Review for Death Before Dishonor VI
8/2/08
DBD's are supposed to be one of the biggest shows of the year, which is why they run it in a big venue every year. So let's see what we're offered on the sixth time up to bat.
Show opens with:
The Briscoes vs. The Vulture Squad (Jigsaw and Ruckus)
Fast paced opener with Jigsaw carrying his team in both offense and getting the crap kicked out of him. Watching Ruckus, does he even know a mat based wrestling move? Because all he seems to do is bounce around like a kid snorting pixie sticks while on a trampoline. Briscoes win in a short opener that did get the crowd into it, but with this brief showing by the VS, you have to figure their days are numbered.
***. Did what an opener is supposed to do, and showed the Briscoes for being the bad asses they are.
Larry Sweeney comes out and tries to sign the Briscoes to contracts. They blow him off and leave, but Sweeney says he'll expect to hear from them anyway. This then leads into Chris Hero coming out and announcing he is no longer the Chris Hero of old, but rather 'That Young Knockout Kid', and he means to prove it. That boast certainly sounds like a challenge, and who rises to it but....
Delirious vs. Chris Hero
Well fought match between the two. Delirious has a bit of an advantage early on, but eventually Hero connects with a number of elbows and kicks to the head to... knock out Delirious. 'Cause Hero is a knockout kid, after all.
**3/4. Nice match to establish Hero's new rep.
Sweeney stays out feeling good about himself and hailing Eddie Edwards as a kick ass member of his stable. Well, that certainly can't be allowed to pass without one of Sweeney's many enemies answering the challenge. Who should hit the ring but...
Roderick Strong vs. Eddie Edwards
I don't recall if Eddie had a great match before this, but this establishes him as a serious threat. He and Roddy have a fast paced back and forth match. They jammed 20 minutes of action into a 10 minute match. And it was great, clearly a preview of things to come between the two years down the line. Eventually Roddy gets an advantage, but with Sweet N' Sour the numbers are always in their favor. Sweeney distracts the ref and Hero sneaks in there with his 'special' elbow pad, delivering his second knockout of the evening before heading out of the ring. Eddie hits his version of the lionsault just to make it look good before pinning Roddy
***3/4. Yes, it was a really, really good match.
Next up is yet another member of SNS, this time it's... crap, it's Adam Pearce. He's strutting around with the NWA title, since he's having a title match with it and everything. Brent Albright comes out and the match begins.
NWA World Title Match: Adam Pearce (c) vs. Brent Albright.
At this point I still popped for Albright. He was a good powerhouse wrestler. Adam Pearce, god, I despise his in ring work. He's slow and plodding, not methodical and old school. I know a lot of people liked this match, but despite my liking Albright, it couldn't make me enjoy this, at least when Pearce was on the offense. Watching him get smacked around by Albright was all right, though. After hitting multiple suplexes, Albright eventually sets in the crowbar for the tap out. And we have a new NWA World Champ.
**. Pearce brought it down. If you do enjoy his in ring work, jack that up a star.
Next up, one of the most intense feuds ever in ROH: Jimmy Jacobs and Austin Aries once again trying to kill one another. And we have the Necro Butcher thrown in for good measure for a 3 way. Now for the record, at the time Aries was driving a wedge between Necro and Jimmy, with Jimmy being his usually Age of the Fall moron self helping things along by treating Necro like crap. But evil is dumb at times.
Austin Aries vs. Jimmy Jacobs vs. Necro Butcher
Necro is in Jacobs corner to being things, making it a 2 on 1 for the early part of the match. Aries fends them off for a while, but then things start to go south until Aries whips Jacobs into Necro, making Necro think Jimmy is messing with him. They patch things up until Necro goes for a pin on Aries and Jimmy throws him off and lays into him, basically calling Necro his bitch. That does not go down well. In fact, Necro cuts out altogether, severing his ties with the AotF. It then becomes Aries vs. Jacobs. Eventually Aries pins Jacobs, and wins another match in their ongoing feud.
*** 1/4. Quality match, though Necro's style does not work well with both guys since all Necro does is brawl, and Jacobs and Aries are capable of so much more.
Next up, oooh, this should be good.
Naomichi Marufuji vs. Go Shiozaki.
Marufuji is always outstanding. Go, while always solid, isn't always what I would call great. No SNS at ringside, which is good, as it would only detract from the match. And as to the match, it's a good, solid performance, though it's Marufuji who is the superior talent, and it shows. Go holds his own, and looks good, but at the same time this was not the really great match it could have been. Still very, very solid, though. Marufuji picks up the win.
***. Fun to watch, but you're not going to want watch it again and again, like a lot of Marufuji's other matches.
Kevin Steen and El Generico vs. The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin)
Definitely a dream match. The MCMG always deliver, and they do it again with two great competitors. MCMG just have tag team moves down to a science. Steenerico were still in their prime with this one, wanting to get their hands on the Tag Titles by scoring all the victories they can. Just a great back and forth match with a sense that either team could win. Eventually the victory does come at the hands of Steen's sharpshooter as he makes Sabin tap.
****. If only the MCMG had been regulars. But at least their appearances give one an excuse to buy these discs.
and to the final match, which does indeed turn into the match of the night, and one of the best in ROH history.
Four Way Elimination Match for the World Title: Nigel McGuiness (c) vs. Bryan Danielson vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Tyler Black
The talent in the ring is off the charts. And so is the action inside. Great back and foth stuff. In the early going, Nigel plays the heel role to perfection, only tagging in when someone is in peril, and immidiately tagging out when they show the faintest hint of a comeback. At least until he gets alone in there with Claudio and both Black and Danielson jump off the ring apron. With some alone time with the champ, Claudio beats on him for a while before it becomes a more true 4 way with Nigel being a regular participant.
After lots of great action, Danielson pins Claudio. This causes Claudio to snap like a dry twig, beating the hell out of Danielson afterwards, and even smashing his head in with a chair until he is lifeless on the mat. Nigel comes in for the easy pinfall.
And now it goes from simply being a great match to one of the most memorable around as it's Black against Nigel. The crowd is totally into it as the match is simply a beauty to watch. Tyler eventually gets the advantage and hits Nigel with finisher after finisher, but nothing works. The tables eventually turn and Nigel hits Tyler with finisher after finisher with Tyler kicking out and the crowd getting wilder and wilder. However to all good things. Eventually Nigel hits a pair of awesome lariats and puts Black down for the three.
**** 1/2. It was a four star match until the final ten minutes or so. Black and Nigel take it that extra half star. That match alone is worth the price of the disc.
Overall rating: ****. This is what big cards are supposed to be like. Not a bad match on the one (I would have liked the title change better had it been anyone other than Pearce), and several great matches, and one all time best. This disc was so worth it.
