By Sean Radican, PWTorch Columnist

Ring of Honor's "Driven" PPV debuts tomorrow night on PPV. Check out Sean Radican's advanced report on the PPV.

RADICAN'S ROH "DRIVEN" PPV REPORT
NOVEMBER 14, 2008
BOSTON, MASS.
TAPED FOR PAY-PER-VIEW IN SEPTEMBER

- The show opened with Austin Aries in the ring in front of a red hot crowd. He said he wanted to take out Jimmy Jacobs and the AOTF. Aries challenged Jacobs to finish what they started on the last PPV. Jacobs came out and bragged about his power as tag champion. Jacobs continued to talk, which allowed Delirious to jump Aries from behind.

1 - - AUSTIN ARIES vs. DELIRIOUS (w/ Jimmy Jacobs)

Prazak and Leonard said we could find out more about Delirious's heel turn on the internet. Delirious was wearing all black. Aries fired back and went for a dropkick in the corner, but Delirious got out of the way. Delirious continued to dominate Aries for several minutes and fended off Aries's attempts at a comeback. Aries countered a panic attack with a rollup and then landed several knees to the side of Delirious's head before locking in the last chancery. Delirious broke the hold quickly by raking Aries's eyes. Aries managed to send Delirious to the outside. He then took out Delirious and Jacobs with the heat seeking missile.

Delirious countered a brainbuster and nailed Aries with a cobra clutch suplex. Delirious then hit a series of panic attacks to the side of Aries's head. Jacobs told him to hit another panic attack. Delirious took too much time and Aries nailed him with a series of dropkicks in the corner. Aries then hit the brainbuster and several knee strikes to the side of Delirious's head. Aries then submitted Delirious via submission.

WINNER: Austin Aries

STAR RATING: (**1/2) – The match was good and told the story it needed to, as Delirious appeared to be under the control of Jacobs. There was a certain point during the match where Delirious looked like a real threat in the ring while he was totally destroying Aries. That all went out the window once Delirious took about a half hour to set up an extra panic attack at the urging of Jacobs and got OWNED by Aries and submitted in the end. The trend of wrestlers in ROH getting a change in character and then immediately losing continues in 2008.

-Jacobs jumped Aries after the match and busted him open with the tag title belt. Tyler Black came down to ringside and landed several blows to Aries's head. Jacobs shoved Delirious away and dragged Aries to the outside. Jacobs placed Aries on a table and Black asked him to stop. Black tried to stop Jacobs, but he went off the top and put Aries through a table with a back senton. Leonard said the AOTF still had to defend their titles later tonight.

-After the opening package air they cut right to Larry Sweeney in the ring with SNS Inc. Sweeney said the place to make money was on ROH PPV. Sweeney said he had a special attraction women's match and called a faceless girl into the ring. Sara Del Rey's "Broken, Torn, and Snapped" graphic aired with her hitting the axe kick.

2 - - SARA DEL REY (w/SNS Inc.) vs. MYSTERY WOMAN

Del Rey hit the royal butterfly and won the match in short order.

WINNER: Sara Del Rey

STAR RATING: (N/A) – Del Rey won the match quickly, but this wasn't a great showcase of what she can do in the ring. I like her new look.

-Sweeney sent Del Rey to the back after the match. Sweeney turned his attention to Brent Albright and Erick Stevens and called them out. Pearce got on the mic and bragged about burning Albright's face as a highlight of the spot aired. Stevens and Albright charged the ring and it was ON!

3 - - ADAM PEARCE & EDDIE EDWARDS (w/ SNS Inc.) vs. BRENT ALBRIGHT & ERICK STEVENS

Stevens and Albright had the advantage for a moment, but Albright got pitched to the outside by Pearce, who then turned his attention to Stevens and took him down from behind. Stevens fired back quickly and tagged in Albright, who nailed Edwards with a suplex. Albright then mounted Pearce and nailed him with several blows to the head. Albright went for the half-nelson suplex on Pearce, but Edwards broke it up. Pearce hit Albright with a knee to the back as he came off the ropes a short time later, which allowed Pearce to take him out with a kick to the head. Albright appeared to hurt his shoulder, but that didn't stop him from hitting a powerslam on Edwards.

Albright tagged in Stevens. Stevens and Albright took turns punching Edwards and Pearce as they stumbled back and fourth between both men after taking a punch. Albright and Pearce then knocked Pearce and Edwards's heads together and sent both men to the outside. Hagadorn and Hero tried to distract Stevens, but he sent them flying off the apron. Stevens backdropped Edwards over the top to the outside onto Hero and Hagadorn. Albright then blind-tagged himself into the match and nailed Pearce with the half-nelson suplex for the pin

A replay aired of Albright's half-nelson suplex on Pearce in slow motion.

WINNERS: STEVENS & ALBRIGHT

STAR RATING: (**) – This was good while it lasted, but shorter than I remember it being live. It seemed like a long heat segment on Stevens was cut out. The match was mostly centered on Albright's current feud with Pearce with Stevens and Edwards taking the back seat.

-Larry Sweeney ran to the back after the match to avoid an attack from Albright and Stevens. Chris Hero was walking to the back as well, but he got cut off by Jerry Lynn. Lynn cut a promo on the mic and they told us that he recently returned to ROH by showing us a clip of him nearly pinning Nigel McGuinness on a DVD release. Lynn said he was at home watching an ROH DVD when he saw Hero cheap shot Lance Storm. They showed a clip of Hero attacking Storm at "Northern Navigation." Lynn said he called ROH and asked for a chance to teach Hero a lesson. Lynn then challenged Hero to a match and charged the ring.

4 - - JERRY LYNN vs. CHRIS HERO (w/SNS Inc.)

Prazak mentioned that Lynn was a former ECW World Champion. Lynn dominated the action early and went for a springboard, but Hero got his knees up. Lynn was only at a disadvantage for a moment, as he fired back and targeted Hero's arm. Hero managed to nail Lynn with an elbow to regain the upper hand. Lynn mounted another comeback and nailed Hero with a flying body press of the second rope, but Hero went after his eyes to maintain the advantage. Hero hit Lynn with several elbow strikes to the head and tossed him to the floor. Hero exposed the floor and slammed Lynn on the concrete, which drew some boos from the crowd. Hero tried to suplex Lynn off the apron to the floor, but Lynn blocked it and dropkicked Hero off the apron and he went flying into the barricade. Lynn then took out Hero with a dive off the apron to the floor.

Lynn went to pick up Hero, but he drove him back-first into the apron. Lynn managed to slip out of Hero grasp and nail him with an inverted DDT. Lynn then nailed Hero with a series of back sentons in the center of the ring. Hero shoved Lynn into the corner, but he got his feet up and nailed Hero in the face when he charged him in the corner. Lynn managed to hit Hero with a spinning DDT, but Hero managed to counter Lynn's cradle piledriver a short time later before nailing him with a roaring elbow for a good nearfall at the 9 minute mark. Hero picked up Lynn and nailed him with a combination of elbows, but Lynn managed to slip away from him. Lynn went for the cradle piledriver a short time later, but Hagadorn got up on the apron. Del Rey ended up throwing a loaded elbow pad to Hero, who nailed Lynn with it behind the ref's back and got the pin.

WINNER: Chris Hero

STAR RATING: (***) – I really liked this match. Lynn clearly would have won if not for the interference of SNS Inc. He looked really good in the ring during his time on offense and also sold Hero's attacks well. This was about as good as I remember it being live. I think Lynn still has something to offer in the ring, especially in ROH, which I feel is a good fit for him at this stage of his career.

-Highlights of Nigel McGuinness's promo on Bryan Danielson from the "Respect Is Earned II" PPV aired. McGuinness told Danielson he wouldn't get a title shot until Danielson beat everyone he had beaten on PPV. They then went highlights of Claudio Castagnoli's heel turn from the "Death Before Dishonor VI" PPV taping where he laid out Danielson.

Bryan Danielson was shown making his entrance. He ended up charging the ring and going after Castagnoli, who was already in the ring with Go Shiozaki.

5 - - BRYAN DANIELSON vs. CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI vs. GO SHIOZAKI (w/ Larry Sweeney) – Three Way Elimination match

Leonard mentioned this was a chance for Danielson to knock off two birds with one stone if he was able to defeat Castagnoli and Shiozaki in this match, which would earn him a title shot against McGuinness. Shiozaki allowed Danielson to go at it with Castagnoli for a bit, but ended up attacking Danielson from behind. Danielson quickly got the upper-hand on Shiozaki and went for a surfboard, but Castagnoli nailed him with a bicycle kick. Castagnoli aggressively attacked Danielson and went for a pin, but Shiozaki broke it up. Castagnoli quickly tossed Shiozaki to the outside. Shiozaki came back into the ring and went at it with Castagnoli. Danielson went for a flying kick on Castagnoli, but he ducked and Danielson hit Shiozaki instead. Danielson then took Castagnoli down with a running knee to the mid-section and nailed him in the back with a hard kick for a 2 count.

Danielson charged Castagnoli in the corner, but Castagnoli ran at him and nailed him with an elevated European uppercut. Castagnoli punched away at Danielson in the corner. The ref tried to back Castagnoli off of Danielson in the corner, but Castagnoli shoved him away twice. Castagnoli then suplexed the ref and nailed Danielson with a Ricola bomb. Bobby Cruise announced that Castagnoli had been eliminated via DQ. Castagnoli set up a chair on Danielson's head, but several people came out from the back to stop him. Castagnoli tossed the ring attendants around the ring as a replay aired of Danielson taking the Ricola bomb. Several more men came out, but Castagnoli would not go to the back. Castagnoli ended up tossing two of the men into the crowd. Prazak said he wouldn't be surprised if Castagnoli was suspended from the next PPV.

Shiozaki smiled and went on the attack at the weakened Bryan Danielson. Prazak said Danielson had beaten Castagnoli via DQ, but would have to defeat Shiozaki to get a title shot against McGuinness on PPV.

Shiozaki nailed Danielson with a chop that sent him into the corner. Shiozaki then got a running start and nailed Danielson with a knee in the corner as the announcers hinted Shiozaki might be in line for a future title shot if he won the match. Shiozaki set up Danielson and nailed him a big short-arm lariat, but he managed to kick out. Shiozaki went up top, but Danielson nailed him with an uppercut as he came down to the mat and both men were down. Shiozaki got up fired and nailed Danielson with a big right hand that sent him into the corner. Danielson made another comeback and nailed Go with a big lariat. Danielson followed up with a butterfly suplex that he turned into a cross-arm breaker. Shiozaki escaped, but Danielson caught him and nailed him with a series of elbows before applying the cattle mutilation. Shiozaki tried to get to the ropes, but Danielson nailed him with more elbows and applied cattle mutilation again. Shiozaki struggled, but managed to get his foot on the ropes.

Shiozaki broke away from Danielson and nailed him with two hard strikes. Shiozaki gained some momentum by running off the ropes and nailed Danielson with another huge lariat. Go mounted Danielson and landed a series of open-handed shots to the side of Danielson's head. Danielson blocked a superkick from Go and nailed him with an enzuguri, but he shook it off and nailed him with a superkick. Shiozaki went for the moonsault, but Danielson got his knees up and caught him in the triangle. Danielson nailed Shiozaki with several elbows and locked the triangle on tighter. Go struggled, but the ref saw he had passed out and called for the bell.

WINNER: Bryan Danielson

STAR RATING: (***3/4) – This was a really good match that showcased a couple of important storylines. First off, Castagnoli came off well as a killer heel with his brutal attack on Danielson. It was fun to watch him toss around the ring attendants and put up a real fight before finally going to the back. Danielson then desperately fought off Shiozaki, despite being hurt by Castagnoli so he could get his shot at McGuinness's title. The last five minutes of the match were fantastic.

-Danielson got on the mic after the match. He said it was great to be on ROH PPV. Danielson said he didn't care if it was Strong or McGuinness. He said he had been ducked for far too long and wanted a shot at the ROH World Title on PPV. He said whoever wins tonight has to deal with him.

6 - - RUCKUS & JIGSAW (w/Julius Smokes) vs. THE BRISCOES vs. JASON BLADE & KENNY KING vs. THE NECRO BUTCHER – Tag Team Scramble match

This was a lot of fun live, so I hope it holds up on tape. Once again, there were no entrances and everyone was already in the ring, which is disappointing. Ruckus broke up a pin attempt on Jigsaw by Blade and then hit Blade with a crazy twisting bodypress. King came into the ring and nailed Ruckus with a fantastic looking kick to the head. The Briscoes then ran into the ring and pummeled King in the corner and the crowd erupted in applause. Jay whipped King towards the apron, but he leapt up and sprang off and nailed him with a dive. The Necro Butcher came into the ring and cleaned house. The announcers said Necro was now his own man. Necro eventually pitched everyone to the outside and played to the crowd before going up top and hitting a senton off the top to wipe out all of his opponents, which sent the crowd into insanity.

Necro tossed Ruckus into the guardrail on the outside, which drew a "holy s---" chant. Back inside the ring, Jigsaw & Ruckus hit a doublestomp/Jig N' Tonic combination on King, but Blade broke up the pin. The Briscoes were on the outside and they set up several chairs in the aisle. Jigsaw and Ruckus were going to do stereo top rope dropkicks on Blade in the corner, but the Briscoes broke it up. The Briscoes went for a spiked Jay-driller on Blade, but Necro broke it up and nailed Blade with a tiger driver. Mark ran in from nowhere and dropkicked a chair into Necro's face and the crowd went nuts again. The Briscoes ended up nailing Necro off the apron and he flew into the pile of chairs. The Briscoes then nailed Blade with the springboard doomsday device for the pin.



WINNERS: The Briscoes

STAR RATING: (***1/4) – This was just as much fun watching on my couch as it was live, although it only lasted about 10 minutes. The Vulture Squad, Necro, and The Briscoes all shined here. I love how Necro went though everyone like a one-man wrecking ball at one point and then went up top and wiped out all of his opponents with a dive off the top to the outside. The spot where Mark broke up a sure win for Necro by dropkicking a chair right into his face came out of nowhere and the crowd popped big for that too. This was a fun match that would have blown the roof off as an opening match for a TNA PPV.

-A video package featuring Roderick Strong and Nigel McGuinness hyping their title match aired. McGuinness said he was the best wrestler in the world.

-Strong got a full entrance. Leonard said the ROH World Title had always eluded him as his "Broken, Torn, and Snapped" graphic aired. McGuinness also got a full entrance. Prazak compared his potential to former ROH World Champions such as C.M. Punk and Samoa Joe. McGuinness's "Broken, Torn, and Snapped" graphic also aired. Both men shook hands prior to the match.

7 - - NIGEL McGUINNESS vs. RODERICK STRONG –ROH World Title match

Prazak noted Strong was on a winning streak on ROH PPV. Leonard talked about the standout feud between Stevens and Strong that took place in FIP and ROH. McGuinness drove Strong into the ropes during the early stages of the match and mocked Danielson's "I've got till five referee" spot after giving the clean break, which drew some boos from the crowd. McGuinness began working Strong's arm, but he escaped and after a series of counters, nailed McGuinness with a crossbody off the ropes. McGuiness took control of the match once again and continued to target Strong's shoulder. Nigel made kissing motions towards the crowd as he worked over Strong. Strong wasn't down for long and he nailed McGuinness with a hard chop in the corner.

Strong maintained the advantage for a short period of time, but McGuinness drove him shoulder-first into the mat and Strong rolled out to the floor and appeared to be in a great deal of pain. McGuinness set up Strong against the guardrail and nailed him with a running European uppercut. Strong tried to fire back, but McGuinness nailed him with a series of hard strikes. The crowd chanted "USA" at McGuinness, who looked at them with disgust. Strong hit another hard chop, but McGuinness drove him elbow-first into the guardrail. Both men ended up back in the ring where McGuinness continued to work over Strong's arm with a leg scissors submission on the mat. The crowd began a split chant for McGuiness and Strong, but it seemed like the cheers were more in favor of Strong. McGuinness locked Strong in a nasty looking bridged submission and Strong screamed in pain. McGuinness got up off the mat and looked at the crowd after Strong slipped out of the submission and told the crowd he was the best wrestler in the world. Strong fired back with a couple of chops. McGuinness told him to bring it and caught Strong in a hammerlock divorce court.

McGuinness continued to taunt the crowd as he worked over Strong, which drew some boos. McGuinness teased a chop in the corner, but then poked Strong in the eye instead. A short time later, McGuinness did a headstand in the corner. Strong charged at him, but Nigel mule kicked him back across the ring and continued to bully Strong with short knee strikes to the side of the head. Strong fired up and nailed Strong with a couple of chops, but McGuinness fired back with a vicious elbow to the head and Strong looked to be down for the count. The ref began the count and the fans were now mostly on Strong's side and cheered as he pulled himself to his feet. Strong finally countered McGuinness in the corner and nailed him with a dropkick off the second rope. Strong sent McGuinness to the outside and nailed him with a running forearm off the apron and the crowd applauded.

Strong rolled McGuinness back into the ring and nailed him with a backbreaker for a 2 count. Strong then picked up McGuinness and nailed him with a pump-handle backbreaker for another 2 count as he continued to favor his arm. Moments later, Strong charged at McGuinness in the corner, but Nigel got out of the way and nailed him with a kick to the back/clothesline combination for a 2 count. The announcers said Strong badly wanted to be the ROH World Champion. McGuinness went for a charge in the corner, but Strong got out of the way and hit a gutbuster followed by a running Yokuza kick for a nearfall. Strong pounded the mat and got back to his feet as the crowd roared, but McGuinness caught him with a clothesline for a 2 count. The announcers talked about how close Strong had come to winning the title in the past as Strong blocked a tower of London only to eat another big lariat for another 2 count, which drew another pop from the crowd. McGuinness went for the tower of London again and hit it, but Strong got his foot on the bottom rope and the fans cheered again.

McGuinness draped Strong over the top rope and went for a lariat, but Strong ducked and nailed him with a slingshot powerslam for a 2 count. Strong placed McGuinness over the top turnbuckle and nailed him with a backbreaker over the top turnbuckle for a great nearfall. McGuinness went for another headstand, but Strong nailed him with a series of chops. Strong then dragged McGuinness down and hit another backbreaker for a 2 count. Strong bounced off the ropes, but McGuinness caught him with a clothesline. McGuinness then draped Strong over the top rope and nailed him with another clothesline, but Strong kicked out as Leonard said McGuinness couldn't keep him down. McGuinness placed Strong over the top rope and went to the apron. McGuinness then nailed Strong with a tower of London to the apron. McGuinness took a second to play to the crowd before rolling Strong back into the ring and covering him for another nearfall.

McGuinness went for the jawbreaker lariat, but Strong ran at him and nailed him with a clothesline. Strong then nailed McGuinness with the Gibson driver, but McGuinness kicked out at the last second. The crowd chanted "That was three." Both men battled on the top rope, but McGuinness nailed Strong with a clothesline and he flew to the mat. McGuinness went for the cover, but Strong kicked out. McGuinness hit a series of lariats before nailing Strong with another tower of London for the pin.

WINNER: Nigel McGuinness to retain the ROH World Title

STAR RATING – (****1/4) This was a fantastic match from start to finish. Both guys got over in the end, as Strong proved to be a tough challenger and McGuinness proved he is a dominating champion. The crowd really got behind Strong after being split in their support during the early stages of the match. McGuinness did some fantastic submission work before they turned things up several notches for the last ten minutes of the match. McGuinness is having a great run as the top man in this promotion in 2008.

-Several replays aired of the big spots in the McGuinness-Strong match. Prazak said we would see McGuinness vs. Danielson on PPV.

-A video package featuring Kevin Steen cutting a promo with Generico by his side on the Age of the Fall. He said they had been chasing the tag titles for over a year. Steen said if AOTF wanted tag team wrestling, they needed to look no further than Steen & Generico.

-Generico & Steen came out to their full entrance, as did AOTF. Several odd words appeared on the screen, followed by a plug for AgeoftheFall.com. They showed a highlight of the AOTF winning the tag titles against Steen & Generico at "Up For Grabs" in June.

8 - - JIMMY JACOBS & TYLER BLACK vs. KEVIN STEEN & EL GENERICO – ROH World Tag Team Title match

Both teams went at it in the center of the ring to kick things off, but Jacobs and Black ended up bailing to the outside. Jacobs appeared to be favoring his back. Leonard talked about how the tag division in ROH meant something, unlike in other organizations, which was why this was the main event of the PPV. Steen took control of Black early on and tagged in Generico, who pounded away at Black in the corner. Black fired back on Generico and choked him against the ropes, but Generico quickly took him down with a leg lariat. Jacobs blind-tagged himself into the match and came off the top, but Generico nailed him with a shot to the mid-section and tagged in Steen, who drew a chant of "Mr. Wrestling." Steen pounded on Jacobs back and then made mocked Jacobs by grabbing his own back and flailing on the mat. Steen & Generico continued to work well together, as Steen picked up Generico and powerbombed him onto Jacobs for a 2 count.

Jacobs whipped Generico off the ropes and Black kicked him in the back, which allowed Jacobs to nail him from behind. Black tagged into the match and stepped on Generico's throat. The crowd was red hot, as they banged the guardrails in support of Generico, who nailed Black with a belly to back suplex, which prompted the crowd to say "Ole" in unison. Steen tagged into the match and nailed Black with a series of hard shots. Generico tagged back in and slammed Black to the mat. Generico then went up top, but Jacobs tried to push him off. Generico managed to fend off Jacobs and leapt off the top, but Black caught him and threw him to the floor, which looked pretty brutal. Jacobs pounced on Generico on the outside with the ref distracted and rolled him back into the ring to Black. Jacobs & Black both got on top of Generico and nailed him with lefts and rights, but the ref had his hands full with a protesting Steen and didn't break it up.

The crowd continued to try to rally Generico, who nearly crawled over to Steen, but Jacobs hooked his leg and then stomped on his lower region behind the ref's back once again. Generico tried to crawl back to Steen again, but Black stopped him and pitched him to the outside. Jacobs attacked Generico on the outside once again as Black held the attention of the ref before rolling him back into the ring to Black, who covered Generico for a 2 count. Generico tried to fight both men off, but Jacobs went low and took out Generico's legs to maintain the advantage for the AOTF. The crowd began an "Ole" chant and everyone was on their feet clapping for Generico. Jacobs came off the apron, but Generico caught him and threw him into the guardrail. Black went for a springboard to the outside, but Generico slid into the ring and tagged in Steen and the crowd EXPLODED.

Steen ran across the ring and wiped out Black with a flip dive over the top. Steen then powerbombed Jacobs into the apron as the crowd chanted "Mr. Wrestling." Steen hit a pump-handle neckbreaker on Black for a nearfall. Steen signaled for the moonsault and went up top as the crowd roared, but Black rolled out of the way and tagged in Jacobs. You could literally hear the disappointment as the crowd groaned when Black rolled out of the way. Jacobs tagged in and locked in the end time on Steen, but Generico kicked him off and Steen rolled through for a nearfall. Black went up top and nailed Steen with a frogsplash for a nearfall and Black acted like he couldn't believe Steen had kicked out. Prazak reminded us that Steen had promised to win a title in 2008. The crowd rallied behind Steen and he powered up and knocked Black to the mat. Jacobs then attacked Steen, who was sitting on the top turnbuckle, but Steen pushed him off as well, but Black cut him off as he went for a swanton.

Generico ended up cutting off Black. Moments later Steen hit a gutbuster on Black off the top. Steen then hit the swanton on Black and Generico nailed him with a splash, but Black KICKED OUT! The crowd was stunned that Black had kicked out and booed as they badly wanted to see Steen & Generico win. Black countered the package piledriver and hit god's last gift on Steen, but Generico broke up the pin. Black went up top, but missed the phoenix splash on Steen. Generico then nailed Black with a huge Yokuza kick in the corner. Generico then placed Black up top, but Jacobs cut him off. Black & Jacobs went for the double team contra code, but Steen ended up nailing Black with a cannon ball. Steen then locked in the sharp-shooter in the middle of the ring. Jacobs managed to fight off Generico, but Generico sent him to the outside and nailed him with a flip dive to the outside. Black continued to struggle to reach the ropes. The crowd went insane as Black screamed in pain once he was dragged back to the center of the ring. Jacobs ended up coming out of nowhere and raked Steen's eyes to break up the submission. Wow! This is incredible.

Steen and Black both tagged out of the match. Generico nailed Jacobs with a suplex and went for a Yokuza kick in the corner, but Jacobs charged at him and locked in the end time. The crowd roared in support of Generico. Black accidentally nailed Jacobs with a springboard clothesline. Generico then nailed Jacobs with a Yokuza kick. Steen then held off Black as Generico hit the brainbuster on Jacobs for the pin!

WINNERS: KEVIN STEEN & EL GENERICO to capture the ROH World Tag Team Titles.

-The crowd erupted after the pinfall, which set off a wild celebration in Boston. Steen & Generico hugged in the center of the ring. The crowd erupted once they were announced as the new ROH World Tag Team Champions. Prazak plugged ROH's upcoming markets for DVD tapings and urged fans to check out ROHWrestling.com. Steen was shown posing in the crowd as a mob of fans rallied around him. The entire crowd continued to chanted "Ole, ole." The show went ended with Generico posing with the fans with one of the title belts in the crowd.

STAR RATING – (*****) This came out perfect on tape and was even better than I remembered live, as I was distracted at certain times during the match. The Boston fans badly wanted to see Steen & Generico win and were fully behind them at all times. The long heat segment on Generico, followed by the hot tag to Steen set off an incredible sequence of back and fourth action. Every time it looked like Steen and Generico were going to win, they would come up just short. The long sequence with Black in the sharp-shooter was really dramatic. This is hands-down my MOTY for 2008. It had everything you could want in a wrestling match: drama, suspense, bad guys, good guys, a hot crowd, and an incredible celebration for Steen & Generico FINALLY getting their big win.

Recommendation: (9.0) The show started with some good action. The Austin Aries-Jimmy Jacobs feud continued, as Aries picked up a win over new AOTF member Delirious, but Jacobs got the last word by nailing Aries with a senton through the table after the match. The long SNS Inc. segment of promos and matches dragged a bit, but the Lynn-Hero contest was really good. Larry Sweeney doesn't seem as special as he did when he initially came into the company, in part because no babyface has ever gotten their revenge on him and it's way past time that his bill came due.

After the Hero-Lynn contest, the show got really good. Bryan Danielson finally earned hit title shot against McGuinness by defeating Claudio Castagnoli and Go Shiozaki in an elimination match. Castagnoli's new heel persona came off well and he looked like a real jerk after throwing out the referee, taking out Danielson, and then throwing around several ring attendants before finally being dragged backstage. I liked how Shiozaki was there to pick up the scraps so to speak with Danielson badly hurt by Castagnoli's attack. Once Danielson made his comeback on Shiozaki, the match became very dramatic as Danielson fought as hard as he could to get his shot at McGuinness on PPV before finally submitting Shiozaki with a triangle.

The Tag Team Scramble match was also a lot of fun, although the match only lasted about ten minutes, the non-stop action from start to finish would have been a great start to almost any TNA PPV. The last two matches are the real treasures on this show. The McGuinness-Strong match was fantastic, as Strong, who only recently turned face, won over the crowd by the mid-point of the match and put in a great come from behind performance against the cocky and arrogant McGuinness. I also liked how McGuinness got aggressive and put Strong away in the end once he realized that if he continued to jaw with the crowd, he would lose his title.

The main event was simply incredible. This is the best match I've seen in 2008. It was filled with so much drama, as Steen & Generico fought for the tag titles with the crowd behind them from start to finish. I really enjoyed the long heat segment on Generico. The crowd never let up in their support, as they desperately wanted to see him tag in Steen. Once Steen got the hot tag, he was one of the best houses of fire I've ever seen. His flip dive to the outside to take out Black right off the back set the crowd on fire. It was fun to watch the crowd react to this match. They were genuinely upset each time Steen & Generico came close to victory, only to not get the win. When Steen & Generico finally did win, they got an enormous pop. My only complaint is that I wish they had shown more of the post-match celebration, as it lasted nearly ten minutes or longer at the PPV taping.

I'd like to see the PPVs have a more natural flow, as sometimes they seem to suffer from too much editing when the show cuts from match to match with no ring entrances, although everyone did get their entrances for the last two matches. Some of the usual production problems also cropped up, as the hard camera looked too bright and the cheesy "Broken, Torn, and Snapped" graphics were also used.

I highly recommend this show. The crowd is red hot from start to finish. There are several really good matches on the card. The last two matches pack a heck of a one two punch. The Steen & Generico-Black & Jacobs match is a sure-fire top contender for MOTY. In fact, it's one of the most emotion packed matches I've seen in ROH or any company in 2008. With a price tag of $15, this show is a steal.

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