By Chris Vetter, Torch Contributor

Ring of Honor headed to Lake Grove, N.Y., on Nov. 24, 2006, for “Black Friday Fallout.” It appears the crowd is perhaps 500. As with most ROH releases, lighting is good, and sound from commentary is better than it has been of late. Providing commentary is Dave Prazak and Jimmy (Gabe Sapolsky) Bower.

* The DVD opened with Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli standing at a podium, and Hero thanked “everyone” for coming. (We never saw if there was a crowd beyond the cameraman!) Hero said that as tag champions, they will do what they want, when they want. Hero said he has made their match tonight a no-disqualification match.

* Brent Albright cut a brief backstage promo saying that he’s found a new home here in ROH, and he’s here to make money and beat people up. (Foreshadowing that he can be ‘bought’ as a henchman?)

To the ring!

(1) Lacey defeats Nikki Roxx and Allison Danger and Daizee Haze in a four-way at 8:28. Full entrances were shown for all four women. Lacey slapped Haze before the bell. Danger chopped Lacey, as Prazak talked about Roxx’ ROH debut, and he filled in viewers briefly about her background. Danger hit some forearms and knee thrusts to Lacey’s chest. Roxx entered and hit a running dropkick as Lacey was tied in the Tree of We. Haze hit a Daizee Cutter/stunner on Roxx. Danger hit a hotshot on Haze. Haze applied an STF on Danger at 2:30. Danger escaped and made it to a corner, but Lacey refused to tag in!

Roxx stretched Danger around her back, as Bower talked about how Danger has been a part of ROH since day one. Roxx and Danger traded rolling Victory Roll covers. Lacey entered and hit some loud chops on Danger, then a running knee to the back for a nearfall at 6:00. Lacey was in control, and the crowd rallied for Danger. Haze entered and hit a basement dropkick. Roxx hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on Haze! Roxx hit a butterfly side suplex for a nearfall on Daizee, then a sitdown Bubba Bomb on Danger.

Haze got a sunset flip for a believable nearfall on Roxx. Haze nailed a Heart Punch on Roxx, BUT Lacey made a blind tag on Haze to enter the match! Lacey nailed an implant DDT on Roxx to score the pin! After the match, Lacey and Haze jawed some more at each other. Good women’s match with plenty of action. I’ve liked what I’ve seen of Roxx in Shimmer, and she did well in her ROH debut.

* Up next is the gauntlet match, which is essentially comprised of five “mini matches.”

(2a) Brent Albright defeats Pelle Primeau at 2:05. Basic squash. Pelle wore his red trunks, and he’s significantly smaller than Albright. Bower noted that it has been three years since the last gauntlet in ROH, which also happened right after Thanksgiving at “War of the Wire.” Albright hit a butterfly suplex for a nearfall, and he worked the left arm. Prazak said Albright is twice Primeau’s size. Pelle hit a hurricanrana. Albright hit a hot shot on the ropes, a sudden German Suplex, a half-nelson suplex, and he applied the Crowbar/Fujiwara Armbar, and Pelle quickly tapped out.

(2b) Brent Albright defeats Jason Blade at 4:24. Another effective, short squash. Blade wore white trunks, and he too is much smaller than Albright. Albright hit a spine kick. Blade hit some deep armdrags and a dropkick, but the fans booed! Fans obviously want to cheer Albright! Albright hit a belly-to-belly suplex, and the fans cheered. Albright got a nice standing dropkick for a nearfall, a clothesline and some chops. Blade came back with a rollup out of a wheelbarrow spot. Albright again hit the hot shot, the German Suplex, the half-nelson suplex, and he applied the Crowbar, and Blade tapped out. (Two consecutive squash matches did an excellent job of getting over Albright’s four-move finishing sequence.)

(2c) B.J. Whitmer defeats Brent Albright at 13:20. Solid, slightly above-average match. They opened with a feeling out process and an intense lockup. Albright slapped on the Crowbar immediately, and Whitmer got to the ropes. They traded mat holds, then traded some chops and stiff forearms. Albright hit a belly-to-belly suplex at 4:30. Whitmer came back with an Exploder Suplex, and Albright bailed. Albright grabbed Whitmer’s right ankle, and he slammed it onto the ring post! Whitmer immediately began limping, and Albright stomped on the ankle. On the floor, Albright slammed the ankle into the guardrail. Fans began to rally for Whitmer.

In the ring, Albright applied a half-crab, but Whitmer reached the ropes at 8:30. Whitmer came back with another Exploder Suplex, and they were both down, and the crowd heated up. Whitmer hit some chops, a backbody drop, and a Spinebuster for a nearfall. A couple fans started chanting, “boring,” and they were shouted down. Albright slapped on an anklelock at 11:00, and fans chanted for Whitmer to tap, but B.J. reached the ropes. Albright hit a German Suplex; Whitmer hit a German Suplex. Albright hit another German Suplex, so Whitmer hit two more German Suplexes! Whitmer rolled over onto Albright and got the surprising pin! There were some boos; solid match but a sub-par finish.

(2d) Jimmy Jacobs (w/Lacey) defeats B.J. Whitmer at 0:05. Whitmer was clearly exhausted from his 13-minute match with Albright, and Jacobs snuck up behind Whitmer, hit a low blow, and got the pin. Jacobs stood over Whitmer and taunted him.

(2e) Nigel McGuinness defeats Jimmy Jacobs (w/Lacey) at 14:27 to win the gauntlet. Nigel got a nice pop. They shoved each other, and Nigel slapped Jacobs in the face. Nigel tied up the left arm, and they did a series of good reversals that ended in Nigel applying a hammerlock. Bower on commentary noted that Bryan Danielson and Colt Cabana were overseas this weekend. Jacobs hit his Giant Swing headscissors takedown at 3:00. Nigel hit a back suplex, and he applied a headscissorslock and went back to work on Jacobs’ left arm. Jacobs hit a standing neckbreaker for a nearfall, but he missed a spear.

In a cool spot, Nigel got a Rings of Saturn-type armbar on Jacobs at 6:00, which drew a pop. Innovative mat wrestling. Nigel hit a short-arm clothesline for a nearfall, and he tried to hit the Tower of London, but Jacobs blocked it. Jacobs went for a dive, but he missed, and the crowd taunted him. Nigel hit a European Uppercut. Jacobs hit a catapult basement dropkick in the corner. Jacobs ran on the floor and hit a dropkick on Nigel’s head as it rested on the ring apron, and Jacobs blew kisses toward Lacey. Jacobs slapped Nigel in the face, but this just made Nigel angry! Nigel hit some European Uppercuts and a short-arm clothesline for a believable nearfall at 9:00.

Nigel hit some more European Uppercuts, and he was in charge, as he hit his kick to the back & inverted DDT combo out of the corner for a nearfall. Jacobs dove through the ropes to the floor on Nigel. Back in the ring, Nigel crotched Jacobs on the top rope. Nigel hit the Tower of London off the top rope between the turnbuckles at 12:00 for a believable nearfall. Jacobs came back with his top-rope senton splash for a nearfall, some stiff forearms and a Mafia Kick. Nigel went for his clothesline finisher, but Jacobs countered with a spear! Jacobs went for the Contra Code/overhead flipping bulldog, but Nigel blocked that. Nigel nailed a clothesline as Jacobs straddled the top rope to score the pin. Good match.

* In a backstage promo, Jay & Mark Briscoe talked about their matches. Jay said he would finally get payback tonight on Samoa Joe. Mark kept calling his opponent, “Shango,” and he belittled him.

(3) Claudio Castagnoli & Chris Hero defeat Austin Aries & Roderick Strong at 16:39 to retain the tag titles. Strong ran into the crowd to confront Hero & Claudio, attacking them by the merchandise table. All four fought on the floor, with Strong facing Hero as Claudio battled Aries. Bower said this would be the last title shot for Strong & Aries. Fans chanted, “F--- you, Hero!” Claudio wore his purple shirt & black pants & tie tonight instead of ring gear. Claudio hit a European Uppercut on Aries. Aries hit a backbody drop that sent Claudio into the crowd. Aries then nailed a running crossbody block, leaping over the guardrail, and hitting Claudio in the crowd at 4:00! Nice.

Claudio dropped Aries rib-first on the guardrail, and the announcers talked about Aries’ nagging rib injury. They finally got in the ring. Aries hit his running dropkick to the face in the corner on Claudio. The faces began to double-team Hero. Claudio got a roll of duct tape and he taped Aries’ legs together around the ring post. Claudio hit a European Uppercut on Strong at 7:30, and the champs worked over Strong as Aries struggled to remove the tape around his ankles. Each heel hit a boot to Strong’s head. Claudio choked Strong with his tie. The Kings of Wrestling did a wishbone with Strong’s legs. Claudio got a guardrail and tossed it into the ring, and he made a bridge with it.

Aries finally broke free, and he gave Hero a Flair Toss off the top turnbuckle onto the barricade at 11:30. Aries hit some punches on Claudio in the corner, and he hit a bulldog onto the barricade. The faces hit a team backbreaker on Hero across an open chair! The faces hit their team chop & brainbuster combo for a nearfall, but the referee was pulled to the floor! Aries dove through the ropes to the floor on Hero. In the ring, Strong hit a Gibson Driver/butterfly powerbomb on Claudio for a believable nearfall. Strong set up a table in the corner. Claudio spun Aries around his back into a faceplant.

The Kings of Wrestling grabbed their metal briefcase, but Aries intercepted it, and he hit each heel with it. Claudio got the briefcase and he hit Aries. Strong nailed his Gorilla Press Gutbuster over his knees, then a running boot for a believable nearfall on Hero at 15:30. Suddenly, Shingo hit the ring, and he gave Strong a powerbomb through the table, and the crowd booed this outside interference. The Kings of Wrestling immediately hit the double-team Hero’s Welcome/spinning faceplant, and Hero pinned Strong. Good match, but I hated the outside interference directly leading to the finish.

* It’s intermission time with Gary Michael Cappetta! GMC was with Shane Hagadorn, who praised Adam Pearce. Hagadorn said that he and Pearce are close, and they are both mourning the loss of Steve Corino and Jim Cornette as members of the ROH roster. Hagadorn then talked about Pearce’s upcoming strap match against Homicide.

(4) Shingo defeats Mark Briscoe at 12:22. Shingo wore a black singlet; Mark wore his red boxing trunks. Especially because of Shingo’s interference in the prior match, this is a heel-heel matchup, which I generally detest. They traded mat holds. Mark hit a spin heel kick and some chops, then his catapult doublestomp, and Shingo bailed. Back in the ring, Mark hit a belly-to-belly suplex for a nearfall, but he missed a twisting legdrop. Shingo applied a modified Sleeper at 3:30, then he hit a Giant Swing for a nearfall. On the floor, Shingo pushed a chair across Mark’s throat. Back in the ring, he hit a Dibiase fist drop in the ring, hit a clothesline, and he was in charge.

They traded stiff forearms, and Briscoe hit a nice Northern Lights Suplex for a nearfall at 6:00. Shingo came back with a low blow mule kick and a headbutt to the groin, then a back suplex for a nearfall. Shingo applied a modified Anaconda Vice on the mat, but Mark reached the ropes. Mark came back with a top-rope crossbody block, and he dove over the top rope onto Shingo on the floor, as he barely cleared the top rope! In the ring, Mark hit two belly-to-belly suplexes for a nearfall at 9:00. Shingo hit a DDT as Mark was tied in the corner for a nearfall. Fans chanted, “Let’s go Briscoe!”

Mark hit a springboard Ace Crusher for a nearfall, and they traded more stiff forearms. Shingo hit a neat gutwrench release suplex for a nearfall at 11:30. Mark went for the Cutthroat Driver, but he couldn’t hit it, and Shingo immediately hit a “Blood Ball” Falcon Arrow faceplant for the pin. Strong hit the ring after the bell and attacked Shingo, and they fought to the back. Good match, but it was definitely hurt by the lack of crowd reaction, as both were largely treated as heels.

(5) Jimmy Rave defeats Homicide (w/Julius Smokes) at 18:06. Rave got surprisingly little reaction at all. Homicide got a nice face pop. Prazak talked about how toilet paper throwing is banned, and Bower added that it has run its course. Bower said this is a rematch from a tag match earlier in the year that ended in a double DQ. They traded mat holds as Bower talked about Rave’s losing streak. Homicide was frustrated early and he grabbed the ring bell, but the ref took it from him. Homicide applied a headscissorslock, but Rave reached the ropes at 4:00. Bower said that Homicide is like the “Cubs of Ring of Honor,” because he can never seem to win the title.

Homicide hit a spine kick. Rave hit in Homicide’s face, and Homicide immediately slapped him in the face! On the floor, Homicide whipped Rave into the guardrail. Smokes hit a clothesline! In the ring, Homicide hit a running knee to the face in the corner, then a belly-to-belly suplex for a nearfall at 6:30, and he worked the neck and hit some blows to the back. Rave hit a spear on Homicide on the floor, sending Homicide into the guardrail. Back in the ring, Rave tied Homicide in a pretzel, and he hit a snap suplex and applied a chinlock, but the crowd was really quiet. Rave hit a back suplex for a nearfall at 10:30, and fans began to chant for Homicide.

Rave choked Homicide in the ropes and he hit a swinging neckbreaker for a nearfall. Homicide came back by hitting the Tope Con Helo/dive to the floor. In the ring, Homicide hit a swinging neckbreaker for a nearfall, then an Ace Crusher at 13:30. Homicide hit an awkward-looking flip powerbomb for a nearfall. Homicide hit a second-rope DDT for a nearfall, then three rolling suplexes, as fans chanted, “Eddie!” Homicide missed a diving headbutt. Rave hit the “Ghana Rea”/swinging back suplex for a nearfall at 15:30, and Bower said the move needs a new name. Rave hit a Shining Wizard for a nearfall.

Homicide hit a top-rope hurricanrana, but he missed the hard clothesline. Rave hit a spear for a nearfall. Homicide hit a running kneestrike for a nearfall. Rave hit the “Greetings from Atlanta”/Pedigree for a nearfall, and the crowd now fully rallied behind Homicide. Out of nowhere, Rave got an inside cradle and scored a clean pin on Homicide! The fans were stunned and chanted, “Bullsh!t!” A good match, but it was hurt by a quieter-than-expected crowd that just wasn’t into Rave at all.

* The Briscoes hit the ring and attacked Homicide. Samoa Joe ran down to make the save, which kickstarted the next match!

(6) Samoa Joe defeats Jay Briscoe at 11:58. Good short match. Joe whipped Jay’s head into the guardrail, as fans chanted, “Joe’s gonna kill you!” Joe hit a chop on the floor. Bower noted this is the first singles match between these two since the bloodbath cage match. Joe nailed his running Ole Kick on the floor, and the crowd was HOT (really, for the first time in the show.) In the ring, Joe hit his right & left kicks, some punches and some stomps. Joe hit a kneedrop on the face for a nearfall, then an enziguri in the corner at 3:30. Joe set up for the running Facewash, but Jay avoided it by hitting a Mafia Kick.

They traded chops, and Jay hit a vertical suplex and a guillotine legdrop. Jay slowed it down with a chinlock, and he hit a nice standing dropkick for a nearfall. Jay hit a running forearm in the corner for a nearfall at 6:30. They traded hard slaps! Joe hit some stiff forearms, a running boot, and a senton for a nearfall. Some fans began chanting, “F--- Kurt Angle!” Joe hit a standing powerbomb, and he turned it into an STF, then into a Crippler Crossface, but Jay reached the ropes. Jay hit a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall at 9:30, then a frogsplash for a nearfall.

Joe hit an enziguri, and he went for the Musclebuster, but Jay avoided it, got a rollup and a nearfall. Jay hit a high back suplex, dumping Joe on his neck for a nearfall! Jay went for a springboard maneuver, but Joe nailed a kick to the chest! Joe then hit the Musclebuster and got the pin. Good match, and the crowd was finally into a match, start to finish.

* A commercial aired for Full Impact Pro.

(7) Matt Sydal & Christopher Daniels (w/Allison Danger) defeat Davey Richards & Delirious at 26:47. Excellent match, and easily best of the show. Danger wore her cheerleader outfit. Delirious, as always, went crazy at the bell, as Bower talked about the recent Delirious-Sydal rivalry. The crowd is fired up, as Daniels and Richards started and traded good mat holds, and Richards hit his quick right & left kicks, then some armdrags. Delirious entered at 3:00 and he twisted Daniels arm. Sydal tagged in to face Delirious, and the announcers praised the “Survival of the Fittest” finals between these two. Sydal and Delirious were trading some really nice mat wrestling here, and the crowd was hot for it. Sydal hit his snap headscissors takedown at 7:30.

Daniels entered and hit a backbody drop on Delirious for a nearfall. Richards tagged in and hit a hard spin kick to Daniels’ chest for a nearfall. Sydal hit a twisting swan dive over the top rope to the floor on Richards at 9:30, drawing a “holy sh!t!” chant. Daniels & Sydal began to work over Richards, with Sydal hitting a catapult basement dropkick in the corner. Daniels applied a chinlock on the mat, and the crowd rallied for Richards. Daniels hit a nice spin heel kick for a nearfall at 12:30. Sydal hit a Death Sentence/second-rope elevated guillotine legdrop. Richards and Sydal traded stiff forearms, and Richards dropped Sydal stomach-first across the top-rope.

Delirious entered and he kicked Daniels in the head, then he hit the BAM/leaping lariat and a running dropkick on Sydal as Richards held Sydal in place. Delirious applied a Cobra Clutch on Sydal. Richards hit a backbreaker over his knee at 16:30 and more kicks to the chest, as they continued to work over Matt, with each man hitting a spine kick. Richards went for a handspring-back-enziguri, but Sydal cut it off and hit a spin heel kick. Daniels made the hot tag, and he hit a Blue Thunder Bomb on Richards for a nearfall at 19:00. Daniels gave Delirious an STO uranage, slamming him onto Richards! Cool spot. Richards came back with a top-rope crossbody block on Daniels.

Delirious hit a headscissors takedown on Daniels, then a flip dive to the floor on Daniels. Meanwhile, in the ring, Sydal hit his Floatover Famouser and a standing moonsault on Richards. Richards flipped Sydal in the air and kicked him, and the announcers called this an “Alarm Clock” kick. Sydal went for the “Here It Is Driver”/pumphandle sitdown powerbomb, but he couldn’t hit it. Richards applied an inverted Texas Cloverleaf, but Daniels made the save. Daniels & Sydal each applied a Koji Clutch at 22:30, but both Richards and Delirious were able to escape. Delirious hit a team DDT move on Sydal for a believable nearfall. Daniels dove to the floor on Richards.

Delirious hit a running dropkick to Sydal’s back, then he hit the Panic Attack/running knee in the corner. Richards nailed a release German Suplex off the top rope! Delirious hit the Shadows Over Hell/backsplash on Sydal, but Daniels made the save. Daniels and Richard traded chops, and this time, Richards hit the handspring-back-elbow, and he dove to the floor on Daniels, leaving Delirious and Sydal in the ring. Sydal hit an enziguri. Delirious hit a neckbreaker out of the ropes for a nearfall. But, Daniels hit an STO uranage and a Best Moonsault Ever, and Sydal immediately hit a top-rope Shooting Star Press, to pin Delirious. Sharp, sharp, tag team match.

* In a final backstage segment, Lacey yelled at Jimmy Jacobs for losing again. She pointed out that she had won her match. She ordered Jacobs to cripple Whitmer. She stormed away, as Jacobs muttered earnestly, “But I love you.” Endearing.

Final thoughts: DVD runs 2 hours, 55 minutes.

First and foremost, the main event was awesome. This was a great face-face tag match, and the crowd was hot and split throughout. All four men delivered in an exciting bout. I’ll give second-best match to Joe-Jay, as they got the crowd going with their energetic match, which really needed to be a few minutes longer.

I HATE that I’ve spent a lot of time in recent reviews talking about crowd reaction, but it is a necessary evil here. The crowd was flat most of this show. Rave got little pop at all. Rave and Homicide just couldn’t get much of a reaction at all for anything – who would have thought that was possible a few months ago? Shingo-Mark Briscoe fell flat because it was heel-heel. The tag title match fell flat after the outside interference. The crowd seemed indifferent to most of what they saw on this show, which to me, is a big concern. If the fans LIVE in attendance don’t care who wins or loses, why should I, the viewer at home?

I liked the way the Gauntlet series was laid out. (I enjoyed this one far more than the gauntlet wayyy back at “War of the Wire” that Bower referenced on commentary. The gauntlet did a good job of getting over Albright as a new top-level name, it advanced the Jacobs-Whitmer feud without giving anything away, and we got a nice Jacobs-Nigel match to conclude the series. Well done all around – the gauntlet as a whole is “better than the sum of its parts.” The opening women’s match was fine and didn’t overstay its welcome. I’d like to see more Shimmer matches on a regular basis.

As with virtually all ROH shows, I’ll say this was a “good show,” as most indies wish they could pull off a show this good. That said, this show does not stack up well against the top ROH shows of the year. I’d be surprised if anyone put this event in their top 10, or quite frankly, top 20, ROH shows of 2006. The crowd really only heated up for the last two matches, and there was just nothing on the undercard that stood out as exceptional. Even the main event – as great as it was – doesn’t play a major role in the ongoing storylines in ROH. This DVD is available at www.rohwrestling.com for $20. Recommended for the ‘completist’ who wants to see every ROH show. Otherwise, skip this for one of the better ROH shows of the year.

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