Amazing Red is someone I've always enjoyed watching compete so although I was unfamiliar with Hidaka, I expected a good match here. As the bout got going, I began liking Hidaka more than Red simply because his moves were more crisp. There were several slip ups by Red in this match which kind of threw things off and stopped these guys from building any real momentum. It seemed like every time they'd start building towards something, a minor mishap would take place. None the less, there were still some awesome exchanges here that make this one worth checking out.
Match rating - ***
2) Christopher Daniels & Dan Maff vs. The Great Muta & Arashi - Final Battle 2003
This was a pretty even match on paper. Daniels & Muta match up fairly well and Arashi & Maff are two big powerhouses so this was a recipe for a solid match from the get go. Thanks to the ever informative commentary from CM Punk here, I learned that Arashi was actually a sumo wrestler before he became a pro wrestler. Bet that was a tough transition to make. He looked good here although he didn't blow me away by any means. Actually, I think that's the best way to describe this match, it's nice however it's not quite on the level you'd expect. Daniels & Maff played their characters great here though as they continued to bend the rules which is what they were known for at the time. A chair gets involved near the end and allows The Propechy to steal the victory. Decent match.
Match rating - **3/4
3) Kenta Kobashi & Homicide vs. Samoa Joe & Low Ki - Unforgettable 2005
This was my second time viewing this match and it held up very well. Here's my original review of the match which can be found in my look at ROH's "Year Four" DVD set:
After the way that Joe and Kobashi tore the house down in their classic which I saw on the Year Four DVD set, I was beyond stoked to see them in the same ring again. Needless to say, they picked up right where they left off as we got multiple vicious striking exchanges and Kobashi did another number on Joe's chest in the corner with chops. This was epic thanks to Joe & Kobashi alone, but Low Ki & Homicide made this even more awesome by adding a new dynamic to the match. We also got to see a fantastic exchange between Low Ki & Kobashi here as well. All around awesome match and another ROH classic. Words don't do it justice.
Match rating - ****1/2
4) AJ Styles & Matt Sydal vs. Dragon Kid & Genko Horiguchi - Dragon Gate Challenge
Here we have the first appearance of Dragon Gate talent on this set and I couldn't be more pumped. My first taste of Dragon Gate came in PWG. Names like CIMA and Akira Tozawa have had very impactful stints there over the years and they blew me away. PWG is also the first place I saw Dragon Kid compete. So needless to say, Dragon Gate was one of the major drawing factors for me when it comes to this DVD. On paper, this is a dream match and I think it's safe to say it lived up to expectations. This wasn't a main event bout so I didn't expect it to get a large amount of time however they made the most out of every minute they had. There was a short feeling out process, but it didn't last long as these two teams turned it up several notches and delivered an unbelievable closing sequence with several nearfalls. Good match.
Match rating - ***1/2
5) CIMA, Naruki Doi, & Masato Yoshino vs. Dragon Kid, Genko Horiguchi, & Ryo Saito - Supercard of Honor - 3/31/06
At the time, Do Fixer and Blood Generation were the two top stables in Dragon Gate. Here, we saw them collide in front of a ruckus ROH crowd on one of their biggest shows of the year - what's not to love? These two trios put everything out there in this match and the result was complete chaos. Their tag team prowice and unique double team manuevers were put on display early on however things would soon turn into a straight up battle of one upsmanship with both teams nailing each other with everything they had. The closing sequence had to last atleast 10 minutes. The action was off the charts and the nearfalls had me on the edge of my seat. The crowd chanting "Please don't stop!" perfectly describes how into it they were along with the epicness of that final sequence alone. I've seen people give this one props as one of the best matches in ROH history and I find it hard to argue with that claim. Easily the best six man tag in ROH history. Awesome match.
Match rating - ****3/4
6) Colt Cabana vs. Kikutaro
I've seen these two go at it in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla so I knew what to expect here. Just some good comedy. And while that's what we got, they also had some nice wrestling mixed in, moreso than in their previous encounters that I've seen. Makes sense considering ROH isnt known for doing silly stuff like this often. Nice way to cool things down after some hot Dragon Gate tag matches on the set.
Match rating - **1/4
7) Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal vs. CIMA & Shingo - ROH World Tag Team Title Match - International Challenge - 12/22/06
Considering how much I enjoyed the previous tag match involving Sydal and some Dragon Talent, I was looking forward to this one. Especially considering the names involved. Seeing Daniels hook it up with CIMA & Shingo was almost a dream match for me. This was even better than Sydal's first tag team effort earlier in this set. Probably because the stakes were higher so these guys laid it out there. Not a MOTY candidate, but a damn good tag team contest that's definitely worth checking out. Great match!
Match rating - ***3/4
8) CIMA, Susumu Yokosuka, Dragon Kid, & Ryo Saito vs. Austin Aries, Claudio Castagnoli, Delirious, & Rocky Romero - All Star Extravaganza III - 3/30/07
This one started off with an extended period of solid wrestling and tag team work by both squads. We got to see various exchanges between members of each team and they did a good job of building towards the big high impact closing sequence. In a way, this was your basic Dragon Gate style multi-man as it had great wrestling throughout and a crazy final few minutes with several near falls. It didn't have as many false finishes as I've come to expect, but it certainly had it's fair share. Another really good match involving the top talent from Dragon Gate, it was cool seeing them go head to head with ROH's best at the time.
Match rating - ****
9) CIMA, Susumu Yokosuka, & Shingo vs. Dragon Kid, Ryo Saito, & Masaaki Mochizuki - Supercard of Honor II - 3/31/07
Will I ever get tired of Dragon Gate multi-man tag matches? The answer is no and this match is the perfect example of why. It's just so much awesome fun. The eight man tag prior to this bout took place one night before and as great as it was (it reached four stars after all), it was just a peak of what the Dragon Gate stalwarts would deliver here on the following night. This match reminded me alot of the five star rated classic from SuperCard of Honor one year prior to this as these six men delivered at a level only they can compete at. There was a nice start to the match with a slow build and alot of good tag team wrestling, then that closing sequence hit and BAH GAWD it was insanity. Atleast 10 minutes of crazy move after crazy move and near fall after near fall. The action never stopped! Another absolutely awesome six man tag from the Dragon Gate squad!
Match rating - ****1/2
10) Takeshi Morishima vs. Shingo - ROH World Title Match - Good Times, Great Memories - 4/28/07
Having heard alot about Morishima and his ROH Title reign, I was excited to finally see him for myself for the first time here. The first thing I noticed was that he's even bigger than he appeared in pictures I'd seen of him. When Shingo, a man who's normally the bigger guy in most Dragon Gate matches, looks small, you know he's facing a big motherfucker. Speaking of Dragon Gate, this was not only an international match for ROH, it was also a clash of promotions as Pro Wrestling NOAH's Morishima battled Dragon Gate's Shingo. It's a match that could happen nowhere else except ROH at the time which made it even more intriguing. Things get going and the size difference I mentioned earlier comes into play as Morishima just beats down Shingo early on and the story becomes whether or not Shingo can handle him. About half-way through the match, we see Shingo get his first amount of significant offense in as he DDT's Morishima on the apron and hits a death valley driver on him on the floor - that was nuts. More moments like this were to come as we saw Shingo somehow muscle up Morishima for a suplex off the top rope AND a falcon arrow. So crazy to see. After a few close falls for Shingo, Takeshi takes back full control and hits his signature back drop driver on him for the win to retain his title. Good match.
Match rating - ***1/2
Disc 2:
11) Takeshi Morishima & Naomichi Marufuji vs. KENTA & Mitsuharu Misawa - Glory By Honor VI Night 1 - 11/2/07
This was Japanese legend Mitsuharu Misawa's ROH debut and it was awesome seeing him in a Ring of Honor ring. This bout starts off pretty slow and stays that way for the first half of the match which led me to believe that they were trying to make this one go long. I ended up being right as it ended in a 30 minute time limit draw which I'm not sure was the best decision because the match lagged in a few parts. The exchanges between KENTA & Marufuji were all great and Misawa & Morishima had some good striking battles, but as a whole this was nothing more than a solid tag match that almost got brought down due to some stalling.
Match rating - ***
12) BxB Hulk & Shingo vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico - Supercard of Honor III - 3/29/08
As a Dragon Gate AND Steenerico mark, this was one of the matches that drew me to buy this set and it certainly lived up to expectations. From the opening exchanges which saw Bxb Hulk & Generico go move for move followed by Hulk bumping like crazy for Steen, I knew this would be awesome. Lots of action and close nearfalls like you would probably expect from a match involving Dragon Gate talent however they didn't over do it. This reminded me alot of a PWG style tag match which is always a good thing. Insanely entertaining stuff here.
Match rating - ****
13) Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, & Genki Horiguchi vs. CIMA, Ryo Saito, & Dragon Kid - Supercard of Honor III - 3/29/08
To think this match took place in the same night as the Steenerico/Shingo & Hulk match blows my mind. I have no idea how the crowd wasn't exhausted by the time this match rolled around. None the less, this was just like all the other Dragon Gate six man's on this set in format however they did change some things up to make things not seem so repetitive. We saw alot more triple/double team manuevers, a bit of mat wrestling, and my favorite part of all was how they channeled back to the first six man by having Dragon Kid the vicious reverse rana only for Doi to kick out of it this go round. Things like that combined with the mind blowing action that you'd expect, almost makes me think this was the best of the three Dragon Gate six man's that ROH put on (all of which are on this set). Phenomenal match.
Match rating - ****1/2
14) Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Austin Aries & Kota Ibushi - Tag Wars 2008 - 4/18/08
I've long wanted to see Ibushi's short tenure in ROH and this was my first taste of it. This was a well worked match as The Briscoes dominated the first portion which led to Ibushi making the comeback and hitting all of his signature stuff to wow the audience. No matter how many times I see him go for a moonsault, land on his feet as his opponent moves, only to hit a standing moonsault, I'm blown away every time. Very fun match here.
Match rating - ***1/2
15) Team NOAH vs. The No Remorse Corps - Souther Navigation - 5/9/08
Unfortunately I can't go in depth about this match because I watched it and then went onto watching other stuff before reviewing it, thus I forgot alot that happened here. I do remember it being a very technical and hard hitting match though. It also featured alot of strikes which is probably not a surprise considering the names involved. Davey Richards, Roderick Strong, & Rocky Romero vs guys like Naomichi Marifuji & Kensuke Sasaki will be good every time.
Match rating - ***3/4
16) Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Roderick Strong & Brent Albright - All Star Extravaganza IV - 12/26/08
This was another hard hitting match featuring NOAH talent. I think the best way to describe this one would be as a slugfest with some submissions mixed in. Sasaki particularly hit some epic strike exchanges on Albright here although everyone got their fair share of chops & kicks in during the match. There was also a cool spot that saw Sasaki & Nakajima hook both Strong & Albright in submissions and Strong powered out, lifted up Sasaki and powerbombed him onto Nakajima to break the hold from Albright. Good tag match with a high impact closing sequence that garnered a "This is Awesome" chant from the audience.
Match rating - ***1/4
17) Austin Aries vs. Jushin Liger - So Cal Showdown - 1/29/10
I can't believe that I didn't know that this match took place until I bought this DVD. I think this was the same weekend in which Liger debuted for PWG and faced Generico, although I'm not completely certain. None the less, that match was alot of fun so I'm hoping this one will be the same. Liger calls Aries an asshole pre-match which garners a cheap attack from behind Aries to start the bout. They spilled to the outside early on where Liger hit Aries with a brainbuster on the floor which led to him bleeding from the forehead. Liger dominated a good portion of the match from that point on and they played off Aries' character very well as he took any shortcut he could including a low blow that earned him the win. This wasn't a MOTY candidate like some dream matches are, but it was still super cool seeing these two lock up, they delivered a solid match.
Match rating - ***
18) Hiroyo Matsumoto & Ayumi Kurihara vs. Sara Del Rey & Serena Deeb - Honor Takes Center Stage Chapter One - 4/1/11
I've been getting into alot of women's wrestling lately so I was excited for this match because it would be my first taste of joshi (japanese women's wrestling). It was certainly a good first time because Matsumoto really impressed me with her strength and as Dave Prazak said "She's like a female Morishima". Well, except for the fact that she is half his size haha. There were some great exchanges here though, especially the finishing sequence which saw a capo kick from Del Rey and several suplex/back drop driver variations. Good showcase for the Joshi athletes and the Women of Honor.
Match rating - **3/4
19) Hiroyo Matsumoto & Ayumi Kurihara vs. Daizee Haze & Tomoaka Nakagawa - Honor Takes Center Stage Chapter Two - 4/2/11
Another fun women's match here in which Matsumoto was once again the star. Her strength and agility shined through again as she held up two women and knee dropped onto Haze. I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the previous female showcase although it did feature more close falls as Haze kicked out of the backdrop driver and nailed Matsumoto with a tiger suplex with a bridge for the win.
Match rating - **1/2
Overall thoughts: This was a great collection of matches. There are several bouts here that can't be found on any other DVD since most old ROH shows pre-2011 are out of print. That alone makes this worth purchasing considering it features all the Dragon Gate six mans, the Kobashi tag match, and a wide variety of japanese talent from NOAH, New Japan, Dragon Gate, and abroad. It's not a set of classics however it has it's fair share of them along with some one off/forgotten matches like Aries/Liger. And for that reason, I'd recommend giving this set a watch. Some really good stuff here.
Thanks for reading and be sure to follow me on Twitter @EthanPWT and this blog @ThePWTruth!
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