Vendetta

Chicago, Ill

11-05-05

The dvd started off with Dave Prazak asking Bryan Danielson what his thoughts were about Roderick Strong.  Danielson said that things would be settled in the ring.

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Photos courtesy of ROHPhotos

(1) Ace Steel & Delirious vs Nigel McGuinness & Chad Collyer.

I absolutely love Delirious.  He’s a talented guy who really wouldn’t stand out from the crowd, but he puts on a unique-looking mask and runs around like a crazy man and BAM you’ve got a gimmick that works. 

The story of the match focused on how Steel was still trying to gain revenge on Collyer for a chair shot he received the last time they faced off in Chicago.  The back and forth action was pretty decent and I was actually surprised at the faces getting the victory (especially with Nigel taking the pin). 

Thoughts:

The match itself was pretty good.  The storyline of Steel/Collyer was good and should be interesting to see how high up the card the final payoff will end up being.  Good opener.

Rating:  7/10

It wasn’t awesome, but it certainly was a solid outing.

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Next is a backstage promo with Homicide and Julius Smokes.  Homicide proceeds to tell Colt Cabana that there will be a 187 tonight in Chicago.  He’s done playing around and things are now real.  Smokes does his best “bark like a dog” impression and we get back to the action.

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Photos courtesy of ROHPhotos

(2) Jimmy Jacobs vs Sal Rinauro.

I absolutely love Delirious.  He’s a talented guy who really wouldn’t stand out from the crowd, but he puts on a unique-looking mask and runs around like a crazy man and BAM you’ve got a gimmick that works. 

The story of the match focused on how Steel was still trying to gain revenge on Collyer for a chair shot he received the last time they faced off in Chicago.  The back and forth action was pretty decent and I was actually surprised at the faces getting the victory (especially with Nigel taking the pin). 

Thoughts:

The match itself was pretty good.  The storyline of Steel/Collyer was good and should be interesting to see how high up the card the final payoff will end up being.  Good opener.

Rating:  7/10

It wasn’t awesome, but it certainly was a solid outing.

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Jim Cornette came to the ring next to introduce “Cowboy” Bill Watts.  It was just a going-nowhere promo when “Scrap Iron” Adam Pearce came out and demanded a match tonight.  Cornette agrees and that’s about the end of that.

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Photos courtesy of ROHPhotos

(3) BJ Whitmer w/ Lacey vs Claudio Castagnoli.

Castagnoli is another new wrestler that’s quickly becoming a favorite of mine.  I’ve said before that in the ring he’s got a magnetic personality.  As a wrestler he’s got a unique European style that sets him apart from everybody else.  Unfortunately, he and Whitmer just didn’t click in the ring.  Not only that, but he ditched his white pants in favor of blue tights…bad move.

Anyway, the match ended with Whitmer hitting an exploder suplex that Castagnoli kicked out of.  Whitmer then hit a wrist-clutch exploder suplex and that was that.

Thoughts:

Meh…I just don’t get the Whitmer push.  He’s competent in the ring but is zero in the personality/charisma department.

Rating:  6/10

Nobody’s fault…it just didn’t click.  It happens.

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Photos courtesy of ROHPhotos

(4) Christopher Daniels w/ Allison Danger vs Samoa Joe.

This match was hot from the get-go.  Daniels took on Joe head-on and targeted his knee throughout the match.  Forgive me for not writing more details but I was just so drawn into the match I complete forgot to write notes.

I think it’s safe to say that this match was just as good, if not better, than their TNA battles.  The end came when Joe hit the muscle buster.

Thoughts:

The fact that I didn’t keep notes should tell you one thing…this match rocked!  I am a huge fan of Daniels and I think Joe is the best wrestler in the world today.  You put them in the ring together at the same time and you have magic.  This was a 20+ minute intense wrestling display that would be worth paying $20 for (i.e. the price of the DVD) by itself.

Rating:  9/10

Just when you think you’ve seen enough Daniels vs. Joe matches, you see this and completely change your mind.

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Photos courtesy of ROHPhotos

(5) Homicide vs Colt Cabana.

The editing of this DVD (including the interview earlier) made this appear to not be an official match, rather just an “impromptu fight.”  Not a terrible idea considering it only goes five minutes and gets thrown out because chairs get involved.

Homicide and Smokes then duct-tape Cabana to the top rope and bust his forehead open with a fork.  ‘Cide then attempt to cut out Cabana’s tongue with a pair of scissors when Ace Steel makes the save. 

Thoughts:

If the DVD had advertised Homicide vs Colt Cabana, I’d be pissed at the outcome.  Where I wasn’t expecting it (I found out later), I was surprised and entertained.

Rating:  7/10

The way the feud was set-up on the DVD was smart and set up the storyline for many DVD’s to come.

Photos courtesy of Google

(6) Adam Pearce vs Davey Andrews.

Meh…this was about as boring a match as ROH can possibly have.  Pearce beat up the ROH wrestling school graduate and pinned him with a piledriver.

Thoughts:

It was boring…what more do you want?  Oh, the pic?  That's Gene Rayburn from Match Game rolling on the floor laughing.  No reason.

Rating:  4/10

It wasn’t good at all.

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Photos courtesy of ROHPhotos

(7) Roderick Strong vs Bryan Danielson for the ROH world title.

I’ve seen a lot of chops by a lot of wrestlers.  I’ve seen a lot of wrestlers get chopped.  However, I don’t recall seeing a chest as red and swollen and bleeding as Danielson’s was during this match.  I think only Kobashi’s chops are stiffer than Strong’s.  Wow.

Photos courtesy of ROHPhotos

This match was stiff as hell and non-stop action from beginning to end.  They fought inside and outside of the ring.  The crowd was hot and Danielson played the heel very well.

Both wrestlers held the advantage at different points of this 40-minute match, but in the end it was stopped by a referee’s decision.  Danielson had Strong in a submission move and started peppering his head with back elbows.  Strong got to the point where he wasn’t defending himself or fighting back in any way and the referee decided to stop the fight (a la UFC). 

The ending came out of nowhere, but the fans seemed to buy into it.  The fans gave both men a standing ovation.

Thoughts:

I’m still not the world’s biggest Danielson fan, but I was mesmerized by this match from beginning to end.  While it may not be his time now, Roderick Strong is the future of ROH and definitely a good pick to be ROH champion by either late ’06 or early ’07.

Rating:  9/10

Wow.  Simply wow.

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Christopher Daniels begins a backstage promo about Samoa Joe when he’s interrupted by Lacey and the new Lacey’s Angels, Jimmy Jacobs & BJ Whitmer.  Whitmer makes a comment about how he could have used some help tonight…the help he turned his “back on back in the day.”

Daniels doesn’t know what Whitmer means…Whitmer says he’ll find out soon enough.

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Photos courtesy of ROHPhotos

(8) The Embassy (Prince Nana, Alex Shelley, Jimmy Rave, & Abyss) vs Generation Next (Austin Aries, Matt Sydal, Jack Evans, & AJ Styles w/ Daizee Haze and Jade Chung).

I gotta say that I absolutely love the new entrance “tradition” with Jimmy Rave.  Where normally streamers are thrown into the ring for well-respected wrestlers, ROH fans are beginning to pepper the ring with rolls of toilet paper for Rave’s entrances.  Simply awesome!  At one point, Abyss picks up a roll and looks at Shelley, who tells him to throw it.  He shrugs and biffs it into the lights.  Fabulous!!

Photos courtesy of ROHPhotos

The match itself was wild from beginning to end.  The first few minutes had all four members of Gen Next double-team Rave in the corner.  Later in the match saw Evans playing the babyface in peril.  At one point even Nana himself tagged in and got involved.

As things broke down, Abyss brought a table into the ring and set it up in the corner.  He got Sydal set up in a corner and was ready to do his running splash but Sydal moved and Nana got hit instead.  Soon afterwards, Abyss was taking out his frustrations on Evans…giving him a sick-looking front-face chokeslam, following it up with an amazing Black Hole slam. 

Sydal and Aries attempted to double-team Abyss off the ropes but Aries got clotheslined and Sydal then got pressed up into the air and landed on the prone Aries.  Wow.  Abyss then went for a double chokeslam but both Aries and Sydal kneed him in the stomach.  As Abyss hunched over, from out of nowhere came Styles, who gave Abyss a German suplex right into the table!

Nana was backed into the corner when Aries and Sydal both targeted him.  Nana pulled in Daizee Haze by the hair as a distraction but they pushed her out of harm’s way.  That was a bad move as she ended up giving both men a low blow and turning on Gen Next.  This gave Shelley and Rave the opportunity to both hit their finishers at the same time for the win. 

Rave actually debuted his new move, the “Rave-igree”.  Priceless!

Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this match.  I didn’t see the turn from Haze coming and it also helped to continue the feud between the two factions for months to come.  It also set the wheels in motion for the upcoming Styles/Sydal vs Strong/Aries tag title match.

Rating:  8/10

This could have been a cluster-f*ck, but it turned into a really good match.

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Overall Rating:  8/10

While there were a couple of throw-away matches, the rest of the card was great and elevated the overall rating.  Very entertaining and I recommend this DVD to anybody wanting to try out ROH and not knowing what to buy.  You can purchase this DVD by going here.