10 YRS AGO – ROH in Manhattan, N.Y. (11-3-07): Bryan, Tyler Black (Seth Rollins), Aries, Generico (Sami Zayn), Briscoes, Claudio (Cesaro), Morishima, Jacobs, more

ROH live event/DVD taping report
November 3, 2007
Manhattan, N.Y.
By Eric Gall, PWTorch correspondent

1. Chris Hero over El Generico [a/k/a Sami Zayn] – I’m giving this one ***1/4, though most would probably give it a little bit lower, but I just love Generico, and Hero’s overly cute act doesn’t bother me. This was a good way to start the show, and the super hot crowd was fully into this one. Manhattan crowds will pop for anything and anybody in the opener, it seems. After the match, Shane Hagadorn, BJ Whitmer, and Brent Albright jump Generico, which leads to…

2. Albright and Whitmer (of the Hangmen Three) over Delirious and Kevin Steen. This **1/2 match wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t long enough to mean more than that, and the lack of charisma on the part of the heels (even with Hagadorn’s X-Pac heat) didn’t help. There were funny “Kennedy” chants directed at Whitmer, who’s new look makes him look a lot like Kennedy. Albright, though, makes the match look a lot more dynamic when he’s in the ring, though. The match wasn’t bad, but I’ve seen more exciting and interesting work from all involved. Hagadorn keeps running his mouth (not bad, I might add) and draws out Austin Aries.

3. Austin Aries over Hagadorn – This was the first disappointment of the night. I’m giving this * and
I’m a little miffed that Aries, one of the guys I specifically want to see at ROH shows, basically gets the night off. The match was nothing more than a glorified squash, and in Manhattan with one of your top guys, that doesn’t cut it. This move put a sour taste in the mouth of some in the crowd, which will make its views known later on in the night.

4. Claudio Castagnoli over Naomichi Marufuji. This was a good match. I’m giving it ***1/4. Some will give this higher, but it wasn’t absolutely crackling, and they didn’t have me eating out of the palm of their hands. Way better than anything WWE does these days, but maybe I’ve been spoiled by ROH to expect perfection in every match.

5. Jay & Mark Briscoe wrestled Jimmy Jacobs & Necro Butcher to a Double DQ – This is where things start getting ugly. The Briscoes’ entrance lasted longer than this match, which for some reason was thrown out by the ref. This caused the crowd to flip. The “F’n BS”, “Refund” and “We want Briscoes” chants were flying, and in didn’t slow down for a while. No star rating for a match that didn’t get the chance to begin. I’m guessing the Briscoes will be coming back out tonight, but after seeing Aries for only three minutes tonight, and a short Danielson match, I’m not seeing this show tonight as a barn burner.

There was then a lifetime achievement award moment in the ring for some old NOAH guy. This segment ran way too long with the ring announcer detailing every accomplishment this guy did. It reminded me of when Steve Corino brought along his own ring announcer to do his ridiculously long (but hilarious introductions. Harley Race was there as essentially an afterthought to present the old Japanese guy with the plaque. Race was barely even mentioned, after what seemed to be ten minutes of this guy getting the spotlight put on him in a completely darkened arena. This seemed like another made for DVD/PPV moment that announcers will try to make it seem like a “historic moment for ROH.” The truth is, a lot of people weren’t buying it, and a lot of “We want Briscoes” chants were still going strong. I’m getting the feeling this show is being booked by “taking the air” out of the usual top acts to make the Misawa match seem more eventful.

6. Takeshi Morishima over “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson by DQ. This was an intense match with a nearly insane Bryan Danielson targeting Morishima’s eye in revenge for the eye injury Danielson suffered the last time these fought in NYC. I didn’t get into this match as much as I did with most of Dragon’s matches, but I’m not quite sure why. Maybe it seemed they were trying to get the storyline over on DVD and PPV more than they normally would if it were just for the live crowd. I’d give this **1/2, which just may be the lowest I think I’d ever given for a Danielson match. I may change my mind after seeing the match again, but on the ride home, I’d originally given this only **. Nigel comes out with his bad arm, Dragon jumps him, and the crowd (myself included) loves it.

7. Tyler Black over “Sugarfoot” Alex Payne – Give me a break. Another 1/2* squash, and the crowd is not happy. “We want Briscoes” chant fill all 120 seconds of this match, and sure enough, the Briscoes run out and promise a title match tonight. I don’t know if this was Plan A or if Gabe called an audible on this based on the crowd reaction, but I suspect the original idea was for Misawa to close the show.

8. No Remorse Corps of Roderick Strong & Davey Richards & Rocky Romero over the Vulture Squad of Jack Evans & Ruckus & Jigsaw. I missed most of the match getting DVDs at the merch table. I’m told this was match of the night.

9. Austin Aries over Chris Hero – I’m going with *** to ***1/4 for this one. I don’t know if it was his new black and yellow gear, but Aries seemed a step off from his self with his usual coiled intensity. Hero did his goofy, almost comedy-wrestler style routine, and it worked for him. Aries seemed to slow down to Hero’s pace, and while still a good match, didn’t steal the show like this one could have.

10. Misawa over KENTA – This is the first time I’ve ever seen Misawa wrestle. First impression: he’s an old Japanese guy who likes throwing forearms. A lot of people in the crowd were eating this match up like it was manna from Heaven, but I think the anticipation of this match really colored one’s perception of it. After an opening match headlock and face down, the crowd breaks out a “This is awesome” chat. That was way too early, and Misawa was freely given respect, and he knew he had an easy crowd to work with. For such a “smart” crowd, a lot of them seem as easily programmed as the fans who cheer Triple H as a world beater on Monday nights. For those who bill this as a **** match, I saw nothing of the sort. I’m giving this **3/4, and I’m glad this was not the last match on the card.

11. Briscoe Brothers over Jimmy Jacobs & The Necro Butcher. Necro gave Mark a backbreaker over the backs of two chairs in a move that didn’t look very safe and Necro got launched off the top rope into a chair, destroying it and caused Necro to sell it (or maybe not – it looked pretty sick) like D-Von Dudley doing his spasm sell. This was a bump filled brawl that was intense, but didn’t play to the Briscoes’ strengths. It advanced the feud these teams have with each other, so it seemed like another made-for-PPV match. I’ll give this one ***.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Overall, an off-night of ROH is still light years ahead of anything WWE has put out in the last 3-4 years. I think the overpushing of the Japanese contingent degrades the overall quality of the show, but I understand that the company is trying to evolve, and this is another step. ROH is having growing pains in trying to find a good balance in matches that serve the live crowd against presenting storyline oriented moments that announcers can color on PPV. ROH continues to be the standard bearer in professional wrestling, but this wasn’t one of its best nights.

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