*Note that this event is packaged in a two-disc set with Southern Defiance, the last show that I reviewed.
December 4th, 2011 in Greensboro, North Carolina
Opening Match: Mike Bennett vs. TJ Perkins
Bennett attacks before the opening bell. Perkins cartwheels out of a wristlock and connects with a dropkick. He hits an atomic drop and applies a pendulum. Bennett gets caught by a neckbreaker and Perkins hurricanranas him to the floor. Bennett trips Perkins as he was getting ready to dive and throws him into the barricade. He takes control in the ring until Perkins lures him to the floor and follows out with a dive. Back in, Perkins connects with a springboard dropkick followed by corner punches. He hits a sit-out powerbomb and adds an enzuigiri. Bennett uses the referee to crotch him on the top rope. Perkins is still able to land a crossbody but Bennett rolls through for a two count. Bennett hits a spinebuster. Perkins attempts a sunset flip but Bennett sits down and uses the ropes for leverage to pick up the win at 9:08. Both men had a good showing at the last show and they continued that trend here with a decent opener barring the finish. There’s a lot that can be said about Perkins but I wouldn’t mind seeing him have more of an impact in Ring of Honor. As for Bennett, between this match and his previous one against Adam Cole, this was probably his most promising weekend in ROH thus far. **½
The Bravados come out for their match against the All Night Express. This is a homecoming of sorts for the them, although you couldn’t tell by the crowd reaction. The Young Bucks attack the All Night Express during their entrance. Nick attacks Titus’ injured left leg with a chair. Referees check on Titus as the crowd keeps themselves occupied by chanting “Justin Bieber” at Harlem. Jim Cornette tells King that Titus is too injured to compete but he can wrestle one of the Bravados in a singles match. The Bravados elect to stick together as a team so King settles for a handicap match…
Match #2: Kenny King vs. Harlem and Lance Bravado
King snaps off a japanese armdrag on Harlem and controls on the mat against Lance. Harlem leaps off the apron and catches King with a flying knee strike. The Bravados isolate him until he elevates Harlem to the floor and hits a spinebuster on Lance. King hits a shoulder-capture suplex on Harlem and all three men are down. Rhett Titus limps to ringside and tags into the match. He scoop slams Lance onto Harlem. The Bravados recover with the Gentleman’s Approach on King for a nearfall. Titus low bridges Harlem to the outside. ANX hit a blockbuster-powerbomb combination on Lance for the victory at 10:29. Maybe I’m being annoyingly persistent about this, but would it have killed anyone to give the Bravados the win here? ANX could have blamed the Young Bucks for their loss and the Bravados could have gone 2-0 on a weekend where they needed to win to keep their spot in ROH storyline-wise. **
Match #3: Jay Lethal vs. Adam Cole
If Cole can defeat Lethal or last the time limit, he will receive a shot at the World Television Title. Cole snaps off a hurricanrana but Lethal quickly responds with a headscissors. Lethal hits a back suplex and connects with a basement dropkick. He comes off the middle rope with a leg lariat. Cole counters a handspring ace crusher into a german suplex and hits a northern lights suplex. He takes control until Lethal connects with a handspring back elbow. They trade punches and Lethal hits the Lethal Combination for a nearfall. Cole finds life with a backcracker out of the corner. Lethal elevates him over the top rope. Cole blocks a dive attempt with an enzuigiri. Lethal springboard dropkicks Cole off the apron. Cole blocks a baseball slide and wheelbarrow german suplexes Lethal into the apron. Both men are down on the floor. In the ring, Cole lands a flying crossbody but Lethal rolls through for a two count. They trade small packages to no avail as there are three minutes left in the time limit. Cole connects with a superkick for a nearfall. Lethal blocks the Panama Sunrise and hits a fireman’s carry chinbreaker. Lethal follows with a handspring ace crusher for the win at 13:14. These two were able to string together some visually-stunning exchanges and they made the most out of their thirteen minutes. I really got the feeling that Cole came extremely close to either lasting the time limit or actually beating Lethal and he looked great even in defeat. Like I said after his match against TJ Perkins at the last show, Lethal is benefiting from having a fresh set of challengers. ***¼
Cole shows his frustration in a backstage promo after the match. Eddie Edwards interrupts and says that he was impressed with Cole’s performance.
Match #4: Matt and Nick Jackson vs. Caprice Coleman and Cedric Alexander
Alexander snaps off a headscissors on Matt and connects with a dropkick. Coleman adds a leg lariat and Alexander follows with a slingshot senton. Alexander and Coleman suplex Nick and connect with stereo kicks. Coleman connects with a spin kick in the corner on Matt and sends himself over the top rope and to the floor onto Nick. That was innovative at the very least. Alexander hits a neckbreaker on Matt. Nick catches Coleman with a flying double stomp and lands a dive to the floor onto Alexander. The Young Bucks isolate Coleman until he connects with a double dropkick and makes the tag. Alexander hits a sit-out slam on Nick and a nice backbreaker on Matt. Coleman connects with a tiger feint kick around the ringpost on Nick and Alexander follows with a dive. Alexander lands a flying crossbody in the ring onto Matt. Nick catches Coleman with a running knee strike and Matt adds a springboard ace crusher. Coleman hurricanranas Nick off the middle rope. Alexander finds knees on a frog splash attempt and Matt superkicks him. Coleman hits an STO on Matt but gets caught by a spin kick from Nick. All four men are down. After a series of kicks, the Young Bucks hit a tandem tombstone on Coleman for the victory at 11:52. This felt like one of the Young Bucks’ matches in PWG and believe me, that’s a good thing. I think Coleman and Alexander are starting to surprise people with some great performances and they worked well with the Young Bucks. The action down the stretch had the crowd in a frenzy and everything just clicked in this match. ***¼
Match #5: Andy Ridge vs. Sampson
Sampson just yells at Ridge to avoid a kick. I guess when you’re the size of Sampson, that kind of stuff works. Ridge blocks a charge but Sampson goes to the eyes. He takes over until Ridge connects with a corner yakuza kick. Ridge is bleeding from the nose as he lays in more kicks. Sampson hits a running hip attack but falls victim to a slingshot ace crusher. He recovers with a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall. Ridge finds success with a sunset flip out of nowhere for the win at 8:03. While Sampson came off as lumbering at times, he showed some promise down the stretch. I don’t think ROH knows what they want to do with Ridge, but this was a nice victory for him. **
They show footage of Jim Cornette in the ring talking about the main event. The winning team will earn $10,000. A few Hooters girls bring out the check and Cary Silken signs it. Backstage, the House of Truth and the Briscoes try to come to an agreement about how they’re going to split the check. Truth Martini wants 10% of the money to go to the House of Truth Foundation, enraging Jay. The faces seem to be getting along better and they talk about the various rivalries in the main event.
Match #6: Elimination: Charlie Haas, Shelton Benjamin, Eddie Edwards, and El Generico vs. Jay Briscoe, Mark Briscoe, Roderick Strong, and Michael Elgin
This match has a special two-hour time limit so buckle up everyone. Edwards and Strong start the match but Strong gets a little preoccupied with a fan at ringside. Generico runs over and high-fives the fan to a big pop. Edwards snaps off an armdrag on Strong and connects with a dropkick. Shelton almost gets his hands on the Briscoes after the heels spend too much time arguing with each other. Elgin starts working over Shelton’s ribs until he’s able to find an opening after a few punches. Generico snaps off a couple of armdrags on Jay. Haas gets tagged in but Jay quickly escapes to the outside. Edwards takes Mark down with a hurricanrana and he immediately returns the favor. They wrestle to a stalemate as the crowd applauds. The Briscoes catch Edwards with stereo shoulder tackles. Shelton almost traps Strong in a cross armbreaker but Jay runs in to break it up. He slams Strong across Haas’ knee. Generico tries a slingshot maneuver but Strong catches him with a backbreaker. The heels isolate Generico until he fights off the Briscoes and makes the tag. Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team start brawling with the Briscoes on the floor. They throw the Briscoes into the barricade as chaos ensues around ringside. Haas back suplexes Jay onto the edge of the barricade. Generico jumps off the barricade and connects with a double axe handle on Strong. Shelton suplexes Jay onto the entrance ramp. Mark jumps off the apron and lands a senton onto Haas. Jay DDTs Shelton onto the apron as Generico yakuza kicks Strong. The referees tell Bobby Cruise to announce that if the legal men do not enter the ring in ten seconds, they will be disqualified. Back in, Jay low blows Shelton and the heels work him over. He ducks under a lariat and makes the tag. Everyone starts brawling on the floor again. Edwards and Strong trade punches in the crowd. Shelton returns the favor by low blowing Jay. Elgin slams Generico onto the entrance ramp. The referees appeal to Bobby Cruise again to get the legal men in the ring. Now everyone starts brawling in the ring. Shelton plasters Mark with a superkick while Haas hits an exploder on Jay. Generico hits a michinoku driver on Elgin. The faces connect with stereo corner punches in all four corners. WGTT hit the Leap of Faith on Jay for a nearfall. Jay hits Shelton in the ribs with a chair behind the referee’s back. Mark connects with his frog splash elbow drop to eliminate Shelton at 47:32.
Jay attacks Haas from the apron, allowing Mark to connect with a yakuza kick. Haas responds with an olympic slam to eliminate Mark at 48:54. Strong connects with an enzuigiri on Haas and rolls him up to eliminate him at 49:29. Haas hits Jay with a chair behind the referee’s back. Generico hits a brainbuster on Jay to eliminate him at 50:12. I absolutely hate rapid-fire eliminations. The House of Truth isolate Generico until he lures Elgin and Strong to the floor. Generico and Edwards follow out with stereo dives. In the ring, Generico hits a blue thunder bomb on Elgin for a nearfall. Strong drops Edwards back-first across the apron. Elgin plants Generico with a TKO but gets caught by a corner yakuza kick. Generico follows with a half nelson suplex for a two count. They battle on the top rope and Elgin hits a flying shoulder tackle. Elgin hits a spinning sit-out powerbomb on Generico to eliminate him at 62:13. The House of Truth turn their focus towards Edwards. They take control until Edwards connect with a missile dropkick on Strong. He low bridges Elgin to the floor and hits a TKO on Strong. Edwards follows with a backpack chinbreaker on Strong and transitions into an STF. Strong is able to reach the bottom rope. They trade forearms and Strong connects with a knee strike after interference from Truth Martini. Edwards surprises Elgin with a quick rollup out of nowhere to eliminate him at 73:47. We’re down to Edwards and Strong. They exchange punches and Edwards hits a sit-out gourdbuster. They battle up top and Strong sends Edwards through a table at ringside. Edwards barely beats the twenty count. Strong connects with a superkick and applies the Stronghold. Edwards turns the hold into a rollup for a nearfall. He hits a german suplex and connects with a lariat. Martini enters the ring and Edwards lays him out with a codebreaker. Edwards traps Strong in a guillotine choke to win the match for his team at 80:28.
I should start off by saying that this match didn’t feel like it lasted eighty minutes. In fact, the action leading up to the first elimination flew by. There would be heat segments culminating in a big brawl on the outside that had the crowd on their feet. All of this made sense considering the hatred between the Briscoes and WGTT. I’ll also say that the crowd was great during this match and hung with the wrestlers throughout the entire duration. My main complaint with this contest was the rapid-fire eliminations that occurred around the fifty-minute mark. There’s no need for them to occur so closely to each other and spacing them out would have made each elimination mean more. I guess that you could argue that the match didn’t need to last eighty minutes and that ROH was just concerned about breaking a record with the duration. However, for an eighty-minute match, I thought this one was pretty entertaining. Edwards looked like a world-beater by the end of the match and the Briscoes/WGTT feud was advanced effectively, so there’s also some storyline implications here as well. I know a lot of people are going to dread the idea of this match. While it’s not a match of the year contender or anything like that, it was certainly not a chore to watch as some might have expected. ***¾
Overall: Northern Aggression is a show that relied heavily on the big elimination tag team match and I have to say that the main event came through. There were also two fun undercard matches that are worth watching as well. However, Northern Aggression and Southern Defiance are being sold together for the price of one DVD. When you add both shows together, there are more than enough quality matches to warrant a recommendation. The thing that I really liked about these shows was that they gave the undercard matches an opportunity to shine and wrestlers like Mike Bennett, TJ Perkins, Jay Lethal, and Adam Cole as well as a few different tag teams stood out. Overall, Battle of the Carolinas is an enjoyable two-disc set that I can safely recommend.