Ring of Honor Reports
The ROHbot Report: Tonight's Hartford Card, Kingston and BLKOUT, Take No Prisoners Review, and Much More
By James Bullock
Jun 7, 2008 - 9:07 AM

Welcome to the second edition of the ROHbot Report, covering all the news, the need to know happenings in Ring of Honor, and my feelings on them. Everything in italics is the news/headlines provided by rohwrestling.com (unless otherwise noted). Not only are we looking at this week’s headlines leading up to a huge double shot weekend, but also the Take No Prisoners pay-per-view, and my review of it in the ROHbot Report edition of “Worth Your Money.”

Here’s how the 6/7 Hartford card has shaped up.

One Night Tournament For The Vacant World Tag Team Titles
First Round Matches:
A) Jigsaw & Ruckus with Julius Smokes vs. Adam Pearce & Chris Hero with Larry Sweeney & Sara Del Rey
B) ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness & Go Shiozaki vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico
C) Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black vs. Delirious & Pelle Primeau
D) Austin Aries & Bryan Danielson vs. FIP World Heavyweight Champion Roderick Strong & Davey Richards

Semifinals:
A winner vs. B winner
C winner vs. D winner

Finals:
A/B winner vs. C/D winner

Three Way Match
Brent Albright vs. Erick Stevens vs. The Necro Butcher

Special Challenge Match
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Eddie Edwards with Larry Sweeney, Shane Hagadorn, Sara Del Rey & Bobby Dempsey

Compared to the bland Albright/Stevens match that was originally booked, the three way will be wild with the addition of Necro. If the rules are a little relaxed, it should be a nice addition to a possible “best show of the year” card. Claudio going after Sweet & Sour Inc. is a story I’d like to see go away. The feud between Castagnoli and Hero made sense over a year ago, though the matches left a lot to be desired (grudge matches shouldn’t involve fifteen minutes of rest holds). I really don’t know how this will help Claudio after taking a ROH title shot loss.  

A non-PPV fight has been added to this Saturday's show in Philadelphia. It will be Jay Briscoe vs. The Necro Butcher in a Falls Count Anywhere Match!!! The Briscoes vs. Age Of The Fall feud is coming to Philly.

I guess Jay didn’t read the first ROHbot Report. Or if he did, he’s not heeding my suggestion. This will be first time The Briscoes are not on a ROH PPV. In all honesty, I think this is a pay-per-view quality brawl. But since they had a wild one on the last PPV, it might come across as too much of a rerun, just minus two men and two women. Nice treat for the Philly fans, though. Philly’s getting treated to a heck of a night. Lets look at the card.

"Respect Is Earned II" Pay-Per-View Taping

Main Event #1 - ROH World Title Match
Nigel McGuinness defends vs. Go Shiozaki

Main Event #2 - Tag Team Grudge Match
Austin Aries & Bryan Danielson vs. Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black

Main Event #3 - Fight Without Honor
FIP World Champion Roderick Strong vs. Erick Stevens

Special Tag Team Challenge
Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. Ruckus & Jigsaw with Julius Smokes

Non-PPV Match - Falls Count Anywhere
Jay Briscoe vs. The Necro Butcher

Already signed: Claudio Castagnoli; Davey Richards; Sweet & Sour Inc. of Chris Hero, Adam Pearce & Eddie Edwards with Larry Sweeney, Sara Del Rey, Shane Hagadorn & Bobby Dempsey; Delirious; Daizee Haze; Brent Albright; Rhett Titus; Pelle Primeau plus more will be added!!!

I hate to go all old school philosophy here (in my Harley Race-like voice), “But the only main event is the last match on the card.” Anyway, all three matches are truly main event worthy. The match I’m looking forward to the most is the grudge tag. AOTF vs. Team Workrate will be nothing short of a ROH pay-per-view classic. The World title match can’t be looked at as a bad thing, even though reports of their matches in Japan haven’t been the best. Go has shown many flashes of greatness in his short career, and this show should be a great moment from him. I have to say I don’t blame ROH for not putting the Briscoe/Butcher match on the pay-per-view, as Stevens/Strong should be stiff and bloody enough to fill the bloodlust for any PPV customer. And then there’s the greatness of Steenerico. Steen has been a beacon of humor and great wrestling since the Driven show. I thank God everyday for “Mr. Wrestling.”

The card finally just came together. Instead of making you wait until tomorrow's newswire, here are the first matches for 6/27 in Dayton.

Grudge Match
Austin Aries vs. The Necro Butcher

"Transform" Rematch
Bryan Danielson vs. Erick Stevens

Tag Team Challenge Match
Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. Jimmy Jacobs & Joey Matthews with Allison Wonderland

Plus more to be announced with: ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness; Tyler Black; Roderick Strong; Sweet & Sour Inc. of Chris Hero, Adam Pearce with Larry Sweeney, Sara Del Rey, Shane Hagadorn & Bobby Dempsey; Delirious; Brent Albright; Claudio Castagnoli; Jay Briscoe; Jigsaw; Daizee Haze; Rhett Titus plus others!!!

I feel the slow burn happening between the inevitable Aries/Jacobs match…which will lead to the rematch…which will lead to the rematch of rematch…which will lead to…I guess you get my drift. Maybe I’m thinking too hard. Maybe the first match will be so huge that that’s all they need to end this feud. I just want to know what happened to Lacey. Please don’t pull a WWE on me, and not explain what happened to her. She was the catalyst to this whole thing, and without her there, I think it takes a little away from this feud. Oh yeah, the Aries/Necro match. Should be a Necro style brawl…as always.

Danielson vs. Stevens should be as fun as the first, which was pretty solid. Steenerico vs. AOTF would be the sleeper of the night…if Tyler Black were in it. No offense to Joey, but Jacobs & Black have such a cohesion that Matthews and Jacobs probably don’t, and won’t, have come 6/27.

Larry Sweeney says we will find out what is in Adam Pearce's briefcase. All Sweeney has told us is that it will change the landscape of ROH.

Maybe it’s Vince’s money. You know how much Sweeney and Vince get along. Just ask Matt Sydal.

A potentially great first time ever in ROH bout has been signed for the 6/28 return to Chicago. It will be Bryan Danielson vs. Claudio Castagnoli. This one doesn't need any hype.

Well, I’ll give it some hype. Two of the biggest stars in ROH clashing for the first time might be the start of something for the ROH history books. Like many first time contests (Nigel vs. Danielson comes to mind) in Ring of Honor, Danielson vs. Castagnoli could be the beginning of a long running series of potential great matches.

We have late breaking, huge news for this Saturday in Philly. Word got back to The Vulture Squad that Eddie Kingston and members of BLKOUT were going to crash the PPV taping and confront Ruckus. Now they won't have to crash the taping. Jigsaw of The Vulture Squad has challenged Kingston to a match. It will be Kingston vs. Jigsaw this Saturday in Philadelphia. Check the article on the main page of www.ROHwrestling.com for even more details and background on this red hot issue. It will be a battlefield in Philly when The Vulture Squad and BLKOUT collide. Jigsaw will now team with Ruckus against Kevin Steen & El Generico as part of the PPV taping in the first half of the show. Jigsaw vs. Eddie Kingston will then take place after intermission. This could be the biggest night of Jigsaw's ROH career!!!
 

As I talked about in the first ROHbot Report, I am really looking forward to this now that it’s confirmed that Kingston is still in the good graces of ROH after his little “gone missing” incident a month ago. I’ve been a fan of Kingston’s work for a while, and him and Ruckus have torn it up in the past. Add the fact that Jigsaw is trying to stand up for the group, while talking for Ruckus, could cause some animosity in the V.S. This could be the moment Jigsaw’s been looking forward to, to push his career in a new direction since his unmasking. But I don’t want to say right now that Ruckus will side with BLKOUT, but I have a feeling that Smokes and Jigsaw better call up Jack Evans and beg for him to leave those Japanese women alone, and come back to save his group from utter failure.

Well, that’s all for this week…Oh, my bad. I hear money. No, not Vince’s money, your money. I hear it asking me, “Is ROH’s latest pay-per-view Take No Prisoners worth you spending me?” Well, lets find out with this special ROHbot Report edition of Worth Your Money, featuring Take No Prisoners.

Take No Prisoners

Philadelphia, PA; Orlando, FL

Originally Taped 3/16/08

Shown 5/30/08

Lenny Leonard & Dave Prazak are here to introduce us once again to the home of ROH, Philly. Already in the ring are Age Of The Fall’s Tyler Black, Claudio Castagnoli, Go Shiozaki, and Delirious. Backstage is Nigel McGuinness watching this match because the winner faces Nigel in the main event for the World title tonight.

Four Corner Survival for #1 Contendership of the World title: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Tyler Black vs. Delirious vs. Go Shiozaki

Before the match can begin, Nigel jumps into the announce booth to talk about how he doesn’t need anyone in his corner, including the fans. Nigel stayed around for the rest of the match, which saw the beginning turn into the ROH version of The Ultimate Warrior vs. Hulk Hogan with Delirious and Claudio. I’ll let you guess who played Warrior. Go ran in, ending the comedy by dropping all three men in his way. A nice uppercut/chop exchange happened between Go and Claudio, which Claudio won with a near fall. Claudio and Go took out each other, leaving Black and Delirious by themselves. Black used a power bomb in the corner/big boot/phoenix splash combo to pin Delirious to get his shot at Nigel tonight. Nigel was actually shocked that Black will be meeting him in the main event.

We now get the intro video for the show, by help of metal band Ministry.

We are informed of Takeshi Morishima’s suspension from pay-per-view due to his assault of officials at the last show. Also the Tag Team title changes from The Briscoes to AOTF to No Remorse Corps in the last couple of months were covered. Tonight it’ll be Davey Richards & Rocky Romero defending the belts against Ruckus & Jigsaw of the Vulture Squad. All of a sudden, Jimmy Jacobs, and the Age of the Fall interrupt us. Behind Jimmy is Zack Gowen. I guess if anyone is downtrodden, it’s him. Jacobs has his Sidekick phone to get updates as the night progresses in Black’s attempt into becoming a World champion.

Back in Philadelphia is Tyler Black, who had Lacey by his side, getting ready to win his first ROH World title. Necro Butcher and Joey Matthews come in to wish their partner good luck before following Lacey.

Roderick Strong vs. Kevin Steen

Can we say stiff? The match started off with a stiff shoulder block exchange, peppered with humor from Steen as he did a long winded, “Rod-der-rick,” after each failed attempt to knock him down. It moved from shoulder blocks to forearms to the face. That evolved into knife-edge chops. Stevens actually got the advantage, knocking Strong through the ropes. Strong decided to use his legs instead of his arms, dropkicking and leg lariating “Mr. Wrestling.” Steen made a quick comeback that was ended by Strong’s half nelson back breaker. Steen was able to kick out of the pin, turning the tides by power bombing Strong into the sharpshooter. Steen went to the top for the Swanton bomb, but Strong moved in time to avoid it. A flurry of offense came from both men in an attempt to secure the victory. Steen was able to get in the right amount, pinning Strong after hitting the Package Piledriver.

Once again we are interrupted by Jacobs, who proclaims AOTF is bigger than wrestling. Jacobs goes around the room, asking why everyone in the room was sick of society. It was like an A.A. meeting…just without the desperation. Zack had the best reason, stating that he was the single most inspirational wrestler ever, and his career was flushed down the toilet because WWE didn’t understand that. Jimmy gets a text that states the Anything Goes match between Necro & Joey vs. The Briscoes is happening now.

Philadelphia Street Fight: The Briscoes w/ Daizee Haze vs. Joey Matthews & Necro Butcher w/Lacey

The match explodes into the building with Necro shoveling Mark Briscoe while Jay drove his fists into Joey face. Haze and Lacey were also going at it in the crowd. Massive chair exchanges in the audience between all four men. Even Haze chaired Lacey upside the head. The back of Mark’s head was bleeding almost immediately. Joey tied Jay in the ring apron, leaving him open for a flying chair to the top of his head. Mark and Necro were the first people in. The camera got a good shot of Mark’s head, which was bleeding a gusher. The fans began to chant, “Man up,” giving a shot of much needed adrenaline to the Delaware brothers. Once the men spilled to the floor, Lacey and Daizee replaced them in the ring. On the outside, Necro back broke Mark across the top of the barricades. The Haze made a roaring comeback, dumping Lacey on her head with a German suplex. Jay and Joey fought their way back into the ring, with Joey being rocked until Necro made the save with one of those famous heavy left hands. Necro and Joey followed up by double choke slamming Jay through two chairs. Jay somehow fought back, crowning Necro with a sick chair shot. Jay threw the chair to Mark, who had just jumped to the top rope. Mark caught the chair in midair, bringing it down on Necro’s skull. Crazy! Jay lifted Joey onto his shoulders to allow Mark to execute the Doomsday Device. Necro prevented the pin, nearly rolling Jay up after punching Mark out of the sky to avoid being downed by the Doomsday Device. The action moved to the floor again, with both teams dropping themselves on the floor to hurt their opponents. Jay slid a table into the ring as Mark and Necro neared the entrance stage. Joey set the table up, in the corner. The fans began to rise as cameras caught Mark climbing the entrance some fifteen feet in the air. Necro was laid out on a table below. Jay Death Valley drove Joey through the table in the ring as Mark gave the Superfly signal before putting Necro through the table with the Superfly splash. Jay hit the J-Driller on Joey in the middle of the ring on a chair, getting the pin for his team. Prazak noted that The Briscoes are now 6-0 on pay-per-view. One of the wildest matches I’ve seen on any pay-per-view in a while.

Outside of the building is Tyler Black, getting ready for his ROH title match.

We get a nice shot of the valley that’s now in Mark Briscoe’s head after that shovel shot. Jay tells us, “That’s what Take No Prisoners is all about!”

In the ring are Larry Sweeney and Bobby Dempsey for the Larry Sweeney Show Starring Larry Sweeney. Dempsey was holding a leather briefcase that had the contracts for a few wrestlers who wanted to join Sweet & Sour Inc. Sweeney’s first acquisitions was the Hangmen 3 of Adam Pearce, BJ Whitmer, Brent Albright, and Shane Hagadorn. Yeah, that’s four people, but Hagadorn doesn’t really count since he’s a manservant. BJ and Brent don’t look too pleased with the development, and nor is Erick Stevens, who enters the ringside area. Erick, who had a confrontation with Tough Enough alumni Daniel Puder at Rising Above, wanted a match with the man who made a career on bragging about putting Kurt Angle in a key lock. Larry gave Stevens a match…with Brent Albright. Maniacal Sweeney laugh!

Erick Stevens vs. Brent Albright

Like Strong/Steen, this is stiff. Stevens shows his superior power throughout, catching Albright on his shoulders after Albright jumped off the middle rope. Albright, showing that he’s no slouch in the power department, belly-to-belly suplexed Stevens into the ropes, on top of his head. Albright followed that up with an impressive wheelbarrow suplex after Stevens broke free of the full nelson. Stevens was able to get that choo-choo steam going after sending Albright into the middle rope chest first. Stevens blocked the half nelson suplex, driving Albright on the back of his neck with a German suplex. Before Stevens could go for the Doctor Bomb, Sweeney jumped onto the apron, distracting Stevens enough for Albright to recover and finish Stevens off with the half nelson suplex.

We shoot to Orlando, FL for the Tag Team title match.

ROH Tag Team title: Davey Richards & Rocky Romero (c) vs. Ruckus & Jigsaw  

We get the Azuca dance early, but it doesn’t end too well for Mr. Romero as the challengers use some amazing double team moves to drop both champions. With the action fast and furious, the champs didn’t know what to do. Well, Rocky knew what to do, dropkicking Jigsaw in the back of his head without a tag. The champs kept Jigsaw grounded while making quick tags to keep themselves fresh. Jigsaw was able to fight his way out of the precarious position, knocking both champions to the floor before tagging out to Ruckus. Ruckus picked up the pace once again, using all of his always jaw-dropping offense. Jigsaw jumped back in, giving us a fisherman’s buster into a sit-down power bomb combo. The challengers hung Rocky in the tree of woe, double dropkicking him from opposite sides of the ring. The fans gave a much deserved, “That was awesome,” chant after the replay worthy move. But Davey was there to stop the sure pin, driving Jigsaw chest first into the turnbuckles, allowing Romero to pull Jigsaw off the top with the Diablo Arm Bar. Before Jigsaw could tap out, Ruckus broke up the submission. Ruckus took a knee to the jaw for his trouble. Jigsaw nearly fought his way to victory, but got caught in a Spike DR Driver to keep the gold in the No Remorse Corps.

Once again, Tyler Black is shown psyching himself up for his title match. In another part of the arena, Nigel stares at his title belt like it’s talking back to him. I think Nigel was telling it how he keeps those spikes so perfectly vertical.

In Philly, footage is shown of BJ sticking up for himself in hopes of not joining Sweet & Sour Inc. Instead of siding with their teammate, the former Hangmen 3 put BJ in the hospital.  

Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries  

This match is another in the long running rivalry between these two. The fans are split down the middle in their support of both men. We get some solid mat wrestling between the two. When Aries tried to pick up the pace, Danielson went to Cattle Mutilation. Aries quickly broke free, kneeing the top of Danielson’s head. Before Aries could tope through the ropes, Danielson kneed him in the mouth. It had little effect on Aries as he wrestled Danielson back to the mat, focusing on Danielson’s neck. Danielson is able to free himself with a combination of kicks, forearms, and uppercuts. With Aries on the mat, Danielson hinted at going for the surfboard. Instead “The American Dragon” stomped on the back of Aries’ knees. Bryan tried to whip Austin into the ropes, but Aries used this to reverse the momentum, clotheslining Danielson to the floor before hitting that low tope. Danielson rolled out, onto the apron to avoid being pinned. When Aries went to grab him, Danielson kicked Aries’ left arm into the steel ring post. Danielson wrenched the arm several times before locking in Cattle Mutilation. Aries refused to give up, rolling through the hold. Daniels went from Cattle Mutilation to the triangle choke, then a leg scissored arm bar. Aries made into the ropes, rolling Danielson up soon after. Aries connected with the roaring elbow after getting to his feet. Unable to follow up quickly, Aries couldn’t hold Danielson down for the three count. Aries forced Danielson onto the top rope for a super Brain Buster, but just put himself in position for another triangle choke. Since he was in the ropes, Danielson couldn’t hold on long enough to make Aries tap. Aries recovered as Danielson climbed up the ropes, pulling Aries off with the super Brain Buster. Aries rolled through the move, locking in the Horns of Aries. Danielson fought out of it, leading to a counter for counter exchange. Danielson was able to work his away around Aries after those rapid-fire elbows to the side of his head, locking in the arm bar to make Aries tap out. Great match, as usual.

Jimmy Jacobs is so pleased that tonight, Tyler Black brings the most powerful piece of ROH to the Age to the Fall.

ROH World title: Nigel McGuinness (c) vs. Tyler Black

Black actually slaps hands with the fans on the way down the aisle. Well, he is the babyface in this one, so why not. Nigel does his DDP imitation by wearing the belt backwards. We get the boxing style ring intros. Nigel, showing his heel chicanery, immediately jumps Black from behind after a handshake. Not very honorable Nigel. Nigel focuses on the left arm of Black before trying to humiliate him. Nigel just completely outclasses Black by outwrestling and out-brawling Black until the champ whipped Black into the turnbuckles. Forgetting how agile Black is, McGuinness gets caught with several kicks. But Black’s momentum doesn’t last long as Nigel pulled Black to the mat, stomping the back of his head. Nigel immediately went back to the arm in hopes of making Black tap out in the London Dungeon. Nigel did whatever he wanted to to Black, going after the arm any time Tyler tried to make a comeback. It wasn’t until the action went to the floor did Nigel make a fatal mistake. Black avoided a chair shot by super kicking the chair into Nigel’s face, knocking McGuinness into the front row. Black waited until Nigel got up before he made a jump off the top rope. Black couldn’t stop himself from flying into a swinging chair from the champion. The fans begged for Black to get up, who was down for a while. Since there are no count-outs in ROH, the referee stayed with Black to see if he could continue. Nigel waited in the ring until Black expended a lot of his own energy to reenter the ring. Black played possum, turning a short arm clothesline into a cradle that nearly got him the win. Nigel, seeing that Black wasn’t as hurt as he thought, started unleashing European uppercuts and lariats. Nigel was looking for the Tower of London when Tyler started to fight back. Black avoided the Jawbreaker Lariat, dropping the champ with a big boot. Black avoided an uppercut to hit Paroxysm for a close two count. The fans were on their feet, hoping for this Cinderella story to come true. Tyler superplexed Nigel, rolling through with a fireman’s carry into a DDT for another shocking near fall. The fans were upset, saying that the referee’s hand hit the mat three times. Black slid Nigel to the corner for the Phoenix Splash. Nigel, showing his cageyness, jumped to his feet, hitting the Tower of London. But Tyler wasn’t done, kicking out to a huge ovation. Nigel went for the Jawbreaker Lariat unsuccessfully again, getting caught in the Small Package Driver. Black was in shock when Nigel kicked out, but kept his cool, running to the top for the Phoenix Splash. McGuinness moved out of the way, locking in the London Dungeon. Black rolled through the hold, pinning Nigel for two seconds. The crowd chanted for Black, but he was stuck on the top for a sick lariat…that led to another near fall! When Nigel cockily picked Black up, Tyler spit in his face. Nigel responded with another jaw cracking lariat, to another shocking near fall. Black kicked Nigel in the head, knocking him into the ropes for the Jawbreaker Lariat. Nigel finally connected with the attack, only for Black to kick out at the last millisecond. Nigel caught Black with another lariat as he stumbled to his feet before putting Black in the London Dungeon to finally make Tyler Black tap out. I can’t believe what I just saw. MOTYC for sure.

Is It Worth Your Money: I’m getting straight to the point with this one: Buy this show! Okay, let me calm down and tell you why. The first 2/3s of the show, while sprinkled with the usual ROH PPV goodness, was a little slow going. Yes, the four way was an exciting, hot opener. Yes, Steen vs. Strong, albeit a little repetitive, was a stiff contest filled with “ooh” and “aww” moments. Yes, the Street Fight was crazy sick with high spots galore. Yes, Stevens and Albright had a nice big man contest. And yes, the Tag title match was a fun, “That was awesome” inducing match. But the final two matches are what I’m raving about. Danielson vs. Aries, a match I never get sick of seeing, pushed this show from “okay” to “great.” The story of their knowledge of each other’s repertoire, and using it against them was just the foundation for a stiff, MMA style encounter that saw both men using every counter possible to lock in their patented submissions. By the final five minutes, I was on the edge of my seat, going nuts at what these men were doing. After seeing most of their ROH encounters, I can definitely put this one in the top three. Then it was main event time. ROH did a great job of focusing on Black during the course of the night getting ready for the biggest match of his career. By the time the first bell rung, you had the hope that maybe, just maybe, Black would do something that would make his career tonight. I’d heard the reviews of the match, stating that it was a classic. I didn’t understand that during the first half, where Nigel just dominated Black. But after the chair shot in the crowd, and Black pulling himself back into the ring, the match switched gears. I was with the fans as they rose, pulling for Black to takedown Nigel by fighting back like only a kid with no thoughts of physical consequences would do. This was a star-making match. Like Steve Austin in that submission match with Bret Hart, in losing, Black came out looking like a true big time player, and a future World champion. The only match, so far, this year I can say is a notch better than this one is Michaels vs. Flair. For $10.00-14.95 (determined by your service provider), there is no reason for you not to see this show. Take No Prisoners Is Worth Your Money.   

Well, that’s all for this edition of the ROHbot Report. I’ll be back next week with all the results, and fallout of this weekends events. Go to rohwrestling.com to check out the latest Video Wire, as well as the times for Take No Prisoners showings.

For more information on James Bullock, a.k.a. Me, visit the WWI Forums (I’m under the name “jakeb”), or my myspace at myspace.com/jakeab