Manhattan Mayhem IV DVD review
March 19, 2011
New York City
Review by by Brian Leahy, PWTorch Specialist


Based solely on Eddie Edwards's response to his ROH World Title victory over Roderick Strong at ROH’s Manhattan Mayhem IV, you couldn’t convince me that Edwards had any idea that he was about to win the promotion's most prized title, or that a more unassuming, likable man could hold ROH’s World Title.

Edward’s reaction provided a special moment to cap off an entertaining night of wrestling, with a handful of matches of matches over three stars, and a number of those surpassing that mark with some comfort.

While the main attraction of this card is undoubtedly the main event, even on paper there are plenty of attractive matches from top to bottom.

- The show starts off with an enjoyable high-energy clash between Future Shock (Cole & O’Reilly) and The (experimental) House of Truth duo of Michael Elgin and Mike Mondo. Mondo looked slightly out of place here, but not so much that it affected the quality of the match, as the other three participants played their roles to perfection. Cole and O’Reilly continue to mesh well as a tag team and get better with each outing, while Elgin continues to showcase his impressive strength in new and inventive ways.

The opening match, and show as a whole, was aided by an NYC crowd that was really into Future Shock’s high-octane brand of wrestling, and were happy to heap the heat on Truth Martini and his charges. The inhabitants of the Mahatten Center were a pleasant combination of (uncharacteristically) co-operative and excitable for the majority of the show, which definitely brought the card up a notch.

- A three-hour card inevitably has its low points, and it was naturally the usual perpetrators of Ciampa and Bennett who were to blame here. In all fairness, the duo's matches with Redwood and Corino, respectively, were by no means complete stinkers, but served as the low water mark for the show.

- The Briscoes and The ANX got things back on track in Match #4. In what I assume was an intentional and perfectly executed double-turn, the Briscoes handed out a beating to Titus before King cleared house to a positively electric response from the ROH faithful. The match quickly broke down, tornado-style, and the action spilled all over with King hitting a particularly impressive shotgun knees to the notably out of shape Mark Briscoe on the outside.

The finish came as the Briscoes attempted to hit their Doomsday finisher only for Titus to duck-and-roll to score a victory roll pin over Jay. This wasn’t the ANX’s first victory over The Briscoes, but was definitely (despite the flash pin) their most decisive and convincing. The match unquestionably breathed new life into both duos; giving the ANX new momentum while The Briscoes galvanised their heel characters in a hot post-match brawl.

- El Generio vs. T.J. Perkins harkened back to ROH of old. There was no story going into this match, nor was there a story during it, or anything further coming out of it; What it did have was almost ten minutes of smooth, innovative, fun wrestling that left everyone wanting more. Perkins was a joy to watch in this, looking every bit the 10-year+ pro that he is. It’s understandable that ROH didn’t give Perkins a story or a feud through mid-2011, but now that he’s safely under contract Perkins needs to be allowed to shine his light on a grander stage; given more ring time and a suitable storyline, the former “Puma” should be a lock for ROH’s main event scene.

- Save for the two main event participants, the Kings of Wrestling put in the best performance of the night in the sixth bout. Hero and Castagnoli even succeeded in making their match with Homicide and Hernandaz quite enjoyable despite the shortcomings of LAX. The fact is, Homicide 2011 is at least a step behind the Homicide who won the ROH Title in 2006, while his partner is clunky at best, and frequently a danger to those he shares the squared circle with.

The action wasn’t as fluid as the bout that preceded it, but the match was littered with a collection of big spots including an unbelievable UFO by Claudio on Hernandez and a Homicide Border Toss by Hernandez to the Kings of Wrestling on the arena floor. Only by the grace of God, and the ever reliable Swiss powerhouse of The KOW, did Homicide avoid landing on his neck after Hernandez pitched him to the outside. The bout ended with Claudio picking up a clean pinfall on Homicide after an uppercut on Hero, making the “non-title” stipulation to the match somewhat of a headscratcher, but on the positive side continuing the string of clean finishes on the card.

- Daniels and Richards put together a typically smooth and engaging bout the in the semi-main event. Fought under “Pure Rules,” the match type seemed fresh and new again nearly five years after that title was retired. The bout didn’t suffer from the pitfalls of previous “pure” matches, as Daniels and Richards worked the rope-breaks into the match rather than trying to work a match around the rules. Daniels foreshadowed his impending heel turn as he toed the line of good sportsmanship at points, and this certainly added another dynamic to the match.

The finish came as Richards failed to gain any forward momentum on an attempted Shooting Star Press, landing mid-section first across the top strand. They then appeared to cut to an unplanned finish: as Daniels locked in an Angels Wings attempt, Richards swept his legs and flipped into a cradle for a pinfall victory. While the finish left a sour taste, the NYC crowd didn’t crap all over the botched spot, which ultimately didn’t take much away from a well-executed match.

- By the time the main event rolled around, the crowd seemed truly spent as the opening exchanges of Strong and Edwards were greeted with relative silence. Once the two kicked the action up a notch, notably trading some (literally) blistering chops, it felt like something special was on the cards, and the crowd reacted appropriately. Strong was uncharacteristically dominated for much of the closing stretch, painting Edwards in a strong light. When Strong did unleash his ultra-stiff repertoire in the closing moments, Edwards took everything he dished out before slickly rolling Strong up for the smart pin fall victory. At 25 minutes, this was everything a title match should be, and served as a fitting and memorable breakpoint in ROH’s title lineage.

Overall: Everything considering, Manhattan Mayhem IV was a memorable and enjoyable show; one worthy of the “Manhattan Mayhem” moniker. While not entirely up to top level iPPV standards in terms of storylines, the show definitely had a “big show” feel, and there’s more than enough noteworthy bouts on the card to strongly recommend a purchase. (8/10)

Notable Match Star Ratings

Cole & O’Reilly vs. Elgin & Mondo ***
The Briscoes vs. The ANX ***1/2
El Generico vs. TJ Perkins ***
The Kings of Wrestling vs. The LAX ***1/2
Christopher Daniels vs. Davey Ricards ****
Roderick Strong vs. Eddie Edwards ****1/4

Manhattan Mayhem IV is available for purchase from www.ROHWrestling.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!