By Chris Vetter, Torch Contributor

Ring of Honor continued its Fifth Year Festival by heading overseas! The show, "FYF: Liverpool" is from March 3, 2007. This venue is packed with maybe 1,000 or more fans, and they were rabid and into the show.

Like all the recent ROH releases, the commentary team is Dave Prazak & Lenny Leonard, and they are great together. Lighting, sound, editing are all strong, and the show is filmed with multiple cameras.

* The DVD opened with Roderick Strong back stage. He talked about the mysterious attack on Jack Evans. "I did it Jack! It was me!" Strong announced. "I never liked you in the first place!" Strong then turned his attention to PAC, saying he would break him in half.

* In another backstage promo, Jimmy Jacobs said he had a miserable flight to England, because Lacey wasn't with him. He was upset that Cabana hit a Colt 45. Jacobs said he left Colt scarred.

To the ring!

(1) Homicide (w/Julius Smokes) defeats Davey Richards at 16:08. The crowd was HOT to open this show. The ring canvas is sharp; I think it's the same one they used last time here. They tied up, and Richards applied a half-crab. The crowd was clearly behind Homicide. Richards hit a shoulder tackle, and they traded rollups and had a standoff. Prazak talked about the growing faction warfare in ROH. Homicide hit some armdrags and a dropkick, and Richards bailed at 3:30. Richards hit a Mafia Kick on the floor, sending Homicide into the fans.

Back in the ring, Homicide hit a second-rope crossbody block, and he hit a LOUD chop. Richards tossed Homicide gut-first onto the top rope at 6:00. Richards was now in charge, and he hit a backbreaker over his knee for a nearfall. Richards applied a headscissorslock, the he hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker over his knee. Richards spit at Smokes, and the crowd reacted. Richards hit a snap suplex for a nearfall. Smokes & Homicide took turns chopping Richards on the floor. Homicide crotched Richards on the guardrail. Homicide then hit his tope con helo/flip dive in the ropes at 9:30.

In the ring, Homicide hit an overhead belly-to-belly suplex for a nearfall. Homicide avoided a powerbomb, and he hit a hurricanrana. Homicide nailed a running knee to the head in the corner for a nearfall. Richards came back with some right & left kicks. Homicide hit an Exploder Suplex for a nearfall, and a second-rope Tornado DDT. Richards hit a Saito Suplex and a running forearm in the corner, then a gutbuster and a running Ligerbomb for a believable nearfall at 12:00. Richards applied an inverted Texas Cloverleaf, but Homicide reached the ropes.

Homicide hit a second-rope Ace Crusher. Richards hit his handspring-back-enziguri, but Homicide no-sold it and he nailed a clothesline for a believable nearfall. Homicide hit a Kawada Kick. Richards flipped Homicide up in the air and hit a Field Goal kick to the gut, then a Falcon Arrow for a believable nearfall! Richards again applied the Kondo Clutch/inverted Texas Cloverleaf. Homicide couldn't hit the Copkillah. Richards hit a German Suplex. Homicide came back with the rolling Eddie suplexes at 15:30. Homicide hit a frogsplash for a nearfall, then he nailed the Copkillah for the pin! Excellent match, and a great way to start the show.

(2) Sara Del Rey defeats Allison Danger at 8:28. Good women's match. Danger wore a red top & bottom; Del Rey wore a black & blue outfit. Del Rey again comes to the ring to the 30 Seconds to Mars song, so no "Final Countdown" in ROH. The ladies hugged before the match, and Lenny Leonard noted that these two are usually tag partners. They traded armholds to open, and Dave Prazak is really passionate when calling the women's action. Del Rey worked the left leg; this was good but a bit methodical. Del Rey sat down hard on the chest at 3:00, and she hit some stomps.

Del Rey hit a snap suplex, and she applied an abdominal stretch and drove her elbows into the ribcage. They traded rollups. Danger avoided the Royal Butterfly lock, and she hit a uranage, and they were both down. Danger hit a nice neckbreaker over hier knee for a nearfall at 6:00! OUCH! Del Rey came back with a big boot to the chest, then she hit two more for a nearfall. This was friendly competition. Del Rey hit a Samoan Drop for a nearfall. Danger came back with her Curb Kick in the ropes for a nearfall, then she applied a bodyscissorslock on the mat. Del Rey applied the Royal Butterfly lock, and she turned it into a suplex, to get the pin. They hugged again after the match. Very good, intense women's match.

* The Briscoes cut a backstage promo, showing off their new tag titles. "We'll hold these belts as long as we want to," Jay Briscoe said. We'll see...

(3) Jimmy Jacobs & Jimmy Rave defeat B.J. Whitmer & Colt Cabana at 13:43. This was a brawl. The heels attacked Whitmer & Cabana on the floor to kickstart the match. Whitmer whipped Rave into the chairs, and they were fighting all over the building. The screen did a "picture-in-picture" so viewers could see both brawls. Whitmer tried to dump Rave over the balcony! Colt hit some chops on Jacobs as Whitmer held Jacobs' arms back. Whitmer hit a LOUD chop on Jacobs, then he gave Jacobs a powerbomb across the guardrail at 4:00, and fans chanted, "Holy sh!t!"

They entered the ring for the first time. Whitmer hit a Mafia Kick to the side of the head on Rave. Jacobs hit Whitmer with the ring bell. Rave hit a DDT on Whitmer, and the heels were in control. Jacobs hit some doublestomps and a second-rope elbow drop at 8:00 for a nearfall. Rave and Whitmer traded chops, and Rave hit a Russian Legsweep, and he applied an Octopus. Whitmer hit an Exploder Suplex on Rave, and he made the hot tag to Colt.

Cabana hit some clotheslines, bodyslams and jabs, then his second-rope Lionsault press for a nearfall at 10:30. Colt hit flying buttbumps on each heel, then some Bionic Elbows. The crowd was hot and solidly behind the faces! Whitmer hit a running knee to the side of Rave's head for a nearfall. Jacobs hit some stiff forearms on Whitmer, then a spear on Colt, and a top-rope senton splash on Whitmer for a believable nearfall. Whitmer came back with a spinebuster and a brainbuster on Jacobs for a nearfall at 13:00. Rave and Colt fought on the floor. In the ring, Jacobs hit a "Super Contra Code"/Sliced Bread #2 off the top turnbuckle on Whitmer for the pin. Good brawl.

(4) Matt Sydal defeats Delirious at 23:19 in a best of three falls match. Excellent match. Sydal is still the Open the Brave Gate champion. Delirious, as usual, went crazy at the bell, and Sydal bailed. They had an intense lockup, as Prazak went over the history of this feud in ROH. The wrestlers sped it up and ran the ropes, and Sydal hit some armdrags. They traded kicks to the gut at 5:00. Sydal hit a nice monkeyflip, and Delirious sold pain in his lower back. Sydal hit his cannonball guillotine legdrop for a nearfall. Delirious hit a headbutt to the chest, a back suplex for a nearfall, and a spine kick. They traded chops.

Sydal hit a headscissors takedown and a nice dropkick to the chin at 7:30. Sydal hit running knees to the chest, then a running clothesline in the corner. Sydal hit a low blow kick, then a Catapult Basement dropkick in the corner for a nearfall. Delirious fired back with his BAM leaping lariat and a running Field Goal Kick to the head! OUCH! Sydal hit a low blow kick, got a rollup, and scored a pin at 10:13! "He's crossed the line beyond cocky now," Lenny Leonard said.

Sydal was in charge, as he hit some blows to the back. He pulled a tassel out of Delirious' mask and he choked him with it. Sydal hit a guillotine legdrop on the apron, and he posed, and he was quite SMUG. Sydal applied a Crippler Crossface in the ring, but Delirious reached the ropes at 13:30. They fought to the floor, where Delirious whipped Sydal into the guardrail. Delirious hit the Panic Attack/running knee on the floor! In the ring, Delirious applied a standing Cobra Clutch, then he hit the Bizarro Driver/fisherman's Michinoku Driver for a nearfall. Sydal hit a standing moonsault for a nearfall. Delirious hit the Shadows Over Hell backsplash, then he applied the Cobra Stretch, and Sydal tapped out at 16:43! The score was tied, 1-1!

The match continued immediately, and Delirious hit the Panic Attack for a nearfall. The crowd was HOT! Delirious again applied the Cobra Stretch, but Sydal immediately reached the ropes, and he bailed to the floor. They traded slaps on the floor. Sydal hit a DDT in the ring for a nearfall at 19:30. Delirious fought back with a neckbreaker out of the corner. They hit simultaneous Mafia Kicks, and they were both down. Sydal did a backflip and he hit his Floatover Famouser legdrop, but he missed a Shooting Star Press, and he landed on his feet.

Delirious again applied the Cobra Stretch. They traded rollups, and Delirious hit the Chemical Imbalance II/flip inverted powerbomb. Delirious went to the top rope, but Sydal shoved the referee into the ropes, which crotched Delirious! Sydal then hit the one-man Spanish Fly off the top turnbuckle for the pin! Excellent, excellent match. I loved watching Sydal slowly turn more and more heelish as this went on.

* Allison Danger and Sara Del Rey stood backstage. Danger told the camera that viewers just "witnessed women's wrestling at its finest." Suddenly, Jetta and Eden Black walked up and issued an open challenge to the U.S. girls for the next night. Danger & Del Rey accepted the challenge.

* A clip aired, showing Hallowicked vs. Roderick Strong in FIP from the "Florida Rumble" show in December 2006. Another clip aired of Strong vs. Davey Richards in February 2007 from "Full Force."

(5) Roderick Strong defeats PAC at 18:07 to retain the FIP Heavyweight title. Another excellent match! I've seen PAC just twice, in his PWG matches from November. He's thin with curly shoulder-length hair, he's a skilled high-flyer, and he's fun to watch. Strong is about the same height (around 5'9"), but Strong is much thicker and stronger. Strong refused to shake hands. They tied up, but Strong slapped him in the face. PAC hit some quick armbars. Strong worked a hammerlock. PACE hit a nice headscissors takedown and some armdrags. Strong faked a chop, hit an eyepoke, and some kicks. PAC hit a headscissors takedown. They fought to the floor, where Strong caught PAC and dropped him neck-first on the guardrail at 5:30!

Strong tossed PAC into the ring post! In the ring, Strong applied a Surfboard. Pac hit an enziguri, a snap suplex, and a standing Shooting Star Press for a nearfall at 8:00. Strong hit a backbreaker over his knee for a nearfall, and he bent PAC over the guardrail, and worked the lower back. Strong hit a side suplex on the ring apron, and the crowd chanted, "Holy sh!t!" PAC barely got back in the ring at the 18-count. (There is a 20-count for FIP title matches.) Strong tied him up in a pretzel on the mat. Strong hit a chop in the corner, a clothesline, and a kick to the gut. PAC came back with an inverted DDT, and they were both down at 12:00.

PAC ducked some blows and hit some stiff forearms and a leg lariat. PAC hit a Londonsault dropkick, and Strong bailed. PAC hit a top-rope corkscrew press to the floor on Strong, and fans again chanted, "Holy sh!t!" PAC rolled him in the ring and got a nearfall at 14:30. Strong hit a release suplex for a nearfall, but he couldn't hit the Gorilla Press Gutbuster over his knees. PAC hit a moonsault senton for a nearfall! Strong hit a second-rope superplex, then he hit the Gorilla Press Gutbuster for a nearfall, and Strong was surprised he didn't get the win with the move.

Strong couldn't hit the Tiger Driver. PAC fired back with a Tornado DDT and a 450 Splash for a nearfall at 17:30. Fans now chanted, "This is awesome!" PAC missed a corkscrew splash. Strong nailed a Yakuza Kick, then a Gibson Driver/butterfly powerbomb for the pin. After the match, Roderick applied the Stronghold/modified Boston Crab, and Delirious ran in the ring to make the save.

* Jimmy Jacobs cut a promo backstage. "Wins and losses are hollow," Jacobs said. He was upset, because he was supposed to take out Cabana and Whitmer for good. He told a referee to have B.J. Whitmer meet him in the basement!

(6) Doi & Shingo defeat Mark & Jay Briscoe to win the ROH World Tag Titles at 22:38. Another absolutely amazing match! The Briscoes wore black & white boxer shorts. Shingo and Mark started with intense reversals, as Leonard talked about the Briscoes' long chase to win the titles. Mark hit a Northern Lights Suplex for a nearfall. Doi faced Jay at 2:00, and they traded chops, then Jay hit a headscissors takedown and a leg lariat. The Briscoes tossed Doi across the ring! Shingo hit a jumping kneedrop for a nearfall on Jay. Mark hit a second-rope kneedrop on Shingo for a nearfall. Shingo hit a series of headbutts on Mark at 5:00.

Shingo hit a Hart Attack clothesline on Mark. Doi hit a dropkick to Mark's exposed gut. Jay hit a back suplex, and Mark hit his catapult doublestomp on Shingo. Jay hit a nice dropkick for a nearfall. Mark hit a springboard spin kick for a nearfall at 8:30 and a hard spine kick. Mark hit a cool spinning split-legged moonsault move out of the corner! Shingo hit a Flatliner on one opponent and a DDT on the other opponent, and he made the hot tag at 10:30. Doi hit a nice dive to the floor on Mark. Shingo hit a Spinebuster on Jay for a nearfall. Mark accidentally hit a dropkick on Jay. Doi nailed a rolling tumbleweed in the corner on both Briscoes, getting a huge pop.

Doi applied an abdominal stretch on Jay. Doi hit a swanton bomb on Jay in the ropes for a nearfall at 13:30. Jay hit a Blockbuster neckbreaker on Doi. Mark made the hot tag, and he hit a springboard dropkick, then his Michinoku Driver for a nearfall. Mark hit a Shooting Star Press to the floor on Shingo, drawing another big pop. Jay and Doi traded a LONG series of stiff, clubbing forearms. The Dragon Gate team hit a back suplex combo on Jay. Mark hit a springboard frogsplash on Shingo for a nearfall. Jay hit an elevated guillotine legdrop on Shingo for a nearfall at 16:30, and fans again chanted, "This is awesome!"

Shingo hit a running clothesline in the corner on Mark. Doi hit a guillotine legdrop on Mark, then a second-rope release German Suplex on Mark for a believable nearfall. Mark went for a Shooting Star Press, but Doi got his knees up. Doi hit a frogsplash for a believable nearfall on Mark, and the fans chanted, "ROH!" Shingo accidentally hit a clothesline on Doi. Mark hit a Mafia Kick on Shingo, sending Shingo to the floor. The Briscoes hit a hi-low clothesline & Legsweep on Doi, then a team neckbreaker for a nearfall on Doi.

Doi fired back with a Victory Roll for a believable nearfall. Jay hit a Death Valley Driver on Doi for a believable nearfall, but Shingo made the save at 21:00. Shingo hit a clothesline on Jay for a nearfall. Shingo hit a clothesline on Mark for a nearfall, then a TKO stunner for a nearfall. Mark couldn't hit the Cutthroat Driver/modified DVD. Shingo immediately hit the Bloodfall/modified Falcon Arrow, to pin Mark! "What a shocker! We've got new champions," Prazak said. The Briscoes sat, stunned, on the mat.

* Jay got on the mic, saying he was upset that they lost the tag titles on their first title defense. He said it was time to man up, and he challenged his brother to a match for the next night. This came off well, as this is a 'friendly rivalry' match, and doesn't appear to be the start of another lengthy brother vs. brother feud.

* Clips aired of the series of title defense of Aries & Strong, and the tag title history in 2006. There have been WAY TOO MANY tag title changes lately.

(7) Samoa Joe defeats Nigel McGuinness at 22:51. Another superb match! The crowd chanted, "Thank you Joe!" The crowd was hot and really split, but there were more Joe backers. Nigel tied up the left arm. Joe slapped Nigel's face. They shoved each other, and Joe hit some jabs. Joe couldn't hit a dive to the floor. Joe tripped Nigel on the ring apron. Joe swung Nigel by his legs, sending Nigel's head into the guardrail at 3:00! Joe beat up Nigel on the floor and hit two Ole Kicks. Nigel hit a clothesline on the floor.

In the ring, Nigel sent Joe shoulder-first into a turnbuckle. Nigel hit some headbutts on the shoulder at 6:00, and he nailed a Divorce Court armbreaker. Nigel stayed on top by tying up the arms and bridging back for pressure. Joe fired back with an STO uranage in the corner, then his back chop & front kick & knee drop combo. Joe hit a spinning enziguri for a nearfall at 9:00, then some jabs. Nigel hit his back kick & inverted DDT combo out of the corner. Nigel hit a running European Uppercut in the corner, then he turned a Cobra Clutch into a short-arm clothesline for a nearfall.

Nigel couldn't hit the Tower of London, but he was able to avoid Joe's chokehold. Nigel then nailed the Tower of London/Ace Crusher out of the corner for a nearfall at 12:00. Joe hit a second-rope kneestrike for a nearfall, then a powerslam for a nearfall, and Joe hit the standing powerbomb, and he turned it into an STF, then a Crippler Crossface. Nigel teased he would tap out, but he was able to get to the ropes. Nigel hit a short-arm clothesline for a nearfall, but he couldn’t hit the the Tower of London. Joe hit a Musclebuster on the ring APRON at 16:00, and fans chanted, "Holy sh!t!" Both men were out on the floor! Fans chanted, "You killed Nigel!," as the referee checked on Nigel's condition.

Prazak said that Nigel wouldn't be able to continue, and he actually "signed off" to end the show. Joe got on the mic and put over Nigel, as Nigel was being helped to the back. Joe asked Nigel to come back in the ring and shake his hand. As Nigel continued to hobble away, Joe became angry, and he ordered Nigel to return! Nigel got back in the ring, and he slapped Joe, and the match was back on! Joe hit some jabs. Nigel hit a Superkick! Joe hit a running boot and a Musclebuster for a believable nearfall at 20:30, and the fans popped for the kickout.

Joe hit a hard clothesline for a nearfall, and Joe was stunned he didn't get the win. Fans chanted, "Let's go, Nigel!" Joe hit a headbutt and some chops. Nigel faked the Rebound Lariat, and he got a schoolboy rollup for a believable nearfall. Nigel did a headstand in the corner, but Joe hit a kick to the face! Joe applied a choke; Nigel rolled over on top and got a nearfall. However, Joe kept the choke locked on, and Nigel passed out to end this memorable match.

* Joe got on the mic, and said he learned not to talk trash to a Brit. He then put over Nigel. "I know I'm leaving this company in good hands," Joe said. Joe put over the ROH fans. Joe and Nigel hugged, as fans chanted, "Thank you, Joe!"

* In the final backstage segment, B.J. Whitmer walked up to Nigel in the basement, and they brawled down a dark tunnel. I couldn't really see the fight. The show faded to black.

Final thoughts: DVD runs 2 hours, 58 minutes.

WOW, this was an excellent, excellent show, and I think it is my favorite ROH show so far this year. Somehow, each match seemed to be better than the one before it.

Joe-Nigel earned match of the night, as Nigel worked a smart match and nearly got the win. Joe has really been on fire in the ring during his farewell tour, making sure ROH fans get to see his best work. Second best goes to the tag title match. While I hate, absolutely hate, seeing the tag titles change hands yet again, Doi & Shingo put in a great match, and they had many tremendous nearfalls.

I really enjoyed Sydal-Delirious, and that earned third best. I loved watching Sydal yet again start out as a generic 'tweener' at the start of the match, and slowly act more and more heelish as the match went on. It was great stuff. Strong-PAC and Homicide-Richards both get fourth-best, and either match would be a show stealer on just about any other promotion's show.

This is ROH at its finest, and I don't say that lightly. The crowd was large and they were hot. The matches were great. The editing & production was good. If I had to complain, it would be about the title change already, and that the world champion was absent from this show.

This DVD is HIGHLY recommended, as in, "if you only get one ROH DVD from the first half of 2007, this one should be it." It is really THAT GOOD. Purchase this DVD NOW at www.rohwrestling.com for $20.

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