Post by Agent Kev on May 20, 2007 20:11:35 GMT -5
The show starts out with a trio of backstage happenings/promos.
The first is a continuation from the last show where Jack Evans is laid out. The camera pans up and we see Davey Richards. He says he's not claiming responsibility for taking Jack out but says that this is what happens when you mess with the No Remorse Corps.
Next up is BJ Whitmer who hypes up his feud with Jimmy Jacobs. Whitmer tells Jacobs that he is willing to put risk everything including his career and injuring himself just to take Jacobs out of the sport. Whitmer is not a top promo guy but he has improved immensely over the last several years in terms of his promos.
Rebecca Bayless is up next and she interviews Jimmy Rave. She tells him that since he used the Rave Clash last night (which he was banned from using since losing a match to AJ Styles) he has been suspended by ROH. Rave starts to go off and Samoa Joe comes onto the scene and dresses Jimmy down for yelling at Becky and for taking him out with the heel hook at the first show this year. Joe says Rave's suspension has been lifted and that they are fighting tonight. Great promo by Joe. Man has he ever come back to life in ROH this year on his farewell tour.
Nigel McGuinness vs TJ Perkins
This was an rohvideos.com match so I've already seen it. That being said it was pretty good for a competitive squash and the crowd seemed to dig it. Perkins looked good and looked very smooth I'm just not sure if there is a spot in ROH for him other than the lower mid-card. Maybe they could team him up with Seth DeLay and they could be a babyface tag-team. Nigel looks great as always with his unique brand of stiff offense. Me gusta Nigel.
Adam Pearce, Shane Hagadorn, Lacey and Jimmy Jacobs are in the back. Pearce, Hagadorn and Lacey talk about the match tonight against Whitmer and Cabana and Pearce talks about doing it for the money. Jacobs responds by saying "Forget about money because tonight we got to war with the crest of love in our shields" as Lacey rolls her eyes and interrupts. Great stuff from Jacobs.
Claudio Castagnoli vs Austin Aries
Good undercard match here despite Austin being a little gimpy. Match had a good flow and it peaked when it needed to.
Post match Aries calls out Roderick Strong due to the previous nights events but instead Jack Evans comes down to the ring and says that he cannot allow a war to break out between Austin and Roderick. He says that they can settle this over some Jaggerbombs, some Wii bowling and some Gears of War. Roderick comes out on the ramp w/Davey Richards and says that he can't come down to the ring tonight due to his HUGE FIP Heavyweight Title Match and that Jack Evans needs to choose a side because he is either with them or against them. Good angle advancing segment.
Colt Cabana, BJ Whitmer, & Daizee Haze vs. Adam Pearce, Jimmy Jacobs, & Lacey (Street Fight)
Really solid mixed tag-street fight. The girls looked great in their part and everything flowed very well. Whitmer wore the crimson mask about mid-way though due to Jacobs' spike but Whitmer came back in the end to win it for his team with a top rope exploder. Good stuff.
Jay and Mark Briscoe vs Kevin Steen and El Generico
First half of this match was pretty rough but the second half was pretty good in an all out spotfest sort of way. Match was designed to get Steen and Generico over and it did with the live crowd. Fun match, I'm still not sold on Steen and Generico in ROH. Crowd chants "Please Come Back" to Steen and Generico.
Samoa Joe vs. Jimmy Rave
Good solid undercard match. Pretty much went how you would expect with Joe absolutely dominating early then half and half down the stretch run before Joe putting him away. Joe cuts another great promo at the close of this match putting over the Philly fans.
Rebecca Bayless interviews Jack Evans about him being attacked last night. He says he doesn't think it was Davey Richards and right now he's concentrating on his tag-title match later this evening.
Roderick Strong vs. Delirious (FIP Heavyweight Title Match)
Pre-match Austin Aries comes out to try and get a piece of Roderick but Roderick bails. This match was done to try and get Roderick over as more of a heel since his turn the previous night. Delirious takes a sick bump and the announcers really put over that he shouldn't continue so Roderick takes him outside and powerbombs him on the guardrail. Roderick wins by countout and leaves. The students help Delirious up and then Roderick comes back and attacks Delirious again until Austin Aries runs him off.
Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal vs. Jack Evans & Shingo (ROH World Tag Team Title Match)
I liked this a lot. Similar to the Briscoes match earlier but a little less about setting up the spots (which seems to be more of a Steen thing) and more about just executing them. Shingo again looks very comfortable in an ROH ring, Daniels looks great here as a part of a team (after having a very disappointing 2005-2006 run in ROH) and Sydal and Evans both look great in their roles. Definitely my favorite match of the night so far.
Post-match Austin Aries comes out to talk to Jack. Jack says that he is going to start a faction too since Roderick already has and since Aries is going to get one to feud with Roderick.
Backstage Rebecca Bayless interviews Lacey and Jimmy Jacobs. Lacey was impressed with Jacobs tonight even though he took the pin. This pleases Jimmy very much.
Homicide vs. Takeshi Morishima (ROH World Title Match)
I think this was probably my favorite Homicide defense. Not a great match but Homicide is built more as a great challenger than as a great champ. He doesn't have the character of a champ and is much more dynamic being in a challenging role. Morishima attacks Cide during his entrance, which for a title match in ROH is unheard of. Morishima dominates the majority of the match with Cide getting his licks in and bloodying Morishima's mouth. Overall, Morishima is just too much of a mountain for Cide to topple and Morishima wins the strap with some nice suplexes and lariats. Post-match BJ Whitmer and 2 students come out to congratulate the champ and he attacks them and storms out as the rest of the locker room is standing in the aisle and parts when Morishima leaves. I already like the idea of Morishima as champ much more than Homicide. The entire quest of Homicide to win the belt was great (what I have seen of it) but ultimately his character works better as the challenger and his defenses (while decent) did not work as well as Danielsons. I think going with Morishima takes the belt down uncharted waters as it gives them a legitimate monster as champ and also an outsider.
Verdict:
Overall this was a very good show from top to bottom. Cide/Morishima, Daniels/Sydal vs Evans/Shingo and Briscoes vs Steen/Generico are the top matches. Delirious/Strong, Claudio/Aries, Rave/Joe and the 6-man/women tag were all solid though. Just a really good show from top to bottom.
2007 Show Rankings:
1. Fifth Year Festival: NYC- New York, NY 2/16/07
2. Fifth Year Festival: Philly- Philadelphia, PA 2/17/07
3. Battle of the Icons- Edison, NJ 1/27/07
4. Dedicated- Braintree, MA 1/26/07
The first is a continuation from the last show where Jack Evans is laid out. The camera pans up and we see Davey Richards. He says he's not claiming responsibility for taking Jack out but says that this is what happens when you mess with the No Remorse Corps.
Next up is BJ Whitmer who hypes up his feud with Jimmy Jacobs. Whitmer tells Jacobs that he is willing to put risk everything including his career and injuring himself just to take Jacobs out of the sport. Whitmer is not a top promo guy but he has improved immensely over the last several years in terms of his promos.
Rebecca Bayless is up next and she interviews Jimmy Rave. She tells him that since he used the Rave Clash last night (which he was banned from using since losing a match to AJ Styles) he has been suspended by ROH. Rave starts to go off and Samoa Joe comes onto the scene and dresses Jimmy down for yelling at Becky and for taking him out with the heel hook at the first show this year. Joe says Rave's suspension has been lifted and that they are fighting tonight. Great promo by Joe. Man has he ever come back to life in ROH this year on his farewell tour.
Nigel McGuinness vs TJ Perkins
This was an rohvideos.com match so I've already seen it. That being said it was pretty good for a competitive squash and the crowd seemed to dig it. Perkins looked good and looked very smooth I'm just not sure if there is a spot in ROH for him other than the lower mid-card. Maybe they could team him up with Seth DeLay and they could be a babyface tag-team. Nigel looks great as always with his unique brand of stiff offense. Me gusta Nigel.
Adam Pearce, Shane Hagadorn, Lacey and Jimmy Jacobs are in the back. Pearce, Hagadorn and Lacey talk about the match tonight against Whitmer and Cabana and Pearce talks about doing it for the money. Jacobs responds by saying "Forget about money because tonight we got to war with the crest of love in our shields" as Lacey rolls her eyes and interrupts. Great stuff from Jacobs.
Claudio Castagnoli vs Austin Aries
Good undercard match here despite Austin being a little gimpy. Match had a good flow and it peaked when it needed to.
Post match Aries calls out Roderick Strong due to the previous nights events but instead Jack Evans comes down to the ring and says that he cannot allow a war to break out between Austin and Roderick. He says that they can settle this over some Jaggerbombs, some Wii bowling and some Gears of War. Roderick comes out on the ramp w/Davey Richards and says that he can't come down to the ring tonight due to his HUGE FIP Heavyweight Title Match and that Jack Evans needs to choose a side because he is either with them or against them. Good angle advancing segment.
Colt Cabana, BJ Whitmer, & Daizee Haze vs. Adam Pearce, Jimmy Jacobs, & Lacey (Street Fight)
Really solid mixed tag-street fight. The girls looked great in their part and everything flowed very well. Whitmer wore the crimson mask about mid-way though due to Jacobs' spike but Whitmer came back in the end to win it for his team with a top rope exploder. Good stuff.
Jay and Mark Briscoe vs Kevin Steen and El Generico
First half of this match was pretty rough but the second half was pretty good in an all out spotfest sort of way. Match was designed to get Steen and Generico over and it did with the live crowd. Fun match, I'm still not sold on Steen and Generico in ROH. Crowd chants "Please Come Back" to Steen and Generico.
Samoa Joe vs. Jimmy Rave
Good solid undercard match. Pretty much went how you would expect with Joe absolutely dominating early then half and half down the stretch run before Joe putting him away. Joe cuts another great promo at the close of this match putting over the Philly fans.
Rebecca Bayless interviews Jack Evans about him being attacked last night. He says he doesn't think it was Davey Richards and right now he's concentrating on his tag-title match later this evening.
Roderick Strong vs. Delirious (FIP Heavyweight Title Match)
Pre-match Austin Aries comes out to try and get a piece of Roderick but Roderick bails. This match was done to try and get Roderick over as more of a heel since his turn the previous night. Delirious takes a sick bump and the announcers really put over that he shouldn't continue so Roderick takes him outside and powerbombs him on the guardrail. Roderick wins by countout and leaves. The students help Delirious up and then Roderick comes back and attacks Delirious again until Austin Aries runs him off.
Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal vs. Jack Evans & Shingo (ROH World Tag Team Title Match)
I liked this a lot. Similar to the Briscoes match earlier but a little less about setting up the spots (which seems to be more of a Steen thing) and more about just executing them. Shingo again looks very comfortable in an ROH ring, Daniels looks great here as a part of a team (after having a very disappointing 2005-2006 run in ROH) and Sydal and Evans both look great in their roles. Definitely my favorite match of the night so far.
Post-match Austin Aries comes out to talk to Jack. Jack says that he is going to start a faction too since Roderick already has and since Aries is going to get one to feud with Roderick.
Backstage Rebecca Bayless interviews Lacey and Jimmy Jacobs. Lacey was impressed with Jacobs tonight even though he took the pin. This pleases Jimmy very much.
Homicide vs. Takeshi Morishima (ROH World Title Match)
I think this was probably my favorite Homicide defense. Not a great match but Homicide is built more as a great challenger than as a great champ. He doesn't have the character of a champ and is much more dynamic being in a challenging role. Morishima attacks Cide during his entrance, which for a title match in ROH is unheard of. Morishima dominates the majority of the match with Cide getting his licks in and bloodying Morishima's mouth. Overall, Morishima is just too much of a mountain for Cide to topple and Morishima wins the strap with some nice suplexes and lariats. Post-match BJ Whitmer and 2 students come out to congratulate the champ and he attacks them and storms out as the rest of the locker room is standing in the aisle and parts when Morishima leaves. I already like the idea of Morishima as champ much more than Homicide. The entire quest of Homicide to win the belt was great (what I have seen of it) but ultimately his character works better as the challenger and his defenses (while decent) did not work as well as Danielsons. I think going with Morishima takes the belt down uncharted waters as it gives them a legitimate monster as champ and also an outsider.
Verdict:
Overall this was a very good show from top to bottom. Cide/Morishima, Daniels/Sydal vs Evans/Shingo and Briscoes vs Steen/Generico are the top matches. Delirious/Strong, Claudio/Aries, Rave/Joe and the 6-man/women tag were all solid though. Just a really good show from top to bottom.
2007 Show Rankings:
1. Fifth Year Festival: NYC- New York, NY 2/16/07
2. Fifth Year Festival: Philly- Philadelphia, PA 2/17/07
3. Battle of the Icons- Edison, NJ 1/27/07
4. Dedicated- Braintree, MA 1/26/07
