KELLER'S TAKE KELLER: ROH Driven PPV - A march through the second highly-recommended PPV offering from Ring of Honor Oct 6, 2007 - 6:20:18 PM

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KELLER'S ROH DRIVEN PPV ANALYSIS
AIRED OCTOBER 2007 ON PPV
TAPED IN CHICAGO, ILL.

-INTRO: It seemed strange to go from an inpromptu in-ring challenge to a context-less music video with highlight clips. It wasn't until the final seconds of the video that a graphic said ROH Driven and it became clear it was supposed to be the opening for the event rather than having something to do with the challenge just made... I'd still much prefer a scene-setting introduction that draws a picture of the entire line-up. Someone who orders the event on a whim has no idea of what to expect or even what the main event is..

-FIRST MATCH (No Remorse Corp. of Roderick Strong & Rocky Romero & Davey Richards vs. Delirious & Erik Stevens & Matt Cross): Lots of exciting, big spots with great intensity throughout. The crowd also elevated the match as they were passionately into everything... The crowd chanting for Austin Aries afterward and Aries coming out was foreshadowed nicely with announcers Dave Prazak and Lenny Leonard saying the leader of the No Remorse Corp. was contracted to another organization and couldn't appear on PPV. Then when he did come out, the announcers said his run-in wouldn't make the air. It's more of ROH's style of making it appear fans are getting to see a pre-final-cut version of the event. It might have been a case of overplaying the TNA-recognition factor by building the first segment around a hardly-pushed, probably-long-forgotten TNA roster member returning officially to ROH. For ROH hardcore fans, though, it was a fanatic-pleasing speech reminiscent of ECW's peak years... (**3/4)

-"ROH TOURS JAPAN" VIDEO: This was a really good inclusion early, as it gives ROH that international credibility, affirming to ROH fans that their cult favorite is a worldwide phenomena. The scenes outside the venue and in the concourse with ROH merchandise being pitched were nice touches...

Matt Sydal [photo by Wade Keller (c) PWTorch]

-SECOND MATCH (Matt Sydal vs. Claudio Castignoli): The little video package right after ring intros was nice, showing off some signature spots... If you wanted to see two really good athletes exchanging really nice state of the art third gear action, this was for you. It was also nice that they linked this to Respect is Earned, saying that Sydal blamed Claudio for their loss against the Briscoes and issued a challenge for a singles match. It's clear early on that ROH is about in-ring action, not promos... One thing that always stands out in a positive way about ROH is that the announcers call moves by unique names. Not only are there a wide array of moves in the matches, but the announcers treat them seriously enough to call them by name. In WWE, and a policy sadly followed by TNA, naming too many moves is considered confusing to the audience or treating the in-ring action too seriously... Good believable near falls leading up to the finish. The finishing move shown in slo-mo was amazing... (***1/4)

-SWEET & SOUR INC.: Larry Sweeny looked more polished in the context of being a ringside than the cheesy, drawn-out backstage promo at Respect is Earned. His mispronounciation of Castanoli's name was funny... It developed into a nice, easy-to-grasp, not-too-cute old school wrestling angle with a babyface standing up to a heel manager and then getting jumped afterward, with a full-flegded turn thrown in. It showed that while ROH has superior in-ring athleticism, there are characters you can get into booing, too...

-JIMMY RAVE PROMO VIDEO: The timing wasn't great to have Jimmy Rave having already returned to TNA before this PPV aired with his ROH World Title shot... Getting to hear from Rave in the context of a voiceover of highlight clips was a good way to introduce his character and set the stage for that match later...

-THIRD MATCH (Naomichi Marufuji vs. B.J. Whitmer): The announcers put this match into context early by saying that to stay on ROH PPVs, it's all about wins and losses - not to mention wins earn one title contention status. Sometimes something that simple is all it takes to give a match a sense of meaning compared to feeling just thrown together as filler. It's also, of course, important then to follow up as ROH does by giving title shots and PPV exposure to wrestlers who have been given wins in the past... I've always thought Whitmer would make a good old-school masked wrestler along the lines of The Spoiler. He doesn't have great facial expressions or a distinct overall look, and a masked gimmick could work for him. This notion since the early-'90s that masked wrestlers have to be either monsters like Mankind or Abyss or high-flyer cruiserweights like Rey Mysterio or Delirious does not have to be... Good match that gave Marufuji his second ROH PPV showcase win and set up Whitmer as being "further frustrated"... Nice action... (***)

-REBECCA BAYLESS: Rebecca promoted ROH live events at ringside. That was a more distinctive way to promote upcoming dates than just flashing them on the screen.

-THIRD MATCH (Pelle Primeau vs. Brent Albright): Good match at setting up Albright as a larger ROH wrestler with a killer instinct and dominant big-man style. Primeau was a good bump-taker for him... (*)

-MUSIC VIDEO; Clips of Matt Hardy, C.M. Punk, Samoa Joe, Jushin Liger, Bruno Sammartino, Terry Funk, Mick Foley, Bobby Heenan, and Eddie Guerrero cameos was TNA-like in it's shameless "name dropping," but also definitely worth doing as it shows that recognizable legends have shown up in the past and can show up at any time...

-FOURTH MATCH (Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. The Briscoes): This was the first match on the show to have brawling in the crowd, so it stood out as special... Steen's swanton was impressive and made for a believable near fall 13 minutes into the match... Excellent tag match with the incredible crowd heat really adding to the atmosphere throughout. The Briscoes show what a pushed tag team division can be like with a true signature team atop it... (****)

-SWEENY BACKSTAGE: Good follow-up on the angle earlier to drive it home and show Sydal's first exposure to the zany membership of Sweet & Sour Inc... The comedy with the incentive to do a sit up with a cookie reward was funny, and the card wasn't overplayed...

-FIFTH MATCH (Morishima vs. Jimmy Rave - ROH World Hvt. Title match): The announcers did a good job running down Rave's past feuds and general history with ROH... It made Morishima's definitive, quick win seem more impressive that Rave had such a history with ROH and was advertised a top challenger. I would have opted for a little more backstory and hype regarding why Rave was awarded the title match so that when Morishima won so quickly, it wouldn't have seemed like it was expected and no big deal. The announcers did say they anticipated the match going longer and now had some extra time, so that was why they went to a promo with Shane Magadorn and Adam Pearce. Nice touch showing Pearce counselling Whitmer, who had lost earlier and had his head hung is shame... (**1/4)

Danielson vs. Nigel [photo by Wade Keller (c) PWTorch]

-SIXTH MATCH (Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness): That suplex 11 minutes in by Danielson on Nigel over the edge of the ring barrier was killer... More great crowd heat in this one. Not enough can be said about how much they added to this match and the whole show... It's quite the scene to hear a crowd chanting "This is awesome!" during a half Boston crab in mid-ring rather than right after a big spot at ringside... The finishing sequence with the hard slap exchanges followed by the running headbutts and Danielson coming up bleeding was one of the more memorable and original moments in a match all year... Excellent match with great pacing, with realistic, original matwork early, then accellerated pacing with some out of ring spots and in-ring highspots, and then a really strong finish... In one of those signature ROH moments, the crowd cheered and chanted for Nigel after he got up, and then chanted "Thank you both!" as the show ended... (****1/2)

-FINAL THOUGHTS: They stuck to what they do best and focused primarily on what they do well that others vying for pro wrestling fans' dollars don't do well. That's the best approach to take. The production values were good enough during the matches themselves to provide a window into the ring without distractions. The crowd enthusiasm more than made up for the lack of any other bells and whistles that fans may be accustomed to with major pro wrestling PPVs... It was a tight, two hour showcase of the type of wrestling athleticism that just isn't being featured on a regular, dense enough basis by either of the big two either on PPV or TV (or house shows, for that matter)...

-FOR MORE: Check out today's VIP Daily Keller Hotline for 20 minutes of expanded analysis, suggestions, and perspective on this show.

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