ROH: Kevin Steen - Ascension To The Top Review

1) Kevin Steen vs. B-Boy - Do Or Die IV
Back in the day, ROH had events called Do or Die which were basically tryout shows for talent wanting to get into the promotion. On this particular one, alot of talent from Southern California/PWG came out including Super Dragon, Excalibur, and of course, Kevin Steen and B-Boy. This was every bit as solid of a match as I expected it to be. They told a basic story, hit some good spots, and packed some nice action into the 10 minutes or so they were given. I'd say this was a good tryout for Steen. The only thing that will surprise you here is who won.

Match rating - ***

2) Kevin Steen vs. El Generico - The Homecoming
This was Steen's official ROH debut although the match wasn't included on the actual DVD release of The Homecoming. I thought this was a pretty good match however it was just a taste of what the two men could do together. There were some really good exchanges though, particulary the finishing sequence where they repeatedly reverse each other's finishers then Generico picks up the win out of nowhere with a backslide. Nice little match that was very cool to look back on.

Match rating - **3/4

3) Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. The Briscoes - Fifth Year Festival: Philly

ROH: Japan's Finest Review

ROH Japan's Finest DVD Review

 

1) The Amazing Red vs. Ikuto Hidaka - Glory By Honor - 10/2/02
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

ROH Year Four DVD Review

ROH: Year Four Review

Samoa Joe/Mick Foley confrontation
The DVD opens with a segment between Mick Foley and Samoa Joe from "It All Begins" in January of 2005. Foley claims he has an offer for Joe to go to WWE and face Triple H for the Heavyweight Title. This leads to Foley saying that Vince called him fat and various other insults. Foley asks Joe what his goal is in life and questions whether or not he could make it on the big stage. This promo exchange between the two results in a brawl. Cool segment.

1) Austin Aries (c) vs. Colt Cabana - Steel Cage Match for the ROH World Title
Aries and Cabana started off with some straight up wrestling, however both guy soon began trying to gain the advantage by using the cage as a weapon. Cabana was the first to taste the steel and began bleeding while Aries would be busted up not long after. This was a solid cage match that had several

ROH: Ring of Hardcore DVD Review

ROH: Ring of Hardcore DVD Review

1) Da Hit Squad vs. The Carnage Crew - Boston Massacre Match - Honor Invades Boston - 8/24/02
The two teams start brawling from the opening bell and barbwire is brought in after about 5 minutes of action. All four men end up bleeding courtesy of it. This was just a brawl for the most part. Not really any storytelling just four guys hitting each other with stuff. Two barb wire boards were brought into play near the end and one man from each team ended up getting put through both of them which led to the end of this match. Pretty sloppy brawl. Not much to it, but you'll be entertained.

Match rating - **3/4

2) Homicide vs. Steve Corino - Barbed Wire Match - War of the Wire - 11/29/03
I had only seen one barbed wire match prior to this and that was the infamous Terry Funk/Sabu match from ECW. Well, needless to say, this was way better than that one. Homicide and Corino told a phenomenal story here and I was on the edge of my seat the whole match. They came up with a lot of innovative ways to use the barbwire ropes against each other such as Corino hanging Homicide by his legs from the barbwire and Homicide nailing Corino with an ole kick in the corner only to get himself caught in barbwire. There was a table wrapped in barbwire that was broken when Homicide hit an exploder suplex on Corino through it. This was an amazing match that I'll never forget. The best barbed wire match I've ever seen. Classic.

Match rating - ****1/2

3) Samoa Joe vs. Jay Briscoe - Steel Cage Match for the ROH World Title - At Our Best - 3/13/04
The intensity in this match was off the charts. Briscoe got busted open a few minutes in and he bled profusely throughout the match to the point that the blood began clotting. It was one of the most cringe worthy things I've ever seen in wrestling. These two beat the hell out of each other in this classic Steel Cage Match. The end came when Samoa Joe hit the muscle buster off the top rope which was just amazing to see. Awesome match. Bouts like this are what made early ROH so good and what gave the ROH Title so much prestige.

ROH: 7th Anniversary Show Review

ROH: 7th Anniversary Show DVD Review

1) Kenny King & Rhett Titus vs. Roderick Strong & Erick Stevens
This match was on fire from the opening bell and it never slowed down. Some nice exchanges between all four men including somewhat of a dream match up for me as Roderick Strong and Kenny King faced off. I'm big fans of both guys and seeing them lock up was cool. Great tag match to start the show. Alot of action here.

Match rating - 7/10

2) Claudio Castagnoli (Cesaro) vs. Brent Albright
I'm very familiar with Cesaro and I know of Albright from his series of matches with Punk down in OVW so I figured this would be good. These two ended up blowing me away. It may be just me, but I LOVED this match. Hard hitting and alot of great exchanges. It left me wanting to see these two face off again especially after it ended in a time limit draw then got restarted only

ROH: Weekend of Champions Night One Review

ROH: Weekend Of Champions Night 1 DVD Review

I got this for only $5 during Highspots' big DVD sale. This show took place during the epic ROH/CZW war which I've heard alot about and been dying to see. As soon as I saw that this show happened during the midst of that feud, I was sold.

The DVD opens with Jimmy Jacobs and Lacey talking backstage. Then it cuts to a promo from Christopher Daniels about his match with Nigel McGuinness later in the night. During the first match, a message flashed at the bottom of the screen to check out the "Video Recap" on the main menu screen before watching the show, so I did just that. It was a nice feature that gave a bit of a recap on what had recently happened with Claudio Castagnoli (Cesaro in WWE) turning on ROH and joining Chris Hero, Super Dragon, Necro Butcher and the rest of the CZW crew. You get a great promo from Jim Cornette on the situation where he vows that ROH is going to start striking back. Also in this feature are promos from Jimmy Jacobs and Colt Cabana. Now onto the show itself.

1) Colt Cabana vs. Jimmy Jacobs
The story going into this one which I learned by watching the video recap feature, was that Cabana wanted to make his way back to the top of ROH by starting at the bottom since he lost to Bryan Danielson in less than five minutes. Cabana attributed this loss to his brutal feud with Homicide, saying he forgot how to wrestle because he had been fighting so long. Thus the opening match was set. As for Jacobs, he and Lacey had been having problems for a while and she told him that if he kept losing, she would leave him. So with all the things above taken into consideration, this was a big match for both guys. It was pretty back and forth the

ROH: Rising Above 2008 DVD Review

ROH Rising Above 2008 DVD Review

1) Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. The Briscoes
The last time these four guys competed in Chicago Ridge for ROH, they put on the legendary Ladder War match for the Tag Team Titles. This wasn't the caliber of that match, but it wasn't positioned to be. It accomplished exactly what it set out to. Fast paced, fun tag team opener to get the crowd pumped up. The two teams started brawling afterwards which makes it seem like their feud will continue after this show. Great way to start the show.

Match rating - 6/10

2) MsCHIF vs. Sara Del Rey - SHIMMER Title Match
I've long known that women's wrestling is light years better in the Indies than it is in the two mainstream companies. That was once again confirmed here as these ladies put on a solid match with alot of oustanding wrestling. The one move that really stood out was

ROH: CM Punk - Second City Saint DVD Review

CM Punk: Second City Saint DVD Review

This DVD was released by ROH and chronicles his time in ROH from 2002 (when he debuted) through 2003 & 2004. It features his matches against Colt Cabana, AJ Styles, Raven, Terry Funk and others as well as his matches tag teaming with Colt Cabana and Ace Steel as a member of The Second City Saints. It also features several great promos that he gives before and after some of the matches. The DVD also has guest appearances by legends such as Tommy Dreamer and Ricky Steamboat, who have small parts in some of the feuds chronicled on this DVD.

CM Punk's debut in ROH at Unscripted 2002

This is the footage of Punk debuting at Unscripted and he cuts a great promo on how he loves wrestling and that it's not entertainment, its a sport. He is interrupted by Colt Cabana which sets up a match between the two, which is featured next on the set.

CM Punk vs. Colt Cabana - ROH Night of The Butcher - 12/7/2002

This match was Punk and Cabana's first match against each other in ROH. Before coming to ROH, Punk and Cabana made a name for themselves wrestling throughout the mid-west in 2000-2001. So, this was a highly anticipated match. It certainly delivered. Solid match throughout with some very innovative moves. One of my favorites was seeing Cabana do a moonsault to the outside onto Punk. For a guy of his size, Cabana can move quickly. As the commentator said "He's like a running back with a lineman's build". Another cool move that got a standing ovation was Punk doing a backwards hurricanrana on Cabana. Good stuff.

Match rating - 8/10

Before the next match, we see footage of Punk, Cabana, and Ace Steel traveling to the show, which is quite funny. Cabana refers to Punk as the "drive master" and gets Punk mad and he says "Its not funny, I'm trying to drive and you won't give me the damn directions". Good little segment which helped build the importance of the next match.

CM Punk vs. Colt Cabana - Final Battle 2002 - 12/28/2002

The winner of this match would recieve a contract with Ring of Honor. This was another great match between Punk and Cabana. What I liked was that it wasn't the exact same as their previous match at Night of the Butcher. They used some fresh new moves we didn't see in the previous match and delivered once again.

ROH - Bryan Danielson: American Dragon DVD Review

ROH - Bryan Danielson: American Dragon DVD Review

I was lucky enough to recieve this DVD as a gift for Christmas this year. I've been wanting it for a while now, so it was nice to finally get my hands on a copy. This DVD features some of Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan in WWE)'s greatest matches in ROH from 2002-2005. It features bouts against Paul London, AJ Styles, CM Punk, Samoa Joe, Austin Aries, Jay Briscoe and many more.

1) Bryan Danielson vs. Paul London - 2/3 Falls Match - Epic Encounter

Some people have called this the match of the year for 2002 and after you watch this you'll see why. These two go at it in a solid, hard hitting technical battle that rages on for near 45 minutes. Near falls, high risk manuevers, submissions - this one has it all. Great way to start the DVD with one of the matches that helped put ROH on the map in 2002.

Match rating - ****1/4

2) Bryan Danielson vs. AJ Styles - Main Event Spectacles

Bryan and Styles are two of my favorite wrestlers so I was really looking forward to this one. Needless to say, it didn't disappoint. It was a very physical match in which each man gave it their all. The crowd was on fire and Bryan would respond to them periodically in the match. Even one time saying to a fan in the crowd "What the fuck do you know about wrestling?" On top of all the action in this match, the two trash talked each other throughout the match which added to the greatness of it. Fantastic match.

Match rating - ****

3) Bryan Danielson vs. Jay Briscoe
Unlike the two previous matches on the set, this one didn't last over 20 minutes. It was still a solid match though. Also on an interesting note, CM Punk was on commentary which was cool to listen to. Anyway, back to the match, it was a good back and forth contest. Jay is mostly known for teaming with his brother Mark, but he is a tremendous singles competitor as well and it showed here. This was the opening match of the show it was on so it didn't last too long, but is still worth watching. Solid contest.

Match rating - ***1/4

4) Bryan Danielson vs. CM Punk - Special Referee: Ricky Steamboat

Crazy to think that these two were wrestling in each other in 2004 in ROH and now ten years later, in 2014, they are both top stars in WWE. What a story. This match was really good. Punk taunted Steamboat throughout the match and played the cowardly heel which is always fun to watch. Bryan delivered great wrestling as always using various submissions. One interesting thing to look out for when watching is that a "YES!" "NO!" chant broke out while Punk and Bryan were on the top rope. Boy, was that a shade of things to come haha. Good match.

Match rating - ***1/2

5) Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries - Survival of The Fittest Finals 2004
This was the first time Danielson and Aries met in an ROH ring and they left everyone wanting more. The match started off slow, but soon picked up and these guys delivered one hell of a match up. Once again, this was another very physical match. Bryan busted Aries' chin open with an uppercut - yeah, an uppercut! It was crazy. One of my favorite moments was when Bryan locked Cattle Mutilation on Aries with his bloodied chin, but somehow Aries countered out. Amazing to see. This match was great, but was just a taste of what we were gonna get from these two.

Match rating - ***3/4

6) Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries - 2/3 Falls Match - Testing The Limit

Only one word can describe this match - EPIC. These guys went at it for near 80 minutes! 76 to be exact, and the first fall didn't happen until 40 minutes into the match up. Aries and Danielson put on a wrestling clinic and as the commentator said "showed everyone that wrestling is a sport." Speaking of commentators, CM Punk was commentating this match as well and boy, did he add to it. He didn't try and play heel or face, he just commentated the match and give insight which was awesome to listen to. So many great moments in the match, but one I must mention for you to look out for is near the one hour mark, Bryan dives outside the ring, but Aries moves and Bryan lands seemingly on his head, HARD. Aries jaws with the ref who tries to keep him away from Bryan and jumps on the top turnbuckle and drops on an elbow onto Bryan on the floor. Awesome stuff. The only negative to this match was that it got a little slow in some parts of the match, but overall it was amazing. If they would have kept this one around an hour, I think this would have been a perfect match. None the less, it was amazing and is definitely a must watch.

Match rating - ****1/4

7) Bryan Danielson vs. Samoa Joe - World Title Match - The Midnight Express Reunion

This match was a mat/submission based bout. Bryan began working on the knee of Joe and kept doing so throughout the match. He kept the upperhand for the most part of the first half of the bout. When Joe had control he targeted the ribs of Danielson with various submissions such as the STF. The tide turned about half way through the match when Joe got full control. He positioned Danielson outside of the ring in a chair and hit several running kicks slamming his head into the railing. Joe rolled Danielson back in the ring, but when he did he lost control of the match as Danielson went back to the knee. The ending sequence was the best part of the match as the crowd got more and more fired up as the bout went on. Bryan hit a big suplex then locked Joe in Cattle Mutilation, but Joe got the ropes. Joe got back to his feet and came back with a fury of offense with MMA style knees to the head, but Bryan returned them. I won't spoil who won, I'll just leave it at that. Great match that kept me on the edge of my seat.

Match rating - ***3/4

8) Bryan Danielson vs. Jushin Liger - Weekend of Thunder Night 1
The crowd was absolutely on fire for this bout as it was Liger's first time competing in ROH. It was a very good match, but it wasn't a technical showcase that Bryan normally puts on. It was still entertaining though and definitely worth a watch considering this is a dream match for many fans including myself.

Match rating - ***1/2

9) Bryan Danielson & Low Ki vs. Samoa Joe & Jushin Liger - Weekend of Thunder Night 2

This was a very entertaining tag team match. It is one of my favorite matches on the DVD. The crowd was on fire as this was the second night of Liger's debut in ROH and it made this match that much better. Joe & Liger worked very well together, one of my favorite moments being where Joe ran and dove out of the ring onto Danielson, while Liger jumped off the apron on the other side of the ring onto Low Ki. Another cool moment was seeing Joe and Liger take turns doing the ole kick outside of the ring. Great tag team bout.

Match rating - ****

10) Bryan Danielson vs. Homicide - Steel Cage Match - The Final Showdown

This match was different than the majority of the others on this set as it was we saw a more aggressive side to Bryan. Both men end up getting busted open as Homicide brings his fork into the match and both men use it as a weapon. A match like this was a nice choice to spice things up after the previous matches on the DVD against Liger. This is one of my favorite matches on the DVD and the ending is amazing to say the least. Watch this one, you won't be disappointed.

Match rating - ****

11) Bryan Danielson vs. James Gibson - Glory By Honor IV - 9/17/05

From the time these guys locked up I knew this match would be great. It was one of those bouts that clicked right from the beginning. For those who don't know James Gibson was known as Jamie Noble during his time in WCW and WWE. This match shows a different and an extremely talented side that I didn't know he had. Awesome match.

Match rating - ****1/4

12) Bryan Danielson vs. Christopher Daniels - A Night Of Tribute - 11/19/05

Another solid match here as Bryan and Daniels went at it for near 30 minutes. Daniels had already wrestled once on this night against Matt Sydal and AJ Styles, but he still delivered a great performance here. Danielson stuck more his typical mat/submission based approach while Daniels did that as well, he also used some kicks and high flying moves to weaken Danielson. The crowd was heavily behind Christopher Daniels which allowed Danielson to play the heel, which he is very good at, so that was entertaining to see. This match got quite physical as Daniels got busted open and Bryan began biting his wound and spitting the blood out towards the crowd. Great, enjoyable match.

Match rating - ***1/4

13) Bryan Danielson vs. Naomichi Marufuji - Final Battle 2005 - 12/17/05

This match was quite good. It was more fast paced opposed to most of the other matches on this set which was a nice change. Pretty entertaining match although it isn't as awesome as some of the other matches on here. None the less, this was a solid match to close out the DVD.

Match rating - ***1/4

Overall thoughts: There are numerous outstanding matches on this DVD. If you are only familar with Bryan's work in WWE, I highly recommend checking this out as it gives you a look at a different side of Bryan. There isn't a match on this set that I didn't enjoy and there are several I will go back and watch again. Big recommendation.