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ROH Invades Japan Volume 1
review by Kevin Wilson Normally I don't buy custom compilations, but this one caught my eye as I think it is fun sometimes to watch the American stars I love battling the Japanese stars I love. Well there is plenty of that here, as each match features wrestlers that have been featured in Ring of Honor. This compilation was created by Chris over at IVPVideos.com, and can be purchased just as a normal disk for only 2.99. Eight matches are featured, most in full, and all but the last match (two Japanese wrestlers that have been in ROH many times) have American stars you might recognize even if you have never seen a puroresu match. Here is the full line-up: - ROH Tag Team Championship: Austin Aries and Roderick Strong vs. Masato Yoshino and Naruki Doi This DVD doesn't have entrances or any post-match shenanigans in an attempt to squeeze in as much wrestling as possible, which doesn't bother me any, but I thought I'd warn you just in case those things mean a lot to you. (c) Austin Aries and Roderick Strong vs. Masato Yoshino and Naruki Doi Aries quickly runs into the ring and elbows Yoshino in the chest before delivering a dropkick. Cover by Aries but it gets a two count. Aries picks up Yoshino, Irish whip, reversed, and Yoshino applies the From Jungle. Aries gets out of it and goes for a suplex, Yoshino reversed it and suddenly the entire Muscle Outlaws faction runs into the ring to perform running strikes in the corner. Doi goes last, but Aries gets out of the way and now it is Doi in the corner being attacked by Evans, Sydal, and Aries and Strong. Yoshino tries to hold Strong for Doi, but Strong moves and Doi accidentally hits Yoshino. Strong picks up Doi and hits the Fireman's Carry into a Double Knee Gutbuster, Strong goes off the ropes and kicks Doi in the face. Cover, but it gets a two count. Strong picks up Doi but Doi pushes him off and hits a spinebuster for a two count cover. Doi picks up Strong and goes for the Doi 555, but Strong pushes him off. Strong picks up Doi into the powerbomb position, and Aries hits a missile dropkick onto Doi while Strong hits the powerbomb. Cover, but Doi kicks out. Strong applies a single leg crab hold but Yoshino flips over Aries and breaks it up. Yoshino goes up to the top turnbuckle but Aries punches him up there and joins him onto the top turnbuckle. Aries goes for a superplex but Yoshino blocks it. He goes for an avalanche sunset flip powerbomb but Aries grabs the ropes to stop from going over. Doi then gets onto the top turnbuckle while Aries is facing the crowd and German suplexes him down to the mat. Missile dropkick by Yoshino, cover, but Aries gets a shoulder up. Doi picks up Aries and hits the Doi 555, he goes off the ropes but Strong catches him and hits a backbreaker. Double backbreaker by Strong and Doi, brainbuster by Aries but Yoshino breaks up the cover. Aries calls for the 450 and goes to the top turnbuckle, but he gets hit from the outside. Avalanche Tornado DDT by Yoshino, cover, but Strong breaks it up. Strong and Yoshino trade chops, Yoshino goes off the ropes and hits the Torbellino, Doi then hits the Bakatare Sliding Kick, cover, but Aries breaks it up. Yoshino goes off the ropes towards Aries and drops him right on his head with a Lightning Spiral. Cover by Yoshino but it gets a two count. Yoshino goes for a suplex, Doi tries to throw powder into Aries' eyes but Aries ducks and Yoshino gets hit in the face with it instead. Tope Suicida by Aries into Doi, in the ring Strong hits Yoshino with a Tiger Driver but it only gets a two count. Strong picks up Yoshino, half nelson backbreaker in front of the corner and Aries nails the 450 Splash. Cover, and he picks up the three count! Your winners and still champions: Austin Aries and Roderick Strong Match Thoughts: These kinds of matches are always a mixed bag from me. On one hand the fast paced action holds your attention and is fun to watch, but on the other hand the selling was atrocious and the match come across as more of an exhibition then a normal wrestling match. The wrestlers all looked good and the moves were crisp, even though I think that Yoshino was trying to break Aries' neck with that Lightning Spiral. An entertaining match, but with little substance. Score: 6.0 Mushiking Terry vs. Rocky Romero Snapmare by Mushiking Terry, he goes up to the top turnbuckle but Romero pushes the referee into the ropes to knock Mushiking Terry down. Romero then joins Mushiking Terry on the top turnbuckle and hits an avalanche cross armbreaker takedown. He keeps the hold locked on in the middle of the ring, Mushiking Terry slowly gets to the ropes however and he is able to break the hold. Romero picks up Mushiking Terry, he puts him up onto the top turnbuckle and joins him, hitting a superplex. Fisherman Buster by Romero and he connects with a kick to Mushiking Terry's head. Cover, but Mushiking Terry gets a shoulder up. Romero goes for the cross armbreaker, but Mushiking Terry keeps his hands locked. Romero finally gets the hold applied but Mushiking Terry manages to get a foot on the bottom rope. Romero picks up Mushiking Terry and puts him onto the top turnbuckle again, but this time Mushiking Terry reverses the superplex by rotating in midair. Romero rolls out of the ring, Mushiking Terry goes out to the ramp and from the ramp he hits a Tiger Feint Kick as Romero gets back to the apron, knocking Romero out to the floor. Mushiking Terry then gets in the ring and hits a corkscrew pescado onto Romero. Mushiking Terry slides Romero back into the ring and goes for a suplex, Romero knees out of it, but Mushiking Terry returns the favor and hits a Fisherman Buster. Mushiking Terry picks up Romero and delivers a Death Valley Bomb, he picks Romero back up and hits a German suplex hold for a two count. Back up, Mushiking Terry goes for the Myst Crash but Romero gets out of it and applies the backslide for a two count. Romero goes off the ropes, Mushiking Terry hits a hurricanrana but Romero rolls through for a two count cover. Romero charges Mushiking Terry but Mushiking Terry drop toeholds him onto the second rope and hits the Tiger Feint Kick. Myst Crash by Mushiking Terry, but Romero barely gets out of it. Mushiking Terry picks up Romero and puts him onto the top turnbuckle, he then joins him and nails the Teradrive. Cover, and he picks up the three count! Your winner: Mushiking Terry Match Thoughts: For the sake of saving room this match was cut in half (about 12 minutes out of 22 was shown), but from what was shown here the match was perfectly acceptable. Kotaro Suzuki (who plays Mushiking Terry) and Romero aren't the most popular wrestlers in cyber space, but I love Suzuki and Romero is decent if not unspectacular. The only thing here that annoyed me was Romero continuing to lock on the cross armbreaker, twice in the middle of the ring. In Japan the cross armbreaker is generally a very respected move... if a wrestler's arm is weak and someone applies it in the middle of the ring, unless a friend breaks it up the wrestler is going to tap out 99% of the time. The slow-selling (they didn't blatantly no-sell) part towards the middle of the clipping seemed out of place as well, but other then those complaints the match flowed well and it was fairly entertaining. I do wish more of it was shown though as it is hard to get into a match when you are coming into it 10 minutes after it started. Score: 5.0 Bryan Danielson vs. KENTA Danielson applies a modified Stretch Plum, but KENTA gets to the ropes. Danielson picks up KENTA and hits an uppercut, sending KENTA into the corner. Danielson pulls KENTA back out and gives him a few headbutts, he picks KENTA back up and hits a butterfly suplex into a cross armbreaker. KENTA wiggles to the ropes fairly quickly to break the hold, Danielson picks him back up and hits another armbreaker. Irish whip by Danielson to the corner but KENTA kicks him when he charges in. KENTA goes off the ropes but Danielson catches him with an elbow, Danielson goes for a suplex but KENTA lands on his feet and hits a powerslam. Irish whip by KENTA and he delivers a boot to the face. Irish whip by KENTA from the corner, but Danielson kicks him when he charges in. Danielson jumps off the second turnbuckle but KENTA catches him with a cutter, cover, but it gets a two count. Back up, kicks by KENTA, he goes out to the apron and hits a missile dropkick. Cover, but it gets a two count. Forearms by KENTA in the corner, Irish whip, but Danielson flips out of the corner when KENTA charges in and hits a backbreaker. Danielson goes up to the top turnbuckle and delivers the diving headbutt, cover, but KENTA kicks out at two. Irish whip by Danielson, but KENTA hits the sunset flip for a two count. The two trade pin attempts but neither man can pick up the three count. KENTA picks up Danielson and hits a Fisherman Buster, cover, but it only gets a two. KENTA goes up to the top turnbuckle but Danielson gets his feet up when he jumps off for a knee drop. KENTA rolls out to the apron, Danielson picks him up while he is still standing in the ring and goes for a vertical suplex, but KENTA reversed it and suplexes Danielson out of the ring. KENTA then gets back in the ring and goes off the far ropes, but Danielson moves when he goes for a baseball slide and clotheslines KENTA over the guard rail. Danielson then gets back into the ring and does a springboard plancha suicida over the railing onto KENTA. Danielson gets up first (holding his knee which hit the ground pretty hard when he landed) and gets into the ring at 18, with KENTA right behind him. Danielson goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, followed by a kip up (still holding his knee). Elbow by Danielson in the corner, he puts KENTA onto the top turnbuckle and joins him, but KENTA knocks him off. KENTA hits a tornado DDT with Danielson hitting his neck on the top top and KENTA landing on the apron, he goes for a swan dive lariat but Danielson ducks it and hits a German suplex hold for a two count. Danielson goes for the crossface chickenwing but KENTA blocks it, Danielson goes off the ropes but KENTA connects with a dropkick. KENTA grabs Danielson and applies the Texas Cloverleaf, but Danielson makes it to the ropes. German suplex hold by KENTA, but it only gets a two count. KENTA goes for a strike combination but Danielson delivers the Regalplex for a two count. Danielson goes up to the top turnbuckle but KENTA recovers and joins him. Danielson slides between his legs to the mat however, he then goes back to the top turnbuckle and nails an avalanche backdrop suplex. Cover, but KENTA barely gets a shoulder up. Cattle Mutilation by Danielson but KENTA slowly inches to the ropes and is able to force the break. Back up, they trade strikes, Danielson goes off the ropes but he can't knock KENTA down with a headbutt. KENTA tries a boot but Danielson doesn't go down either, and after trading charging blows KENTA gets the Texas Cloverleaf re-applied. Quick roll-up by Danielson, but KENTA kicks out at two. Strike Combination by KENTA, he goes off the ropes but Danielson knees him in the stomach. Repeated elbows to the head by Danielson, cover, but it gets a two count. Cattle Mutilation by Danielson but KENTA eventually makes it to the ropes. Danielson goes for a tiger suplex but KENTA gets out of it. KENTA goes for the Go 2 Sleep but Danielson slides down his back and hits the tiger suplex hold for a two count. He goes for the Cattle Mutilation again but KENTA reverses it into a two count cover. Danielson goes off the ropes but KENTA hits a cutter, strike combination by KENTA and he nails the Busaiku Knee Kick. Cover, but Danielson gets a shoulder up. Knee to the back of the head by KENTA and he goes for another Busaiku Knee Kick, but Danielson moves out of the way and rolls him up for a two count. School boy by Danielson but it gets a two as well, and the two trade strikes. Danielson goes for a backslide but KENTA lands on his feet, KENTA lands a series of high kicks and finishes Danielson off with the Go 2 Sleep. Cover, and he gets the three count. Your winner: KENTA Match Thoughts: It should be noted that while Danielson wrestled in New Japan a few years prior, he was still not that well known by most NOAH fans as this was during his first tour in NOAH. They made a point during the match of mentioning that Danielson had defeated KENTA in Ring of Honor to try to explain why he was wrestling so competitively, but I think the crowd not being completely aware of Danielson's body of work hurt the match as they were much quieter then they usually are. Besides that though I thought this was a very good match, as the technical wrestling to start was very well done and they had enough big spots to pop the crowd and keep things interesting. It is a wonder that Danielson didn't seriously injure his knee as he didn't land too well on the plancha, but wrestlers aren't really human which would explain it. The ending was sudden but it had slowly built to KENTA having the advantage with Danielson getting desperate (the two quick pins and backslide attempt), as KENTA had gotten out of just about everything Danielson had in his arsenal (Regalplex, cross armbreakers, and two Cattle Mutilations). Overall I really enjoyed it, it would have been better with a crowd that was more vocal (yes, Japanese crowds tend to be more quiet then American crowds, but this was even moreso then usual), but that doesn't take away from the solid action in the ring. Score: 7.5 Jack Evans, Liger, Matt Sydal and BxB Hulk vs. Doi, Yoshino, Magnitude Kishiwada and Kevin Steen Kishiwada comes in the ring, Irish whip by Kishiwada to the corner and he hits a running body press. Standing moonsault by Kishiwada, cover, but it gets a two count. Senton by Kishiwada, another cover, but again it gets a two count. Steen is tagged in, he picks up BxB Hulk and hits a backdrop suplex. Somersault senton by Steen, cover, but Liger breaks it up. Yoshino comes in, he puts BxB Hulk into the ropes and Doi comes off the top turnbuckle with a senton. Cover, but it again gets a two count. Yoshino stays in, he picks up BxB Hulk and goes for a suplex, but BxB Hulk blocks it. Vertical suplex by BxB Hulk but he can't make the tag. Irish whip by Doi but BxB Hulk dropkicks him back and tags in Liger. Shotei by Liger to Doi and Yoshino eats a spinning backbreaker. Kishiwada comes in but Liger hits a clothesline onto him and Doi. Steen comes in next, Evans and Sydal both come in the ring and they hit a triple dropkick. Evans then sails out of the ring with a corkscrew springboard plancha suicida onto Steen, and Sydal follows with a moonsault plancha suicida onto everyone. Liger goes to do a dive as well but the (heel) referee stops him. Doi runs in and hits a lariat onto Liger, cover, but it gets a two count. Doi takes the turnbuckle pads off in one corner, Irish whip by Doi to that corner but Liger reverses it and then hits a shotei. Scoop slam by Liger, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a body press. Cover, but it gets a two count. Liger picks up Doi and goes for the brainbuster, but Doi gets out of it and hits an atomic drop. Doi goes off the ropes but Liger hits him with a shotei. Yoshino flies in with a missile dropkick to Liger, bringing in Sydal. Hurricanrana by Sydal but Steen comes in the ring and hits a Pumphandle Half Nelson Driver onto his knee. This brings in Evans who hits a series of kicks, but Kishiwada comes in and levels him with a lariat. BxB Hulk joins in the fun with a flying clothesline to Kishiwada, but Doi comes in the ring. BxB Hulk fights him off with a lariat, scoop slam by BxB Hulk and he goes to the top turnbuckle, but Kishiwada pulls him down. Dropkick/moonsault combination by BxB Hulk onto Kishiwada and Doi, Kishiwada tries to break up the cover by BxB Hulk but BxB Hulk moves and Kishiwada hits Doi by accident. Irish whip by BxB Hulk onto Kishiwada, reversed, but BxB Hulk avoids him when he charges in. BxB Hulk tries to slam Kishiwada and finally manages to do so, Steen runs in, and BxB Hulk slams him as well. Sydal comes in the ring with a moonsault onto Steen, cover, but it gets a two count. Yoshino comes in the ring but Sydal gets him on his shoulders and Evans delivers the Ode to the Bulldogs, landing onto Steen. Cover by Evans but it gets a two count. Evans calls for the 630, goes up top, but he gets a chair thrown at him and he falls out of the ring. Kishiwada comes in and goes for a German suplex onto BxB Hulk, but BxB Hulk lands on his feet. BxB Hulk reverses a powerbomb attempt into a roll-up but it gets a two count. German suplex hold by Kishiwada but Liger breaks it up. Scoop slam by Kishiwada onto BxB Hulk, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and delivers the diving body press. Cover, but BxB Hulk barely kicks out. Kishiwada picks up BxB Hulk and nails him with the Last Ride, he picks him up again for Doi, who hits the Bakatare Sliding Kick. Cover by Doi but Sydal breaks it up. Doi picks up BxB Hulk and hits the Doi 555, he goes for the Bakatare Sliding Kick again but he gets tripped from the outside. BxB Hulk's team mates all come in and they hit strikes onto Doi in the corner. Sydal then sets up Doi in the corner and tosses Evans into him, and Liger finishes with a Liger Bomb. Cover, but Doi barely gets a shoulder up. Liger picks up Doi, Doi gets behind Liger and holds him for Kishiwada, but Liger ducks and Kishiwada accidentally lariats Doi. Sydal comes in the ring and hits his Slice Drop, with Evans following with the 630 Splash. Cover, but Doi kicks out. Evans goes up top again but this time Steen grabs him from behind. With Evans on Steen's shoulders, Kishiwada goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving lariat. Cover by Steen but it gets a two count. Steen goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a moonsault, cover, but Evans gets a shoulder up. Steen picks up Evans and goes for the Package Piledriver, but Evans slides down his back and connects with a series of kicks. Evans goes off the ropes but Steen kicks him and nails the Package Piledriver. Cover, but Sydal breaks it up. Yoshino comes in the ring and all four men hit strikes onto Sydal in the corner. Yoshino hits the Torbellino onto Sydal, he goes for the Sol Naciente but Sydal rolls him up with a two count. Doi tries to throw powder into Sydal's face but Sydal ducks and Yoshino is hit by accident. Shotei by Liger, he brainbusters Yoshino in front of the corner and Sydal comes off the top turnbuckle with a Shooting Star Press. Cover, and he picks up the three count! Your winners: Jack Evans, Liger, Matt Sydal and BxB Hulk Match Thoughts: I hate typing these matches up. This is a Dragon Gate eight man tag, and we know what that means. Lots of excitement, lots of big moves, no selling, and no rhyme or reason (although they did have a little heel thing going with the referee). Not that these facts make it a bad match, I enjoyed it quite a bit. Liger added a lot of class to the match just by being in it, and all the moves were hit very crisply even if the camera missed a few. The heel referee didn't have much of an impact, which is always good, and the wrestlers clicked very well. Pretty much 18 minutes of complete chaos, but what it lacked in substance it made up with non-stop action. Score: 6.5 Nigel McGuinness and Doug Williams vs. Takeshi Rikio and Kishin Kawabata Match Thoughts: Note that unlike most matches on this compilation, this was a match in the undercard of the event and it showed. They basically did nothing, which is on par with NOAH undercards. Williams and McGuinness worked very well together which I guess was the point, as Kawabata/Rikio was just a random pairing. Some of the spots looked contrived, but I won't hold it against them too much as it wasn't really supposed to be an important match. Nice if you just want to see McGuinness and Williams in NOAH, but otherwise the match was nothing of any importance. Score: 3.5 (c) The Briscoe Brothers vs. Ricky Marvin and Kotaro Suzuki Marvin puts Jay into the Mexican Surfboard but after a moment he lets it go and tags in Suzuki. Knee by Suzuki in the corner, Irish whip, and Suzuki hits a forearm strike for a two count cover. Camel Clutch by Suzuki facing the ramp, Marvin goes out to the ramp and hits a dropkick through the ropes into Jay. Cover, but again it gets a two. Suzuki applies a stretch hold but Jay gets out of it. Dropkick by Suzuki and he tags in Marvin. Suzuki throws Jay out of the ring for Marvin, and Marvin Irish whips him into the guard rail before sliding him back into the ring. Marvin kicks Jay from the apron before getting into the ring and applying a submission hold. Marvin tags in Suzuki, and they kick Jay in the corner. Double Irish whip to the corner, but Jay dropkicks Suzuki and hits a back bodydrop onto Marvin, giving him time to tag in Mark. Mark comes in the ring with a swandive dropkick onto Marvin and then hits a spinning heel kick onto Suzuki. Mark picks up Suzuki and tags in Jay, Irish whip to the corner, but when Mark charges him Suzuki bodydrops him onto the apron. Mark then runs down the apron and hits a plancha over the turnbuckle onto Marvin at ringside while in the ring Jay hits a running elbow strike onto Suzuki. Cover by Jay but it gets a two count. Jay picks up Suzuki and holds him up, allowing Mark to hit a swandive spinning heel kick. Cover by Jay but Suzuki kicks out. Jay tags in Mark, Suzuki tries to fight them both off but he gets kicked by both wrestlers for his trouble. Suzuki lands with his head over the apron from the second rope, and Jay hits a running knee from the apron. Cover by Mark after a slingshot foot stomp but it gets a two count. Headscissors by Mark, he picks up Suzuki, snapmare, and he hits a fist drop. Mark tags in Jay and they hit an elevated double armdrag. Irish whip by Jay and he hits a high dropkick before tagging in Mark. Double Irish whip to Suzuki and they hit a double shoulder tackle. Cover, but it gets a two count. Mark applies a stretch hold to Suzuki but Marvin breaks it up. Knee drop by Mark, cover, but Suzuki kicks out. Elbow drop by Mark, he picks up Suzuki and tags in Jay. Jay stomps on Suzuki in the corner, Suzuki hits a series of elbows but Mark kicks him from apron. Mark comes in the ring, double Irish whip, but Suzuki rebounds back with a handspring elbow strike. Suzuki is intercepted as he goes to tag in Marvin, but after the Briscoes have a miscommunication and Suzuki dropkicks both of them he is able to make the tag. Marvin trips up the Briscoes from ringside as they go off the ropes and quickly gets on the apron to hit a double quebrada. Marvin then kicks Jay from the apron before coming into the ring with a swandive missile dropkick into Mark. Marvin hits a modified neckbreaker onto Jay, cover, but Mark breaks it up. Marvin picks up Jay and applies a Dragon Sleeper, but Jay fights out of it before Marvin hits a rotating neckbreaker for a two count. Marvin picks up Jay but Jay forearms him and the two trade blows. Jay goes off the ropes and hits a Yakuza Kick, giving him time to tag in Mark. Mark picks up Marvin, Irish whip, reversed, but Mark kicks Marvin when he charges in and hits a springboard sunset flip followed by a powerbomb in the corner and an exploder. Cover, but Suzuki breaks it up. Mark picks up Marvin but Marvin gets away. Mark gets to the apron and goes for a swandive body press but Marvin gets his feet up and makes the tag to Suzuki. Suzuki comes in the ring with a top rope diving body press, cover, but it gets a two count. Back up they trade elbows, but Suzuki hits the Akushizu onto Mark. Suzuki goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a body press, cover, but Mark kicks out. Suzuki goes up top again but this time Jay runs around the ring to trip Suzuki up. Mark joins Suzuki onto the top turnbuckle and goes for a superplex, but Suzuki rotates over and lands on top of Mark. From the apron Jay hits Suzuki but Marvin comes in the ring and Suzuki swings Marvin into Jay, kicking him down to the apron. Suzuki then goes off the far ropes and with Marvin's help he hits an Assisted Suicide Moonsault. Suzuki and Mark get back in the ring and Suzuki hits the Tiger Feint Kick. German suplex hold by Suzuki, but it only gets a two count. Suzuki goes for the Blue Destiny but Mark gets out of it and hits an Exploder. A second Exploder by Mark and both wrestlers hit strikes, knocking each other out. Both wrestlers tag out, Jay goes off the ropes and hits Marvin with a vertical suplex into a facebuster for a two count. Jay picks up Marvin but Marvin quickly rolls him up, jawbreaker by Marvin but Jay fires back with a lariat. Jay tags in Mark, and after knocking Suzuki off the apron he hits a shoulder powerbomb onto Marvin for a two count. Jay picks up Marvin and goes off the ropes, but Marvin ducks the lariat and hits a facebuster. Jay runs in the ring and hits a Death Valley Driver on Marvin, but Suzuki comes in to hit a Tombstone Piledriver onto Jay. By now Mark has recovered and he hits a German suplex onto Suzuki, and all four men struggle to get back to their feet. Marvin and Mark are up first and they trade elbows, Mark goes off the ropes but Marvin delivers the Santa Maria. This gives him time to tag in Suzuki, Suzuki picks up Mark but Mark gets out of the suplex attempt and hits a backdrop suplex. Cover, but it gets a two count. Jay puts Suzuki onto his shoulders as Mark goes out to the apron, but as they go for the Swandive Doomsday Device, Marvin springboards off the adjacent ropes and as Mark is about to springboard off the ropes Marvin hits him with a hurricanrana. Suzuki then hits a reverse hurricanrana onto Jay, Suzuki DDTs Mark and goes for the Blue Destiny but Jay breaks it up. Jay and Mark both superkick Suzuki, cover by Mark but it gets a two count. Assisted Cutter by the Briscoes, cover by Mark but Suzuki barely gets a shoulder up. Mark picks up Suzuki and throws him to Jay, who hits a press slam into the Death Valley Driver. Mark then goes up top and nails the Shooting Star Press, cover, but Marvin barely breaks it up in time. Knees by Jay onto Marvin and he dumps him out of the ring, and they go back to Suzuki. Jay puts Suzuki on his shoulders and go for the Doomsday Device again, but this time Suzuki flips as Mark is about to hit the lariat and he grabs Jay in a waistlock while Marvin hits Mark with a superkick. Jay tries to fight off Suzuki but he is hit with the rotating Tombstone Piledriver. Double Irish whip to Mark and they hit a series of dropkicks. Double leg throw by Suzuki and Marvin and they hit a double Tiger Feint Kick. Cover by Suzuki but it gets a two count. Blue Destiny by Suzuki, cover, but Jay barely breaks it up. Suzuki and Jay trade elbows, Suzuki gets Jay into the corner and he hits a jumping knee while Marvin hits an enzigieri from the apron. Suzuki gets Jay onto his shoulders and Marvin hits a swandive Shining Wizard from the apron. Going back to Mark, Suzuki picks him up and with Marvin they hit a Union Blue Destiny. Cover, and they pick up the three count! Your winners and new champions: Ricky Marvin and Kotaro Suzuki Match Thoughts: This was a hell of a match. These two tag teams are two of the most crisp and in-sync pairings you will ever see, as both teams did at least a dozen double team moves during the match and almost all of them went off flawlessly. Some of the spots I had literally never seen before and it was from bell to bell one of the most exciting matches I saw in all of 2007. The story here was the typical one you see in tag matches - isolate one wrestler and finish him off before his opponent recovers - and it was done very well as both teams had their opponents beat during the match only for it to be broken up. When they finally got a pinfall that worked, Suzuki and Marvin first killed Mark, then killed Jay, and Mark was still dead enough from before that he was able to be put away without Jay interfering. Even as I watched it I couldn't find any obvious flaws... one might argue it was too spotty and it was rather spotty, but sometimes I am in the mood for cool spots and big finishers and this match brought plenty of both. A must-see for any fans of The Briscoes, Marvin, Suzuki, or just really fun wrestling. Score: 8.0 Chris Hero and Doug Williams vs. Yoshinori Ota and Mohammed Yone Irish whip by Hero to the corner and he hits a dropkick followed by a flip and an elbow strike. Hero tags in Williams, uppercut by Williams but Ota elbows him back. Elbows by Ota and he goes off the ropes, but Williams catches him with a dropkick. Williams picks up Ota and hits a body slam before dropping a series of knees on this throat. Cover by Williams but it gets a two count. Williams picks up Ota and tags in Hero, who punches Ota in the ribs. Club to the back by Hero, he picks up Ota and chops him into the corner. Irish whip by Hero but Ota kicks him when he charges in and hits a missile dropkick. This gives him time to tag in Yone, kick by Hero on Yone and Williams comes in to help, but Yone kicks down both of them. Yone picks up Hero, Irish whip from the corner and he hits a jumping knee. Irish whip again and he hits a second jumping knee, scoop slam by Yone and he goes up to the top turnbuckle to deliver a leg drop. Cover, but Hero gets a shoulder up. Yone goes off the ropes but Hero catches him and hits a neckbreaker. Hero tags in Williams, Irish whip by Williams to the corner, reversed, but Williams kicks him when he charges in and hits a diving body press for a two count. Back up, spinning elbow strike by Williams but it gets a two count as well. Irish whip by Williams to the corner and he hits a jumping knee, he goes off the ropes but Yone hits a spinning heel kick. Yone goes off the ropes but Williams avoids the lariats and both wrestlers knock each other down. Yone tags in Ota as Williams tags in Hero, elbows by Ota and Hero, Ota goes off the ropes but Hero hits a spinning elbow. Backdrop suplex by Hero, cover, but it gets a two count. Hero picks up Ota and elbows him into the corner, Irish whip, reversed, Hero flips over Ota but Ota hits a flying clothesline from the second turnbuckle for a two count. Ota picks up Hero and gives him the Airplane Spin. Samoan Drop by Ota, cover, but Williams breaks it up. Yone comes in but Williams throws him out, he picks up Ota and hits a jumping knee in the corner. Hero follows with a splash of is own, and Williams dumps Ota onto the top turnbuckle. Hero then hits a cravate hold into a side slam while Ota is sitting on the top turnbuckle, cover, but Yone breaks it up. Williams throws Yone out of the ring while in the ring Hero picks up Ota. Ota goes off the ropes but Hero connects with a superkick. Hero picks up Ota and hits a modified vertical suplex, cover, but it gets a two count. Hero picks up Ota again and hits the Hero's Welcome, cover, and Hero picks up the three count. Your winners: Chris Hero and Doug Williams Match Thoughts: Pretty average match. Nothing really wrong with it and it had a few heated exchanges, but nothing that really got you into the match. This was during Hero's first tour and he didn't do anything overly goofy, even though I still question his ring attire choice as it makes him look bush league. Ota was the only one that did anything interesting as he tried to fight off Hero and Williams, but other then that it was just your typical mid-card tag team match. It wasn't bad by any stretch as the action flowed well and there weren't any mistakes, but it just wasn't gripping in any way. Score: 5.5 (c) Takeshi Morishima vs. KENTA Match Thoughts: A very entertaining heavyweight sprint. These two clicked very well together and I am looking forward to the matches they will no doubt have in the future. The springboard double stomp to the outside of the ring was sick, as were some of Morishima's strikes, and it really came across as them not holding anything back. Some of the structuring I was a little surprised with, as after Morishima took back over at around the seven minute mark he just dominated KENTA the rest of the way without even giving a hint that KENTA might make a comeback. I'd say it made KENTA look weak, but Morishima was so devastating that you couldn't really blame KENTA for not making a comeback. Overall I thought it was a lot of fun and different from most NOAH main events, which seem to require five minutes of mat work in a match that must go at least 20 minutes. Score: 7.0 Final Thoughts: Overall this is a solid compilation as while three of the matches were average or worse, the rest were entertaining and two were excellent. I also liked that while Ring of Honor primarily works with NOAH there were also two Dragon Gate matches included to give the compilation a little variety. KENTA/Danielson and the GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship matches are both worth going out of your way to see, and the ROH World Championship match is quite entertaining as well as historical. For only 2.99 it would be hard not to recommend this DVD, if you are a fan of Ring of Honor and want to see some unique pairings against Japanese wrestlers then this is a must buy compilation set. Recommended event reviewed on 2/17/08 |
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