PWTorch.com - RADICAN'S RING OF HONOR 2014 YEAR END AWARDS (pt. 2)

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RADICAN'S RING OF HONOR 2014 YEAR END AWARDS (pt. 2) - 2014 Show of the Year

Feb 19, 2015 - 11:55:59 AM

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By Sean Radican, Torch columnist

Part two of my 2014 ROH Year End Awards features the 2014 ROH Show of the Year category.

2014 ROH SHOW OF THE YEAR

(1) “Death Before Dishonor XII,” August 22, 2014, Milwaukee, Wisc.: (8.5) – Much of this show aired on ROH TV after Michael Elgin dropped the ROH World Title to Jay Briscoe at “All Star Extravaganza VI,” but as a self-contained show, this was ROH’s best offering of 2014. The Milwaukee crowd has become ROH’s best crowd over the last couple of years and this year they helped bolster two of ROH’s better shows of the year in this show and “Raising the Bar: Night 1.”

The show features a number of strong matches from top to bottom, but the real standouts here were the A.J. Styles-Kyle O’Reilly match, which was my 2014 ROH MOTY and The Young Bucks vs. The Briscoes in a scintillating tag match. I had been waiting for another match between The Briscoes and The Young Bucks for quite some time and although some of their matches in the past seemed to be missing something, their match on this show delivered a memorable encounter. The main event with ROH World Champion Michael Elgin vs. Silas Young fell flat, as Elgin just didn’t give Young much of anything in the match. Young was coming off a strong push having beaten Kevin Steen during his farewell tour, but Elgin had the upper hand during most of the action. That match aside, this is a show well-worth adding to your collection and stands out from the pack of other ROH offerings in 2014.

Notable matches: A.J. Styles vs. Kyle O’Reilly, The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) vs. The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoes).

You can watch this show by purchasing ROH’s “Death Before Dishonor XII: Night 1” on DVD by clicking HERE or by visiting ROHWrestling.com. You can also purchase this release on VOD at ROHWrestling.com.

(2) “War of the Worlds,” May 17, 2014, Manhattan, N.Y., (8.0) – This was an important show for Ring of Honor. This show, along with “Global Wars” the week previous to this show, put the company squarely back on the map and garnered a lot of positive buzz for the company. Having the top NJPW talent come over for a two week stint in ROH bolstered the profile of the company.

The show had a great atmosphere in NYC at the Hammerstein Ballroom in front of a sold out crowd. The lineup featured several very good matches including Kevin Steen vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, The Young (Matt & Nick Jackson) defending the ROH World Tag Team Titles against ReDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly), and IWGP Hvt. Champion A.J. Styles vs. Michael Elgin vs. Kazuchika Okada. The ReDRagon vs. Young Bucks match in particular is worth going out of your way to check out. It finished second in my 2014 ROH MOTY Award category. There were also a number other solid matches up and down the card and this truly felt like a special show at times with ROH talent matching up with some of the top names in front of an appreciative crowd.

Notable matches: ROH World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks vs. ReDRagon, ROH World Champion Adam Cole vs. Jushin Liger, Kevin Steen vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, IWGP Hvt. Champion A.J. Styles vs. Michael Elgin vs. Kazuchika Okada.

You can watch this show by purchasing ROH’s “War of the Worlds” on DVD by clicking HERE; or by visiting ROHWrestling.com. You can also purchase this release on VOD at ROHWrestling.com.

(3) “Raising the Bar: Night 1,” March 7, 2014, Milwaukee, Wisc. (7.5) – There were a couple of other strong candidates for the third spot for my 2014 ROH Show of the Year, but this show stood out from the others because of the Milwaukee crowd. Simply put, this crowd makes ROH DVDs fun to watch.

The show featured a number of strong bouts on the undercard with Lethal-Young and Hero-Strong giving the show a strong foundation. There were some holes in the card, but the show finished with a flurry. Kevin Steen & The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) vs. The Briscoes (Mark & Jay Briscoe) & Michael Elgin had a fantastic Six Man Tag match that set the crowd on fire.

Matt Taven’s performances during this period had been uneven, but he put on a fantastic main event against ROH World Champion Adam Cole. Taven got the fans behind him by promising to buy them shots if he beat Cole for the ROH World Title at the beginning of the show. The fans really got behind Taven during the match and it was great to watch them enthusiastically chant for shots when he had the advantage. Cole is so good and he showed why he is one of the best young wrestlers in the U.S. today. Cole’s heel mannerisms and facial expressions were spot-on during the match as he picked apart Taven working over his arm and leg throughout the match before a Truth Martini distraction helped him get the win.

Notable matches: Jay Lethal vs. Silas Young, Chris Hero vs. Roderick Strong, Kevin Steen & The Young Bucks vs. The Briscoes & Michael Elgin, ROH World Champion Adam Cole vs. Matt Taven.

You can watch this show by purchasing ROH’s “Raising the Bar: Night 1” on DVD by clicking HERE or by visiting ROHWrestling.com. You can also purchase this release on VOD at ROHWrestling.com.

HONORABLE MENTION

- “All Star Extravaganza VI, Sept. 6, 2014, Toronto, Canada. (7.5) Notable matches: ROH World Tag Team Champions ReDRagon vs. The Young Bucks in a 2/3 Falls match, ROH World Champion Michael Elgin vs. Jay Briscoe, ROH TV Champion Jay Lethal vs. Cedric Alexander, A.J. Styles vs. Adam Cole.

You can watch this show by purchasing ROH’s “All Star Extravaganza VI” on DVD by clicking HERE; or by visiting ROHWrestling.com. You can also purchase this release on VOD at ROHWrestling.com.

-“SuperCard of Honor VIII,” April 4, 2014, New Orleans, La. (7.5) – Notable matches: ROH World Champion Adam Cole vs. Jay Briscoe in a Ladder War, Kevin Steen vs. Michael Elgin in a #1 Contender match for the IWGP Hvt. Title, Roderick Strong vs. Cedric Alexander.

You can watch this show by purchasing ROH’s “SuperCard of Honor VIII” on DVD by clicking HERE; or by visiting ROHWrestling.com. You can also purchase this release on VOD at ROHWrestling.com.

-“12th Anniversary,” Feb. 21, 2014. (7.5) – Notable matches: ROH World TV Champion Tommaso Ciampa vs. Hanson, ROH World Tag Team Champions ReDRagon vs. Adrenaline Rush, A.J. Styles vs. Jay Lethal, ROH World Champion Adam Cole vs. Chris Hero.

You can watch this show by purchasing ROH’s “12th Anniversary” on DVD by clicking HERE; or by visiting ROHWrestling.com. You can also purchase this release on VOD at ROHWrestling.com.

My news 2014 ROH Year End Award category will be posted next taking a look at the 2014 ROH Feuds of the Year

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