By Chris Vetter, Torch Contributor

Ring of Honor returned to Edison, N.J., on April 14, 2007, for "Fighting Spirit." Because of other wrestling engagements, Austin Aries and Homicide missed this show, and it felt like this event lacked a bit of ‘star power.’ Of course, ROH was already without Bryan Danielson (injury) and Matt Sydal (Japan tour), along with the other former ROH guys who work for TNA instead.

As usual, the commentary team is Dave Prazak & Lenny Leonard, and they work well together. Lighting and sound are solid.

* The DVD opened with Nigel McGuinness backstage, as he talked about how important his title match tonight is to him. He said he was a 15-year-old kid watching “Summer Slam 1992” in Wembley Stadium, and he recalled how huge the British Bulldog-Bret Hart match was. He said it was during that night, he decided to become a pro wrestler. However, he said he doesn’t know how much longer he can keep doing this, and keep coming up short. “I need to win great matches,” Nigel said. “I’m a guy with a dream. This is special.” WOW, what a tremendous promo. He did a great job of getting over the importance of this match later!

(1) Eddie Edwards & Jason Blade defeat Chris Hero & Tank Toland at 11:21. (No Larry Sweeney tonight.) There were lots of Hero fans in the crowd, and the fans were hot. Hero started against Edwards, and Eddie worked the left wrist, so Hero did a series of kip-ups. Edwards hit a nice dropkick, but the crowd booed! Hero hit a shoulder tackle on Blade, and he celebrated. Blade hit some nice armdrags on Hero. Tank entered at 3:00, and Blade gave him some armdrags and he worked Tank’s arm. Hero hit a Mafia Kick to the side of Edwards’ face, and Tank hit a springboard ax handle for a nearfall. Hero did some pushups, being arrogant. Toland nailed a spear for a nearfall at 6:00.

Toland did some squats, and he hit a guillotine legdrop for a nearfall. Edwards hit some loud chops. In a fun spot, Toland put some weight-lifting “resistance bands” around Edwards’ throat and did some arm exercises as the referee was distracted. Edwards and Hero traded chops, and Hero hit a chokeslam for a nearfall. Edwards hit a missile dropkick on Hero, and they were both down. Blade made the hot tag, and he hit a dropkick on Toland, then a backbody drop. Blade hit a spin heel kick on Hero. The heels were flipped to the floor. Blade & Edwards then hit dives to the floor, drawing big pops!

In the ring, Blade hit a Blue Thunder bomb on Toland for a nearfall at 10:00. Blade hit a Superkick while Edwards was hitting a German Suplex for a nearfall! Nice team move. Hero hit a top-rope doublestomp on Edwards’ head for a believable nearfall. Blade nailed a Superkick on Hero, sending Chris to the floor. Blade then got a jackknife rollup on Toland for the pin! The finish was a pleasant surprise.

* Claudio Castagnoli gave a backstage promo, saying he’s been doing a lot of thinking lately. He said he trained hard and worked hard, but he let his mind wander off about moving to other places (like WWE). He said it was a shock to be asked to be part of the ROH “all-star team” against the Dragon Gate team in March. He pointed out that he beat Jay Briscoe and has earned a tag title shot. Good promo, as I thought Claudio fully switched back to being a face here.

(2) Pelle Primeau defeats Shane Hagadorn at 7:19. Hagadorn attacked Pelle on the floor. Pelle shoved Shane into the ring post, and he hit a headscissors takedown on the floor. In the ring, Pelle hit some punches. Hagadorn hit a gutbuster over his knee for a nearfall. Pelle hit a headscissors takedown, and he applied a cross-armbreaker at 3:00. Hagadorn hit some knee lifts, then a Russian Legsweep for a nearfall, and he choked Pelle in the ropes. Hagadorn hit a back suplex, and the crowd was hot.

Pelle fired back with a Tornado DDT, then a springboard buttsplash, a doublestomp, and a rollup for a nearfall. Hagadorn applied an inverted headlock takeover (the move looked a bit like a Crippler Crossface), but Pelle reached the ropes. Hagadorn went for a weapon, but Bobby Dempsey ran out and pointed out the weapon to the referee. Pelle hit a stunner, got a rollup, and scored a pin. There was extended, extended footage of Pelle crowd-surfing. Basic match, but really good crowd heat.

(3) Rocky Romero defeats Claudio Castagnoli at 10:37. Very good short match. They began with some basic tie-ups, and Prazak said that Austin Aries has the night off because of some injuries the night before. (I’m glad that ROH explained his absence.) They blocked each other’s moves early on. Romero applied a mid-ring Octopus, and he rolled Claudio up for a nearfall. Rocky hit a shoulder tackle, but it had no effect. Romero hit some kicks to the thigh, and he celebrated, doing a hip swivel. Claudio fired back with a shoulder tackle and he mimicked the hip swivel at 3:00, then he hit some European Uppercuts and nailed the Giant Swing.

Romero hit some spine kicks, and he hit a 619/swinging-through-ropes kick, and the crowd booed the move! Rocky hit some chops, and Castagnoli fired up. Claudio spun Rocky around his back into a faceplant for a nearfall at 6:30. Rocky got a modified Victory Roll for a nearfall, and Claudio rolled to the floor. Rocky went for a dive to the floor, but Claudio cut him off by nailing a European Uppercut! Moments later, Rocky dove through the ropes. In the ring, Rocky hit a top-rope crossbody block, then a second-rope DDT for a nearfall.

Claudio hit the Pyramid Bomb/cross-armed powerbomb for a believable nearfall at 9:00, but he couldn’t hit the Waterslide/modified Angle Slam. Rocky applied a Fujiwara Armbar. Claudio nailed the pop-up European Uppercut for a nearfall! Claudio hit a German release suplex. Rocky hit a hard kick to the head. Claudio nailed a Bicycle Kick! However, Rocky got a rollup for the pin. Good match.

* Sara Del Rey cut a backstage promo, saying she’ll take on anyone they put in the ring against her.

(4) El Generico & Kevin Steen defeat Jay Briscoe & Erick Stevens at 24:44. The two teams shoved at each other. Generico and Jay started, and they immediately traded stiff forearms, and Jay hit a flip dive to the floor on Steen, and he whipped Steen into the guardrail. Meanwhile, Generico hit his quick armdrags on Stevens. Stevens hit a backbreaker over his knee on Generico, then a ‘Choo Choo’ elbow drop for a nearfall at 2:30. Steen and Stevens traded chops, and Stevens hit a running Stinger Splash, then an overhead belly-to-belly suplex on Generico. Briscoe & Stevens hit a football double shoulder tackle. Steen hit some loud chops on Jay and a DDT.

Suddenly, the No Remorse Corps were out, and the crowd booed them! They beat up Stevens on the floor, and they left. Steen hit a diving blow to Jay’s back at 6:30. Stevens was helped to the back, so it was a 2-on-1 advantage for Steen & Generico. Generico hit a standing moonsault and a snap suplex. Prazak reminded fans that Mark Briscoe isn’t here because he’s been hospitalized. Steen hit a high back suplex and a flip guillotine legdrop for a nearfall at 9:30. Steen ‘pretended’ to be reaching for a tag to Jay, and the crowd booed his antics. Jay hit a flip neckbreaker/modified Blockbuster on Steen, and he hit some stomps, but he was winded.

Steen hit a Lungblower to the chest. This action was a bit tedious. Steen hit a bodyslam, and he applied a DULL chinlock at 13:30. Jay hit a Superkick on Steen and a Gordbuster on Generico for a nearfall, then a Falcon Arrow slam on Generico. Steen hit a standing powerbomb. Suddenly, Mark Briscoe hopped on the ring apron at 17:00 in his street clothes! The fans loudly chanted, “Briscoe!” The camera panned to the Briscoes’ mom in the crowd, and she was concerned for Mark. Jay hit a German Suplex on Steen, and he crawled toward Mark. Lenny Leonard said Mark was making a huge mistake by coming back too quickly. Mark made the hot tag, and he hit a springboard dropkick on Generico, then some karate thrusts to the chest and a back kick to the head.

Generico hit an elbow shot to the head, and Mark collapsed, and the crowd booed! Generico couldn’t hit the Yakuza kick. Steen hit an enziguri. Jay nailed a running Boot on Steen and a backbreaker over his knee. Mark hit a springboard kneestrike on Steen. Jay hit a fisherman’s buster on Steen. Generico nailed a running boot on Jay. Mark hit a top-rope Ace Crusher on Generico. Jay hit a frogsplash on Generico for a nearfall. Steen shoved Mark to the floor, and Mark grabbed his head in pain. Generico hit a Tornado DDT on Jay. Steen hit a neckbreaker over his knee, then a swanton on Jay for a believable nearfall, but Mark made the save.

Mark couldn’t hit the Cutthroat Driver at 22:30. Generico hit a Yakuza Kick and a Dragon Suplex on Mark, then another Yakuza Kick and a half-nelson suplex on Mark. However, Mark hopped to his feet, and he hit a decapitating clothesline. Steen sent Mark head-first into the guardrail! “This has to be stopped!” Lenny Leonard said. Steen nailed a Package Piledriver! Generico hit a Brainbuster on Mark for the pin. Steen laughed manically afterward. The match was a bit slow until Mark came out at the 17-minute mark, then it became really, really good.

(5) Doug Williams defeats Colt Cabana at 12:21. A fun match with plenty of Colt’s style of humor. Fans chanted, “Welcome back!” at Williams. It was announced that this was Colt’s final East Coast appearance for ROH. The crowd was hot, and Prazak acknowledged that Colt was going to WWE. They opened by trading wristlocks, and Colt did a comedy spot where he gave Williams a low blow in the ropes. They continued to trade wrist holds and had a standoff at 3:30. Williams bridged up on the mat to avoid being pinned, so Colt sat down on Doug’s stomach. Humorous. Colt tied up Doug’s arms and pulled them behind Doug’s back. Colt applied a headscissorslock at 8:00.

Williams couldn’t get a Surfboard locked on. They had a humorous moment of a near double-pin. The ref got involved in this comedy, too. Williams hit a gutwrench suplex for a nearfall, then some European Uppercuts and a running kneestrike at 11:00. Colt fired back with a flying buttbump in the corner, then a Lionsault Press for a nearfall and a Bionic Elbow. However, Williams hit the Chaos Theory/roll-through German Suplex for the pin. Good match.

* Colt got on the mic, and he said that Doug was the better man tonight. He talked about starting out with CM Punk, and how they just wanted to be the best in the Midwest. Then, ROH started, and they were determined to make a splash on the East Coast. Colt told the crowd that he isn’t “Moving up, he’s just moving on.” He thanked the ROH office, and urged fans to continue supporting Ring of Honor. Classy post-match speech.

* Backstage, Rebecca Bayless interviewed Chris Hero & Tank Toland. Toland advised Hero on some new hand-strengthening exercises. Hero said that Larry Sweeney is “all over the world, making deals for us.” Kevin Steen & Generico interrupted them. Steen said they took the Briscoes “to the limit,” and they are demanding a tag title shot.

(6) Sara Del Rey defeats Ernie Osiris at 1:39. Del Rey is actually a bit bigger than Ernie. She hit a German Suplex at the bell for a nearfall, then a senton. Daizee Haze appeared on the ring apron and watched this match. Del Rey hit some chops and forearms, then a double kneedrop! OUCH! Osiris hit a back suplex. However, Del Rey hit a running boot, and she applied the Royal Butterfly lock, and Ernie tapped out.

(7) Shingo defeats Matt Cross at 11:16. Good match. Shingo is MUCH bigger than Cross. They opened with an intense lockup, as Prazak talked about how Shingo wants a title shot while he’s in the United States. Prazak said it would have political implications, as Shingo represents Dragon Gate, while Morishima represents NOAH. Shingo hit a big shoulder tackle. Cross hit a quick armdrag, a second-rope hurricanrana, and Shingo bailed. Cross hit his dropkick in the ropes. Shingo caught Cross coming off the apron, and Shingo swung his head into the guardrail at 2:30. Shingo then whipped Cross into the guardrail. Cross came back with a headscissors takedown, sending Shingo into the guardrail.

In the ring, Cross hit a nice dropkick and a snap suplex for a nearfall. Shingo hit a hangman’s DDT across his knee for a nearfall at 5:00. Weird-looking move, as Shingo sold that it hurt himself as well. Shingo hit a kneedrop on the face for a nearfall. Cross fired back with some chops, but Shingo no-sold them. Shingo hit a gutbuster over his knee, a DDT, a senton for a nearfall, and he applied a half-crab. Shingo applied a Crossface, and the crowd rallied for cross. Cross hit a hurricanrana, an enziguri, and a DDT, and Shingo bailed. Cross hit a flip dive to the floor at 8:00!

In the ring, Cross hit a springboard doublestomp and a standing moonsault, then he applied a cross-armbreaker. Shingo hit a powerbomb. Cross hit a nice hurricanrana for a nearfall, drawing a nice pop, but he couldn’t hit a Shooting Star Press. Shingo NAILED a decapitating clothesline. Cross came right back with a Crucifix Takedown for a believable nearfall. Shingo hit the Last Falconry/modified Falcon Arrow slam for the pin.

(8) Davey Richards & Roderick Strong (the No Remorse Corps) defeat Delirious & Jack Evans at 17:30. Very good match. The fans immediately taunted the heels with the slow, “Rod-A-rick” chant. The faces charged the ring, and all four men fought immediately! Evans hit a moonsault press off the guardrail onto Strong on the floor! Delirious hit a top-rope flip dive to the floor on the heels. In the ring, Delirious hit a back suplex on Richards. Evans hit a big boot to Strong’s chest, then a standing moonsault for a nearfall. Strong fired back with some of his loud chops. Evans hit a cartwheel kick, and Strong bailed. Richards kicked Evans off the ring apron to the floor at 3:30.

Strong put Evans on the guardrail and chopped him, and there was lots of fighting on the floor. In the ring, the NRC worked over Evans in their corner. Richards hit a high back suplex for a nearfall. Strong hit a fallaway slam for a nearfall at 6:30. Richards hit a running Mafia Kick on the floor. In the ring, Richards tied Evans in a Gory Special, bending Evans in half backward, and Strong hopped in the ring to chop Evans’ exposed chest! Cool spot. Strong set Evans up for a delayed vertical suplex, but he set him down and hit a low blow for a nearfall at 10:00. Richards hit a clothesline for a nearfall, and he clubbed at Evans’ nose. Evans hit his springboard moonsault back-elbow, and he made the hot tag to Delirious at 11:30.

Delirious nailed the BAM leaping lariat on Richards, a Kawada Kick to Strong’s face, and a Panic Attack/running knee on both heels! Delirious hit a missile dropkick on Richards, then a Bizarro Driver/modified Michinoku Driver on Strong, but he couldn’t lock on the Cobra Stretch. Delirious hit a hangman’s neckbreaker on Strong for a nearfall. Richards hit an enziguri on Delirious. Strong hit his Gorilla Press Gutbuster over his knees on Delirious for a nearfall. The fans again started to chant, “Rod-A-rick.” Richards hit his cool right & left kicks on Delirious, as Evans was out on the ring apron. Richards nailed an Alarm Clock/flip-up kick to the chest, then a German Suplex for a nearfall at 14:00.

Evans hit a spin heel kick on Strong, then a double kneedrop on Richards as Davey was tied in the Tree of Woe. Evans nailed his cartwheel-into-a-flip dive to the floor on Strong, drawing a nice pop. Delirious applied a Cobra Stretch in the ring, but Richards broke free. Evans nailed a Reverse Rana on Richards, and Delirious immediately hit the Shadows Over Hell backsplash on Richards! Nice sequence! Evans did a top-rope flip into an inverted DDT. Delirious applied a Cobra Stretch on Richards, but Richards hit a low blow. Strong nailed a chairshot on Delirious’ head! Richards immediately hit the DR Driver/butterfly piledriver for the pin. Good action.

* Rebecca Bayless interviewed Daizee Haze. Haze said that Del Rey’s victory was impressive, and she told Del Rey that she could have a rematch any time, any place.

(9) Takeshi Morishima defeats Nigel McGuinness at 17:08 to retain the ROH World Heavyweight Title. Match of the night. Fans chanted, “F*** him up, Nigel!” Morishima immediately nailed some stiff, clubbing forearms at the bell that knocked Nigel down, and they traded forearm shots. Morishima hit a shoulder tackle, but Nigel stayed on his feet. Wow, the crowd was HOT! Morishima ran across the ring apron and hit a flying shoulder tackle on Nigel on the floor. Morishima whipped Nigel into the guardrail. Nigel came back with a clothesline on the floor and some paintbrush slaps to the face, then a running European Uppercut at 3:00!

Nigel hit a top-rope crossbody block to the floor, drawing a HUGE pop! Morishima accidentally hit a clothesline on the ring post! Nigel immediately began to whip the injured left arm against the guardrail. They finally re-entered the ring, and Nigel applied a Keylock and focused on the arm. Nigel hit a Divorce Court armbreaker. He went for a sunset flip powerbomb, but Morishima sat down on him at 6:00. They fought back to the floor, where Morishima hit a suplex! In the ring, Morishima nailed his cartwheel-into-a-Stinger Splash and a missile dropkick. Jimmy Bower stopped in the booth to quickly announce that the winner will face Austin Aries in St. Paul.

Nigel went for a (Rebound) Jawbreaker Lariat, but Morishima blocked it and hit his mid-ring buttbump. Morishima hit two rolling buttbumps as Nigel was sitting on the mat. Morishima applied a neck vice at 9:00, but Nigel reached the ropes. Morishima hit a guillotine legdrop, but he couldn’t hit the Back Drop Driver/Saito Suplex. Morishima missed a second attempt at a cartwheel-into-a-Stinger Splash. Nigel quickly hit the Tower of London for a nearfall, then the back kick & inverted DDT combo for a nearfall. Nigel again went for the Jawbreaker Lariat, but Morishima blocked it and hit a (Boss Man) Sidewalk Slam. Nigel hit a second-rope superplex. However, Morishima hopped up and hit a Mafia Kick! Nigel hit a clothesline, and both men were down at 12:30!

Nigel hit a plancha as Morishima was lying on the apron! Several fans in the stands were waving UK flags. Nigel hit a Tower of London off the ring apron to the floor for a nice pop, and Morishima appeared to be out on the floor! In the ring, Morishima tried again, but he couldn’t hit the Back Drop Driver. Nigel nailed several superkicks, but Morishima wouldn’t go down! Morishima hit a clothesline, and he finally hit the Back Drop Driver for a believable nearfall, and the crowd popped for the kickout! Fans loudly chanted, “Let’s go Nigel!”

Morishima hit another missile dropkick, but Nigel hit a clothesline for a nearfall at 15:30. They traded stiff forearms, and Morishima hit another mid-ring buttbump. Nigel nailed the Jawbreaker Lariat for a believable nearfall, and the fans booed Morishima’s kickout. Nigel couldn’t hit a second Jawbreaker Lariat. Morishima hit a hard clothesline and another Back Drop Driver! Nigel immediately tried another Jawbreaker Lariat! However, Morishima again blocked it, and hit a THIRD Back Drop Driver for the pin! Fans were on their hands clapping. Morishima had a bloody nose. An excellent match.

* Backstage, the No Remorse Corps (Strong, Richards, Romero) celebrated their victories, and how they are taking apart the Resilience, one by one. They walked out to the ring, which was being torn down (post show), and they beat up Alex “Sugarfoot” Payne, then laughed about it. Strong hit a LOUD chops.


Final thoughts: DVD runs 2 hours, 46 minutes.

First, the good: The main event was great. This was the best Morishima title defense I’ve seen yet, and Nigel was not hurt at all in this loss. Nigel came out looking great after surviving two Back Drop Drivers before succumbing to the third one. The match made sense, and Nigel is physically big enough that the match appeared authentic. The fans were pretty hot for this one too! No question, match of the night.

Strong & Richards vs. Evans & Delirious earned second-best. There were some really good team spots in here, with guys following up moves. The crowd always pops when Evans gets bent in half backward! Strong & Richards are great at being jerks! Good physical match.

I’ll give the Briscoes-Steen/Generico match third-best. While I thought the match slowed down a bit too much after Stevens was taken out, it really picked up for the final few dramatic minutes! Mark Briscoe was awesome in his role tonight. Every time he got hit or kicked in the head, he sold it like he was in serious pain. Bravo to him, and to the crowd for picking up on this. The announcers did a good job in getting across that Mark had no business being in the ring.

I want to go back to some of the promos here. Nigel McGuinness cut perhaps his best ROH promo yet, as he made it clear how much he wants the title belt. Claudio’s promo, while not quite as good, was one of the better ones Castagnoli has done, and it did a good job of moving his character forward.

I liked the Colt-Williams match, but I expect others will say I under-rated it. It was fun, but there really wasn’t a lot of serious action, either.

Have we figured out how to spell Sara Del Rey yet? The on-screen graphic says “Del Rey,” but the DVD cover art says “Del Ray.”

The bad: The ROH roster felt a bit thin tonight. No Aries, no Homicide. Of course, no Shelley, Styles, Low Ki, Samoa Joe, Sabin, etc. Instead, we have Pelle Primeau, Tank Toland, Shane Hagadorn and Ernie Osiris in action. Hardly a fair tradeoff. ROH really needs to shore up the bottom of its roster, and that doesn’t mean more student matches. Toland is really terrible in the ring, too.

This show gets a mild thumbs up, entirely for the top two matches. The Mark Briscoe stuff is dramatic, and makes for great viewing. Beyond that, nothing else is really memorable. Purchase this DVD at www.rohwrestling.com for $20.

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