Pro Wrestling Chronicle

One of Ring of Honor’s (not to mention those other guys’) biggest weekends of the year is upon us, and PW Chronicle is on the case. John Philapavage and Bob Dolezil are in Orlando and will be sending in live results throughout both shows. While you’re furiously refreshing in between updates, check out BS With Honor #7, featuring an in-depth preview of both shows by Brian Streleckis and I, or anything else from the BSWH oeuvre.

Before the show, someone (who may or may not have actually been representing WWE) was outside the venue selling off a bunch of WrestleMania tickets for “next to nothing”. There appear to be a lot of new fans there, and they’re selling a lot of merchandise at the table.

1) Go Shiozaki defeated Delirious It was a fun match with a lot of comedy that gave the fans what they wanted. They didn’t do any big moves until the end, when Go won with his finisher in 13 minutes. Fans were still arriving, and it’s a bigger crowd than Friday night’s.

2) Kenny King & Sal Rinauro & Chasyn Rance of the YRR defeat Bushwhacker Luke & Dingo & Alex “Sugarfoot” Payne The YRR pick up the win in 7 minutes in a solid match. The crowd was into it despite there not being any big stars, and it was less comedy-based than you’d expect. King was impressive once again.

Lenny Leonard hosted a segment for the Video Wire in the ring. The building was packed by this point.

3) ROH Tag Team Championships: Davey Richards & Rocky Romero (C) defeat Ruckus & Jigsaw No Remorse Corps retained the titles against the Vulture Squad in a match taped for the “Take No Prisoners” PPV. Outstanding 13-minute match with Richards pinning Jigsaw following a spike DR Driver. All four guys went all-out the whole time, and the NRC’s hard hitting and Vulture Squad’s high flying really got over, and it was the best match of the show to this point.

Once again, Larry Sweeney came out to recruit the NRC. Roderick Strong came out to angrily rebuff his advances and claimed that the NRC is “his” group, which caused Richards to subtly show a bit of dissent. Erick Stevens came out for his match with Strong.

The scheduled FIP Championship match between Roderick Strong and Erick Stevens did not take place due to a huge brawl with the ref getting knocked out early on. Stevens became the first wrestler to bleed all weekend. They did several chair spots and Strong sported the crimson mask as well. The fight ended with a huge unprotected chairshot which knocked Stevens out, allowing the NRC to shave off part of Stevens’ mohawk.

The Age of the Fall came out for a promo. Lacey’s long-time tag team partner Rain (a.k.a. Payton Banks of TNA) was with them. Jimmy Jacobs pointed out FIP’s wheelchair-bound Milo Beasley and said they got him into the show after he had done a gimmick outside on Friday where he was begging and couldn’t afford a ticket. His promo was interrupted by the Briscoes’ music.

4) Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black defeated Jay & Mark Briscoe (relaxed rules) They brawled through the crowd for the first several minutes. There were a lot of crazy spots including Mark doing a moonsault off the top rope onto the three other guys on the floor and a running somersault dive into the crowd. Later, he dove off the balcony a la New Jack and may have been injured, because he didn’t do much until the finish. The Briscoes went for the springboard Doomsday Device, but Jacobs caught Mark with a DDT and held on with his guillotine finisher for the win in 16 minutes. The crowd chanted “Thank you, Briscoes!”

Intermission - Bob says that every match except the six-man tag was in the **** range, and it’s the best first half of any show he’s ever seen. Dr. Keith Lipinski rated the tag title match **** as well. They announced a return to Orlando for 10/11.

5) BxB Hulk & Shingo defeated El Generico & Kevin Steen This was another match in the typical Dragon Gate tag style. Shingo pinned Generico with the Last Falconry in 18 minutes. The crowd was really into the match, as has been the case with almost everything this weekend, and were on their feet for the last few minutes.

6) ROH World Championship: Nigel McGuinness (c) defeats Austin Aries They started out with mat work and submissions. Aries went after McGuinness’s arm and back to set up for the Horns of Aries, and controlled the early part of the match. Nigel then took over and worked Aries’s left arm and shoulder. He got good heel heat and taunted the crowd. The style was really slowed down compared to the previous matches. They lost the crowd a bit, but got good reactions in general. It was good to this point, but not great, then started to pick up. Nigel went for the London Dungeon. They traded submission attempts, then Aries got two near falls. He wiped out on a dive and Nigel gave him a clothesline on the barricade. He rolled Aries back in the ring and went for a pin, but Aries made a brief comeback. Nigel wins it with the Jawbreaker Lariat at 24 minutes. Dr, Keith says the match was better than their match at Rising Above. ****1/2

After the match, the Age of the Fall came out for Aries’s answer to their offer to join them. Jacobs called himself Aries’s own personal Jesus. Lacey attempted to persuade him with some sexual undertones, which briefly annoyed Jacobs. She held his hand and offered to show him what it’s like to be in AOTF. Tammy Sytch came out and cut a promo on Lacey. Aries left, taking Lacey with him. Jacobs & Black then grabbed Tammy and Rain slapped her, but the Briscoes came out and made the save to a big pop. The fans chanted “Triple Threat” as they left, and they did a three-finger signal.

7) Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino & Genki Horiguchi defeated CIMA & Dragon Kid & Ryo Saito As expected, the match featured a lot of double- and triple-team moves and a ton of fast-paced action. Doi pinned Kid in 26 minutes. Great match, up to the standard of the previous two years’ DG six-man tags. ****1/2

Bob says that match-for-match, this was one of ROH’s best shows ever, and would rate five matches at or around ****.