By Sean Radican, Torch columnist

Radican's ROH DVD review series
Southern Hostility
Nashville, TN.
December 6, 2008

Star ratings and results

(1) Kenny Omega & The Briscoes beat Rhett Titus & Kenny King & Sal Rinauro. This was a very good opening match. Omega took the heat for most of the match before finally tagging out to both of the Briscoes. Omega pulled off some really impressive maneuvers down the stretch and clearly shined in this encounter. His German suplex on Rinauro looked awesome. (**3/4)

(2) Delirious beat Alex Payne. Payne got in way too much offense here, as this should have been a squash showcase for Delirious. I thought the Delirious heel character had potential, but the way he's been booked since his turn has undercut him most of the time. (*)

(3) Sara Del Rey beat Ashley Lane and Serena Deeb and Daizee Haze in a SHIMMER Four Corner Survival match. This was a good, albeit short match. I liked how they played up the current feud between Del Rey and Deeb in SHIMMER, which spilled over into this match in ROH. There were some good sequences here, but nothing stood out as something that would make you want to seek out a SHIMMER DVD, although I can say without hesitation that the SHIMMER DVDs are almost always fantastic and definitely worth seeking out. (**)

(4) Brent Albright & Erick Stevens beat Davey Richards & Larry Sweeney. Sweeney & Richards cheated throughout the match to maintain the advantage. This was pretty good, but I didn't care for Sweeney accidentally nailing Richards with an unprotected chairshot to the head. Nice to see SNS Inc. have their tactics backfire on them for a change, as it seems like they win almost all of their matches due to interference or chicanery. (**1/2)

(5) Bushwhacker Luke & Grizzley Redwood beat Irish Airborne. This was one of the most boring matches I've seen on an ROH DVD in recent memory. Irish Airborne is a solid young tag team with a lot of potential, but I just don't see ROH having any reason to use them again after their loss in this encounter. This should have been left on the cutting room floor. (1/4*)

(6) Austin Aries & The Necro Butcher vs. Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black went to a double countout. The action was just starting to heat up when the ref counted both teams out, which is such a lame finish. I don't know what creative was thinking here. People pay their hard-earned money to see good in-ring action with logical finishes in ROH, so why would something like this that can be seen for free nearly every day of the week get showcased here? (**)

(7) Bryan Danielson beat Claudio Castagnoli in a No DQ match. This was awesome! Castagnoli brutally attacked Danielson for most of the match after busting him open early on. Dragon's comebacks were fantastic, especially with his intense facial expressions. They got a really good shot of Dragon cinching in the triangle choke after Castagnoli had already passed out at the end of the match that should be used in just about every ROH highlight reel. It was no surprise that the fans finally woke up when presented with some great action for the first time all night. (****)

(8) ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness beat Jerry Lynn. Very good main event. The match started out slow, but continued to build throughout to the point where the fans really got behind Lynn as a credible challenger to McGuinness's title. This is the best performance I've seen from Lynn in a long time and he showed he can hold his own in a big main event singles match. I'm just not sure if he could carry the ball show after show for ROH given the demands of this slot. This isn't a must-see match, but it was close and I'm looking forward to seeing the rematch given McGuinness used the ropes for leverage to get the pin in the end. (***3/4)

Virtual time analysis

-The show began with Bushwhacker Luke showing Grizzley Redwood how to perform his signature mannerisms. If I were a first-time ROH viewer, I would have ejected this from DVD player after seeing this skit to open the show.

-The venue they used in Nashville is huge and the building looks pretty empty from certain camera angles.

(1) Rhett Titus & Kenny King & Sal Rinauro vs. The Briscoes & Kenny Omega. The action started hot and heavy with the Briscoe tossing Rinauro and Titus to the outside. Omega then dropkicked King to the outside a short time later and hit a great looking flip dive to the outside to wipe out all three of his opponents. Things settled down and the Briscoes began working over Titus. Titus ended up cutting off Omega near his own corner and King ensured they would maintain the advantage by nailing Omega with a running knee from the apron behind the back of the ref. Rinauro tagged in and distracted the ref so that Titus and King could choke Omega from the apron. At one point, Titus and Rinauro hit a fantastic double team elbow drop where they swiveled their hips several times before dropping down simultaneously on Omega.

Omega finally escaped and tagged in both Briscoes, who ran wild on King and Titus. King took an fantastic bump on a kick from Mark where he just kept spinning around before falling after getting kicked right in the head. Omega then tagged in and hit an incredible looking missile dropkick with some serious height. Omega then put Rinauro on his shoulders, tossed him in the air, and landed a huge German for the pin. (**3/4)

-Titus went around the ringside area after the match and looked for a woman to take back to his room lately. Daizee Haze came out and told Titus today was the day he was going to come clean. Titus told Haze to shut her mouth. Titus said the truth was that he and Haze did nothing but get it on al night long. Haze slapped Titus, who grabbed her and shook her. The Necro Butcher came out and Titus turned around into a big punch. Haze was beyond annoying here as she asked Titus if he was going to admit the truth. Titus seemed scared of Necro and finally admitted that nothing happened between him and Haze. Necro told Titus to admit everything. Titus then said he was a virgin. Titus offered Haze his hand in friendship, but she kicked him in the nuts and pushed him down. This was a terrible segment.

-Kyle Durden interviewed Jerry Lynn backstage. Lynn said he had a lot of respect for McGuinness's ability, but he didn't respect his attitude and ego. This wasn't a bad promo, but some of Lynn's lines struck me as odd.

(2) Delirious (w/Jimmy Jacobs) vs. Alex Payne. Payne nailed Delirious with several punches early on. Payne continued to dominate the action until Delirious fired back on him in the corner with a hard chop. Payne fired back on Delirious and sent him packing with a dropkick. Payne went for a dive onto Jacobs and Delirious, who were hugging each other on the outside, but Payne crashed and burned. Delirious drove Payne back-first several times into the apron before tossing him back into the ring. Delirious continued to target Payne's back and nailed him with several double stomps in the corner.

Payne fired back on Delirious, but ended up getting caught and slammed for his troubles. Delirious then hit a back senton on Payne for a 2 count as the announcers wondered how much punishment to the back Payne could take. Payne fired back again and nailed Delirious with a series of running clotheslines and the crowd booed him for some reason. Payne went up top and nailed Delirious with a big elbow for a 2 count. Payne went for a fisherman's suplex, but Delirious blocked it and nailed Payne with the panic attack. Delirious then went up top and nailed Payne with shadows over hell for the pin. (*)

(3) SHIMMER Four Corner Survival match: Ashley Lane (w/Nevaeh) vs. Serena Deeb vs. Daizee Haze vs. Sara Del Rey. Deeb and Del Rey went at it as Prazak mentioned they had an issue going on in SHIMMER. Del Rey tagged herself back into the match by chopping Haze and nailed Lane with a suplex. Deeb blind-tagged herself into the match and nailed Del Rey with a monkey flip. Deeb then began working over Del Rey's arm on the mat. Lane blind-tagged herself into the match and took down Del Rey with a series of kicks. Del Rey grabbed Lane by the throat and slammed her into Deeb's corner. Deeb tagged herself in and nailed Del Rey with a series of punches.

Lane blind-tagged herself into the match and went for a dive off the top, but Del Rey caught her and slammed her to the mat. Serena tried to run in and nail Del Rey with a spear, but she got out of the way and Deeb connected with Lane instead. Del Rey ended up nailing Deeb with a huge kick and the crowd roared. Del Rey went to cover Lane, but Haze broke it up with a missile dropkick off the top. Del Rey tossed Haze to the outside and Del Rey nailed the still-wounded Lane with the Royal Butterfly suplex for the pin. (**)

-An ad for "Battle For Supremacy" aired. The repeated ads for this show, which is widely considered to be one of the weakest ROH shows ever, has to be some kind of rib. If someone has an explanation for these ads, please email me.

-Bobby Dempsey was supposed to tag with Davey Richards against Brent Albright & Erick Stevens. The ref told Sweeney he had to go because all managers and seconds were barred from ringside during this match. Bobby Cruise then announced if Sweeney didn't leave, Richards & Dempsey would be DQ'd. Sweeney got on the mic and slapped Dempsey across the face and called him pathetic. Sweeney said he was a better wrestler than Dempsey and would take his place. Sweeney took off his warm-ups to reveal some pink tights with leopard skin trim.

(4) Larry Sweeney & Davey Richards vs. Brent Albright & Erick Stevens. Stevens quickly took control of the match and nailed Richards with several chops before tagging in Albright. Albright and Stevens worked well as a unit, tagging in and out of the match to work over Richards, who eventually raked Albright's eyes to gain the upper hand. Albright blocked a suplex attempt from Richards and nailed him with a suplex of his own. Stevens nailed Richards with a series of forearm shots, but Sweeney nailed him with a kick off the apron. Richards then drove Steven's shoulder first into the mat and tossed him to the outside where Sweeney attacked Stevens behind the ref's back.

Sweeney tagged into the match and put the boots to Stevens. Richards tried to nail Albright with a cheap shot, but Albright cut him off and tossed him to the ground. Stevens tagged out, but the ref didn't see him because of Sweeney's distraction and he wouldn't allow the tag. Richards quickly took advantage and nailed Stevens with a belly to back suplex. Richards jawed with the fans before nailing Stevens with a kick to the chest. Richards went for another kick, but Stevens caught his leg and clotheslined him down to the canvas. Stevens finally tagged in Albright, who nailed Richards with a big dropkick. Richards tagged out of the match and Sweeney looked scared. Albright dragged Sweeney into the ring. Sweeney tried to beg off, but Stevens snuck up behind him. Stevens and Albright took turns nailing Sweeney with punches. Richards tried to interfere, but accidentally clotheslined Sweeney.

Sweeney tagged in Richards, who accidentally ran into the ref. Stevens chased Sweeney on the outside and tossed him into the ring. Albright had the half-nelson suplex on Sweeney, but Richards broke it up. Richards held Albright for a chairshot from Sweeney, but Albright got out of the way and Sweeney nailed Richards with an unprotected chairshot to the head. Are these guys ever going to learn? Albright then covered Richards for the pin. (**1/2)

-Durden interviewed Claudio Castagnoli backstage. He asked him about his match with Danielson. Castagnoli shoved Durden to the floor and said he was going to hurt Danielson tonight. Castagnoli said there would be nothing holding him back in a NO DQ. Castagnoli closed things out by saying he's very European. What does that mean?

(5) Irish Airborne (Jake & Dave Crist) vs. Grizzley Redwood & Bushwhacker Luke. Redwood and Williams sent Jake and Dave to the outside early on. Redwood then hit a dive off of Luke's back over the top to the outside to wipe out both of his opponents. Redwood came off the top and nailed Dave with a double axe handle off the top. Redwood sent Dave to the outside with a dropkick and chased him around ringside, but Jake nailed him with a big clothesline. Dave tagged into the match and continued pounding on Redwood, as any momentum this match had came to a complete halt with Irish Airborne continuing to utilize headlocks as one of their primary offensive maneuvers. Redwood finally tagged in Luke, who ran wild on Dave. Luke hit a stunner on Dave, but Jake broke up the pin. Luke came in and hit a double low blow on Irish Airborne and then used Redwood to hit the battering ram on Dave for the pin. (1/4*)

(6) Tyler Black & Jimmy Jacobs vs. Austin Aries & Necro Butcher. Jacobs subtly shoved Black right into a punch from Necro and bailed out of the ring after the opening bell sounded. Jacobs got on the mic and asked Necro why he had introduced a chair into the match, which was pretty funny since Jacobs was the one who threw it into the ring just moments earlier. Aries went after Black and took him down to the mat, but Black scrambled to the ropes. Black fired back on Aries moments later and took him down with a nice dropkick. Aries quickly fired back on Black and took him down with a headlock. Black switched it into a headscissors on the mat. Aries escaped and went for a dropkick, but Black got out of the way. Black went for a springboard lariat, but Aries got out of the way. Black went for a headscissors again, but Aries was able to escape this time and successfully connect with a dropkick. Jacobs tagged into the match and went face to face with Aries. Aries backed away and allowed Necro to tag in. Jacobs immediately tagged Black back into the match and bailed to the outside.

Necro took Black down with a big punch. Aries tagged in and Necro draped Black over his knees so Aries could springboard into the ring and nail Black with an elbow. Jacobs blind-tagged himself into the match and raked Necro's eyes from behind. Jacobs bounced off the ropes, but Necro nailed him with a punch. Necro continued his assault, but Jacobs managed to roll to the outside. Black then ran in from behind and sent Necro crashing off the turnbuckles to the canvas. Jacobs quickly ran back into the ring and continued the attack on Necro. Jacobs & Black continued to work together as a unit to wear down Necro for several minutes. The crowd finally came alive and tried to rally behind Necro, but he couldn't mount a rally.

Jacobs went for the contra code, but Necro fended him off and eventually tagged in Aries. Jacobs tagged himself out of the match and bailed on Black. Aries nailed Black with a flurry of offense, which concluded with his signature power elbow. Jacobs tried to break up a pinfall on Black with a senton, but Aries got out of the way and Jacobs hit Black instead. Black charged at Aries, but Aries got out of the way and Black went over the top and landed on Jacobs. Aries then took out Black and Jacobs at the same time with the heat seeking missile and the crowd roared. Necro then went up top and wiped out Jacobs and Black with a flip dive to the outside. The crowd went nuts as the action heated up with all four men going at it on the outside. The ref ended up putting a stop to the match after reading the count of 20. That's so lame. (**)

-The crowd chanted "kill the ref" after the match. Bobby Cruise announced the ref's decision and the crowd booed. Prazak said all of the wrestlers would have to get used to the count on the floor.

-An ad for ROHWrestling.com aired.

(7) No DQ match: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Bryan Danielson. Danielson charged at Castagnoli and nailed him with a running knee right after making his entrance. Danielson nailed Castagnoli with a dropkick moments later and he spilled to the outside. Dragon then followed up with a dive that sent Castagnoli over the guardrail and into the front row. Danielson went back in the ring and waited for Castagnoli to get up and nailed him with another dive through the ropes. Danielson continued the assault on the outside as he set up Castagnoli on a chair and nailed him with a running dropkick that popped the crowd. Dragon went for a third dive through the ropes, but Castagnoli nailed him with a chair as he came through the ropes and threw him hard into the guardrail. Danielson came up bleeding badly on the outside.

Castagnoli took the attack to Danielson on the outside and went after the cut on his head with a series of punches. Castagnoli tossed Danielson back into the ring, got the ring bell, and jabbed it into Danielson's forehead. Claudio then dropped the ring bell on Danielson's head for a 2 count. Dragon fired up and nailed Castagnoli with a European uppercut, but Castagnoli took him down with a clothesline for a 2 count. Castagnoli began taking off several of the turnbuckle pads before continuing his attack on Danielson. Castagnoli tried to toss Danielson into the exposed turnbuckle, but Danielson fired back with a series of strikes until Castagnoli took him down with a dragon screw. Castagnoli then applied Danielson's signature surfboard submission as the crowd booed. Castagnoli took the ref's belt and began whipping Danielson's back.

The crowd tried to rally Danielson as Castagnoli wrapped the belt around his fist and landed several punches to Danielson's head. Danielson's head continued to poor blood as Castagnoli continued to assault him. Castagnoli tried to force Dragon into the exposed turnbuckle again, but Danielson countered and nailed him with an elbow off the ropes. The crowd heat continued to escalate as Danielson got to his feet and nailed Castagnoli with a running forearm in the corner. Danielson nipped up after hitting a huge missile dropkick and nailed Castagnoli with a running leg lariat. Castagnoli managed to fire back moments later and caught Danielson with a bicycle kick. Claudio then hit several chops and went for the Ricola bomb, but Danielson slipped out. Danielson charged at Castagnoli, but got caught with a pop-up European uppercut for a nearfall.

The crowd continued to chant for Danielson as Castagnoli set him up on the top rope, but Danielson slipped out and crotched him on the top turnbuckle. Danielson followed up with a super belly to back superplex and the crowd roared once again. Both men exchanged European uppercuts once they got to their feet. Castagnoli eventually caught Danielson in a choke with the belt. The ref checked Danielson's arm and it looked like he was out, but Danielson fired up and fought free. Dragon nailed Castagnoli with several kicks and took the belt away from him. Danielson whipped Castagnoli several times across the back with the belt. Danielson charged at Castagnoli, but he got out of the way and Danielson hit the exposed turnbuckle. Castagnoli then hit the Ricola bomb, but Danielson kicked out and the crowd roared. Castagnoli went to the outside and got a chair. He placed it over Danielson's head, but Danielson lifted the chair up and trapped Castagnoli's leg in it. Danielson applied the cattle mutilation, but Castagnoli wouldn't tap. Danielson nailed Castagnoli with several elbow strikes, but he wouldn't tap. Danielson then used the belt for leverage as he nailed Castagnoli with several kicks before applying the triangle choke and Castagnoli passed out. (****)

-Danielson held the choke after the match as the crowd chanted best in the world. He finally released the hold and the crowd roared in approval.

-A video package aired for the "Vendetta II" DVD.

(8) ROH World Hvt. Champion Nigel McGuinness vs. Jerry Lynn. Prazak said this was Lynn's chance to prove that he's still got "it." Lynn caught McGuinness with a boot out of the corner and followed up with a spinning DDT for a 2 count. Lynn ducked a lariat and charged at McGuinness, but he moved and Lynn went flying through the ropes to the outside. McGuinness followed Lynn outside and taunted the fans as he attacked Lynn. McGuinness tossed Lynn back into the ring and drove him shoulder-first into the mat. McGuinness began working over Lynn's shoulder on the mat with a nasty looking submission with a bridge.

McGuinness charged at Lynn out of the corner, but got caught with a spear. McGuinness ended up on the apron and went for a lariat, but Lynn ducked and nailed McGuinness with a dropkick that sent him spilling to the outside. Lynn tossed McGuinness back into the ring and nailed him with a dive off the top for a 2 count. Lynn went for another dive off the top, but McGuinness cut him off. Lynn managed to slip out of the Tower of London and nailed McGuinness with an inverted DDT for a 2 count. McGuinness managed to fire back with a lariat out of nowhere for a 2 count to regain the advantage. McGuinness set up Lynn for a DDT, but he countered and nailed McGuinness with an air raid crash for a 2 count. The fans chanted for Lynn as he charged at McGuinness, but he got out of the way and nailed Lynn with his kick to the back/clothesline combination for a 2 count. McGuinness then set up Lynn on the apron and nailed him with a tower of London to the outside. McGuinness rolled inside the ring as the ref continued his count, but Lynn beat it at 17. Well, that wasn't very dramatic.

McGuinness placed Lynn over the top rope and went for a lariat, but Lynn ducked. McGuinness managed to nail Lynn with a lariat to the back and then hit the tower of London for a nearfall and the cameras caught McGuinness expression of disbelief up-close. Lynn managed to duck a lariat and nailed McGuinness with a German with a bridge for a 2 count. Lynn ducked the jawbreaker lariat moments later and nailed McGuinness with a powerbomb for a 2 count and the crowd roared. Lynn went up top, but McGuinness cut him off and nailed him with a superplex for another nearfall on Lynn. McGuinness taunted Lynn as he tried to get to his feet and slapped him across the face. Lynn told McGuinness to bring it and he jumped on top of him and landed a series of punches.

Lynn sent McGuinness to the floor and the crowd chanted Lynn's name as he came over the top and nailed Nigel with a flip dive. McGuinness drove Lynn into the apron on the outside, but Lynn countered him moments later with a DDT on the floor. McGuinness was about to get counted out, but Lynn ran out and just barely threw him back into the ring before the ref reached 20. Lynn hit a sunset bomb moments later and the crowd counted along with the ref, but Nigel kicked out at the last second. McGuinness bailed to the outside once again moments later. Lynn chased him, but McGuinness tripped him and tossed him into the guardrail. McGuinness placed Lynn between the table and the guardrail and jumped back into the ring. Lynn fell down and crawled, but managed to beat the 20 count and the crowd roared.

Lynn nailed McGuinness with a series of forearms and charged at McGuinness. McGuinness countered, but Lynn used his momentum to land on his feet and nailed McGuinness with the cradle piledriver, but Nigel got his boot on the ropes at the last second to break the ref's count. That was a great nearfall. McGuinness went for the jawbreaker, but Lynn caught him with a lariat of his own and hit a TKO for a 2 count. Lynn went for another cradle piledriver, but McGuinness countered and covered him using the ropes for leverage to get the pin. (***3/4)

-McGuinness got on the mic and said he was going to talk from the bottom of his heart. McGuinness said he would like to tell Lynn that he still has it, but McGuinness then said he would be lying. McGuinness said Lynn not only doesn't have it now, but he's never had it. McGuinness said all the boys in the back are laughing at him, but nobody had the guts to tell him. McGuinness said he would tell him because he's his friend that he's a washed up bum. McGuinness said he was going to say one more thing, but Lynn nailed him with a clothesline.

-Durden was backstage when Lynn came crashing through the doors and screamed at McGuinness and told him if he had said that when he started in the business someone would have taken a dump in his bag. Lynn asked the Briscoes if what he said was true. Lynn then said he didn't know why he bothered anymore because this wasn't the same business that he broke into years ago.

Overall thoughts: (5.5) Outside of the opening six man tag, the first six matches on this card are entirely skippable. The quality of the in-ring action was unacceptable for a company asking its customers to support it through ticket and DVD sales. The two matches that stood out as being especially poor were the Delirious-Payne and Bushwhacker & Grizzley Redwood-Irish Airborne matches.

It wasn't just the quality of the in-ring action on the undercard that was a letdown, as the big angle with Haze finally getting Titus to apologize fell flat thanks to Haze's terrible acting performance. For some reason, I felt bad for Titus and not Haze by the time the angle was finished. The finish to the Aries & Necro vs. Jacobs & Black also left a bad taste in my mouth. I can see something like that every week for free on television. I don't see any reason for a double countout on the third to last match from top. This card could have really used one more solid match to be worthy of a solid recommendation.

The last two matches on the card saved this show from being a total disaster. Danielson and Castagnoli put on a must-see No DQ match that was the best match on the card. Danielson's performance here was amazing and both men brought the best out of each other in this violent encounter. Danielson really comes across like a superstar in this environment.

The main event and post-match angle were really good as well. Lynn showed that he can put on a credible performance in an ROH main event, as the fans really bought into him as a challenger to McGuinness's title. Lynn's comebacks were fantastic and McGuinness had to resort to using the ropes for leverage when pinning Lynn in order to get the win. McGuinness's post-match mic work where he insulted Lynn was really well-done and Lynn's post-match tirade in the locker room sets the stage for another encounter between these two in the near future.

If you can pick this up really cheap through a sale, I recommend watching the last two matches. Otherwise buy "Wrestling at the Gateway" from the night before for a better overall card.

Other notes: The venue looked lousy and minor league on tape, as there were hundreds of empty seats visible on camera. It just didn't look good… I want someone to tell me why the ad for "Battle For Supremacy" airs on nearly every ROH DVD, especially when it's been called one of ROH's worst shows by many people… I was hoping Aries would get to expand more on the character development that was set in motion on the previous show, but it was barely evident on this show that his heel turn had been set in motion…

You can purchase "Southern Hostility" by clicking here

Sean Radican and co-host Derek Burgan record ROH themed audios on the Radican Audio Showcase on most weekends that are made available exclusively to Torch VIP members. Sean also reviews nearly every ROH release for Torch VIP members. You can contact Sean at PWTorchSean@Gmail.com.

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