1. Eric Ryan vs. Bobby Beverly is a No Contest when Kevin Steen comes in and takes them both out. These two guys (both out of the Ohio area, Ryan did YLC last year, Beverly did ROH TV squashes last year) had a decent match prior to getting killed. Steen even package piledrove one guy onto the other. The commentary team – Lenny Leonard and Rob Naylor – were freaking out.

- Steen (wearing a PWG shirt) took the mic. Building sound was pretty low at first, but I could still hear him somewhat. He told Leonard and Naylor he would mouth-rape them if they talked during his mic time. He ragged on a few of the fans too (lots of “comedians” in the building). He sat in the middle of the ring Indian style before opting to stand back up. He mentioned how the last time he was in New York, he came to “Ring of Horseshit” and told them to go fuck themselves. Then he gave kudos to “that other guy” for following his lead the next night. He ran down Jim Cornette, mentioned how he helped sign away talent from EVOLVE, and how he wanted to shove that tennis racket up his ass… if not for Davey Richards already being shoved up there. He slammed Davey some more for leaving EVOLVE. Then he brought up his split with El Generico and how the real problem started when he was teamed up with him by the same guy now running EVOLVE, so he was looking to destroy EVOLVE now. He then went on his brief Anti-Christ of Wrestling tirade before Bobby Fish came out and calmly stood up for EVOLVE. He brought up how they defined their own rules, and that Steen should stay within them if he expects to stay. Fish left, and then Steen calmly left as well.

2. The Super Smash Bros. def. Facade & Jason Gory after a Gory Special/Blockbuster combo on Facade. A little spotty at first, but it came together nicely. SSB are in new green gear. In the post-match interview, Uno said they were going to get a million wins.

3. Silas Young def. Sugar Dunkerton with his headstand moonsault finisher with a name I can’t spell. Silas treated him like a joke throughout, including some playing with a basketball to start, but Sugar wanted to stay serious.

- Silas said afterward that this win puts him one step closer to Gargano, who then came out himself. He mentioned how after the first show, Gargano gave Silas a drink that sent him downhill, but Gargano didn’t know Silas’ history at the time and didn’t know one drink could do that. He played face here and apologized for it, offering a handshake, but Silas walked away didn’t accept it.

4. Pinkie Sanchez def. Lince Dorado with a Figure Four Leglock. Fun match to which Dorado brought his working shoes. Steen joined commentary at this match, from which point he talked about everything from Naylor being a midget to Leonard splitting up with Dave Prazak.

- Larry Dallas came out for his paid interview time, and now has that big black dude Ahtu as his own version of Diesel or Big Bubba Rogers. He again insisted that Gargano vs. Taylor wouldn’t happen, and then he introduced his new team The Scene, which consisted of Scott Reed & Caleb Konley.

5. The Scene def. Up in Smoke with a DDT into a wheelbarrow German on Cloudy, ending Up in Smoke’s undefeated streak. Larry and Ahtu watched from the entrance stage, not at ringside where they weren’t allowed. This match got more time and was more competitive than I thought it would be, and pretty good overall.

- Dallas uncharacteristically turned down interview time, so Leonard asked for a statement from Cheech on their first loss. Cheech responded by kicking Cloudy in the gut and giving him Go To Cheech, so their team is now done.

6. Bobby Fish vs. Jon Davis is thrown out after just a couple minutes when Steen ran in and gives a forearm to Fish while he had Davis in a headlock (considerably weaker than his beatdown of the opening match guys). Fish was pissed and asked that Steen face him in an unsanctioned street fight. Davis wanted to kick some ass as well and asked to make it a three way, so the ref (Brett Lauderdale) rang the bell… and was promptly laid out by a Davis lariat. Mike Kehner came out to ref a little later. The three guys fought in and around the ring, and it was a solid brawl overall. Fish had Steen in the Fish Hook at the end, but Davis broke it up, gave Steen the Pounce, then pinned Fish with 3 Seconds Around the World. Steen grabbed a chair after this and started getting into it with Davis some more before security grabbed Steen and dragged him out of the building.

Intermission: They showed an FIP match from April 2010, Roderick Strong vs. Jon Moxley for the FIP World Title that Davey Richards vacated. This was from a weird time where FIP no longer had company ties to ROH, but still booked a few ROH wrestlers like Strong and Erick Stevens. A good match with Moxley working over Strong on the body and Strong fighting back with his usual offense. Erick Stevens (who turned heel on Strong at this time) came out to distract Strong, leading to Moxley hitting him with the Hook & Ladder and making him tap to the chicken wing. So Moxley won the title here, which he would go on to vacate a year later when he signed with WWE.

7. John Silver def. Tony Nese with an arm-capture lungblower. Silver is smaller than Nese and a bit more off-kilter; shades of Chris Dickinson or Mike Mondo. These two were allowed to go all out (they know each other from NYWC), and went from having a little support from local fans that knew them to winning almost the whole crowd over. Good match with a surprising result.

8. Finlay def. Sami Callihan with a tombstone piledriver after Sami kicked out of the Celtic Cross (Air Raid Crash) twice. This was the match I was most excited to see, and I thought it was amazing. Finlay was great, either kicking ass or performing the illusion of kicking ass when actually working light (based on stories I heard). Sami sold for for him like a mofo and got some comeback moments, including a Saito Suplex out of nowhere. Crowd was at its hottest for this match, as was I. Finlay put over Sami afterward as one of his toughest opponents, and had a little trouble speaking due to chops to his throat. Finlay hugged the ravaged Sami at ringside. Definitely something must-see among all of the indie stuff out there.

9. Chuck Taylor def. Johnny Gargano with the Awful Waffle, so now both guys are 6-3 in EVOLVE. Dallas came out again and wanted the match to be cancelled, but Gargano called for the bell to ring and the match to stop. A few minutes in, Gargano had Taylor in a headlock and Dallas threw in the towel again in an attempt to end it, but Gargano wiped his ass with it, threw it back in Dallas’ face, and fired him. Total babyface now. They went on to have a very fun match that the crowd was still into after the last match, but unfortunately the feed died (not just for myself, but for other viewers). So I missed a good few minutes from the middle, but it came back on as they were closing in on the finish. They used each others’ finishers on each other (Taylor doing the Hurts Donut during the downtime, Gargano giving Taylor the Awful Waffle by the time they came back on). After the finish, they hugged and raised each others’ hand.

Very fun show overall, and the replay will be available imminently.

A nice big crowd here, and the sound on them was good. The lighting of the ring (very bright) and the crowd (pretty dark) reminded me of footage of 80s house shows. The hard camera shot was a little wider than I wished, plus it would be partially blocked when people in front of it stood up. Kevin Kelly and Dave Prazak introduced the show from the start before the count down.

1. Michael Elgin defeated El Generico with a 360º sit-out powerbomb. These WM weekend crowds know what’s what, starting with this match, where Generico got a big ovation and Elgin got traditional heel heat. Fun back-and-forth stuff overall, though it felt a little shorter than their match on the 9th Anniversary Show. Generico hit his tornado DDT through the ring post to the floor for a big pop. He was about to hit the yakuza kick when a mystery man in all black and a ski mask grabbed his foot and dropped his neck over the top rope, leading to Elgin picking up the win. The ref did not see nor identifee the mystery man.

- By the way, during this match on commentary, it was mentioned that the All Night Express had a brawl with the Briscoes earlier in the day and were therefore thrown out the building. This explains away their lack of a match on tonight’s card.

- They aired highlights of Eddie Edwards’ World Title victory.

- They came back to Truth Martini in the ring with Caleb Konley. He gave his usual spiel and said tonight was Konley’s test to see if he belonged in the House of Truth. He said he’ll be watching and would give him the thumb’s up or thumb’s down afterward.

2. Four Corner Survival: Homicide defeated Colt Cabana and Caleb Konley (w/ Truth Martini) and Tommaso Ciampa (w/ The Embassy) when he hit Konley with the Cop Killa. Homicide and Cabana were very over (one fan even gave Colt his Israeli flag), and as was the case at Final Battle, Homicide came out to his real music. Homicide’s momentum was cut off when Prince Nana’s “princess” Mia Yim gave him a kick (though the camera shot of it was blocked) and Ernesto Osiris and R.D. Evans laid in a little clobbering. Konley and Ciampa took turns working over Homicide. Cabana gave a the Bionic Elbow to each of the Embassy members before pausing at the sight of Mia and planting a kiss on her. Homicide and Ciampa duked it out a little. Homicide proceeded to hit the Tope Con Hilo three times in a row on each of his opponents prior to his victory. Solid all around. Steve tweeted that Homicide looked like his old self, and I’m inclined to agree.

- Konley was alone in the ring as Martini re-entered. He teased making his decision before ultimately giving him the thumb’s up, saying that he had heart and is now a member. Then he said it was April Fool’s, and Elgin returned to destroy him with a lariat and powerbomb.

3. Hiroyo Matsumoto & Ayumi Kurihara defeated Sara Del Rey & Serena Deeb after Matsumoto gave Deeb a backdrop driver. Nice stuff from the debuting Joshi talent. Matsumoto was the smallest woman here but showed off some good strength, while Kurihara took to the air a few times and pulled some submissions out of her sleeve. The Double Ds beat down Matsumoto for the heat. Daizee Haze and Tomoka Nakagawa came out a few minutes in to scout the match, sporting the SHIMMER Tag Team Titles. Deeb dished out some Punk-like fisticuffs. The Joshi team fired up enough to string some things together and isolate Deeb and win. Nice match with a good response from the crowd. When they came across the SHIMMER champs, Nakagawa spit water in their faces, so they were chased to the back. That was the gist of the build for tomorrow’s title match.

- They aired highlights of the Briscoes vs. The All Night Express from Manhattan Mayhem IV and the subsequent backstage scuffle.

4. Jay & Mark Briscoe defeated Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly following a springboard Doomsday Device on Cole. Mixed reaction for the newly heel Briscoes, while Adam Cole received his own chant. Team O’Co held their own and looked good against the veteran team. A ringside camera man was taken down prior to O’Reilly’s apron-to-floor corner dropkick. One sequence, consisting of rolling butterfly suplexes on Mark from O’Reilly, an elevated DDT by both, and finally a wheelbarrow suplex into a bridging pin attempt, had the crowd go surprisingly crazy. Good action within the brief time frame.

- Immediately afterward, Kenny King and Rhett Titus showed up behind the commentary table, dressed in street clothes but with their fists taped. They ran into the ring and brawled with the Briscoes, continuing to do so as a bunch of shemps ran down to unsuccessfully break it up. An attempted spiked piledriver on the floor by the ANX on Mark was thwarted when Jay gorilla pressed a shemp onto them. Fans chanted, “Fuck the Briscoes!” as they were hurried to the back and King and Titus stood tall.

- Intermission. No videos played during this.

5. Davey Richards defeated Roderick Strong (w/ Truth Martini) with the ankle lock… grapevine style! The match started slowly and built up steam considerably. Good exchanges early before Strong began working over Davey’s back by ramming it into the edge of the ring Davey Boy style. Davey gained the momentum with a suicide dive that made the crowd shit apes. A big extended exchange of chops and kicks led to both men falling in a heap and a “Fuck WrestleMania” chant. Strong targeted Davey’s back some more with a backbreaker onto the top turnbuckle and later a second one to the outer apron, nearly leading to a count-out. Strong dished out all of his big moves, but Davey kept kicking out. The Stronghold was reversed into the ankle lock, and then (maybe at this point) reversed by Strong into the LeBell Lock! Davey slapped on the ankle lock a second time. Truth’s interference was kept to a minimum, ending when Davey booted him out of the ring. The finish came after Davey gave Strong a superplex, held on to give him a Falcon Arrow, then transitioned that into the submission. Not quite at the level of their Final Battle match, but still really good and the best thing on the show up to this point.

6. Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team (Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin) defeated The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli w/ Shane Hagadorn & Sara Del Rey) after Haas made Claudio tap to the Haas of Pain to win the ROH World Tag Team Titles. If anyone says the crowd was killed by Richards-Strong, they’re dead wrong. Split reaction for both teams throughout. The Kings were only two days shy of holding the titles for a full year. WGTT were more dominant early, even working over Claudio’s leg (foreshadowing!). The Kings gained the edge and worked over Benjamin before Haas got the tag (he was looking better than ever). Lots of tandem moves. A slight bit of homo-erotica (both Kings sandwiched together and leaning on the ropes) led to both of them getting WGTT’s trademark leapfrog spot at the same time. In the end, in a moment that mirrored the two prior Kings-WGTT matches, Hero went to the top with his loaded elbow pad to break up the Haas of Pain. Benjamin, however, saw it coming, leaped up to Hero like a cat, and chucked him overhead just before Claudio tapped. Huge ovation for the title change, Haas & Benjamin celebrated with the belts, and they were congratulated by Cary Silken and Jim Cornette. My favorite match of the night.

7. Eddie Edwards defeated Christopher Daniels with a Super 2K1 Bomb, followed by a regular one, to retain the ROH World Title. Edwards has new music, which the jury is still out on. Extended handshake and some words before the match. This one had a slow start as the two of them traded holds, and the crowd had to be a little tired by this point. Daniels attempted using Edwards’ own Achilles Lock early. They fought to the outside apron, where Edwards attempted his backpack chinbreaker, but Daniels escaped and, in a spot that caught me off guard, gave Edwards a urinage through the timekeeper’s table. A few moments later, Daniels set up two chairs together and slammed Edwards on to him, showing a lot more aggression. Crowd: “Fuck TNA!” Daniels took Edwards back into the ring to work him over, but Edwards fought back. He dished out some Kobashi chops at one point. The Achilles Lock was countered into the Koji Clutch. Daniels scored two huge nearfalls in succession with the Angel’s Wings and Best Moonsault Ever, and he sold the shock of the two-counts well. Edwards got his feet up on the second BME attempt (making it a Best Moonsault Never) and turned it into another Achilles Lock. Daniels tried to fight the hold with kicks, and Edwards responded with stomps to the head while still holding on. They fought into the corner, where Edwards avoided the super Angel’s Wings to lead to the win. I’d probably consider this second best match of the night.

- Edwards offered the handshake, but Daniels just stared at him angrily and walked away. Edwards took the mic and said he enjoyed that match a lot, even if Daniels didn’t. He gave the obligatory good night promo, thanking the Atlanta crowd for their support and also saying he wishes ROH comes back here year after year.

Overall: Up North Radio’s Cal Burnside ordered this show as well. “Very, very good show. 20 minutes too long overall, but I thought the last four matches were all good to great and the first three were perfectly acceptable.” That just about sums up things for me as well. A good night of action with a great second half. The bargain of ordering this weekend’s doubleshot together is made even sweeter considering the matches we got out of it already, including a momentous tag title match that will undoubtedly, undeniably be better than the tag team offerings on WrestleMania.

Expect some more timely results for the Saturday afternoon card. I plan to watch that one as well, as well as watch and report on the Dragon Gate USA card – “Mercury Rising 2011″ – being offered Saturday night through WWNLive.com. What a weekend this is already.

For those that missed it, Chikara’s live Pre-Show-A-Go-Go prior to this show can be viewed HERE. This ended just as the live show began.

1. The Osirian Portal (Amasis & Ophidian & Jonathan Gresham/Hieracon) defeated F.I.S.T. (Icarus & Chuck Taylor & Johnny Gargano) when Gresham pinned Icarus with a driving cradle. After becoming an impromptu partner to the Portal last month and scoring a win as a trio against the BDK, CZW regular Gresham is now a full-fledged member of the Portal, with a new Egyptian name and a bird-like mask. He’s a quick guy who strings a lot of moves together; I suspect in a couple years he could get the momentum Ricochet is getting now. Icarus continued to draw even more boos by removing his jacket and unveiling his back tattoo. It actually opened with a dance-off between Icarus and Amasis, to the sound of “Pokerface,” but both wrestlers were left served by a surprise entrant, ref Bryce Remsburg. Very competitive match, with both teams hitting tandem offense for close nearfalls. At a little over 18 minutes, this went almost as long as the main event. Still, it was fun stuff. The crowd was a little quiet following the opening comedy bit, but got into it more as it went on. F.I.S.T. is one of only two trios entered into the 2011 King of Trios tournament so far (the other being the Colony), so it’s pretty obvious that the Portal will gain entry after this victory.

2. Daizee Haze defeated Madison Eagles with a German suplex. Jakob Hammermeier, who was a riot before the show hawking BDK merchandise, no longer has the neck brace, but still has the leg cast and arm sling. Eagles, for those unfamilar, is a tall woman from Australia and is the current SHIMMER Champion, beating MsChif for it last year (though she didn’t wear the belt tonight). From watching some recent SHIMMER, I learned she’s done some MMA training under Georges St.-Pierre, and she got to show a little of the ground game here. The height difference between the two was also played up. Haze took a header into a turnbuckle and claimed that she broke her nose again (she did so at Chikara’s season finale last month, a week before Final Battle), but it was all a ruse, and she clipped Eagles’ leg when she wasn’t looking. She worked her over some more, but Eagles fought back with some big kicks. Eagles attempted her finisher – a death valley driver onto the knee – but Haze escaped from it twice and managed to catch her with the German. Fans gave Eagles a nice applause for her efforts.

- A video aired in between the second and third match, possibly teasing the introduction of a Trios Championship for Chikara.

3. The Roughnecks (Brodie Lee & Grizzly Redwood) defeated The Throwbacks (Dasher Hatfield & Sugar Dunkerton) when Brodie gave Dasher the big boot off of Grizzly’s shoulders, almost Doomsday style. Grizzly had what was left of Dasher’s bat after he chopped it up into toothpicks. Gavin Loudspeaker unfortunately announced Brodie and Grizzly as the Throwbacks, but Brodie played off it very well. The actual Throwbacks charged the ring and the action stayed pretty strong from the start. Brodie booted Dasher on the outside, leaving Sugar on his own for the majority of the match before Dasher could come back. Towards the end, Dasher was isolated when Brodie gave Sugar a gutwrench powerbomb onto the ringside steps. Fine action, and this feud must continue.

4. Tursas & Lince Dorado & Sara Del Rey defeated Da Soul Touchaz (Acid Jaz & Marshe Rockett & Willie Richardson) by disqualification. Derek Sabato officiated. Da Soul Touchaz skipped the dancing and rushed to the ring, out for revenge on the BDK for taking out C-Red and Dymond. Traditional back-and-forth tag action. Sabato seemed to count fair pins, but still made sure the BDK was getting preferential treatment. Both Tursas and Richardson left their feet for dropkicks. The two smaller Soul Touchaz subdued Tursas with dives to the outside, leaving Willie alone with Dorado. Sabato had his back turned to check on Del Rey at ringside. Willie was about to give Dorado the Pounce, but Dorado took off his own mask and tossed it to him, quickly falling to the mat and covering his face. Sabato turned around as Willie picked up, thus calling for the DQ. Willie cornered Sabato in the corner while Dorado gloated with his back turned, but Willie turned around and gave Dorado the Pounce anyway. No surprise this feud must continue either.

- Intermission. Allow me to take the time to explain some other recent events. The hooded figure at “The Germans” in November who lured away Obariyon and Kodama from UltraMantis Black’s side revealed himself in December to be Sinn Bodhi, the wrestler formerly known as Kizarny and currently known for shacking up with Stacy “The Kat” Carter. He trained the two of them and loaned them to Mantis, but took them back under his control because he wanted payment for his services: the Eye of Tyr. Since the BDK has it and Mantis doesn’t, Bodhi and his minions are waging war on Mantis. Fortunately, Incoherence, despite the history between Mantis and Hallowicked, decided to help Mantis and even the odds. Hence the next two matches.

5. The Batiri (Obariyon & Kodama) defeated Incoherence (Hallowicked & Frightmare) when Obariyon hit Hallowicked with his flying DDT. I’ve felt these two freaky rookies have looked pretty good in their matches so far on previous shows. Unfortunately, things kind of derailed early following a botched huricanrana where Kodama seemed to injure his shoulder. Hallowicked landed on his head from this too, having delivered the move, but he was fine. They still went on and put on some decent stuff, Obariyon doing most of the work. As Incoherence seemed to have the match in hand, carnival music played, and out came Sinn Bodhi in a goofy carny getup (including stuffed animals attached to his pants) and accompanied by a little masked goblin dude (shades of Hydra). They distracted Incoherence a little bit, and Frightmare got into it with the goblin on the outside and got speared for his efforts. Remsburg wasn’t paying attention to this stuff outside because he was busy with the Batiri fighting Hallowicked 2-on-1. Also, UltraMantis Black ran out – in Incoherence’s orange and black scheme – to start fighting with Bodhi early. The match ultimately ended and the Batiri picked up their third point to challenge for the Campeonatos de Parejas. This whole thing became a bit of a mess but served its purpose.

6. UltraMantis Black defeated Sinn Bodhi by disqualification. Derek Sabato ran out to to immediately start this match while the two kept fighting on the outside. Prior to the bell ringing, Bodhi retrieved a metal rod from under the ring, bent it with his mouth into a hook, and used it choke Mantis. Then he tossed it to some kid at ringside as a souvenir. They made it back into the ring while all of the other principles from the previous match stayed at ringside. Sabato tried doing fast counts on Mantis. The other refs came out to check on the fallen technicos. Also walking out was Wink Vavasseur, who in the time between shows went from being an independent auditor hired by Chikara’s Board of Directors to being named the new Director of Fun, replacing the BDK-aligned Dieter VonSteigerwalt. At one of the November shows, he walked out to ringside while Sabato was reffing, scaring Sabato into calling the match straight. Here, Bodhi’s minions began beating up Mantis in the middle of the ring, and Sabato did nothing. Wink caught wind of it and simply walked up onto the apron and did nothing else but stare at Sabato. Sabato then called for the bell and declared Mantis the winner by DQ. Also, Incoherence came back into the ring to chase off the heels. Though he certainly has the authority now, they seem to be hinting at some other kind of power/influence Wink has over Sabato. The match itself was more of an angle and only lasted three minutes. Not sure how well the Bodhi Bunch got over with the crowd. Mantis laid down the challenge for a trios match next month, and Bodhi, in his own odd way, accepted.

7. Eddie Kingston defeated El Generico with two backfists. First time match, and they made good on it. El Generico offered his hand and tried to show Kingston that he was “street.” Kingston slapped him, Generico slapped back, and Kingston applauded him standing up to him. The match had a slow start but considerably picked up half-way through or so. Both guys dealt each other chops and yakuza kicks, and Kingston broke out a little bit of lucha to match Generico’s. Close to the end, Generico gave Kingston a brainbuster onto the edge of the apron, and both guys crashed to the floor. Kingston was dead weight, Generico attempted to take the count-out win after trying and failing to lift him, but Kingston managed to get back in at 19. Kingston was like a stiff log and was favoring his shoulder, so Generico couldn’t quite pull him closer to the center of the ring. Kingston eventually got up, avoided the yakuza kick in the corner, and gave Generico two consecutive backdrop drivers – one into the corner and one on the ring – prior to the finish. Kingston gave major props to Generico following the match and he reciprocated. A hell of a match that’s worth checking out, better than Kingston vs. Homicide in November. Good amount of time at around 17 minutes.

They showed a new teaser for the 2011 King of Trios, coming in April. Gavin made note of Stan Bush contributing a new version of “The Touch” to be the official theme song for the tournament, and made mention of Mr. Bush performing live at the Fan Conclave this weekend.

8. Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw & Fire Ant & Soldier Ant defeated Claudio Castagnoli & Ares & Tim Donst & Delirious when Jigsaw hit Donst with a top rope doublestomp. Very fun capper to the night. It started off as your traditional tag match with clearly defined heels and babyfaces, and it ended with the wondrous action you’d expect from a Chikara Atomico. Donst tried to prove he could do pushups just as well as Soldier Ant, but ran out of gas at the end. Delirious used his head as a battering ram on more than one occasion. One of the ants and Jigsaw were recipients of heel beatdowns. The Chikara Specials, both original and inverted, made brief appearances before being broken up. The technicos fought back with dives to get the upperhand. I debated with another fan next to me as to whether Delirious lost a tooth from a Jigsaw superkick; it came toward the end of the match and essentially took him out of it, and he was still holding his mouth at the end. The finish was pretty fitting, as Donst, who’s been trying to prove he’s the greatest Young Lions Cup Champion ever by defeating past champions, takes the fall to one of them. Also, Claudio and Ares save some face.

Overall: A stronger show than “The Germans” in November, buoyed by two mighty fun matches to end the night, a fun opener, and a few things in between that planted seeds for upcoming events. I was very satisfied with things. As of now, I’m okay with Kizarny being around (he’s certainly good on promos and a unique presence, especially since he’s bigger than most guys), but I’m more optimistic about Jonathan Gresham as new Portal member Hieracon and the other younger talent still tearing up Chikara. The BDK is still a threat, but it’s less doom and gloom than it was a year ago. I already bought my King of Trios tickets in the beginning of the year. Before that, Chikara is running four more shows, including a return to Brooklyn. Their 2011 schedule is already mighty packed, so kudos to them.

The former ECW Arena finally has a proper name: The Asylum Arena. Wink Vavasseur, an auditor character hired by Chikara’s Board of Directors who first popped up in August (no BDK affiliation as far as I know now) wandered around the place. Gavin Loudspeaker opted to explain Chikara’s crowd guidelines through a song. When he brought up the name of the show, fans booed. Poor Jakob Hammermeier was in attendance too, slowly transitioning into Mr. Glass: he’s still in his neckbrace from July, his right arm in a sling as seen on the September shows, and now his left foot in a cast.

1. Soldier Ant defeated Pinkie “Pink Ant” Sanchez with the Chikara Special. Soldier Ant made a reserved hustle to Pinkie and the match got off to a hot start. Plenty of back-and-forth stuff, with Soldier Ant getting the better of chop battles and Sanchez taking short cuts. Soldier Ant managed to kick out of Pinkie’s burning hammer to much surprise and used a forearm to escape a second attempt. He hit the TKO before transitioning into the Chikara Special. Fire Ant and Green Ant ran out to celebrate with their victorious partner. Fun opener.

- Gavin’s introduction for the next match was interrupted by Brodie Lee and Grizzly Redwood, who reunited as the Roughnecks the previous night in Easton following a sneak attack on Dasher Hatfield. Before Grizzly could explain how they got back together, Dasher and Sugar Dunkerton ran in to fight with them. Refs, students, and other people (including former Chikara regular Jolly Roger and Bobby Shields) ran in to separate them to little success. Sugar did a dive off the top onto Brodie and other bodies on the floor. Dasher was about to do the same, but Grizzly powerbombed him off the cornbuckle. Then Brodie laid out Sugar with a boot. After the Roughnecks left, Sugar put out a challenge to them on the next show, December 12th in Reading.

2. Lince Dorado defeated Arik Cannon with the Shooting Star Press. More fun back-and-forth action, with Cannon getting the better of strikes and hitting some of his scary signature moves (exploder, brainbuster, Total Anarchy neckbreaker). Dorado slipped up on an attempted Lionsault, but that can play into his character, and he powered on. Cannon caught Dorado in the Chikara Special, but Dorado managed to escape. Toward the end, Dorado wrapped his legs around Cannon’s head out of a cornbuckle headstand, looking like he’d hit a headscissors, but instead hit a flipping piledriver from the position, then leading to the SSP and 1-2-3.

3. The Olsen Twins (Colin & Jimmy) defeated The UnStable (Vin Gerard & STIGMA) when Colin reversed a tights-assisted O’Connor Roll by Gerard into one of his own (and exposed too much of Gerard’s crack). A rematch from last month following the Olsens reuniting in September against The UnStable. Colin & JImmy looked in better shape in the past, and Colin has cut his hair. Also – and I find this really egregious – they have new entrance music. The Olsen Twins used to come out to the “Full House” theme lead-in followed by Britney Spears’ “Toxic.” Now they have the same lead-in, but it’s followed by “Tick Tock” by Ke$ha. Decent-to-good action all around here. Colin and Gerard exchanged hair-based offense early. Gerard and Jimmy brawled a quite a bit on the outside while Colin and STIGMA stayed in the ring. The Olsens hit stereo dives on opposite sides of the ring. Jimmy took out STIGMA toward the end with his trademark punch.

4. Tim Donst defeated Hallowicked with a bootlace-assisted rear naked choke. Solid character work throughout this one. Donst got the better of Hallowicked early turning his mask sideways to blind him. More back and forth thanks to Hallowicked’s yakuza kicks. Donst’s victory here was practically the same as his victory over Frightmare in June, making his opponent pass out through nefarious means without letting the ref see everything.

- Intermission. Met Bryce Remburg and commended him for THIS, which you absolutely should pick up if you’re really interested in Chikara’s early days. I was meaning to write something about one of the matches whenever I thought to do so.

5. Falls Count Anywhere Match: Ares defeated UltraMantis Black with a Praying Mantis Bomb onto a chair. Derek Sabato (in glasses) was the ref, counting slow for Mantis and fast for Ares. Mantis probably received the biggest crowd reaction out of anyone on the show, and it was awesome. They brawled early in the ring, took it backstage and up into the balcony where the hard camera and commentary table is set up (fans chanted “Push Sabato!” when they were up there), then back down into the crowd, outside (I didn’t bother following them) and into the crowd again. Tursas came out to help Ares, but Mantis avoided his wrath. By the mens’ room was a mechanical lift. Mantis got onto it, elevated it to well above the level of the mens’ room door, then dove off of it onto Ares and Tursas. Tursas got a hold of Mantis as they got back to ringside, but Mantis avoided a charge by the big man into the ring post. He attempted to dive onto him but got caught and was crotched on the guard rail. Ares hit Mantis with a tiger driver for only a two count, overcoming Sabato’s fast count again. Then, as Tursas got into the ring, Mantis called out these two druid bodyguards that have accompanied him in recent months. They unveiled themselves to indeed be recent debuts and all-around creepy guys Obariyon & Kodama. Ares looked pretty scared. Before they could help Mantis, the lights dimmed a bit and a third hooded mystery man came out, beckoning Obariyon & Kodama to return to the back. Then Ares, despite nearly coming into contact with the unknown, finished off Mantis with chairshots to the back and the finish. Very fun stuff action-wise and story-wise, though I’m sure it’ll play out much better on DVD.

6. Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw defeated F.I.S.T. (Icarus & Chuck Taylor), The Osirian Portal (Amasis & Ophidian), and Sara Del Rey & Daizee Haze in a 4-way elimination tag match. Jigsaw has gone from the pleather pants to long tights. Icarus was wearing a jacket for the first minute or so before removing it to unveil his unsavory back tattoo, to which he’s still having detail added. The bulk of the first portion of the match had the three Chikara teams going at it – including Taylor with his bum shoulder suffered the previous night in EVOLVE – while the ladies of BDK (who already had three points coming into this) stayed on the outside. Jigsaw was worked over quite a bit. After lots of fast action and dives, Jigsaw connected with a brainbuster on Icarus to eliminate F.I.S.T. Following time the women spent with the Portal and QuackSaw, Amasis took a big spill off the top to the floor right in front of me (selling it big time), while Quack hit Ophidian with a double underhook superplex, eliminating the Portal. The women began working over QuackSaw a lot, hitting a lot of their big moves (including the Royal Butterfly on Quack) which they then kicked out of or saved each other from. Very hot moments all. Del Rey was subdued by Quack, and ultimately Jigsaw pinned Daizee with QuackenDriver 1 (standing iconoclasm). So with getting all three pins in the match, QuackSaw finally scored the three points necessary to challenge for the titles. My favorite match on the show and perhaps the longest at over 19 minutes.

- Da Soul Touchaz (Acid Jazz, Marshe Rockett, Willie Richardson, manager C-Red, and their valet Dymond) were in attendance and came out to assist with the show-long prize raffle, which included the raffle ticket being picked by a baby girl. Then C-Red cut a promo about how they have the BDK’s number, defeating them in matches in Michigan, Brooklyn, and the previous night in Easton. Then Ares walked out cutting a promo in German, closing in English by saying the BDK have their number as the rest of the BDK jumped the Touchaz from behind. Only absent members were Daizee and the currently-in-NOAH Claudio Castagnoli and Delirious. Del Rey took out Dymond with a pile driver, and C-Red was laid out by a second rope splash from Tursas. Not sure if this was a way to write off Da Soul Touchaz, or if they’re going to be making more appearances in 2011.

7. Frightmare defeated Johnny Gargano with a top-rope Kneecolepsy to retain the Young Lions Cup. Frightmare came out wearing a personalized Eagles jersey, then Gargano got a hold of it and wiped his nether regions with it. The action was taken to the outside, where Gargano hit Frightmare with his “You’re Dead!” lawn dart into the ring steps. In retaliation shortly afterward, Frightmare gave Gargano Kneecolepsy while he was draped over the edge of the ring (as anyone will tell you, the hardest part of the ring). Lots of fun action prior to a regular Kneecolepsy and the top-rope version to finish it.

8. Eddie Kingston defeated Homicide with the Backfist to the Future. Both guys came out to great ovations. Homicide wrestled in a Chikara shirt. It started with both guys measuring each other up and working over each other on the mat. Homicide connected with a flipping senton off the apron to the floor, and Kingston followed that up shortly with a suicide dive. Action was largely methodical but well worked, though the crowd was fairly tired by this point and not nearly as hot as they were two matches earlier. Homicide worked over Kingston more on the outside, nearly stabbing him a pencil. Homicide hit the Three Amigos but caught knees when he attempted the frog splash. Kingston scored a nearfall after a backdrop driver and Sliding D, and also made a comeback following a backfist to an in-flight Homicide. Solid match overall, but not the strongest match to main event unfortunately.

Overall: A fun show as we’ve come to expect for quite a while now. However, this was the first Chikara show I’ve attended this year that was pretty standard, whereas the others I’ve attended were the first show of the year with BDK’s first matches, King of Trios weekend, and the big supercard with Dragon Gate talent. Still, a lot of good action with some pieces set into motion for the last show of the year (December 12th in Reading) and beyond. That beyond would be their first 2011 show, January 23rd back in Philadelphia, for which I bought a ticket to while at this show.

Best Newcomer
*As mentioned in our audio, we opened this category up to wrestlers who had already made a few appearances in prior years, but had a more substantial role in 2008.

Steve’s Picks:
1. Go Shiozaki: The fact that he was in ROH for essentially the entire year sets him apart from Lynn in my book. He had consistently good matches, and a few great ones, particularly two against Austin Aries early in the year.

2. Jerry Lynn: Lynn made a splash in his first match back against Nigel McGuinness, and closed out the year very well against Bryan Danielson. In between, he was very solid in the mid-card, and he obviously impressed the right people.

3.Kenny Omega: Despite our frequent digs at his nerdish leanings, he’s a really good worker who excels in action-packed early-card matches.

4. Kenny King: I predicted him as breakout star of 2009, but that was based more on potential than any great performances in ’08; basically, he was good enough to eke out a vote in a weak category.

5. Joey Matthews: The Age of the Fall member was a solid veteran presence, but he didn’t last long and I don’t think anyone will miss him.

Brian’s Picks:
1. Jerry Lynn: His name and past accomplishments helped him reconnect with the fans he hadn’t seen in four years, but the level of work he maintained at his age pushed him over the top for me. He had a strong babyface presence and hung with the best guys on the roster.

2. Go Shiozaki: I could have gone (no pun intended, if even evident) with either Shiozaki or Lynn in the top spot, but Shiozaki didn’t quite reach the heights of Takeshi Morishima in terms of presence. I did appreciate his attempts to develop a character as a member of Sweet & Sour Inc., and he had a fantastic string of matches throughout the majority of the year.

3. Kenny King: He showed fantastic charisma, great athleticism, and a lot of promise in his matches. He’s most definitely come a long way since his unspectacular days on the worst season of Tough Enough.

4. Joey Matthews: Back when the Age of the Fall meant something and had a lot of juice behind it, Matthews came along to give it even more substance by playing off his old history. I also dug, to an extent, the mix of old-school heel and vacant depressant he brought to his matches.

5. Kenny Omega: He was a really fun wrestler to watch and did a lot of cool stuff, but he needs dial down the dork and come back down to Earth to become a more effective babyface. Cut down on the Anime intake, and send the “Stop!” spot back to Shane Storm in 2006 Chikara.

Best Heel

Steve’s Picks:
1. Nigel McGuinness: An easy pick thanks to some excellent work as a rare ROH wrestler who’s able to play a straight heel and stay over as such in spite of great matches. He really came into his own as a character and did some great heel mic work that generally didn’t rely on cheap heat.

2. Jimmy Jacobs: Jacobs continued to play his nuanced, cerebral heel role to a tee, and his year-long angle with Lacey and Austin Aries provided a great platform. He also excelled as the overbearing leader of AOTF as the stable crumbled around him.

3. Claudio Castagnoli: Like Nigel, he found new life thanks to a well-timed turn, and was good enough as a heel that it seemed like a more natural fit. His smarmy “very European” gimmick gave his character legs after his brief initial feud with Bryan Danielson died out.

4. Davey Richards: His turn on Roderick Strong was really good, and being paired with Larry Sweeney masked his deficiencies. He continued to play the dick heel role well and stepped up his in-ring work.

5. Rhett Titus: Far from a traditional ROH heel, he found his niche with a fun gimmick that he plays perfectly, and did a nice job as the “cock-blocker” who drove a wedge between Delirious and Daizee Haze.

Brian’s Picks:
1. Nigel McGuinness: He became very comfortable in his heel role since his turn in February, whether it was based on real feelings or not. He grew as a fantastically cocky champion while maintaining a serious edge, and both elements combined with him being on top of the cards all year gave him a massive amount of heat.

2. Jimmy Jacobs: He would have taken my top spot if not for how much Nigel excelled, but Jacobs continued the strong work he started in 2007, and had a lot more to play with this time around: trying to recruit one of the top stars, ruling over the tag team ranks, and doing his best to maintain order as some of his soldiers rebelled.

3. Larry Sweeney: His period of recruiting more substantial clients made his game a little more serious. These Million Dollar Corporation antics, combined with continued abuse of his own fatter, pastier Virgil and continually strong mic work, cemented him as the third major heel act. Too bad that talk show segment of his – “The Larry Sweeney Show Starring Larry Sweeney” – never went anywhere, but after that incident with Allison Danger, it was in need of some retooling anyway.

4. Chris Hero: From the renegade asshole from CZW in 2006, to the arrogant jock in 2007, to a more serious threat as “That Young Knockout Kid” in 2008 and beyond. Hero became more of a serious threat this past year – despite staying in the midcard – and did a solid job getting some hate in his third ROH persona.

5. Claudio Castagnoli: He was only a heel for less than the second half of the year, but his turn came at an excellent point, and the carnage he wrought was something very different for him. His largely serious edge with a dash of arrogance served him well in his short-lived Bryan Danielson feud.

Best Babyface

Steve’s Picks:
1. Bryan Danielson: His role as “Captain ROH” starting at the Sixth Anniversary was definitely a departure for Danielson, but, like just about everything else, he did a great job with it. He seems to genuinely enjoy having the fans on his side rather than trying to fight the cheers he inevitably gets anyway.

2. El Generico: In addition to his great tag work, Generico had some great singles matches and played the undersized babyface role like few others can. His dynamic with Kevin Steen earns him points here since Steen’s cockiness and intensity allows him to stay “pure.”

3. Tyler Black: As I explained in our audio, the fact that he was technically a heel doesn’t over-ride the fact that he worked a babyface style and was as over as almost anyone on the roster as a singles wrestler. An early favorite in this category in ’09.

4. Jerry Lynn: Not only was the “You’ve still got it” aspect a good hook for cheers and sympathy, but his “respect” angle with McGuinness allowed him to hit the ground running in a company based on respect and honor.

5. Delirious: A perennial favorite, his mid-year heel turn hurt his chances here, but was great as ever in his time as a babyface.

Brian’s Picks:
1. El Generico: With his team with Kevin Steen now decidedly babyface and an increased presence in singles action, Generico excelled greatly with his gutsy underdog performances, great selling, and a unique charm that had the fans on their feet for him while chanting that Bouncing Souls refrain. The only way I can see somebody not caring about him is if they found his gimmick somehow disrespectful, or their heart was as dark as Jimmy Jacobs’ diary.

2. Bryan Danielson: He straddled the line between face and heel for most of the past two years, but firmly planted his feet on the good guys’ side at the same time Nigel did the opposite. The fans have been loving his work all this time anyway, so of course they took to his more likable attitude like mice to cheese.

3. Jerry Lynn: The Mickey Rourke-style comeback in the ring and his battle for respect with Nigel garnered him a lot of good will, and he just came off in general as a really likable guy.

4. Brent Albright: He was very effective in making his Batista-style babyface turn against Sweet & Sour Inc. The Shooter didn’t blow up like the Animal in every market, but he worked well enough to become a formidable babyface player.

5. Delirious: A little bit of a darkhorse due to his heel turn later, he went from being physically abused in 2007 to being mentally abused by Rhett Titus last year, and did a good job getting sympathy. His courtship of Daizee Haze was one of the simpler and most identifiable angles of the year.

Best Promos

Steve’s Picks:
1. Larry Sweeney: The manic promo style that put Sweeney on the map seems a little tougher to enjoy given his recent real-life issues, but damned if it wasn’t entertaining. Some guys have trouble walking the line between being entertaining and focusing on selling a match, but Sweeney has done both brilliantly.

2. Jimmy Jacobs: I thought his promo work was down a notch from 2008, but he had a lot to work with in his feud with Aries, and still had more hits than misses. He gets bonus points from me for his condescension towards Necro Butcher.

3. Nigel McGuinness: Nigel’s promos were especially important because it seemed like his year was an endless series of title defenses with little storyline basis. He sold those matches by building heat with his arrogance and showing fear when the situation called for it.

4. Bryan Danielson: Whether chopping wood with Grizzly Redwood or cutting a serious promo on Castagnoli, Danielson showed almost as much range on the mic as he did in the ring, and that’s saying a lot.

5. Kevin Steen: He has to carry the verbal load for Steenerico, and while I’m not always a fan of his character, I was impressed with his knack to find the appropriate tone for a serious team that often uses comedy as part of their act.

Brian’s Picks:
1. Nigel McGuinness: In growing into his heel persona, Nigel seriously upped his game in promos, showing a range of emotions against a variety of opponents. He was really strong in talking up his own abilities explaining his actions early on when he turned. He was also very entertaining in running down his challengers, including on commentary.

2. Jimmy Jacobs: Once again, Nigel’s heel work overshadowed what Jacobs did, but he too had a lot to play with, and not surprisingly was the one guy trusted with the most time to talk, going on for as long as ten minutes about a variety of subjects without feeling too disjointed.

3. Larry Sweeney: More of the same work he did the previous year, but I’m not complaining. Continually great stuff that I enjoyed throughout the year and will continue to enjoy, even if we never see him in the promotion again.

4. Austin Aries: Moving up a spot on my list from last year, Aries hung in there quite well in promo duels against Jacobs. Good stuff between his explaining Lacey’s fairly muddied role in their feud in a Video Wire interview and trying to get on the good side of guys like Necro Butcher and Alex Shelley.

5. Kevin Steen: Steen moves down a spot on my list from last year due to the higher quality of work further up by Aries and the others, but he still did some mighty fine work in talking up his increasingly important quest for a title, and he was still very entertaining alongside his Mexican-Canadian hetero-life mate.

Best Feud

Steve’s Picks:
1. Austin Aries vs. Jimmy Jacobs: This was as easy a #1 choice as any other. That’s largely due to a very weak year in the category, but that shouldn’t take away from an epic feud that had it all – creative booking, major heat, great promos, and great matches.

2. Bryan Danielson vs. Claudio Castagnoli: Although it was short-lived, both guys brought a level of intensity that elevated their feud to lofty heights, particularly in their awesome blow-off match at Southern Hostility. In hindsight, a feud that left us wanting more was actually a breath of fresh air in a company that runs too many shows and has to milk feuds for more than they’re worth.

3. Brent Albright vs. Sweet & Sour Inc.: Gabe Sapolsky’s classic meat-and-potatoes feud fell flat at times, but Albright was usually over (and occasionally very over) in the babyface role, and the various S&S heels were great foils.

4. Delirious vs. Rhett Titus: I bumped this one up a notch due to the novelty of showing an entire feud online for free. They weren’t really giving away any money stuff, but it was a good platform for Titus to grow into his character and to provide a catalyst for bigger things for Delirious and Daizee Haze.

5. Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness: I think of this as more of a “rivalry” than a “feud” due to the lack of intense hatred or violent angles, but as such, the top two matches of the year (according to our composite results) pretty much say it all. Bonus points for Danielson’s other PPV matches which were tangential elements of the feud.

Brian’s Picks:
1. Austin Aries vs. Jimmy Jacobs: Not every element of this feud worked; not every fan bought into the soap opera, Lacey’s role was tossed by the wayside, and the sub-plot involving Necro Butcher may have gotten Necro far more over than the two main players. Nevertheless, Gabe Sapolsky’s biggest attempt at his own Tommy Dreamer vs. Raven stood out in a weak year for feuds thanks to the grand scope of its story and the great work by its two leads, both on the mic and in some terrific gimmick matches.

2. The Briscoes vs. The Age of the Fall: Kind of a retread of what began in 2007 between these two sides, but I give it major props for some more fantastic matches (many of them earlier in the year, many of them pitting Jay & Mark against Jacobs & Black) and the additional drama of Mark getting sidelined with an injury and returning in grand fashion. I also dug how they wrapped up this feud (albeit in ridiculous fashion) just over a full year after it began.

3. Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness: This one resonated quite strongly with me, largely thanks the past history between the two and how, despite how little the two interacted, they kept it just simmering under the surface in the eight-month span between their two title matches. Nigel kept stealing Danielson’s shtick, Danielson had to the run a gauntlet of Nigel’s past PPV challengers, and the result left me pining hard for that second World Title match and for Danielson to kick another head in.

4. Bryan Danielson vs. Claudio Castagnoli: Really good and intense stuff from both guys, but far too short to matter in the grand scheme of things. Plus, when Adam Pearce began booking, this got a lot more simpler than when it started, but I’ll be damned if Danielson and Claudio didn’t pull out the stops.

5. Brent Albright vs. Sweet & Sour Inc.: A classic feud, basic, easy, not as consequential as it could have been, but Albright felt like the perfect foil for the big heel stable following his turn. Not all of the ensuing matches, were very good, but there was a variety of them.

Best Tag Team

Steve’s Picks:
1. Kevin Steen & El Generico: Not only were they easily the best team of the year, but they were a stabilizing force in a year where the tag division was all over the map. Both tested the singles waters with some success, but the “opposites attract” aspect always makes them their best as a duo.

2. Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black: Age of the Fall’s top guns ended ’07 on a high note and it carried over into a very strong year. They should have kept the titles straight through to Steenerico’s win, in which case they may have contended for the top spot.

3. Jay & Mark Briscoe: Mark’s constant injuries knocked them off their perch as perennial winners here, and they may never get it back if he can’t get and stay healthy. When they’re together, they’re still very good, but they struggled to find a niche to freshen up their act.

4. Bryan Danielson & Austin Aries: Team Work fit the mold of mix-and-match tag teams that I usually don’t like, but their semi-regular teaming and overall excellence were enough to overcome that and win me over.

5. Davey Richards & Rocky Romero: Eddie Edwards is doing his best to make us forget this team (and Romero’s long absence almost makes them an afterthought in the category), but they really gelled nicely and had some great matches early in the year.

Brian’s Picks:
1. Kevin Steen & El Generico: I said in last year’s article that they could have taken the top spot had they had more of a variety of opponents like the Briscoes did and given more of a spotlight. Sure enough, they got both of those things and ran with the ball as the top babyface tag team, putting on a lot of great matches and having a nice little chase for the Tag Team Titles.

2. Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black: On the opposite end, Jacobs & Black made good as the top heel tag team and had a lot of good matches against a variety of other teams as well. They miss the top spot due to an awkward initial title reign and Jacobs splitting his time between the tag team division and his feud with Aries, but they were a strong anchor.

3. Jay & Mark Briscoe: I echo a lot of what Steve said. Mark’s injury made them slide down the ladder, and even without that I started to have my fill of them (especially by their fifth Tag Title win), especially when they had all of these big matches against visiting teams and only one of them (the rematch with the Motor City Machine Guns) blew me away. Nevertheless, a good team and a solid staple of the tag division.

4. Bryan Danielson & Austin Aries: The best instance of two big stars becoming a tag team since the Rock n’ Sock Connection. Certainly blew that awful DX reunion out of the water. Not only did they have a lot of good matches (especially when they had main events as a team), but they clearly had a fun time together.

5. Davey Richards & Rocky Romero: A forgotten but really fun team, continuing the great cohesiveness they began in the previous years and making for fabulous dick heels. As World Tag Team Champions, they only defended the titles on two occasions, both against Ruckus & Jigsaw, but they still put on some mighty fine stuff.

Best Wrestler

Steve’s Picks:
1. Bryan Danielson: He continues to live up to his “best in the world” moniker and seems capable of a MOTYC every time out. As I noted on our audio, no one can touch him when it comes to executing the bulk of a match.

2. El Generico: After showing flashes of singles brilliance in ’07, Generico broke out with some fantastic main event level matches with McGuinness, and he continued to be the best tag team worker in the company.

3. Nigel McGuinness: His style has its well-documented (and physically taxing) flaws, but a look at the year’s top matches is enough evidence that he’s among the best workers in the business. How he adapts to his injuries is one of the more intriguing questions of 2009.

4. Austin Aries: At first glance, his feud with Jacobs wasn’t the best platform for success in this category, but he had plenty of chances to show his stuff against Danielson, Black, McGuinness and others, and did so with flying colors.

5. Tyler Black: His singles break-out was one of the pleasant surprises in a fairly bland year. I’m not a big fan of his heralded title match, but he did plenty of great work in the tag and singles divisions.

Brian’s Picks:
1. Bryan Danielson: From the usual suspects (Aries, Nigel, Naomichi Marufuji, Takeshi Morishima) to the not-so-usual (Kenny King, Kenny Omega) he continued to shine in every aspect. His winning one of NOAH’s titles and getting a victory in a Raw dark match over a contracted guy (albeit one that he was friends with) says a lot about how other people that matter more than me think about this great, great man.

2. Nigel McGuinness: His new heel role resulted in a lot more intriguing matches from him, and a lot of his title defenses were quite great, despite most of them following the same formula.

3. El Generico: He overshadowed his more midcard-style gimmick through several terrific matches in both the singles and tag divisions, especially shining when entrusted to carry some shows. Great selling, great comebacks, and crazy skills in the air.

4. Austin Aries: Because he was embroiled in a story-driven feud that relied on a lot of straight-up violence, it wasn’t as strong a year for his wrestling skills. However, he certainly didn’t lose anything he wasn’t utilizing at the time, and his title shot at Nigel was the best World Title match not on my MOTY list.

5. Tyler Black: He makes it on my list on the strength of his breakout performances against Nigel and Danielson and his ability to come off like a fantastic babyface in his title opportunities despite otherwise being a heel. More than anyone, he delivered on the promise he briefly showed upon debuting in ’07.

MVP of 2008

Steve’s Picks:
1. Nigel McGuinness: He’ll never be my favorite wrestler, but personal tastes aside, he was clearly the go-to guy all year, and his successes far outweighed his failures, whether it was in the ring, on the mic, or in the commentary booth.

2. Bryan Danielson: The best performer in the company has to settle for second place simply due to not being given the spotlight that Nigel was given. He adapted to whatever role he was placed in and made the most of it.

3. Jimmy Jacobs: Sapolsky resolved to remove him from the main event scene before being removed himself, but Jacobs didn’t seem out of place at all despite his small stature and in-ring ability that can merely be classified as good. Carrying the verbal load for the best feud and second-best tag team of the year earns major points.

4. El Generico: His placement in the previous categories should be enough of an explanation. He’ll probably never finish higher without a character overhaul…not that anyone’s asking for that.

5. Tyler Black: With a bullet. He’s not the slam dunk to move up that he would have been under Gabe, but he showed almost all the necessary skills for a long, successful main event singles run.

Brian’s Picks:
1. Nigel McGuinness: Not since Danielson has the World Champion been the main focus in ROH, so it was nice to see it happen again with Nigel. The spotlight put on him, with a variety of challengers chasing him, certainly helped, but he’s the same guy I considered the best heel and the best on promos. A fair amount of his main events exceeded expectations (with SPOILER three of them making my MOTY list).

2. Bryan Danielson: Not too far behind in focus as the lead contender for Nigel’s title, and still the prime example of what makes Ring of Honor as great as it is (or was).

3. Jimmy Jacobs: Again, not too far behind in focus as one of the best heels and promo guys and the instigator in the best feud. A lot of people think Nigel and Danielson may not be long for ROH because of how much they already accomplished and how little ground there is left for them to cover. Looking at the end of 2008 and the past few weeks currently, I would say the same thing about Jacobs, and that’s pretty much based on his character work alone.

4. Austin Aries: In addition to still being one of the top guys, he stuck with Jacobs on every step of their feud, and he showed off a number of different emotions and motives just before and well into the feud.

5. Tyler Black: The clear breakout star of the year, setting the table for a secure spot in the main event scene.

Match of the Year

Steve’s Picks:
1. Nigel McGuinness vs. Bryan Danielson (Sixth Anniversary Show): Take the technical work of a typical Danielson-McGuinness match (which is anything but typical), and mix in a multi-layered story that incorporates a real injury and the history between the two, and you’ve got a second straight MOTY from this duo.

2. Nigel McGuinness vs. Austin Aries (Supercard of Honor III): This was Aries’ only title shot this year, and he made good on it with a match that arguably topped their stand-out effort at the first Rising Above. A great capper to a great weekend.

3. Bryan Danielson vs. Takeshi Morishima (Final Battle 2008): The match one year in the making somehow managed to live up to expectations. Morishima as monster heel was a better fit here than ever before, and both guys brought a level of intensity rarely seen.

4. Nigel McGuinness vs. Bryan Danielson (Rising Above 2008): I originally had this match on par with their first ’08 match, but downgraded it a bit on second viewing, largely due to Claudio’s interference and the out-of-place involvement of Alex Payne. Still, not bad for only their second-best match this year.

5. Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black (New Horizons): Just a fantastic outing from start to finish, and the way that they overcame the top rope breaking was a testament to the veteran savvy of Danielson, and a poise that belies Black’s relative inexperience.

Brian’s Picks:
1. Nigel McGuinness vs. Bryan Danielson (Rising Above 2008): Even with the outside shenanigans (which didn’t last that long and were already established earlier in the night), it was the same great stuff we’ve seen from these two coming off a slow cook since their previous World Title match. Excellent, dramatic work and a very satisfying end to a feud (or at least the most recent chapter of a feud) despite the babyface falling just short.

2. Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico (Driven 2008): A lot of the same back-and-forth drama we’ve seen before, only here it was following the best tease of the year (Jacobs & Black beating Steen & Generico for the vacant titles in June) and was escalated by an electric crowd. The best babyface title win and end to a show that I’ve seen in some time.

3. Nigel McGuinness vs. Bryan Danielson (Sixth Anniversary Show): I felt their match at Rising Above had better action and better build, but this one still set the stages for it and told a terrific story. If I had to choose, I’d still take a run-in over a spot where a band of wrestlers united against the common enemy trying to escape, as if it was out of a John Hughes movie.

4. Bryan Danielson vs. Tyler Black (New Horizons): I thought their previous two matches were quite good, but I fell in love with this one while watching it when I didn’t expect to. A tremendous match with a spectacular finish against a technical adversity.

5. Nigel McGuinness vs. Tyler Black (Take No Prisoners): Yes, it pretty much set up the story most common in a lot of Nigel’s later matches, but it still seemed fresh and exciting as the first instance of it, and the crowd getting behind Black like they did was a great success.

Best PPV

Steve’s Picks:
1. Rising Above 2008: The title match was ROH’s best PPV match this year, and the Aries-Jacobs I Quit match (complete with the long-awaited, closure-providing return of Lacey) felt as big as the main event of any other PPV. A solid undercard, to boot.

2. Take No Prisoners: Black’s underdog story and stand-out performance in the main event gave this show a sense of freshness and urgency that’s often lacking from ROH PPVs. Throw in yet another four-star Aries-Danielson match and a highly-caffeinated tag title match, and you’ve got a damn good show.

3. Respect Is Earned II: The AOTF-Team Work match wasn’t the most memorable or consequential PPV main event, but it was a great match; similar comments could apply to the not-quite-great title challenge by Shiozaki. The Erick Stevens-Roderick Strong Fight Without Honor stole the show here, even if the great post-match angle was inexplicably cut from the PPV.

4. Driven 2008: The two great title matches on top are worth going out of your way to see. The rest, not so much.

5. New Horizons: As much as I loved the main event, this show just didn’t have a whole lot going on, with a weak first half and a somewhat underwhelming retread of a Nigel-Claudio title match.

Brian’s Picks:
1. Rising Above 2008: The two final matches, one of them my match of the year, were great endings to two of the top feuds, and together made up one of the best straight hours of wrestling on PPV. The whole show was a revelation in production values at this time as well, at least by regular ROH standards.

2. Respect Is Earned II: Though the other three PPVs below each had a match that I thought was better than anything here, it had the most amount of consistently good matches, most notably the main events for the Tag Team Titles and the Fight Without Honor. Gabe was aiming for a PPV of straight-forward action and succeeded in my book.

3. Take No Prisoners: This had the best ongoing story of any of the PPVs, following Black’s title aspirations and the rest of AOTF’s motives throughout the entire show. A lot of good matches here too.

4. Driven 2008: The excellent main event and Nigel defending the World Title against Roderick Strong in a very good match make an otherwise mundane offering worth watching.

5. New Horizons: The bulk of this show in general felt like an episode of a TV show (something I wouldn’t pay to watch), and they shouldn’t have closed the show with a lengthy brawl between Aries and Jacobs after such a great main event. Still, I liked that main event, along with the World Title match and a fun midcard tag match featuring Sweeney and company interacting with Marufuji and Lance Storm.

Best Show/DVD Release

Steve’s Picks:
1. Final Battle 2008: Best Show is sort of a “feel” category for me, and this one just felt right. The card built beautifully from bottom to top and featured a great mix of angles and wrestling, capping off with one of ROH’s best year-ending matches ever.

2. Supercard of Honor III: The annual Dragon Gate six-man has become easy to take for granted, but the greatness of this installment was still undeniable. Along with Nigel-Aries, two awesome tag matches made this one of the deeper cards of the year.

3. Glory By Honor VII: Live bias aside, the mix of a spectacle (Steel Cage Warfare) on top with great straight wrestling (Danielson-Nakajima and Nigel-Generico) beneath and some special guests on the roster provided a whole lot to like in ROH’s return to the “home of extreme”.

4. Death Before Dishonor VI: When Adam Pearce and Brent Albright have a near-four-star match, you know things are going right. And it was only the fourth-best match on the show, thanks to Naomichi Marufuji, the Motor City Machine Guns, and many of the usual suspects.

5. The Tokyo Summit: I thought the dream tag match was one of the under-rated great matches of the year, and everything else on the card (well, maybe not Edwards-Miyamoto) was good to very good.

Brian’s Picks:
1. Supercard of Honor III: Steve has made the argument how it’s not that fair to name a super show with a lot of outside talent the best show of the year, but this was still perhaps the best in the “Supercard” series while also moving along a number of ongoing feuds (Aries-Jacobs, AOTF-Briscoes, and Stevens-Strong specifically). An unbelievable amount of great action (even with the triumvirate of Dingo, Sugarfoot, and Bushwacker Luke in a match). Thanks for the memories, Dragon Gate.

2. Glory By Honor VII: Live bias be damned, this show was just plain epic, even as it was going long. Gabe Sapolsky’s final major show had two great matches in Nigel vs. Generico II and Danielson vs. Nakajima, as well as an electric close with Steel Cage Warfare and a lot of love put into the DVD’s production.

3. Final Battle 2008: Definitely the best show under the Pearce regime, and a fitting end to the year. The great main event saw Danielson and Morishima going at it as if it was a week since their last match instead of a year, Nigel and Marufuji lived up their expectations since their last match over two years ago, and there was a lot of good work in the ongoing angles.

4. Death Before Dishonor VI: The first half had a great build of Sweet & Sour Inc. running roughshod over everybody, ending with the surprisingly terrific NWA World Title match. The second half was more of that fantastic wrestling goodness, ending with a well-built four-way for the World Title that began the Danielson-Claudio feud.

5. The Tokyo Summit: Ring of Honor’s best Orient-based card and a major show all around, highlighted by the spectacles of Sasuke-Strong and Generico-Ishimori. The dream tag match was fantastic as well, but I felt the main event of Nigel-Jacobs for the World Title was just as good for different reasons.

The World Title match, in which all four guys could be in the ring at once (no tags like in a four corner survival) and there were possibilities of count-outs if three or all of the guys were outside, was damn good stuff. Granted, I’ve maybe seen better title matches when it was only two guys, but I bet when all is said and done, this may go down as the best World Title match among the big three American promotions to occur this month.

Also, some fans are already hating on Lynn, especially since this is brought upon him being matched up against the more popular Danielson and Black. One square of fans in my section (Section C) were giving him shit the whole time, despite putting on a damn good match, while everyone else gave him props. Just no luck with this babyface champion and the last one (Nigel at the start of his reign), but this is by no means Jerry’s fault. [I'll save this rant for BSWH:)]

Tag Title match was quite good itself. The tables early on were set up in corners and wouldn’t break, but once they got set up proper, it was smashy-smashy time. The two tables set up on one another was done well in advance, so by the time Steen went through them, it got a big reaction.

As far as I could tell, Claudio is not a part of the Embassy until they acknowledge it on camera, but his involvement with them definitely plays into T-Dog’s theory of Claudio being the one to finance Nana.

Other quick details:

- Cabana’s new singlet (the one with all of the wrestling moves written on it) is as awesome as described.

- Durden did an on-camera flub when he mentioned that MsChif successfully defended her SHIMMER Title in a match that was announced as being non-title. Also, his sleeves were rolled up. At least he was made a fool by Albright using Osirus’ shoe.

- Omega broke out the logic-ridiculing one-on-two huricanrana, which still got a big pop.

- Bobby Dempsey was beloved, and I’m becoming a big fan of the Dark City Fight Club.

The negative reaction towards Lynn is definitely much smaller (based on what I saw) compared to how people reacted to Nigel. No way should Lynn go heel because of it. They’ll just gut it out until he loses the title.

This match will likely take up the entire second half of the episode it’s a part of (#12 I believe). Also, I really commend them for how they built up the Tag Title match over three episodes. Between this, deciding the World Title challengers, the Dark City Fight Club, etc., they’re doing the simplest things right.

FURTHER DETAILS:

This night was fun for the three main events (all quite good) and the in-ring promos, which I’ll go into more depth here. Flair – who apparently is now an authority figure as the “Ambassador for ROH” – was fucking money all night. An awesome moment came when he was talking about deciding the #1 contender (the Black-Danielson match was announced as a #1 Contender’s Match before hand), and someone shouted out that he should challenge for it. Flair acknowledged it, and people went nuts with chants of “Next World Champ” and “17!”. Flair then goes, “Don’t think that didn’t cross my mind,” but then calls out Jerry Lynn to introduce him to his challenger. Black comes out first, then Danielson, then Aries by himself comes out and lets Flair “break the news to the other guys.” They do the deal where Aries’ name is announced first, he’s all happy, but then Flair adds on Black and Danielson.

Flair’s first promo, which will open up Episode 7, saw him put over the locker room. He invited out Jerry Lynn, who talked about them first wrestling one another (they may have said ‘85, but I thought I heard ‘95) a few days after Flair had been in a car wreck. Then Aries broke it up and said what was recapped above. Flair’s “dark” promo, which was just for the fans after the title match was announced, was classic Naitch. “All Night Long,” including talk of South Street. Also included was him giving props to the the city’s sports teams topping with the Phillies, saying he made amends with Foley after mentioning how this was the home of ECW, and how while the hardcore guys taught him how to fall on tacks, he taught them how to bleed. He closed by saying how the Definitive Flair Collection was a great collector’s item for the men, but soft porn for the women.

I take it Prazak and Hogewood coming out was simply just something special done for the fans, now that their faces are on TV. Not sure if they were calling matches in person. More than likely, they could have been doing stuff backstage. Prazak mentioned how this is the home for ROH’s TV. Hogewood, looking quite old, said he was happy to be here, pointed out some fans in my section from Allentown that I may have seen him talking to earlier (he credited them for filling him in on some stuff), and closed by saying, “Slap the porpoise! Let’s get it goin’!” You’ll be happy to know that while there were a couple of boos for the guy and one person shouting out that he wanted Lenny Leonard, there was a slight chant for, “Slap the porpoise.”

Cabana’s promo, which will likely open Episode 8, saw him coming out to a big ovation and how he has a list of goals. He got through his first two items – wrestling a little person and defeating a little person – before Nana and Osirus interrupted, running him down and hyping up Bison Smith and Jimmy Rave, but Cabana mocked him for spitting all over the place and joked that he had a Jamaican accent. This little issue continued in the Albright-Claudio post-match stuff. Speaking of which, the Embassy’s interference consisted of Ernie throwing a shoe at Albright while he had Claudio in the crowbar. Claudio then kicked him in the groin while the ref dealt with the Embassy to get the win.

Nigel’s promo was definitely more babyface than anything, kind of similar to a classic Joe promo in that he remained confident without playing down to the crowd. He talked of how his title reign began with a torn bicep, a concussion and 20+ stitches at Rising Above, and the fans turning on him at Final Battle ‘07. He said he’d never lose the belt as long as the fans doubted him, but said that by the time he did lose it to Lynn while both his arms were in bad shape, he saw that nobody was doubting him. He put over Lynn’s win by way of Flair’s Be the Man/Beat the Man line, but said he would heal up and become the man again.

Danielson-Black didn’t quite have the atmosphere of their last match, but it was maybe my favorite of the night, and the fans definitely got into at the end. Poetic justice came big when a couple people started chanting “Boring,” many more shouted them down big time, and then immediately afterward the two did the big closing spot that lead to the double count-out. The chair was thrown while both guys were down. People still gave both a big ovation as they stared down one another after the match.

Then after both guys left, out came Aries to SHOOT on the chair-throwing incident. OLD SCHOOL POLICING OF THE CROWD! Culprit gets pointed out, Aries tells him he can either leave or step in the ring, and the guy gets ejected. Aries then mentions that anyone else who wants to be an asshole and try to put themselves over can try to get in the ring. Needless to say, this was a lot more preferable than, say, getting in a hands-on fight with someone, and I give credit to Aries for not dropping the f-bomb every other word nor closing his rant with, “and that’s a shoot!” This might be the first prolonged shoot I witnessed in person.

I like that there was a lot of angles done in front of the crowd, though it was a bitch to text all of it, and it did eat into the wrestling time. Crowd was obviously smaller than both nights of tapings the last time (the section I was in had a very barren third row), plus there were a lot of kids.

One final note: I was in the second row and wearing my Generico shirt again. Generico is getting worn down by the heels in the Episode 9 main event. Steen sees that I’m wearing Generico’s shirt and directly tells me to cheer him on, so of course I have to comply and get an Ole chant going. He tells me to keep it up in a very Homer Simpson manner (”I didn’t say stop.”). Highlight of my evening next to Flair.

I’ll be giving live results tomorrow.

- Just before the show started, a bunch of the wrestlers (Da Soul Touchaz and Delirious among them) handed out balloons to the crowd, while Helios and a couple others tried to get fans pumped by making the crowd do a wave. The best way to get the crowd excited though? Starting the show. I imagine the balloons would be a pain for the camera crew, but Chuck Taylor certainly didn’t disappoint a little later by snatching some from kids and popping them (including using the ring bell hammer on one).

1. King of Trios Semi-Finals: Team Uppercut defeated The UnStable when Dave Taylor gave Colin Delaney a butterfly suplex and rolled back for the pin. Team Uppercut did some uppercut practice on a balloon before the match. They got the upper hand early using, of course, the European Uppercut, and Vin Gerard found himself in a Bryan Danielson surfboard. Colin tried for a cross-arm breaker on Danielson, who mocked selling pain before pulling a Rampage Jackson. The UnStable get control a little later, ganging up on Danielson and working over his knee. After Claudio Castagnoli got in to run wild, we had several close calls of The UnStable nearly winning, including Gerard getting Danielson in an STF. The victory by Team Uppercut was both exciting and relieving, as The UnStable in the Finals would have lead to their opponents naturally being The Future Is Now, which would have blown up in their faces. Post-match, Colin tries to man up after getting pinned, but was met with a barrage of uppercuts by the entrance. Three for three in good openers this weekend. (15:17)

2. King of Trios Semi-Finals: F.I.S.T. defeated The Future Is Now after Chuck Taylor gave Helios the Awful Waffle. The outcome didn’t surprise me given the results of the first Semi-Final match, but they did a good job getting there. Wisely, Jimmy “Equinox” Olsen, the one Future Is Now member who still has good will with the fans, received the heel beatdown. Lince Dorado was booed early, but the offense he and Helios pulled out late in the match won over some people. Olsen nearly made Taylor tap to the Chikara Special, but Gran Akuma breaks it up after three hard kicks (the first two Olsen sold but manned up after). A tope suicida from Dorado sent him crashing into the guardrail again, though not as bad as last night. Helios hit Icarus with a spectacular 630, but while the ref checked on the screaming-in-pain Icarus, Taylor gave Helios a low blow and hit the Awful Waffle for the victory. “Thank You F.I.S.T.!” goes the crowd. Solid stuff with some great closing minutes. (13:31)

3. Arik Cannon defeated El Generico with the Glimmering Warlock. Generico did a springboard off the ropes to grab the wayward balloon above the ring that Team Uppercut used before, then gave it to a ringside fan sporting his mask. Crowd was split for both guys, with a brief duel between “Ole!” for Generico and “Oh Yeah!” for Cannon (going back to when fans likened him to the Kool-Aid Man in 2006). Cannon would use his strikes, while Generico would fight back with some quickness and strikes of his own. Both exchanged suplexes as well, with Cannon hitting a backdrop driver to set up the finish. Good match, followed by a big ovation for both guys. (9:52)

4. Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw won a 12-team Elimination Gauntlet. The yearly tradition continued. The match began with Hallowicked & Frightmare facing Tony Kozina & Ryan Drago, which ended after several minutes with EPIC WAR team advancing after a release German suplex and a German suplex pin on Frightmare. Team #3 was Tim Donst & Hydra, who advanced after Donst made Drago submit after what looked like a Tazmission. Team #4, running right out, was UltraMantis Black & Crossbones, taking it to the Sea Donsters hard. Mantis was able to avoid being placed in the Hydra-Lock and turned it into a sit-out tombstone to advance. Team #5 was Beef Wellington & Steve “The Turtle” Weiner, coming out to a big ovation and calling themselves “Animal House.” They were put away shortly after a brief hot streak when Crossbones gave Beef the Flippin’ Sweet Driver, allowing the Order of the Neo-Solar Temple to advance and achieve two points in the process. Then came Team #6 of Player Uno & Create-A-Wrestler, calling themselves “The Saturday Night Slam Masters” and quickly eliminating the Order after a small package on Crossbones. Both points lost. Team #7 was another oddball unit in Pinkie Sanchez & Mitch Ryder. This lasted a while, with fans cheering for both Uno and Pinkie, ending with Pinkie rolling up Uno with some help from Ryder (who was sporting some lackluster new gear). The Gauntlet picked up steam seriously and stayed that way after Team #8, Marshe Rockett & Willie Richardson of Da Soul Touchaz, came in like a house of fire. Da Soul Touchaz advanced after Willie dropped Da Bomb on Pinkie. Then came The Young Bucks, getting work done quickly in spectacular fashion and advancing after a 450 immediately followed by a moonsault. The tenth team of Cheech Hernandez & “Cloudy” Day had a very good stretch with the Jacksons. Lots of big moves culminating with Cloudy scoring with a rollup. Brodie Lee & Grizzly Redwood were the penultimate team and started brawling with Cheech & Cloudy. Cloudy received some big hits, making some fans think that he might puke in the ring again as he did against Gran Akuma two years ago. Cheech foolishly tries to get Brodie up in the powerbomb position for a doubleteam, but can’t keep him up there and gets a lariat and a big boot for both his troubles and his team’s elimination. Quackenbush & Jigsaw entered in the final spot, though I’m thinking everyone has lost count of teams by this point. They have a good stretch against the two Roughnecks. The heels set up their own end after Brodie accidentally booted Grizzly when aiming for Quack (who was holding Grizzly above him and simply dropped down to his knees) and was taken to the outside by Jigsaw. Quack got the pin on Grizzly with the QuackenDriver II (sit-out tombstone with the legs locked in a cross position), giving his team the match and a third point to earn themselves a title shot. Lot of fun, with the second half of teams delivering the goods as noted. Brodie shoved Louden Noxious to the ground after the loss. (40:15)

-Intermission

5. Amasis & Ophidian & Michael Nakazawa & KUDO defeated Fire Ant & Soldier Ant & Darin Corbin & Ryan Cruz after KUDO pinned Corbin after the double knees from the top. The last great piece of comedy of the weekend. A lot of slick exchanges throughout, with and without Nakazawa’s baby oil. Nakazawa applied it liberally to himself, shared some with Amasis towards the end, and squirted some all over Fire Ant in humiliating fashion (shades of Dragon Gate’s Gamma, who I’ve only recently seen for the first time, by drooling the oil onto Fire Ant from the top rope. The oil backfired on Nakazawa and company when he got too oily to do a German suplex, allowing Fire Ant to grab it and grease up his leg when his opponents tried to grab it and drag him back. Lots of dives commenced, including a massive Ant Hill to the floor using the North Star Express’ assistance. KUDO and Ophidian hit their flying double knee attacks in unison at one point, and KUDO connected with the double knees in the tree of woe position to set up the finish. Coup de Grace was Nakazawa squirting a circle of baby oil around Corbin’s body, preventing his partners from pulling him to safety. This was great. (17:57)

6. Eddie Kingston defeated Austin Aries with the Sliding D lariat. Aries was still his heel character. The fans seemed split again, but the chants for Kingston were louder, and Aries situated into the heel role of the match. One early spot had Aries constantly ducking Kingston as he ran the ropes, resulting in Kingston slowing down and Aries running the ropes himself to mock his cardio. Kingston admitted that it was because he smokes. The two dished out some strikes, Aries hit the heat-seeking missile dive and again took too long to do the power-drive elbow, and Kingston gave him some monstrous suplexes (one of which spiked Aries on his head). The finish was set up by an F-5 of all things by Kingston off the top rope. Another damn fine match. (9:21)

7. Rey de Voladores Finals: Kota Ibushi defeated Player Dos with the Golden Star Press to win the tournament. Big chants for Ibushi, but Dos was shown some love as well. Nakazawa and KUDO were at ringside cornering Ibushi and also providing a bit of safety net for the dives to the outside, of which there were a few. Plenty of close nearfalls, moreso from Ibushi, putting his kicks to good use and pulling out the nip-up-to-German sequence he’s used on El Generico. One funny spot involved Ibushi turning the missed top rope moonsault into the standing moonsault; Dos moved well ahead of time and put his arms out to celebrate the dodge that ultimately failed him. A terrific encounter, again ending with both men getting a big ovation afterward, plus much love shown for DDT. Leonard F. Chikarason presented the tournament plaque to Ibushi, who seemed like he was on Cloud Nine. In general, a smart move to have Rey de Voladores occur during King of Trios this year, as it resulted in the mini-tournament’s strongest field of talent yet by taking advantage of some of the visitors. (11:26)

8. King of Trios Finals: F.I.S.T. defeated Team Uppercut to win the tournament when Chuck Taylor made Danielson submit to a half-crab. No official in-ring introduction by the finalists, as F.I.S.T. jumped Team Uppercut from behind as they entered. Even worse, they did this as Team Uppercut, previously coming out to Claudio’s music, were coming out to “The Final Countdown.” Rudos to the bone. Danielson had a limp from his earlier match, and Taylor went straight to work on it by ramming it on the floor. Danielson got worked over by all three early, including a surfboard by Akuma and a few of Taylor’s own elbows. Dave Taylor and Claudio eventually both got in to run wild, with Squire Dave connecting with the butterfly suplex that got his team into the Finals, but that only got a two-count. Claudio took Sole Food into an Akuma Yoshi Tonic at one point, but later hit the Ricola Bomb on Akuma for a visible pinfall, only for ref Bryce Remsburg to get pulled out of the ring before he counted to three. Claudio wiped out Akuma and Icarus on the outside with a big twisting dive, leaving Danielson and Chuck in the ring alone together. Danielson gave Chuck the back body drop off the top and hits a good number of his elbows, but Chuck kicks out at two after looking the worse for wear. Danielson then locked in the Cattle Mutilation while keeping his injured knee elevated, but Icarus slid in and broke it up with a Knee-DT. Danielson was put in the tree of woe after attempting another super back body drop on Icarus, and received an Awful Waffle from the position. That got a two-and-three-quarters count (massive pop, a kick-out from this move has happened extremely rarely if ever, at least in Chikara), but Chuck quickly followed up by locking in the half-crab, his knee pressed against the top of Danielson’s back. His partners preoccupied/restrained at ringside and himself pulled back into the middle of the ring, Danielson was forced to tap out. F.I.S.T. get made as they won the 2009 tournament and received the tournament medals from Chikarason. A fantastic close to the tournament that told a great story. I could have gone for either team winning, but this result is far more beneficial: heels of the home promotion once again reach prominence. Chuck Taylor in particular gets elevated quite a bit from his victory, though nothing gets taken away by Danielson. (11:09)

Overall: Should have known this night would be high point of the weekend, as the final night encapsulated everything that went one during the tournament. The level of talent, the layout of the whole weekend, and the booking of the tournament (even with people bitching about The Future Is Now beating teams they probably shouldn’t have), made this the best King of Trios yet. Tremendous Finals for both King of Trios and Rey de Voladores, a more-than-pleasant surprise to get Danielson AND Aries AND Generico AND Ibushi on all three nights, Young Bucks and Soul Touchaz shine, Nakazawa made a new friend in Amasis, etc. If you have the money, get the entire weekend on DVD, or at least the last two nights, but Night 3 is a must.

Anyway, after all of this, the next Chikara shows are April 25th in Easton, PA and April 26th back in Philadelphia. Among the talent advertised on the poster for the 4/26 show were Glacier and Shark Girl. Make of that what you will. Thanks for reading if you did so.

What Happened:

A brief “Previously on Ring of Honor” noted that Tyler Black defeated Jimmy Jacobs in last week’s main event. Mike Hogewood and Dave Prazak introduced the show from the studio and hyped the main event between Nigel McGuinness and Jay Briscoe.

1) Kevin Steen defeated Eddie Edwards. Larry Sweeney accompanied Edwards to the ring and did most of the talking during his “Smack Talk” promo. Steen pinned Edwards following a Package Piledriver at about 8 minutes.

Kyle Durden interviewed McGuinness backstage. Nigel sarcastically commented on Durden’s awkward introduction and cut a promo on Briscoe.

2) Sara Del Rey defeated Daizee Haze. Del Rey (w/ Sweeney) won in 5+ minutes with the Royal Butterfly Slam.

Durden interviewed both Briscoes and noted that Mark is out of action due to being injured by the American Wolves. They noted their tag team credentials and Jay said he would earn a World Title shot by beating McGuinness.

Promos aired for ROHWrestling.com and HDNet shows.

Durden interviewed Prince Nana, who was wearing his crown and complaining that he was wrongfully kicked out of recent ROH events. He then hyped the impending arrival of Bison Smith.

3) Claudio Castagnoli defeated Alex “Sugarfoot” Payne. Claudio hit the Very European Uppercut and the Ricola Bomb to score the 1-2-3 in almost 7 minutes.

The Tale of the Tape set the stage for the main event.

4) Nigel McGuinness defeated Jay Briscoe (non-title match). McGuinness used the Jawbreaker Lariat to win the main event in 12 minutes.

The promo for next week’s show highlighted the Bryan Danielson – Austin Aries main event.

Steve Says:

Another solid if unspectacular outing. The opener was good and felt more like a traditional ROH match than any of last week’s undercard matches. The women’s match definitely wasn’t their best outing, but it was a good illustration of a higher level of athleticism than viewers will see in WWE or TNA women’s matches. Having Larry Sweeney in two matches in a row was a little odd. Claudio’s match was a little too long and competitive, but they did a good job of trying to explain that away by saying that he was essentially toying with Sugarfoot. The main event wasn’t as good as last week’s, largely due to the lack of heat or storyline importance. The Jawbreaker Lariat was fairly awkward, so I can only imagine what viewers who’ve never seen one before thought of it.

In terms of production, I think what we saw last week is what we get for the first six weeks, because the shows have been fully produced and there’s no chance to implement feedback until the second set of tapings. Kyle Durden had his sleeves rolled up again. Ugh. I think I figured something out in regard to the sound – It seemed like impact on the mat was loud last week even though all the other in-arena audio was too quiet, and I think it’s because they have microphones under the ring to emphasize this. I say this because I noticed that non-mat impact sounds in the ring were also very quiet. This was especially noticeable in the main event when there were a lot of strikes. Of course, this is a problem, because, say what you will about how smart it is in the big picture, but the use of stiff strikes is another thing that sets ROH apart, but is being de-emphasized here.

Brian Says:

I’m a little torn between this week’s show and last week’s debut. I thought the wrestling action in general was better last week, but this week’s show had a much more diverse set of characters with Nigel, Claudio, the Briscoes, and Sweeney. Nice to see Sweeney highlighted prominently during his clients’ matches, complete with his ringside banter getting picked up at ringside. Steen-Edwards made for a solid opener. I agree with Steve’s thoughts on Del Rey-Haze. I thought it was the best women’s match I’ve seen on TV in a long time, and yet these two can do even better. Thought it was weird how Daizee looked like she could have kicked out after the Royal Butterfly were it not for Sara’s pin; I’ve always seen it as a move that puts down opponents for good. I would have preferred that Sugarfoot not get as many nearfalls on Claudio (I don’t think even viewers new to ROH buy Sugarfoot as a viable competitor) but Claudio still looked strong and impressive. Can’t wait for the eventual confrontation with Bas Rutten, perhaps during an HDNet media event. While the Nigel-Jay match didn’t hold much importance, and the pre-match promos by Nigel (saying he would kill Jay over and over) and Jay (plugging his tag team before being reminded that he had a singles match tonight) could have been better, they established their personalities, and I thought they had a very good match (awkward jawbreaker lariat aside) with the fans audibly rooting for both. Forgot about Nigel having his right arm taped up so much, a precursor to his current injuries.

Not much to add on the production values this time, as I don’t think we’ll see that big a change until maybe Episode #7. I did think Hogewood was worse this week, with Prazak carrying more of the announcing. Not sure if it was a joke or an honest mistake, but I did notice Hogewood calling Claudio a “swede.” Show overall left a bigger impression (on me at least) due to the highlighted personalities.

1. Rey de Voladores 4-way Elimination Match: Player Dos defeated Matt Jackson and Fire Ant and Austin Aries to advance. Aries did a complete 180 from the previous night, reverting back to his heel ROH character (complete with the Weezer entrance music) and standing out from the three faces. Dos had had swanky new gear, resembling a Mega Man character. Lots of fun stuff involving all four guys, including a couple of dives and Aries taking extra long to do his power drive elbow and missing to great comedic effect. Dos got crotched on the top rope after a collision in the corner, leading to Jackson and Fire Ant to do an exchange that ended with Fire Ant eliminating Jackson with the Beach Break. Dos got his act together just after Aries took down Fire Ant, allowing Dos to hit a frog splash on Fire Ant to eliminate him. Aries nearly submitted Dos with the Last Chancery, and his attempt at a 450 was stopped up top, leading Dos to connect with what looked like a Marufuji Mind Flip off the top for the victory. A really fun opener. (14:31)

2. King of Trios Quarter-Finals: F.I.S.T. defeated The F1rst Family after Chuck Taylor caught Darin Corbin with Sole Food and Icarus followed up with the Pedigree. Another fun match featuring Arik Cannon slapping the piss out of his opponents and, early on, a funny leg sweep pinning sequence where ref Bryce Remsburg got caught up in the action (getting a nearfall himself and nipping up with the other wrestlers in the ring). Later on came a dive sequence ending with Taylor going for a dive on everyone else, only for them to move and letting Taylor eat floor. The F1rst Family also had a visible pinfall after a doubleteam from Corbin and Ryan Cruz and a Glimmering Warlock from Cannon before F.I.S.T. broke it up and pulled Bryce away from it. Another really fun match, and Cannon and company got a standing ovation afterward. (15:03)

3. Lethal Wrestling Alliance Showcase: The Submission Squad (Pierre Abernathy & Evan Gelistico) defeated Davey Vega and Gary the Barn Owl after Gelistico hit Vega with a pumphandle driver. Gary had black makeup around his eyes and ran around the ring flapping his wings and hooing like an owl. What they did here was just okay/not-horrible, with the Submission Squad playing the heels and the babyfaces doing simultaneous dives on them at one point, but nothing made them stand out from everyone else on the card. Combine that with the fact nobody was familiar with these guys, and the result is pretty deadly. The most reaction this match got was chants of “Ba-Ba-Booie” towards Abernathy and his big teeth. And yes, it should be noted that the Submission Squad didn’t use a single submission, much less win with one. I can’t shit on it, I just have to say, “Whatever.” (6:02)

4. King of Trios Quarter-Finals: The Future Is Now defeated The Osirian Portal after Helios countered Ophidian’s Death Grip into a death valley driver. The Portal got a lot more cheers than The Future Is Now, who came out to a mixed/negative reaction. This match was pretty fun aside from a crazy twisting splash by Helios in the middle of the match missing by a good few inches. Granted, Amasis was doing some entertaining stuff, but the fact that the heels were getting more cheers than the team that’s meant to get cheers leads to a match failing in its story and failing in its goal. Amasis teased unmasking Helios, but then when Escorpion Egipcio tried to a little bit later, his partners told him to stop. Later, one of the ears on Lince Dorado’s mask got ripped off, and the heels went after his mask. Prior to the finish, Dorado and Jimmy Olsen went for dives on opposite sides, with Dorado’s tope suicida rocking Egipcio hard and sending himself into the second row. Fans were just as unhappy with this finish as they were with The Future Is Now defeating Team DDT. Jumping ahead a bit, it would be pretty lopsided to have three heel trios and one babyface trios advance if the Portal were to win here, but it’s a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” mentality with nobody buying into The Future Is Now’s push. (17:53)

- Intermission

5. Rey de Voladores 4-way Elimination Match: Kota Ibushi defeated El Generico and Nick Jackson and Jigsaw to advance. The match started with some expected fun stuff, then Jackson and Generico forming a brief alliance before they began breaking up pinfalls (yes, in an elimination match) and butting heads. After some really crazy moves (including Ibushi’s backflip kick into one of the guys perched on the top), Generico and Ibushi were left alone in the ring and put on a spectacular sequence of exchanges. This was essentially a redo of what these two did in ROH together last year, but it was amazing to see live and the fans were going absolute apeshit. This all ended with a reverse super frankensteiner by Ibushi that eliminated Generico. Jigsaw and Jackson, who stayed completely out of the ring and out of sight during all of this, came back in for a far briefer exchange that ended with Jigsaw eliminating Jackson with the Jig n’ Tonic. Then Jigsaw and Ibushi duked it out a for a while before Ibushi won with the Golden Star Press, which was all knees on Jigsaw. The other two guys were still at ringside, so all four wrestlers came in together and soaked up the massive amount of admiration. “This Was Awesome” during the match twice, “Five Star Match” a little bit afterward. A pretty stellar match, with Ibushi coming off like a god to the fans. (13:36)

6. King of Trios Quarter-Finals: The UnStable defeated Da Soul Touchaz when Vin Gerard pinned Trauma after STIGMA clipped his knee and held onto his feet from outside. This was a very easy match to watch, slowing things down a bit but still keeping the fans’ interest after what they just saw. Lots of fun stuff here, with Colin Delaney failing to get Willie Richardson off his feet, Willie putting Vin and Colin in a double Boston Crab, and Willie nailing giving Vin a spinebuster off the middle rope. The heel victory took the wind out of people’s sales, but Da Soul Touchaz still got a great ovation. (8:40)

7. Inter Species Wrestling Showcase/ISW Championship Match: Player Uno defeated Twiggy with Game Over (tombstone variation) to retain the title. A lot of fans of ISW in the building, so this match was already more successful than the LWA showcase. Twiggy first popped up in Chikara in October 2006 (at a show I was also at) and made a couple other appearances the following month, but this is his first time back since then. He was far more over here, presumably based on so many Chikara fans becoming ISW fans. He’s a really small guy (looking a bit like Topher Grace) who came out to Bon Jovi while sporting a Michael Jackson red leather jacket, tassle-laden pants, and a headband. Defending champion Uno has new gear himself that matches Dos’ gear, but I still have a soft spot for his old gear and mask (a lot more friendlier). So these two had a good, competitive match that had the crowd split. Twiggy looked better than remembered and connected with a solid senton during the match. The two beloved babyfaces celebrated together afterward to chants of “I-S-Dub!” (8:44)

8. King of Trios Quarter-Finals: Team Uppercut defeated The Masters of a Thousand Holds after Claudio Castagnoli countered a super frankensteiner attempt from Mike Quackenbush into a Super Ricola Bomb. Everything you may have hoped to see in this match happened. Johnny Saint had some top-notch exchanges with Claudio, Bryan Danielson, and Dave Taylor. Claudio and Quackenbush added more good stuff to their lengthy highlight reel. Claudio and Jorege Rivera clashed again, leading to a big nearfall from Rivera. Danielson and Quackenbush clashed again a week after wrestling in ROH, and things got pretty heated with some strike exchanges. Danielson was looking pretty angry and determined, but Quack paid him back for throwing strikes to his back by giving Danielson a small taste of his own Cattle Mutilation and the elbows of doom. Danielson got caught in the Chikara special after this, but it was broken up by his teammates. A wonderful match all around, and my favorite of the weekend so far. All six paid each other their respects, and then Quack let Saint soak up the admiration by himself. (33:35)

Overall: The first half of the night started out very fun with the first two matches before taking a dip with the next two, but the second half was aces all around between Ibushi’s 4-way and the main event. As much as I enjoyed Night 1, it didn’t have anything better than the top two matches on Night 2, so this may be the one DVD in this set to seek out unless Night 3 has some super stuff, especially provided if the last two rounds of the tournament are booked well. Night 3 also will have Kota Ibushi vs. Player Dos to determine the 2009 Rey De Voladores, plus two big singles matches of Arik Cannon vs. El Generico and (for the first time) Austin Aries vs. Eddie Kingston.