Want more wrestling news, rumors, and results? Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com.
ROH Take No Prisoners Coverage
Dave Prazak sends us to Orlando, Florida for an ROH Tag Team title bout.
ROH Tag Team champions Davey Richards & Rocky Romero vs. The Vulture Squad
No Julius Smokes with Jigsaw and Ruckus. They started fast with Ruckus and Romero doing some great athletic stuff in the ring while Jigsaw and Richards brawl on the floor. Richards pulled Ruckus to the floor. Romero danced, setting up Jigsaw to hit a missile dropkick. Romero was knocked to the floor, where Jigsaw hit a running dive through the ropes on everyone.
The Vulture Squad double-teamed Romero with fast moves. They whipped him into the ropes and he grabbed them to put the brakes on. They dropkicked him through the ropes. Ricky and Robert smiled somewhere. Richards and Jigsaw faced off. Richards slid out of the ring, distracting him for a Romero missile dropkick.
The No Remorse Corps. continued to work over Jigsaw on the outside. They tossed him back in, where Richards drilled him with stiff kicks to the back and chest. They worked over Jigsaw in their corner, tagging in and out quickly. Jigsaw tried to fight his way out but Richards was too powerful. Jigsaw dazes him and jumps for a tag but Richards catches him and powers him back to the corner.
Ruckus finally makes the tag and dives out of the ring, taking out the Tag champs. The crowd chanted ROH. Ruckus nails the Razzle Dazzle into the corner on Richards, then bulldogged him. Richards kicked up at two. Ruckus hit a standing shooting star press for a two count. Richards nailed an STO to regain control of the match. Romero charged him in the corner and nailed an inverted atomic drop. He hit a running knee strike in the corner.
Jigsaw nailed a double stomp off the top onto Richards. The Vulture Squad hit a double dropkick to the face of an upside down Romero for a two count. The crowd chanted, "That was awesome." Jigsaw went for his finisher but Richards superkicked him, allowing Richards to hit the Code Red sunset flip powerbomb. Jigsaw and Richards battled on the top rope and finally Richards was shoved off. Romero jumped up and hit a hurrancanrana into a Diablo Armbar, which was such a sweet spot, it should have been the finisher. Ruckus broke up the submission.
Richards attempted the DR Driver as Ruckus and Romero battled on the floor. Richards began beating the snot out of Jigsaw. Jigsaw superkicked Richards but Richards shrugged it right off. Jigsaw went for a backslide but Richards kicked out. Richards snapped the DR Driver and scored the pinfall.
Your winners and still ROH Tag Team champions, Davey Richards and Rockey Romero!
A super hot tag team title bout with a great mix of submissions, dives, innovative moves. This was great.
Backstage, Tyler Black was preparing for his main event. The show has been all about Black's chance for glory. They showed Nigel McGuinness sitting quietly looking down at his ROH title belt, mentally preparing for the match.
We went to clips of Sweet N' Sour Inc. destroying BJ Whitmer in the ring in Philadelphia, explained as happening "while we were in Orlando". They explained Whitmer was upset about the business deal Pearce cut with Larry Sweeney and was nailed with a spike piledriver on a chair. They said Whitmer was rushed to the hospital and they "hoped to have more details on this in the future." It came off like step one of a build for Whitmer's return, which I certainly would welcome personally as I enjoy the hell out of his work.
American Dragon Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries
The announcers laid the background for the rivalry between the two perfectly, putting it over that it was the first time they had faced off on PPV. I was shocked they didn't put over that both men have victories over Samoa Joe, since he's the current TNA champion.
They locked up with Danielson backing Aries into the corner but breaking clean. They locked up again, this time with Dragon and Aries reversing holds as they wrestled with some sweet scientific back and forth moves. At one point, Danielson had Aries' head scissored between his legs. When Aries went to escape Danielson piledrove his head into the mat, which was perfect.
Danielson and Aries go into a knuckle lock, which neither breaks despite monkey flips and shots to the abdomen. Danielson finally nails a butterfly suplex. Danielson torques Aries' shoulder on the mat. As Aries struggles to his feet, Danielson shoved his feet into Aries' body, trying to wear him down. Beautiful mat wrestling.
Aries nailed a headstand into a dropkick to escape. Aries rebounded off the ropes but Danielson tripped him and attempted a cattle mutilation. Aries escaped and dropped an elbow on Danielson. Danielson escaped to the floor. Aries went for a dive through the ropes but Danielson nailed him with a knee strike as we left the ropes.
Danielson came off the top but Aries avoided the move. Aries began beating him with knees to the back. Aries locked on a hammerlock, then scissored his body with legs, forcing him into a submission hold. Aries placed Danielson face-first across the apron and knees him, then nailed him across the back of the head. Aries tossed Danielson back into the ring.
Aries locked on a stretch plum variation on Danielson, then pulled backwards for a unique pinfall attempt. Aries whips Danielson into the corner but Danielson caught him with a boot, then hit a running kick. Danielson begins working over Aries with uppercuts. He whips Aries into the corner, then nails a forearm. He suplexes Aries over for a two count. Danielson locks up Aries' face like he's going for a surfboard, but grabs Aries by the face. He drives his knees into the back of Aries' knees.
Danielson continues to kick and beat on Aries, getting several near falls. From a pure wrestling standpoint, this thing was been awesome and at this point, for the price tag, this is a great PPV buy. Aries comes back with a heat seeking missile, sending him out of the ring to the floor. Aries tosses him back into the ring. He goes for a brainbuster but Danielson blocks.
Aries drops him outside on the apron. They exchanged elbows with Danielson getting the worst of it. Danielson goes after Aries' arm, trying to wear it down. Danielson snaps it, using the ropes for leverage, then hits a missile dropkick. He goes right after Aries' arm, attempting a crossface chicken wing. Aries tries to fight his way to his feet with Danielson attempting to butterfly the arms. Aries escapes and hits a belly-to-back suplex. Aries goes for the roaring elbow but Danielson blocks and locks in a gogoplata.
Aries tries to roll Danielson into a pinfall but Danielson turns it around, scissoring Aries' arm his legs in another unique submission attempt. Danielson teased a Tiger suplex but Aries hit the ropes and rolled through. Danielson attempted cattle mutilation but Aries escaped. Aries hit a running knee strike and attempted a brainbuster. Danielson blocked but Aries hit the roaring elbow.
Aries' arm was hurt so Danielson tried to cross armbreaker. Aries grabbed a small package for a two count. They battled in the corner and Danielson hung himself outside the ring, locking on a triangle choke. Danielson is dropkicked while on the ropes and Aries hits a brainbuster off the top rope. Danielson kicked out.
Aries locked on the Oriential Torture Device but Danielson escaped. Danielson and Aries went back and forth with strikes and submissions to the point Dana White was taking notice. Danielson went nuts with the elbows to the face and locked on an armbar submission. Aries finally tapped.
Your winner, Bryan Danielson!
Without any hesitation, I think this may have been the best match in ROH in a long, long time. This thing was just completely perfectly laid out and brilliant. If you watched this bout and didn't come out a fan of both of these guys afterwards, you should just stop calling yourself a wrestling fan. I can't put over this bout enough. This PPV has been just great.
Backstage, Jimmy Jacobs was dissuading his followers from caring about the loss to The Briscoes earlier. He said that Tyler Black was about to take the biggest power and platform ROH has to offer home to the Age of the Fall. All of his sheep bleated.
ROH champion Nigel McGuinness vs. Tyler Black
The announcers put over Black as the Cinderella story of ROH. The spotlights completely washed him out when he stood on the top rope. As Nigel came to the ring, Dave Prazak said he was going through a divorce with the ROH fans. I thought that was a hell of a clever line. The announcing has been really spot on thus far on the show. I don't know if I mentioned that, so if I did before, I just did again, because it's been that good. Sometimes the announcers feel like they are reading bullet points but it's been a much more natural delivery on this show.
They shook hands before the match, but the second Black turned to return to his corner, Nigel grabbed him and ran him shoulder-first into the ringpost. Nigel went right after the arm, so Black was immediately favoring it. Nigel continued to beat on Black. He whipped Black into the corner with Black bouncing off it like he was a pinball on speed.
Black tried to fire back with chops, but Nigel just took him down. Nigel jawed with the fans, asking them if they wanted to "Have a go." He snapped Black over to the mat by the arm, dedicating it to a "wanker" in the crowd. Black avoids a charge in the corner, fakes a dropkick, then backdrops the champ. He nails a suplex and stomps away at Nigel.
McGuinness quickly takes the momentum back, stomping Black's head. Black fought back one-armed, using chops on Nigel. McGuinness drives his shoulder into the corner. The crowd started getting on Nigel and he jawed back, allowing Black to get back to his feet. Nigel began slapping him, which started to fire Black up. Nigel nailed an uppercut to put him back on the mat.
They go to the floor, where Nigel places Black in a chair, then hits a running forearm, driving him into the railing. Nigel grabbed a chair but when he went to swing it, Black superkicked it into his face, sending the champion backwards into the front row. Black returned to the ring and hit a springboard dive out to the crowd....only to meet Nigel's chair in the face. Talk about teasing the big babyface comeback and killing it off!
Nigel returned to the ring as they teased that Black was out on the floor, unable to continue. They said that the referee can make a judgment call to stop the bout if he needs to protect the talent. The referee finally decided to allow it to continue as Black tried to regain his bearings on the floor. Some in the crowd chanted his name as he pulled himself back to his feet and into the ringside area.
Nigel went for a cover but Black kicked up. Nigel went for a lariat but Black quickly rolled him up for a two count. Crowd loved that. Nigel began using European uppercuts in the corner as Black was "out on his feet." Nigel nailed a lariat but Black kicked out. The story looks to be that Black was able to keep kicking out of all the big moves, despite all the punishment.
Nigel locks on a submission but Black drapes his foot over the bottom rope. The crowd started to really get on Nigel. Nigel sets up for the Tower of London but Black fought him off and attempted a blockbuster. McGuinness avoids and rebounded for a jawbreaker lariat. Black avoided it and nailed one of his own. Both were down and out on the mat.
Black fired back but Nigel caught him in the corner with a kick to the back followed by a lariat. Another kickout. Nigel climbed to the top rope and ragged Black up by his hair. Black fired back as they battled for the advantage. Black got the better of it with a superplex. He holds on and grabs a Fireman's Carry into an F-5 for a two count. The crowd was mad, chanting "That was three."
Black set up Nigel for a Phoenix Splash but Nigel crotched him on the ropes. He nailed the Tower of London but Black again kicked out at two. Black avoided the lariat and hit a small package into a piledriver for a two count. Black misses a Phoenix Splash off the top and Nigel locked in the London Dungeon. Black fights it and rolls it into a pinfall for a two count.
Nigel drapes Black across the ropes and hits a lariat off the top, but Black again kicks up. Black spits in Nigel's face. Nigel nails a lariat, but another kickout. Black kicked Nigel backwards and he used the momentum to rebound into a jawbreaker, but another kickout from Black. Nigel lariats him back down and cinches in the London Dungeon again. Black finally taps out after fighting it.
Your winner and still ROH champion, Nigel McGuinness!
Another superb match. They really elevated Black from a tag team mid-card position into a performer who is on the cusp of breaking into the upper echelon of the roster, teasing he could do it at any point.
Overall, for the price tag of $10-$15, you won't see a better show anywhere on PPV. ROH's problem isn't putting on Grade-A quality wrestling matches because they do. Their problem is attracting new viewers to sample and become regular viewers. In reality, the only way they can do that is to find a TV deal with a partner that is as passionate about the product as the current fan base is. Until then, it's all hand to mouth, grass roots pro wrestling fans carrying the company. Unless you are all about pyro and pretty ring entrances and HD quality production, there is no way you would order this show and not be really happy with it at the end of your two hour investment.
If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!
Bang On Casino
