Post by Agent Kev on Aug 11, 2007 20:25:04 GMT -5
Fighting Spirit- Edison, NJ 4/14/07 (DVD)
We open up with a Nigel McGuinness backstage promo. He talks about the importance of his match to him and to ROH. He references SummerSlam 92 and Bret vs Davey Boy. Says he watched that match live and turned to his friend and said that someday he would be a professional wrestler. Says he has paid his dues and made his sacrifices. Says that now that he has achieved that dream is the next step and that is his legacy. Says he's not young anymore and doesn't know how much longer he can do this. He comes home with a new injury every week. Says it's time he stops having great matches and starts winning great matches. Says he's not the best wrestler in the world and that he knows what he is and his weaknesses, says he's a guy with a dream and a guy that never gave up. Says tonight is special.
Jason Blade & Eddie Edwards vs. Chris Hero & Tank Toland
This was a good opener. I like both teams and think Blade/Edwards could be a good mid-card tag-team. Hero and Toland are real fun to watch with their contrasting styles. About 10 minutes in Blade and Edwards grab the advantage and hit some fun dives to the outside. They hit a nice looking superkick/belly-to-back combo on Toland but can't get the 3. Hero comes in and the momentum swings but then Toland and Hero are trying a combo pin but Edwards breaks it up and allows Edwards to get the upset.
Claudio is backstage cutting a promo. Talks about winning the world tag-titles with Chris Hero. Talks about losing the world tag-titles. Talks about the match he had with ROH against the Dragon Gate All-Star team. Looked at this as another chance for him in ROH and gave all he could. Talks about getting a shot at the Briscoes in the future for the belts but doesn't know who his partner will be. The question he leaves the fans with is "Who will be my partner?".
Shane Hagadorn vs. Pelle Primeau (Top Of The Class Trophy)
Hagadorn attacks Pelle from behind as he's coming down to the ring. They finally get in the ring and the bell rings and Pelle shows some "fighting spirit" but Hagadorn gets the advantage and heels it up by knocking Pelle around and choking him. Hagadorn pretty much dominates. They go a little too long, Pelle gets a flash pin but only gets 2. Hagadorn clamps on a submission. Bobby Dempsey runs down and points out the Hagadorn is using a foreign object. Pelle hits a chinbreaker and then rolls up Hagadorn to win the Top of the Class Trophy. Match went a little too long. They had the fans at the beginning but then lost them but the crowd dug Pelle's win and gave him a nice round of applause. Post-match Bobby Dempsey squashes Hagadorn in the corner with a running senton type maneuver. Pelle crowd surfs after the match.
Rocky Romero vs. Claudio Castagnoli
This was a good solid undercard match. Very back and forth and both guys looked good.
Sara del Rey is backstage and cuts a promo on Daizee Haze. Says she will takeout anyone they put in the ring with her tonight.
Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. Jay Briscoe & Erick Stevens
My irrational hatred of Kevin Steen seems to be somewhat disappearing. I still don't really like the guy but he seems to have really improved. I'm really digging ES so far, he's got a great look and has been real solid since his debut. No Remorse Corps come down during the match and take out ES leaving Jay to wrestle both guys. Once this got to 2 on 1 I think it dragged on a bit too long. Jay makes a comeback but fails. Mark comes down in his street clothes. The ROH backstage staff tries to stop him. Mark's mom is in the crowd telling him not to wrestle but Mark is on the apron in street clothes trying to tag in. Jay escapes and tags in Mark who is a house of fire! Briscoes battle back to get a near fall but then Mark is isolated and gets nailed with 3 straight moves for a near fall on Steen and Generico part. Mark takes some headdrops but keeps fighting. Steen finally pulls him out of the ring and throws him into the guardrail. Good back and forth action. Steen takes out Jay and they isolate Mark in the ring and Steen destroys him with a Package Piledriver and then Generico hits him with a brainbuster for the win in a match that Mark wasn't supposed to be in to start with. This was a lot of fun.
Doug Williams vs. Colt Cabana
Cabana gets pre-match streamers since he's about the leave for the E. I'm guessing the match-up against Doug is due to Cabana not being able to work the Euro style in the E so he wants to get some in before he leaves for OVW. This is his final East Coast appearance. This was a nice change of pace after the last match. Good match.
Post-match Cabana cuts a goodbye promo.
Rebecca Bayless is backstage with Chris Hero and Tank Toland. There was a little dissension in the ranks without Sweeney there to keep them on the same page. Kevin Steen interrupts and cuts a promo on The Briscoes.
Sara Del Rey vs. Ernie Osiris
Sara dominates this intergender match and makes Ernie tap in short order. Daizee Haze watches the match from the wrestlers entrance.
Shingo vs. Matt Cross
This was pretty solid. I enjoyed it. Cross has become more complete of a wrestler than he was when I first really saw him in PWG several years ago and really didn't care for him at all and Shingo continues to be a beast.
Roderick Strong & Davey Richards vs. Jack Evans & Delirious
Evans and Delirious storm the ring and this one starts out pretty hot. Good, fun match throughout. No Remorse Corps cheat to win, what else would you expect?
Rebecca Bayless is backstage with Daizee Haze and they talk about Sara del Rey.
Takeshi Morishima vs. Nigel McGuinness (ROH World Title Match)
Good stuff earlier on as they work their way outside and Nigel hits a rebound lariat to get the advantage and then hits a cross body block from the top rope to the floor to take out Morishima. Nice to see Nigel pulling out all the stops in his title match. They go back and forth early with Morishima finally gaining the clear advantage and starts to hit some of his offense and counters a rebound lariat with his fat boy offense hip attack. Nigel comes back and hits a Tower of London for a near fall but gets another lariat countered this time with a side slam. They do a nice sequence where Nigel ducks a Morishima move and hits a great standing lariat. Nigel hits a bunch of superkicks but Morishima refuses to go down and hits a lariat and then a nice backdrop driver but Nigel kicks out at 2. Lots of back and forth towards the end of the match. Nigel gets a really close 2 count with a lariat and the crowd popped expecting a win. Morishima then strings together some nice moves and wins the match with blood dripping from his nose. Really good match. Went somewhere between 10 and 15 minutes and it felt like the right time limit.
Post-show No Remorse Corps are backstage and talk about the great weekend that they had and the guys they took out. Roderick tells them to end the weekend right and have a little more fun and they go out to the ring where the ring crew is taking down the ring and take out some of the students. Davey looks in the camera and says "This is why there is no remorse, you could be next".
Verdict:
This was a good show. Really solid undercard capped off by an above average Main Event.
2007 Show Rankings:
1. Fifth Year Festival: Finale- Liverpool, UK 3/4/07
2. Fifth Year Festival: Liverpool- Liverpool, UK 3/3/07
3. Fifth Year Festival: NYC- New York, NY 2/16/07
4. Supercard of Honor II- Detroit, MI 3/31/07
5. All Star Extravaganza III- Detroit, MI 3/30/07
6. Fighting Spirit- Edison, NJ 4/14/07
7. Fifth Year Festival: Philly- Philadelphia, PA 2/17/07
8. Battle of the Icons- Edison, NJ 1/27/07
9. Fifth Year Festival: Chicago- Chicago, IL 2/24/07
10. This Means War II- Long Island, NY 4/13/07
11. Dedicated- Braintree, MA 1/26/07
12. Fifth Year Festival: Dayton- Dayton, OH 2/23/07
We open up with a Nigel McGuinness backstage promo. He talks about the importance of his match to him and to ROH. He references SummerSlam 92 and Bret vs Davey Boy. Says he watched that match live and turned to his friend and said that someday he would be a professional wrestler. Says he has paid his dues and made his sacrifices. Says that now that he has achieved that dream is the next step and that is his legacy. Says he's not young anymore and doesn't know how much longer he can do this. He comes home with a new injury every week. Says it's time he stops having great matches and starts winning great matches. Says he's not the best wrestler in the world and that he knows what he is and his weaknesses, says he's a guy with a dream and a guy that never gave up. Says tonight is special.
Jason Blade & Eddie Edwards vs. Chris Hero & Tank Toland
This was a good opener. I like both teams and think Blade/Edwards could be a good mid-card tag-team. Hero and Toland are real fun to watch with their contrasting styles. About 10 minutes in Blade and Edwards grab the advantage and hit some fun dives to the outside. They hit a nice looking superkick/belly-to-back combo on Toland but can't get the 3. Hero comes in and the momentum swings but then Toland and Hero are trying a combo pin but Edwards breaks it up and allows Edwards to get the upset.
Claudio is backstage cutting a promo. Talks about winning the world tag-titles with Chris Hero. Talks about losing the world tag-titles. Talks about the match he had with ROH against the Dragon Gate All-Star team. Looked at this as another chance for him in ROH and gave all he could. Talks about getting a shot at the Briscoes in the future for the belts but doesn't know who his partner will be. The question he leaves the fans with is "Who will be my partner?".
Shane Hagadorn vs. Pelle Primeau (Top Of The Class Trophy)
Hagadorn attacks Pelle from behind as he's coming down to the ring. They finally get in the ring and the bell rings and Pelle shows some "fighting spirit" but Hagadorn gets the advantage and heels it up by knocking Pelle around and choking him. Hagadorn pretty much dominates. They go a little too long, Pelle gets a flash pin but only gets 2. Hagadorn clamps on a submission. Bobby Dempsey runs down and points out the Hagadorn is using a foreign object. Pelle hits a chinbreaker and then rolls up Hagadorn to win the Top of the Class Trophy. Match went a little too long. They had the fans at the beginning but then lost them but the crowd dug Pelle's win and gave him a nice round of applause. Post-match Bobby Dempsey squashes Hagadorn in the corner with a running senton type maneuver. Pelle crowd surfs after the match.
Rocky Romero vs. Claudio Castagnoli
This was a good solid undercard match. Very back and forth and both guys looked good.
Sara del Rey is backstage and cuts a promo on Daizee Haze. Says she will takeout anyone they put in the ring with her tonight.
Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. Jay Briscoe & Erick Stevens
My irrational hatred of Kevin Steen seems to be somewhat disappearing. I still don't really like the guy but he seems to have really improved. I'm really digging ES so far, he's got a great look and has been real solid since his debut. No Remorse Corps come down during the match and take out ES leaving Jay to wrestle both guys. Once this got to 2 on 1 I think it dragged on a bit too long. Jay makes a comeback but fails. Mark comes down in his street clothes. The ROH backstage staff tries to stop him. Mark's mom is in the crowd telling him not to wrestle but Mark is on the apron in street clothes trying to tag in. Jay escapes and tags in Mark who is a house of fire! Briscoes battle back to get a near fall but then Mark is isolated and gets nailed with 3 straight moves for a near fall on Steen and Generico part. Mark takes some headdrops but keeps fighting. Steen finally pulls him out of the ring and throws him into the guardrail. Good back and forth action. Steen takes out Jay and they isolate Mark in the ring and Steen destroys him with a Package Piledriver and then Generico hits him with a brainbuster for the win in a match that Mark wasn't supposed to be in to start with. This was a lot of fun.
Doug Williams vs. Colt Cabana
Cabana gets pre-match streamers since he's about the leave for the E. I'm guessing the match-up against Doug is due to Cabana not being able to work the Euro style in the E so he wants to get some in before he leaves for OVW. This is his final East Coast appearance. This was a nice change of pace after the last match. Good match.
Post-match Cabana cuts a goodbye promo.
Rebecca Bayless is backstage with Chris Hero and Tank Toland. There was a little dissension in the ranks without Sweeney there to keep them on the same page. Kevin Steen interrupts and cuts a promo on The Briscoes.
Sara Del Rey vs. Ernie Osiris
Sara dominates this intergender match and makes Ernie tap in short order. Daizee Haze watches the match from the wrestlers entrance.
Shingo vs. Matt Cross
This was pretty solid. I enjoyed it. Cross has become more complete of a wrestler than he was when I first really saw him in PWG several years ago and really didn't care for him at all and Shingo continues to be a beast.
Roderick Strong & Davey Richards vs. Jack Evans & Delirious
Evans and Delirious storm the ring and this one starts out pretty hot. Good, fun match throughout. No Remorse Corps cheat to win, what else would you expect?
Rebecca Bayless is backstage with Daizee Haze and they talk about Sara del Rey.
Takeshi Morishima vs. Nigel McGuinness (ROH World Title Match)
Good stuff earlier on as they work their way outside and Nigel hits a rebound lariat to get the advantage and then hits a cross body block from the top rope to the floor to take out Morishima. Nice to see Nigel pulling out all the stops in his title match. They go back and forth early with Morishima finally gaining the clear advantage and starts to hit some of his offense and counters a rebound lariat with his fat boy offense hip attack. Nigel comes back and hits a Tower of London for a near fall but gets another lariat countered this time with a side slam. They do a nice sequence where Nigel ducks a Morishima move and hits a great standing lariat. Nigel hits a bunch of superkicks but Morishima refuses to go down and hits a lariat and then a nice backdrop driver but Nigel kicks out at 2. Lots of back and forth towards the end of the match. Nigel gets a really close 2 count with a lariat and the crowd popped expecting a win. Morishima then strings together some nice moves and wins the match with blood dripping from his nose. Really good match. Went somewhere between 10 and 15 minutes and it felt like the right time limit.
Post-show No Remorse Corps are backstage and talk about the great weekend that they had and the guys they took out. Roderick tells them to end the weekend right and have a little more fun and they go out to the ring where the ring crew is taking down the ring and take out some of the students. Davey looks in the camera and says "This is why there is no remorse, you could be next".
Verdict:
This was a good show. Really solid undercard capped off by an above average Main Event.
2007 Show Rankings:
1. Fifth Year Festival: Finale- Liverpool, UK 3/4/07
2. Fifth Year Festival: Liverpool- Liverpool, UK 3/3/07
3. Fifth Year Festival: NYC- New York, NY 2/16/07
4. Supercard of Honor II- Detroit, MI 3/31/07
5. All Star Extravaganza III- Detroit, MI 3/30/07
6. Fighting Spirit- Edison, NJ 4/14/07
7. Fifth Year Festival: Philly- Philadelphia, PA 2/17/07
8. Battle of the Icons- Edison, NJ 1/27/07
9. Fifth Year Festival: Chicago- Chicago, IL 2/24/07
10. This Means War II- Long Island, NY 4/13/07
11. Dedicated- Braintree, MA 1/26/07
12. Fifth Year Festival: Dayton- Dayton, OH 2/23/07
