE KNEES! Helios goes back to the top rope…Shooting Star Press! 1…2…3! The Future is Now get their first point against Donst and Dorado. This started okay and worked into a good heat segment. The ending made this match. Man, these guys were all over the place, and I mean that in a good way. A few stumbles aside, this was tight.

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5. Grudge Match #2: Fire Ant vs. Pinkie Sanchez – **3/4

Sanchez cuts another feeble, aimless promo. This is getting silly; the rambling fool needs to be muffled. Fire Ant runs out like a house of hot things. Papagiorgio tells Pinkie to take a shower and just berates him for getting in his face. Bell rings and Fire Ant immediately attacks Pinkie, hitting a running corner enzuigiri and a running corner dropkick sending Sanchez outside. Fire Ant hits a no-hands flip dive onto Pinkie on the floor! Pinkie gets rolled back inside and manages to hit a backbreaker and running knees to the back of Fire Ant. Pinkie continues to target the back of Fire Ant, stunting every opportunity Fire Ant gets to mount a comeback. Pinkie’s continual taunting of the crowd gets him a beating but never a sustained one. Finally, Fire Ant starts throwing roundhouse kicks like a maniac and drills Sanchez with a twisting brainbuster. 1…2…Sanchez kicks out. Fire Ant and Pinkie end up out on the apron with Fire Ant looking to give Pinkie an apron Beach Break, but Sanchez fights out and hits a sloppy apron DDT to Fire Ant. 1…2…Fire Ant kicks out. Sanchez tries to lock in the Inverted Chikara Special, but Fire Ant turns it into a roll up for two. Fire Ant destroys Pinkie with Burning Down the House and heads north for Heat of the Moment. He connects! 1…2…Sanchez kicks out. Sanchez hammers away at Fire Ants back and calls for the Burning Snicklefritz but Fire Ant counters into a Burning Hammer. Pinkie wiggles free though, and he armdrags Fire Ant to the mat and does a really poor job of locking on the Inverted Chikara Special. Fire Ant goes limp and Papagiorgio is forced to call for the bell. Pink Ant wins a big match against the leader of the Colony. Like Ophidian/STIGMA, this was clearly a match between two wrestlers not on the same level. While Fire Ant looked extra sharp out there, Sanchez couldn’t connect with the crowd at all. He fumbled the finish, too. It was still a pretty good match, just a bit of a letdown.

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6. Grudge Match #3: Ares vs. UltraMantis Black – **1/2

UltraMantis cuts a great promo before the match stating he has no one and nothing…all the while, Crossbones is standing behind him looking dejected. Ares and Mantis stare each other down as the bell sounds, and Ares decides to bail to the back. He returns with Delirious dressed in white and being guided by a chain. Mantis is furious at this and he keeps trying to reach out to his former ally. Ares hits a hard clothesline and puts Mantis in the camel clutch, taunting Mantis by forcing him stare at Delirious. UltraMantis fires back with a series of armdrags as the two men brawl on the floor. Ares beats him down outside and looks for the Toblerone Driver but he gets backdropped on the artificial grass! UltraMantis beats him up around ringside and tosses Ares back inside, but Mantis gets caught with a dropkick while reentering. Ares hits a big chop on the corner and a nice suplex for two. Ares beats on Mantis in the corner closest to Delirious and hits hit swinging fall away suplex for another two. Mantis fights back with the help of the chanting crowd, but Ares hits the Blue Thunder Bomb. 1…2…Mantis kicks out. Ares is furious and gets handed something from Jakob Hammermeier at ringside. Ares blows into a tiny dog whistle and Delirious tosses Crossbones into the ringpost, dropping the big man. UltraMantis comes back with elbows and a full nelson bomb. 1…2…Ares kicks out. Crossbones is escorted out by a Chikara attendant and this would actually turn out to be Crossbones’ final appearance in Chikara, perhaps ever. Ares goes for Toblerone again, and once again Gavin thinks he’s going for the Praying Mantis Bomb. Ultramantis Black fights out and hits an electric chair drop. 1…2…Ares kicks out. Mantis looks for Cosmic Doom, but he’s distracted by Delirious, allowing Ares to get an O’Connor Roll with a fistful of tights. 1…2…3. Ares beats UltraMantis in an okay match made better by the outside shenanigans. The return of Delirious as a BDK member was well done, and both Ares & UltraMantis were better than usually in the match.

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7. 8-Man Main Event: Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw, & Incoherence vs. Vin Gerard, Colin Delaney, Chuck Taylor & Gran Akuma – ***1/2

Jigsaw and Vin Gerard start things off with Chuck Taylor jawing at his cousin to perform better. Jigsaw does the same series of roll ups twice in a row, and Jigsaw baits him into falling for it a third time. Jig and Quack double team Vin and Chuck enters. Quack tags in and starts bending and flipping Chuck all over the ring. He hits a slingshot dragonrana and the pin attempt is broken up by Gran Akuma. Akuma and Chuck double team Quack, but he disposes of them rather quickly. Hallowicked enters and take down Gran Akuma with Frightmare’s assistance. Gerard enters and targets Frightmare but Incoherence double teams him with their side slam / leg drop combo. 1…2…Gerard kicks out. Taylor and Quackenbush return, and Jig & Quack once again double team him. Akuma takes out Jig from behind and he starts getting worked over. Everybody takes turns beating him up, but Jigsaw catches Colin with a big clothesline and tags Quackenbush, who clears out Gerard. Chuck catches him with a dropkick. Frightmare dumps Taylor but gets caught with a running knee from Gerard. A follow up suplex gets Gerard two. Now it’s Frightmare who gets the business from the Rudo squad. Chuck accidentally refers to Vin as “Durling”, and Colin scolds him for this Deadpool-esque mistake. Frightmare dives out onto Colin, allowing Hallowicked to enter, who cleans the kitchen. He goes for Go 2 Sleep Hollow, but Chuck catches a leg, Akuma kicks said leg and Chuck applies the Cross Crab. Jigsaw breaks it up quickly, but the Rudos have found a third Tecnico to pounce on. The work over ‘Wicked’s knee, and Quack gets fed up with it so he just enters without a tag. Quack hits Akuma with a Swanton Bomb, Chuck hits Quack with Sole Food, Frightmare hits Chuck with a Standing SSP, Colin hits Frightmare with the Attitude Adjuster, and Jigsaw drills Colin and Gerard with sick superkicks. Bridging German Suplex from Jigsaw! 1…2…Akuma breaks it up. Quack and Jigsaw double team Akuma and Gerard with fancy lucha stuff. Jigsaw hits a frankensteiner and Quack comes off the top with double knees. 1…2…Chuck breaks up the pin. Akuma and Chuck hit their tombstone facebuster / cutter combo on Quack. 1…2…Quack kicks out. Quack dives out onto Chuck Taylor, Frightmare hits Akuma with his backflip doge into a neckbreaker, Colin hits his usual weak-looking punt kick and calls for the RKO. Hallowicked hits Colin with Go 2 Sleepy Hollow, Quack and Jig double team Colin with kicks, Jigsaw takes Colin out, Vin takes Quack out and dives out onto everybody! Taylor heads north but Hallowicked cuts him off and places Frightmare on his shoulders. Doomsday Ace Crusher! 1…2…Gerard breaks it up. Gerard hits Frightmare with the 2K1 Bomb but Hallowicked breaks up the pin. Akuma drives Hallowicked in the corner and Gerard uses ‘Wicked to climb on top. Quack & Jigsaw meet him there and drill him with an avalanche hip toss and Frightmare (barely) hits him with the Kneecolepsy! 1…2…3! Frightmare picks up the victory for his squad in another really good eight-man tag. This started brilliantly, with a lot of fast-paced interactions to get it going. However, the ending stretch felt kind of sloppy and rushed, so the mach couldn’t elevate to the level of some of the previous atomico matches. Still, it was the best match on the show.

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Overall - 6 / 10

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While I can’t say that I’ll watch this show again anytime soon, it did have its share of good times: TFIN/BDK and the Main Event were both really fun matches, and most everything was time not wasted. The show saw Delirious’s return as a member of the BDK, perhaps the last appearance of Crossbones, STIGMA pulling out the shining wizard for the first time in years and Sugar Dunkerton courting Daizee while she kicked the crap out of him. At two hours, it’s a fairly breezy show, which is good…any long, and you’d get too bored for words. I can only recommend this for the diehards out there (of which there is many) but if you find yourself in front of this show, you shouldn’t be terribly disappointed or anything. Like Aniversario Yin the year before, first night Anny shows just aren’t always winners.

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The All-Important M’s

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Match: Main Event. I know, you’re shocked the eight-man tag was the best match. Chikara is getting to be a company that can throw any eight guys from their roster in the ring and churn out something very enjoyable. While this was not one of the best of the year, the atomico was still fun enough to gain the top spot.

Move: That Doomsday Device where Helios was on Lince’s shoulders was un-freaking-believable. I called it a Sky High Doomsday Device because I don’t think there’s a name for it and it was the first damn thing I thought when I saw it. Just an awe-inspiring display of athleticism.

Moment: Sugar Dunkerton and his wooing of Daizee Haze. I can’t pick just one of his moments, and since I created this damn thing…I dun gotta. So there…every moment with Sugar Dunkerton wins Best Moment.

MVP: Dunkerton. While he wasn’t in even the third best match of the show, he was clearly elevating the match with his witty one-liners and conversations with people at ringside. He also cut the best promo on the show, so he gets two sets of hardware…fictional hardware, that is.

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2 Team Macktion vs. Irish Driveby
We get counters and dive spots early on from both teams. Not too long after, Team Macktion hits a Doublestomp into a suplex on Swann. McBride is finally tagged in and peppers both Macks with punches followed by a monkey flip of Kirby onto TJ. This was a pretty cool spot. The next cool spot in the match sees a Pendulum by McBride on T.J. into a dropkick by Swann. Irish Driveby then shows good teamwork with Ryan McBride hitting a Moonsault with Rich Swann following up with a standing splash on T.J. Not too much time goes by before we get another string of well done spots. McBirde hits a dive onto both members of Team Macktion and Swann hits a Moonsault over the top rope onto all 3 guys. After that we have a flipping DVD by McBride onto Kirby Mack. Rodney Rush and Ryan Slater have come down to ringside to look on at this time. Rush distracts the referee while Slater hits Swann with a Hangman’s Piledriver. Rush hits McBride over the head with his clipboard as Kirby Mack is able to pin Swann @ 7:45. Rush & Slater come into the ring and raise Team Macktion’s hands. Team Macktion has turned heel & joined Rush Wrestling Enterprises! -*** – This was the usual spostfest from both teams. The crowd was not that responsive to the match for some reason. Overall, the match was solid but somewhat of a disjointed outing from both teams. At least it gave Macktion a push in some direction other than just being put in random matches.

3. Sabian vs. Ruckus
We get chain wrestling early on. Both men trade head scissors and arm drags. Ruckus tries a handspring body press but is caught with knees to the back by Sabain. Ruckus kicks out of a pin attempt and Sabian is flung into the air and lands in referee Nick Papagorgiou’s hands who then drops him on Ruckus for another near fall. That was a clever spot to get the ref involved. The match goes outside. Ruckus traps Sabian’s hand and walks him around the outside and has fans slap Sabian. Not too long after, Sabain finds and launches a chair at Ruckus’s head twice. Sabian rolls Ruckus back in and gets a 2 count. Ruckus hits a belly to back slam and tries a slingshot pin with his feet on the ropes. No count is made by Papagorgiou. An inside cradle gets a 2 count for Ruckus. Both men then trade forearm shots. Two Enziguri’s only gets a 2 count for Ruckus. Ruckus misses the Razzle Dazzle and Sabain hits a tornado DDT. Sabain tries to hit a suplex but cannot pull it off as both guys trade counters. Eventually, Sabain folds up Ruckus and holds onto the ropes for the 3 count @10:36. *** – There was some solid technical wrestling in there. The match could have gotten 5 more minutes to build up to the finish. Good ending as far as storyline & feud goes, however.

4. Ryan Slater vs. Adam Cole © – CZW Junior Heavyweight Title match
Off the bat, Slater backs Cole into the corner. Each guy pushes the other. From there we get some chain wrestling on the mat (good sequence there). Cole hits a Deadlift suplex and Slater rolls to the outside to avoid further harm. Cole dives from the top rope onto Slater and follows with a chop. He then rolls in to break the referee’s count and then back out where he hits Slater with another chop. Both men trade Irish whip reversals and Cole backdrops Slater onto the floor. Cole rolls Slater inside the ring and gets a 2 count. Cole whips Slater into the ropes and hits a dropkick. A Corona Kick by Cole is countered into a flapjack on the top rope by Slater. Cole rolls to the outside. Slater hits Cole with a Flapjack onto the barricade. Then, Slater gets the match into the ring. Slater hits a Neckbreaker as Cole was hung up in the ropes. A Cravate into a Neckbreaker by Slater gets a 2 count. Cole is then hit with a stomp onto the back of the neck by Slater. Cole fights back with a flurry of punches and a Leg Lariat. That is followed up with a Tornado DDT by Cole and he gets a 2 count. Sabian comes down to ringside to look on. Slater evades the Corona Kick from Cole and hits a Buckle Bomb and gets a 2 count. A Powerbomb by Slater is countered into a Frankensteiner by Cole who gets a 2 count on the pin attempt. Cole tires setting Slater up for a move but Slater counters into a Guillotine choke. Cole makes it back to his feet somehow. A Tiger Suplex by Slater only gets a 2 count. A Death Valley Driver attempt by Cole is countered by Slater. Slater is then hit with a Superkick by Cole into a Neckbreaker over the knee but that is not enough to put him away. A Hangman’s Piledriver by Slater is countered into a sunset flip by Cole. Cole hits an Enziguri knocking Slater into the corner. Finally, The Panama Sunrise and a Corona Kick by Cole gets him the win @ 15:13. ***1/4 – This was a really fun title defense. Slater looked like he could possibly pull off the win. The crowd was on the dead side until the end though.

5. Jon Moxley vs. ???
Moxley gets on the microphone and complains DJ Hyde is just the owner and has no right to tell the talent when to defend the belt. Greg Excellent comes out interrupting him. Eventually, Moxley agrees to a non title match. A few min in, Excellent hits a suicide dive to the outside. A Tiger Driver attempt by Excellent countered into an armbar but Moxley can’t lock it in as well as it could be. Excellent hits the Rick Roll in the corner after recovering from the armbar. Another Tiger Driver try is countered into a jacknife pin for the win @4:18. ** – This was ok I guess. Why would you make a match like this so short if you want to have an angle where Excellent want to prove he can hang in there with main eventers? Moxley calls out DJ Hyde. Hyde says he’ll come to the ring to deal with this leading to…

6. Jon Moxley vs. DJ Hyde
Sami Callihan and Joe Gacy hit the ring. They both beat down Hyde. The ref throws the match out. It is a no contest. There is no rating for this as it is not much of a match.
The Swithcblades get a pane of glass and set one end up on a chair the other on top of Hyde. They get chairs and smash the glass over Hyde, slicing his head open. Moxley puts a foot over Hyde and demands the ref count to 3 and have the bell rung. Moxley gets the microphone and says he’s the best CZW champ ever and no one can beat him. Nick Gage’s music hits and he comes down to the ring to a loud pop from the crowd. We have another impromptu match!

7. Jon Moxley vs. Nick Gage
Punches are traded to start, rolling through the broken glass left by the events of the previous match. A knee from Moxley sends Gage to the outside. The match goes outside where we see both men brawl and throw wrestling out the window. Gage gets a fork and stabs Moxley repeatedly, cutting him open. Gage throws Moxley into time keeper’s table. Gage then stabs Moxley again with the fork. Shortly after that, Gage gets a handful of glass and rubs it on Moxley’s forehead. The match then goes back into the ring. Moxley hits a DDT onto the glass and Gage is busted open. Moxley follows up with an STO onto the glass and rubs Gage’s face onto the glass and cuts Gage more with a piece of glass. Then, Moxley goes outside and gets a chair. Gage fights back and bounces the back of Moxley’s head on the back of the chair. Gage follows up with an elbow and forearm in the corner and a German Suplex for 2. Gage tries a Powerbomb but Moxley counters out and hits a low blow! Moxley tries a clothesline but gets caught with a Chokebreaker by Gage. 2 count only! Gage rakes pieces of glass across Moxley’s forehead. Gage places the chair down and slams Moxley onto it. Not long after, Gage misses a diving headbutt from the top and lands in the glass! Moxley opens the chair in the middle of the ring and hits a Hook & Ladder on Gage but only gets a 2 count! Gage kicks out! Both guys are a bloody mess at this point. Moxley drives the chair into Gage’s side and covers him for 2. Moxley then has the chair in the corner and is about to charge but Dewey Donovan grabs his ankle allowing Gage to dropkick the chair into him. Gage hits the facewash with Dewey holding the chair in Moxley’s face. A Folding Powerbomb wins it for Gage @ 7:16. New champion!?? Gage raises the belt in victory. Ring Announcer Larry Legend says it was a non title match and Moxley is still CZW champion! Gage gets on the microphone and says that its bullshit and the belt will be his. Also he says he’s winning TOD since he died last year and is still going. He wants Abdullah Kobayashi in round 1 and doesn’t care about his reputation. *** 1/4 very entertaining ultraviolent match. Keeps the Gage title hunt / always getting screwed over somehow angle going.

8. The Best Around vs. The A Team (Unbreakable Andy & Aaron Arbo) vs.
AR Fox & Jonathan Gresham – Tag Team Chaos (3 men allowed in the ring at once)
As you could probably guess just by the nature of this match, it was a full on spotfest. It was a pretty enjoyable match overall but due to its chaotic nature; it is hard to keep up with a complete play-by-play so I will describe the spots that I thought were particularly noteworthy (in order of occurance).
Spot 1 saw a Jawbreaker by Arbo into Lungblower by andy into a cutter by Arbo on Cannon. The second spot sees Bruce Maxwell just lariat Jonathan Gresham’s head off. Spot 3 has AR Fox backdrop Aaron Arbo over the top onto TBA followed by a Corkscrew Moonsault by Andy on everyone and Fox hitting a slingshot 450 onto everyone. The finish comes @ 12:28 Cannon hits the Mark Out Moment on Andy after he he’d hit a German Suplex on Gresham. **3/4 – Crowd did not seem to be into this at times which took away from the match. There was something missing from that match too. It was a good spotfest and all but it left something to be desired.

9. Egotistico Fantastico vs. Chris Hero
This was Hero’s return to CZW since leaving in 2007. Hero says he is back for himself and is looking for competition as well as Ego needs to earn his respect. Tie up to start and no one can get the advantage. We get chain wrestling next with Hero ending up putting Ego in a Cravate. Next we get chops and strikes in the corner by Ego and a kick to the spine by Ego. Hero chops Ego in the corner and hits a dropkick to the back of Ego’s head. Ego then takes the advantage focusing on Hero’s chest and head. An elbow and boot to the face by Hero turns the tide of the match in his favor. A hip toss and arm drags into an arm bar by Ego take Hero down. A chop and elbow strike by Hero gets him right back into it. An armdrag and armbar by Ego give him the advantage again. Hero misses a chop in the corner and Ego hits several chops on Hero. Hero hits a boot to the face knocking Ego off the apron. A stiff punch and boot to the face by Hero stun Ego. A Flapjack onto the guardrail and a boot to the face by Hero keep Ego down. A little while after, both men exchange strikes with no one getting a real edge. Back in the ring Hero gets a 2 count followed by a unique neck & arm submission but Ego does not tap out. Hero stomps Ego in the corner then misses a rolling elbow and both men exchange strikes. Hero goes for a cover and gets 2. Not too much after that, Hero hits a few slaps to Ego’s face followed by knee strikes and a chop. Hero then hits a stiff forearm on Ego knocking him down! Hero goes for a cover but only gets a 2 count. Hero kicks the fallen Ego Fantastico in the face a few times. Eventually, Ego gets up and gets hit with chops and a forearm. A flurry of forearms by Ego is halted by a Hero elbow. Ego clotheslines Hero over the top rope, takes a running start and flips onto Hero. Ego throws Hero back inside the ring. Ego charges and gets met by a boot. A Tilt-a-Whirl slam and Powerbomb by Ego gets a 2 count. Next, we get kicks to the chest by Ego. Hero ducks one but Ego hits a dropkick and gets a 2 count. Hero counters the Taco Bender from Ego into a back suplex. A running forearm and running boot by Hero only gets a 2 count. Hero then applies a Cravate and hits knee strikes and a neckbreaker. A second one only gets 2 for Hero! Hero is frustrated. Hero hits soccer kicks to the chest of Ego. A palm strike by Ego followed by a hurricanrana off the top only gets a 2 count. The Taco Bender is countered by hero as Hero drops to a knee. The Hero’s Welcome countered into a back slide for 2 by Ego. A boot to the face by Ego puts Hero on the mat but Ego doesn’t go for the pin. Hero is set up on the top rope. Ego is slow to make a move but is able to hit a senton on Hero. A Taco Pizza by Ego only gets a 2 count. Ego climbs to the top rope and misses a Moonsault. A stiff roaring elbow by Hero only gets 2 on Ego! The Death blow by Hero floor Ego and Ego kicks out! Off come Hero’s elbow pads! A Roaring elbow staggers Ego but he doesn’t go down…and again! Ego hits his own elbow strike. Finally the Taco Bender wins it at 21:18 for Ego! ***1/2 – This was a good strong-style type match. It could be a little bit too slow of a pace for some but this match told a good story. Both men looked really good here. Hopefully Hero appears more often in CZW from now on. This was the best match on the card so far. After the match Eddie Kingston’s music hits as he and Drake Younger come to the ring for their match. Younger has to restrain Kingston as he gives Hero the death stare.

10. Eddie Kingston & Drake Younger vs. Brain Damage & Masada – tag title match
All 4 men are in the ring brawling right from the bell. Cult Fiction charges at the champs who duck sending Cult fiction over the top rope to the floor. Drake flips from the apron onto Cult Fiction. The Champs go after Billy Grahm but Masada hits a huge suicide dive on the champs before they can get to him. A chair shot by Drake busts Brain Damage open. 3 chairs are brought into the ring and set up. A backdrop by the champs sends Damage into the chairs. Then, Kingston launches Drake onto both members of Cult Fiction and follows up with a dive onto both opponents. Outside the ring, Kingston kicks Damage low. Kingston sets up a table in the corner and drives Damage through it! Masada comes in and chops Kingston and hits him with a knee strike in the corner. Kingston recovers not too long after and hits Masada with a boot to the face and a Yakuza. Damage throws a chair at Drake on the outside. Kingston hits a back suplex and release suplex on Masada. Drake suplexes a table onto Masada. Drake sets up a table on the top rope and Irish whips Masada into it. Drake hits a neckbreaker on Masada and gets a 2 count. Drake sets up another table in the ring. Then we see a fist fight on the outside between Kingston and Damage. Masada climbs onto the table in the corner but is tripped by Drake. Drake climbs onto the table with him. Masada prevents a suplex and Drakes Landing. Masada gains control and hits Masadamizer on Drake through the table that was in the middle of the ring and covers Drake for 2! Kingston breaks up a double team move attempt on Drake and throws Damage to the outside. Kingston sets Masada up on the top rope. Damage prevents Kingston from following up with any sort of move. Drake then goes after Damage. A Missile dropkick from the top by Masada nails Kingston followed by a chair shot to the ribs. Masada puts a chair on Kingston’s head and throws a second chair onto it! Security brings a barbed wire cross to ringside as instructed by Billy Grahm and Grahm sets it up in the corner. Cult Fiction tries to send Kingston into it but King counters. Cult fiction regains the advantage and sends Kingston into the wire but not with full impact. A second try gets the job done. Drake breaks up the pin attempt. Drake hits Masada in the head with a chair! Damage hits Drake with a stiff punch and gets a 2 count. Damage then sets up a chair. Damage slams Drakes head into it twice! Damage misses a knee drop onto Drake and goes knees first into the chair. Drake rolls Damage up (La Majistral) for the 3 count @ 14:10. The champs retain! Damage attacks Drake after the bell. All 4 men brawl in the ring. Grahm gets on the microphone egging his men on to keep attacking and Cult Fiction will
win TOD coming up in 2 weeks. Referees enter the ring to try to stop Cult Fiction but are laid out with chair shots. AR Fox, Aaron Arbo & Unbreakable Andy hit the ring and Jonathan Gresham follows shortly after but they are all laid out by Cult Fiction. Drake swears he will get revenge at TOD. Kingston throws the belts down and says they don’t matter. He flips out and swears he’s going to kill Cult Fiction. He also says Drake will kill them at TOD and he’ll have his turn the following month back at The Arena. ***1/4 – This is another solid ultraviolent match from this feud. It does well to set up TOD and make Cult Fiction look dominant going in.

Overall Verdict:
7/10
-We get 6 matches over *** and 1 match under **. This leaves 3 matches somewhere in the middle. The show gets my recommendation for having some solid action on it and 3 very good matches on it that are worth seeing. If you watch some of the *** matches you will see that they are solid, yes, but not exactly essential viewing. If you are able to get a hold of this DVD, by all means, do so but if not, it’s not really a tragedy outside of the matches that really stood out. On the pro side we get 3 good matches at the end, the return of Chris Hero and some more storyline progression.

Opening Match: Jay and Mark Briscoe vs. Rhett Titus and Kenny King
King snaps off a few armdrags on Jay but walks into a yakuza kick. Jay follows with a leg lariat. Mark comes off the middle rope with an elbow strike on Titus and clotheslines him to the floor. Mark lands a moonsault to the outside onto King and Titus. In the ring, the Briscoes hit stereo shoulder tackles on King. Mark adds a springboard senton. King flips out of a biel and the All Night Express work over Jay. He takes King down with a crossbody and makes the tag. Mark connects with a spin kick on King and hits a northern lights suplex. Titus crotches him on the top rope and King dazes him with a spin kick. Mark is now isolated until he hits an ace crusher on King and tags out. Jay dropkicks Titus and flatlines King into him. He spikes Titus with a falcon arrow and the Briscoes follow with a diving elbow-side slam combination. King blockbusters Mark onto Titus’ knees. King accidentally kicks Titus and the Briscoes hit stereo fisherman busters. The Briscoes hit a doomsday device on King for the win at 12:53. This was an energetic opener and an effective showcase for both teams. King controlled most of the match for the All Night Express, making Titus more tolerable. They played up the dissention between King and Titus nicely, even subtly with the finish. The storytelling elements were present with solid wrestling to back it up. Sounds like a good opener to me. ***

King and Titus get into a shoving contest. Titus takes off his bowtie and things just became incredibly serious. They eventually raise each other’s hand and hug.


Match #2: Erick Stevens vs. Grizzly Redwood
The idea here is that Necro Butcher is out of action, so Stevens felt confident in making an open challenge. Grizzly snaps off a headscissors but runs into a shoulder block. He tries a sleeper hold but Stevens powers him down to the canvas. Grizzly sends Stevens to the floor with a hurricanrana. Ernie Osiris provides a distraction, allowing Prince Nana to attack Grizzly on the outside. Stevens military presses Grizzly into the ringpost. Stevens maintains his momentum back in the ring. Grizzly fights back with a bulldog and a tornado DDT. He connects with punches in the corner and takes out Prince Nana with a plancha. Stevens catches him coming off the top rope with a lariat. Stevens hits the Doctor Bomb for the victory at 6:47. Listen, I think Grizzly is fine for his role in the company. However, the man should not be getting in this much offense against someone like Stevens. The match wasn’t terrible but this feud continues to be completely uninspiring. *½

The Embassy attack Grizzly after the match until Balls Mahoney comes out to make the save. The crowd goes absolutely crazy and I’m glad that they’re enjoying this.

Match #3: Amazing Kong vs. Sara Del Rey
The crowd chants negatively towards Bubba the Love Sponge. Kong lands a splash and the crowd is already buying a nearfall. She misses a corner charge and Del Rey starts targeting the left arm. Del Rey sends Kong to the floor with a kappou kick and whips her into the barricade. Kong returns the favor and the action goes back into the ring. Kong misses a middle rope splash and Del Rey locks in a cross armbreaker. The hold is broken when Kong makes it to the ropes. Del Rey is able to hit a german suplex for a nearfall. Chris Hero tosses her his loaded elbow pad. Del Rey connects with a roaring elbow for the win at 7:15. Commentary is quick to notice that Kong losing by knockout is ironic. The insane crowd heat definitely helped this match. This was also a good reintroduction for Kong and it appears that she will be making more appearances in the future. While the finish was a letdown, hopefully they build on it and we see more Kong/Del Rey interactions in the future. **½

Match #4: Eddie Edwards vs. Christopher Daniels
Daniels cuts an excellent promo before the match. It would be nice to see Edwards actually, you know, defend his belt once in awhile. I don’t care if it’s on television or not at this point. Edwards shows that he can hang with Daniels early on. They trade armdrags and Daniels sends Edwards to the floor. Back in, Daniels hits an STO along with a leg lariat. He adds an arabian press but Edwards hip tosses him to the floor and follows out with a dive. Edwards yakuza kicks Daniels into the barricade and takes over back in the ring. He busts out an achilles lock in the ropes for the first time. Edwards connects with a missile dropkick but Daniels responds with an enzuigiri. Both men are down. Daniels hits a flurry of offense, capped off with an iconoclasm. Shane Hagadorn gets involved and Edwards accidentally kicks him off the apron. Edwards goes back to work on the leg and hits a backpack chinbreaker. He follows with a gourdbuster and a running knee strike. Daniels answers with a death valley driver. They exchange strikes and Edwards applies an achilles lock. Daniels quickly makes the ropes. Daniels hits a uranagi and lands the Best Moonsault Ever for the victory at 17:50. There were numerous moments throughout this match where Daniels proved himself to be the veteran and took advantage of simple mistakes. They really made that story work and wrestled a smart match. I have a feeling that Daniels is going to be a huge asset to ROH in the months to come. The crowds are extremely behind him, his promos are great, and he hasn’t lost a step in the ring. Edwards looked solid as well and they kept the action interesting for eighteen minutes. ***½

Daniels puts over Edwards after the match. Daniels says that if Davey Richards wants to be called the best in the world, he needs to beat Christopher Daniels.

Match #5: Austin Aries vs. Delirious
Aries comes out in a suit. He says that he dressed up for the funeral of Austin Aries, the wrestler. He has received his manager’s license and will prove that he’s the greatest man(ager) that has ever lived. He calls out Delirious, saying that he wants to apologize. Delirious and Daizee Haze make their way to the ring. Aries apologizes and gives Haze a rose. He wanted to give Delirious something sweet to eat, now that his throat his recovered. Aries pulls out golden snack cakes and reminds the crowd that they aren’t Twinkies. Tremendous. Delirious grabs the microphone and hits Aries with it. The match officially starts. Delirious takes control immediately and shoves the golden snack cakes into Aries’ face. He hits a cobra clutch suplex and locks in a cobra clutch. Daizee Haze tells Delirious to choke Aries with a belt. Delirious listens and doesn’t break before the five count, causing a disqualification at 2:24. This whole segment did absolutely nothing to make me anymore interested in the feud. The good news is that Aries is awesome and was hilarious in his pre-match promo. Since this was more of a segment than a match, I’m not going to bother with a rating.

Delirious finally stops choking Aries. Kenny King and Rhett Titus come out and attack Delirious. Aries hits Delirious with his shoe. Daizee Haze tries to stop any further damage to no avail. Delirious saves her from a spike piledriver. Aries, King, and Titus retreat to the back while Delirious checks on Haze in the ring.

Match #6: 34th Street Deathmatch: Kevin Steen vs. Colt Cabana
This is essentially a Last Man Standing match. Cabana immediately throws a chair at Steen and sends him into the barricade. Steen is already busted open and gets sent into the barricade three more times. Cabana sets up a table at ringside. They battle on the apron and Steen superkicks Cabana to the floor. He cannonballs Cabana into the barricade. Steen brings two chairs into the ring. Cabana spinebusters him onto a propped up chair and hits him over the head with it. Steen catches Cabana off the flying asshole and dumps him through the table at ringside. The action goes back into the ring where a ladder is introduced. Steen slams Cabana across the ladder. Cabana answers by slamming Steen across the edge of the ladder. Cabana dumps thumbtacks in the ring. He takes off Steen’s shirt and military presses him into the thumbtacks. Cabana places two chairs on Steen’s chest and lands a moonsault from the top rope. El Generico’s music hits and some masked wrestler comes down to the ring. Steve Corino appears behind Cabana and low blows him. The masked wrestler reveals himself to be Colby, Steve’s son. Colby gives his father a barbed wire bat. Cabana ducks a bat shot and hits the flying asshole on Corino. He hits Steen with the bat and a nine count results. Steen low blows Cabana with the barbed wire bat and hits a package piledriver onto the thumbtacks for a nine count. Steen applies a crossface using the barbed wire bat. Cabana can’t answer the ten count, giving Steen the win at 14:23. Once again, this feud continues to deliver quality matches. There wasn’t a moment in this contest where I didn’t believe that these two hated each other. It was appropriately violent and they spaced out the big spots well. The match became a little wacky towards the end, but the storytelling worked effectively. It’s kind of disturbing that Steve Corino’s son is so young and yet he’s still involved in a situation such as this one. This feud is single-handedly bringing fun hardcore matches back to ROH. ***¼

Match #7: ROH World Tag Team Titles: Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli © vs. Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley
The Kings of Wrestling enter to “We Are The Champions” and I’m going crazy. If they start using that as their entrance theme again, keep the belts on them forever. Claudio obnoxiously shows off his power advantage against Sabin and I’m calmed down. Sabin snaps off a nice headscissors. Hero and Shelley trade control on the mat. Shelley starts frustrating him with various armdrags. The Motor City Machine Guns impress with some tandem offense and gain the advantage. Sabin catches Hero with a dive to the outside and Shelley adds a missile dropkick in the ring. Claudio connects with a bicycle kick on Shelley and the tide turns. The Kings isolate Shelley until he DDTs both of his them and makes the tag. Sabin comes off the middle rope with a hurricanrana on Hero and lands a plancha to the floor onto Claudio. He follows with a springboard tornado DDT on Hero. Shelley lands a crossbody on Hero and takes Claudio out on the floor with another crossbody. The MCMG hit a crossbody-neckbreaker combination on Hero. Everyone hits a move and all four men are down. Claudio absolutely launches Sabin into a european uppercut. Dear me. He follows with the UFO. Claudio giant swings Sabin into a flash dropkick from Hero. Shelley misses a double stomp and walks into a roaring elbow. Hero adds another roaring elbow but Shelley won’t stay down. Sabin connects with an enzuigiri on Claudio and Shelley follows with an assisted sliced bread. The MCMG lay out Hero with multiple kicks for a nearfall. Shane Hagadorn tosses Hero his loaded elbow pad while Sara Del Rey distracts the referee. The Briscoes run out, causing a disqualification at 22:07. This is one of the more frustrating disqualification finishes in recent memory. The Kings and MCMG went out there and provided the best tag team wrestling I’ve seen in 2010 for twenty-two minutes. This contest was possibly on its way to being my new ROH match of the year. I understand the logic behind the Briscoes running in but it still leaves a sour taste. At least we received a chance to witness what these two teams could do together. The action was just so innovative and they made twenty-two minutes seem like ten. The finish was a shame but the action up to that point was tremendous. ***¾

The Briscoes send the Kings of Wrestling to the floor. Jay hits the Jay Driller on Sara Del Rey. The crowd IS NOT happy.

Austin Aries visits Julius Smokes backstage. Aries asks him for some advice on being a manager. Smokes says some incoherent lines and that’s about it.

Match #8: ROH World Title: Tyler Black © vs. Roderick Strong
Black connects with a dropkick and starts working over Strong’s left shoulder. The crowd is very split on how they feel about Black. Strong hits a leg lariat and wins a strike exchange. Black responds with a stomp to the face. The action goes to the floor where Strong dumps Black across the apron. He suplexes Black on the floor and starts working over the midsection back in the ring. They battle on the apron and Strong hits a back suplex. Black comes back with standing shooting star press and just dumps Strong to the outside. Black follows out with a dive. In the ring, Strong counters Paroxysm with a gourdbuster. He hits a falcon arrow and back suplexes Black to the floor. Strong tries a dive from the apron but Black catches him and hits an F5. Back in, Black connects with a corner double stomp and hits Paroxysm. Strong answers with a backbreaker and hits another backbreaker across the top turnbuckle. He applies the Stronghold but Black makes the ropes. Black hits God’s Last Gift out of nowhere and follows with a bucklebomb. Strong immediately responds with a yakuza kick. Black counters a backbreaker with a hurricanrana and accidentally superkicks Todd Sinclair. Strong hits a backbreaker and connects with a yakuza kick. Paul Turner runs into the ring and counts the nearfall. Black bucklebombs Strong into Turner and connects with a superkick. A third referee runs out, trips, and counts another nearfall. Strong inadvertently sends the third referee to the floor and hits a backbreaker. Thankfully, Todd Sinclair recovers and counts to two. They trade strikes and Strong hits another backbreaker. Black falls victim to an enzuigiri, gutbuster, and Gibson Driver for a two count. Black recovers with a superplex to retain his title at 27:10. I know that they wanted the finish to be a top rope God’s Last Gift, but believe me when I say that it was a superplex. This was their platform to have a fantastic match and I think the contest turned out to be a little disappointing. The action was predominantly back and forth and I think the match was too long for it to be that way. Strong didn’t work over Black’s back an awful lot and I wasn’t buying any of the nearfalls off of Strong’s backbreakers. I also thought that the multiple referee bumps were unnecessary. There are a lot of better ways to make Strong feel like he was cheated. I know that I complained about this match a lot. It’s definitely worth watching. However, they didn’t manage to top their previous efforts. ***¾

Black offers a handshake and Strong just slaps him. They brawl until staff pulls them apart. Strong grabs the microphone and complains about the multiple referees needed tonight. He says that in the end, only the strong survive. Backstage, Strong explains that he finally found someone that will tell him the *truth*.

Overall: Supercard of Honor V is a highly consistent show. While I’m not sure how it compares to previous events of the same name, there are numerous worthwhile matches on this release. Daniels and Edwards have a smart match that truly shows the value of Daniels in ROH. The main events had potential to be elevated to the next level but some booking annoyances stopped that from happening. The rest of the card is padded with a fun opener and a quality hardcore showcase from Steen and Cabana. Simply because of the title, I was expecting a bit more from this show. However, there are more than enough good matches here to earn a solid recommendation.

-First Blood Match: The Undertaker vs. Mr. Kennedy (Survivor Series)(November 26, 2006)

This was when WWE got quite serious about pushing Kennedy. They made a big deal about him going over a number of world champions. Taker was pretty much the biggest name on the list to possibly go over. Kennedy actually won the first match these two had back at No Mercy.  Kennedy plays the running game for a bit. He tries punching, but that fails. Taker sends Kennedy flailing outside. Into the announcer’s table goes the head of one Kennedy. Taker flips Kennedy over the table and continues beating him up all around the ring. Headbutts. Taker brings him back over the barricade. Boot the face. Kennedy sends Taker into the stairs. Now Kennedy sends Taker into the announce table. After some punches, he tries a dive off the apron. Spine first into the post goes Kennedy. Follow-up includes more fun with the announce table and a punch into the kidney. More shots to the side as they end up back in the ring. Taker places Kennedy on the top turnbuckle. Superplex. Shots to the ribs. Kennedy hits a low blow. Advantage doesn’t last as Taker hits a big boot. Head first in the turnbuckle. Body shots continue. A second low blow by Kennedy. He heads outside and appears to be bleeding. MVP comes out and helps to wipe the blood and tries to get Kennedy to walk with him in the back. MVP then sends Kennedy back into the ring. Apparently, this was revenge for Smackdown a few weeks ago. Kennedy sends Taker’s head into the exposed turnbuckle after getting hit with more punches. MVP comes in with a chair and hits The Undertaker after some dispute with the referee. Undertaker is bleeding… and he’s not happy. Kennedy punches away.  Referee sees Taker bleeding and calls for the bell.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Mr. Kennedy/9:24/**

Kennedy continues to beat on Taker after the match. Just as he’s about to say his line on the microphone. Taker comes back and beats the bajesus out of Kennedy. And I mean a beatdown. Chair shot that wraps around the head included. So glad those have been banned in the ensuing years.

-Last Ride Match: The Undertaker vs. Mr. Kennedy (Armageddon)(December 17, 2006)

Only way to win this match is to beat your opponent so badly that you can put the man in a hearse and drive away. Quite the stipulation I’d say. Kennedy ducks and dives in the first minute. Then Taker gets his hands on Kennedy, and a beatdown begins that goes all around ringside. The assault outside the ring ends with Taker tossing Kennedy head first into the apron. Blind charge sends Taker flying. Kennedy seizes the opportunity until he gets caught and rammed into the post. First attempt at the hearse, but Kennedy sends Taker into the hearse numerous times. Kennedy actually gets him inside, but the door won’t close. Boot to the face. Taker prevents Kennedy from going in the crowd and rams him in the steps. Taker has some fun on the apron. Kennedy heads in the ring and again wants to go out. Taker has none of that. Superplex. Huge toss. Toward the hearse area, but Kennedy applies a sleeperhold of all things Not very often the movie is applied outside the ring. Makes sense considering the stipulation at least. Kennedy gets Taker in the hearse. He heads to the driver’s side where Taker is waiting for him. Undertaker resumes his tour around ringsideand begins clearing the announce table. Kennedy responds with a series of chair shots to all parts of Taker’s body. Taker keeps sitting up. Kennedy lures Taker toward the entranceway. They climb all over the stage. Uh oh. Both men tease tossing the other over. Kennedy actually tosses Taker over. The landing is neither seen or alive. Great camera work I’d say. Announcers are in complete shock. Even the replays don’t illustrate the landings. Thus, the magic is preserved. Kennedy drags Taker to the hearse and gets him inside. He wants to drive… Uh oh. Taker sits up and drags Kennedy through the hearse. Huge series of punches. Chair shot. Taker misses a shot with a pipe. Chair shot to the head, and we’ve got blood. Taker works on the wound. Taker places Kennedy on the roof. This won’t end well. Chokeslam on the roof! He’s not done yet. Tombstone! Taker puts him in the hearse and drives off. Bit of an anticlimactic ending but that’s more the fault of the stipulation than anything else.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Undertaker/19:07/***

-I thought this was actually well-worthed despite the stipulation. Kennedy looked very plausible here, and it almost looked like he would do it. If only Kennedy wasn’t a complete idiot and screw-up. This is the type of match that people would remember making his career up.

-Last Man Standing-World Heavyweight Championship: The Undertaker vs. Batista (Backlash)(April 2007)

Undertaker defeated Batista one month earlier at Wrestlemania in one of the most unexpectedly great matches in the history of WWE. Since these two had a regular match one month, a stipulation is in order for Backlash. Unlike a lot of other matches on this DVD, this isn’t about people  trying to mess with The Undertaker. This was just strictly about the championship. Taker starts on the offensive as soon as the bell rings. Chokeslam is no dice but a flying clothesline works. Old school to a mixed reaction. Odd how some people are actually cheering the challenger. Batista comes back with a powerslam. Into the ringside barricades and ring aprons go The Undertaker’s head. Right hand and then Batista himself is sent into the steps. Some punches and Batista goes into the stairs. Taker begins working on the bandaged right hamstring of Batista. Sounds like a capital idea. Kick to the head and a legdrop on the apron. Batista reverses an Irish whip and Taker is sent into the steps. Batista goes to the top rope, but it proves to be a foolish move. Taker with a series of right hands and eventually a superplex. Referee counts both men. Punch exchange. Batista hits a clothesline. Another one and the referee begins counting. Bodyslam and a legdrop. Undertaker pulls Batista to the outside by the tights. Time to redecorate the Smackdown announce table. Batista sends Taker hard into the barricade. Batista tries to hit a powerslam through the table just as he did at Mania, but Taker hits a sloppy backbreaker. He goes after the stairs and nails the challenger. Referee counts to seven and we see Batista is now bleeding. Taker lays him on the table. From the barricade and… LEGDROP THROUGH THE TABLE! Referee counts to nine, and Batista gets up at 9.5. Taker hits two splashes in the corner. Snake eyes. Batista hits a spear. Spinebuster. A second spinebuster. A third and he wants the referee to count. Taker up at nine. Taker sends Batista into the corner out of a Batista bomb attempt. Chokeslam! Taker gets up. Batista up at nine. Taker goes for punches in the corner, but much like he’s done so many times to others, Taker himself eats a powerbomb. Taker…just…make…it…up. Batista grabs the chair and puts it to good use. Taker reverses a Batista bomb into a backdrop on the chair. Tombstone! Batista gets up at nine. Taker kicks Batista to the outside. The two men fight up to the entrance way stage. Taker tries tossing Batista off the stage. Batista fights back. Batista goes for the powerbomb. Taker kicks the bad leg. He measures a right hand and lifts him up. Batista spears Taker off the stage. There are a few minor explosions that make this feel more hokey than it should have been. Here we’ve got two guys having a tremdendous match, and then they have to go and do this. Referee counts ten 10 and we have no winner.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: No-contest (STILL World Heavyweight Champion- The Undertaker)/20:27/****

-This was an incredible match between two guys have amazing chemistry with each other. This was absolutely better than their Mania match with the exception of the finish. What a stupid finish. This match deserved so much better under the circumstances.

-The Undertaker vs. Big Daddy V(w/Matt Stryker) (Smackdown) (January 25, 2008)

Big Daddy V used to be known as Mabel, and if you remember  disk one, you’d remember that they had a casket match some 13 years ago. Two questions come to mind. After having such a crappy feud in 1995, why would anyone bother resurrecting garbage like that. Even better, why the hell is this match even on here? Seriously, why? I’ll wait for an answer. Picture the match they had 13 years ago except we get to see Big Daddy V’s tits and Matt Stryker is replacing Mo. Oh, and no casket. If nothing else, Taker’s movements and timing have improved, so that’s a positive thing. Chokeslam and I’m shocked Taker’s back survived. Taker hooks the triangle choke. Big Daddy V works out of it. That’s a difference from their match 13 years ago. Big Daddy V Stupidly tries ground and pound. Hell’s Gate gets the submission victory. It’s a bit different from the triangle choke he used earlier

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: The Undertaker/6:11/1/2*

-Mark Henry comes out and says Taker went too far. Henry and Big Daddy V would have to be the fattest team in WWE history.

-Hell in a Cell:  The Undertaker vs. Edge (Summerslam)(August 17, 2008)

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Edge and Taker had a feud going back to Wrestlemania. Taker of course maintained his streak using the Hell’s Gate finisher that he debuted in the previous match (hence the reason for its inclusion I assume). Taker won at Backlash, and this lead to Vickie Guerrero banning the submission hold. The championship was held up, and Edge defeated Undertaker at One Night Stand. The stipulation was Taker having to leave WWE. This lasted two months as the marriage of Edge and Vickie Guerrero came to a close. Guerrero decided to punish her husband by reinstating The Undertaker and putting both men in Hell in a Cell. This also led to Mick Foley’s departure from WWE as Edge beat the holy hell out of Mick Foley a couple weeks earlier on Smackdown. He also hit a conchairto on his own best man Chavo Guerrero. Hell of a video package explains much of this pretty well.

I’d say this is a modified version of the very first Hell in a Cell involving Taker against Shawn Michaels and the one Taker had against Randy Orton, which we saw earlier on disk two. The major difference is Edge shows more aggression and less fear throughout the contest. Still, it’s Undertaker making a major heel pay for his sins. Too many expectations were attached to this match as well considering how great previous contests were. This Hell in a Cell ultimately couldn’t live up to previous encounters because by this time, the blood ban was basically in effect. In fact, the only blood came hardway from Taker’s right arm. The match felt more like a series of spots instead of a logical progression. Instead of focusing a lot of the attacks using the cage, Edge and Taker incorporate more outside objects like stairs, tables, chairs and eventually ladders. It feels more like a TLC match within the cell actually. They even go outside the cell for some spots. Taker even hits some trademark Edge spots as a measure of revenge. Spear, conchairto, and the camera shot that served as a receipt from the last Hell in a Cell. Despite all the craziness, there’s only one way for it to all end. Tombstone. 1-2-3. Done.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: The Undertaker//***1/4

-After the match, Undertaker gets on a ladder and chokeslams Edge through the mat. Flames shoot out. Cute.

-Steel Cage Match: The Undertaker vs. The Big Show (Smackdown)(December 5, 2008)

This match is on the DVD because… because…well, I have no earthly idea. I don’t even care. I guess a third match involving these two just had to be included. I’d say they were trying to torture, but I decided to review the DVD after reading the match list. Taker and Show have their usual match. Punching, kicking, and an occasional high impact move. I’ve seen these two wrestle far too many times. Show breaks out a Vader bomb and misses. Taker with a series of kicks and splashes while Show is pressed against the cage. Show hits an elbow and begins ramming Taker into the cage. While Show is on offense, that’s roughly what he does. Oh, a clothesline here and there too. Punch exchange. Taker hits a big legdrop for two. Out of the corner with a pair of splashes. Old school doesn’t go well as Show resumes with body shots. Taker is prone on the top rope. Show meets him and a battle ensues. SUPERPLEX BY BIG SHOW! Show hits a lazy boot and climbs to the top. Taker sits up, so Show tries escaping. Both men battle on the top rope once again. Taker punches Show continually. Finally, Taker gets the even bigger man down. Taker can easily climb out, but he comes back into the ring for an elbowdrop. It misses. That was stupid. Show gets two. Chokeslam reversed into a DDT by Taker. After a two count, Taker sets up for a chokeslam. Show turns it into one of his own. Both men down. 1-2-NO! Show hits a huge punch. Taker sits up. Show wants another chokeslam. Hell’s Gate. Show has no choice but to tap.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: The Undertaker/12:41(shown)/*3/4

-Of all their matches, this may have been one of the best. Still not something I’d ever care to see again, but it wasn’t torture either.

-Undertaker summarizes his own career and challenges anyone to show their face and beat him.

-Final Thoughts: One of the positive about this DVD collection is you get to see just how much The Undertaker has evolved over the years. Disk three showed significant improvement in the match quality area. It’s pretty fascinating to see that as Taker has gotten older and the wear and tear of the wrestling business has taken its toll, the match quality gets better. I only wish Taker could have had a better first few years because as great as the character was, the matches were horrendous.

Based on the collection as a whole , I can’t recommend someone spending 20-25 dollars to buy this. There are an awful lot of matches not worth seeing. While I feel “Undertaker’s Deadliest Matches” is a really accurate portrayal of Taker’s career, I can’t say it’s worth sitting through matches with Kamala or Mabel. Thumbs down for this three disk set. If nothing else, I can at least say to myself “Ricky Steamboat’s collection is coming.” Hell Yes.

-Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) vs. Big Show (Monday Night Raw)(May 3, 1999)

It’s funny because I was just thinking how this was the exact match I wanted to see as a way of improving this set.  Big Show turned babyface for the first time shortly before this, and this was their first meeting. If only it had been their last. This one doesn’t last long though. This was when Big Show was a member of The Union. Not a union. THE Union. Short story is Big Show, Ken Shamrock, Mankind, and Test came together to form a group. They took Tugboat’s toot for the beginning of their theme song and lasted about a month before Vince Russo lost interest. Taker peppers Show with a series of rights before Show tosses him into the corner. More rights from Taker. Taker charges and gets put in a bearhug. Taker gtes out of it, but Show boots him in the face. Clothesline over the top. Paul Bearer gives Taker some ether to pour on his elbowpad. Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler pretend to smell it. Must be a tribute to Bobby Heenan.  Taker applies a sleeper with the elbowpad. Show won’t go down, so Taker takes a baseball bat and nails him right in the head. Referee calls for the bell. Why the hell was this even included?

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: The Undertaker/2:45/DUD

-WWF Heavyweight Championship: Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) vs. Big Show (Monday Night Raw)(June 7, 1999)

Oh goody. These two again. Difference is Taker has the WWF title, a title he won at Over the Edge a couple weeks earlier. I don’t think I need to mention what else happened on that show. Match starts out exactly the same way as the first one did. Show changes it up by clotheslines Taker and hitting an elbow. Irish whip hard in the corner. Series of boots and chops. Headbutt. Let’s face it. There’s only one significant aspect of this match. Taker goes for a chokeslam. Show grabs the throat. Taker with a flying clothesline.  To the outside. Taker with a series of punches. Show rams Taker into the steps off a reversal. Another punch on the outside. Show picks Taker up and has him over his shoulder. Taker sends Show headfirst into the post. Clothesline into the announce table. Taker hits Show with a chair across the back.  Taker continues having his way with Show outside the ring. Lots of choking. Into the announce table goes Show. Uppercut and we head back inside. Taker comes off the top, but Show catches him. CHOKESLAM TO HELL!!!! Taker goes through the mat, and the referee has no choice but to ring the bell.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: The Big Show/6:50/*

-Big Show chokeslams various Corporate Ministry jobbers. The cool visual justifies the presence of this match on the DVD. Other then that, the match certainly wasn’t great.

-We completely skip the next five years, including the entire Bikertaker era.

-Concrete Crypt Match: The Undertaker vs. The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von w/Paul Heyman)(WWE Tag Team Champions)(Great American Bash)(June 27, 2004)

This show is singularly the reason I stopped watching WWE for nearly a year. Bradshaw winning the WWE title was the reason, but this match certainly played a small part in my boycott. I have never seen a single match from this Pay-Per-View and would never have considered it if not for this match being on this collection. Undertaker has been in a lot of bad matches and been a part of some dumb concepts. This was the worst. Paul Bearer was in a container that Paul Heyman was in control of. If Taker didn’t listen to what Heyman said, Heyman would dump concrete and pretty much kill Bearer. But remember, WWE never does rape or murder. Cole and Tazz imply the right thing might be Taker laying down, making this one of the stupidest matches I’ve ever heard of. Even the presence of Paul Heyman and his pre-match promo can’t save this. Heyman begins filling the crypt with cement. Dudleys want Taker to join. This was really a main event of a Pay-Per-View? I mean… this is dumber than TNA. Ray says this is the moment he’s been waiting for his entire life. Taker threatens to chokeslam both Dudleys. Heyman says something about this not being the right thing. Dudleys double team. Taker then lays waste and sends them flying outside. Taker spend the next few minutes taking out both members of the tag team champions. By himself. Heyman releases more cement. Boot on D-Von. Bubba pulls Taker groin first into the post. Dudleys work over Taker. Taker DDTs Bubba and fires away at D-Von. Back body drop and a sidewalk slam. Taker goes to the outside and Heyman threatens to pull the lever. Taker takes one more step. Heyman pulls the lever. This is something I expect out of a shitty B movie. Bubba pulls the lever up because he wants to take out The Undertaker. Dudleys resume working over Taker. D-Von puts Taker in some sort of hold. Taker fights back with right hands. Clothesline by D-Von. Bubba tags in. Double team vertical suplex. Elbow by Bubba and he wants Taker to get up. Crowd is silent.  Dudleys continue their long boring beatdown. Taker with rights again. Bubba applies a sleeper. Just what this needed. Belly-to-back suplex. Flying clothesline on D-Von. Taker with snake eyes and a big boot. Right hand and a legdrop. Bubba interrupts a cover. Bubba sends Taker in the corner. Taker splashes the champions in each corner. Old school clothesline is hit. Tombstone countered by D-Von. Low blow. 3-D hit. Heyman comes to ringside. Taker sits up and looks right at Heyman. Chokeslam on Bubba. Tombstone on D-Von. 1-2-3! Yes everyone, The Undertaker just beat the WWE tag team champions by himself clean in the ring.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: The Undertaker/13:42/FAIL

Hold on folks. We’re not done yet. Heyman wants to finish the job, but a bolt of lightning prevents that. Undertaker does the right thing himself and pulls the lever. So WWE killed Paul Bearer off. A publicly traded company in a business where a lot of young men tend to die did an actual angle where one of its’ characters was killed. This is one of the most appalling things I’ve ever seen from WWE. And no one should ever wonder why I boycotted WWE for over a year.

-Casket Match: The Undertaker vs. Heidenreich (Royal Rumble)(January 20, 2005)

The saddest aspect of this match is this is a welcome relief from the previous match. Back to the formula as Taker gets to dismantle an opponent, and the opponent will very shortly never be seen on WWE television again. Heidenreich has some awful music too. As if the result was in any doubt before, the angle coming into this match was Heidenreich being scared of the casket. Taker grabs his opponent with a headlock and slowly takes him over to the casket. Taker even uses some armdrags, and Heidenrich grabs a headlock. Shoulder tackle. I swear, this is how the match started. Shoulder tackle again. Taker works the leg and even grabs a half crab. Heidenreich flees to outside and tries to go to the back. Heidenreich sends Taker into the casket back first. Back inside where Heidenreich fires a series of punches. Taker grabs a triangle choke in the corner. Someone started watching MMA between GAB 2004 and this show. Triangle choke appears to pass Heidenreich out. Then Gene Snitsky of all people comes out and begins working over The Undertaker. Worst…team…ever. The dastardly heels double team Taker. Casket opens and Kane comes out of it. Whoops. That was different. Kane dismantles both men before he turns his focus on Snitsky since they’re the ones that had an issue on Raw at the time. They brawl in the crowd. Heidenreich tries pushing the casket away. Taker wakes up and beats Heidenreich up , but he is sent into the stairs knee first. Heidenreich sends the casket into Taker. Heidenreich chokes Taker out in the ring, and he dumps him in the casket. Casket won’t shut. Taker with a series of right hands. Leg drop on to the lid. Wow. Taker goes for the chokeslam. Heidenreich counters and hits a modified uranagi. He goes for the cover like an idiot. Into the casket. Taker grabs him by the throat. Exchange of strikes. Taker hits a DDT. Chokeslam. Only one thing left to do. Tombstone piledriver.  Taker pushes Heidenreich into the casket and closes the door.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: The Undertaker/13:20/**1/4

-The biggest compliment I can pay to this match is this wasn’t horrible. Not exactly Shakespeare either but a solid effort at least.

-Handicap Casket Match: The Undertaker vs. Randy and “Cowboy” Bob Orton (No Mercy)(October 9, 2005)

Orton and Taker had a rivalry that lasted most of 2005. It all started with Taker maintaining his Wrestlemania streak in April. It continued with Orton picking up a huge victory in the rematch at Summerslam. Bob Orton tried running interference multiple times as the rivalry developed. Now it was time for both members of the Orton family to possibly get tossed into a casket in The Undertaker’s patented match. In most cases, a casket match equals the end of a feud. Randy and Bob surround Taker, but they can’t get the advantage to start the match. Taker controls both members of the Orton family with a series of strikes. Bob manages a low blow. Randy primarily does the beating on Taker. Bob does a lot of holding and only provides an occasional shot. Good idea says I. Taker gets control and demands the door be lifted. Orton flees for his life as soon as Taker tries to get him in the casket. Bob Orton goes in, and he moves out as quickly as he possibly can. Orton tosses Taker into the stairs and rams his head into the announce table. Another head first thud into the stairs. Ortons resume their double-teaming of Taker. They try to shift him toward the casket. Taker once again fights the Ortons off. He knocks Bob into the corner. Old school clothesline on Randy. Kick and an uppercut to Bob. Face first goes Randy. Bob tries a punch. Taker drives the shoulder, and we get an attempt at Old School on Bob. Randy crotches him and both father and son get some shots in. They climb to the second rope, and a battle ensues. Bob and Randy actually get a double superplex on Taker. Didn’t see that one coming. Tazz points out Bob Orton was one of the first to do the superplex. Good factoid. They try a suplex into the casket. DDT counter by Taker. He sits up. Bob goes in the casket. Irish whip and snake eyes. Big boot. Bob climbs out of the casket. Set-up for the Tombstone piledriver. Orton does counter, but Taker gets a clothesline anyway. Orton hits his patented sitting backbreaker. Bob is carrying a fire extinguisher around the ring. Randy sends Taker to the outside. Elbow on Bob. Taker catches Randy and rams him back first into the post. Bob tries to come from behind with the extinguisher, but he gets kicked once again. Taker hits Orton with a steel chair into the casket. Another attempt with the extinguisher. Taker does a triangle choke on Bob on the apron. That’s certainly a unique application. Bob ends up in the casket. Taker can’t close the lid. Randy with right hands before resorting to choking. Taker ends up in the casket. All three men are in the casket. Taker sends Randy out and shuts the door on Bob. Orton comes back with a powerslam. As he looks in the casket, he notices his father already inside. Low blow by Taker now.  Orton reverses an Irish whip but gets kicked in the face. Dropkick by Orton. Orton hits Taker with a number of punches in the corner and of course gets hit with The Last Ride… eventually. Taker gives the sign. Bob comes out firing with the fire extinguisher as Taker prepares to Tombstone Orton. RKO! That was a nice touch. Bob rolls Taker toward the casket, but he has trouble finishing. Taker grabs him by the throat. Randy hits Taker with the extinguisher into the casket. Taker up. Door closes but Randy Orton and Taker are inside. No bell. Taker goes for a chokeslam on Bob but Randy hits Taker with a chairshot and quickly shuts the casket door

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Bob and Randy Orton/19:07/***1/2

-We finally have a three star match on this DVD collection. Pretty incredible we’re nearly six hours into this thing, and this has been the best match thus far. Very creative last few minutes which really elevated this from a ho hum casket match to something well worth seeing.

-Of course, this becomes a cartoon as Randy takes an axe to the casket, and then they set the thing on fire. Well, that’ll just piss him off. Does no one learn from history. Everyone who tries to kill The Undertaker, especially in a casket match, eventually gets theirs.

-The Undertaker vs. Randy Orton (w/Bob Orton) (Armageddon)(December 18, 2005)

Well, Randy did it. He pissed Taker off once and for all. Now, there’s really only one way to settle this rivalry. I think they were going for the same effect as the very first Hell in a Cell with Taker once and for all getting his hands on someone who’s been a thorn in his side. We actually get some wrestling to start, meaning this is probably getting a significant amount of time. Also get a couple sledgehammers to the head emphasizing Orton is stuck in the cage with The Undertaker. Pace picks up with Orton getting a dropkick and backdrop. Taker responds with right hands, and it’s time for a visit outside the ring. Orton heads back in the ring as Taker is about to hit with snake eyes into the cage. They exchange the advantage as each man punches the other… a lot. Taker works over Orton ever so slowly as Orton tries to crawl away. Taker nails Orton right in the head with a chair. Probably not the best plan of action. Orton is bleeding, and Taker delivers another shot to the midsection before hitting him in the skull. Christ. Taker rakes Orton’s head across the cage. Orton is sent into the stairs. Taker has a chain now. Around the neck of Orton it goes. Taker rams Orton into the cage. Taker lifts up the stairs. Orton fights his way back. Fists and kicks get Taker down. Taker kicks the stairs back at Orton. Taker becomes distracted by Bob, and Randy comes out of nowhere with an RKO across the ropes. Good camera work because you didn’t see Orton until the move was being delivered. Orton with a series of strikes and some steel steps to the head. Taker is bleeding. Orton rakes the face just as he had his earlier. Orton chokes Taker with the chain on the ropes. Taker heads back in the ring. Both men aren’t doing so hot. Chair shot by Orton. 1-2-NO! Taker wanders around the outside of the ring. He headbutts Orton and rams the head into the cage again. Blind charge by Taker, but he goes into the cage on his side. Taker recovers and heads back into the ring. He slams Orton on the mat. Off the top and he misses an elbowdrop. Orton gets the table. Set-up. Bob holds Taker by the hair. Randy fires some shots in. Taker rams Bob into the cage multiple times. Bob even starts bleeding. Orton hits a blind charge and gets two. Taker moves the table out of the way. Orton gets an uppercut. Taker comes back with a  flying clothesline for two. Old school clothesline. Flatliner by Taker. Snake eyes. Big boot. Legdrop. 1-2-NO! Taker hits a chokeslam. Orton gets his foot on the bottom rope. Running knee to the gut. Another goes awry. Orton uses the chain to hit a low blow.  Orton puts Taker on the table. Big splash hits. 1-2-NO! Orton actually cleans up the table in a nice gesture. Punches in the corner. DOES HE NEVER LEARN? Orton manages to get out of the Last Ride. Taker accidentally punches Nick Patrick. Chokeslam attempt leads to an RKO. Charles Robinson goes in and counts two. The door is now open, and Bob Orton is within the confines of the cage. Last Ride.  Taker goes for the cover. Bob pulls out the referee and punches Robinson. Taker punches Bob and rams him into the cell a few times. Taker calls for the finish. Orton counters the Tombstone into one of his own. 1-2-NO! Taker sits right up. Orton tries to get him to stay down. Doesn’t work. Bob eats boot. RKO doesn’t work. Taker hits both father and son with the urn. Tombstone on Bob. Tombstone on Randy.  1-2-3. Taker finally puts the Ortons to bed.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: The Undertaker/30:28/***

-I actually enjoyed the casket match more. Seemed to have more drama attached to it. Not as big of a fan of this match. I think it went a little too long, and all the referee bumps didn’t help either. An okay match but nothing I’d go out of my way to see.

-Last Man Standing: The Undertaker vs. The Great Khali (w/Daivari)(Smackdown)(August 18, 2006)

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This was like Undertaker’s feud with Giant Gonzalez, almost to the letter. Khali is slightly more athletic and at leat doesn’t wear a goofy outfit . Not a whole lot of wrestling in this match. Just a lot of brawling. Punching, kicking, and choking. Very loud “You can’t wrestle” chants directed at Khali. Couldn’t agree with these fine folks more. After a sequence in the ring that doesn’t exactly set the world on fire, Daivari tries to distract Taker, and both competitors end up by the entranceway. Khali tosses Taker through two tables. Taker… gets up at nine. Well, that wasn’t very plausible. Khali maintains control all the way back into the ring. Series of chops to the head with Taker tied up in the ropes. Taker with punches and a clothesline over the top. Khali sends Taker into the stairs, and then throws them into the ring. Taker whales Khali in the head with the stairs. Daivari brings a chair in but gets punches for his troubles. Taker hits Khali in the head with the chair as he lays on the stairs. Another one and you can see Khali bleeding pretty bad. Taker hits two huge chair shots. Chokeslam. Referee counts to ten. Match over. Thank God.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating:The Undertaker/13:06(shown)/*

-I know logic dictates a match like this needs to have enough time because of the whole standing thing, but having these two “wrestle” for over 12 minutes has to be someone’s idea of a joke. The one positive is people didn’t have to pay for the match. This was only the main event of an episode of Smackdown. A bad match that could have been so much worse.

Disk 2 Thoughts: The good news is there were a couple matches over three stars finally. The bad news is everything was varied from horrendous to mediocre. Unless every single match on disk three rocks my world, this is going to be an easy thumbs down.

- Menacing video packages shows the various forms The Undertaker has taken and some match highlights.

-Your host is the voice of The Undertaker I guess. He talks about his two decades of destruction and opponents he’s beaten.

-Body Bag Match: The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) vs. Ultimate Warrior (Madison Square Garden)(July 1, 1991)

Even in 1991, the opening bong got the crowd going crazy. That’s when you something is being done correctly.  These two had a fairly important feud going through the summer of 1991. The object of this match is similar to a casket match. Incapacitate your opponent and stuff them in a body bag to get the win. This was a far more awkward version of the later casket match actually. It led to a number of untelevised losses for ‘Taker, but he was still being built as being undefeated on television. ‘Taker tries to get the match going before the bell even rings, but Warrior responds quickly. Series of punches, and kicks, and clotheslines. ‘Taker with a pair of flying clotheslines. Choke in the corner. Warrior gets a bodyslam. Taker sits right back up. Into the corner where Warrior eats two boots right in the face. Elbowdrop misses. Warrior misses one of his own. More choking. Irish whip and Warrior gets his boots up. Kick to the chest. Piledriver. Taker sits right back up. Another piledriver. Taker up. A third piledriver. Taker can’t sit up this time. Splash… no. Punch on the way down.  Tombstone piledriver. Pretty sloppy one too. Taker grabs the bag and almost zips it all the way up. Warrior fights back. Right hand exchange. Series of clotheslines. Warrior hits Taker with the urn. Some great babyface he turned out to be. Warrior gets Taker in the bag and zips it shut.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Ultimate Warrior/9:29/*

-Taker sits up immediately while in the bag. That was cool. He walks out of the ring and carries the bag with him. THAT’S how Taker managed to stay over for so long.

-I could count the amount of moves on one hand basically. Pretty bad match but you could see Taker’s character being established almost from the very beginning. He had the no-selling and movement down pat even at the beginning. Mark Callous never could have drawn a dime in the business. But The Undertaker? Oh my.

-Taker talks about fear, and we shift to the great skit involving Taker constructing the casket while Bearer is cutting a promo. If this were real and I was Kamala, I’d have quit wrestling immediately.

-Casket Match: The Undertaker  (w/Paul Bearer)vs. Kamala (w/Harvey Whippleman and Kim Chee)(Survivor Series) (November 25, 1992)

The pop for the bong is enormous here. Kamala laid down Taker at Summerslam earlier in the year. Taker responded like any man would. He built a freaking coffin and planned to stuff Kamala into it. Kamala is deathly afraid before the match starts, and I don’t blame him at all. The bell rings. Match id dreadful. Absolutely horrendous. Lots of punching and Taker delivers what has now become the old school clothesline. Taker mistakenly goes after Kim Chee and Whippleman. Kamala takes advantage with some wild chops and shots into the stairs. Big chair shot to the back as well. Nice sound there. Kamala with a horrific looking slam. Taker sits up. They do this a couple more times until Taker no longer sits up. Series of splashes by Kamala. Kim Chee takes out Paul Bearer and grabs the urn. He and Kamala play Hot Potato with it. Taker hits Kamala with it. Some babyface he is. Referee counts three for whatever reason. Taker stuffs Kamala into the casket. Bearer and Taker nail it shut.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: The Undertaker/5:28/1/2*

-Pretty standard introduction actually. This would go on to become a pretty famous match type for The Undertaker. A solid way to end a number of his feuds. Match itself? Let’s not go there.

-None of the interludes are nearly as interesting from here on, so I’ll skip them.

-Casket Match: The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) vs. Kama (w/Ted Dibiase) (Summerslam) (August 27, 1995)

It would take an entire recap to go over this dumb feud. 1995 was a bad year for the WWF. So bad The Undertaker was mired in a never-ending feud with Ted Dibiase’s Million Dollar Corporation faction. They produced a series of horrible matches that pretty much served as a last straw of sorts when it came to Taker being involved in hokey angles. In this case, Kama stole the urn and burned it down to a chain to wear. One might say he was trying to impress his future hoes. Summerslam 1995 was a one match show, and this wasn’t the match. A below average brawl that gets an awful lot of time develops. We actually see a headscissors from Taker in one of the more shocking moments on the DVD. I understand Taker’s gimmick keeping him around and employed even if he sucked as a worker, but how the hell did Kama stay around in one form or another for so  many years? Kama does nothing more interesting than punching. Dibiase becomes involved and Paul Bearer actually tries to charge after him. That gets a pop. Taker regains control, but Dibiase provides another distraction. Kama rams Taker backfirst into the post and suplexes him on top of the casket. Kama tries a regular piledriver, but Taker backdrops Kama back in the ring. Powerslam in the ring and Kama goes for a cover like a moron. Chinlock. Way to pick the pace up. Kama puts his feet on the ropes, but Paul Bearer shoves them off. Kama picks the pace up and applies…  A HEADLOCK! Belly-to-back suplex by Taker. Kick to the back and an irish whip by Kama. Taker sweeps the leg. Series of kicks. Kama misses a punch, but Taker doesn’t miss a flying clothesline. Clothesline and both men end up in the casket. The lid gets closed, but someone has to come out to win the match. Kama tries to crawl out, but he gets pulled back in. Taker beats him down. Kama back inside. Swinging neckbreaker by Kama. Honky Tonk Man would be proud. Punch misses. Chokeslam by Taker. Crowd calls for the tombstone. Taker responds and puts Kama in the casket. The lid is shut, and the match is mercifully over.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: The Undertaker/16:26/*1/2

-I have no idea who gave this 15 minutes, but they surely should have lost their jobs. Bad match as was the standard for Undertaker in the first five years of his stay in the WWF. Also easy to see how this company lost five million dollars in 1995 with matches like this.

-Casket Match: The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer) vs. King Mabel (w/Sir Mo) (In Your House)(December 17, 1995)

Mabel was so fat that when he sat down on Taker’s face a few months prior to this match, Taker’s orbital bone was broken. Taker would have to wear a funny white mask for a few months afterward. An even bigger joke was Mabel winning the 1995 King of the Ring. Even as a ten tear old mark, I knew how stupid Mabel winning anything was. This was also the last really dumb feud Taker had in the 90s. It was all uphill from here as he would go on to face Bret Hart for the WWF title and feud with Diesel going into Wrestlemania 12. Sadly, Taker had one last crappy opponent to dispose of first.  Remember the previous two casket matches? This is essentially the same match except Mabel is fatter and less mobile. He even does the same splashes as Kamala. Mo actually does the carrying of Taker into the casket. He gives Mabel his crown. Mabel saunters over to close the casket. Too much time. Taker with a series of clotheslines. The final one finally knocks the big man down. Chokeslam. No wonder Taker has bad hips. Boot to the back of the head. Mabel to the casket. Mo tries to help his man, but Taker chokes him out, punches him in the throat, and chokeslams him as well. Taker puts Mo in the casket as well. Before he shuts the door, Taker grabs the chain and reclaims what’s left is his urn after nearly a year. Casket shut. Match over.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: The Undertaker/6:12/1/4*

-Not doing so well from the match quality standpoint. This was actually worse than the previous two matches, but at least it was kept short. I guess the one positive about this DVD is no Giant Gonzalez matches.

-Undertaker talks about Mankind, perhaps his greatest challenge up to this point.

-The Undertaker (w/Paul Bearer)vs. Mankind (King of the Ring)

Taker failed to defeat Bret Hart for the WWF title because of Diesel’s interference. Taker managed to get some measure of revenge before becoming engaged with a newcomer named Mankind. Up to this point, there was a simple formula. Someone threatens and beats up The Undertaker. The formula is this. Undertaker wins by disqualification at one Pay-Per-View before dismantling his opponent at the next one. In some cases, the opponent is never seen again. Based on Mankind being so new to the WWF at this point, I think a lot of folks were expecting the same. Little did they know. Very cool start as Taker comes from behind the ring. Intense brawl develops. Compared to everything else on the disk, this was like a shot of adrenaline. Taker controls the early part of the match as rips at the face of Mankind. Old school clothesline and some choking. Mankind comes back with a bodyslam. Diving clothesline as Taker sits up. Mankind rips the eyes and kicks Taker in the face. Running knee in the corner. Elbow to the throat. Both men on the outside. Elbow off the apron. Taker slowly gets up. Mankind keeps up the assault. Series of punches and kicks by Taker. He grabs the boot but gets clotheslined. Back to the outside goes Taker. Mankind sends Taker into the steps. Mankind tries a chair, but Taker boots it right back in his face. Backdrop on the concrete. And people wonder why Mick Foley had to essentially retire in 2000. Chairshot to the back of Mankind in the ring. Choking and a boot to the face. Taker goes for the tombstone. Swinging neckbreaker by Mankind. Legdrop and Taker isn’t sitting up. Mandible claw forthcoming. Taker grabs the hand. Mankind comes back with more kicks. Elbowdrop. Taker sits up. Mankind with a nervehold. Taker comes out of nowhere with strikes and a series of right hands. Clothesline over the top. Wow. Mankind drags his opponent outside and uses forearms to the head. Mankind charges with the knee and nails Taker in the head. Bodyslam on the floor. Mankind leaps. Taker uses the chair as a shield to hit Mankind in the elbow. Chairshot to the head. Back in the ring. Mankind refuses to let go of the ropes as Taker continues beating on him. Takes drives Mankind into the mat. Headbutts. Flying clothesline. Mankind hits a piledriver. 1-2-NO! Mankind goes apeshit and pulls his own hair out. Mankind grabs the urn from Paul Bearer. As he tries to hit Taker, Bearer grabs the urn. Mandible claw. Bearer comes up on the apron with the urn… and accidentally nails The Undertaker. Mankind with the mandible claw. Referee calls for the bell. Upset of the year.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Mankind/18:20/**1/2

-Formula seemingly broken here as Mankind makes his career in one match. We also saw a bit of foreshadowing as Paul Bearer hit The Undertaker with the urn. It appeared to be an accident at the time, but then Summerslam came along.

-Boiler Room Brawl: The Undertaker vs. Mankind (Summerslam)(August 18, 1996)

The only way to win this match was to get the urn from Paul Bearer. It started back in the bowels of the building.  According to Mick Foley’s book, the boiler room portion of the match was filmed the night before. One camera man is in the room. There were some spots where the camera “went out” to cover up some editing. Pretty obvious Taker was going to win, right? He already lost one match to Mankind. No way he loses another. Taker and Mankind beat the holy hell out of each other in the boiler room with Mankind taking the majority of the hits. No commentary only adds to the overall creepiness of this entire match.  No real advantage is taken in the boiler room by either man. Lots of weapons and toys are used, pretty rare for a WWF match in 1996. Hardcore matches wouldn’t really become accepted for another year or so. Towards the end of the segment in the boiler room, Taker pulls Mankind off the ladder on to some boxes. Only one person is dumb enough to take that bump. Taker and Mankind actually fight by the door to escape. After nearly 17 minutes, the two men make their out of the boiler room and head to the ring. You can tell when the live shots start, but it’s not too noticeable. Good editing job done by WWF, and this was before they were known for their great production values. Undertaker seemingly has the match won, but Paul Bearer won’t give him the urn. Uh oh. Bearer finally nails his protégé of five years with the urn that’s supposedly given him power over the years. Mankind wins the match. No bell so I really can’t give this rating. And it’s not really the kind of match that’s worth ratings either.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Mankind/N/R/N/R

-Undertaker is carried out by the druids in a casket. This was definitely not the end of Taker as he would come back the next night full of piss and vinegar. He would wrestle Mankind and defeat him at in the first ever Buried Alive match in October and finally pinned him at Survivor Series 1996.

-One of the things Undertaker has done so well is reinvent himself many times over. It’s the only way Taker could stay fresh over 20 years, but this was one of the early reinventions. Taker would no longer be able to rely on Paul Bearer. He would go to an all black outfit at Survivor Series and his character would become both darker and a little bit more human. This match wasn’t great from a technical standpoint, but it was a hell of a brawl and the stuff involving Paul Bearer was quite compelling.

-Buried Alive Match: The Undertaker vs. Steve Austin (Buried Alive)(December 13, 1998)

A lot happened in the ensuing two years, and I’m not going to try and explain Vince Russo’s writing. I can’t believe there was a near embalming.Oh and the crucifixion that didn’t offend any Christians at all.  Needless to say, Undertaker was a heel at this point and had hit Steve Austin in the head with a shovel to build up to this feud. This was the second Buried Alive match ever, and I wish it had been the last. Everyone knows how bad of an announcer Michael Cole is now, but just think of how bad he was in 1998. That is to say horrendous. I wish I could say his exaggerating of the weight of the gravestone was the worst part of the match, but the actual match… IT FUCKING SUCKS! ONE OF THE MOST BORING MATCHES I HAVE EVER HAD THE DISPLEASURE OF WATCHING! I H-A-T-E THIS MATCH!  Winner of this match would earn a spot in the 1999 Royal Rumble. The only positive about this match is Undertaker’s swank theme song he had going at the end of 1998. Even the normally boisterous Canadian crowd is comatose for one of the worst Pay-Per-View main events in the history of the WWF. Both guys do stuff around the ring. They go back and forth from the graveyard in a pretty dumb move. Why wouldn’t both guys just try to beat each other up by the graveyard. There are freaking shovels to use as weapons. I’m a fan of both guys, but someone in the back should have informed them that brawling for no reason and just hitting each other with stuff is a bad idea.  The ending a piece of work too. Austin nails Taker with a gas can multiple times. He hits a stunner that puts Taker into the grave, but that’s not good enough for this match. Kane (with pyro) climbs from under the grave and brawls with his brother. Kane finally gets a tombstone and sends Taker back into the grave. This was only stalling for time because  Austin has a truck dump a whole lot of dirt into the grave. There’s some sort of an argument between Austin and the truck driver.  DUMB! Austin picks up the win. A bad match plus dumb ending equals the rating you see below.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Steve Austin/20:28/DUD

-Inferno Match: The Undertaker vs. Kane (Monday Night Raw)(February 4, 1999)

Another Vince Russo special. The only way to win this match is to set your opponent on fire. These two had one of these back at Unforgiven 1998. The difference here is Vince McMahon was a good guy (sort of) who was worried about his daughter getting stalked by Taker and Ministry of Darkness. He sent Kane into this battle to finally eliminate Taker once and for all. Why McMahon would have Kane fight his brother in a match he’s already lost is a question only Vince Russo could answer. I can’t believe I actually enjoyed this stupidity in 1999. If I had known then what I know now, I seriously question whether I’d still be a wrestling fan at this point.   It’s not a very long match, more like a truncated version of the one they had almost a year previous. They start immediately. Vince McMahon on commentary is actually the most entertaining part of the match. Neither guy is exactly a babyface at this point, so the crowd doesn’t give a lick. Paul Bearer comes over with a present for Vince McMahon. How thoughtful of him. Vince McMahon opens the package, and it’s a teddy bear. Kane comes off the top rope and goes chest first into the announce table. Quite the bump. Undertaker finally sends Kane into the flames. Nothing too violent. It’s just his leg. The problem with these inferno matches is there’s no way to deliver in a big way since setting people on fire is a really dumb idea.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: The Undertaker/6:50/*1/2

-Undertaker takes the teddy bear, later revealed to be Stephanie McMahon’s, and throws it into the inferno while Vince McMahon cries and crawls over to the bear. I’m not even going to explain how this angle ended either because it would take so long.

Disk 1 Thoughts: Not good. Not good at all. It’s kind of fun to see just how much Taker evolved over the first eight years, but not a single match on this disk was any good. Hopefully, disks two and three are better.

Opening Match: Eddie Edwards vs. Bobby Dempsey
If Dempsey can defeat Edwards within or simply survive for ten minutes, he will earn a shot at the ROH World Television Title. Dempsey utilizes his power advantage early on. Bobby Cruise is announcing how much time is left after every minute goes by. Dempsey pleases the crowd with a few snapmares and hits a belly to belly suplex. Edwards answers with a running knee strike and takes over. Dempsey comes back with (of all things) a headscissors and hits an overhead suplex. The straps come down and Dempsey follows with a corner cannonball. Edwards walks into a spinning side slam but recovers with a lungblower. Edwards connects with an enzuigiri and applies an achilles lock for the win at 7:17. Dempsey has truly fallen off the face of the earth when it comes to how many times he has appeared in ROH recently. He looked fine here but has lost a good bit of crowd support. I’m also not sure how the Ten Minute Hunt concept is going to help the prestige of the title. Bobby Cruise giving an update every minute was annoying and I rather see Edwards defend the title in quality matches. *¾

Edwards grabs a microphone after the match. He states that he will make Christopher Daniels tap out. The hunt is on for a fallen angel.


Match #2: Jay Briscoe vs. Claudio Castagnoli
Jay takes the fight to Claudio from the start. Claudio attempts to ground Jay but gets caught with a leg lariat. The action goes to the floor where Sara Del Rey interjects herself. A distraction from Shane Hagadorn allows Claudio to send Jay into the barricade. Claudio hits a dead-lift gutwrench suplex in the ring and takes control. Jay flatlines him into the turnbuckles and snaps off a hurricanrana. Jay clotheslines Claudio to the floor and whips him into the barricade. In the ring, Jay lands a flying crossbody but Claudio slows him down with a lariat. Jay counters the UFO into a crucifix for the victory at 10:09. This match went along exactly how you would expect it to. They never shifted into second gear and the finish came quickly. Considering that these two men have a grudge, I don’t think the match should have ended via rollup. Technically fine but extremely predictable. **

Claudio attacks Jay after the match. Chris Hero runs out to help his partner. Mark Briscoe makes the save and catches Hero with a missile dropkick. He lands a dive to the floor onto the Kings of Wrestling. Ironically, Hero and Mark have a match scheduled for tonight…

Match #3: Mark Briscoe vs. Chris Hero
Mark lands a flying crossbody and hits a suplex. He adds a springboard senton and Hero retreats to the floor. Shane Hagadorn distracts Mark long enough for Hero to catch him with a dropkick through the ropes. Hero hits his mat-assisted senton and maintains the advantage in the ring. Mark comes back with an elbow strike and connects with a spin kick. He ducks a roaring elbow and hits a northern lights suplex. Hero is able to connect with a roaring elbow followed by a mafia kick. He hits a saito suplex but Mark answers with an exploder. Mark lays out Hero with an ace crusher from the middle rope. Hero blindsides Mark with a roaring elbow. Sara Del Rey distracts the referee and Hero puts on his loaded elbow pad. Hero avoids the Cutthroat Driver and connects with a roaring elbow for the win at 9:42. This was definitely more spirited than the previous contest. I don’t mind the finish either, as Hero resorted back to the tactic that won the Kings of Wrestling the titles. Solid action for the time given. However, I much rather see tag team matches continue the feud. **½

Match #4: Roderick Strong (1) vs. Erick Stevens
Stevens doesn’t provide a clean break and opts to chop Strong. Bad idea. Strong connects with a loud chop and adds a leg lariat. He hits a back suplex and more chops follow. Stevens gains control, catching Strong off a slingshot attempt with a powerslam. Prince Nana and Ernie Osiris get involved from the floor as well. Strong stages a comeback with a springboard crossbody but finds himself in a bodyscissors. He escapes and connects with a dropkick. Stevens falls victim to a falcon arrow but is able to catch Strong with a samoan drop. Strong misses an enzuigiri and Stevens connects with a lariat. Stevens hits a german suplex and an ace crusher. He follows with a another lariat. Strong responds with a yakuza kick for the victory at 14:10. I’ve seen these two put on much better matches. They kept the action pretty back and forth. While that style of match usually works for these two, I think the predictable result hurt the action. I never gave Stevens a chance to win, with Strong having a world title shot on the next show. The finishing stretch was also a bit tame. While this was the best match on the show up to this point, it’s nowhere near comparable to their earlier work together. **¾

Match #5: Kenny King (5) vs. Colt Cabana
King escapes two snapmares and lets the crowd get under his skin. Cabana cartwheels out of two snapmare attempts and finally is able to snapmare King. Cabana sends King to the floor with a fallaway slam. In the ring, Cabana grabs hold of a side headlock before King lures him to the outside. Back in, King controls until Cabana blocks a springboard attempt. Cabana baseball slides King into the barricade and then throws him into the barricade three more times. Cabana connects with a bionic elbow in the ring. The crowd is becoming extremely annoying, now chanting “people’s elbow”. Cabana hits the flying asshole but walks into shotgun knees. He applies the Billy Goat’s Curse but King makes it to the ropes. The action goes back to the floor where King lands a senton off the apron. They start battling on the apron. Kevin Steen runs down to the ring and attacks Cabana, causing a disqualification at 15:07. I know that people have different opinions regarding the whole snapmare deal in Manassas. If it gets on your nerves, avoid this match at all costs. The crowd didn’t stop at snapmares. They started chanting for many different moves throughout the match and as a DVD viewer, it took away from the action. King reacted to the antics well and showed some nice athleticism. The match was picking up and then the finish occurred. Fifteen minutes of wrestling to be capped off with a disqualification. No thanks. It would have been less complicated to give King the clean win and play it off like Cabana was too focused on his upcoming match against Steen. **¼

Steen continues to attack Cabana. They brawl around ringside until referees escort Cabana to the back. Steen to Paul Turner: “keep him back there or I’ll rape you”. Steen says that he will make Christopher Daniels’ return the quickest comeback in history. Daniels makes his entrance, leading to…

Match #6: Kevin Steen (2) vs. Christopher Daniels
Steen attacks before the bell. Daniels fights back with two dropkicks and snaps off an armdrag. He stops a negative TNA chant and starts an ROH chant. Steen elevates him to the floor and uses the ringpost to attack Daniels’ left shoulder. In the ring, Steen continues his attack on the left shoulder. Daniels gets his knees up to block a swantan. They trade shots and Daniels unleashes a flurry of offense. He hits an STO and sends Steen to the outside with an enzuigiri. Daniels follows out with a moonsault. Back in, Daniels comes off the top with a clothesline. Steen answers with a corner cannonball but falls victim to a flatliner. Daniels tries to setup for the Best Moonsault Ever but gets caught in a crossface. He’s able to make the ropes. The referee accidentally gets bumped and Steen hits a DDT. He brings a chair into the ring. Colt Cabana runs out and takes the chair away. His distraction allows Daniels to hit a uranagi. Daniels follows with the Best Moonsault Ever for the win at 15:50. Steen ended up being the perfect opponent for Daniels in his return match. He got the crowd even more behind Daniels and worked well with him. Until he proves me wrong, I think Daniels could get a good match out of anyone. The finish wasn’t thrilling but it was more acceptable than the disqualification in the previous match. Ultimately, this was an effective return for Daniels and it helped setup both of their matches on the next show. ***

Match #7: Tyler Black and Delirious vs. Austin Aries and Rhett Titus
Aries cuts a promo before the match, calling for a good wrestling match. Delirious charges straight at Aries, allowing Titus to attack from behind. Delirious drop toe holds Titus into the barricade but gets back dropped into the crowd. In the ring, Black catches Aries with a dropkick. He hits a backbreaker on Titus and stomps him in the face. Delirious is once again too focused on Aries, allowing the heels to gain the advantage and isolate him. He takes care of Titus and makes the tag. Black lands a lionsault onto Titus and blocks the IED. He lands a dive to the floor onto Aries and connects with a springboard lariat in the ring. While the referee is distracted with Delirious, the heels gain the advantage. They work over Black until he hits Paroxysm on Titus and makes the tag. Delirious enters and Aries immediately tags out. He hits a flatliner on Titus and adds a german suplex. Aries low bridges Delirious to the floor and Titus connects with a flying knee to the throat back in the ring. Black tags in and superplexes Aries. He hits an F5 on Titus but gets caught with a back suplex from Aries. Black falls victim to the IED for a nearfall. Aries synchs in the Last Chancery but Delirious breaks it up. Titus connects with a dropkick on Delirious. Black hits a bucklebomb on Aries and Delirious follows with the Panic Attack. Titus inadvertently gets caught with Shadows Over Hell. Black superkicks Aries to the floor. Delirious hits the Bizzaro Driver on Titus for the victory at 19:03. I’m going to be a little critical on this match. First of all, it’s no secret that this show is just a lead-in to Supercard of Honor V. Looking at this contest, I would say it’s more deserving of an undercard spot. That stigma can be completely erased if the competitors go all out to make the match something worthwhile. That didn’t happen here. The focus was more on the Aries/Delirious storyline, with Aries constantly avoiding Delirious. While the storytelling was executed well, the action never reached the point of being worthy of the main event. This match (and the show in general) is a perfect example of why ROH fans call certain events “B” shows. **¾

The following bonus matches are included on this release:
-The Kings of Wrestling vs. The Set
-Eddie Edwards vs. Kevin Steen (HDNet Episode #2)
-Chris Hero vs. Kenny Omega (HDNet Episode #7)
-The American Wolves vs. Orange Cassidy and Leslie Butterscotch (HDNet Episode #8)
-Kevin Steen and Jay Briscoe vs. Eddie Edwards and Chris Hero (HDNet Episode #6)

There are a few reasons why I don’t bother reviewing bonus matches on ROH releases. First of all, they’re only included when the main show lacks quality wrestling. Secondly, most of the matches aren’t worth watching. This is the first set of bonus matches from the television show. The funny thing is, I don’t have to buy this DVD to see them. I can find them online. So I’m going to pass up this opportunity to see Leslie Butterscotch.

Overall: Civil Warfare is easily the worst offering from ROH so far this year. The only significant occurrence on this show was the return of Christopher Daniels. He has a solid match with Kevin Steen, which proves to be the lone bright spot on the card. Strong and Stevens have done way better in the past while the main event proved to me that this was a worthless show. I’m hoping that Supercard of Honor V delivers as ROH totally treated this show as a joke because of it. Honestly, I think I would have rather fought in the Civil War than watch this show. Strong recommendation to skip.

-Taped from Reseda, California

-Your hosts are Excalibur and TBA

-Excalibur comes out to warm up the crowd as he always does. He sends out a message of recycling and makes reference to Mother’s Day. He advertises all the teams and does get the math right despite heckling from the crowd.

-DDT4 Quarterfinal-PWG World Tag Team Championship: The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson)(champions) vs. Jerome “LTP” Robinson and Johnny Goodtime

Bucks went through three teams last year. I’ve always found it to be one of the odder phenomena that the belts get defended throughout this entire tournament. Bucks start quickly by nailing the challengers with the titles. Double team on Goodtime. Bucks won’t even let LTP on the apron. Dropkick by Goodtime on both Bucks. LTP in as a house of fire. Advantage doesn’t last for the faces. Nick with a series of headbutts on LTP. Heat segment on LTP. It is made clear that the first round matches are already booked, but the second round has yet to be determined. LTP hits boots on each Buck. LTP hits a SHINING HURANCANRANA! Goodtime with a series of back elbows and clotheslines. Gutbuster into a backbreaker. Sweep of the leg and a mushroom stomp on Matt. Chops on Nick. Sweep of the legs on Nick. He pushes off Nick and sends Matt into his brother. Falcon arrow on Nick for two. Chops by Matt Nick accidentally superkicks his partner. LTP hits a DDT. Goodtime hits a German suplex. 1-2-NO! Matt breaks the count. Nick dropkicks LTP off the apron while Matt has him locked in a headscissors. Nick teases hitting Goodtime but moonsaults LTP. Goodtime counters a double team and locks a small package. 1-2-NO! Matt dropkicks Goodtime. LTP pulls Nick outside. 818! Off the top. Running bulldog into a guillotine. Splash by Goodtime. FROG SPLASH BY GOODTIME! 1-2-NO! Nick pushes Goodtime off the top rope well into the crowd. HOLY SHIT! LTP is powerbombed by Nick as he tries a headscissors. Nick hits a double stomp and then leaps to the outside. Leaping acecrusher by Matt. Superkick by both Bucks. They hit another one at the same time. 1-2-3!

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: STILL PWG Tag Team Champions- The Young Bucks/9:15/****

-One of the most incredible openers I’ve seen in a long time. This may have been even better than the opener at Threemendous II. My jaw literally dropped about three times. Whew, I need a breath already.

- DDT4 Quarterfinal: El Generico and Paul London vs. Scott Lost and Chuck Taylor

Taylor and Generico’s rivalry is renewed in this match. Lost is almost bald. London is… I don’t even know what to say about him at this point. He’s wearing a hat, a bandido, and sunglasses. He’s also got a megaphone.  He looks in slightly better shape than Titannica and the DG USA shows if nothing else. Lost and Taylor attack before the bell since the Bucks had so much fun doing it. They clear the ring. Taylor completely misses a dive. Generico and London double up on Lost. London hits a high crossbody for two. More double-teaming. Irish whip in the corner. Backbreaker by Generico. He continues working Lost over. Taylor pulls the leg. Lost hits a sitting flatliner. Heat segment on Generico. Generico turns a vertical suplex into a small package. Lost comes back hard with a lariat and the vertical suplex he tried earlier. London grabs his megaphone and says something I can’t understand. Generico comes back with clotheslines. Back elbow blocked. London tags in blindly and sets off… a siren? Crossbody on both men. Backdrops for everyone. Leg lariat on Taylor. Excalibur gets a good line about fans running away. Generico with a huge clothesline on Lost. Lost hits a big kick, but London hits a dive anyway. Soul Food reversed. Michinoku driver reversed. Soul Food hit. Taylor with a hand grenade. London hits an atomic drop. Swinging DDT by Generico. Superkick by London gets two. Kick to the midsection and a spinning round kick by Lost. Superman spear doesn’t work. Lost gets a flying acecrusher anyway. Taylor hits an asai moonsault for two. Lost comes off with a huge elbow. Generico breaks up the count and hits a jawbreaker. Taylor flies off with an enziguri. Omega driver attempt on London. Miscommunication by the heels. Generico hits a brainbustah. London comes off with a shooting star press. 1-2-3!

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Paul London and El Generico/10:14/***1/4

-These two teams wisely slowed the pace down a bit after the incredible opener. Lost and Taylor never did seem to make much sense as a team in this tournament, but they had an entertaining little match. London didn’t screw up a single move and looked the best he’s looked in PWG. A positive sign I’d say.

- DDT4 Quarterfinal: Roderick Strong and Ryan Taylor vs. The Cutler Brothers (Brandon and Dustin Cutler)

Strong has not only made it to the finals of every DDT4, but he’s gone with three different partners. And he won the tournament in 2007 and 2008. Chris Hero makes fun of the way the Cutlers and Strong talk. Brandon and Strong start. Test of strength turns into a Japanese stronghold for each man. Shoulder tackle by Brandon. Strong kicks him in the chest, ducks a clothesline, and hits a leg lariat. Big chop. Taylor in with chops of his own. Running European uppercut. Brandon hits an armdrag and a dropkick. Dustin kicks Taylor in the midsection.  Armbar. Taylor flips his out and hits a sitting dropkick. Strong in with chops. Double team leads to a big Taylor kick. After a pair of kicks, Dustin comes back with strikes. Taylor grabs the arm and turns into a grounded octopus. Dustin lands on his feet during a belly-to-belly suplex. Brandon sweeps the leg. Heat segment on Taylor. Dustin tries a push-up chokeslam. Strong has seen enough and dropkicks him right in the face. Awesome moment right there. Taylor hits a springboard kick. Strong lights Brandon up with chops. Huge strikes in the corner. Brandon with a punch. Strong responds with a big leg lariat. Elbow by Cutler. Strong with a jumping knee. Backbreaker gets two. Cutlers hit a double team lungblower. An issue with the legal man leads to the Cutlers getting two. Strong kicks Brandon and hits an enziguri. Saito suplex by Taylor. Running kick by Strong. Round kick by Taylor. 1-2-NO! Dustin hits a knee. Cutlers lift Strong and send him right into Taylor. Hero gets a Backseat Boyz joke in. Ouch. This took place before Trent Acid’s passing for the record. Taylor gets out of an attempted double team lungblower. Gutbuster by Strong. Kick by Taylor. Sick kick by Strong. 1-2-NO! Strong sends Dustin out and hits a pescado. Brandon and Taylor go back and forth. Brandon gets Taylor up for the… uh oh. Dustin runs in. TANDEM SPIKE PILEDRIVER gets the win for the Cutlers.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating:

- DDT4 Quarterfinal: The Briscoes (Jay and Mark Briscoe) vs. Kamikaze (YAMATO and Akira Tozawa)

Hell yes. One of the matches I’m most looking forward to this year. Yamato in Reseda is also a sight I’ve wanted to see. Know how Shingo loses his last name when he comes to the states? Tozawa lost his first name. Excalibur says Yamato is the Brave Gate challenge in an appalling error of tongue. At least he corrects himself later by saying Yamato is the Dream Gate champion. Mark and Yamato have a ferocious feeling out process. Front facelock by Yamato. Jay and Tozawa tag in. Pace picks up. Series of elbows. Tozawa goes nuts with a kick and belly-to-back suplex. Double team by Kamikaze. Bodyslam and a standing senton by Tozawa. Clubbering by Jay. Chops. Tag to Mark. Kick to the back. Forearms by Tozawa and a headbutt. Into the corner goes Mark. Yamato chokes away. Forearm exchange. Yamato with a low blow, and he mocks Mark. Cravat by Yamato. Shots to the midsection by Mark. Briscoes hit a double team shoulder block. Chop exchange by Jay and Yamato. Ref gets low-blowed. Jay gets low-blowed. Yamato gets low-blowed. That’s not good. Referee no sells. Brainbuster by Mark. Yamato applies a headlock and Tozawa comes in once again. He screams really loud and goes nuts on Mark. Chinbreaker on Tozawa. Jay hits a spinebuster. Boot to Yamato. Dropkick to Tozawa. Bodyslam. Mark hits a twisting senton for two.  Inverted triangle. Mark does a bit of cheating behind the referee’s head. Reverse elbow by Jay. Mark with a punch and gutwrench suplex. Sunset by Jay. He depants Tozawa. He hits his bare ass on Jay. Hot tag to Yamato. Series of chops. Spear on Mark. Facebuster on Jay. Huge kick. Brainbuster. 1-2-NO! Tozawa wanted three. TOPE SUICIDA! Chops by Yamato on Jay. Irish whip but Jay counters. Flatliner into the second rope. Big boot to the face. Mark with redneck Kung Fu. Leapfrog into the leg lariat. Mark hits a clothesline in the corner and manages an avalanche acecrusher for two. Double team splash mountain neckbreaker attempt fails. Yamato applies the sleeper on Mark. Turns into a sleeper suplex. 1-2-NO! Series of elbows by both members of Kamikaze. Exploder by Yamato. Everest (slow) German suplex by Tozawa. 1-2-NO! Tozawa leaps to the top. Jay stops him briefly. Tozawa continues going for headbutts but fails. Briscoes hit a double team elbow drop. Yamato breaks the pin. Mark hits a superkick and clotheslines Yamato out. Jay hits a falcon arrow for two. Briscoes call for springboard Doomsday Device. 1-2-3!

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: The Briscoes/14:59/***1/2

-I’m positive these two teams can go out there and have a four star match if called upon. Unfortunately, when you’ve got two teams who’ve never met meeting in just the first round of a tournament, it’s hard for them to give everything they’ve got. Would be nice if a rematch could happen down the road. Not holding my breath considering ROH and Dragon Gate don’t like each other much.

-PWG World Tag Team Championship: The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson)(champions) vs. The Cutler Brothers (Brandon and Dustin Cutler)

Three times these teams have met in Pro Wrestling Guerilla, and three times the Bucks have come away with victories. Bucks are serenaded with “Fuck TNA” chants before the bells. Brandon starts out by doing push-ups. Nick stands bemused and doesn’t have the same success. Bucks get into with one of the drunker Reseda fans. Nick even tears his shirt like Hulk Hogan. Things finally settle down. Nick works a headlock on Dustin to start the actual match. Back suplex by Brandon. Nick goes back to his corner. Matt and Dustin in. Matt with a kick to the midsection. Brandon hits a shoulder tackle. Kick to the gut and a headlock by Dustin. Bucks work over the arm. Double team press slam. Dustin hits a standing vertical suplex. Nick kicks Dustin, headbutts him in the midsection, and hits a facebuster. Matt knocks Dustin off the apron and punches away. Matt does some push-ups to mock his opponents. Nick pulls away at the hair. Double team backflip and dropkicks. Matt dropkicks Brandon off the apron. Matt fires away with rights, but Brandon is getting fired up. Bucks double team to regain the advantage. Matt knocks Brandon. Nick comes off the apron the apron once again. Dustin gets the hot tag. Dustin flips Nick over his back and gets a low blow on. Fireman’s carry takes Matt out. Big clothesline on Nick. Tope con helo! Quite the sequence. Nick begs off. Dustin hits a rebound spinebuster off the ropes. Nick works out of a toss. Matt hurancanrans both Cutlers. Double team legdrop by the Cutlers. Nick is tossed into his brother. They flip Nick down into his seated brother. Double team splash mountain gets two.Spinning round kick by Nick. Matt and Dustin in. Dustin catches Matt. Nick hits a running knee in the corner after an Irish whip. Dustin immediately powerbombs Nick on to his brother. Nick no sells and hits another running. Spinning kick by Nick. Matt with a headscissors. Nick superkicks him again and dives on Brandon. Matt hits a modified facebuster for two. Dustin works out of More Bang for Your Buck. Cutlers for the piledriver. Nick clotheslines Brandon out. Superkick by Nick. Matt hits a spike piledriver on Dustin. 1-2-NO! Brandon sends Nick over the top. Nick goes for a DDT. He manages to fight over the Cutlers for a moment until a double team lungblower is hit. MATT WITH A SWINGING DDT ON BRANDON ON THE APRON! JESUS CHRIST! Punch exchange by Matt and Dustin. Nick has a superkick caught.Bucks hit one on Brandon. Dustin with a clothesline on the champions. Matt spits in his face. Both men grab hair. Double team lungblower again by the Cutlers. TANDEM SPIKE PILEDRIVER! 1-2-NO! NICK BREAKS THE COUNT! All four men punch away in the ring. Cutler send Matt to the floor. Dustin lifts Nick up. Brandon goes to the top but Nick kicks him down. MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK ends it.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: STILL PWG Tag Team Champions/The Young Bucks/19:08/****1/4

-Another four star match for the tag team champions. Best match for the Cutlers in PWG as they narrowly lost yet another match to their rivals. I’m a bit sad the Cutlers weren’t actually the ones to eventually take the belts since they are a regular team and have worked their way up the ladder in  recent months like no other team has. A fantastic match and to this point the MOTY in PWG.

-DDT4 Semifinal: El Generico and Paul London vs. The Briscoes (Mark and Jay Briscoe)

Generico has been involved in a number of classic matches with the Briscoes, mostly in Ring of Honor with Kevin Steen. London and Mark have a feeling out process, and no one is able to gain an advantage. Generico and Jay’s turn. Shoving match turns into a headlock by Jay. Armdrags by Generico. Ten punches in the corner. Mark tries to interfere. London breaks that up. Generico and Jay get into a slapping contest. Boot and a spinebuster by Jay. Heat segment on Generico as the Briscoes exhibit more heelish tendencies in this match. Generico flips out of the way of a Jay Briscoe boot. Tag to London. Series of kicks by London on both members of the Briscoes. Big boot to the face by Jay regains the advantage for his team. He stands on a prone London .Jay with a splash in the corner. Mark continues working London over. Jay Briscoe uses more heel tactics such as knocking Generico off the ropes. Double shoulder tackle by the Briscoes is attempted, but London dropkicks both men. Enziguri on Jay. Generico hits a crossbody on Mark. Kick by Mark. Generico with a blue thunder powerbomb for two. Yakuza kick is countered by a boot. Michinoku driver gets two for Generico. Mark with a spinning kick. Jay turns a press slam into a DVD. London breaks the count. All four men in the ring. Clotheslines in the corners. Uranagi by Mark. Boot by Jay. Springboard doomsday device countered  into a victory roll by Generico. This gets the win. Cool ending.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: El Generico and Paul London/11:25/**3/4

­-It’s always fun to have the Briscoes use heel tactics, particularly against a quality babyface like Generico. Although the ending did sort of come out of nowhere, it made sense within context and provided a nice quickie finish to a match that needed it.

-Chris Hero vs. Brandon Bonham

Almost relieved to see a singles match after the parade of tags. Mat wrestling to start. Hero turns the volume up with a series of chops and boots. Bonham clotheslines him out and hits a tope con helo. Hero is up first. Bonham with numerous strikes outside the ring. Hero responds in kind. Back and forth with vicious shots. Bonham with a backbreaker  before sending him down stomach first into the canvas. Stiff kick to the chest. Chop in the corner. Hero re-applies the cravat and hits a series of knees. Cravatbuster gets two. Shot to the back. Kick in the face gets two. Series of shots to Bonham. Bonham briefly comes back, but Hero hits a slam and standing senton. Strike exchange as this is almost a battle of who can hit harder. Powerslam by Hero gets two. Hero continues attacking Bonham outside the ring. Off the apron with a dropkick. More chops from both men. Saito suplex by Hero. Bonham gets both feet up. Off the ropes. Twirling DDT by Bonham. Shoulder tackle and a clothesline by Bonham. Backdrop. He puts his head down and gets kicked in the head. He quickly comes back with a leaping enziguri. Bonham struggles to get Hero up for a move. Instead, he hits a forearm. Olympic slam gets two. Hey, I got no other name for it everybody. Back elbow in the corner. Bonham with a shot. He climbs to the top rope. Hero with a vicious punch. Hanging cravat in the center of the ring. He sits down and gets a two count. Another cravat but Bonham gets out of it. O’Connor roll attempt doesn’t work. Elbow by Bonham. Exploder. 1-2-no. Backslide by Hero gets two. Bonham goes for the Canadian destroyer. Turns into a sunset flip. Hero comes high with a powerbomb for two. Hero uses his left elbow a couple times. His right hand is clearly hurt… but he still manages to punch Bonham in the face, Bonham with a leaping kick. Hero’s welcome gets two. Hangman’s elbow misses. Kick to the side of the head by Bonham. Charge and Hero hits an elbow. Elevated Hero’s welcome gets three.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Chris Hero/19:51/**3/4

-I know a lot of people are probably to give this a higher rating because they hit each other really hard. I’ve got two major problems with this match. The first is that I didn’t believe for a single second that Hero was losing here. The guy is a top level PWG guy and someone who is logically going to get a return match at some point. Not a chance Bonham gets the upset. The second problem is related to the first. How does a match with so much predictability get nearly 20 minutes? Combine that with a match that basically featured nothing but strikes and you’ve got a major disappointment.

-Chris Hero cuts a promo in what has become an unfortunate tradition. He says nothing of consequence.

-DDT Final- PWG World Tag Team Championship: The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick)(champions) vs. El Generico and Paul London

After 18 months, it all comes down to this. Back in August 2008, the Cool Kids Table was still around and Pro Wrestling Ponderings wasn’t even a glimmer in Kevin Ford or myself’s eye. I guarantee every WWE championship has changed hands at least five times since the Bucks won these belts against Age of the Fall. Gabe Sapolsky was the booker of Ring of Honor two years ago. Now he’s the V.P. of Dragon Gate USA. The Young Bucks were just a couple Hardy Boy knockoffs two years who happened to have success on the west coast. Now they’re known worldwide as one of the best tag teams in the world.

The Young Bucks go back and forth on the microphone with Generico and London before the champions decide to leave and volunteer to be counted out. Rick Knox says the match must end in the ring. Challengers work over the champions outside the ring. Bit of an anti-climactic start I’d say. Complete chaos as Nick Jackson gets an El Generico mask put on his face. Bucks take over this brawl as things work their way back in the ring. Nick hits a facebuster on Generico and hits a moonsault on London. Spear by Matt Jackson. Bucks work over Generico in their corner. Not as much as you’d think for this match. Matt sneaks around and beats up London outside the ring. Generico with an open-handed chop. Nick rakes the eyes. Matt sends London spine first into the turnbuckle. Nick toys with Generico. Generico hits an exploder on Matt in the corner to turn the tide. London with a shoulder to the midsection. He slides between Nick’s legs. Double stomp to the nick. Matt and Nick try their double dropkick. London dropkicks Nickbut run into the knees of Nick. Generico low bridges Matt and dives outside instead of hitting a swinging DDT. London hits a facebuster. Nick doesn’t appear to get the shoulder up, but the referee counts two. Nick appears to be injured. Guess this plays into what happened last year. Neckbreaker on Nick. London goes to work on Matt. Generico goes after Nick. Low blow and he heads to the back with his brother. London and Generico are confused. To the back they go. Bucks saunter back out. Generico and London charge after them. Running yakuzas to Matt in each corner. Shootinf star press by London! 1-2-NO! Nick puts his brother’s leg on the ropes. Nick is sent face first into the post. Big yakuza again. BRAINBUSTAH! 1-2-NO! Nick is fighting with London outside the ring. He comes back into go after Generico. Outside the ring he goes. Series of superkicks on London. London sends Nick’s foot into Matt. Another pair of superkicks. 1-2-NO! Matt tosses the megaphone to Nick. He nails London and wants to be disqualified. Knox refuses to let him take any shortcuts. Bucks send Knox off the ropes. KNOX HITS A DOUBLE CLOTHESLINE ON THE YOUNG BUCKS. GENERICO HITS A BRAINBUSTAH! 1-2-NO! Nick eats boot on the running knee. London dives on Matt. Yakuza kick in one corner. Yakuza kick on another. Generic misses a splash. London to the top, but Matt sweeps the leg. Double superkick on Generico. More Bang for Your Buck! 1-2-NO! GENERICO KICKS OUT! The crowd, which was quiet before, is on their feet now. Another try. London hits a low blow on Matt and kicks Nick in the face. TOP ROPE BRAINBUSTAH! 1-2-3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NEW CHAMPIONS! THE YOUNG BUCKS TITLE REIGN IS… OVUHHHHHHH!

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: NEW PWG Tag Team Champions-El Generico and Paul London/14:50/****

-An amazing flurry in the end elevated this to a four star match. This will go down as one of the lasting images of the year in independent wrestling. Paul London came through with his best performances since being released from WWE. He flat-out excelled in all three matches. If Nick Jackson didn’t suffer a head injury, this would have been less awkward and maybe just that much better. Major props to him for recovering and finishing what was the most epic match of the year. The kings are dead. Long live the kings.

Oh, and the 2010 PWG MVP race was settled tonight for sure. The Young Bucks had three four star matches in one night and this tournament wouldn’t have met nearly as much without their long title reign and ability to get heat with the fans of Reseda.

-Paul London cuts a very emotional promo after the match, and I hope he really has found his passion for wrestling. These PWG tag team belts mean something, and they’ve got so much to live up to.

Final Thoughts: A consistently great tournament that featured three four star matches (all starring The Young Bucks) and a number of three star matches. Was it as good as last year’s tournament? I’d have to say no. But last year set some impossible standards. Highest recommendation for one of the best indy shows of the year so far.

1 – Aaron Arbo vs. Unbreakable Andy vs. A.R. Fox
Like all of these guys’ matches have been thus far, this was a very fun and enjoyable spot fest to open up the show. All three guys used lot of high flying moves and counters. About 3 minutes in we get a really cool spot. Here, Fox runs the length of the ring diagonally, jumps up onto the top turnbuckle and hits a 450 dive onto both opponents who were outside the ring. A few minutes later we see Unbreakable Andy preparing to DDT Aaron Arbo but Fox grabs Andy and hits a Northern Lights Suplex on him causing Andy to DDT Arbo at the same time. The finish comes at 7:21 when Fox pins Andy after an Air Raid Siren. **3/4

2 – Notorious Inc. vs. Irish Driveby
Notorious Inc. tries to sneak up on Irish Driveby as they make their entrance but Irish Driveby enters the ringside area through the crowd. Rich Swann climbs to the top rope and dives onto both opponents. We get a cool spot not too long after where Ryan McBride hits a flipping senton onto Drew Blood who was outside the ring. For the next 2-3 minutes, Notorious Inc. isolate Swann until McBride is finally tagged in. Blood breaks up an Irish Cloverleaf that McBride had on Drew Blood and then we get some back and forth wrestling. The finish comes at 6:04 when McBride hits a 450 from the top rope onto Blood for the win. After the match, Blood slaps Moore in the face and Moore retaliates by hitting the Blue Shadow Driver on Blood. **1/2 – The match was short and I think more time could have been given to it. That way, it could have developed from a decent match with a few good spots into something better.

3 – tHURTeen vs. Scotty Vortekz
We get some solid chain wrestling to start the match. tHURTeen hits a slingshot cutter on Vortekz and takes the advantage from there. We get a spot a few minutes after this where tHURTeen hits Sliced Bread into a backbreaker after Vortekz had a short flurry of offense. The finish comes at 6:23 when Vortekz hits the Blue Moon Dragon and gets the three count. **3/4 – There was some good chain wrestling and some big moves here. The match was short but Vortekz had another match coming up later in the night so the length was understandable.

4 – Nick Gage vs. Egotistico Fantastico
Gage does his own ring introduction but Ego interrupts with two superkicks. Ego continues his attack with forearms, chops and a DVD. Gage rolls out of the ring to break Ego’s momentum but Ego dives onto him and continues his attack. Gage comes charging but gets hip tossed over the timekeeper’s table. Ego tries to get a running start to leap onto Gage but Gage catches hit mid-leap with a cookie sheet to the head. Back in the ring, Gage gains the advantage. He hits a vicious lariat followed by a face-wash in to corner with a chair in front of Ego’s face. Gage sets up two chairs back to back and powerbombs Ego spine first onto them which gets a good reaction from the crowd. Ego finally manages to recover enough to hit a moosault with a chair onto Gage. Ego’s momentum doesn’t last long as Gage is able to hit the Chokebreaker but Ego kicks out at 2! Gage swings a chair at Ego and misses. Ego dropkicks the chair into Gage’s face sending him to the mat. Ego sets up the chair near the corner and hits the Taco Pizza onto the chair to get the win at 7:27. ***1/4 – A lot of action is packed into a short time here but it worked. This might have been Ego’s biggest win in his short CZW career up to this point defeating a founding father of the company.

5 – Team Macktion vs. Zero Gravity
This was a good match with lots of high flying and chain wrestling. Both teams looked solid here. Maybe this can become a feud rather than just one match as both teams seemed to have good chemistry together and are evenly matched. There is a cool spot in the first half of the match where Kirby Mack fakes a dive to the outside, baseball slides under the bottom rope but holds on before hitting the floor and T.J. Mack dives over him onto C.J. Esparza. That was a pretty impressive athletic spot for me and I enjoy seeing things like that in wrestling. C.J. Esparza flips Brett Gaikiya onto Kirby Mack then hits a shooting star elbow to get the win at 8:04. ***1/4

6 – Adam Cole vs. Sabian © – CZW Junior Heavywight Title match
We get stalling to start off and the match really never gets out of first gear from there. The crowd is restless throughout the duration of the match. We hear a “this is awful” chant and an “end this s*it” chant. Towards the end Cole is able to hit the Cole-lateral on Sabain but even this one spot cannot save the match from being dull. The 20 minute time limit expires ending the match in a draw. Sabian retains his title as a result of this. The ending is almost a fitting ending to this match seeing the way it went. *3/4 – I might consider skipping over this one. Both guys can put on a better match but for whatever reason did not here.

7 – The Best Around © vs. Eddie Kingston & Drake Younger – CZW Tag Team Title match
This was a really good technical tag team match with a really good final sequence. That really made that match more than just a good solid match. About 10 minutes in, Kingston dives onto T.B.A. who were outside the ring and then Drake does a diving flip which wipes out everyone. Back in the ring T.J. cannon hits the Mark-Out Moment onto Kingston but Drake breaks up the pin attempt. Drake then hits the Drake-n-Bake on Cannon but Cannon somehow kicks out! Kingston hits a backfist on Cannon and Drake picks up a dazed Cannon and hits the Drake’s Landing but again Bruce Maxwell is there to save the match. Kingston hits Bryan Danielson-like elbow strikes on Maxwell. This is followed up with the Backdrop Driver and gets the three count! We have new CZW tag team champions after a 13 month reign by The Best Around! ***1/4 – Great stuff all around here.

8 – Sami Callihan vs. Jon Moxley © – CZW World Heavyweight Title match
The Switchblade Conspiracy founding members go head to head here for the richest prize in the company. Moxley actually gets a few cheers from some of the fans here though he is a heel. We get a sequence of chain wrestling to start the match. This is a surprise as one would expect more power moves and strikes out of the gate from both guys. The match only needs to last a few minute before both guys change to that style that was expected out of them from the get-go. A seated lariat and reverse head scissors by Callihan have Moxley in trouble but he is able to reach the bottom rope and break the hold. We then get more strong style striking and counter wrestling from both men. This continues as the match spills to the outside. After a few minutes, the match again comes back into the ring where Moxley gets a 2 count after a legdrop. A little while later, Callihan tries to dive onto Moxley from the apron who is outside the ring but Moxley trips him sending him crashing spine first to the apron. The crowd cringes at how hard his spine hits the apron here. Moxley then applies an STF on Callihan. The match once again goes back in to the ring where Moxley gets a 2 count after a butterfly suplex. We then get more back and forth striking and chopping. Moxley is able to hit a brutal lariat on Callihan but only gets a 1 count! Moxley bites Callihan’s head making him bleed. Soon thereafter, Callihan hits a splash and puts Moxley in a unique head submission but Moxley counters into an armbar. Calluhan then hits an STO nto the same submission and when Moxley tried to counter, Callihan is able to re-apply the hold. Moxley is eventually able to get out of the hold and hit a Black Hole Slam and gets a 2 count. Moxley then gets Callihan in the crossface chicken wing but Callihan is able to counter into a pin and gets 2. At 18:23 Moxley is able to retain after a Hook and Ladder. ***1/2 – This was a really solid title defense here. It might have been better if we had a traditional heel vs. face match with the crowd definitely on one wrestler’s side.

9 – Brain Damage & J.C. Bailey vs. Masada & Scotty Vortekz w/ Danny Havoc – Home Run Derby Death Match
At the opening bell Masada hits Scotty Vortekz with a thumbtack covered bat turning heel and joining Cult Fiction! Cult Fiction tried to hurt an injured Danny Havoc but Drake Younger & Eddie Kingston run in to make the save. Drake gets the microphone and challenges Cult Fiction to make the match 3 on 3. We end up with a brutal ultraviolent match that is hard to describe with play-by-play. A number of baseball bat-like weapons are used here. Carpet strips tied together, barbed wire 2×4, water jugs on poles, a barbed wire whip and plastic bats covered in thumbtacks. J.C. Bailey is able to pin Kingston after a side slam at 13:41. ***1/4 – The finish kind of seemed to come out of nowhere which took away from an otherwise good main event. After the match we see Zandig on the video screen challenging Brain Damage to a match at the next event on May 8th.

Bonus: Pre-Show Matches

10 – Joe Gacy vs. Ryan Slater vs. Little Mondo
Gacy had the advantage most of the match and is able to pin Mondo with a rollup. The one cool spot in the match saw Mondo countering a Gacy powerbomb attempt into a frankensteiner. ** – This was ok.

11 – Greg Excellent vs. Alex Colon
Excellent has two cool spots. The first sees him hitting a rolling spear and the next he is able to counter a head scissors attempt into a powerbomb. At 5:10 Excellent wins with a Tiger Driver. ** – Again, not bad.

12 – Ttler Veritas © vs. Drew Gulak – CZW Wired Television Title match
This was a pretty good technical Match and the best pre-show match here. At 8:04 Gulak counters the Veritap into a rollup for the three count. We have a new Wired Television Champion!

Overall Verdict

There are some really good quality matches here. In my personal opinion, Nick Gage vs. Egotistic Fantastico was the match that kept my interest from bell to bell. We have 2 title changes here and some storyline advancement involving the Cult Fiction vs. Danny Havoc feud. This is definitely a recommended DVD.
8/10

-Ring of Honor on HDNet has been a mixed bag. In some ways, the show has been successful because there have been a number of very good matches and minimal commercial breaks allow for uninterrupted action. However, the lack of crowd reaction to a lot of the show and the announcing prevent ROH on HDNet from becoming the best hour of wrestling on a weekly basis. Dragon Gate’s Infinity has that distinction in my view. Nonetheless, there have been some excellent matches, and ROH has finally released a volume of the best of the first three months. Since the term “Volume 1” implies more volumes, there is no doubt we’ll get a whole volume dedicated to the greatness that is the Necro Butcher vs. Embassy feud. For now…

-All matches are taped at The Arena in Philadelphia, PA

-The announcers are Mike Hogewood and Dave Prazak

-Episode 1: Jimmy Jacobs vs. Tyler Black

Amazing to think this was just over a year ago. It seems like so much longer since Jimmy Jacobs was with ROH. This was the end of their feud and served as a logical main event for the first show. Lock-up with some intensity. Jacobs pushes Black. Black responds in kind. Another lock-up and knees by Jacobs. Forearm and a headlock. Black with a dropkick. Series of right hands sends Jacobs to the outside. Man, the ring was loud on the early shows. They brawl on the outside briefly. Black rolls back in, but Jacobs takes a walk. He throws two chairs in the ring. As Sinclair and Black take the chairs out of the ring, Jacobs attacks. Slam into the turnbuckle and a right hand in the corner. Choke on the apron. Black misses a flip, charges over the top rope, and gets a leg lariat. Bodyslam and a boot on the neck. Rights in the corner. He eats boot charging into Jacobs, but he gets an atomic drop as Jacobs comes off the top rope. Black tries to get Jacobs out of the corner, but gets sent into the middle buckle on a headscissors. Choke in the corner and boot to the midsection. Jacobs sends Black’s head into the mat. He blows a kiss to the crowd and hits a fistdrop from the second rope. Chinlock. Irish whip out of the corner. Black reverses and gets a backdrop. Bodyslams. To the top, but Jacobs pushes him into the barricade. Ouch. Jacobs hits an elbow off the apron. Jacobs sits Black in a chair. As he tries to punch Black, Sinclair stops him. That was odd. Jacobs continues working over Black inside the ring. Head to the midsection and a dropkick to the back of the head. More right hands. Black gets knees into Jacobs’ head. Jacobs with a sort of chokeslam and then into just plain choking. Jacobs with a series of double stomps before dropping an elbow. Black comes back with right hands. Off the ropes with a press slam. Black gets himself all fired up and hits a running forearm. He tosses Jacobs into the other corner. Black hits an enziguri to the back of the head. Springboard clothesline. Only a two. Lionsault misses. Standing shooting star doesn’t but only two once again. Black up top once again. Phoenix splash misses but he rolls through. Jacobs hits a spear. 1-2-NO! Waistlock reversals. Pele kick by Black. Jacobs throws Black outside again. Jacobs dives and hits Black. Back inside and Jacobs goes for the cover. 1-2-no dice. Jacobs goes to the top for a senton. Black lifts his knees. God’s Last Gift turned into the The End Time. Black slams Jacobs into multiple corners, but that doesn’t do much. Black does toss Jacobs. He misses a superkick. Jacobs with a roll-up for two. End Time once again. Black turns it into a roll-up for three. Cool finish.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Tyler Black/13:50/***1/4

-This was a better match than I remember. Jacobs is a guy that I still think ROH misses because he works as a heel so well and doesn’t necessarily need to do a bunch of MOVEZ to get heat. He also had good chemistry with Black as both an opponent and tag team partner.

-Episode 3: Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries

This match made a lot of sense to have in an early show because these two have a number of great matches against each other in Ring of Honor. This was shortly after Aries’ heel turn, so he was still working on his hijinks. We don’t even get a pre-match promo from Aries. Bit of stalling before the match by Aries. They go into the ropes early, and Aries breaks clean. Waistlock exchange. Test of strength doesn’t last as Aries switches to a headlock. Shoulder tackle. Off the ropes into a series of armdrags by Aries. He continues working the arm until Danielson rolls out and hits a dropkick. Danielson’s turn to work the arm now. They exchange holds. Danielson even counters the dropkick to the head. Danielson goes for a backslide. Aries tries a kick to the head, but Danielson dodges out of the way. Drop toehold by Danielson. Danielson tries the surfboard. Aries crawls to the ropes. Aries with a knee to the midsection. Elbow to the back of the head. Danielson hits a headbutt to the midsection. Danielson with a sunset flip. Aries tries to hold the ropes. Referee kicks his arms. 1-2-NO! Aries with the dropkick to the head. Shoulder tackle. Danielson gets a hiptoss and applies a cross armbreaker. Aries reaches the ropes once again. Aries clobbers Danielson in the back of the head. Elbow drop by Aries. Knees to the back. VULCAN NECK PINCH! Aries clearly watched some Yokozuna tapes before this match. Danielson with some kicks. Aries tosses Danielson hard out of the ring. Heat-seeking missile.  Inside the ring for a pair of two counts. Fish hook. Aries telle the referee he has until five. Aries with some shots to the midsection. Splash to the corner misses. Aries places Danielson on the top rope. BACKRAKE! Aries misses the charging dropkick. Danielson with forearms. European uppercuts. Knee to the midsection and a kick to the back. Danielson flips over Aries and gets a flying clothesline. Butterfly suplex into a cross armbreaker. Danielson places Aries on the top rope. Aries rakes Danielson’s eyes across the ropes. Aries ducks out of a dive. Knee off the apron. Dropkick from the top rope. Running knee. Cattle mutilation but Aries ends up on top. 1-2-NO! Exchange of strikes and kicks. Flying knee by Danielson. Boot right in the face by Aries. Sounded nasty as hell. Aries with a charging dropkick. 1-2-NO! Brainbuster blocked with a knee. Danielson blocks it again. Aries with a gordbuster. Last Chancery. Knees to the face. Danielson applies a triangle choke. Aries has no choice but to tap.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Bryan Danielson/14:28/***1/2

-Another in their series of very good matches. Solid wrestling and that’s all you can ask for from these two.

-Episode 4: Austin Aries vs. Kenny Omega

The pre-match promos remind me of how dumb Smacktalk was. If you don’t know, don’t ask. This wasn’t a main event. Omega was basically a newcomer. Aries completely dominates the match to start as the crowd gets on his case. Omega comes back and finishes his flurry with a dropkick. Aries shoves Omega. Omega responds but gets a knee in the midsection. Omega hits a twisting kick. Omega flips out of the corner, does another flip out of the other corner but gets sent down by Aries. Series of chops in the corner by both men. Running elbow by Omega. Palm strikes sends Aries over the top. Omega tries a dive but Aries pulls Omega head first into the apron. Running knee. Foot in the corner. Double axe to the chest. Elbow to the head. Snapmare and for the second straight match, we get ourselves a nervehold. Gutbuster into an STO. Pendulum elbow. Knees to the back. Bow and arrow submission. Brainbuster attempt. Omega tries an O’Connor roll but gets a kick to the midsection instead. Standing enziguri. Polish hammers. Back body drop. Oklahoma roll gets a long two. Omega gets it again and almost gets two. Omega flips over and gets a faceplant. 1-2-NO! Aries doesn’t get an O’Connor roll and slams his head against the turnbuckle. Omega kicks him off the ropes and hits a moonsault to the outside. Omega gets two back in the ring. Aries clings to the ropes. Croyt’s wrath but Aries grabs the ropes. Up we go again. Aries rips the eyes. Shoulder first into the post goes Omega. Charging dropkick right to the head. Boot right in the face. Brainbuster. 1-2-3!

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Austin Aries/11:26/***1/4

-With Omega being a newcomer, he needed to look strong. With Aries losing the previous week to Danielson, he needed a win. This match managed to get both points across well. Solid match, and they would top themselves a few months later.

-Episode 6: Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black

After having met numerous times at various ROH cities, they finally had their first HDNet match on the sixth episode.  Notice I say first. Keep that in mind. Unlike a number of matches on ROH television, this one starts off much slower and feels more like an ROH house show main event. I think the other reason for a slower start is these two are babyfaces and don’t necessarily have some sort of major issue. Lots of mat wrestling in the first part of this match. Danielson plays the veteran role well by seemingly running away from Black. A European uppercut seems to turn the intensity up. Black immediately doesn’t break clean while both men are in the ropes and he takes control. More uppercuts leads to Danielson regaining the advantage. He rakes the eyes, locks in a surfboard, and finally ends with a dragon sleeper. Black refuses to tap. Series of kicks to the chest. A twisting anklelock. Strike exchange. Black gets an O’Connor roll for two. Uppercut by Danielson. Irish whip and a knee to the midsection. Big slap right to the face. Two more slaps and he comes off the ropes. Black comes back before getting clotheslined by Dragon. Danielson dives to the outside. To the top but he eats a dropkick. Pele kick by Black. Running forearm. Hurancanrana from the top rope. Black boots a charging Danielson in the corner. Dropkick and it’s Black’s turn to hit a dive. Springboard clothesline. 1-2-NO! Danielson fights out of God’s Last Gift. He flips over Black and grabs the ankle as Black tries another Pele kick. Black grabs the rope again. Black gets a hurancanrana. Danielson turns it into a sunset flip for two. Black with an F-5. Superkick but Danielson with another anklelock. German suplex. 1-2-NO! Slaps to the face. Danielson places Black on the top rope. Belly-to-belly suplex REVERSED! Forearm exchange.  Big shot by Danielson. Black with a roll-up and a quick Pele. Peroxism. 1-2-NO! Ring announcer says one minute left in the time limit. Well, we know where this is headed. Black misses the Phoenix splash. Leg lariat by Danielson into the triangle choke, the same move that made Aries tap out weeks earlier. Black with a buckle bomb. Bell rings as both men are down.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Time limit draw/20:00/****

-Crowd chants for five more minutes, which is the dumbest chant ever. What happens if these two still can’t finish the match in those fives? They should be chanting about wanting a winner or something. Anyway, this was another excellent in a series of matches between these two guys. These two sold the physicality aspect of this match really well. Almost feels like they need another match though.

-Episode 7: Roderick Strong vs. Austin Aries

Generation Next EXPLODES! Aries controls the arm to start. Wrong arm if he wants to prevent himself from being chopped. Strong gets a headscissors on Aries. Don’t… he gets dropkicked in the face. Strong of all people should know better. Chop by Aries. Strong misses one of his own, and Aries flees outside. Chop exchange. Strong misses a bunch of chops. Aries goes outside and runs around like a complete jackass heel. Forearm off the apron by Strong. Aries into the barricade. Match becomes a chasing game. Strong still can’t hit chops. Forearm to the apron. Aries kicks Strong off the apron.  Double axehandle off the top rope. Strong into multiple barricades. Cocky cover gets one. Pendulum elbow. Meager kicks by Strong. Crossbody off the second rope. Aries with a quick shot. Strong gets an enziguri out of the corner. Finally, Strong hits a series of chops. Dropkick hits Aries flush. Chops in the corner. Backbreaker number one gets two. Aries sends Strong outside and gets the heat-seeking missile. Aries with a twisting bodypress. Half nelson backbreaker. Aries gets his foot on the ropes. Chop in the corner.Running elbow. Enziguri. Off the ropes, but the sick kick misses. Aries applies Last Chancery. Strong quickly to the ropes. Forearms and even some biting by Aries. Aries runs right into a gutbuster. Sick kick sends Aries flying. Stronghold. Aries reaches the ropes. Strong brings Aries back to the center. They battle but Aries reaches the ropes yet again. Strong lets go. Aries rolls over and Strong is sent outside. Charging dropkick and Strong is down inside the ring. Stronghold applied again. Aries to the ropes. Aries hits a headscissors as Strong tries a Gibson driver. Aries uses a stronghold, but Strong with a roll-up. Kick to the face by Aries. They battle but Aries gets the brainbuster. 1-2-3.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Austin Aries/15:13/***

-Probably the weakest match on the DVD so far, but that’s no great insult since this was a solid match between these two. Didn’t like Aries winning the way he did, but a good match.

-Episode 8: Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black

A few weeks previous, these two went to a time limit. This week, there is no time limit. Feeling out process once again between the two babyfaces. Every time it goes to the mat, Black has no chance. Once the pace quickens, Black is able to take control. Danielson picks his own pace up with a dropkick. Series of headbutts as Danielson works over the head of Black. Danielson shifts to working the arm, hand, and fingers. Kick to the chest. After a cover, Danielson immediately goes to a twisting anklelock. Danielson teases a surfboard but he just drives the knees into the mat. Hard kick to the leg. He takes Black down and tries for the anklelock. Black to the ropes. Black with some punches, but Danielson takes out the leg. Kicks to the chest. Chop by Black. European Uppercut by Danielson. Series of covers but Black refuses to stay down. Danielson hits some forearms out of a test of strength. Black goes for an O’Connor roll but ends up outside. Danielson misses a dive. Flying forearm by Black. Neckbreaker. Pele kick. Springboard clothesline. Lionsault misses but Black gets the standing shooting star press. Shots to the chest  by Black. Danielson flips over Black and rolls into a half crab. Danielson hits a dropkick from the top and comes off the ropes with a knee. European uppercuts. Black fires back. Danielson with some punches to the midsection. Dropkick into the corner. Danielson goes back to the crab, but Black gets a small package for two. Series of pinfalls. Neither can keep the other down for even a one count. Rolling elbow by Danielson. Pele kick by Black. Both men are down. Staredown. Kicks by Danielson. F-5 by Black. Danielson out of the buckle bomb into a triangle choke. Black appears to get out of it, but Danielson maintains the hold. Black reaches the ropes. To the top where Danielson goes for a belly-to-belly suplex. Buckle bomb. Superkick. 1-2-NO! Black goes for the Phoenix splash. Danielson launches Black into the crowd. Big dive by Danielson on to Black. Sweet Moses.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: No-contest/21:22/***1/2

-I don’t think this was as good as their first match on HDNet. Little something seemed to be missing from this one. Still a very good match though. I guess they’ll need a third match to settle this issue once and for all.

-Episode 9: Kevin Steen and El Generico (ROH World Tag Team Champions) vs. Rhett Titus and Kenny King

King comes out in some sort of mask. I guess to mock Generico. That wasn’t nice. Generico and Steen held the belts for quite a long time, but I never got the sense that they were emphasized nearly as much as other champions. Much of this had to do with the change in administration I’m sure. Generico takes control early and does the ten punches in the corner. Leg lariat. Steen and Generico double team Titus. Because they’re not women, Titus definitely doesn’t enjoy it. Steen with a chop in the corner. Titus gets the boot up. King in and he fails immediately. More double teaming by the champions. Steen distracts the referee. King and Titus take control. Heat segment on Generico.Generico with a kick and cross body on Titus. He waves around and begs the crowd to help him. Hot tag to Steen. Clotheslines and fists for everyone. Atomic drop on Titus. Back drop on King. Boot and a chop. Titus with a kick, but Steen responds by powerbombing. King breaks up a sharpshooter. King into the corner. Generico hits a boot in the corner and dives quickly on Titus outside the ring. Steen with a swanton. 1-2-NO! Steen is tossed out of the ring. Generico hits an atomic drop on Titus. King with a spinning kick as Generico goes for the running kick. King hits another kick on Generico. Coronation. Splash by Titus. Steen breaks the count just in time. Steen tries the package piledriver, but King comes back. Doesn’t last as Steen hits him with a DDT. Titus punches Steen on the top rope and does too much thrusting. Steen with an announcement on King. CANNONBALL! Generico dives across and kicks Titus. Package piledriver by Steen leads right into the BRAINBUSTAH! 1-2-3!

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Kevin Steen and El Generico/9:17/***

-American Wolves attack the champions immediately after the match to send a message that they want the tag team titles. Match itself was solid. This is one of the first matches where I realized Titus could hang and didn’t completely suck. Generico and Steen always had excellent tag matches, and it’s sad they’re more known for their matches with the Wolves in 2010 than actually being the champions.

-Episode 10: Jay Briscoe (w/Mark Briscoe) vs. Kenny Omega vs. Kenny King

Omega and King had a running feud through the spring and summer of 2009. Briscoe was thrown in to spice things up a bit. Man, that sounds dirty after reading it back. Omega wants the match to be about sportsmanship, so Briscoe slaps him right across the face. Briscoe concentrates on King to start. Omega comes back and gets chopped by Briscoe. Omega dives on to King, who’s outside the ring not paying attention. Briscoe kicks Omega in the back of the head and beats up King. Omega joins him. King leaps on the apron and dives on both opponents. Kick to the face on Omega. Omega works over Omega in the ring. Briscoe boots Omega outside, and it’s his turn to beat up Omega.  Omega drives Briscoe into the mat facefirst and gets two. King sends Omega back to the floor. King gets elbowed on a blind charge. Briscoe hits a flatliner on King into the middle turnbuckle. Briscoe clubbers away on King and tosses him. King with a kick to the back of Briscoe’s head. Omega comes in and gets pitched again. King pulls Briscoe out of the corner on his head. Strike exchange. Omega hits a crossbody on both men. Hurancanrana on both men. That was cool. Stopping enziguri on King. Crowd gets into him. Briscoe with  a LARIAT on Omega. Omega hits a blockbuster on Briscoe, and Omega gets DDT’d in the process. King climbs the ropes but does too much talking. Omega climbs to the second rope. Briscoe knocks Omega down and sends him into the other corner. Omega dodges Briscoe and hits a lungblower on King. Briscoe sneaks in with a small package. Omega breaks the pin up. Spinebuster by Briscoe on Omega.  Briscoe climbs to thetop. King hits a leaping kick. Briscoe ends up on the floor. King takes too much time with Omega. Omega reverses a Coronation attempt into a sunset flip bridge for the three count.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Kenny Omega/9:30/**3/4

-Pretty entertaining three way match. These matches are hard to execute well, but I think they did an admirable job. I also liked the story of Omega being the underdog and seemingly having to come from behind to beat his more experienced opponents.

-Episode 11: Tables Match- ROH World Tag Team Championship: Kevin Steen and El Generico (champions) vs. The American Wolves (Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards)(w/Shane Hagadorn)

The only way to win the match was pinfall or submission, so this wasn’t the typical tables match. No tags are necessary of course. Both teams brawl in and out of the ring. Action is too hard to call here. Crowd chants for tables pretty early on. Not sure what the point of simply having tables being legal was and not anything else. Steenerico work over Davey Richards once the bell rings. Edwards comes in and doesn’t do any better. Champions hit a backpack slam on Edwards. Steen brings a table out. Generico rams Richards’ head into it. Edwards is also sent in as well. Richards attacks the left knee of Steen. Double team alrm clock. Superkick by Edwards leads to a German suplex on Generico into the table. Sucker doesn’t break. That’s just nasty. Edwards sends Steen’s knee into the table. Richards and Edwards double team Steen’s leg. Another table is brought inside. Steen fights back with elbows. Generico with a crossbody on both Wolves. Michinoku driver on Edwards gets two. Richards kicks him in the back to break the count. He tries a DR driver. Generico takes the arm and hits a tornado DDT. Somersault on Edwards. Richards with a kick on Steen. Powerbomb into the table, and this one breaks. Swanton by Steen. Big splash by Generico. 1-2-NO! Edwards saves the day. Backfirst in the barricade goes Edwards. Steen and Generico set up a third table on the outside. A second table is brought, and we’ve got some stacking going on. Crowd chants “Kill the Wolves.” Steen tries to powerbomb Edwards into the tables, but Richards kicks the bad wheel. Double team by the Wolves. Table brought in the ring. Richards misses a shooting star press. For some reason, Edwards sets up a table outside. Generico comes out of nowhere with a tornado DDT. He splashes Edwards through the table as Steen cannonballs Richards. Sharpshooter in the ring. Shane Hagadorn comes out but gets hits with a package piledriver. Superkick on Richards. Steen with yet another table in the ring. Richards is laid prone. Steen to the top… but Richards puts him into the double stack of tables. Running boot by Generico. Brainbuster through the table? No. Edwards hits a low blow. Acecrusher through the table. Edwards covers. 1-2-3. NEW CHAMPIONS!

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: NEW World Tag Team Champions- The American Wolves/13:25/****

-One of the best matches in the history of the show. An absolute insane and epic match. This also has to be considered the most important match in the show’s history since this has been the only title switch up to this point. Fascinating that Edwards has won both of his championships at HDNet tapings with him winning the television title in the first part of 2010. Great brawl in a series of them for these two teams.

-Episode 12: ROH World Championship: Jerry Lynn (champion) vs. Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black vs. Austin Aries

First man to get the pin gets the title. This is another one of my favorite matches from the first few months of the television show. Very fast-paced match. Because these four have worked with each other in various combinations, there’s very little awkwardness involved like you might normally see in a fatal four way match. Crowd clearly isn’t a big fan of Lynn holding and retaining the championship at this point. Not really all that jazzed about Aries being in the match either. I’m pretty convinced they wanted Black or Danielson to win the world title. Various finishers are used in the ending sequence. The ending is actually pretty ingenius too. Danielson tries to hook cattle mutilation on Aries, but Lynn hooks him in the cradle piledriver for three. Crowd does not like that ending.

-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Jerry Lynn/21:37/****

-Definitely a great match that I don’t think gets a whole lot of credit since it came shortly after the tag title switch and people not liking Lynn wearing the belt. Plus, people were very down on the company at this point, and that didn’t help.

Final Thoughts: Ten matches are on this DVD. I gave all but one three stars. That makes this one of the easiest recommendations ever. The television show has produced some boring matches, interviews, and squashes. However, it’s also produced a number of excellent matches that deserve to be seen by wrestling fans everywhere. I think this is well worth 15 dollars for sure, meaning it’s actually five dollars cheaper than a full show. I’m actually looking forward to volume two even more since that DVD will likely include some matches with KENTA. Volume one should be purchased immediately.