After All-Star Extravaganza, Ring of Honor was ready to put on another Supercard..of Honor. The epic one year feud between Jimmy Jacobs and B.J. Whitmer would come to an end in an epic steel cage match. A slightly different Dragon Gate crew was ready for another six man tag while two involved in an epic feud would come together for a common cause. And Nigel McGuinness hit a lariat that should have made him a face for life.
-Taped on March 31, 2007 from Detroit, MI
-Your hosts are Dave Prazak and Lenny Leonard
-Another Jimmy Jacobs interview. This one is about B.J. Whitmer and his need for acceptance. Jimmy talks about being in the same place with Whitmer ultimately and the fight for love. Lacey, looking like she wants to bang the next thing that moves, is there. Jacobs says that Whitmer has already lost.
-Video package showing highlights of last year’s six man tag.
-Jay Briscoe opens the show and calls his brother unlucky. That’s one way of putting it. Mark is still in the hospital, but Jay says they’re still the champions. Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal, who were scheduled to face the Briscoes tonight, come out and they’re not happy. They want their rematch from Fifth Year Festival: Chicago. Since Mark isn’t there, Daniels wants them to hand over the belts now. Jay does have a partner though…
-Jay Briscoe (ROH World Tag Team Champion) and Delirious vs. Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal
Sydal and Daniels might be the most forgotten about tag team champions of all time. They held the belts from Thanksgiving weekend 2007 until February 24, 2007. Daniels and Sydal against The Briscoes was supposed to be one of the main events. Briscoe and Daniels start out going back and forth, until Daniels flees to the outside to commiserate with his partner. Sydal and Delirious tag in, and there’s a lot of history here. Their first match in Ring of Honor was against each other. Delirious hip tosses everyone in site after Sydal and Daniels try to double team him. Once again to the outside where the four men brawl. Back inside where Briscoe and Delirious work over Sydal. Daniels kicks Delirous in the back to give his team the advantage. Double team work by the former champions now. Extended heat segment on Delirious. Jay comes in a house of fire. Sick superkick on Sydal and stunned on Daniels. Falcon arrow on Sydal almost gets three. Daniels and Sydal try a double team, but Jay leaps on to them outside the ring. Same side where Mark conked his head. Splash on Sydal but Daniels breaks up the pin. Daniels and Sydal regain the advantage once again. Uranagi by Daniels appears to set up the BME, but Briscoe ducks. Palm thrust and iconoclasm by Daniels. Koji clutch. Delirious dives in for the save and sets up for a panic attack. Shadows over Hell only gets two. Here It is Driver by Sydal. Delirious with a Cobra clutch, which gets reversed quickly. Sweep of the legs and a standing moonsault by Sydal. Back elbow and Bizarro Driver by Delirous. Briscoe and Daniels engage in fisticuffs. Forearm by Daniels with Briscoe prone on the top rope. Gordbuster by Briscoe off the top. Jaydriller attempt by Sydal hits a kick. STO by Daniels. Angel’s Wings but Delirious punts Daniels in the head. Shooting star press attempted by Sydal, but Delirious works his way out of it. Chemical Imbalance #2 by Delirious on Sydal gets three.
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Jay Briscoe and Delirious/18:06/***1/2
-I think this match would have been scary good if Mark had been involved. As is, it was just a very good tag team match. Obviously, this was probably as good as could be expected given the circumstances.
-B.J. Whitmer promo. Should have just let Jimmy do all the promo work cause nothing of substance is said here.
-Claudio Castagnoli vs. Yamato
If either company announced this match for Wrestlemania weekend this year, I think people would literally jiz themselves in excitement. Sadly, this is not even close to a dream match. It’s just a chance to get Claudio a singles win over Mania weekend. Yamato shows a little of the personality that has made him such a superstar in the current Dragon Gate landscape. Yamato is too short for a test of strength, so he gets up on the second rope. Claudio pulls him off and shows how much stronger he is. Shift into a feeling out process. Yamato hits the ropes, but he can’t get Claudio to go down. Claudio goes off the ropes, and Yamato eventually gets a shoulder tackle. Series of chops by Yamato. European uppercut by Claudio. Bodyslam/legdrop combo. Leg submission by Claudio. Spear by Yamato. Big boot from Claudio in the corner. Exploder finally hit by Yamato. Bicycle kick by Claudio now into another European uppercut. Strike exchange. German suplex by Yamato only gets two. Water slide gets two for Claudio. Gut buster position but Claudio turns into a piledriver. This gets three.
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Claudio Castagnoli/6:58/**
-The move Claudio uses to get the win was apparently a new finisher he’d been working on. Judging by the fact that it could take such a heavy toll on the neck, of an opponent you can see why this move was quickly dropped out of Claudio’s repertoire. As far as the match itself, it was merely okay, but you can see the potential in Yamato. Better days ahead for him.
-Erick Stevens vs. Mitch Franklin
Franklin immediately does better than Payne since he actually gets a little offense in. Stevens with a TKO and Doctor Bomb to quickly end it once again.
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Erick Stevens/:40/N/R
-I love how Erick Stevens was introduced. He got to quickly squash two jobber students and not be exposed right away. The fact that it was Mania weekend and such a large audience makes a huge difference too since Stevens debuted in front of large audiences.
-Larry Sweeney is now out talking about all the “A-list” celebrities he’s been hanging out with over the last few months. Chris Hero comes out, but he’s not alone. Johnny fucking Fairplay is with Hero, and the crowd is on him like snow in the mid-atlantic region this winter. Normally, this would cue a rant, but the payoff makes Fairplay’s appearance all worth it. My personal favorite chant is “You’re not famous.” We need more of those kinds of chants directed toward alleged celebrities. Fairplay cuts a promo and is getting ridiculous heat. Hero talks about almost breaking the neck of Bruno Sammartino and he calls out Nigel McGuinness.
-Nigel McGuinness vs. Chris Hero (w/Larry Sweeney and Johnny Fairplay)
Prazak goes on quite the rant about Fairplay. Jimmy Bower talks about some of the other infamous guest stars that have appeared in Ring of Honor, including an allusion to Teddy Hart. Least Teddy would die for us. Meanwhile, there is a back and forth match developing in the ring. Hero gets tossed over the top to the outside as Fairplay acts like a complete goof. They go on a tour of the Michigan State Fairgrounds and Nigel introduces Hero to the various guardrails. Big boot gets Hero back into the match. Series of moves , but this is all taking a backseat to the goofy shenanigans going on with Fairplay. Even the announcers are having trouble staying into the match, very unusual for them. Nigel comes back with lariats, strikes, and a back body drop. Short lariat. Tower of London attempt but Sweeney and Fairplay interfere. Hero with a giant boot from the top. Cravat by Hero with Nigel placed on the top rope. Tribute top Tracy Smother, but Nigel hits another lariat. Hero gets countered into a Tower of London. Fairplay pulls Nigel out of the ring. Fairplay ends up in the ring. Uh oh. In one of the all-time great moments, maybe in Ring of Honor history, Nigel hits a disgusting lariat on Fairplay. Crowd loses its’ mind. Hero with a boot since there’s still a match going on, and Nigel hits a jawbreaker lariat. 1-2-3!
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Nigel McGuinness/9:39/**1/2
-Okay match although these two would do much better in a pair of even better matches later on in the year. An announcement is made that Nigel is going to face Takeshi Morishima for the world title in Edison on April 13. They should have given him the belt then.
-The No Remorse Corps. of Roderick Strong and Davey Richards come out to introduce the newest member of their faction. This was in the formative days of Faction Warfare, back when there was still hope this concept hadn’t failed yet. The idea was that Roddy would form his own faction and feud with the other members of Generation Next and their stable. Roddy’s started the No Remorse Corps. in New York City a month-and-a-half earlier, and Davey was the first member. The next member was to be introduced on this night, and everyone basically figured Rocky Romero was the mystery man. And indeed he was the mystery partner. Whoever said Roddy cutting a live promo was a good idea should be shot, however. Davey thankfully makes the announcement.This leads to…
-Naruki Doi and Jack Evans vs. Davey Richards and Rocky Romero
Good to see Doi recovered nicely from his tag team title loss the previous night. Doi and Romero get right into it. Big chop exchange and a series of counters leads to a standoff. Doi wants a handshake but gets spit instead. Richards tags in. Evans does as well. They also don’t take long to get going. Headscissors and a flying kick by Evans. Doi splashes Richards in a prone position. NRC try a double team but Evans pele kicks Richards. Finally, Richards pulls Evans off into the apron head first and tosses him around. Heat segment on Evans as you’d be hard-pressed to see someone take a beating better. Doi makes the hot tag and holds his own against both members of the NRC. Romero tries a springboard moonsault and gets decked. Doi dives on to him. Richards tries a baseball slide dropkick but misses. He gets back in the ring and hits an enziguri. Falcon arrow gets two. Dou with a modified Rydian bomb. He sets both Richards and Romero in the corner. Doi sends Evans feetfirst into both team members. Place once again in the corner, Doi hits a cannonball for two. Big boot from Davey on to Doi and Romero hits an overhead suplex. Back and forth with strikes. Romero DDTs Doi off the second rope. To the top and the two men battle. Doi goes for a sunset bomb but Doi turns around and gets a German suplex off the ropes. Richards in and Doi sets him up for a Doi 5. Evans hits Romero on the outside. The Doi 5 only gets two. Richards tries to tag in. Reverse headscissors, but Romero breaks that up. Running dropkick by Doi on Romero. Evans goes up to the top but Richards knocks him down. Evans hits double knees and does indeed get the 630 for three.
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Jack Evans/14:31/***1/2
-Very enjoyable tag team match between these two. The biggest issue I have is that the NRC introduced a new member, and in their first match, lost. This was one of the many problems that faced Faction Warfare from the beginning. Inconsistent booking and teams losing when they shouldn’t have been losing. I could write a book on Faction Warfare’s failure and why I think it ultimately did Gabe Sapolsky in as booker, but I digress. This was an entertaining match. Moving on.
-Brent Albright vs. Homicide
Albright attacked ‘Cide the night before, so we have this match. Makes sense to me since these guys had a running issue for a few months prior to this. These two men start out quickly, but Adam Pearce runs out and the bell rings. LAME!
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Homicide/1:33/DUD
-Colt Cabana saves the day and says that since it’s the one year anniversary of the epic Chicago street fight, they can have a match against two guys who’ve been annoying them lately.
-Brent Albright and Adam Pearce (w/Shane Hagadorn) vs. Homicide and Colt Cabana
Albright and Pearce try to run away, but that fails. Cabana and Homicide brings them back to ringside. They go on an extended tour of the facility with some brawling in the crowd. Hey, now everyone gets a front row seat. They battle through the entire building, and you can almost see what’s going on despite the crappy lighting.
Back into the ring, AND THE BELL RINGS. Guess now is as good a time as any. Hagadorn comes in to save the day for Pearce, but Pelle Primeau quickly follows to counter. Jim Cornette comes out for the second straight night. German suplex by Albright almost gets two. Cornette chills at ringside as the crowd chants “FIRE RUSSO!” This actually becomes a traditional tag team match with the heels in control. Albright nearly wins the match with a powerbomb. Piledriver by Pearce, but ‘Cide rolls out of the ring. Battle on the rope with Homicide biting Pearce. Hot tag to Cabana and it’s right hands for everyone. Vertical suplex by Cabana only gets two on Pearce. Headscissors on Pearce. Flyina apple onto Albright. Running knee from Homcide. Cabana dropkicks Pearce. Inside and Homicide sends Albright outside. Tope con helo. Cornette tries to spray something in Pearce’s eyes, but Cabana uses the bottle to punch Pearce and get three. There’s your revenge for the brass knuckles Pearce used the previous night.
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Colt Cabana and Homicide/8:45/**1/2
-Decently entertaining match. Nothing special or offensive. Good to see these two have one last match together before both departed the company shortly thereafter.
-Erick Stevens interview. It’s just the beginning. Austin Aries is watching.
-Steel Cage Showdown: B.J. Whitmer vs. Jimmy Jacobs
Throughout the evening, clips of previous matches and incidents were shown to illustrate how far this feud has come. Whoever decided this should not be the main event? Stupid. This was one of the biggest and most epic non-title matches in company history. The Dragon Gate six man tag had no business as the main event of this show. All that being said…
Thankfully, this match isn’t escape rules. It’s either pinfall or submission as it should be, especially for a match like this. After months and months of fighting, this epic feud came down to one match. Jacobs has improved greatly as a worker, and his darkness shows itself in this match. Tables, chair, barbed wire bats, and spikes are all used. Spots from past matches are harkened back to, particularly with the spike. They just stab each other in the head, a disgusting spot for sure. The crowd’s reaction to this insanity is also very interesting. With Jacobs being from this area and I’m sure with some people being able to identify with his cause, a great number of fans cheered for Jacobs. I know I’ve almost comes off as a bit of a prude when it comes to violence in professional wrestling, but for the most part, I think the violence in this match made sense. These two have gone so far that they almost needed to have a match like this as a means of ending this rivalry once and for all. Words can’t even begin to do this match justice. This cage match might be the best violent brawl Ring of Honor has ever done, and that says considering the number of these types of matches that were done in 2006 and 2007. And if you think this was just a match where they maimed and bled like stuffed pigs, it wasn’t. there was also some great wrestling and psychology involved, particularly with the spots that flashed back to prior matches. You can also notice when Jacobs blows his left knee out, the spot where he executed the contra code. After nearly 24 minutes of incredible action, Jacobs sentons Whitmer through a table to mercifully end the match.
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Jimmy Jacobs/23:41/****3/4
–It takes over eight minutes to get the cage down and get the two combatants out of the ring. Neither man looks all that great leaving the ring. Man that’s a hell of a way to end a show.
-FIP World Heavyweight Championship: Roderick Strong (champion) vs. Austin Aries
Oh lord. The show goes on, and two of Ring of Honor’s best get the equivalent of a death slot, between the epic cage match and the Dragon Gate six man tag. For this being the first match of a feud, they deserved better. Aries and Strong much most of 2006 as the Ring of Honor tag team matches. Tension was teased in the early part of 2007 until Roddy hit a backbreaker on Aries at Fifth Year Festival: New York. It started a heel turn for Strong and the beginning of Faction Warfare. Strong’s group was the No Remorse Corps. and they already had their three members. Aries’ group was The Resilliance, and his only member was Matt Cross. One more person would get added soon after this show.
Crowd is pretty into the match, even after the mayhem they had just seen. Aries and Strong wrestle a good solid match. I think this gets over better on a different show after a different match. Strong and Aries never did have that signature match against each other where you walked away thinking you just saw a match of the year candidate. That saddens me cause I think both guys are capable of doing such. Much of the first minutes is Strong teasing chops but not delivering. He only does so when the situation gets dire. Strong controls much of the match by working over Aries’ back as the crowd mockingly chants “RODERICK!” Aries almost wins the match and the title with a Death Valley Driver on the apron. Yeesh, was that nasty. Aries and Strong battle on the top rope, and Strong shoves Aries to the ground. Before hitting the crowd, Aries goes through that little table on the outside. Strong rams Aries into various guardrails and rearranges furniture so he can hit a Gibson driver ON THE GUARDRAIL! Aries crawls in somehow and almost wins with a small package. Flying boot, half nelson backbreaker, Gibson driver, and stronghold finally get the win for Strong.
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: STILL FIP World Champion-Roderick Strong/21:45/***1/2
-Long and good but unspectacular.
-Delirious chases Strong from ringside.
-Whitmer tells Daizee he just couldn’t get it done.
-Shingo , CIMA, and Susumu Yokosuka vs. Masaaki Mochizuki, Ryo Saito, and Dragon Kid and Susumu Yokosuka
Bringing the Dragon Gate announcer was a nice touch this year. It added something, a certain importance to the match-up. Also made it feel special as well. To illustrate how spoiled Ring of Honor fans were getting, there was almost a feeling of annoyance. Not that the wrestling was bad or anything close to it, but since there weren’t issues to be resolved, the Dragon Gate six man tag was more of an exhibition than a wrestling match where you care about who wins. I also had an issue with this being the main event considering you had a steel cage match which could have easily served as the lasting image of this show.
Okay, now with all the complaining and griping out of the way, this was still a fantastic match. Regardless of what these six men did, they’d have to deal with expectations from last year. The chemistry of the match was also different with Shingo, Yokusuka, and Mochizuki in the match. People take this match for granted because of the incredible work done in 2006, but this was a nice complement to what happened in the previous match. It was a bit different, and I don’t feel it worked as smoothly; however, it’s still an awesome match and one of the best in 2007. I’m sure you asked Mr. BG Says, he’d be hard-pressed to find many matches on the regular Dragon Gate shows better than this one. I did appreciate the callbacks to the previous match and the fact that the Dragonrana is countered. In fact Yokosuka counters the Dragonrana into a sunset flip for the win
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: CIMA. Shingo, and Susumu Yokosuka/27:16/****1/2
–Still an incredible exhibition and anyone who gets to see these six men do what to they do best should consider themselves lucky.
-Rebecca Bayless tries to talk to Jimmy Jacobs and Lacey. They’re too busy comforting each other though.
Final Thought: One thing I can say about this show and the weekend overall was that it’s nowhere near as good as last year. Considering Mania weekend 2006 was the greatest weekend in the history of Ring of Honor, these are awfully high expectations to meet. If nothing else, Supercard of Honor II is an easy thumbs up based on the main event and the steel cage match, a match that could easily be considered one of the best matches ever for this company. I’ve also got three other matches at ***1/2, so I’d recommend buying this show for certain if you don’t already own the show, I’d for sure go back and watch the cage match and Dragon Gate six man tag. If you want to weep, it’s okay. No one will judge.
Next week, Ring of Honor hits Florida for the first time. Dragon Gate and Ring of Honor engage in another challenge. The world title returns from Japan, and Sunny days are ahead for Ring of Honor’s 2008 Wrestlemania weekend.
