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DVDs - VGames - Books DVD Review: ROH, "The 100th Show," (4-22-06), with CZW vs. ROH war, Dragon-Delirious, Daniels-Castognoli By Chris Vetter, Torch Contributor
Jun 29, 2006, 09:29 Email This Article - Printer Friendly Page - Back to Main Listing
Ring of Honor concluded the “Milestone Series” with its big “100th Show” event on April 22, 2006. The show took place in Philadelphia, Penn., where ROH began in the spring of 2002! While ROH started in Philadelphia, the promotion held few shows there last year, as crowd size seemed to be going down. That trend changed for this show, as the feud with rival promotion Combat Zone Wrestling has breathed new life into the Philadelphia market!
This event was held at an armory in Philadelphia, and it’s obvious immediately that the place is PACKED. When ROH said the show drew 1,000 fans, it’s hard to argue that number when looking at the size of this crowd. One of the brilliant moves ROH management did here was set up a section specifically for the CZW faithful. It made for an exciting atmosphere the entire show, as the ROH and CZW fans shouted chants at each other. A truly awesome atmosphere, and tape caught it well. I can only imagine how cool this scene was to watch live. On commentary is the usual team of Dave Prazak & Lenny Leonard.
* The DVD opened with ROH president/owner Cary Silken signing a contract with American Dragon Bryan Danielson in the ROH wrestling school. Silken announced that Danielson is the new head trainer for ROH. Austin Aries walked by and handed Danielson the keys. Danielson noted that between holding the ROH World Heavyweight Title and being trainer, “I call the shots now.”
* Colt Cabana cut a short promo, saying his war is over with Homicide. “I feel fantastic!” he said.
* Lacey cut a promo, saying she was not at the show this evening. She wore a long red T-shirt to taunt Jimmy Jacobs. “I’ve not been happy with your performance,” Lacey said. She promised that if Jacobs won his match, she would remove her shirt and show the ROH fans what she had on – or as implied, didn’t have on – on the ROH videos site.
To the ring!
(1) Christopher Daniels (w/Allison Danger) defeats Claudio Castognoli at 15:54. Excellent opener, and the crowd is hot!! Castognoli’s jacket has studs on the back, spelling out “ROH.” The wrestlers took turns playing to this hot crowd. Jimmy (Gabe Sapolsky) Bower entered the booth to thank the fans for helping ROH reach 100 shows, when there were times it appeared the promotion wouldn’t survive. The match began, with the wrestlers sharing some nice mat wrestling moves, as the announcers talked about how Daniels never shakes hands. Daniels hit some armdrags, and they had a standoff at 4:00. Castognoli applied a Horse Collar, wrapping his leg behind Daniels’ neck.
Daniels applied an anklelock. “Good hold-for-hold action,” Prazak said. Claudio applied a headscissorslock, then he hit a delayed vertical suplex, as the fans counted to 68 seconds! Daniels came back with a nice basement dropkick to Claudio’s knee at 10:00, and Claudio clutched it in pain. Daniels immediately went to work on the knee, including a nice spot where he hung the leg over the top rope. Claudio really showed he was in pain! Castognoli hit an enziguri, then a flying European Uppercut off the second rope at 13:00.
Claudio hit some more European Uppercuts. The crowd was hot! “A very unique crowd we have here,” Prazak said. Claudio wrapped Daniels around his back, then spun him to the mat for a faceplant. Daniels hit a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall, then the Best Moonsault Ever for a nearfall. Claudio hit a basement dropkick to the knee, and he applied the Horse Collar again, but Daniels reached the ropes at 15:30. Just seconds later, Daniels got a rollup for the pin. Excellent mat-based match.
* Daniels took the mic and said that ROH is “100 shows and counting,” and that got a pop. Daniels said since this show was part of the “milestone series,” he was going to do something monumental. Daniels walked over to Claudio, and shook his hand! Daniels said that Claudio was “the future of ROH.” Cool segment. (And even more important later!)
* Chris Hero walked through the crowd with a mic, and the crowd tried shouting him down. “These people are why I hate ROH,” Hero said. He called the fans “know it all smart marks.” This was just a spectacle, as the fans had their dueling chants. The ROH fans chanted, “Joe’s gonna kill you!”
(2) Delirious defeats Jimmy Rave (w/Prince Nana & Daizee Haze) and Jimmy Jacobs and Jimmy Yang (w/Bruce Leroy) at 13:00. Full intros for all four. Jacobs carried a huge picture of Lacey to ringside. Rave, of course, was buried in a toilet paper shower. The fans chanted, “let’s go Jimmy!” Funny, (because everyone but Delirious is named Jimmy, in case you hadn’t noticed!) Delirious, of course, went crazy at the sound of the bell, and he cleared the ring. Yang and Jacobs started. Bower joined the booth, and he was HILARIOUS, as he rooted for Jacobs, because he wants to see Lacey naked!
Yang grabbed the Lacey picture; he put it on the mat, and he humped it! Jacobs became irate! Funny stuff. Jacobs hit some punches and a nice headscissors takedown. Delirious entered at 3:00, and he hit a drop-toe-hold into the corner, then a Panic Attack/running knee on Yang. Delirious hit a baseball slide dropkick on Yang to the floor. Jacobs hit a basement dropkick to Yang’s back. Jacobs went for a move off the ropes, but Yang caught him with a spin kick. Rave entered for the first time at 6:00, and he punched Yang. Bower threatened to leave the booth to help Jacobs win! Funny.
Yang’s nose was bleeding. Haze hit a Yakuza Kick on Yang! Rave slammed Yang into a guardrail. Jacobs hit a second-rope elbow drops on Yang, and Jacobs pulled on Yang’s nose! Jacobs and Rave were doing a good job working together to beat up Yang. Yang hit a Moonsault Press on Rave at 10:00. Rave and Yang hit double clotheslines. Delirious made the hot tag, and he chopped Jacobs, then hit the BAM leaping lariat. Jacobs hit a doublestomp on Delirious’ back. Rave hit a spear on Jacobs, but he couldn’t hit the Greetings from Ghana.
Yang nailed a Tajiri-style spin kick on Rave, but he missed the Yang Time/corkscrew press. Jacobs hit the Contra Code/flipping bulldog on Yang for an apparent win, but Jacobs pulled Yang up at the two-count! Jacobs was frozen for a second, and Delirious grabbed Jacobs, hit the Cobra Clutch over the knee, into a Cobra Stretch, and Jacobs tapped out. Perplexing finish, as it was unclear (at the time anyway) why Jacobs stopped himself from winning. Very good four-way.
(3) Austin Aries & Roderick Strong defeat Homicide & Ricky Reyes at 15:11 to retain the ROH tag titles. Good match. Some CZW fans chanted, “We want Blackout!” Clips of the 1/14 Aries-Reyes match played. Strong and Reyes started, but almost immediately, Aries squared off against Homicide, and they traded quick mat wrestling. Aries applied a Boston Crab, and Homicide reached the ropes. Homicide applied a headscissorslock on Aries. Aries hit a twisting body press for a nearfall at 4:30. Strong entered, and he hit a nice dropkick, and Homicide bailed.
Aries dove to the floor on Homicide! Reyes and Aries brawled on the floor. In the ring, Reyes worked on Aries left leg. Strong hit an enziguri on Homicide, then a dropkick. Homicide and Reyes began to work over Strong. Reyes hit a backbreaker for a nearfall at 8:00, then a Death Sentence/elevated guillotine legdrop for a nearfall. Homicide beat up Strong on the floor, and he tossed Strong into a guardrail. Homicide tossed a chair into Strong’s face! OUCH! In a cool spot, Homicide hit a doublestomp off the ring apron onto Strong, through a table, at 11:30! Reyes hit a gutwrench suplex on Strong.
Strong hit a chop, and he made the hot tag to Aries, who hit a series of clotheslines, a back suplex, and a running dropkick on Reyes in the corner for a nearfall. However, Homicide clipped Aries’ leg! Homicide hit an Ace Crusher and a lariat for a nearfall, but Strong made the save at 14:00. Strong hit a backbreaker on Homicide. Reyes hit some hard kicks on Strong. Strong hit the Gibson Driver/buttefly powerbomb on Reyes. However, Reyes locked in the Dragon Sleeper on Strong. But, Aries went to the top rope and hit the 450 Splash on Reyes to score the pin. Another very good match, and this show is off to a hot start!
(4) Bryan Danielson defeats Colt Cabana at 4:58 to retain the ROH World Heavyweight Title. The fans alternated chants of “Overrated,” “shut the f--- up”! Prazak acknowledged this was Cabana’s first title shot since August 2005 at “Dragon Gate Invasion.” Dragon pulled down the back of his trunks, mooning the CZW fans. They had an intense lockup, as Prazak said this was the first-ever singles matchup.
Dragon worked the left arm; Cabana hit a shoulder tackle and got an ‘ocono roll’ for a nearfall. Dragon hit some European Uppercuts and chops, and they traded quick rollups, when Dragon got a pinfall out of nowhere! Colt was stunned, as he looked at the referee in disbelief! “Anything can happen. All it takes is three seconds,” Prazak said.
* Intermission time, as Gary Michael Capetta interviewed Jimmy Jacobs. Jacobs said he didn’t win because he didn’t want the fans to see Lacey naked, and he knows that Lacey is just testing him. “I have my priorities straight,” Jacobs said. “Love conquers all.” Colt Cabana walked by, so GMC grabbed him for a comment, but Cabana had nothing to say.
(5) Derrick Dempsey defeats Pelle Primeau at 3:18 to retain the “Top of the Class” trophy. They opened with standing switches, then they each hit slaps to the face. Pelle hit a shoulder tackle, and Dempsey went to the floor. Dempsey hit a vicious forearm, a chop, and a nice back suplex. Pelle came back with a headscissors takedown and a springboard crossbody block for a nearfall. Dempsey hit a spinebuster for the pin. Dempsey is the best of all the ROH students right now.
* American Dragon came back out and excused the ROH students. He ripped into the CZW fans, saying the ROH students just showed more technical wrestling ability than everyone in CZW. “I have decided I pretty much run this place,” Dragon said. Since he won so easily, he decided he wanted to face someone who won on the first half of the show! He suggested Christopher Daniels, and the fans cheered! Danielson, in perfect tone, said, “Sorry, I beat him.” He then noted he already has victories over Aries & Strong, so that leaves… Delirious! Delirious came out and cut a hilarious gibberish promo. Danielson said. “Do you honestly think you can beat me?”
(6) American Dragon Bryan Danielson defeats Delirious at 15:42 to retain the ROH World Heavyweight Title. Good match. Dragon hit some slaps and punches, then he set up Delirious for a Surfboard, only to stomp on the back of his legs. He put Delirious in a Bow & Arrow, then he did a Curbstomp at 2:00! The CZW fans, irate that Danielson had just stolen a Super Dragon move, chanted, “This match sucks!” Leonard on commentary said, “they’d appreciate this match more if there was a weed whacker or fluorescent light tubes.”
Danielson dominated, as he tied up Delirious’ legs, ripped at his nose, then applied an abdominal stretch, while grabbing the ropes for leverage. Leonard acknowledged the crowd topped 1,000 fans. Dragon hit a nice standing dropkick to the face for a nearfall at 6:30. Delirious fired back with some headbutts, then the Shadows over Hell backsplash, a running dropkick to the back, and the Panic Attack/running knee in the corner! Dragon applied the Cattle Mutilation/double armbar submission at 9:00, but Delirious reached the ropes. Delirious did an Airplane Spin (Dragon’s move!) Delirious then applied the Cobra Stretch, but Dragon reached the ropes. This was hot action!
Delirious dove through the ropes to the floor on Danielson, and they fought on the floor. Danielson tossed Delirious into the guardrail, then into the ring post at 11:30; on one of those moves, Delirious apparently split open his hand. Danielson ripped at Delirious’ mask, and he even bit Delirious’ head! In the ring, Dragon hit a Dragon Suplex, then he again applied the Cattle Mutilation, but Delirious reached the ropes at 14:00. Danielson missed the Benoit Flying headbutt. Delirious nailed 15 short-arm clotheslines in the corner. Dragon hit a top-rope back suplex, then he tied up Delirious, and he rammed him repeatedly with his elbow, and the ref stopped the match!
* Delirious was helped from the ring, and he was covered in blood, and it was obvious his hand had been cut hardway.
(7) Jay & Mark Briscoe defeat A.J. Styles & Matt Sydal at 12:41. Good match. Jay wore black shorts; Mark wore red shorts. All four fought in the ring immediately, and Sydal & Styles hit flying forearms. A.J. hit a dropkick on Jay. Jay fired back with a European Uppercut. Styles hit a spinning neckbreaker. The Briscoes hit a double shoulder tackle on Sydal for a nearfall. Sydal came back with a snap headscissors takedown on Jay at 3:30. Styles hit his flying kneedrop, then a back suplex for a nearfall on Jay. Mark hit a hard catapult doublestomp on Styles for a nearfall, then a Northern Lights Suplex for a nearfall.
Styles hit his Kip Up Rana. Styles & Sydal hit simultaneous forward roll dives to the floor, and the fans chanted “ROH!” In the ring, Jay hit a nice dropkick for a nearfall on Sydal at 7:00, and the Briscoes began to work over Sydal. Sydal hit his jump-up hurricanrana in the corner on Jay. Styles made the hot tag, and he hit an ugly-looking gutbuster on Mark, then a German Suplex. Styles went for the Styles Clash, but it was broken up. In a cool spot, Styles & Sydal hit a combo move of a standing neckbreaker & frogsplash.
Mark fired back with a springboard Doomsday Device on Sydal at 11:30 for a nearfall. “That was awesome!” the fans chanted. Jay hit a Mafia Kick on Styles. Sydal hit a standing moonsault on Jay. Mark nailed a springboard Spike Piledriver – just avoiding Styles leaping at the ropes at him – on Sydal for the pin. Nice finish, lots of great action, and the crowd stayed incredibly hot throughout.
* An awesome video tribute, showing highlights of ROH’s first 99 shows aired. Wow, ROH has had one heck of a great run! I feel lucky that I started following the promotion early on, and watched it grow, expand, and improve.
* Next up is the great debate between Jim Cornette and John Zandig. Pearce joined Cornette to the ring, carrying a baseball bat. Zandig entered through a side door. The CZW faithful chanted, “F--- him up Zandig!” The sound here is great, and that’s critical! Cornette started to ramble about 1986 NWA in Philadelphia, and the humble beginnings of ECW here in 1996. Zandig (thankfully) cut off the history lesson by pointing out that the only reason this building is so packed tonight is because of the CZW wrestlers. “Without us, this building would be half full,” Zandig said.
Cornette said half the ROH roster wouldn’t set foot in CZW. Zandig laughed it off, saying that many of the ROH wrestlers started in CZW, and many of them would be on a CZW show in just a few weeks! But the time for talking is over, and the time for fighting is now!
(8) Super Dragon & Chris Hero & Necro Butcher defeat Samoa Joe & Adam Pearce & B.J. Whitmer at 25:26. I am not a hardcore fan. I can barely stomach watching CZW’s “Cage of Death,” and I don’t watch “King of the Death Matches.” That said… this was an INCREDIBLE hardcore brawl. With the fans split in their respective sections… it added an energy and a vibe that I’ve rarely seen in pro wrestling. This match MUST BE SEEN TO BE BELIEVED! All six brawled in the ring immediately, and the crowd was hot! (The action was so good, it didn’t dawn on me until four or five minutes in that there was no commentary for this match. The action truly does speak for itself.) There are two referees here: one is an ROH ref, the other is CZW/Chikara ref Bryce Remsburg.
Whitmer and Super Dragon traded chops on the floor, and Joe nailed a running boot on Hero. Joe then dove to the floor, and the crowd was hot! Claudio ran out, and he stole the barbed-wire bat from a CZW wrestler, and he ran to the back, and the ROH faithful cheered! Necro hit his chair-assisted bodyslam on Pearce. Joe hit the Ole Kick on Hero, and the crowd urged Joe to “f--- him up!” Joe and Hero brawled into the crowd! The camera pans over to Pearce, and he was bleeding heavily. Pearce hit some chairshots to Necro’s head at 2:30. Joe & Whitmer gave Super Dragon a team suplex on the floor!
Joe whipped Hero into the guardrail. Pearce is really bleeding hard! Joe hit a series of headbutts on Necro at 5:30, and the crowd was going nuts! In the ring, Pearce hit a flying forearms on Necro Butcher for a nearfall. Joe hit some paintbrush blows on Super Dragon on the floor. In the ring, Whitmer hit a delayed vertical suplex on Hero for a nearfall at 8:30. Super Dragon hit a top-rope senton splash on Whitmer. Joe hit a side suplex on Necro Butcher across the top of two open chairs in the ring! OUCH! Hero hit a senton on Whitmer, and the crowd booed him.
Hero hit a Mafia Kick on Whitmer, then a cravat spinning suplex on Whitmer at 14:30 for a nearfall. Pearce and Necro traded boxing-style punches in the ring! Joe hit a sideslam on Super Dragon through a table! Joe and Hero squared off alone in the ring, and Joe hit a running knee in the corner. On the floor, Necro has a belt, and he whipped Joe’s back. Pearce hit a spinebuster and a frogsplash on Hero in the ring for a nearfall at 18:30. Super Dragon hit a Curbstomp on Pearce. Whitmer nailed a decapitating clothesline on Super Dragon. Whitmer suplexed Dragon onto an open chair for a believable nearfall.
Super Dragon placed Whitmer’s head on an open chair, and he hit a top-rope doublestomp on Whitmer’s head for a believable nearfall at 21:30. Super Dragon and Whitmer brawled on the ring apron, and Super Dragon nailed a Psycho Driver/modified Michinoku Driver off the apron THROUGH A TABLE ON THE FLOOR! Scary, but awesome, bump! Suddenly, Zandig came from the back and hit the ring, but Joe attacked him! The refs argued and shoved each other. The ROH ref got knocked out!
Claudio Castognoli hit the ring, and he threw out Zandig! Claudio grabbed Hero, as if he was going to hit Hero, but instead, he turned and hit Joe at 24:30, and he hugged Hero! The crowd reacted wildly to Claudio’s heel turn, as the CZW fans cheered it on! The fans began chanting for Homicide to come out to even the sides! Hero & Claudio nailed a team flipping neckbreaker on Pearce, and Hero covered Pearce for the pin. WOW.
* After the match, the CZW wrestlers bailed and stood amongst their fans; Joe stood in the ring, glaring at them. Claudio took off his studded ROH jacket and ripped it apart. The fans chanted, “Match of the year!” All the wrestlers at ringside were checking on B.J. Whitmer, who never got up after the vicious Psycho Driver.
* Backstage, Gary Michael Cappetta caught up with Colt Cabana. Colt said for the past eight months, he’s been fighting Homicide. “Maybe I plain forgot how to wrestle,” he said. Colt said he would start at the bottom if he had to, and work his way back up to get another title shot.
* The show closed with someone helping clean up Adam Pearce’ head. The camera panned around Pearce’ body and showed a giant gash on the back of his head, as the show came to a close. WOW.
Final thoughts: DVD runs 3 hours, 14 minutes. Excellent, excellent show, and a great way to close out the “Milestone Series.” The main event was breathtaking. On only a few occasions, ROH has skipped commentary for a match, letting the drama speak for itself. This was a great time for this technique. With the crowd so deeply involved in the match, reacting to every violent blow, it is simply an atmosphere that can’t fully be described. I can only say I wish I had been there live!
I wouldn’t have expected it going in, but I liked Daniels-Claudio second best, as it was just a neat hold-for-hold exchange. The conclusion of the match with Daniels shaking Castognoli’s hand and endorsing him as the “future of ROH,” only to have him turn on ROH at the end of the night, was perfectly done.
Gabe played the Castognoli turn perfectly. Every fan knew that Claudio & Hero are legit friends. Rather than deny that, Gabe had Hero flat-out talk about that at the 3/30 Detroit show, when Hero talked about how they were tag champs in other promotions. Claudio had done enough on the side of ROH that it appeared he was truly loyal.
Third-best match went to the fun Briscoes match against Styles & Sydal. My only complaint there was it felt rushed! They could have gone so much longer! Fourth-best goes to Delirious-Dragon. No one expected a title change, but Delirious gave Danielson a good run.
Purchase this DVD at www.rohwrestling.com for $20. Huge thumbs up.
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