• Scheduled Card:

1. Davey Richards vs. Jack Evans.

2. Adam Pearce vs. Delirious

3. Triple Threat Match: Jimmy Jacobs vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Colt Cabana.

4. The Briscoes vs. Samoa Joe and Homicide.

5. ROH World Tag Team Championship: The Kings of Wrestling vs. Roderick Strong and Austin Aries (c).

6. GHC Heavyweight Championship: Nigel McGuinness vs. Naomichi Marufuji (c).

7. ROH World Championship: KENTA vs. Bryan Danielson (c).

• Bryan Danielson cuts a promo on the sidewalk with MGS in the background. Danielson says that that was where Bruno made his legend and he’ll be in attendance tonight. Danielson then walks the short distance over to the Manhattan Center and says sorry to Kenta because this is where he makes his legacy.

• Davey Richards vs. Jack Evans. Evans breakdances some to switch things up from his usual breakdancing. Crowd loves Jack. Jack avoids a charge with some acrobatics and gets a springboard rana and dropkicks Davey to the floor. Jack teases a dive but backflips back into the ring. Back in, Davey gets a big takedown but gets shoved off. Jack flips out of some more stuff and hits a Pele and a handspring back elbow in the corner. He tries to taunt and Davey kicks the shit out of him and he flies off the apron. Davey sends him into the guardrail. Back in, cover gets 2. Davey gets a snap suplex for 2. Davey tries a brainbuster for Jack knees out. Davey comes back with a gutbuster and hangs him out to dry on the top rope. Davey with a backbreaker for 2. Jack gets a roll up for 2 and a Lionsault elbow. Davey goes to the floor and Jack follows with a tumbling gainer for 2. Jack goes up top and Davey tries to cut him off but gets smacked down. Jack goes for the 630 but Davey gets the knees up and hits a running forearm in the corner. Bulldog powerslam gets a close 2. Davey hooks in the Horse Collar but Jack makes the ropes. They botch a huracanrana and then do it again for 2. Davey goes to the headkicks but Jack comes back with a roundhouse. Davey hits the Alarm Clock, a WildBomb and hooks the Horse Collar back in and Jack taps at 7:33. Standard Evans spotfest but each guy got to hit some of his stuff, the crowd was into it, and the right guy went over. **1/4 Post-match, they hug for some reason.

• Next, Nigel cuts a promo about how short life is but that sometimes in life you really get a chance to soak in moments and tonight against Marufuji will be one of those moments. Good short promo.

• Bruno’s out next and the entire lockerroom has emptied around ringside to hear what he has to say. He says most of the crowd wasn’t born when he retired in 1981. He says he had his time in wrestling, and at the end, he said he thought it was moving in the wrong direction and he said so. His criticisms fell on deaf ears but he says that from the ROH matches and DVDs that he’s seen. He’s really impressed with the talent and wishes for the company to continue growing. Crowd loved all of this. Bruno leaves to applause and the lockerroom files out. Joe and Morishima accidentally run into each other. They try letting one another go first and get the same result. Morishima piefaces Joe. Uh oh. Joe shoves him back. UH OH! Joe gets in the ring and Morishima jumps him. PULL APART BRAWL!~! The lockerroom finally separates them. I’m definitely down for Morishima-Joe.

• Adam Pearce vs. Delirious. Pearce tells someone in the crowd to stick it up his ass and gets booed out of the building so he tells the whole crowd to shove it. Delirious does a few laps around the ring and Pearce jumps him from behind to start. Pearce hits the troll yell to more boos and chokes Delirious with one of his long tassels. “You fat fuck!” chant from the crowd as Pearce taunts. Delirious gets a head butt and a small package for 2. Delirious gets an arm drag and cradles him into a crucifix for 2. Delirious drives him into the corner and hits some chops. Delirious calls Pearce over and Delirious crawls under the ring for some misdirection. Delirious comes out the other side and hits a senton off the apron. Delirious with another headbutt and slides Pearce back in. Pearce cuts him off with a spinebuster and press slams Delirious all the way TO THE FLOOR! Pearce taunts more. “You’re still fat!” chant as Delirious eats the guardrail. Pearce chokes him some more. Delirious comes back with headbutts and chops in the corner. Pearce ends the comeback with an eye gouge and then calls for a backbreaker on camera and luckily enough Delirious cooperates. Pearce goes for splash but Delirious gets the knees up. Delirious with a back elbow and a series of clotheslines that take down Pearce. Delirious with another SIXTY CLOTHESLINES (Yes, 60) and a bulldog for 2. Should have gone for 70. Delirious hits the missile dropkick and a Panic Attack. Delirious calls for the Shadows Over Hell but Hagadorn crawls from under the ring and nails Deliroius with the brass knuckles. Pearce with a spike piledriver wins it at 8:38. Another government work quality, serviceable undercard match, although I love Pearce’s 80s heel moveset and mannerisms. **1/4 Post-match, Pearce gets the stick and calls for a moment of silence. Huge boos ensue as Pearce introduces Hagadorn as his manservant.

• Triple Threat Match: Jimmy Jacobs vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Colt Cabana. Jimmy has the most emo entrance music ever. Shawn Michaels singing his own music and calling himself “a sexy boy” while wearing leather bondage pants with leopard skin pattern and dozens of vanity mirrors is more manly than this entrance. To complete this picture, Jimmy goes down to a knee and starts crying as apparently Jimmy saw Lacey and Colt in the shower together or some shit. Cabana and CD ignore Jacobs and go to work. Cabana and CD trade some wristlocks until Lacey demands Jimmy get involved. He runs into a drop toe hold from CD that sends him to the floor. Cabana does the same to CD and he avoids Lacey. Cabana then pretends to stumble just to grope Lacey much to the crowd’s delight. Cabana hits the mat from a CD right and then slides under Lacey for an upskirt. They all trade bodyslams and arm drags until it’s just Colt and Jimmy. Colt tells him to take a shot and Jimmy won’t do it. CD gets a side headlock on Jimmy only for Colt to take over. Colt gets sent off and runs avoids the trip from both only for CD to shove him into Jacobs and leg lariat Colt. CD with a clothesline but gets sent to the floor by Colt. Jimmy tries to put a headlock on Colt but Lacey calls him off and Jimmy reluctantly agree. Jimmy mounts CD with the GnP and then bites him. Colt says he’ll put him in a Russian legsweep while Jacobs clotheslines him. Jimmy runs off but Colt dodges to fuck him over and then teases him. Jimmy hits a few elbows on CD. Colt pulls the bait n switch again with a elbow and a backbreaker. This story is wearing thin for me already. Colt works over CD with a bodylock as Jimmy cries some more. CD escapes but Jimmy knocks him back down and hits some stomps and an elbow as Colt breaks up the cover for no particular reason. Colt whips Jimmy into CD. Jimmy tries to whip him into CD for the butt bomb but CD avoids and Jimmy ends up spearing Cabana. CD with some elbows on Jimmy and a bodyslam. CD with an STO for 2. Jimmy comes back with a chinbreaker, a series of forearms and a fisherman neckbreaker for 2. CD hits the Throat Slam and a BME but Colt breaks up the cover. Colt hits a series of Dusty elbows and a huracanrana for 2. Cabana hits the flying butt bomb but CD comes back with the Flatliner into the Koji Clutch. Lacey berates Jimmy as Colt backdrops CD to the floor and follows with a moonsault. Colt calls for the Colt 45 but Jimmy gives him a low blow from behind and hits the Contra Code shiranui for the 3 on Colt at 11:08. All story and not to their benefit. It got the point across though. In fairness though, the crowd has been into everything so far and are just so loud that I am enjoying the show probably more than the ratings reflect. *1/2 Post-match, Lacey is predictably aghast but Jimmy doesn’t get it.

• Jim Cornette is out next with The Briscoes. We get footage of Cornette whipping a handcuffed Homicide or “Homocide” as Cornette calls him back in July 06. Cornette questions his sexuality again and claims he has no problem with anyone except Homicide and everyone who takes his side. Cornette does a survey to see who the crowd sides with. Survey says: one more for the good guys. Cornette tries badmouthing the entire city and calls it a “showcase of man’s instability and inhumanity to man.” This is like a PhD seminar in cheap heat. I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or an insult to the segment. Jim Cornette says that Homicide will get another shot at the World Championship if he wins his match tonight. Cornette keeps going on and on about how shitty the city is and how the middle-aged white man is now a minority. Cornette namedrops the Confederacy and Skynyrd and unfortunately no drunk assholes shout, “FREEBIRD!” This segment went on way too long for what it was designed to do.

• The Briscoes vs. Samoa Joe and Homicide. Joe, Homicide, and Julius Smokes’s entrance is the personification of no-nonsense, cool swagger for ROH. The one thing that Joe more than anyone else from the company had was the undeniable “it” factor and the ability to carry himself like a star. Whenever Joe made an entrance, he was like The Man With No Name. It may not seem like it now, and if you didn’t watch him wrestle, it may have never seemed that way from his physique but Joe was a God for ROH and was primed for a major breakout in TNA. But after the excellent buildup and streak, they rushed the feud with Angle, waited too long to put the belt on him, and were never able to reignite that initial spark. ANYWAY, this is Joe’s and Homicide’s first time tagging building off of their burying the hatchet during the summer of 06.

• They jump in the ring and it’s a brawl to start. They hit double backdrops to sends the Briscoes to the floor and follow with double suicide dives and the crowd is just insane at this. Mark and Cide starts and trade overhand chops in the corner. Cide gets a running clothesline and tags in Joe and they both chop Mark. Mark gets the boot up on Joe but whiffs on a crossbody and tags in Jay. The ref wants a clean break and Joe gives him about 20 shots in the corner and gives him the chop, knee, and kneedrop combo. Cide in with a splash off the top for 2. Cide tries to choke Jay and allows the distraction so Julius can give him a right. Cide hits the 3 Amigos and finishes with a Falcon Arrow but Mark breaks up the cover. Joe in and they hit the double team shoulderblock. Jay tries fighting back but eats an enzuigiri from Joe and he goes to the fishhook chinlock. Joe hits a flying knee and tags in Cide. He hits a running clothesline and they botch something and just say fuck it and put Jay in a Tree of Woe and hit the IED. Joe in with a vertical suplex and Cide in with a back rack. Jay gets some separation off a standing switch and hits a low blow. He shitcans Cide and Mark smashes his head into the sheet metal banner a dozen or so times and now begins the heat. The Briscoes hit a vertical suplex, knee drop combo for 2. Mark with the BLATANTCHOKE and a belly to belly suplex for 2. Jay in with a back elbow off a trip. Jay with more boots and another choke in the corner. There hasn’t been a clean break in this match yet. Mark hits the slingshot double foot stomp for 2. Cide tries to fight them off. He gets a tornado DDT reversed but ducks a clothesline and SWAT rolls over to Joe for the tag. That was pretty quick. Mark actually gets the brief advantage with some Karate chops but Joe shrugs it off and gets an inverted atomic drop, a yakuza kick and a massive senton for 2. Joe sends him into the corner and hits a series of facewashs and a Ole kick as Smokes barks at him. Joe hits a discus chop that takes Mark down. Jay hits Joe from behind and that allows Mark to hit a spinwheel kick and so let’s do the heat again. They put the boots to him and hit the double shoulderblock and posture for a minute. Cover gets 1. Mark with more Karate and Jay in and goes to the chinlock. Joe escapes but runs into a Bluechipper dropkick and Mark goes back to the chinlock but Cide breaks it up. The ref clears him out and Mark goes to it again. Well, OK then. Joe powers up and Mark goes for a leap frog but Joe flapjacks him down. Can we give the Briscoes at least one real heat sequence? Cide back in and hits a belly to belly overhead suplex and a back elbow. Mark tries fighting Cide off but he hits the Deano Machino Backlash 2000 DDT except off the second rope. Homicide goes to the BLATANTCHOKE and a facewash of his own on Jay. Cide gets to the apron but Mark attacks him again and the ref is just kind of there. Cide suplexes Mark to the floor but he lands on his feet and gets Cide in the Electric Chair and drops him on the apron. Mark then gets in and comes flying back out with a plancha. Joe hits a series of strikes on Jay but eats a yakuza kick. Cide in and hits a Diamond Cutter on Jay and calls for the LARIATO. Mark cuts him off with a Saito suplex and then Joe takes Mark down with a LARIATO. That exchange was pretty awesome. Joe and Cide hit a back suplex/clothesline combo that folds up Jay Tiger Driver ’91 style. Cover gets 2 as Mark breaks it up and gives Joe a superkick that sends him to the floor. The Briscoes go for Doomsday Device but Joe pulls Mark down on the slingslot and hooks him in a pseudo Tree of Woe. Awesome. Jay hits a badass release German suplex on Cide instead as Joe finishes off Mark with an Ole kick on the floor. Jay goes for the Jaydriller but Cide counters to the Copkiller. They tease it once and Jay escapes but do it again and Homicide nails it for the 3 at 18:02. Not quite the ultimate dream match in terms of structure or execution, but a really fun match. In fact, it was much better once they cut out any semblance of caring about double teaming or even tags and just got to hitting their signature moves with a very cool back and forth sequence. ***1/2

• Post-match, Cornette gets back on the stick and calls Homicide snakeshit, references a Sean Connery/Michael Caine movie from forty years ago, and says that he will have to walk through hell wearing gasoline pants or some shit before he gets his title shot.

• Backstage, Jimmy wants congratulations from Lacey but she hates his use of a low blow and wants Jimmy to apologize to Colt. Jimmy does it and Lacey tells him to get out. Was this necessary?

• Meanwhile, we get brief footage of Kenta warming up in front of a dim spotlight in the back.

• Next, Bruno gives a pep talk to Bryan Danielson and Kenta and puts over both belts, both companies and both wrestlers.

• ROH World Tag Team Championship: The Kings of Wrestling vs. Roderick Strong and Austin Aries (c). The KOW come out to Queen’s “We are the Champions” and enter through the crowd and Claudio is rocking a sequined matador vest with a necktie. Another very cool entrance. Aries has some tape on his ribs. Crowd chants just for Aries and then decides to throw Roddy a bone. “Fuck you, Hero” quickly follows. Now, we get a “KOW” chant followed by “Shut the Fuck Up.” The Kings refuse the handshake and instead high five each other and then jump Roddy and Aries from behind. Aries and Strong take over with a bunch of chops and the Kings escape to the floor to regroup. They hug it out to more boos. The fans chant “HEY” for Claudio and he covers his ears. Roddy takes down Claudio a few times. Roddy goes for a top anklelock but Claudio gets to his feet. He tries to bring in Hero for some double teaming but Roddy fights them off with chops and suckers Claudio into chopping Hero. That was funny. Roddy with a snap ab suplex and Aries follows with a slingshot senton and a running frog splash for 2. Roddy with a butterfly suplex for 2. Roddy slingshot Claudio into a shot from Aries and hangs on for the bow and arrow and then Aries with a slingshot splash. Cover gets 2. Aries and Strong hit a double atomic drop and a double back suplex for 2. Roddy with the hanging vertical suplex but instead decides to hang him up on the top rope and then hits a guillotine leg drop to the back of his head for 2. Then they team up to hit a spinebuster/clothesline for another 2. Aries goes up top and Claudio tries to cut him off. Aries fights him off but Claudio falls into the ref and Hero comes off to crotch Aries on the top rope. Now, THAT is cheating. Hero in with some shoulder surges and teases making a tag to Roddy who spits on him. Claudio in and goes to the ab stretch and Hero helps him with the leverage a few times before the ref sees it. Hero in and they do a double leap frop, hit double kicks and then a flawless European uppercut/school boy combo. Nice. Hero with a splash on Aries’s back and grinds his forearms into the bandaged area and we get some targeted offense. Hero with a butt bomb and tags in Claudio who knocks Roddy off the apron and drops an elbow on the back. Claudio goes for the cover but the ref is holding back Roddy. That’s when you’re a little too good at cheating.

• Claudio goes to a version of the anchor hold working the ribs again. Hero in and they straitjacket Hero and drive Aries into the corner. Hero hits a gutbuster over his shoulder and then bridges Aries so Claudio can hit a running boot into Aries’s midsection. Claudio military presses Aries and hits Snake Eyes. Hero in with some jumping jacks and pushups to taunt. Aries tries fighting them off but Hero fallaway slams Aries into Claudio, dropkicks his stomach and then Claudio gives him a gutbuster for 2. Some cool doubleteam stuff from the KOW. Claudio goes the ab stretch and grinds his elbow into Aries’s ribs. Hero big boots Claudio off Claudio’s shoulder. Hero with another anchor hold and drives Aries into the corner. Claudio adjusts his tie and gets more “Hey” chants. The Kings with a double big boot. Hero rolls Aries into a reverse Mexican surfboard or something and Roddy has had enough and gets in and gives him a boot to the face. The KOW try a double back suplex for Aries flips out and rolls under and makes the tag to Roddy. Roddy hits a shoulderblock, jawbreaker, clothesline, leg lariat and Falcon Arrows Claudio on top of Hero. Roddy with a Bluechipper dropkick that sends Claudio to the floor. Aries follows out with a suicide dive on both of the Kings. Roddy follows as well with a corkscrew plancha. Roddy with a Gibson Driver but Hero breaks up the pin. Hero then pulls Claudio over to the corner and makes the legal tag to Claudio. Love that little touch. Hero with some chops on Roddy. Claudio in and THE TIE HAS COME OFF.

• They hit a atomic drop/Doctom Bomb combo for 2. Claudio with the Alpamare Waterslide for 2. Roddy fights back with a clothesline and Aries hits an IED on Claudio. Aries then whips Hero into an oncoming BRUTAL yakuza kick from Roddy. HUGE pop for that. Aries/Strong hit a double backbreaker and a chop/brainbuster combo. Roddy hits a backbreaker on Claudio and Aries goes up top but Hero crotches him. Claudio gets a briefcase in the distraction and knocks Aries off the top to the floor. The Kings hit a double team Hero’s Welcome on Roddy. The KOW’s victory lap celebration is a BIT premature. They hug in the middle of the ring and give the Miss America wave to the crowd then tell them to shove it and high five. Alright, now I want them to win. The KOW hug one more time but here comes Aries with forearms and elbows on both. He tries a brainbuster but Hero breaks it up and the Kings hit the badass KRS2 and hold off Roddy and get the win for new champs at 21:32. Solid psychology, phenomenal heel chicanery and general douchbaggery from the KOW, some nice doubleteaming. And most importantly for me, the Kings looks liked the better team (even with the briefcase), came off like they deserved to win, and got the clean win. ****

• GHC Heavyweight Championship: Nigel McGuinness vs. Naomichi Marufuji (c). The announcer reads a proclamation from Japan verifying this is a legitimate title shot. This is Marufuji’s first defense because he only won the belt a week prior. Nigel goes to a top wristlock and Marufuji rolls through and switches to take down Nigel. Nigel tries the same with some chain wrestling but gets taken down again so he goes to a headscissors and they work that spot. Marufuji kips out but Nigel goes back to the top wristlock. Marufuji tries kipping up and uses the ropes to flip over and counter to his own. Nigel flips over and gets a headlock. They trade some weak forearms and Marufuji hits a kick instead. He sends Nigel off but he puts the breaks on and backdrops Marufuji to the apron. Marufuji gives Nigel a Dragonscrew leg whip in the ropes and now we go to work. Marufuji torques the leg in the ropes a few times to be heel. Ref wants a break and Marufuji pulls him out to the ring and kicks the hamstring some. The fans whisper along for ambiance as Marufuji wraps the leg around the ringpost a few times. Nigel tries headbutting to comeback and that goes nowhere. Marufuji hooks in the Figure 4 and now they trade smacks to see who’s more man. Marufuji loses that one but then remembers he’s got the Figure 4 and torques it more. Nigel finally gets the ropes and is really favoring the leg. He rolls to the floor and tries to come back in but Marufuji clips the knee and Nigel eats it to the apron. Marufuji tries a charge in the corner but Nigel sidesteps and sends him into the ringpost shoulder first. Nigel hammerlocks him and then sends him into the barricade shoulder first. Nigel hits a series of stiff headbutts on the shoulder and tries walking off the leg apron. Nigel drops a knee and tries to use the legs to hook an Americana and bridges that into a pin a few times. Nigel gets a knucklelock suplex for 2. Some beautiful psychology-related moves here. Nigel gets the top wristlock and drives him arm first into the mat for a series of 2 counts. Nigel hammerlocks him again for the DDT for another 2. Nigel hooks in a variation of the Tequila Sunrise and bridges back on it to OOOs and AAHHs. Nigel hooks in a half straitjacket submission. Nigel twirls him out of it for the brutal shortarm clothesline for 2. Nigel goes back to the lying half straitjacket and goes for the roll out clothesline again. Marufuji powers up and hits a clothesline but Nigel no sells. Marufuji with another head of steam but clips the leg(!) and THEN takes down Nigel with a clothesline for 2. Nigel gets a head of steam but Marufuji follows behind for misdirection and hits another clothesline for 2. Nigel cuts him off with a jawbreaker and some throat and gut shots. Nigel with the LARIATO for 2. Nigel gets the handstand mule kick in the corner for 2. Nigel crotches him on the top rope and goes for the lariat again but Marufuji ducks off to the apron. Nigel rubberbands the ropes back into Marufuji’s eyes in a spot that every heel should steal and repeat forever. Marufuji shakes it off and gives Nigel the Shiranui all the way DOWN TO THE FLOOR. Nigel finally makes it back into the ring at 17 on the 20 count. Cover gets 2 for Marufuji. Marufuji puts him on the top rope but Nigel crotches him and then hits the brutal LARIATO and a cover gets a VERY close 2. Nigel puts him up top for the Tower of London and hits it but Marufuji completely no sells Strong Style and hits a Shiranui and both are down. Both up and they smack and forearm it out but these are pretty tame. Nigel must hear me because he takes down Marufuji with a running stiff as hell European uppercut and the rope recliner LARIATO for another 2. Nigel puts him up top and this the TOWER OF LONDON ON THE APRON! Both are down and ref gets to 15 before Nigel gets in. Marufuji is in a couple of seconds later and Nigel covers for 2. They trade smacks from their knees and then get to the feet for more smacks. Marufuji hits a SUPERKICK but Nigel does the no sell and hits one of his own and now Marufuji no sells and hits even an STIFFER ROUNDHOUSE SUPERKICK that puts Nigel down to a knee and then one more superkick. Cover gets 1, 2, NO. Nigel tries the handstand again but eats ANOTHER SUPERKICK and almost falls to the floor but hangs on. Marufuji puts him in the Tree of Woe and hits the Coast to Coast dropkick and follows it with a top rope Shiranui and THAT gets the 3 at 22:32. I love that Marufuji needed multiple finishers to take him out like Cactus/Triple H or Aries/Joe. Even though the crowd wasn’t crazy about it, the psychology in the first half was superb but it didn’t play into the finish and was mostly forgotten. Still, very good and best match of the night so far. ****1/4 Post-match, Nigel begrudgingly accepts the handshake of mutual respect.

• ROH World Championship: KENTA vs. Bryan Danielson (c). I’m saving the full commentary for my next review which is of the entire KENTA-Danielson series, but I gave it ****3/4.

• ***Bonus Match Review from ROH FYF: NYC: Takeshi Morishima vs. Samoa Joe.*** Note, this match is from ROH Fifth Year Festival: NYC and is not on the DVD for GBHV. N2. Pre-match Joe clears Cabana and Nigel out of the ring and Morishima comes out with no music. The slug it out with forearms and the fans are going apeshit already. Joe sends him off but gets taken down with a MASSIVE shoulderblock. Joe rolls to the floor and Morishima hits a shoulderblock off the apron and then chokes Joe on the floor. “Fuck ‘im up, Joe!” chant gets going. Morishima with more punches in the ring and a handspring Stinger Splash in the corner. Morishima stands on him to choke and the crowd gets into dueling chants for both. Morishima chokes him on the ropes. Morishima with a bodyslam and another stomp/choke on Joe. Morishima with the CLUBBINGBLOWS and chokes Joe more. Joe tries coming back and Morishima smacks him away and the crowd is SUPER HOT. Morishima with a snapmare and goes to a chinlock and bites Joe. Morishima with more CLUBBINGBLOWS and a clothesline in the corner. Cover gets 2 as Joe gets the foot on the ropes. Morishima goes to a lazy Camel Clutch before Joe gets the ropes. Pretty generic power match you would see in the fed between Heidenreich and Snitsky so far other than the cartwheel avalanche. Joe no sells some stuff and comes back with chops but runs into a butt bomb. Morishima goes up top and hits a missile dropkick and Joe is down. Cover gets 2. Morishima kicks him around. Morishima jumps off the second rope into an inverted atomic drop from Joe. Joe gets a head of steam and hits a yakuza kick and covers for 2. Joe with a chop and a back elbow in a corner and then Joe hits a pseudo Pele and the crowd is apeshit chanting for Joe. Joe with some facewashs and the Ole kick. Joe just kicks the taste out of Morishima’s mouth and hits more right hands in the corner. Joe with more kicks and fishhooks Morishima and then elbows him on the nose. Joe elbows it again and appears to have legit bloodied Morishima’s nose. Joe then bites the nose(!) and kicks Morishima to the floor. Joe follows with the suicide dive elbow as the commentators play up Morishima not wanting to risk injury because of his title shot tomorrow night in Philly against Homicide. Joe puts him in the corner of the guardrail and gives him the Ole kick. The fans erupt and want another so Joe sends him into the opposite guardrail and does it again. Back in, cover gets 2. Joe with some right hands. They both duck some weak clothesline attempts and Joe runs off into a Bossman slam. Morishima snapmares him down and hits the rolling butt bomb. Morishima gestures to the crowd to know if they want to see one more. After getting no love, he says fuck it and does another one anyway for 2. Loved that.

• Morishima with a yakuza kick in the corner as some fans try a “This is Awesome” chant that dies. Joe dodges a charge in the corner and hits an STO for 2. Morishima cuts off Joe with some right hands but Joe comes back with a enzuigiri and a DVD for 2. Joe with some stiff kicks and tries a powerbomb but Morishima flips over and sits down on Joe with all of his weight. Morishima goes up top but Joe meets him. Joe jumps up to give him a kick and grabs Morishima in the MUSCLEBUSTER! And Joe doesn’t hit it immediately. He walks out with Morishima to prove he can hold him and THEN hits the Muscle Buster but a cover only gets 2. That was still probably one of the loudest pops I’ve ever heard in ROH. Joe can’t believe it so he hits some right hands on Morishima . Joe goes for a big boot but Morishima no sells. They both go for a shoulderblock and BOTH NO SELL. Joe hits a savate kick but Morishima no sells and takes him down with a LARIATO. Morishima with a Thesz press for 2. Morishima tries the Backdrop Driver but Joe puts the brakes on. So Morishima hits the beast uranage suplex and THEN hits the BACKDROP DRIVER but Joe kicks out at 2. Morishima hits another LARIATO and tries another but Joe ducks under and gives him a half nelson overhead release suplex. Joe goes to the Kokina Clutch but Morishima counters with a jawbreaker that Joe no sells and reapplies. Morishima escapes and runs off but Joe hits a facebuster and goes back to the choke and then hooks in the bodyscissors. Crowd wants a tap but Morishima doesn’t and instead passes out at 18:07. The shock and awe of Joe getting his ass whooped in ROH is the appeal for the first 5-10 minutes. But once that passes, it’s your ordinary power match just with more stiffness and Strong Style no selling. It’s far from a classic but the sheer visual of Joe getting Morishima in the Muscle Buster is fantastic, the story is good, and the rabid crowd help it. ***1/2

The 411: Three **** matches, Joe/Homicide teaming up for one of the only times ever. and the KOW winning the belts. Despite an unspectacular undercard, this is still very VERY good and the insanely hot crowd makes enhances everything. Final Score: 9.0 [ Amazing ] legend