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ROH Final Battle 2006 Report
by Mike Johnson
Ring of Honor returned to the Manhattan Center in New York City for Final Battle 2006 featuring the following results:
*The Briscoes hit the ring to lay out Santa Claus and his elves (ROH students) who were giving out presents and demanded a rematch with the Kings of Wrestling. Crowd loved the segment.
*Jimmy Rave defeated Christopher Daniels (with Alison Danger, who was dressed as a naughty girl scout. Danger has toned up her body a great deal, dropping 20 lbs. in the process and is really coming into her own from a charisma standpoint), Davey Richards and El Generico in a Four Corners bout. Rave, who had spent some time hiding on the floor, grabbed Generico from behind in a halfcrab/anklelock submission after Generico was about to pin Richards. Solid match. Nigel McGuiness came out and went after Rave after the match.
*Adam Pearce and Shane Hagadorn came out and promised that in honor of Jim Cornette they would keep Homicide from winning the ROH title tonight. Ricky Reyes and Julius Smokes came out and Smokes said Reyes would take out Pearce now. Pearce nailed Reyes with a foreign object to score the pin. Crowd was all over Pearce, chanting "Repo Man" at him. Crowd didn't like the finish but it was an old school throwback "heel screwing the babyface" ending and accomplished it's goal, which was establishing Pearce as a threat to the title challenge.
*Brent Albright and Jimmy Jacobs defeated BJ Whitmer & Colt Cabana. The finish saw Albright (who really stands out in ROH, he's much larger in person then he appeared on WWE TV) powerbomb Whitmer out of the ring through a table on the floor. Daizee Haze did an awesome job crying and selling it like Whitmer was dead. Albright destroyed Cabana with a series of suplexes and Jacobs got the pin. Whitmer sold the table spot for a long time before being helped out, getting a "Thank you" chant on the way out.
*In the best match of the night (in my opinion), The Briscoes defeated Claudio Castagnoli & Chris Hero (with new "agent" Larry Sweeney). This was off the charts awesome with lots of insane moves that I won't even begin to describe. Castagnoli said after the match that he had a big long speech planned but it looked like he would be staying longer and the team would conquer again in 2007. Sweeney said that plans had been made already and Castagnoli wasn't in them. Castagnoli didn't believe Hero would pick someone over him, but Hero shook his hand, then left with Sweeney. Sweeney came off good on the mic doing the role of a sleazy huckster agent.
Claudio seemed at a loss for words when Samoa Joe came out and told him to leave the ring. Joe welcomed all the NYC fans to ROH. Some fan yelled Umaga sucks, so Joe put him over as a hardworking Samoan brother. Joe then said that he was issuing an open challenge for NOAH to send someone to face him when they returned on 2/19/07. He teased a few names, including Mitsuharu Misawa. No mention of Kenta Kobashi. Nigel McGuiness (who works for NOAH) came out and said he'd relay the challenge to the office, but if they didn't send anyone, he would take it. Jimmy Rave attacked Nigel from behind but Joe slapped him. Joe then said that if they had a problem, they should fight later in the show.
*After intermission, Rave defeated McGuiness, forcing him to tap out with the finisher and issued a World title challenge for the February show.
*In a Dragon's Gate Rules bout, CIMA & Shingo Takagi & ROH Tag Team champion Matt Sydal defeated Austin Aries & Roderick Strong & Delirious in a good match that saw tons of unique moves and near falls. The last five minutes was off the charts. CIMA promised to return in 2007 and signed autographs after the show for fans.
*Homicide defeated Bryan Danielson to win the ROH title with a lariat. It was a chess match early with lots of mat wrestling and counters. Adam Pearce and Shane Hagadorn attacked Homicide at one point and the referee rang for the bell. Monsta Mack and Grimm Reefer hit ringside from the crowd and brawled backstage with Pearce and Hagadorn. The referee said he wasn't allowing a DQ and re-started the match. Danielson tried to force a DQ by refusing to let go of a submission while Homicide was in the ropes but the referee again refused. They started really pouring it on with dives into the crowd before going into a ton of near falls. The place went insane when Homicide won. Homicide and a number of ROH babyfaces celebrated in the crowd afterwards. Danielson presented Homicide with the belt and Homicide made a brief speech putting over Brooklyn, the fans, and his friends for their support. It was a nice moment to see. The match told a good story and it really was all about the company's go to guy and MVP finally getting his moment in the sun. This was as much as celebration of appreciation for his work in the company as it was a title win.
Notes: The show was once again a turnaway sellout....ROH will return on 2/19/07 and announced they would run the venue more often in 2007....Ringside prices for the next show were raised to $60...CM Punk, WWE Diva Maria, Low Ki, and the Maximos were visiting backstage.
Thoughts: It was impossible for ROH to top their NYC debut (that was as perfect a show as anyone has ever produced and ROH didn't have the NOAH talent tonight) and they didn't from a match standpoint when comparing the two events. Still, it was a solid show with several matches of interest that will stand out on DVD, especially the Briscoes vs. Kings of Wrestling and the top two matches. The crowd seemed really happy with the show and got what they paid to see, their hometown boy Homicide make good. That was a sight to see....No, I'm not making up Jimmy Rave challenging for the ROH title. Rave actually issued a challenge for the February. I don't know that I buy Rave in that position. He's grown as a heel and shows charisma in the role, but it seems forced. I guess time will tell because Gabe Sapolsky has re-invented him before into new roles.
****
ROH Final Battle 2006 Live Notes and Thoughts
by Sean Gonzales
Before the show started the crowd was warming up with chants of "Homicide" and "F*** John Cena". I could tell that it was going to be an awesome crowd. The Manhattan Center (and the Hammerstein Ballroom downstairs, if you count that as separate) is definitely the best building in wrestling right now. I've been to MSG but I'd rather go to the Manhattan Center/Hammerstein Ballroom because the energy there is indescribable. If you're a wrestling fan from other parts of the country and you travel to see Wrestlemania, I definitely recommend traveling to see a show in this building and experience the difference.
In addition to Low Ki being at the show, CM Punk and Maria were there as well.
A lot of fans (and I'm one of them) didn't buy Jimmy Rave being shoved down our throats being put over so strong on the show and challenging Homicide to a match. It reminded me of ECW in the dying days when Justin Credible and Steve Corino were being pushed down everyone's throats so hard when the crowd didn't want to see it. When Rave beat Nigel there was a very loud bullsh** chant.
The Briscoes vs. Kings of Wrestling Match was awesome and was tied for best match of the show with Homicide vs Danielson. Briscoes vs. KOW was technically the better match but Homicide vs. Danielson had the better story and drama. I definitely recommend everyone to get a hold of the DVD for this match. Their match the night before in CT was great but this one was incredible.
"Sweet and Sour" Larry Sweeney was over huge with the crowd when he came out as Chris Hero's manager. This guy has a ton of charisma and is a great addition to the roster. Funny thing happened when Claudio was giving his post match speech he was stepping over his words and the crowd got on his case then he said something to the affect of "Give me a break, I'm from Switzerland" and the crowd in unison responded with a trademark "Heeeeeeey". Cool moment.
The Dragon's Gate 6 Man Match was off the charts. Hopefully we'll see more Dragon Gate guys in ROH next year.
Homicide vs. Brian Danielson told a great story with great drama, much in the way of Cena vs RVD earlier this year in the same building. The only difference was this match was a match of the year candidate while the same can't be said for Cena vs. RVD. I thought the psychology and story told in this match was perfect and couldn't have been done any better. When Homicide won the belt it was one of those moments where the sound in the place gave you goosebumps and got your adrenaline pumping to the limit. It was an awesome moment. After the match Danielson handed Homicide the belt and walked off and let Homicide have his day in the sun. Everyone came in the ring for a celebration and Lowlife Louie came into the ring from the crowd to give Homicide a big hug, then Cide went into the crowd to celebrate and pose with the belt (ala Raven at the Elks Lodge when he returned to ECW in September 1999 at the first TNN taping).
I thought this show was on the same level as the last Manhattan Center show if not better. ROH announced that they plan to run NYC more often than last year and that got a great pop from the crowd. From what I hear, the next show is an experiment to see how they draw on a Friday night, if they're planning on headlining the show with Homicide vs Jimmy Rave then they better not be disappointed if the attendance isn't as great as it was the last two shows.
Tentative lineup for the next Manhattan Center show judging from what went down at Final Battle I would have to say would be Homicide vs. Jimmy Rave and Samoa Joe vs. Nigel McGuinness.
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