ROH Live Event results
August 12, 2006
Liverpool, England
Report by Stephen Lyon, Torch VIP subscriber

An ROH Fan Slam Convention with the entire ROH crew of wrestlers and staff was held earlier in the day, in the same facility as the main show. Lots of autograph and photo opportunites, as well as Q & A sessions with Gabe Sapolsky, Colt Cobana and Claudio Castagnoli. Everyone on hand was so friendly, approachable and pleased to be there. They were an absolute credit to their profession. I met and chatted with literally everybody, from ROH Owner, Cary Silkin, to Colt Cabana, to Bryan Danielson, to the Briscoes, and the list goes on and on. Fantastic start to the festivities.

The evening show was held in the Liverpool Olympia facility; a Victorian ballroom with an elegant and ornate interior. It should look great on the DVD release. I estimate the crowd to be in the 1,600 range, just shy of a sellout (the building's capacity was 1,700). Extremely hot crowd throughout. Fans from all over Europe had flown in for the event.

(1) Matt Sydal defeated Spud, Colt Cabana, and Jonny Storm in a 4 Corner Survival match. Sydal pinned Spud with a shooting star press. Cobana's ring entrance with the Copacabana theme music was great. He was by far the most over wrestler in the match. Good action.

At the conclusion of the match, none other than Chris Hero came running past me through the crowd. He hopped the barrier and slid into the ring to cut a promo. Lots of 'F*** Chris Hero' chants. He had big time heel heat. Colt Cabana came rushing from the back to attack him, chasing him out of the ring. Hero disappeared through a side door.

(2) Davey Richards defeated Jimmy Rave with a modified brainbuster. Before the match, Nana and Rave were bombarded with tons of toilet rolls from the crowd. This was a very good match. Richards was very impressive. Prince Nana was absolute phenomenal working outside the ring, selling the intensity of the match and progressively flipping out more and more at the dramatic nature of the match.

(3) B.J. Whitmer defeated Claudio Castagnoli with a jacknife hold. Decent match, not quite as heated as the previous two matches.

After the match, Chris Hero again came through the crowd and attacked Whitmer, which brought back Colt Cabana to even the odds. Cobana grabbed the mic and challenged Hero to a match there and then.

(4) Colt Cabana defeated Chris Hero with the Colt 45. Enjoyable match, both worked hard and Cobana's work in this match was notably more intense than in the opener, where he had done a bit of comedy. Cobana was so over at the end of this match, fans were dancing to his entrance music. He was clearly one of the stars of the show.

(5) Team UK (Doug Williams & Jody Fleisch) defeated Team Noah (SUWA & Go Shiozaki). Williams pinned Go with the Chaos Theory after SUWA turned on him. Fantastic match. SUWA heeled on the crowd early on, throwing water over some of those in the front rows, and even spitting into the crowd which was a little crazy. Go Shiozaki was very impressive, delivering some of the stiffest kicks and chops I think I have ever seen. Shiozaki turning on SUWA led to the pinfall, after there had been miscommunication between the two earlier in the match.

There was then a 20 minute Intermission, during which the ROH announced their return dates to the U.K.: Friday March 2nd, 2007 they will be in Broxbourne, Kent; and Saturday, March 3rd, 2007 they will return Liverpool, again at the Olympia.

(6) Robbie Brookside defeated Chad Collyer to retain the FWA Heavyweight Title. This was the weakest match on the show. Even though Brookside was the hometown boy, and worked as a face, he didn't get much heat apart from a few kids cheering for him. The fans didn't exactly crap on the match, but they were quiet for long periods and there was little heat. It just seemed out of place on what had been up to that point, a 'pure' ROH show.

(7) Austin Aries & Roderick Strong defeated The Briscoes to retain the ROH World Tag Team titles. Aries pinned Jay after the 450. Simply an outstanding tag team match, with great heat. A lot of dual chants going on throughout this match. Crowd loved all four guys.

(8) ROH World Champion Bryan Danielson defeated ROH Pure Champion Nigel McGuinness via knockout to unify the titles. Awesome main event. Crowd was split maybe 60-40 in McGuiness' favour, and there were a ton of duelling chants for both guys. The key early on was that both guys had the other in a submission move, and there would be a rope break. This happened multiple times and it ended up 3-3 each, with no more rope breaks for either man allowed. The huge turning point in the match came when Danielson posted McGuiness on the outside, busting McGuiness open. Danielson then repeatedly headbutted him several times, causing a HUGE ball of swelling on the side of McGuiness' forehead. Danielson then threw a disorientated McGuiness into the crowd and then proceeded to do a running somersault senton. McGuiness' blood was all over the floor and on Danielson's back. Huge heat by this point, with now at least 90% of the crowd cheering on McGuiness. Danielson rolled back into the ring, and McGuiness made it back in at the count of nine, to a thunderous ovation. Danielson then had McGuiness in a camel clutch and proceeded to repeatedly elbow McGuiness in the back of his head, knocking him out and leaving the ref with no choice to stop the match and award it to Danielson.

Crowd were irate at the referee's decision, but didn't feel screwed - more disappointed that the home country boy didn't win. People were so into this match by this point that they were kicking the guardrails in anger at the match finish. After the match, Danielson offered McGuiness a rematch on August 25th in St Paul, Minnesota, and McGuiness accepted. Danielson left the ring and McGuiness thanked the crowd for their support as the show ended.

As I made my exit, most of the undercard guys were in the foyer, mixing with fans and selling their gimmicks at a table. Prince Nana was there, shaking hands, as were the Briscoes. I loved how up close and personal the ROH guys were with the fans, it was something that really shone today. This was easily the best wrestling show that I've ever attended live, and I've attended upwards of 20+ WWE/WCW/Other wrestling shows over the past 16 years here in the U.K. A phenomenal experience live, and I can't wait to buy my ticket for the March 2007 return date.

NOTES: Torch VIPers should check out the Torch message board ROH forum, as I've posted a thread with lots of my great ringside photos from the event. I was third row ringside most of the show, and literally a couple of feet away from Danielson and McGuiness during their match, pushed against the guardrail. Any closer and I'd have actually been in the match!

We suggest these recent related articles...

SHOW RESULTS - 10/9 AAW in Berwyn, Ill.: Gargano challenges for AAW Hvt. Title, more title matches, big women's tag match, more

SHOW RESULTS - 10/3 NWA Smoky Mountain in Kingsport, Tenn.: NWA Hvt. Title match, Rob Conway, Kid Kash, Ricky Morton, more

LIVE REPORT - 10/4 TNA BFG PPV in North Carolina: Live notes on technical glitches, pre-Angle match announcement, Captain America Fan, more