Retro Rowe: ROH on HDNet

Ring of Honor on HDNet- April 18, 2009
by SamoaRowe

-Our hosts are Mike Hogewood and Dave Prazak. They hype tonight’s main event which will be Brent Albright vs. Claudio Castagnoli.

-Smack talk with Jimmy Jacobs! He calls Necro Butcher a dumb animal who was too stupid to know what the Age of the Fall were fighting for. Necro Butcher responds in a separate video, threatening to use a staple gun on his former running mate.

Jimmy Jacobs vs. Necro Butcher
A graphic declares that Jacobs is “violent and evil.” Necro Butcher’s graphic reminds us that he had a big role in The Wrestler (now available on DVD). The referee has to pry the staple gun from Butcher’s hands, allowing Jacobs to jump him on the opening bell. Jacobs targets the head. Irish whip and backdrop by Butcher. Jacobs hides behind the referee for a breather. Jacobs offers a handshake, which Necro Butcher accepts as a means to cheap shot. Jacobs is stomped into the corner and gets driven into the turnbuckles. Butcher tosses Jacobs to ringside. Necro Butcher drives the ring bell into the gut, which surprisingly doesn’t draw a DQ. Necro Butcher chokes with a shirt and uses it to toss Jacobs across the floor. Necro Butcher tries a power bomb through a table, but Jacobs blocks and drops him to the floor. Jacobs pulls a plastic bag from his pants and tries to suffocate Necro Butcher! Jacobs seats Necro in a chair and dives onto him over the ropes! That spot never gets old. Back to the ring, Jacobs targets the head. Second rope elbow drop by Jacobs (who mocks Randy the Ram’s mannerisms). Necro Butcher counters a spear with a closed fist to the head. Chokeslam by Butcher and a Tiger Driver, but no cover attempt. Necro Butcher grabs the staple gun, but Brodie Lee runs in for the save. The match is thrown out at 5:49. Fun garbage match, more violent than what we usually see on televised wrestling in 2009, **.
Winner by DQ: Necro Butcher

Retro Rowe: ROH Rising Above 2008 Review

Ring of Honor: Rising Above 2, November 22, 2008
by SamoaRowe

-This was taped in Chicago, Illinois. Dave Prazak introduces the show.

-Jay and Mark Briscoe are in the ring, talking on the microphone. They tear apart Kevin Steen and El Generico, reminding them that they dominated them in their feud last year. Steen and Generico come out and Steen runs them down on the mic. Steen brings up Mark’s injury and says that beating the Briscoes at 50% won’t prove anything. Steen offers the Briscoes the chance to walk away, but the Briscoes take offense and jump the champs.

ROH World Tag Team Championship:
Kevin Steen and El Generico © vs. Jay and Mark Briscoe
Jay and Steen collapse to ringside, leaving Mark to pummel Generico in the ring. Generico fights back but hesitates, allowing Mark to attack the head and tag Jay. Generico counters with a knee lift and big kick for 2. Steen tags and slugs it out with Jay. Mark cheap shots, allowing Jay to nail a big boot. Mark tags and nails a suplex for 2. Jay tags, with Steen having to fight off both Briscoes. Scoop slam by Jay and a leg drop. Jay knocks Generico off the apron and tags Mark for a double shoulder block. Cover by Mark gets 2. The Briscoes keep the tags coming, isolating Steen. Steen drops Mark with a super kick and Jay’s attempt to block a tag fails. El Generico cleans house on the Briscoes. Generico tries to run the ropes, but Jay blocks with a clothesline. Exploder suplex by Mark gets 2. Steen makes the save, allowing Generico to hit a Yakuza kick. Generico takes out Jay at ringside, while Steen gets a frog splash on Mark for 2.9! Mark blocks a package piledriver and attempts a cutthroat driver. Steen blocks and nails the package piledriver to retain at 6:41. Hard hitting and entertaining for the time allowed, **½.
Winners and still ROH World Tag Team Champions: Kevin Steen and El Generico

Retro Rowe: ROH Supercard of Honor II Review

ROH: Supercard of Honor II

March 31, 2007

-Not really sure when I wrote this one either, but I'd guess sometime in 2007 when I'd just moved into my first apartment and was using my girlfriend's hilariously old computer.

-This was night two of a double shot weekend in Detroit, Michigan during Wrestlemania 23 weekend. Our hosts for the evening are Dave Prazak and Lenny Leonard.

- The DVD opens with Jimmy Jacobs talking about his hatred of BJ Whitmer. He accuses Whitmer of walking out on him, and worrying about his career and legacy more than anything else. Jacobs says that tonight, in their steel cage match, he will be fighting for the greatest cause of all: love. Camera pans to the lovely Lacey, whom Jimmy has been obsessed with. Jacobs wants his innocence and purity back, and he will accomplish that by taking out Whitmer. "In my mind, you've already lost, big brother" claims Jacobs, which sends a chill running down my spine. Jacobs has developed into one of the best characters in all of wrestling, highlighted with this excellent promo.

-We are treated to highlights from last year's Supercard of Honor Dragon Gate match. Many considered that match to be the Match of the Year for 2006, so the stars of Dragon Gate are looking to repeat tonight.

-Jay Briscoe comes down to the ring to a monster pop. Last night in this same venue, Jay single handedly won back the ROH Tag Team Championship after his brother, Mark, botched a shooting star press to the floor and landed on his head. Jay says that Mark is recovering in the hospital and is looking forward to returning and having a great reign as tag champions. Jay is joined by former tag champs Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal. Daniels is heeling it up. The fans are chanting "Fallen Angel" to which Daniels cuts them off with "I know I'm here, shut the hell up and listen!" Daniels wants Jay to forfeit the tag titles to him and Sydal right now. Instead, Jay brings out his surprise partner, Delirious. If Sydal and Daniels can beat them, they can have a future shot at the titles.

Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal vs. Jay Briscoe and Delirious
Daniels set the tone for the match by hitting a cheap shot on Delirious as the bell rang. Jay ends up dumping Daniels to the floor, causing the Fallen Angel to consider leaving the match. For the record, Daniels is wearing that same face paint that can be seen every Thursday night on Impact. Daniels reconsiders and tags in Sydal, who demands Delirious. Those two have had one of the higher profile indy feuds as of late, which is always good to see, especially during a time when the wrestling world has been going through so much hard time. The match continues in a spotty, yet intense fashion, with a highlight being Jay Briscoe drop kicking Delirious into Sydal and Daniels, who were holding him at ringside. From there, Delirious becomes the face in peril for several minutes. Briscoe eventually cleans house, but Daniels hits a Death Valley Driver and goes for the Best Moonsault Ever, which is dodged. Delirious gets involved again, hitting the Panic Attack and Shadows Over Hell on Daniels, which still wasn't enough to put him away. After some chaos, Sydal is tagged in and misses the shooting star press. Delirious hits the chemical imbalance and pins Sydal at 18:08. Daniels and Sydal seem to be in a rut in their quest to reclaim tag team gold. Good opening match that probably didn't need to go as long as it did, but was enjoyable nonetheless, ***1/4.
Winners: Jay Briscoe and Delirious

Rowe's Top 10 Matches of 2008

Now before anyone asks, I have not seen ROH's Death Before Dishonor VI yet, so I cannot comment on the Brent Albright/Adam Pearce match which has earned lots of critical acclaim. I thought about putting off making this list until I'd caught up more on recent DVDs, but if I do that then it will be so long until I get around to this that it would be the spring and it would be silly. So having said this, let's get started.

10) ROH World Tag Team Championship: Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black (c) vs. Austin Aries and Bryan Danielson - (Ring of Honor: Respect is Earned II).
This was a great part of the blood feud between Aries and Jacobs. Initially, the match ended in a disqualification within minutes when Jacobs and Aries couldn't contain themselves and fought so viciously that the referee had no choice but to call for the bell. Luckily, Tyler Black and Bryan Danielson had cooler heads on their shoulders and were able to get the match restarted. From there, this was an excellent tag team contest. ****1/4.

9) Elimination Chamber: Triple H vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho vs. Umaga vs. JBL (WWE No Way Out).
The elimination chamber is such a great concept and has all sorts of potential, but the matches never seem to live up to the hype. This was an exception to that rule, as the action was chaotic and all over the place from start to finish. With the winner getting a Wrestlemania title shot, there was a lot at stake, and the crowd was hoping for a Jeff Hardy upset after he'd been so close to taking the title from Randy Orton a month earlier. The fans would have to wait, as a Triple H pedigree (and a wellness policy violation) would delay Hardy's rise to the top. ****1/4.

8) Jimmy Jacobs vs. Austin Aries (ROH Vendetta II).
The war between Aries and Jacobs continued at a sickening pace. The story was that Jacobs invited Aries to join the Age of the Fall, and used his own girlfriend, Lacey, to try and lure him into the group. Instead, Aries stole Lacey from Jacobs, infuriating the pathetic and insecure Jacobs. In retaliation, Jacobs had the Age of the Fall jump Lacey as she was leaving a gym and hurt her so badly she would have to leave wrestling. The build resulted in this brutal match. Aries would gain a measure of revenge and planted the seeds for Necro Butcher's departure from the group. ****1/4

7) Unsanctioned match: Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho (WWE Unforgiven).
Speaking of outstanding build, Jericho had made it not just his mission to drive Michaels from the WWE, but to make sure he would forever be credited for doing it. At Summerslam, Jericho took a swing at Michaels and accidentally knocked out his wife. The story of this match was Michaels' quest for revenge, even if it cost him his soul. The match was brutal and evenly matched for quite a while, but ultimately the momentum swung into HBK's favor and he left Jericho a bloody and beaten mess. Many thought this would be the final chapter in their war, but Jericho wasn't finished, as he crawled out to a Scramble match later in the show to capture the World title. ****1/4

6) Hell in a Cell: The Undertaker vs. Edge (WWE Summerslam).
This was the climax to a feud that had spanned for more than a year. In a day and age when it feels like feuds are continually rushed, the bad blood between Undertaker and Edge started in May 2007 when Edge stole the World title from the Dead Man up until Summerslam in August 2008. In between, they had battled many times and Edge had continually screwed the Undertaker. All that came to a head in the Hell in a Cell, when suddenly none of Edge's tricks and short cuts could save him. Undertaker defeated his arch nemesis and sent him crashing into the ring canvas before "blowing up" the Rated R Superstar, sending him straight to Hell. ****1/4

5) Career Threatening match: Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels (WWE Wrestlemania 24).
Over the past thirty five years, very few men have meant as much to professional wrestling as Ric Flair. While this was billed as a "career threatening" match, everyone knew going into it that this was it for Flair. It would be hard to imagine a more fitting way for a legend to go out on a high note. Flair and Michaels wrestled a quality match in front of one of the biggest crowds in American wrestling history. The finish was as emotional as anything I've ever seen in wrestling, as Michaels, knowing he had Flair beat, mouthed "I love you, I'm sorry" right before blasting Flair with the Sweet Chin Music. It's funny to think that just ten years ago Flair was being disrespected left and right in WCW and it looked as though his career was going to end on a quiet note. Instead, Flair found redemption in his second WWE run and got the retirement treatment and respect he deserved. ****1/4

4) ROH World Tag Team Championship: Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black (c) vs. Kevin Steen and El Generico (ROH Driven).
It's hard to find many genuinely touching or emotional moments in wrestling. While the Flair/HBK match hit such a note, it would have been hard not to considering the ramifications. However, these four men were able to capture such a moment, involving nothing more than the ROH Tag Team titles. Kevin Steen is a reluctant babyface, in that he's a proud slob, a jerk to his fan favorite tag partner, and sometimes he's slow to do the right thing. So that kind of makes him like Shrek, doesn't it? Anyhow, Steen made it his goal to hold gold in Ring of Honor in 2008, and after coming up short a few times against Nigel McGuinness, this was his last big shot. The Age of the Fall were crafty and formidable as usual, but after a dazzling series of nearfalls in front of a rabid crowd, Steen and Generico were finally able to capture the gold. The post-match celebration was a genuine moment of happiness and accomplishment for the unlikely duo of Steen and Generico. ****1/2

3) ROH World Championship: Nigel McGuinness (c) vs. Bryan Danielson (ROH Sixth Year Anniversary).
Danielson and McGuinness have wrestled many times, yet each time they find a way to have an outstanding match that is unique from their other encounters. This time the story was that Nigel was whining about the concussion he had suffered the last time he'd performed in front of the same NYC crowd and he didn't want to wrestle if it meant risking further attacks to the head. Danielson agreed with Nigel that they would not target the head during their match. This was all well and good until late in the contest when Nigel was finding that he could not put Danielson away. Nigel resorted to going back on his word and viciously attacked Danielson's head and previously injured eye. Nigel's heel turn was complete and the NYC crowd wanted him dead. ****1/2

2) FIP World Championship: Erick Stevens (c) vs. Roderick Strong (FIP Redefined)
At Ring of Honor's Final Battle in 2007, Stevens scored a major upset when he bested Strong for the FIP title. This was during a time when FIP's future was up in the air, as the promoter's wife had suddenly passed away and a series of shows had been cancelled. During this time, Stevens made the most of his title reign in ROH, scoring huge upset victories defending the title against top names like Austin Aries and Bryan Danielson. When FIP finally got back to business in February, Stevens vs. Strong was signed as the rematch. The match itself was a brutal, yet old-school contest. Strong managed to knock out Stevens at ringside and returned to the ring in time to win the title back by count-out (which is legal in FIP). Stevens would later wake up and would need to be told that he was no longer the champion. ****1/2

1) Ladder match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Chris Jericho (c) vs. Shawn Michaels (WWE No Mercy).
I must confess that I am a huge fan of Chris Jericho, and for years it bothered me that his initial run as World Champion in 2001-2002 was such a mess. This match nearly makes up for that. This was the Chris Jericho as World Champion match that I always wanted. Not only that, but it was the blow-off to his long running feud with Michaels. Drifting from the usual ladder match forumal, they didn't go for a spot-fest, but rather used the ladder when it was convenient as a measure to hurt one another. Jericho was out to prove himself against Michaels, who had embarassed him on television earlier, reminding him that despite everything he accomplished that he would never be Shawn Michaels. Jericho took a step closer when he defeated Michaels to hold on to his World title. I initially rated this match as ****1/4, but after thinking it is a definite ****1/2 classic.

SamoaRowe's Top Ten

So, here's my Top Ten list of 2007 as it stands now. I just want to note that I haven't finished Good Times, Great Memories, and I haven't seen Manhatten Mayhem II or Man Up yet. I also fell asleep ten minutes into Cena/Michaels II, so I don't have any solid opinion on that one yet. Anyhow, here's the list:

10) Samoa Joe vs. Takeshi Morishima (ROH Fifth Year Festival: New York City)
I pegged this one at ****1/4. It was a great power match, and I marked out a lot while watching it. This only lost points because I felt it went from "feeling out" to "going home" very quickly, so the match didn't feel complete in that sense. Still, a pleasure to watch, and the beginning of an awesome run for Morishima in ROH.

9) Takeshi Morishima vs. Claudio Castagnoli (ROH Death Before Dishonor V Night 1)
You know those matches where a title is on the line and you know for sure that the champion is going to retain? This could have easily been one of those matches, but it wasn't. For starters, Claudio was built up strongly before this event, winning the Race to the Top tournament. Then the match took place, and Claudio brought a crazy fight to the dominant Morishima, pushing him to the very limit. Sadly, Morishima was able to regain himself long enough to hit a single backdrop driver on Claudio for the win. Anticlimatic finish aside, this match was magic, and landed at ****1/4.

8) Takeshi Morishima and Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness and KENTA (ROH Respect is Earned)
Now we're enterting ****1/2 territory. This was the main event of ROH's first ever pay-per-view, and they didn't hold anything back and threw the top four stars they had out there to quickly establish personalities and roles for a new audience. We learned right away how ruthless Morishima could be, how agile KENTA is, and how intelligent and crafy Danielson is. What stood out here was the emergence of Nigel McGuinness as a top star to the new audience, as he appeared to be hurt and out of the match, but quickly got bandaged up to return and prove to us all what a tough competitor he is. I loved this match, it set the pay-per-view era off on the right foot.

7) Jay and Mark Briscoe vs. Matt Sydal and Claudio Castagnoli (ROH Respect is Earned)
By this point you're probably rolling your eyes over how ROH-heavy this list is, because I could give two shits. I call it like I see it. The Briscoes spent the entire year stealing show after show and pushing the limit (later in the year I would actually argue they pushed things too far, but that's a story for another day). Sydal and Castagnoli were a thrown together team for this one, but displayed some incredible chemistry and took the fight to the Briscoes. Speaking of the Briscoes, they were on fire here, and delivered some of the most breathtaking double team spots I've ever witnessed. I've said it before, but I'm not going to apologize for loving a spot-fest, which this was, if it is done well and makes me cheer. ****1/2.

6) John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels (WWE Wrestlemania 23)
This match got a lot of criticism due to Cena getting a lot of punishment to the knee and then no-selling it later in the match. This gripe didn't bother me that much, because the no-selling lead to a thrilling back and forth contest between two guys who set out to add a new chapter to both their respective legacies. This was the kind of outstanding singles Wrestlemania main event that we hadn't seen in several years and was a welcome return. ****1/2

5) Jay and Mark Briscoe vs. El Generico and Kevin Steen (ROH Death Before Dishonor V Night 1)
The Boston street fight was a war unlike the city had ever seen. It started with brawling through the crowd and ended up a series of devastating bumps in the ring. The hatred between these two teams was reaching scary levels of believability as the chair shots and broken tables began to add up. From what I've heard, the ladder war from Man Up topped this war, though reviews of the later match lead me to believe that they went too far with the violence. At least here, every spot and moment built and built until the final sickening moment when Steen dropped a Briscoe with the package piledriver onto the ladder. Steen and Generico got the upset and a moment of glory. ****1/2.

4) CIMA, Shingo, and Susumu Yokosuka vs. Dragon Kid, Ryo Saito, and Masaaki Mochizuki (ROH Supercard of Honor II)
Now we are entering the ****3/4 territory. These six men set out to match the quality of the Dragon Gate six man from the original Supercard of Honor, and they came pretty damn close. The delight here was seeing them trying to have an awesome match, but not the same spot-fest from the year before. There was a lot of storytelling in this one, as well as a great mixture of styles with the inclusion of Shingo and Mochizuki. This was a match that I felt I could watch repeatedly, not get tired of it, and notice something new each time. A true classic.

3) John Cena vs. Umaga (WWE Royal Rumble)
My first impression after watching this match was that it was the MOTY and nothing would touch it. I turned out to be wrong, but I was still blown away by this. For starters, I don't really care for Umaga, as a character or a worker. That should tell you how much I enjoyed this match then. It was a last man standing match, and they worked the gimmick to perfection. They utilized their surroundings fantastically, including a nasty Umaga splash on the announce tables. What really put this over for me was the climatic finish, with Cena incorporating the broken ring ropes to trap Umaga in the STFU. I said it then as I'll say it now, this match deserves to be talked about for a long time. It was the best WWE match of 2007. ****3/4.

2) Nigel McGuinness vs. Bryan Danielson (ROH Driven)
These are two guys I will never get tired of seeing them wrestle each other. Each time they bring something new to the table and have a completely different great match. When I first heard about this one, people immediately said it was the best match they'd had yet, and I didn't believe it. I had trouble buying that it would top their match from Unified in 2006. How wrong I was. The aggression. The drama. The way both men got put over. A lot of people complained that Nigel was buried in 2007, all the while overlooking how he was put over huge on the pay-per-views. He looked stronger in defeat than most wrestlers look in victory. This lived up the hype and deserves to be talked about for a long time. ****3/4.

1) Jimmy Jacobs vs. BJ Whitmer (ROH Supercard of Honor II)
Nigel/Danielson almost knocked this one out of it's place. In the end, there were just too many factors putting this one over. It was the culmination of a year-long feud. It featured a wreslter I don't usually enjoy (BJ Whitmer) but dazzled me anyhow. It helped complete the transformation of Jimmy Jacobs into a disturbring psychopath. And it was brutal. The match took place in a cage and both men destroyed each other and both men were put on the shelf as a result. Jacobs tore up his knee and lost a tooth. No match in 2007 was more memorable or meaningful to me than this, so here it stands, as SamoaRowe's MOTY. ****3/4.

Ring of Honor: October 5th Live Report

Ring of Honor made their return to Boston on Friday, October 5th 2007. Once again, the Reggie Lewis Track and Field Center at Roxbury Community College was the host. This is a fine venue, I must say, despite the rough neighborhood.

This show was coming off the heels of August's Death Before Dishonor V Night 1 show. With the tremendous quality of that event, expectations were running high. The crowd turnout was a bit down, as there was a big Red Sox game in progress the same night.

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Preshow:

Bryan Fury defeated "Sugarfoot" Alex Payne.

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Handsome Johnny defeated "Sexiest Man Alive" Rhett Titus.

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Neither preshow match was overly noteworthy, which is to be expected.

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Main Show:

Adam Pearce and Brent Albright defeated Erick Stevens and Matt Cross. This was an excellent opener, as it was solid tag team wrestling with no fancy gimmick. Cross played a convincing face in peril and Stevens got one of the hottest tags I've seen in a LONG time as a result. This was a pleasant surprise, ***1/4.

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BJ Whitmer defeated Delirious. This one did not click at all. If they are going to keep booking Delirious into blood feuds, he needs to start acting like he really wants to hurt his enemy. Whitmer won in anticlimatic fashion, even after taking a series of "Chaos Effects" from Delirious, **.

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The Age of the Fall (Jimmy Jacobs, Tyler Black, and Lacey) cut a promo in the ring, and were attacked by Jay Briscoe. They brawled out into the hallway and back into the dressing room area. As a result, Black did not participate in the scheduled four-way and the following triple threat took place instead:

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Nigel McGuinness defeated Hallowicked, and El Generico. This was a lot of fun, Nigel and Generico were very over with the crowd. Hallowicked did not do anything overly impressive, which is a shame because this was his Boston ROH debut. Nigel hit at least seven lariats during the match, and was able to pin Hallowicked while Generico was recovering on the floor. ***

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Claudio Castagnoli defeated Chris Hero in an overly long match up. By this point, any real heat between Hero and Castagnoli is gone. The antics of Larry Sweeney, Sara Del Rey, and Bobby Dempsey at ringside were humorous, but felt a bit distracting once Hero stopped goofing around had started really wrestling Claudio. I've been told the match went about 20 minutes, but it felt like 30, **3/4.

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Jay Briscoe and Necro Butcher brawled into the gym. They fought their way around the crowd, with Butcher burying Jay with chairs at one point. Once it hit the ring, it became an "anything goes" match. Lots of sick chair bumps, with Necro Butcher picking up the win (after Jimmy Jacobs got involved again). Mark Briscoe hobbled out on his crutches to try and make the save, but the Age of the Fall took him out and carried him out of the building. What happened after was complete nonsense, as Jay took the time to cut a short promo and fight with a fan at ringside, rather than show concern for his brother who was just KIDNAPPED! I hope Mark kicks his ass for this later.

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Intermission:

I wandered around for a bit and saw some wrestlers in the hallway (Kevin Steen was being especially nice to fans looking for autographs). I went to the merch stand and chatted with Sara Del Rey again, and had her sign another DVD for me. She is really representing SHIMMER well.

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Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black squashed Ernie Osiris and Mitch Franklin. Afterwards, Jay Briscoe attacked them yet again, and he was not selling any of the punishment that Necro Butcher dished out to him earlier.

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Austin Aries defeated Bryan Danielson in an excellent match. Aries busted out some technical wrestling chops that we haven't seen from him in a long while. They took their time to tell a nice story, and built to the trademark high spots. Aries managed to out wrestle Danielson and make him tap out. ****

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Jack Evans, Jigsaw, and Ruckus defeated Roderick Strong, Davey Richards, and Rocky Romero in a scramble tag match. If you enjoy spot-fests (which I tend to do) then you would like this one. Evans, Jigsaw, and Ruckus, collectively known as The Vulture Squad, meshed very well as a team. Jigsaw stands out from the others as he wears a masked and has some off-beat goof charm, but his ring work qualifies him for the group. Solid spot-fest, and I look forward to seeing more of the Vulture Squad later, ***1/2.

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Takeshi Morishima defeated Kevin Steen to retain the ROH World Championship. It took this match several minutes before it started to click. The early going was some uninspiring brawling that failed to achieve any flow. Then Steen went for the sharpshooter, and things picked up from there. Lots of near falls, with Steen coming painfully close to winning the belt on several occasions. So basically, this is a repeat of Morishima's last two Boston title defenses. Again, Morishima managed to hulk up and hit a single backdrop driver for the victory. **3/4

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So all in all, this show was a few steps below what I've come to expect from ROH Boston shows. There was some nonsensical booking and a few matches failed to deliver. There was also an odd mix of effort, as the roster wanted to put on a great show but at the same time seemed to be saving themselves for tonight's pay-per-view taping. But, if you noticed my star ratings, most of the matches were in the *** region and the Aries/Danielson match lived up to my high expectations, so I was a happy wrestling fan once again. I look forward to ROH's return to Boston on January 11, 2008.