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Ring of Honor Driven PPV Report
The second Ring of Honor PPV, Driven, opened with announcer Dave Prazak center ring in the Frontier Fieldhouse in Chicago Ridge, Illinois. Prazak set the tone for the company, saying that tonight ROH's athletes would show how "driven" they are to compete and show that their "brand" (I hate that word when it comes to this genre) is about professional wrestling. The live crowd popped for that.
Erick Stevens, Matt Cross and Delirious hit the ring. Prazak identified them by name. Stevens took the mic and challenged the No Remorse Corps to a six man tag match right now. Delirious then took the mic and began jabbering gibberish (that has to be the first time that's ever been written in a PPV report) into it, which the audience popped huge for. The one thing that stands out immediately from a production standpoint is that you can see the back of the bleachers across from the hard camera. On first glance, it looked like those were empty seats, although they aren't. ROH needs to make sure that the next time they film in this building, that's covered with a curtain or something. On TV, a small factor like that can go a long way in presentation.
ROH went into quick video highlight reel using highspots and clips from the debut PPV set to music. If you know the storylines, you immediately know where everyone stands. If not, it's a decent highlight reel.
The No Remorse Corp. hit the ring and it's an impromptu six man tag bout.
"The No Remorse Corp." Roderick Strong & Rocky Romero & Davey Richards vs. "The Resilience" Delirious & Erick Stevens & Matt Cross
All six brawl in the ring. Delirious pulls Richards' shirt over his head like a hockey player and pounds him. Richards goes to the floor. Romero is left with the babyfaces and Delirious chops him. The Corp. yank Romero to the floor and they regroup. It settles down into a traditional six man. The crowd harasses Strong with a "Roodeerriick" chant. Delirious hits a cross body to the floor. Strong dropkicks Stevens, who goes to the floor. Romero dives out of the ring to the floor. Cross drills Strong with a twisting headscissors and Strong retreats out of the ring.
Delirious climbs to the top and hit a flip dive to the floor on The Corp. Prazak and Lenny Leonard point out that it's revenge of sorts for Delirious after being laid out by them at the last PPV. Small things like that help so much with educating new fans because it provides exposition and at the same time, insight into the motivation of the competitors. It's something the larger companies would be smart to learn from. When was the last time we had a good idea of what motivated, say, Santino Marella or Sonjay Dutt? I rest my case.
Delirious tosses Romero back inside the ring. He nails a belly-to-back suplex. Romero cuts him off with a kick to the gut, then drills another to Delirious' back. Richards tags in and nails several snap suplexes. The Corp. begin tagging in and out, working over Delirious. They triple team Delirious as the referee admonishes the other babyfaces. Delirious kicks up at two. The announcers noted that "The Former Resilience leader" (Austin Aries) isn't there because he's under contract to another company, but was in attendance as he bought a ticket because he didn't want to miss ROH on PPV. Couldn't he have just ordered it at home? I digress.
Romero continues to work over Delirious. The rest of the Resilience try to rally the crowd. Delirious headbutts Richards in the gut, but Strong cuts off Delirious. Erick Stevens finally gets the hot tag. He nails an overhead belly-to-belly suplex on Richards then clotheslines Romero as he springboards into the ring. Cross hits a handspring elbow on Strong. Delirious hits a running knee to the corner. Stevens hit a TKO but Strong kicks out.
Cross hits a space flying Tiger drop to the floor on the rest of No Remorse. The place loved that. Stevens catches Strong with a powerslam but Romero breaks up the pinfall. Richards hits a missile dropkick on Richards. Richards grabs Delirious for a butterfly suplex but Cross jumps on his shoulders and swings backwards for a reverse frankensteiner. At this point, they are ridiculously beyond the $10 price tag of this PPV in terms of quality and this is just the first match. Romero drills Cross with a kick to the chest Delirious kicks Romero and hits a leaping lariat. That leaves everyone down on the mat out as the audience pops.
Strong hits a gutbuster on Cross. Romero DDT'd him but The Resilience breaks up the pin. All six battle in the ring. Strong works over Stevens with chops as the others battle on the floor. Strong goes for a running boot but is grabbed and slammed down. Stevens picks up Romero in a wheelbarrow for Cross to come off the top with a double stomp. Stevens hits a release German suplex on Richards. Delirious nails Shadows over Hell. Cross hits a shooting star splash. That should have been the finish. The Corp. break it up. The place chants ROH.
Strong picks up Delirious while outside on the apron and drops down, slamming him on the corner of the ring apron. Cross hit a spinning twisting moonsault but Romero kicked up. Romero cinches in an anklelock but Cross rolled him up for a two count. Richards nails the DR Driver for the pin.
Your winners, the No Remorse Corp.
A great six man tag with far more going on than I could recap and a ton of fun back and forth wrestling and highspots.
The Corp. continue to beat down the Resilience. The crowd starts chanting for Austin Aries. Aries finally hits the ring and clotheslines all three, then begins working them over. Prazak says, "You can't do this!" while Lenny Leonard says, "This isn't going to make air anyway." Aries hits a running dropkick in the corner. He goes to nail a brainbuster on Richards but sees Roderick Strong and goes after him. He hits a flying lariat out of the ring on Romero. The building chants Aries' name.
Aries pulls out a piece of paper and says he has a document that will give him "his wrestling freedom" and allow him to return to "the greatest wrestling company in the world", Ring of Honor. He asks if anyone has a pen. Fan start throwing them in the ring. That was funny. The crowd chants "Welcome Back" as he signs. Aries says he's back where he belongs. He says he back in a company that respect it's fans, it's wrestlers and respects the wrestling business. The crowd chants, "F*** TNA" but Aries cuts them off. He says that fans won't find more excitement or passion "anywhere in this industry" than in ROH. He says ROH is exactly what they say they are. "We are wrestling." Aries hands the contract to ROH owner Cary Silkin at ringside and shakes his hand. The crowd chants, "Welcome back." Live, there were problems with the audio on the promo to the point Gabe Sapolsky was destroying the locker room, but it wasn't that bad on the PPV broadcast.
Backstage, ROH Tag Team champions The Briscoes say that they just came back from the first ROH shows in Japan. They challenge Japan to show what they have and "Man up." They came off like two kids goofing around.
ROH went into an awesome video feature on the recent Ring of Honor shows in Toko and Osaka, Japan with comments from ROH performers interspersed with the clips. An awesome feature that made the company look top notch and global.
Matt Sydal vs. Claudio Castagnoli
Prazak and Leonard explained that they were facing off after losing their bid to capture the ROH Tag straps on the first PPV. They said Sydal blamed Claudio for the loss and challenged for a singles match, wanting to prove himself. Good logical reason to give an undercard match meaning. ROH showed a highlight reel of each competitor after the ring introductions. ROH did this with all of the competitors the remainder of the show.
Sydal and Claudio faced off and did some good back and forth wrestling. Sydal goes for a hiptoss but it's blocked. Sydal finally takes him down and gets several near-falls. Sydal charges Claudio in the corner but is caught and shoved off into the mat. Claudio slams and legdrops him but doesn't get a three count. Claudio does a long standing suplex but Sydal bridges to escape the pinfall. Claudio grabs Sydal and gives him the giant swing. I love that move. Claudio doesn't get the pin but nails a gut-wretch suplex. He drills Sydal with several uppercuts. He rebounds off the ropes but Sydal sweeps his leg and Claudio takes a bump out of the ring through the ropes feet first (think Chris Hamrick or Lucha star Heavy Metal) to the floor. Sydal hits a running dive over the top into a bodypress on the floor.
Back in the ring, Sydal drills Claudio with an elbow in the corner then hits a spinning leg lariat. Claudio kicks up at two. Claudio comes back with a spin into a facebuster. Sydal comes back with La Magistral. They go back and forth into a series of reversals and pin attempts. It's good. Sydal catches Claudio with a DDT and cradles him for a pin as Claudio bounces over. I've never seen that before. Sydal goes to the top but is caught off. Claudio hits an enziguiri and a bicycle kick for a two count. Claudio hit a big uppercut for a two count. Sydal reverses a flapjack attempt and turns it into headscissors.
Claudio goes for a powerbomb but Sydal jumps on his shoulders and turns it into a pinfall combination. Sydal goes for a frankensteiner, but Claudio rolls through and nails the clean pin.
Your winner, Claudio Castagnoli!
ROH showed a replay of the pinfall. Another really good wrestling match with the emphasis on the athletics and in-ring work. Ever smarter, ROH now has two good Sydal matches on their first two PPVs, with Sydal (who recently signed with WWE) losing, so they have footage of their talent going over a "WWE performer."
Larry Sweeney, Chris Hero, Tank Toland and Bobby Dempsey come to the ring. Sweeney says that timing is everything and the time has come for "Super Agent" Larry Sweeney and "Sweet and Sour, Inc." Sweeney says they already have the number one athlete in wrestling, Chris Hero, signed. He says Hero carried Castagnoli to the ROH Tag Team championships. Sweeney hands Sydal a contract and says he has the ability to spot great talent and make them a superstar. He tells Sydal that with his guidance, they can turn his recent losses into victories. He asks Sydal to look over the contract and sign it.
Castagnoli grabs the mic and tells Sydal not to do it because Sweeney is "sc**bag." The crowd chants it at Sweeney, who is awesome in reacting. Castagnoli says that ROH is about the sport of wrestling and doesn't want to see Sydal make a mistake. He rips up the contract. Claudio battles with sweet and Sour, Inc. but when he grabs Sweeney, Sydal suddenly attacks him. Chris Hero helps him and they lay out Claudio. Sweeney starts yelling at Castagnoli, telling him he's a "ham and egger." Hero locks in the Hangman's Clutch on Claudio. Sweet and Sour, Inc. raise their arms and leave the ring.
They air a video feature on Jimmy Rave with footage of him voiceover over with a promo. Rave says that tonight it's time for him to take what's his, the ROH title. He says that ROH promised him a World title shot and he's going to take down Takeshi Morishima.
BJ Whitmer vs. Naomichi Marufuji
The announcers point out that Whitmer is 0-1 on PPV while Marufuji is 1-0 and that winning will not only keep them on PPV but move them further up the ladder for a title shot in the future. Wins and losses meaning something in wrestling in 2007? What a concept.
Marufuji is locked in a top wristlock, but uses his speed to escape and reverse. Whitmer backs him into the corner but gives a clean break, staring down Marufuji. They shoulderblock each other, but neither backs down. Whitmer nails a series of armdrags. Both men go for dropkicks at the same time, but neither connect. They face off and the crowd pops. They chop each other. Whitmer nails a leg lariat at Marufuji rebounds off the ropes. Whitmer hits a dive to the floor.
Marufuji dropkicks Whitmer as he returns to the ring. He goes to suplex Whitmer into the ring but Whitmer escapes. Marufuji leaps over the ropes and DDT's Whitmer on the apron outside the ring. Both men tumble to the floor. Marufuji recovers first and throws Whitmer into the ringpost, then rolls him into the ring. Whitmer kicked up at the two count. Marufuji goes for a butterfly suplex but instead goes for a crossarmbreaker. Whitmer fights to the ropes and forces a break.
Marufuji goes to the top but is cut off by Whitmer. Whitmer cinches him for a superplex and nails it. Both hit their head on the mat and are out. They get to their feet and exchange chops in the center of the ring. Whitmer finally grabs a German Suplex, then hits a full nelson suplex. He goes for a powerbomb but Marufuji lands on his feet, but Whitmer drills him on the jaw for a two count. Marufuji drills the straightjacket suplex for a two count.
Marufuji leaps and drills Whitmer's jaw into his knees but Whitmer kicked up at two. Marufuji misses a superkick and is powerslammed. Whitmer only gets a two count. Marufuji clotheslines Whitmer but can't take him out. He finally nails a big lariat but again, only a two count. Marufuji teased Sliced Bread #2 but Whitmer nailed a brainbuster. Whitmer goes to the top but is drilled and falls backwards with his legs caught in the ropes. Marufuji hits the Van Terminator but only gets a two count. That move should always be a finisher in my opinion.
Marufuji drills a superkick and scores the pinfall with sliced bread #2.
Your winner, Naomichi Marufuji!
Another really good back and forth wrestling match. Three matches, nothing bad so far. The announcers point out that BJ Whitmer's frustrations over not winning big matches continue.
They go into the crowd where Rebecca Bayless is looking good. She says there's nothing like seeing ROH live and in person and begins plugging future live ROH events while a scroll gives further information.
Brent Albright vs. Pelle Primeau
The announcers talked about Primeau, the first graduate of the ROH school, accomplishing his dream by debuting on ROH's PPV but when Albright came out, said that dream just became a nightmare. Albright just mauled Pelle. He nailed a huge Beel throw across the ring. Pelle slides through the legs of Albright but is caught and dumped in a suplex. He nails a head and arms suplex, then a half nelson suplex. Albright covered him for the pin but pulled him up at two. This is an old school heel squash. Albright pressed Primeau overhead. The crowd wanted him to launch him into the audience. Albright dropped him into the Crowbar submission and Pelle tapped out.
Your winner, Brent Albright!
The match set out what it needed to accomplish - a showcase of Albright to get him over as a badass heel. Primeau was good in his role of getting Albright over.
ROH Tag Team champions Jay and Marc Briscoe vs. El Generico and Kevin Steen
Fans throw streamers for the champions. The storyline is that Steen is a full-fledged jerk while Generico is having doubts about being a heel while Steen initiates all the problems and bullies Generico into following along. Steen takes the Tag belts and poses with them before the bell.
Generico and Jay start the match. Jay breaks clean when they end up in the corner. Jay and Generico do a test of strength, which is pretty silly when you look at Generico's lean frame. Briscoe takes him down and drills him with crossfaces, then cinches in a front facelock. Briscoes shoulderblocks him down, then nails headscissors and a drop toehold. Briscoe goes back to the front chancery.
Steen and Mark tag in. They go back and forth. Steen takes over and knocks Jay off the apron for good measure. Jay tags in and takes Generico out. The Briscoes work over Steen. Steen takes contol on Jay then tags in Generico. Generico locks Jay down with a leglock. Steen hits a flip legdrop across Jay's neck. Steen chokes Jay against the ropes, ripping at his nose with his fingers.
Steen and Generico continue to control Briscoe. Generico nails several punches and a leg lariat, but Jay kicks up at two. Jay ducked a clothesline and hit a neckbreaker. He tosses Generico into his corner and tags in Mark. Jay nails a running big boot as Mark knocks Steen to the floor. The Briscoes continue to double team Generico but he keeps kicking up.
Jay cinches in a stretch plum on Generico, then boots him in the back of the head. Mark tags in and kneedrops him off the second rope. He unloads with forearms and chops in the corner, then nails a Samoan Drop. He drags Generico to his corner by his leg. Jay tags in. Generico is whipped into the ropes but holds on and doesn't rebound. He grabs Jay and tosses him to the floor. Steen jumps into the ring and dives to the floor on Jay, then begins screaming at him and beating him. Generico and Mark battle in the ring. Mark escapes and dives off the top turnbuckle to the floor on Steen. Mark follows that up with a moonsault off the guard rail to the floor on Steen.
Meanwhile, Jay hit a top rope lariat on Generico. The Briscoes grab Generico and hit a Beel throw on the floor, sending him into rows of chairs at ringside as the audience scatters. Steen attacks the Briscoes and sends Mark into the crowd. He starts screaming at Generico as he helps him back into the ringside area from the crowd.
Steen and Jay exchange forearm shots in the center of the ring. Steen drills him with a sitout power bomb. Steen called for his piledriver, but Mark broke it up. Generico dove and took out Briscoe. Steen picked up Jay and dropped him neck-first across his knee. Steen followed up with a swanton drive off the top and covered the elder Briscoe Brother, who kicked out at the last second. Steen looked shocked that he didn't get the pin.
Generico tagged in and they set up for the Package Piledriver but Mark came back with a springboard missile dropkick. Generico took down Mark and Generico set up for a running charge. Mark caught him with a kick to the chest, then hit a doublestomp out of the ring through a table on Steen. Jay nailed a Death Valley Driver on Generico, who kicked out. The crowd chanted, "ROH."
Jay calls for the J-Driller and Mark assists him by spiking it. They score the pinfall on Generico.
Your winner and still ROH Tag Team champions, Mark and Jay Briscoe!
"You have just witnessed the new standard. You have just witnessed the best tag team on the planet." Great call by Dave Prazak.
Another really good back and forth wrestling match. You got the impression these were four guys who didn't like each other that were fighting for a championship, as opposed to just running through an alphabet of spots from A to Z. A really strong tag bout. It probably wasn't at the blowaway level of the first ROH PPV Tag title match but this was a different type of story and just the first part of a chapter, which leads us to...
ROH showed a highlight reel of replays. As The Briscoes left the ring, Steen drilled them from behind with a ladder. The announcers pointed out that this type of behavior wasn't what ROH was built on. Steen grabbed Generico and said that is what Generico needs to do. Steen snotted on the Briscoes. Ugh. Well, that helps set up the ladder match on the third ROH PPV. It's pretty interesting to follow the ROH storylines from both the usual show to show run and also how you can just watch them PPV to PPV without further knowledge, but still not be lost by the show.
Somewhere, Larry Sweeney is with his charges. Sweeney tells Matt Sydal that he's got Sara del Ray off doing an endorsement deal and is going to make him lots of money. Sweeney says Claudio Castagnoli is just where they want him and he won't be able to get his hands on Sydal or Hero until "all conditions are met to my liking." He sounds just like the President of the first talent management company I worked for. I must have heard that term 10,000 times between 1997 and 2003. Sweeney says that he's arranged to have the finest athletic training facility at the disposal of his charges. He walks over to Tank Toland who is forcing Bobby Dempsey to work out. He starts screaming at him that he's a fat pathetic excuse for a human being. Dempsey is having a problem so Toland pulls out a cookie and starts calling him a "cookie monster." Dempsey is straining hard to get the cookie but can't do it. They all rip on him. It's funnier than I'm describing.
ROH champion Takeshi Morishima vs. Jimmy Rave
Morishima attacked Rave as the streamers were still flying into the ring. He began beating down Rave in the corner. Morishima threw him to the floor. He tried to whip Rave into the railing but it was reversed and Morishima ate steel. The announcers put over that Rave had fought all of the top ROH names in the past including AJ Styles and CM Punk and had come back from a number of injuries to be part of some of the company's most memorable matches, but has never held a title. This was actually genius because they built up Rave strong on commentary, making Morishima's win mean even more. Rave came off the top but was caught. Morishima went to the top. Rave tried to suplex him off but was shoved to the mat.
Morishima hit a missile dropkick from the top, which if you know what Morishima looks like, is damn impressive. He drills Rave with a lariat. Rave evaded a sitdown splash and hit a running knee strike for a two count. Rave went for a Pedigree but Morishima evaded it. Rave locked in a heel hook but Morishima made it to the ropes. Rave began working over Morishima's leg, but is caught with a sideslam.
Morishima drilled him with another lariat but Rave kicked up. Morishima, bleeding from the nose, killed him with a backdrop driver and scored the pin.
Your winner and still ROH champion Takeshi Morishima!
They put over that Morishima won the bout in under four minutes for the second PPV in a row. The announcer noted that since they have time left on the PPV, they are going to present a special bonus "number one's contenders bout" from Philadelphia.
They show a graphic saying they will go to Philly momentarily. As ROH is breaking down the ring in the background, Adam Pearce is mentoring Shane Hagadorn. He says that after every event, there is a moment where a competitor needs to reflect on his performance and on what he wants and needs. Hagadorn sucks up to Pearce saying that all he needs is Pearce's help. Pearce pats him on the shoulder and sends him off. Pearce says that everyone on the locker room has certain needs. He then turns to the camera and points out an exhausted and beaten BJ Whitmer sitting alone in the bleachers. Pearce says that Whitmer has needed the acceptance of the fans that have a need of wanting to be something that athletically they cannot do. He tells the camera that Whitmer gave of his body and his blood for the the fans and it hasn't gotten him anywhere. He says Pearce has a losing streak and is in a state of depression. Pearce says that he knows what the fans need and what BJ needs. Pearce says, "In time, you will know and understand what will satisfy my needs." He walks away from the camera to console Whitmer. He hugs him, then punches him in the face. Brent Albright walks into the frame and they shake their heads at him and walk away.
We go to Philadelphia where the fans are chanting "ROH" and are live. As good as the Chicago crowd came off, it was night and day here.
Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness to determine the top contender to the ROH championship
They have complete ring entrances for this one. The crowd chants "best in the world" for Danielson. I always pop for the Final Countdown as Danielson's entrance. I doubt anyone beyond me remembers this, but there was a great music video set to Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat footage at the NWA Wrestlewar '89 PPV featuring the song. Danielson pretty much epitomizes the style of wrestling that those two stood for, in my mind, so it's a nice way to bridge the generations...at least to me.
Anyway, they face off and shake hands before the match begins. They do a lot of awesome matwork as the bout starts. The crowd is doing dueling chants. The crowd then chants, "You're gonna get your f**** head kicked in." Danielson goes to work on McGuiness' wrist. Danielson works him over his knees, sort of a sideways bow & arrow. McGuiness escapes and they face off.
McGuinness grabs a side headlock. They go into the corner and break. Danielson is caught again. McGuiness shoulderblocks him down. Danielson grabs him and goes into a guard, working him over with strikes. McGuiness closes the gap by scissoring himself around Danielson. They return to the mat, where Danielson slaps him across the face. He drills Nigel with a kick to the back of the neck and a dropkick.
Danielson slams another kick to the chest of Nigel, who battles to his feet and slaps Danielson. McGuinness does the headstand in the corner and hits a mule kick on the charging Danielson. Nigel takes him to the mat with a hammerlock. He focuses on Danielson's shoulder, which has had injury problems in the past. He gets Danielson's other arm and forces it backwards behind the body, then bridges back to force even more pressure on Danielson's arms.
Danielson escapes and locks on a Japanese stranglehold. McGuiness fights his way out and drills a short arm lariat. Danielson retreats to the floor to recover. McGuiness follows and beats him with uppercuts in the corner. McGuiness charges with a European uppercut. Danielson fires back with his own and begins kicking him. He throws a chair at McGuinness, then overturns the ringside table on him.
Danielson goes to toss McGuiness into the ring but Nigel rebounds off the ropes on the outside and lariats him, sending Danielson over the guard rail into the first row. Nigel goes to the top rope and dives into the audience. Philadelphia goes nuts, chanting ROH. This is a great match. Danielson is tossed back into the ring. He takes over on McGuiness and suplexes him over the steel barricade separating the crowd and the ring. McGuiness lands across it on his back and falls into the fans. Danielson suplexes him back into the ringside area.
McGuiness is tossed back into the ring but only gets a two count. He is taken to the mat and Danielson works him over. Danielson and McGuiness exchange strikes in the corner. Danielson headbutts Nigel. He begins slapping away at Nigel. Nigel fires up and demands more and more. Danielson goes for a European uppercut but its blocked. Nigel swings him around and nails a lariat for a near fall.
McGuiness hits a running European uppercut in the corner. He superkicks Danielson, then hits another lariat. McGuiness drills Danielson with a kick to the back, then shoots him down to the mat. Nigel tries to set up a superplex but Danielson battles back. He runs Nigel into the corner. Danielson drills him with several kicks to the back of the head.
Danielson sets McGuiness in the center of the ring and goes to the top. McGuiness recovers and cuts him off. He goes for the Tower of London but Danielson fights him off and hits a top rope sunset flip. They go back and forth into reversals, ending with a Nigel powerbomb. He cinches in a half Boston Crab on Danielson trying to force a tap. The crowd chants, "This is wrestling!"
Danielson fights his way to the ropes and finally makes it. McGuiness goes for the headstand mule kick but is dropkicked in the face while upside down. Danielson follows him to the ropes and hits a belly to back superplex. He covers Nigel but only gets a two count. Danielson locks on a crossface chicken wing. McGuiness tries to fight his way out of the hold and gets to his feet. He drives Danielson backwards into the corner trying to force a break. He finally pulls Danielson into the Tower of London and drills him.
Both men are down on the mat and being counted out. The crowd chants, "This is awesome." Nigel begins drilling Danielson with strikes and sets him up straddling the top rope. McGuinness comes off the top rope with a lariat. He drags him away from the ring ropes and covers him but Danielson is still able to reach the ropes with his feet. Danielson uses the ropes to pull himself up and drill Nigel with an enziguiri. The crowd is loving this and is heavy into the dueling chants. As good as this was live, this is just as good, if not better, on PPV.
They face off center ring with slaps and punches that are stiff. They start charging each other with shoot headbutts, one of which splits Danielson's melon open. That's just sick. Nigel clotheslines him and there's a beautiful shot of this woozy Danielson just oozing with blood. Danielson hits a German suplex for a two count, then starts beating Nigel with elbows. He locks in the Cattle Mutilation submission, The referee stops the match because Nigel was out cold and the place goes insane. The announcers note that Danielson sacrificed his own head in order to win a shot at the ROH title. This will be one of the best matches of this or any year, on PPV.
Your winner, Bryan Danielson!
Danielson screams in victory and rallies the crowd to chant "Best in the world" at him. The announcers thank the audience for allowing them to show the world how "Driven" the company is and invites everyone to join them again in November.
Nigel recovers and Danielson offers him his hand. McGuinness takes it. The show goes off the air with the referee raising Danielson's hand, followed by Danielson leading the crowd in a ROH chant.
From top to bottom, there is not one bad match on the entire PPV. Danielson vs. Nigel is as good as pro wrestling gets in today's generation. If you have given up on old school wrestling, believing that genre is dead forever, you might want to give this PPV an order. All you have to lose is $10 but I honestly believe you'll get ten times that amount in athletic wrestling action. Complete thumbs up. Order this show as soon as you can.
Mike Johnson can be reached at Mike@PWInsider.com.
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