By Sean Radican, Torch columnist

RADICAN'S ROH DVD REVIEW SERIES
8th ANNIVERSARY SHOW
NEW YORK, N.Y.
TAPED FEB. 13, 2010

STAR RATINGS AND ANALYSIS

(1) Roderick Strong (6) beat Brian Kendrick in a Pick 6 match. Kendrick got a big pop coming out. Strong got the upper hand early with a series of chops and a backbreaker. Kendrick cut him off on the outside and tripped Strong head-first into the barrier. Kendrick went up top moments later, but Strong chopped him down to the outside. Strong chopped Kendrick on the outside before they went back into the ring.

Kendrick went for a kick out of the corner, but Strong caught him with a backbreaker for a nearfall. Kendrick fired back with a sidekick off the second turnbuckle for a 2 count. Kendrick hit a swinging DDT and followed up with a frogsplash for a 2 count. Kendrick went for sliced bread, but Strong countered it into a backbreaker and finished him off with the Gibson driver for the pin. This was a good opening match. (***)

(2) Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli beat The Bravado Bros. Hero and Castagnoli took control early on. They hit the airplane spin/kick combo on one of the Bravado's for a big pop. Lance finally tagged out and Harlan hit a diving European uppercut on Hero. Harlan hit a moonsault on Hero, but Castagnoli nailed him with a German. Hero and Castagnoli then hit the KRS-1 on Harlan for the pin. This was an entertaining squash. (**3/4)

(3) Necro Butcher & Eddie Kingston beat Erick Stevens & Joey Ryan in a No Rules match. Nana did some mic work prior to the match. He told Ryan and Stevens he wanted them to kill somebody tonight. A brawl erupted on the floor to start the match and Necro took out Nana with his shoe. Necro was busted open early. Ryan was also bleeding. The Embassy got the upper hand on the outside. Kingston went after Ryan's cut and then licked blood off his forehead. Steven went for a charge in the corner, but Necro punched him right in the face. He then gave Stevens the mandible claw, but Ryan nailed him with a superkick.

Ryan hit Kingston with a spear through the ropes that sent Kingston flying into the barricade on the outside. A few minutes later, Stevens power bombed Kingston off the apron through a table at ringside. Joe got on the apron and yelled at Ryan, which allowed Necro to use a plastic bag to choke out Ryan and the ref called for the bell. Stevens went after Joe after the match, but Kingston made the save. This was way too violent for an undercard match. (**1/2)

(4) Davey Richards beat El Generico. Richards landed several forearms from the back mount during the early stages of the match, but Generico got the ropes. Richards then caught Generico with an arm bar moments later, but Generico got the ropes and bailed to the outside. Cabana got in his ear and sent him back into the ring. Generico got the upper hand and ran wild on Richards with punches in the corner before chopping him down to the mat. Richards fired back and took Generico down. He taunted the crowd, but gave Generico too much time to recover. Generico slammed Richards to the mat.

Both men battled on the apron, but Richards slammed him shoulder first onto canvas. Richards violent attacked Generico's arm before locking in a nasty submission on the mat. Generico fired back and suplexed Richards to the floor before nailed him with a flip dive over the top rope to the outside, which brought the crowd to their feet. Generico went for a suplex, but Richards grabbed an arm bar. Richards rolled through with Generico when he tried to escape, but Generico eventually got the ropes. Generico went for a yokuza kick moments later, but Richards caught his foot and suplexed him into the turnbuckles.

Generico hit a yokuza kick and a half-nelson suplex, but Richards fired back with a brainbuster and both men were down on the mat. Richards went up top, but Generico got up and they went at it on the turnbuckles. Richards shoved Generico to the mat and went for the SSP, but Generico got out of the way. Both men battled up top again. Generico hung Richards upside down and nailed him with a coast to coast flipping dropkick for a nearfall! The crowd went nuts as Generico gathered himself. Generico set up Richards on the turnbuckle again, but Richards hit his injured shoulder. Richards slipped under Generico and nailed him with a running German off the second rope. Richards hit another German for a nearfall. Richards nailed Generico with a wicked kick to the head and went for the kimura, but Generico countered it into a rollup for a nearfall. Richards finally submitted Generico with a cross arm breaker.

The crowd gave both men a standing ovation after the match. Richards offered a handshake, but Generico slapped him across the face. The announcers said Generico was still suffering mental turmoil from Kevin Steen's attack at "Final Battle 2009." My goodness that was fantastic. (****)

(5) ROH World Tag Team Champions The Briscoes beat DCFC. After some back and forth action, the DCFC took control of the match and worked over Mark in their own corner. Mark made the hot tag to Jay, who cleared the ring. Mark hit a summersault senton off the apron onto Chaves as both teams brawled on the outside. The DCFC regained control of the match and nailed Jay with total elimination for a nearfall. Jay fired back and the Briscoes hit a spiked Jay driller on Davis for the win. After the match, Hero & Castagnoli jumped the Briscoes from behind. The DCFC got involved as well. The Briscoes cleared the ring and nailed stereo flip dives to the outside over the top to take out everyone. They went to give Del Ray the doomsday device, but Hero and Castagnoli made the save. This was disappointingly short and was just starting to get good when it ended. (**1/2)

(6) Delirious beat (4) Kenny King and Steve Corino and Rasche Brown in a Pick Six match. King and Corino worked together to keep Brown out of the ring. They then turned their attention to Delirious and worked him over in the ring. Brown cleared the ring and hit a dive over the top to the floor, which drew a pop from the crowd. Corino turned on King moments later and nailed him with a flatliner for a nearfall. Delirious ended up winning the match by nailing King with shadows over hell to capture the #4 slot in the Pick Six. This was a good match. (***)

(7) Colt Cabana beat Kevin Steen via DQ. Both men went at it hard during the early stages of the match. Steen got the upper hand after hitting a cannonball in the corner. He went for a senton moments later, but Cabana got his knees up. Cabana sent Steen to the outside where Steen sold his knee. Cabana got on the mic and told him to get back in the ring. He told Steen he wasn't going to go out there and get ambushed. Corino came to the ring and told Steen to get in the ring. Corino yelled at Steen and threw him into the ring. He told Steen he knew what he had to do. Cabana decked Corino and sent him to the outside. Cabana told Steen he needs to be a man and not a bitch.

Generico ran into the ring. Corino attacked Cabana for the DQ. Generico went to hit Corino with a chair, but Steen got in the way. Generico couldn't hit Steen, so Steen nailed him with a punch and a chairshot to the back. Steen then locked in the crossface, but Cabana made the save. This was more of an angle than a match, but it was entertaining throughout. (**)

(8) Tyler Black beat ROH World Hvt. Champion Austin Aries. The gimmick here is that if there is no winner after 60 minutes judges Jim Cornette, Roderick Strong, and Kenny King will determine the winner. Black got a good pop coming out and streamers as well. Aries also got a big reaction for his entrance.

Black dominated the early stages of the match after Strong prevented Aries from stalling on the outside. Aries finally cut Black off and sent him shoulder-first into the ringpost. Aries began working over Black's neck with a neckbreaker. Aries continued to dominate the action as the announcers speculated that he might be ahead by points with the judges. Black cut off Aries with a superplex and rolled through into a F-5 for a nearfall. Black knocked Aries off the apron and into the crowd. He followed up with a springboard dive into the crowd on Aries.

Black went for the buckle bomb, but Aries dumped him to the floor. Aries followed up with a DVD on the apron. The ref counted while Black was down on the outside. Aries went for the heat seeking missile, but Black got out of the way. Black tossed Aries back into the ring and covered him for a nearfall. Black hit the rubix cube moments later and went for the phoenix splash, but Aries got out of the way and the crowd popped huge. Aries nailed Black with 2 brainbuster and covered him for a nearfall. Aries went for a 450, but Black got his knees up and cradled him for another nearfall and the crowd popped again.

Both men got to their feet and exchanged blows. Black countered a brainbuster into god's last gift for a nearfall. King got on the apron, but Strong hit him, which caused Black to lose his balance. Black then superkicked Strong off the apron. Cornette yelled at Black and took a superkick as well. Black finally hit the buckle bomb and a superkick on Aries. He followed up with the phoenix splash for the pin and the crowd exploded. ROH President Cary Silkin came into the ring and hugged Black. Everyone came out from the back and celebrated with Black. Strong got on the mic and told Black he had gotten one free shot on him tonight, but he wanted his shot at the title. Black nodded in approval before celebrating with the crowd. That was a fantastic match. (****1/4)

Overall thoughts: (7.5) I enjoyed this show. I wish ROH had put more bonus features and highlight packages into this release since it was their 8th Anniversary event. In the past, ROH has featured some really good video packages on their Anniversary DVDs that take viewers back through the years.

The undercard was solid. The show started off with a strong opening match with Roderick Strong obliterating Brian Kendrick with chops. I don't think I've ever seen anyone with a chest as red and bruised as Kendrick's was after this match.

The show went into cruise control until the excellent Generico-Richards contest, which was at the four-star level. These two put together a must-see contest. The only other match really worth going out of your way to see on the undercard was the Four Corner Survival, which featured some good exchanges. I'm really starting to enjoy Rasche Brown's work in ROH. They've got something to build on with him.

The main event was a fantastic match. Tyler Black finally beating Austin Aries for the ROH World Title seems long overdue. I was worried about the judges playing into the finish of the match, but I liked how Black superkicked Strong and Cornette before finishing off Aries. There wasn't a huge pop for Black's win, so he's got to win over some fans given how he's been booked leading up to his big win.

You can Purchase "8th Anniversary Show" at ROH'S VIDEO ON DEMAND STORE

Contact Sean at PWTorchSean@gmail.com

We suggest these recent related articles...

RADICAN'S Beyond Wrestling "Greatest Rivals Round Robin" review 9/26 - incredible show of the year contender, Busick-Edwards top-flight MOTYC, more!

RADICAN'S "The Pull List" (Vol. 5) "Young Bucks Too Sweet Journey" doc review, The Flash season 1 Blu-Ray, Top Ten MOTYC for 2015

RADICAN'S "THE PULL LIST" (Vol. 4) - step by step guide to social media and conduct, "Madden NFL 16" review, "Furious 7" Blu-ray w/The Rock & Ronda Rousey, more!