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By James Caldwell, PWTorch columnist

ROH Respect is Earned II PPV #7
Taped in Philadelphia, Pa.
Originally aired: August 2, 2008

They started with Dave Prazak and Lenny Leonard standing backstage to introduce a video package on the first year of ROH on PPV. A whole lot of Nigel lariats.

Breaking News: Tag Titles have switched around a bunch of times. Jacobs & Black are your ROH tag champions. Their first defense is tonight against Aries & Danielson in the main event.

(1) Kevin Steen & El Generico beat Jigsaw & Ruckus in 10:00. This was a heck of an opening tag match. Steen and Generico move at such a high rate of speed that it was just a fun match to watch. Jigsaw and Ruckus were above expectations, as this was the best I've seen from Ruckus on ROH shows that I've seen. (**3/4)

(2) Claudio Castagnoli beat Davey Richards in 8:00. Good singles match with Claudio picking up the win with a toss-into-the-air-into-European-uppercut. Nigel was fine on commentary getting across his heel personality. Match wasn't memorable, but it was a better-than-average undercard singles match. (**1/2)

Backstage: Sweet & Sour, Inc. was assembled for Larry Sweeney to hype up the members of his group. ... Brent Albright then cut a promo on Sweeney's group. ... They showed a video package on Albright trying to fight off the entire Sweeney, Inc. group including a nasty powerbomb on Hagadorn through a table on the floor. Albright then brought in Pelle Primeau to help him start his own group. Pelle has heart, man. He might be short, beat up, and small, but he's got heart. This must have been Take 15, as Pelle's chest was pretty torn up. Albright then brought in Delirious and Daizee Haze as the other parts of his group. Quite the assembly there.

(3) Brent Albright & Delirious & Pelle Primeau (w/Daizee Haze) beat Chris Hero & Adam Pearce & Eddie Edwards (w/Sweet 'n Sour, Inc.) when the ref stopped the match with Albright landing knee strikes on Edwards. Actually, the isolation of Delirious forever was pretty good, as the heels made things interesting leading to the big hot tag to Albright, who was a big star with the crowd. Above-average tag match with the commentators pointing out very subtle things throughout the match to keep it interesting. Good teamwork. (**1/4)

Afterward, Pearce laid out Albright with the briefcase. Pearce then pulled out the NWA Title from the briefcase. Sweeney said he has the champion and he has the power. He said ROH can't do anything about it. Classic Sweeney PPV power trip.

(4) FIP champion Roderick Strong beat Erick Stevens in 23:00 in a Fight Without Honor. Not sure how to feel about Stevens with regular hair and not the big Mohawk. Almost humanizes him. This was quite the stiff brawl to start things off with a massive amount of chops on the floor. Strong came up bleeding from the forehead after Stevens sent him head-first into the edge of a ladder, then Stevens wiped Strong's blood across his own face. Strong returned the favor at 13:00 by opening up Stevens on the floor. After more wild, intense brawling, Stevens and Strong took the fight up a ladder. Good gracious, Strong with a superplex off the top of a ladder through a table down below. Oh dear. Ref started his ten count and neither man was stirring until Strong draped an arm over Stevens's chest for the three count to win. At least that was the finish and not a transition move. Both men took a ton of risks in this one to entertain the fans. Just an insane brawl with an insane ending to a match that definitely stood out on the card. I can safely say that was an official star-making match for Stevens, who carried himself like a legit star in this match. (***3/4)

(5) ROH champion Nigel McGuinness beat Go Shiozaki in 17:00 to retain the ROH Title. I loved this match. A little heavy on the counter, big spot, and nearfall combo near the end, but the action was so great that it built more drama for the eventual winner. Nigel eventually nailed the rebound lariat at 17:00 and slapped on the London Dungeon submission for the victory. Afterward, Bryan Danielson showed up to challenge Nigel for the title on PPV. Nigel works such a great heel style in the ring by always being in control of the action. Top three in the business right now: Chris Jericho, Edge, and Nigel McGuinness. (****)

Video package on the Age of the Fall program with Austin Aries. Nicely done to set up the drama for the main event.

(6) ROH tag team champions Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black beat Austin Aries & Bryan Danielson in 25:00 to retain the ROH Tag Titles. Tempers flared early on between Aries and Black leading to a DQ initially, but cooler heads prevailed and the ref opted to re-start the match once everyone calmed down. Nice touch on establishing the importance of this match. Action broke down into the usual Texas Tornado-style tag war until Aries and Jacobs brawled to the backstage area at 20:00. Danielson and Black then had a very nice five minute singles match resulting in Black nailing an awesome small package driver and Phoenix splash combo on Danielson for the win. Two straight star-making PPVs for Black, who put on a good show to close the in-ring action. (***1/2)

Of course, after the outcome, Nigel McGuinness came out on stage to gloat about Danielson losing in the main event. He said that until Danielson beats every single person that he has beaten himself, then Danielson will never get a title shot against him on PPV. The show then closed with the fans chanting Tyler Black's name.

Overall Thoughts: This was one of ROH's strongest PPVs in terms of top-to-bottom solid wrestling action. The pacing was far-improved from previous shows, as each match had room to breathe. Nigel McGuinness continues to be the star of these PPVs as one of the top heels in wrestling alongside Chris Jericho and Edge, while Tyler Black had another strong showing on PPV. An all-around great show that's well worth the $15 and two hours.

We welcome your 1-10 score and comments on this ROH PPV for an "ROH PPV Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. To contribute your thoughts on the PPV, click here.

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