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ROH live event/DVD taping report
Manhattan, N.Y.
November 3, 2007
By Matt Smith, PWTorch Correspondent

No matter how many times I go to shows in that arena, it never fails to have such a "Big Fight" atmosphere flowing throughout the building. There was one fan who tried to be one of those Long Island smart asses but he was quickly put in his place, more on that later.


1. Chris Hero (w/"Sweet&Sour" Larry Sweeney, Sara Del Ray, and Bobby Dempsey) pinned El Generico with Hero's Welcome

Damn good opener; both guys were over like crazy. It would appear Hero's becoming a tweener as a lot of people cheered their lungs out for him and he acknowledged it with glee. Yet he worked a stiff style to maintain the coolness that is Chris Hero. Basically was that perfect mixture of wrestling and comedy spots.

Post-Match the dastardly Hangmen Three hit the ring and put the beat down on Generico with Albright power bombing him through two stacked tables. Kevin Steen attempted to make the save but the numbers game was too much for the big guy. Delirious ran down and it turned into a holy Hell of a brawl leading to..

2. Hangman 3's Brent Albright and BJ Whitmer (w/Shane Hagadorn) defeated Kevin Steen and Delirious when Whitmer pinned Steen after an Exploder Suplex onto a chair.

Fun, Wild brawl the crowd ate up like it were half priced Halloween candy. Whitmer gets a lot of flack but I think he's really come a long way in his progress. Steen hit a sweet no rope dive onto Albright and Hagadorn. And Albright hit about ten different suplexes on Delirious while he took the extended heel vbeat down to the point I wish I had had a towel to toss in for the poor guy.

Post-Match Hagadorn continues beating on Delirious before taking the mic and I had to yell "Cut that fucking thing!" because I can not stand that man. Any how, he cuts a decent promo about how Hangmen 3 are dominating the evening and it was up to him to keep the ball rolling. He made an open challenge that is quickly accepted by Austin Aries.

3. Austin Aries pinned Shane Hagadorn with a Brainbuster/450 Splash Combination

Quick match, basically a SQUASH but Aries was over huge as usual. Basically was a set up for the angle that followed.

Post-Match Aries cut a promo saying he was disbanding The Resilience because he had no time for faction wars; he had only one goal and that was to gain the ROH World Title shot he earned by beating Danielson and taking the title off Nigel McGuiness. Nigel walks out to a decidedly mixed reaction, enters the ring and shakes Austin's hand. He congratulates him on earning the title shot and said if he hadn't torn his left bicep the week after he won the belt, he'd gladly defend the title there and now. Crowd turned on him all the way with one kid really being a dick. This got Nigel legit angry and he turned to the guy and said people like him make him want to quit wrestling and get a regular job. He said guys like that are always pricks which got a big pop which was funny since they'd all just been shitting on him two seconds earlier. He finished with a promise that at Final Battle he'd conquer Aries and keep the title.

I thought the whole ordeal was fantastic.


4. Claudio Castagnoli pinned Naomichi Marufuji with the Backlund Bridge

Fantastic hard hitting match. Marafuji stole the show by doing his own version of Claudio's dance and "Hey!" routine that had my section rolling. If you love guys throwing stiff uppercuts , kicks, slaps, chops, and suplexes you'll dance your own jig for this bout. Finish saw Claudio block Sliced Bread #2 and turn it into the Backlund Bridge for the upset victory. Crowd popped huge and gave both of them a well deserved standing ovation. Damn good action.

Post-Match Hero and Sweeney hit the ring and beat Claudio down. Hero laid him out with Hero's Welcome so Sweeney could hit a top rope elbow to massive heat. Sweeney got on the mic and said any time Claudio had reason to celebrate, S&S Inc. would rain on his parade. I love that guy.

5. ROH World Tag Team Champions The Briscoes fought The Age of The Fall (Jimmy Jacobs and Necro Butcher w/Lacey) to a Double DQ

Match went barely two minutes before all four guys grabbed chairs and started swinging causing the DQ. Crowd went into full blown riot mode with chants of "Bullshit" and "We want refunds". I thought it was a bit weird to see it booked like that but they made up for it soon enough..

They held a special ceremony for Harley Race and Referee Joe Higuchi who got the "we're not worthy" treatment from most of the crowd. Very classy.

6. Tyler Black pinned Alex "Sugarfoot" Payne

3 Minute SQUASH that was just a set up for the Briscoes to run down, beat Black up and demand they face Jacobs and Necro in a No DQ Match to end the night. Crowd forgave the shitty finish to the prior match almost instantly when they heard that.

7. Takeshi Morishima defeated Bryan Danielson via DQ

This was just flat out insane for the most part. Danielson didn't even let the big man enter the ring, choosing to punt his head nearly off his shoulders and beating him down on the floor. He hot shotted him on the guard rail, threw him into the ring post and attempted eye removal with the ring bell hammer. Morishima responded by busting him open the hard way with stiff kicks and elbows to the face. He got a two count off the Backdrop Driver. Danielson trapped him in the corner and went into SUPER elbow mode. He locked on the Triangle Choke but Morishima powered up and Power Bombed him to a big pop. He went for another Backdrop Driver but Danielson elbowed free and took to working on the legs. He kept kicking away and after two attempts by the ref to break it up (Morishima was in the ropes) Danielson shoved him down causing the DQ. He continued going nuts until Nigel came down and knocked him on his ass. Big mistake; Danielson kicked him as hard as one possibly could in the injured arm to massive heat.

Awesome match that has to be seen to appreciate. Nobody seemed to mind the DQ finish because it was the first true time Morishima was just manhandled in ROH and probably the most aggressive Danielson's ever been.

8. The No Remorse Corps (Roderick Strong, Davey Richards, and Rocky Romero) defeated The Vulture Squad (Jack Evans, Ruckus, and Jigsaw w/Julius Smokes)

Wild 6 Man Tag with high spots that blew me away. Ruckus did a running dive onto Richards into the guard rail that nearly took the head off the guy sitting in the line of fire. Vultures pulled out the Double Suplex-Crossbody Block combination for a near fall. Strong hit a backbreaker, held Evans in place and Richards came off the top with a knee to the face. That HAD to hurt! Finish came when when Richards trapped Evans and made him tap out.

Post-Match Smokes grabbed the mic and ripped into Evans asking him why he formed the Squad if they were going to perform like the NY Jets (DAMN!) He asked if he was going to take that loss laying down. Evans responded by challenging NRC at Final Battle to a TLC Match/Brooklyn Street Fight. Crowd popped huge for that one.

Hero and Sweeney w/Dempsey re-emerged to more massive heel heat. Sweeney said at the next PPV Taping on 12/29 it would be Hero vs. Claudio and if Claudio lost, he'd have to exit ROH for good. Hero declared that while it'd been all fun earlier in the night he was pissed about NOT being ROH World Champion when he made Nigel tap the previous night and then not even being the #1 Contender to the belt. He took his anger out on Dempsey and when the crowd chanted "Bobby" he kept it up until Aries came down to a good pop. Long story short, Aries challenged Hero with the stipulations if Aries lost, Hero got his title shot and if Aries won, Sweeney would have to face Claudio at the PPV instead.


9. Austin Aries defeated Chris Hero (w/Larry Sweeney and Bobby Dempsey) via Submission

A bit below what you'd expect but still damn good. Hero tried several times for Hero's Welcome but Aries always blocked it. Finish involved Claudio running off Sweeney and Dempsey allowing Aries to hook an arm bar for the tap out. Crowd was a bit quiet for it surprisingly. Now it's Sweeney vs. Catagnoli next month.

10. Pro Wrestling NOAH Global Honored Crown champion Mitsuharu Misawa pinned KENTA

Surpassed anyone's expectations if you ask me. If Misawa did little the night before in Philly, he stepped it up as much as he could here. Still slow moving and you could tell he got a bit winded but even at 85-90% still world's better than your average wrestler. Started off slow with some reversal spots but built up into a stiff match. Misawa landed his signature forearm smash through the ropes and got a 2 count off a Tiger Driver. KENTA hit a running knee and scored with a Shining Wizard to a good pop. He nearly won it with a bridging German Suplex. They lit into each other with chops. Move of the match if not the night was after a few failed attempts, KENTA hit Go To Sleep for a 2 7/8 near fall that had everyone in disbelief. Misawa rallied and got the pinfall victory with a second Emerald Frosion after KENTA kicked out of the first one. I loved this match from start to finish.

11. ROH World Tag Team Champions The Briscoes (w/Daizee Haze) defeated The Age of The Fall (Jimmy Jacobs and Necro Butcher w/Lacey) in a No DQ Street Fight to retain the titles.

Not a minute in Haze and Lacey picked up their fight from Philly and brawled to the back.

Briscoes double suplexed Necro off the apron to the floor. Mark hit a SSP off the apron onto him for a 2 count. Necro responded by lining up two chairs with the back facing each other and dropping Jay onto them; that was pretty fucked up. Jacobs KILLED them both with chair shots to the skull and covered Mark for a 2 count. Necro went up for a splash but the Champs blocked it and double slammed him from the top onto a chair. They walloped him so many times with said chair he bled buckets. Finish saw Jacobs tossed to the floor and Necro first Power Bombed off the top rope onto a folding chair, plastered with another chair shot to the noggin and finished off with the J-Driller. Just an absolute insane match. Necro has to be in bed today in PAIN.

Final Thoughts:

One of the strongest shows I've been to and I thought the PPV Taping in Edison with Nigel's title win was outstanding. The first Tag Title Match, Aries-Hagadorn, Black-Payne were kind of needless but each set up something so they at least had a point. Everything else was fantastic and aside from the aforementioned three bouts, not a single weak match on the show. HIGHLY recommended for DVD purchasing.

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