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DVD REVIEW: RING OF HONOR 'DOUBLE FEATURE'

On March 14 and 15, ROH held a Double Feature in Dover, New Jersey.  This was the weekend where Darren Aronofsky filmed The Wrestler at Ring of Honor with Mickey Rourke.  Not having enough footage to release two DVDs, ROH is putting two cards on one show.  And in honor of this different DVD, I'm going to do a different kind of review.  Instead of PBP coverage and match thoughts after, I'm going to do a running diary of the show with my thoughts, sprinkled in with some of the moves.  At any time, I may decide to go back to PBP, however.  The timestamps, when included, are the (approximate) running time the thoughts or moves are referring to.

00:00 - Becky Bayless explains the set up to start the DVD.  Why is her head always crooked?

Pelle Primeau vs. Roderick Strong

Uh-oh...I can hear crowd members comments pretty clearly.  I hope this doesn't get too smarky.

The look of the show is actually pretty cool, thanks to the glitzy Hollywood effects.

I know Pelle has a lot of fans, and he does bump really well, but whenever I see that he's in a match with a star like this, I can't get into it.  Even ROH needs enhancement talent, I guess.

4:28 - Maybe the worst monkey flip I've ever seen.

4:55 - Strong drops Pelle into the ring apron from the torture rack position.  OK, that was really cool.  I'll give him credit for taking bumps like that.

Watching this makes me wonder if Pelle's opponents really like wrestling him.  They get a match to really take it easy and relax.  You don't take much punishment in the ring, either.  He does make them look good, too.  Do guys lobby to wrestle Pelle?

7:30 - Nasty chop...that actually should have been the match right there.  I would love to see a chop end it some time.

8:30 - A cool gutbuster, followed by a running big boot, and Strong applies an inverted cloverleaf to win your squash match.

Your winner, Roderick Strong!

Erick Stevens vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. BJ Whitmer vs. Nigel McGuinness

With his look, Stevens has to be one of the toughest guys to book.  He SHOULD be a monster in ROH, but he's booked pretty evenly in most of his matches.  I'd love to see him as a heel, because I have trouble buying him as the guy who can score clean wins over your Aries and Danielson types.

Claudio got really stale when they drew his feud with Sweeney out for over a year.  He's someone else I like better as a heel, when he can be an arrogant bully instead of a dope who goes for "Hey!"s

Nigel, of course, really turned a corner at the Sixth Anniversary show, when he heeled it up in a big way against Danielson.  It ranks up there, for me, as one of the top mid title reign turns.  If this was WWE, it would have been as good as Savage turning between Wrestlemania IV and V.

15:00 - The crowd is mostly against Nigel when he takes the mic, though the usual suspects have to make it a totally unnecessary dueling chant.  Just boo!  He calls himself the best wrestler in the world, and I can believe it now that he is a heel.  I also love how he puts the title belt on backwards, so you can kiss his ass and see the title.  It's the little things.  He mentioned a fat guy and his father when a certain notorious fan who keeps the time is seen in the front row.  I got a kick out of it.

They bring up the VideoWire where Nigel cemented his heel turn.  Prazak did a terrible job in the video, but Nigel was great.  That video wire is included as an extra on the DVD.  Check it out if you missed it.

Rest holds aplenty to start, but the crowd seems hot enough.  Nigel finally takes over against Claudio and gets aggressive while jawing with the fans.  Good stuff.

Whitmer tags Nigel out, and I'm about ready to tag out of watching.  Whitmer does nothing for me at this point.

20:30 - Whitmer and Claudio trade shots, and Stevens joins in.  Pretty funny, actually.

21:15 - Hagadorn showing "concern" outside the ring.  Bobby Heenan he is not.

Claudio and Stevens work over Whitmer in the corner.  They could actually be a fun, regular tag team, I think.  I laughed when Stevens scared off Hagadorn, too.

One thing I don't get about four corner survival is why do guys tag out when they have an advantage?

23:30 - Nigel knocks Claudio against the guardrail, then holds the belt up.  Why would you cheer him?

24:45 - Nigel has til 5!  One of the things I do hate about Nigel is the weak looking running European where he steps up in a corner.  No extra momentum comes out of it, so what's the point?

Castagnoli has been getting some great spin time on his Giant Swings lately.

26:28 - As much as I dislike Whitmer, his spinebuster DOES look good.

Stevens has really added something extra for this match.  He seems to be putting more emphasis on his Irish Whips, even.

27:27 - Castagnoli pins McGuinness with a Powerbomb.  I'd like that better if they did it before Nigel won the title.  I hate to see champions lose in insignificant matches like this.  Maybe it's me, though.

Your winner, Claudio Castagnoli!

Necro Butcher w/ Lacey vs. Delirious

Speaking of acts that have stalled, it's Delirious!  A long feud with Adam Pearce will put the kibosh on anyone's momentum, though.

This is the first of four qualifiers for a Four Corner Survival Match on the PPV to determine who will get a title shot later that night.

I don't know why, but I like Necro better as the face he used to play in CZW than this tough guy he plays now.  CZW has done something pretty clever, though, using The Wrestler filming to remake Necro as a Hollywood guy who doesn't want to do the deathmatch, brawling style anymore.  It even led to a match with Danny Havoc fighting Mickey Rourke's stunt double at Tournament of Death.

I think my problem with Necro is he isn't crazy enough.  That promo where he was lamenting his lack of insurance outside a hospital killed it for me.  Some people thought it was great, but it did nothing for me.

36:20 - Delirious bites Necro's bare foot.  I'll just say that I wouldn't do that.

This match isn't bad, but without the plunder, it just isn't that interesting.  We've seen both guys work with plunder almost exclusively lately that it's a little jarring to see them just wrestle.  And as soon as I say that, Lacey goes for a chair.  Daizee Haze runs in and a kid runs in to hit Lacey.  What the?  Delirious wins with a roll up.

Your winner, Delirious!

The Haze and Delirious clean house after the match is over.  The seeds planted here are well done.

The Vulture Squad (Jigsaw & Ruckus) vs. Austin Aries & Bryan Danielson

Jigsaw looks like Jolly Roger's younger brother without the mask.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  Superteams like Danielson/Aries really pop me.  There's something about two aces tagging that makes their matches, no matter who they are with, really special.

44:17 - Danielson mocks the taping of the movie, telling the crowd to cheer when his team does stuff.  And they can cheer for Ruckus, too.  They can tell Jigsaw to put his mask back on, though.

And I've said this before...the head kicked in chant is so clunky that it just sounds stupid to me.

48:35 - Danielson gets a great smirk on his face when he ignores a clean break.

Leonard says he wondered how Jigsaw would do without a mask, and this leads into a short, but kind of lame bit where they discuss what will change.

I love the fact that Ruckus became a regular in ROH, but I like his singles matches a lot better.   I hope he gets a chance to shine on his own some day, because he's got the potential for some fresh matches that ROH could use.

Danielson and Aries look great in working over Jigsaw.  Danielson seems to be having a lot of fun in mocking the tapings with exaggerated expressions and smiles.

52:49 - EDDIE F'ING KINGSTON is heckling the Vulture Squad.  Kingston is Ruckus old stablemate from BLK OUT until Kingston was rudely dumped on by John Zandig in April 2007 at a CZW show.  Kingston is a guy I would LOVE to see become a regular in ROH.  He's one of my favorite wrestlers on the Indy scene.  The King of Diamonds is another person who could be added to really freshen up the card.  It would be cool to see his epic feud with Hero pick back up in ROH.  And hey...it's Marisa Tomei!

56:35 - Ruckus gets a chance to shine by cleaning house on Aries and Danielson.

58:15 - Kingston distracts Ruckus again by yelling "Who you with?" at him.  Kingston gets Jigsaw and Smokes to pay attention while Ruckus succumbs to the knees/elbows, followed by Last Chancery.

Your winners, Bryan Danielson & Austin Aries!

Go Shiozaki vs. Brent Albright

This is the second qualifier for the PPV survival match.

Leonard and Prazak admit the pacing for the crowd is off on account of the movie taping.

I can't make out who it is, but you can clearly see a couple of people sitting on the entrance ramp, and it looks pretty silly.

The wrestlers who have faced Go have all done a good job at putting over the chop by ducking it, then looking incredibly relieved.

1:08:47 - Go finally hits some chops.

Another person has joined the picnic on the ramp, and it looks so bush league, like a random group of people sitting against the wall of the gym some company is running.

I haven't said much about the match, and it IS good, but this is the kind of match that isn't built on amazing high spots.  Like a lot of ROH matches, it really starts to pick up steam near the end.

1:15:20 - Fighting spirit by Go.  I hate that.  He gets two after a nasty looking lariat.

1:16:18 - Go wins with his picture perfect moonsault.  That's become such an average move with all the innovation that it's a little weird to see someone win with it, not that I am complaining.

Your winner, Go Shiozaki!

Larry Sweeney is looking sharp with his hair slicked back and a white tuxedo in honor of Hollywood being in town.  He works on recruiting Albright.  The crowd chants for Bobby Dempsey, of course.  Does anyone see a future in Dempsey?  He's great in his current role, but I can't seem him doing anything else.  Sweeney is hilarious as Albright blows him off.

Sara del Rey comes out and says she wants nothing to do with him.  Claudio runs him off.

Kevin Steen vs. Davey Richards

Steen rolls down the entrance ramp.  Heh.  Steen/Generico want a shot at the NRC's belts.

Steen's guarantee to have gold, one way or another, put ROH in a bind.  Steen and Generico really should have won them against the Briscoes at some point, and when they didn't, the thrill of the chase was kind of dead.  In singles, Steen is in danger of having the same thing happen to him if he keeps losing in title matches.

1:26:10 - Steen shushes the crowd, and they comply, but the chop didn't sound all that loud.

I was once apathetic towards Davey and he won me over with his tag matches.  He seems out of place as a singles guy.  From his work with Super Dragon to the matches with Romero, he comes across like a classic #2.  It doesn't help that he is constantly ridiculed in the NRC.  It is funny, though.

1:29:20 - The flick of the hand to the nuts by Richards always makes me laugh.

Richards does a nice job of selling the nut shot he took from Steen a couple minutes ago.  So does Steen for that matter.

1:32:54 - Steen steps on the nuts casually as he goes to the top rope for a Swanton.  Richards blocks and gets a nasty kick in for two,

1:35:20 - The over the knee neckbreaker from Steen always impresses me.  It can't be easy to protect his opponent on that.

1:36:16 - Steen nails a Package Piledriver for the win, and he continues to sell the nut shot.  I love it!  Really solid match.  Nothing that you'd talk about the next day, but something that you sometimes forget to appreciate.  It's matches like these that help make DVD's worth buying.

Joey Matthews & Tyler Black vs. The Briscoes

Joey totally outclasses the Briscoes on the mic, the promos aren't ever going to be what the Briscoes are known for.

The Briscoes dominate early until Tyler Black dropkicks Mark as Briscoe comes off the top rope.  AOTF do a good job at working Mark over and keeping him out of his corner for a few minutes.

Black and Matthews prevent a springboard doomsday device to take control of the match again.  Necro calmly cheers them on and gives advice you'd normally expect to hear from Little Mac's manager (Stay on him, stay on him).  I half expect Necro to tell Tyler to stick and move.

ROH really does put on a lot of amazing tag matches, better than TNA and WWE for the most part.  But someone who hears about them might be surprised to see how traditional a lot of them are, with the heels dominating for a big portion until a hot tag is made.  That's not necessarily a bad thing, since the end sequences of the tag matches are always a lot of fun, and some of the heels are very good at making the beat down look good.

1:53:20 - Necro looks right into the camera to say something.  It's really weird to see him as a mad man incapable of being controlled in his matches, then being totally calm and shouting encouragement here.

1:54:00 - Mark's Karate Kid impersonation is as good as ever.

1:56:25 - AOTF win when Joey Matthews gives a Double Arm DDT to Mark on a chair.

You winners, Age of the Fall!

Not the best match they've had.  It was merely solid, buy still worth watching.  They might have been saving the fireworks for the PPV, and you can't really blame ROH for that.  Post match, Delirious and Haze make the save after AOTF pound the Briscoes, and they water the seed the planted earlier with Haze and Delirious.

This ends Night One, and now we move to Night Two

Davey Richards w/ Roderick Strong vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Claudio as a face puts ROH in a difficult position, much like Stevens, as I wrote about earlier.  Richards is much smaller, and while he is a bulldog in the ring, Claudio should be overpowering him, and right at the start, I can tell that probably won't happen.  Claudio is best as a base for small faces to work off of.  Oh, and this is the third qualifier for the PPV survival match.

2:02:06 - Davey kicks Claudio in the middle of a "Hey".  I wish more people would do that.

Claudio does so well when he's throwing power moves around, I kind of hate to watch when he's doing his mat work.

2:05:17 - I think the "Hey" Elbow after walking the ropes is my least favorite spot in wrestling.  Luckily, Davey avoids it.

So far, so wrong about how I thought the match would go.  Davey's getting the advantage with well timed cheap shots and submission holds.

2:07:42 - Joy...the Hey elbow again.  Claudio hits this time and gets ready for a giant swing.  Davey blocks by grabbing the ref's leg.  Heh.  Unique spot.

Davey is doing a great job in this match, sliding under Claudio's legs and trying to avoid a slugfest.

2:09:15 - 2:09:34 - 19 second Giant Swing, followed by a Running European for the win.

Your winner, Claudio Castagnoli!

I'm a little surprised that he won with that, but it's nice to see and it makes a lot of sense that a guy would be knocked senseless after being swung around like that.

Adam Pearce & Shane Hagadorn vs. The Vulture Squad (Ruckus & Jigsaw)

Only an appearance from Eddie Kingston could make this worthwhile for me.  Pearce and his manservant do nothing for me.

2:14:16 - Pearce isn't good enough to do the spot where you pull the wrestler up at two.  I guess the gesture makes sense, then.

This is going like one of those traditional tag matches I mentioned earlier.  Ruckus is getting dominated (by Hagadorn, no less) until he can make the quick tag.  Pretty predictable stuff here, and I think Pearce and Hagadorn would look better if they match were more even.

2:19:17 - The Double Stomp Jig n' Tonic is a great finisher.  Looks cool and devastating.

Your winners, The Vulture Squad!

I really don't have a lot to say about the match.  It's just there.  Jigsaw calls out Eddie Kingston after the match, and Ruckus doesn't necessarily agree with that.

Larry Sweeney, dressed in his normal attire, comes out as Pearce and Hagadorn are in the ring after The Vulture Squad leave.  He gives Hagadorn permission to kick Dempsey.  Claudio makes an appearance again, and I get a chuckle out of Dempsey struggling to run up the ramp.

BJ Whitmer & Brent Albright vs. The Briscoes

The slightly less boring Hangmen in action.

2:26:35 - Whitmer is at his best these days when getting punched by two guys.  Something has been missing from his matches, with a lot of them seeming flat and uninspired.  I'll just say I wasn't broken up when I heard he was done with ROH for awhile.

2:29:14 - Mark and BJ tease a karate chop vs. boxing showdown, but Whitmer begs off.

This match is also pretty standard.  I'm not surprised, since, again, it IS the night before a PPV.  The result is also never in doubt, so that takes a lot of the suspense out.  So far, Night Two is of to an eh start.

2:38:46 - The Briscoes win it with a Spike J-Driller.

Your winners, The Briscoes!

As you might gather by the time stamps, I didn't have a lot to say about a match that went on fairly long.  Nothing you need to see.

Austin Aries & Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness & Go Shiozaki

Go actually has a shot at facing his partner for the ROH World Championship in hand.  Nigel cuts a standard, but good, heel promo before the match.  Nigel gets some heat from the ringside fans as he stalls getting in the ring, and then there's my least favorite chant of all time.

Nigel is great before the bell even rings, instructing Go on what to do and putting his arm around his shoulder.

Go and Danielson start with a lockup.  These two have a good history together, match-wise.

When Danielson is doing his mat wrestling, he seems to be going 20 mph faster than people like Claudio.  Much more entertaining when he's doing it.

2:47:55 - There are few things I like typing more than Dragon Kick by Dragon.

Aries tags in and the chemistry he shares with Danielson is special, a lot like what Benoit and Jericho had back in the day.  Great partners, better enemies.

2:49:10 - Nigel plays a great bully in the corner.  He must really relish the chance to play a heel, as he's constantly doing something to piss off his opponents or the crowd, be it in the ring or on the apron.

Leonard makes a good point about the talent here.  The current ROH champion, arguably the greatest ROH champion in Danielson, the former champion who might be the ace of the company in Aries, and a future champion in Go.  They all bring something different to the table.

2:55:37 - Nasty running European Uppercut on the floor by Nigel, and he continues to heel it up.  Danielson and Nigel trade Europeans in the middle of the ring, and Nigel keeps the momentum on his side with a lariat, causing the fans to chant Same Old you know what.  I too was annoyed by all the lariats until that great video wire where he talked about how he...you know...wins when he uses them.

This is another match where one team dominates, but it is set apart by a couple of things.  One, there is not a weak link here, so the crowd is a lot more into the performers.  Two, Nigel really understands how to be entertaining when he is on the attack.  Three, a hot tag to Austin Aries means a lot more than a hot tag to Jigsaw, who I actually like.  He really comes in like a house of fire, and the crowd responds accordingly.

3:00:41 - Great missile dropkick off the top by Danielson to his opponents.  I think the crowd is chanting teamwork, which puts them at one creative chant for the two nights.

3:01:11 - Aries beautiful running dropkick to Nigel's face as he stands on his head in the corner.  Great spot.

3:02:28 - Aries and Go recreate a great spot from another one of their matches, where Go puts Aries up for a suplex, eats a couple of knees to the head, but somehow manages to hold on to the suplex.

Aries counters a jawbreaker lariat, and this match is really starting to click.  The near falls hear really mean something.

3:04:20 - Cattle Mutilation to Nigel and Last Chancery to Go.  Both tap out.

Your winners, Austin Aries & Bryan Danielson!

The first match truly worth devoting your time to on Night Two.  I loved what they put together here, and even though it is clearly short-lived, the team of Aries and Danielson continue to impress.  Nigel walking up the belt holding his head, but still holding the belt is a great visual.

Kevin Steen vs. Joey Matthews

Steen is attacked by Matthews when Steen is going down the ramp.

3:08:52 - The match officially starts after a couple minutes of brawling, and Matthews calls for a 5 Star Chinlock.  Heh.  Leonard and Prazak inform the home audience that taping for the movie is over, so let's see if the crowd reacts differently.  Steen avoids another 5 Star Chinlock.  He avoids a body press and gets a 5 Star Fistdrop instead.

3:11:00 - Series of snapmares and the 5 Star chinlock is finally applied.  Matthews:  "Best chinlock I've ever done!"  Hahahaha.

3:13:20 - I can't be sure, but I think I saw more than one girl in the front row at an ROH show.

Matthews is also entertaining as a heel, but I could see it having a shore shelf life.  He's doing a good job of being a cocky jerk in this match, but I think a guy like Chuck Taylor would be better off filling that role in the long term.

3:18:03 - Steen gets crotched after going to the top.  Rarely do I see a match in ROH where a guy goes up to the top without a hitch.  Steen wins shortly thereafter with a Package Piledriver.

Your winner, Kevin Steen!

Steen snaps some photos of Matthews after the match.  Tyler Black runs down the ramp to help his stablemate. 

Black takes the mic and talks about how Steen isn't the only one who wants gold back.  Very hard to hear him in this set up.  He calls out Erick Stevens for the final qualifier match for the four way.

Erick Stevens vs. Tyler Black

One of the things I notice about Black is every little movement means something.  Even when he is stalling, a little flick of the wrist can be very telling.

3:25:45 - They look mean as hell, but knife edge chops and the contests to see who has the stiffer chop gets a little tiring at times, too.  It's one thing that I wish ROH would work on, making sure guys aren't doing too much of the same thing.

3:28:00 - There have been some nice dropkicks on this show, but the one the Black just put on Stevens might be the best.  A few seconds later, he puts on a great chinlock.

Stevens reminds me of Juggernaut when he really gets moving.  I'm not as big a fan as some other people, but he might have the best shoulderblocks/tackles on the scene today.  Of all the people on the ROH roster, he might be the one that would make the easiest transition to WWE.

3:31:52 - Really sloppy pin by Black and he wins with that?  Maybe they should have tried again.  Mars what had been a good, if short, match.

Your winner, Tyler Black!

Necro Butcher w/ Lacey vs. Delirious vs. Roderick Strong vs. Eddie Edwards

Strong's FIP title is not on the line in this four corner survival match.  As soon as Necro comes out, he's getting chairs ready.  One of these wrestlers is not like the other, and the name rhymes with Betty Bedahscrew it.  Eddie Edwards doesn't fit.  Odd choice for a main event.

If I never heard Necro speak, I think I might be legitimately scared of him when he tries to do things like gouge Edwards eyes out.

3:40:13 - Did Delirious just kick one of Edwards' teeth out?

Here comes the Haze...AGAIN.  Problem with the double feature is that segments like this, for the third time, are very repetitive.  Strong and Necro battle at the top of the ramp while the ladies go at it in the ring.

3:42:04 - Alright, that was the coolest spot I've ever seen.  Strong uses a chair as a sled down the ramp and knocks down Edwards and Delirious.  Awesome.

The ramp reminded me of something and I just now figured it out.  It's like a mix between the American Gladiators ramp and they one they used to have in Double Dare with chocolate and slime.

3:45:03 - Finally, Necro starts to use the chair.  He sets one up and sits Strong down.  Necro goes to the top rope, but Strong throws a chair at his head and launches Necro on to it.

Necro wins with a Tiger Driver.

Your winner, The Necro Butcher!

This is a weird DVD.  Due to the length, there is A LOT of filler, more than usual since it is the night before a PPV.  On the other hand, there is nearly four hours of wrestling on it.  Quantity over quality actually wins out here, so I recommend buying this.  Match of the Nights goes to Aries/Danielson vs. Go/Nigel, which stood out over everything by a fairly wide margin.  I would have liked to been excited by more matches, but the chance for greater exposure by hosting a movie shoot put ROH in a bind.  Still, you take the good with the bad here, and as long as you go in knowing that there will be a couple of skippable matches, you'll enjoy this.

For comments or questions, please email me at edsh007@hotmail.com.