ROH Live - Chapter 4
So on Saturday I went and saw Ring of Honor live in Connecticut. That was one motherfucker of a single day trip, let me tell you. Although I must admit, there couldn't have been 4 cooler people to go on the trip with. It was quite some fun, from Puerto Rican floats and hilarious insult fests to french fry farts and revolving doors. The only problem I had with the trip is that I had to come back to Maine in the end. This place really is dismal. And this area is at the ass end of nowhere. Why do people live here? After I'm done in Japan, I'm not coming back. I'll move to someplace closer to civilization. It takes three hours to get from here to the border with NH. That's ridiculous. If we lived anywhere else this trip wouldn't have been so daunting, or so damn long. Le sigh...
Now on to the show.
We had general admission tickets, but for some reason this show had the GA section right by the entrance ramp. We arrived a little early and ended up getting seats directly next to the entrance ramp. Twas cool. So was the dome-like structure the event happened at. The floor was artificial turf for an indoor soccer field.
The main event was a spectacular Briscoes vs Aries & Strong match. This was for the tag titles. That didn't matter, the actual match mattered. These two teams are so experienced in double-team manuevers that this match was a sight to behold. Everyone was out to impress here. The Briscoes (who I've now finally seen live) were on fire, but Aries and Strong were really showing why they are two figureheads of the company. The finishing sprint could've been a little better, but it was a great match.
The Homicide vs Danielson match was a little disappointing. It was obvious that Danielson would retain, but I thought the match should've been a little better. It was good, that's for sure, but these two don't really have that special something that Danielson-Strong, Danielson-Aries or Joe-Punk have. The match was decent length, though I expected an incredibly long match. Hell, Delerious got 50 minutes. But it ended by "referee stoppage", an allusion to the recent Hughes-Gracie UFC match. Fuck that. It's fine how ROH is experimenting with different style finishes, but only using them in Danielson title matches is getting predictable and boring. No more roll-ups, towel throw ins, ref stops, or any of this please unless you spread it around the card. At least the ending really pumped up the crowd. Everyone was on there feet chanting "bullshit", myself included. I wanted a conclusion damnit. I wanted to spit on Fatpants, which means ROH is doing a good job.
Reyes vs Takagi was a standard match. Takagi was pretty good for the short amount of time I saw him. Reyes was Reyes, slightly above average match for him. Was just a showcase of Takagi's ability. Coolest part of this whole thing was when Julius Smokes put his cigar out in Joe's face. Might I just say, J Smokes is THE BEST FUCKING MANAGER EVER! If you provoke him, he'll fight back, often with hilarious results.
Whitmer vs Daniels was a well wrestled match, if a bit slow paced. The crowd really wasn't getting into it, as people still don't want to like Whitmer. Maybe if he didn't look like a skinny Snitsky. SHAVE YOUR HEAD, CUT YOUR HAIR. It'll help, believe me. Either way, this match was cool as after the conclusion it pulled Daniels into the CZW feud.
Pearce vs Cabana vs Delerious vs Blade was actually a very good match, finish aside. Delerious is fucking comedy GOLD. He is perfect in his character, even more so than ever before. That kid's a star. Pearce did not impress, and I don't like the idea that this CW Anderson wannabee is the future of ROH. He's not. Cabana was his classic self, though somehow he took a back seat in the comedy realm to Delerious. Blade was good, but outclassed by Cabana and Delerious. The ending I really didn't catch, but I guess Blade or Pearce tapped out. Nobody really caught it because the crowd went silent when the bell rang. Most people seemed confused as to what had happened. Cabana earns another title shot.
Daizee vs Sara Del Ray was a good women's match. I guess if that's what SHIMMER is, it may be a good company. Daizee impressed me more than Sara, but Sara played her role well. Better than I expected, actually. Some pretty creative spots in there.
Hagadorn vs Dempsey was really blah, the only highlight was Hagadorn winning the students trophy. Shane Hagadorn is the best of the students and he is only one of two students I think are any good, the other being Pelle Primeau.
Jimmy Rave vs Davey Richards opened the show for some reason. This is the Super 8 winner getting his shot at ROH, as they usually do. He really impressed me in this match. Rave is the best exclusive heel the company has full time. Rave is perfect in this role. He should be higher up the card. I guess this was Richards' test, and he made an impact. I think he'll become a mainstay in ROH.
I don't care about the preshow matches.
Well there's that report. Oh and Samoa Joe was there and kicked ass even though he didn't fight, and I saw Steven Richards walking by at one point. ROH is returning in September, and it seems like we're all going to go again.
Now on to the show.
We had general admission tickets, but for some reason this show had the GA section right by the entrance ramp. We arrived a little early and ended up getting seats directly next to the entrance ramp. Twas cool. So was the dome-like structure the event happened at. The floor was artificial turf for an indoor soccer field.
The main event was a spectacular Briscoes vs Aries & Strong match. This was for the tag titles. That didn't matter, the actual match mattered. These two teams are so experienced in double-team manuevers that this match was a sight to behold. Everyone was out to impress here. The Briscoes (who I've now finally seen live) were on fire, but Aries and Strong were really showing why they are two figureheads of the company. The finishing sprint could've been a little better, but it was a great match.
The Homicide vs Danielson match was a little disappointing. It was obvious that Danielson would retain, but I thought the match should've been a little better. It was good, that's for sure, but these two don't really have that special something that Danielson-Strong, Danielson-Aries or Joe-Punk have. The match was decent length, though I expected an incredibly long match. Hell, Delerious got 50 minutes. But it ended by "referee stoppage", an allusion to the recent Hughes-Gracie UFC match. Fuck that. It's fine how ROH is experimenting with different style finishes, but only using them in Danielson title matches is getting predictable and boring. No more roll-ups, towel throw ins, ref stops, or any of this please unless you spread it around the card. At least the ending really pumped up the crowd. Everyone was on there feet chanting "bullshit", myself included. I wanted a conclusion damnit. I wanted to spit on Fatpants, which means ROH is doing a good job.
Reyes vs Takagi was a standard match. Takagi was pretty good for the short amount of time I saw him. Reyes was Reyes, slightly above average match for him. Was just a showcase of Takagi's ability. Coolest part of this whole thing was when Julius Smokes put his cigar out in Joe's face. Might I just say, J Smokes is THE BEST FUCKING MANAGER EVER! If you provoke him, he'll fight back, often with hilarious results.
Whitmer vs Daniels was a well wrestled match, if a bit slow paced. The crowd really wasn't getting into it, as people still don't want to like Whitmer. Maybe if he didn't look like a skinny Snitsky. SHAVE YOUR HEAD, CUT YOUR HAIR. It'll help, believe me. Either way, this match was cool as after the conclusion it pulled Daniels into the CZW feud.
Pearce vs Cabana vs Delerious vs Blade was actually a very good match, finish aside. Delerious is fucking comedy GOLD. He is perfect in his character, even more so than ever before. That kid's a star. Pearce did not impress, and I don't like the idea that this CW Anderson wannabee is the future of ROH. He's not. Cabana was his classic self, though somehow he took a back seat in the comedy realm to Delerious. Blade was good, but outclassed by Cabana and Delerious. The ending I really didn't catch, but I guess Blade or Pearce tapped out. Nobody really caught it because the crowd went silent when the bell rang. Most people seemed confused as to what had happened. Cabana earns another title shot.
Daizee vs Sara Del Ray was a good women's match. I guess if that's what SHIMMER is, it may be a good company. Daizee impressed me more than Sara, but Sara played her role well. Better than I expected, actually. Some pretty creative spots in there.
Hagadorn vs Dempsey was really blah, the only highlight was Hagadorn winning the students trophy. Shane Hagadorn is the best of the students and he is only one of two students I think are any good, the other being Pelle Primeau.
Jimmy Rave vs Davey Richards opened the show for some reason. This is the Super 8 winner getting his shot at ROH, as they usually do. He really impressed me in this match. Rave is the best exclusive heel the company has full time. Rave is perfect in this role. He should be higher up the card. I guess this was Richards' test, and he made an impact. I think he'll become a mainstay in ROH.
I don't care about the preshow matches.
Well there's that report. Oh and Samoa Joe was there and kicked ass even though he didn't fight, and I saw Steven Richards walking by at one point. ROH is returning in September, and it seems like we're all going to go again.
