Post by Agent Kev on Nov 9, 2007 23:47:38 GMT -5
Race To The Top Tournament Night 2- Edison, NJ 7/28/07
Rebecca Bayless starts off the show and hypes the $10,000 tag-team challenge between Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuiness.
The Race to the Top Tournament continues from the previous night...
Quarter-Finals: El Generico vs. Chris Hero
This was real solid and a lot of fun and the crowd really seemed to dig it. Really good opener.
El Generico is shown backstage and is gonna cut a promo but Kevin Steen interrupts him and puts over Generico and says he will win Race to the Top and then give the trophy to Steen.
Quarter-Finals: Davey Richards vs. Pelle Primeau
They did a couple of really contrived spots about 1 minute in that didn't look good at all. Match good a lot better when Davey took over offense and this built to Pelle getting a flash pin for a near fall and then eating a tombstone piledriver for the loss. This ended up being pretty good for what it was despite the early awkwardness.
Davey Richards backstage promo is aimed towards El Generico. Says he will break him. It's not about a trophy, it's about No Remorse.
Quarter-Finals: Brent Albright vs. Jack Evans
Jack does his usual dance routine but eats a big clothesline from Albright, bell rings and we get an immediate two count. This was a styles clash but actually turned out pretty well. Jack seems to have really improved his overall game and meshes better with different styled guys that he works now. Albright just killed Jack with a Razor's Edge on the outside of the ring through a table! Somehow Jack comes back from that and ends up winning with a 630 with Albright kicking out right after the 3 count.
Jack Evans backstage promo. Says there is no one left that has the heart he does and he willing be watching Quack/Claudio to find out the next man he will beat. And you know this, man!
Quarter-Finals: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Mike Quackenbush
This was pretty great. Quack looked amazing and really controlled this match and looked really fluid. Best match I've seen in a while.
Post-match Claudio puts over Quack but then says he's even better than Quack and is going on to win the tournament!
Rebecca Bayless is in the ring and brings out the captains of the $10,000 Tag-Team Challenge: Nigel McGuinness and Bryan Danielson. Danielson says he's going to stay at the ramp to backstage. Each guy gets to pick 3 guys with the winners of the match getting to split $10,000. McGuinness loses the coin toss and Danielson says that he must get sick of losing to Danielson at everything.
Pick 1: Danielson says he picks the Briscoe Brothers. Becky tells him he can only pick one. Nigel says that he'll take the other one. They squabble back and forth and they say that they will figure out which Briscoe goes to which team later.
Pick 2: Danielson picks Jimmy Rave since he's tapped out Nigel several times in the last several months. Becky says that Rave ruptured an ear drum last night and can't compete. Danielson goes off. Larry Sweeney comes out from the back. Fans chant "Bobby". Danielson goes off on the fans and says there is no way he is taking Bobby Dempsey. Sweeney offers Danielson.. Matt Sydal, the hottest commodity in Pro Wrestling. Danielson picks Matt Sydal. Nigel picks Delirious, the arch rival of Sydal and he's tapped out Danielson.
Pick 3: Danielson picks someone, Austin Aries, that has done something that Nigel has never done...won the ROH title. Nigel says that he is gonna pick a current champion... Roderick Strong.
This was a pretty great segment and had lots of good back and forth between Nigel and Danielson.
Semi-Finals: El Generico vs. Davey Richards
This was pretty decent but I'm just not feeling Davey Richards right now. Solid match. Generico won this won to the joy of the fans and myself with a sick turnbuckle brainbuster.
Semi-Finals: Jack Evans vs. Claudio Castagnoli
Another decent semi-final match. Looking forward to Generico/Claudio as they both have been two of my favorites so far in the tournament.
Larry Sweeney is backstage with Chris Hero, Tank Toland and Bobby Dempsey. They basically ride Bobby Dempsey and leave him to workout while they leave.
Kevin Steen vs. BJ Whitmer vs. Erick Stevens vs. Hallowicked vs. Jigsaw vs. Matt Cross (Six Man Mayhem)
This was pretty fun. Pretty typical of an ROH Six Man Mayhem match.
Bryan Danielson, Austin Aries, Matt Sydal, & Mark Briscoe vs. Nigel McGuinness, Roderick Strong, Delirious, & Jay Briscoe ($10,000 Tag Team Challenge)
Roderick Strong and Delirious get into a brawl on the way to the ring despite both being on Nigel's team. Things don't look good for Team McGuinness as Jay tries to talk sense into Roddy and Nigel to Delirious. Overall, this match was just real solid with a great flow. Lots of good storylines in this one....Roderick/Delirious, Aries/Roderick, Danielson/McGuinness, Briscoe/Briscoe, Sydal/Delirious...that are highlighted early on in the match. Fans really pop for the Briscoes but then they team up and start taking out everybody and then walk out which turns this into a six-man match: Danielson/Aries/Sydal vs Nigel/Roderick/Delirious. Overall, this was a lot of fun and a good match. Definitely the best match of the show so far.
We are backstage with Larry Sweeney, Chris Hero and Tank Toland. They pull Bobby Dempsey out of the sauna that he was in and he's lost a lot of weight. But then they hear some noise coming from the room and they see Bobby Dempsey eating some food- the first guy was his brother that looks like him.
Race To The Top Tournament Finals: El Generico vs Claudio Castagnoli
This was pretty solid. Really picked up a little after the 10 minute mark when Claudio was outside the ring and Generico hit a great moonsault to the outside out of nowhere and then dove from one side of the outside of the ring to the other side and hit a DDT on Claudio on the outside. Back in the ring Claudio went for the Ricola bomb but Generico reversed it for a 2 count. Crowd definitely into Generico. Generico then hit a coast to coast dropkick (think of RVD or Marufuji here) then hit a brainbuster for a 2 count. Claudio then took over briefly before going for the Ricola bomb and again getting it reversed but this time for a little longer of a three count. Claudio then finally hit the Ricola bomb but only got a 2 and the fans really behind Generico at this point. Generico made a quick comeback but then fell to a combo Splash Mountain/Ricola bomb. This ended up being really good. Great performance by both of these guys in this tournament. Post match they do a mutual show of respect with the fans chanting "ROH" as Claudio gives a speech.
Verdict:
Not a blow-away show but definitely a fun show. The final two matches were really good (8-man tag and Claudio/Generico) and Claudio/Quack and Hero/Generico were definitely worth seeing as well. This is one you might want to pick up during a sale.
2007 Show Rankings:
1. Fifth Year Festival: Finale- Liverpool, UK 3/4/07
2. Fifth Year Festival: Liverpool- Liverpool, UK 3/3/07
3. Respect Is Earned- New York, NY 5/12/07
4. Fifth Year Festival: NYC- New York, NY 2/16/07
5. Good Times, Great Memories- Chicago Ridge, IL 4/28/07
6. Supercard of Honor II- Detroit, MI 3/31/07
7. Live In Tokyo- Tokyo, Japan 7/16/07
8. All Star Extravaganza III- Detroit, MI 3/30/07
9. A Fight At The Roxbury- Boston, MA 6/8/07
10. Domination- Philadelphia, PA 6/9/07
11. United We Stand- Dayton, OH 6/22/07
12. Fighting Spirit- Edison, NJ 4/14/07
13. Fifth Year Festival: Philly- Philadelphia, PA 2/17/07
14. Race To The Top Tournament Night 2- Edison, NJ 7/28/07
15. Battle of the Icons- Edison, NJ 1/27/07
16. Fifth Year Festival: Chicago- Chicago, IL 2/24/07
17. Race To The Top Tournament Night 1- Deer Park, NY 7/27/07
18. Live In Osaka- Osaka, Japan 7/17/07
19. The Battle Of St. Paul- St. Paul, MN 4/27/07
20. This Means War II- Long Island, NY 4/13/07
21. Dedicated- Braintree, MA 1/26/07
22. Reborn Again- Hartford, CT 5/11/07
23. Fifth Year Festival: Dayton- Dayton, OH 2/23/07
Rebecca Bayless starts off the show and hypes the $10,000 tag-team challenge between Bryan Danielson and Nigel McGuiness.
The Race to the Top Tournament continues from the previous night...
Quarter-Finals: El Generico vs. Chris Hero
This was real solid and a lot of fun and the crowd really seemed to dig it. Really good opener.
El Generico is shown backstage and is gonna cut a promo but Kevin Steen interrupts him and puts over Generico and says he will win Race to the Top and then give the trophy to Steen.
Quarter-Finals: Davey Richards vs. Pelle Primeau
They did a couple of really contrived spots about 1 minute in that didn't look good at all. Match good a lot better when Davey took over offense and this built to Pelle getting a flash pin for a near fall and then eating a tombstone piledriver for the loss. This ended up being pretty good for what it was despite the early awkwardness.
Davey Richards backstage promo is aimed towards El Generico. Says he will break him. It's not about a trophy, it's about No Remorse.
Quarter-Finals: Brent Albright vs. Jack Evans
Jack does his usual dance routine but eats a big clothesline from Albright, bell rings and we get an immediate two count. This was a styles clash but actually turned out pretty well. Jack seems to have really improved his overall game and meshes better with different styled guys that he works now. Albright just killed Jack with a Razor's Edge on the outside of the ring through a table! Somehow Jack comes back from that and ends up winning with a 630 with Albright kicking out right after the 3 count.
Jack Evans backstage promo. Says there is no one left that has the heart he does and he willing be watching Quack/Claudio to find out the next man he will beat. And you know this, man!
Quarter-Finals: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Mike Quackenbush
This was pretty great. Quack looked amazing and really controlled this match and looked really fluid. Best match I've seen in a while.
Post-match Claudio puts over Quack but then says he's even better than Quack and is going on to win the tournament!
Rebecca Bayless is in the ring and brings out the captains of the $10,000 Tag-Team Challenge: Nigel McGuinness and Bryan Danielson. Danielson says he's going to stay at the ramp to backstage. Each guy gets to pick 3 guys with the winners of the match getting to split $10,000. McGuinness loses the coin toss and Danielson says that he must get sick of losing to Danielson at everything.
Pick 1: Danielson says he picks the Briscoe Brothers. Becky tells him he can only pick one. Nigel says that he'll take the other one. They squabble back and forth and they say that they will figure out which Briscoe goes to which team later.
Pick 2: Danielson picks Jimmy Rave since he's tapped out Nigel several times in the last several months. Becky says that Rave ruptured an ear drum last night and can't compete. Danielson goes off. Larry Sweeney comes out from the back. Fans chant "Bobby". Danielson goes off on the fans and says there is no way he is taking Bobby Dempsey. Sweeney offers Danielson.. Matt Sydal, the hottest commodity in Pro Wrestling. Danielson picks Matt Sydal. Nigel picks Delirious, the arch rival of Sydal and he's tapped out Danielson.
Pick 3: Danielson picks someone, Austin Aries, that has done something that Nigel has never done...won the ROH title. Nigel says that he is gonna pick a current champion... Roderick Strong.
This was a pretty great segment and had lots of good back and forth between Nigel and Danielson.
Semi-Finals: El Generico vs. Davey Richards
This was pretty decent but I'm just not feeling Davey Richards right now. Solid match. Generico won this won to the joy of the fans and myself with a sick turnbuckle brainbuster.
Semi-Finals: Jack Evans vs. Claudio Castagnoli
Another decent semi-final match. Looking forward to Generico/Claudio as they both have been two of my favorites so far in the tournament.
Larry Sweeney is backstage with Chris Hero, Tank Toland and Bobby Dempsey. They basically ride Bobby Dempsey and leave him to workout while they leave.
Kevin Steen vs. BJ Whitmer vs. Erick Stevens vs. Hallowicked vs. Jigsaw vs. Matt Cross (Six Man Mayhem)
This was pretty fun. Pretty typical of an ROH Six Man Mayhem match.
Bryan Danielson, Austin Aries, Matt Sydal, & Mark Briscoe vs. Nigel McGuinness, Roderick Strong, Delirious, & Jay Briscoe ($10,000 Tag Team Challenge)
Roderick Strong and Delirious get into a brawl on the way to the ring despite both being on Nigel's team. Things don't look good for Team McGuinness as Jay tries to talk sense into Roddy and Nigel to Delirious. Overall, this match was just real solid with a great flow. Lots of good storylines in this one....Roderick/Delirious, Aries/Roderick, Danielson/McGuinness, Briscoe/Briscoe, Sydal/Delirious...that are highlighted early on in the match. Fans really pop for the Briscoes but then they team up and start taking out everybody and then walk out which turns this into a six-man match: Danielson/Aries/Sydal vs Nigel/Roderick/Delirious. Overall, this was a lot of fun and a good match. Definitely the best match of the show so far.
We are backstage with Larry Sweeney, Chris Hero and Tank Toland. They pull Bobby Dempsey out of the sauna that he was in and he's lost a lot of weight. But then they hear some noise coming from the room and they see Bobby Dempsey eating some food- the first guy was his brother that looks like him.
Race To The Top Tournament Finals: El Generico vs Claudio Castagnoli
This was pretty solid. Really picked up a little after the 10 minute mark when Claudio was outside the ring and Generico hit a great moonsault to the outside out of nowhere and then dove from one side of the outside of the ring to the other side and hit a DDT on Claudio on the outside. Back in the ring Claudio went for the Ricola bomb but Generico reversed it for a 2 count. Crowd definitely into Generico. Generico then hit a coast to coast dropkick (think of RVD or Marufuji here) then hit a brainbuster for a 2 count. Claudio then took over briefly before going for the Ricola bomb and again getting it reversed but this time for a little longer of a three count. Claudio then finally hit the Ricola bomb but only got a 2 and the fans really behind Generico at this point. Generico made a quick comeback but then fell to a combo Splash Mountain/Ricola bomb. This ended up being really good. Great performance by both of these guys in this tournament. Post match they do a mutual show of respect with the fans chanting "ROH" as Claudio gives a speech.
Verdict:
Not a blow-away show but definitely a fun show. The final two matches were really good (8-man tag and Claudio/Generico) and Claudio/Quack and Hero/Generico were definitely worth seeing as well. This is one you might want to pick up during a sale.
2007 Show Rankings:
1. Fifth Year Festival: Finale- Liverpool, UK 3/4/07
2. Fifth Year Festival: Liverpool- Liverpool, UK 3/3/07
3. Respect Is Earned- New York, NY 5/12/07
4. Fifth Year Festival: NYC- New York, NY 2/16/07
5. Good Times, Great Memories- Chicago Ridge, IL 4/28/07
6. Supercard of Honor II- Detroit, MI 3/31/07
7. Live In Tokyo- Tokyo, Japan 7/16/07
8. All Star Extravaganza III- Detroit, MI 3/30/07
9. A Fight At The Roxbury- Boston, MA 6/8/07
10. Domination- Philadelphia, PA 6/9/07
11. United We Stand- Dayton, OH 6/22/07
12. Fighting Spirit- Edison, NJ 4/14/07
13. Fifth Year Festival: Philly- Philadelphia, PA 2/17/07
14. Race To The Top Tournament Night 2- Edison, NJ 7/28/07
15. Battle of the Icons- Edison, NJ 1/27/07
16. Fifth Year Festival: Chicago- Chicago, IL 2/24/07
17. Race To The Top Tournament Night 1- Deer Park, NY 7/27/07
18. Live In Osaka- Osaka, Japan 7/17/07
19. The Battle Of St. Paul- St. Paul, MN 4/27/07
20. This Means War II- Long Island, NY 4/13/07
21. Dedicated- Braintree, MA 1/26/07
22. Reborn Again- Hartford, CT 5/11/07
23. Fifth Year Festival: Dayton- Dayton, OH 2/23/07
