Match #1: Jay Briscoe vs. Amazing Red (The Era of Honor Begins – 2/23/02)
Mark was too young to legally wrestle in Pennsylvania at this point. They have a fast-paced exchange and Red gets sent to the outside. Jay misses a plancha but recovers with a leg lariat in the ring. Red answers with an enzuigiri. Jay shrugs off a tornado DDT and hits a fisherman neckbreaker. The crowd pops huge for that move. Red drops him with a brainbuster and connects with a barrage of kicks. Jay fires back with a mafia kick. Red back drops out of a Jay Driller. Jay blocks a hurricanrana and hits a Jay Driller from that position for a nearfall. Red crotches him on the top rope. Jay hits a contrived spear in mid-air. He follows with a half nelson suplex but misses a top rope senton. Red lands a corkscrew splash and a standing moonsault for the win at 8:20. No one could ever call this match boring. This was essentially the opener of Ring of Honor’s first show and they succeeded in showing everyone the kind of action to be expected from the promotion. It might have been overkill, but here we are ten years later. **½
Match #2: Jay Briscoe and Amazing Red vs. Christopher Daniels and Mark Briscoe (Scramble Madness – 11/16/02)
Mark attacks his brother before the opening bell. They trade kicks and fall to the canvas. Mark and Red have a nice exchange, ending with Mark hitting an overhead suplex. Red snaps off a headscissors on Daniels and Jay gets a few shots in. The Briscoes square off against each other once again. Daniels sends Red to the floor and throws him into the guardrail. The Prophecy isolate Red until he comes off the middle rope with a hurricanrana on Daniels and makes the tag. Jay connects with a leg lariat on Daniels and hits a gourdbuster. He adds a fisherman buster. Mark gets planted by a DDT as well. Daniels connects with an enzuigiri to block a Jay Driller. Mark clotheslines Jay to the floor. Red connects with a missile dropkick on Daniels and hits Code Red for a nearfall. Daniels blocks a hurricanrana and hits Last Rites for the victory at 15:48. Mark joining the Prophecy was a great angle. The thing that I liked most about this match was the Prophecy doing whatever they could during the heat segment to put away Red and not have to deal with Jay. It was a nice touch that you don’t see very often today. Both teams worked well together and produced an energetic match while getting the angle over. Unfortunately, footage is not shown of Daniels confronting the Briscoes’ parents after the match. ***¼
Match #3: Jay Briscoe vs. Mark Briscoe (One Year Anniversary Show – 2/8/03)
They shake hands before the opening bell. The Briscoes agreed that their feud was over and that this would be the last time they ever wrestle each other. Mark attempts an early cross armbreaker. Jay escapes and connects with a mafia kick. Mark might be knocked out. It turns out he was playing possum and starts working over Jay’s left leg. Jay uses his good leg to connect with a leg lariat and hits a snap suplex. He adds a delayed vertical suplex and takes control. Mark comes back with an overhead suplex and a gutwrench suplex. Jay clotheslines his brother and himself to the floor. They exchange strikes at ringside. Mark jumps onto the apron and lands a springboard corkscrew plancha to the floor. He follows with a moonsault from the top rope. In the ring, Jay blocks a springboard maneuver with a superkick. He hits a backbreaker and a death valley driver. Mark connects with a running knee strike and hits a springboard ace crusher. They tease finishers and Mark hits an alabama slam. Jay reverses a springboard ace crusher with an ace crusher of his own. They trade chops and Jay connects with a huge mafia kick. He follows with a sit-out powerbomb and lands a top rope senton for a nearfall. Mark fights off a Jay Driller and hits an exploder. Mark hits a Jay Driller for a two count. Jay avoids a moonsault and hits three consecutive Jay Drillers for the win at 16:38. The crowd would have been hotter had there been a defined face/heel dynamic, but they eventually were forced to respond to the action. The Briscoes absolutely tore into each other and you couldn’t ask for much more from this encounter. Mark showed his hand by attempting to steal the Jay Driller too early and Jay put an exclamation point onto his win with three consecutive Jay Drillers. Everyone remembers their Fifth Year Festival match but this one was pretty great. ***¾
Match #4: ROH Tag Team Titles: AJ Styles and Amazing Red © vs. Jay and Mark Briscoe (Night of the Champions – 3/22/03)
This was the first time the Briscoes ever teamed in Ring of Honor. Mark and Red trade control and find themselves at a stalemate. Styles hits a german suplex on Mark. Red and Styles take out Jay with a superkick-german suplex combination. They land stereo dives to the floor onto the Briscoes. In the ring, the Briscoes find an opening to double team Styles. He fights back with a backbreaker-exploder combination on Jay. Red connects with a flying elbow drop onto Jay. Mark blind tags into the match and connects with a missile dropkick on Red. Red quickly responds with Brain Damage and Styles adds a delayed brainbuster for a nearfall. Styles hits a backbreaker-gutbuster combination on Mark, who answers with a powerbomb. Styles attempts his springboard inverted DDT but Mark dropkicks him in the process. Styles reverses a springboard ace crusher into a back suplex off the middle rope. Red lands a standing shooting star press onto Mark. Red gets caught by a lariat and the Briscoes work him over. He hits a modified backslide driver on Mark and makes the tag. Styles superkicks Jay and hits a powerslam. He drops Mark onto his neck with a back suplex. Jay clotheslines Styles and himself to the floor. The Briscoes block Code Red with an assisted DDT. Styles hits an inverted DDT-DDT combination. Jay escapes a Styles Clash and hits a falcon arrow. Red nearly murders Jay with a Code Red from the middle rope for a two count. Okay, let me explain the finish because it’s pretty complex. Mark is perched on the top rope. Styles elevates Red into the air. Red hurricanranas Mark into position for the Styles Clash, which Styles hits for the victory at 16:44. The Briscoes are often complimented for eschewing the usual tag team formula and taking the match in a different direction. This was an example of that, but it worked brilliantly due to the awesome chemistry between these two teams. There were sequences in this contest that I’d never seen before and this match happened nine years ago. Additionally, the finish needs to be seen to be believed. My rating might seem high, but pure spotfests don’t get much better than this. ****
Match #5: ROH Tag Team Titles: Izzy and Dixie © vs. Jay and Mark Briscoe (Main Event Spectacles – 11/1/03)
Both teams begin brawling before the opening bell. Special K hit a gourdbuster on Mark. Izzy monkey flips Mark into Jay on the apron. That makes Jay extremely angry. The Briscoes hit a backbreaker-flying knee strike combination on Dixie. They isolate him until he takes advantage of some miscommunication and makes the tag. Izzy cleans house with a series of strikes. Dixie lands a dive to the floor onto Jay. Izzy follows with a fosbury flop. Mark adds a shooting star press from the top rope. Dixie throws Mark into the barricade. Back in, Mark hits a springboard ace crusher on Dixie. Izzy ducks a doomsday device and hits a reverse hurricanrana on Jay. Izzy also hits a standing sliced bread on Mark for a nearfall. The Briscoes recover with the Veg-O-Matic on Izzy but he forgets to kick out. Oh well. The Briscoes polish him off with the doomsday device. Jay hits the Jay Driller on Izzy and the Briscoes become the new ROH Tag Team Champions at 9:55. While not the best match you’ll see on this compilation, it’s obvious why it was included. Some moments of sloppiness really killed their flow but the end result was the correct one. **½
Match #6: ROH Tag Team Titles: Jay and Mark Briscoe © vs. Samoa Joe and AJ Styles (The Conclusion – 11/28/03)
Styles gets the better of an exchange against Mark. Joe judo throws Jay and just out-aggresses him. Mark blind tags into the match and connects with a springboard knee strike on Joe. Styles jumps off Mark’s back and tornado DDTs Jay. Unreal. Joe hits an STO on Mark and the Briscoes take some time to regroup. Joe and Styles land stereo dives to the floor. Joe connects with an ole kick on Jay. Styles tries an ole kick of his own on Mark. In the ring, Mark gets worked over until the Briscoes use some double team tactics to isolate Styles. He hits an inverted DDT-DDT combination on the Briscoes and makes the tag. Joe and Styles connect with double pele kicks. Joe hits a powerbomb on Mark and transitions into an STF. He snaps off a powerslam and applies a cross armbreaker. Jay is able to break up the hold. Styles charges with a neckbreaker on Mark, who responds by back dropping him into a powerbomb from Jay. Mark connects with a springboard dropkick on Joe and Jay adds a german suplex. Everyone connects with a strike and all four men are down. Mark hits a uranagi on Joe but falls victim to a dragon suplex. Styles accidentally lariats Joe. Mark lands a shooting star press onto Joe and the Briscoes retain their titles at 15:50. I liked the story of the Briscoes having to use constant double team tactics to regain control after Styles or Joe would defeat one of them in a singles exchange. This match might not have had as much energy down the stretch as I was expecting, but this isn’t a contest to sleep on. Plus, Mark now has a legitimate reason to challenge for the ROH World Title. ***½
Match #7: ROH World Title: Samoa Joe © vs. Mark Briscoe (Final Battle 2003 – 12/27/03)
Joe wastes no time going after Mark. He attempts an early ole kick at ringside to no avail. In the ring, they trade control on the mat. Mark connects with a few corner lariats. Joe sends him to the floor but Jay pulls his brother away from an ole kick. Back in, Joe hits an STO and drops a knee. He takes control until Mark comes back with an exploder. Joe snaps off a powerslam and lands a dive to the floor onto Jay. He’s finally able to catch Mark with an ole kick. Joe hits a powerbomb in the ring and transitions into an STF. Mark is able to reach the bottom rope. They trade strikes and Joe blasts Mark with an enzuigiri. Mark ducks a lariat and hits a german suplex followed by a saito suplex. Joe knees out of a Cutthroat Driver and hits a dragon suplex. Joe applies a rear-naked choke to retain his title at 14:42. The biggest thing going against this match was that the crowd just did not believe Mark could take the title. A lot of interesting threads were started (Joe’s early aggression and not taking Mark seriously) but they were forgotten about and weren’t paid off by the end of the contest. This ended up being a bit disappointing. **¾
Match #8: ROH Tag Team Titles: Jay and Mark Briscoe © vs. Samoa Joe and Bryan Danielson (The Battle Lines are Drawn – 1/10/04)
Danielson out-wrestles both Briscoes early on. Joe grounds Mark and lays in multiple forearms. Joe and Danielson begin to work over Mark’s left shoulder. Danielson finds himself in the wrong corner but regains control after going back to work on Mark’s shoulder. Jay interjects himself from the apron, allowing Mark to connect with a spin kick on Joe. The Briscoes isolate him until he connects with an enzuigiri on Jay and makes the tag. Danielson airplane spins Mark and follows with a diving headbutt. Jay interrupts a superplex attempt by Danielson and the Briscoes hit the doomsday device. Danielson is now isolated until he’s able to take advantage of some miscommunication. Joe blocks a springboard maneuver from Mark and hits a powerbomb. He transitions into an STF and Danielson locks in Cattle Mutilation soon after. Jay breaks up the hold. The Briscoes lay out Danielson with a yakuza kick-german suplex combination. Danielson headbutts Jay and hits a dragon suplex. Joe enzuigiris Mark and connects with an ole kick on the floor. Danielson hits a back superplex on Jay for a nearfall. Jay responds with a yakuza kick and hits the Jay Driller. The Briscoes retain their titles at 23:55. Much like when Joe and AJ Styles challenged for the tag belts, the match was technically sound but there wasn’t as much crowd heat as I expected. However, there were a few nice touches in this contest such as Joe and Mark playing off of their Final Battle match as well as the finish nicely highlighting Joe’s obsession with getting revenge on the Briscoes. ***¼
Match #9: ROH World Title: Cage Match: Samoa Joe © vs. Jay Briscoe (At Our Best – 3/13/04)
Jay immediately tries to escape but Joe stops him. Jay finds an opening to connect with a yakuza kick and hits a snap suplex. Joe ducks an enzuigiri and hits a dead-lift german suplex. He lawn darts Jay into the cage and wraps a chain around the cage door to prevent anyone from escaping. Jay is bleeding from the forehead. Joe takes over, connecting with a facewash kick. Blood is pouring from Jay’s forehead. He tries to climb over the top but Joe brings him back down with a superplex. Jay hits a saito suplex and once again tries to climb over the top. Joe gives chase and Jay hits an ace crusher from the top rope. They exchange strikes. Jay delivers a low blow and connects with a lariat. They battle on the top rope and both fall to the canvas. Joe facewash kicks Jay into the cage. The caging comes undone and Jay almost escapes through the cage wall. That was unintentionally awesome. Joe hits a powerbomb and transitions into an STF. There’s a visual. Jay is able to reach the bottom rope. He connects with an enzuigiri and hits the Jay Driller. Both men are down. Mark begins to climb the cage but AJ Styles stops him with a Styles Clash onto the floor. Joe stops Jay from climbing over the top of the cage with a Muscle Buster from the top rope. Joe retains his title at 14:23. Joe’s dominance against the Briscoes in a singles capacity was established throughout the course of their feud. In the opening minutes of tag team matches, Joe would usually get the better of either Briscoe until they resorted to double teaming. This match was a natural extension of that story. Joe dominated for over half of this contest and it was quite the spectacle to watch Jay stage his comeback. Everyone remembers this match for the amount of blood loss suffered by Jay, but there’s actually a coherent story in the middle of everything. ***¾
Match #10: Mark Briscoe vs. Low Ki (Death Before Dishonor II Pt. 2 – 7/24/04)
They begin with some chain wrestling. Low Ki underestimates Mark on the mat and takes some time to regroup on the floor. Mark attempts a dive but Julius Smokes pushes him off the top rope. Low Ki takes control until Mark fires back with a spin kick. Mark follows with a basement dropkick in the corner and hits a fisherman buster. Low Ki escapes a Cutthroat Driver and hits a saito suplex. He misses a springboard gamengiri and falls victim to an electric chair slam. Mark inadvertently puts himself into position for the dragon clutch. He ducks an enzuigiri and hits a german suplex. Smokes distracts Mark during a Cutthroat Driver attempt. Low Ki connects with a cartwheel enzuigiri and applies the dragon clutch for the win at 16:40. Once the action picked up down the stretch, everything started coming together. However, the majority of the match was too one-sided to keep my interest for very long. The interference from Smokes also seemed unnecessary given the end result. I’d be curious to see what these two could do together in a more back and forth setting. **½
Match #11: Jay and Mark Briscoe vs. Low Ki and Homicide (Testing the Limit – 8/7/04)
Both teams start brawling before the opening bell. The Briscoes hit a backbreaker-springboard knee drop combination on Low Ki. They follow with a side slam-leg drop combination on Homicide. Low Ki surprises Jay with a kappou kick and the Rottweilers work him over. He fights off Low Ki with a superkick and makes the tag. Mark connects with a double springboard dropkick. He catches Low Ki with a facewash dropkick in the corner. Homicide interrupts a doomsday device. Low Ki and Jay tease finishers and Low Ki settles for a knockout kick. Mark hits a shoulder-capture suplex on Low Ki. Homicide pushes Mark off the top rope and he bumps his head off of the ceiling. Jay hits the Jay Driller on Homicide but he’s not the legal man. Jay reverses the Ki Krusher into a small package for the victory at 12:41. These two teams provided an energetic brawl that was more of a preview than anything else. Unfortunately, I don’t believe that this feud was ever appropriately blown off. It’s also unfortunate the post-match locker room brawl wasn’t included on this compilation, as I remember hearing great things about it. ***
Match #12: Jay and Mark Briscoe vs. AJ Styles and Matt Sydal (The 100th Show – 4/22/06)
The Briscoes try to attack at the opening bell to no avail. Styles connects with a dropkick on Jay. Mark whiffs on a springboard dropkick and falls victim to a neckbreaker. Mark blocks a running knee strike from Sydal and the Briscoes take him down with stereo shoulder tackles. They isolate him until he snaps off a headscissors on Jay and makes the tag. Mark catches Styles with a knee strike from the apron and the Briscoes now work him over. Styles and Sydal come back with stereo dives to the floor. Back in, Mark low blows Styles and the Briscoes elevate Sydal about ten feet into the air. They biel Sydal across the ring. He hurricanranas Mark off the middle rope and fights off Jay. Styles hits an inverted DDT on Mark and unleashes a series of moves on Jay. Mark saves his brother from a Styles Clash. Styles and Sydal hit a splash-neckbreaker combination on Mark. They follow with a nasty double team neckbreaker. The Briscoes respond with a springboard doomsday device on Sydal for a nearfall. Jay levels Styles with a yakuza kick. Sydal escapes a Jay Driller and lands a standing moonsault. Styles barely misses interrupting a spike Jay Driller on Sydal and the Briscoes retain their titles at 12:38. As with many Briscoes’ matches, they put aside the usual tag team formula and it worked for the better here. While on the short side, this contest was a battle of power vs. speed and the finish was a creative way to put an exclamation point onto that story. There’s not much more you can ask for in twelve minutes. ***½
Match #13: Jay and Mark Briscoe vs. KENTA and Naomichi Marufuji (Glory By Honor V, Night 1 – 9/15/06)
Mark and Marufuji begin with some chain wrestling. Both teams trade control for awhile, isolating an opponent in the corner. Jay attempts a sunset flip on KENTA, who just slaps him. Mark catches KENTA with a flying crossbody and the Briscoes take over with a biel across the ring. He snaps off a powerslam on Mark and the NOAH duo regains control until the Briscoes catch Marufuji with stereo shoulder tackles. Jay and Marufuji get into an intense forearm exchange and fall to the canvas after both connecting with clotheslines. Mark hits a northern lights suplex on KENTA and connects with a spin kick on Marufuji. He follows with a slingshot double stomp on KENTA and an exploder on Marufuji. The Briscoes hit a double team neckbreaker on KENTA, who answers with a double springboard dropkick. Marufuji dropkicks Jay to the canvas and connects with a basement lariat. Mark saves his brother with a springboard spin kick but gets leveled with a clothesline. KETNA hits a fisherman suplex on Mark but falls victim to a death valley driver from Jay. Marufuji superkicks Mark and hits sliced bread. More strikes follow and all four men are down as the crowd rises to their feet. KENTA hits a tiger suplex on Jay. Marufuji and KENTA connect with stereo knockout kicks on Mark for a nearfall. KENTA hits the Go 2 Sleep on Mark for the win at 20:24. Until the finishing stretch, both teams remained fairly tentative with each other but it was interesting to watch the interactions between them. However, the final five minutes were incredible, especially because KENTA and Marufuji presented a different kind of challenge that the Briscoes hadn’t faced before. As the main event, this worked really well. ***¾
Match #14: 2 out of 3 Falls: Jay and Mark Briscoe vs. Austin Aries and Roderick Strong (Dedicated – 1/26/07)
Jay foolishly tries to headscissors Aries. Jay hurricanranas Strong but immediately gets caught by a leg lariat. Strong boots Mark in the face, causing him to regroup on the outside. Both teams trade control. Mark lands a nice springboard moonsault onto Strong and follows with a dive to the floor onto Aries. Aries low bridges both Briscoes to the outside and lands his heat-seeking missile. In the ring, Strong hits a backbreaker on Jay and Generation Next isolate him. He surprises Strong with a blockbuster and makes the tag. Mark connects with a springboard dropkick on Strong and showcases his karate offense on Aries. He gutwrench suplexes Strong from the top rope and adds a springboard knee drop. The Briscoes take down Aries with stereo shoulder tackles. Strong recovers and turns the tide. Aries lands a frog splash onto Mark. The Briscoes take down Strong with stereo kicks. Strong reverses a springboard ace crusher from Mark into a gutbuster. Awesome. Generation Next hit a chop-brainbuster combination on Jay. Mark interrupts a 450 splash and the Briscoes hit a spike Jay Driller on Strong to win the first fall at 20:13. The Briscoes quickly attack after the rest period. They hit a double team neckbreaker on Strong and flapjack him. Aries interrupts a doomsday device and Strong hits a half nelson backbreaker on Jay. Aries goes crazy with dropkicks. He lays out Mark with a death valley driver onto the apron. Strong connects with the Sick Kick on Jay. He hits an alabama slam on Mark and Aries follows with a 450 for a nearfall. The Briscoes recover with a spike Jay Driller on Aries for the 2-0 victory at 25:13. I want to make the obvious claim that it’s nice to see a 2/3 falls match end in two straight falls. In this case, the result made sense in that Generation Next would soon split up and the Briscoes would continue to be in the title picture. The crowd wasn’t responsive to the action and a lot of that had to do with the 2/3 falls stipulation. However, ROH tried something different with this match and that’s commendable. For reference, these two teams had their classic at Unified in 2006. ***½
Match #15: ROH World Tag Team Titles: Jay and Mark Briscoe © vs. Shingo and Naruki Doi (Fifth Year Festival: Liverpool – 3/3/07)
Mark hits a northern lights suplex on Shingo. Jay hurricanranas Doi and connects with a leg lariat. The Briscoes catch Shingo with some double team maneuvers. They hit a back suplex-slingshot double stomp combination followed by an awesome backbreaker-split legged corkscrew combination. Shingo fights them off hit a DDT-flatliner combination and makes the tag. Doi lands a dive to the floor onto Mark. Shingo hits a spinebuster on Jay and transitions into a half crab. He switches into a crossface. Doi hits Dai Bosou on both of the Briscoes. Shingo and Doi isolate Jay until he hits a blockbuster on Doi and makes the tag. Mark connects with a springboard kick on Shingo and showcases his karate offense on Doi. He follows with a michinoku driver on Doi and lands a shooting star press to the floor onto Shingo. Doi and Jay trade forearms in the ring. Doi hits Doi 555 and the Dragon Gate duo hit a dropkick-saito suplex combination. Mark lands a springboard frog splash onto Shingo. The Briscoes follow with a flying leg drop-side slam combination. Doi catches Mark with a german suplex off the middle rope. Jay hits a sit-out facebuster on Doi but Mark finds knees on a 450 splash. Shingo hits a superplex on Jay and Doi adds a flying elbow drop for a nearfall. Shingo accidentally lariats Doi. Jay boots Shingo to the floor and the Briscoes hit Total Elimination on Mark. The Briscoes lay out Doi with a double team neckbreaker for a two count. Shingo interrupts a springboard doomsday device. Jay elevates Doi into a death valley driver for a nearfall and all four men are down. Shingo nearly murders Jay with a lariat and does the same to Mark. He hits a TKO on Mark and Doi adds a Bakatare Sliding Kick. Shingo hits the Last Falconry on Mark. Shingo and Doi become the new ROH World Tag Team Champions at 22:37. The Briscoes were well-prepared to wrestle a Dragon Gate style of match and this was my favorite match on the compilation thus far. Unlike in some of the previous contests, the crowd was on fire for the action and this was truly a showcase for tag team wrestling. Shingo and Doi winning was shocking at the time but it was these kind of surprises that made ROH so much fun to follow. ****
Match #16: Jay Briscoe vs. Mark Briscoe (Fifth Year Festival: Finale – 3/4/07)
After losing the tag titles the night before, the Briscoes figured that they needed to test themselves and man up. They trade control on the mat until Jay just slaps his brother. The action starts to intensify. Jay clotheslines Mark to the floor where they exchange chops. Jay slams Mark onto the floor. Mark sends his brother into the barricade and uses the guardrail to land a moonsault. They battle on the entrance ramp and Mark hits a suplex. In the ring, Jay snaps off a hurricanrana but Mark fires back with a spin kick. Mark hits a springboard senton. Jay spikes him with a DDT and takes over. Mark anticipates a charge and hits an exploder. Jay quickly answers with a stunner and connects with a yakuza kick. He lands a dive to the floor and follows with a frog splash in the ring. Mark hits an ace crusher from the middle rope and lands a springboard corkscrew splash. They battle on the tope rope and Jay hits a super gourdbuster. Both men are down. Jay hits a forceful falcon arrow and applies a stretch plum. Mark fights off his brother with two exploders. Jay retreats to the apron. Mark leaps off of Todd Sinclair’s back and hurricanranas Jay from the apron to the floor. You can’t get much more inventive than that. In the ring, they trade strikes and Jay hits the Jay Driller. They barely beat the ten count. They exchange strikes again and beat another ten count. Mark hits the Cutthroat Driver. This time, they can’t beat the ten count and the match is ruled a draw at 27:06. This was a crazy match, much in the same vein as their encounter at the One Year Anniversary Show. While the brunt of this match was probably better than their last outing from 2003, I heavily disliked the finish. Any way that I look at it, the double knockout just seemed like a clever way around declaring an actual winner. With that said, the crowd didn’t turn on the finish at all, which is a testament to the quality of match that preceded the finish. ***¾
Match #17: ROH World Tag Team Titles: Jay and Mark Briscoe © vs. Kevin Steen and El Generico (Driven 2007 – 6/23/07)
Jay makes it clear that he has little respect for Generico early on. Generico snaps off a few armdrags. Mark connects with a springboard back elbow on Steen and showcases his karate offense. Steen ducks a kick and lays in an enzuigiri. The Briscoes use some teamwork to work over Steen. Generico eventually enters the match and drop toe holds Jay into a flipping leg drop from Steen. They isolate him until he ducks a clothesline from Generico and hits a neckbreaker. Once again, some nice teamwork from the Briscoes allow them to keep Generico in their corner. Steen lands a dive to the floor onto Jay. Mark follows with a dive over the ringpost. He uses the barricade to land a moonsault onto Steen. The Briscoes biel Generico into the fourth row of chairs. Steen powerbombs Mark into some chairs. In the ring, Steen hits a sit-out powerbomb on Jay. Generico lands a springboard moonsault onto Mark and connects with a corner yakuza kick on Jay. Steen plants Jay with his pumphandle neckbreaker and lands a swantan for a nearfall. Mark saves his brother from a package piledriver. Generico hits a tornado DDT on Mark, who responds by double stomping Steen through the ringside table. Jay hits a death valley driver on Generico for a two count. The Briscoes follow with a spike piledriver on Generico to retain their titles at 16:06. This was on the level of the Briscoes’ match against AJ Styles and Amazing Red from earlier in the compilation. There couldn’t have been a better way to legitimize Steen and Generico than to put them on the Briscoes’ level and that’s exactly what happened here. They put aside traditional formula and delivered a war that not too many people saw coming. Like I said earlier, matches like this are why ROH was so much fun to follow as Steen and Generico suddenly became mainstays in the promotion after this contest. ****
Match #18: ROH World Tag Team Titles: 2 out of 3 Falls: Jay and Mark Briscoe © vs. Kevin Steen and El Generico (Manhattan Mayhem II – 8/25/07)
Both teams start brawling. Mark suplexes Generico onto a propped chair on the floor. Generico responds by overhead suplexing him into the barricade. Steen hits a corner cannonball on Jay, sending him into the barricade. In the ring, the Briscoes hit a tandem uranagi on Generico. They work him over until Steen interjects himself. Generico drop toe holds Jay into a flipping leg drop from Steen. Jay fights back with a blockbuster on Steen and Mark adds some karate offense. The Briscoes hit a flying leg drop-side slam combination on Steen. Generico lands a flying crossbody onto Jay and plants him with a tornado DDT. Steen follows with a pumphandle neckbreaker for a nearfall. Mark lands a moonsault onto Generico and takes out Steen with a dive. Jay lands a frog splash onto Generico and the Briscoes win the first fall at 11:03. After the rest period, the Briscoes biel Generico over the top rope and onto Steen. In the ring, the Briscoes beat down Steen until Generico gives him opening to land a dive onto Mark. Jay plants Steen with a death valley driver onto the apron. Generico rests on the apron. Mark leaps over the top rope and hurricanranas him to the floor. Good Lord. Back in, Jay hits a gourdbuster on Generico. Jay fights off a top rope brainbuster and Mark plants Generico with a springboard ace crusher. Steen interrupts a doomsday device. Generico tries a quick rollup on Jay to no avail. Steen finds knees on a swantan. Mark tries to dive onto him but gets powerbomb onto the apron. Steen also powerbombs Jay into the barricade. In the ring, Steen is able to land the swantan onto Mark for a nearfall. Generico lands a springboard moonsault to the floor onto Jay. Steen misses a moonsault and Mark lays him out with an exploder. The Briscoes connect with stereo superkicks on Steen and hit the doomsday device for a nearfall. Steen traps Mark in the tree of woe and Generico connects with a coast-to-coast dropkick. Jay throws Generico to the floor and hits the Jay Driller on Steen. Mark hits the Cutthroat Driver on Steen and the Briscoes retain their titles in a 2-0 victory at 24:43. This match benefited from some smart long-term booking with the Briscoes. They had been dominant in 2/3 fall matches and the crowd was anxious to see if Steen and Generico would be able to even pick up one fall in this contest. The second fall was especially reminiscent of their Driven encounter and this type of match fit the feud perfectly. ****
Match #19: ROH World Tag Team Titles: Relaxed Rules: Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black © vs. Jay and Mark Briscoe (Battle of the Best – 9/13/08)
It’s brawl from the start. Mark overhead suplexes Jacobs onto the entrance ramp. Black suplexes Jay in the crowd and throws some chairs at him. Mark crotches Jacobs on the barricade and superkicks him. The Briscoes launch Black onto some bleachers. In the ring, the Briscoes biel Jacobs across the ring and hit a flying leg drop-side slam combination. Black interrupts a doomsday device and slams Mark onto the floor. He connects with a pele kick on Jay and hits Paroxysm. Jay spears Mark onto the entrance ramp. The Age of the Fall hit an assisted Contra Code on Jay for a nearfall. Mark fights off Jacobs with an exploder and elevates Black into a neckbreaker from Jay. Mark hits the Cutthroat Driver on Jacobs for a nearfall. Black pulls Mark to the floor and powerbombs him into the crowd. He saves Jacobs from a top rope Jay Driller and throws Jay into an End Time. Jay taps out and the AOTF retain their titles at 12:35. The Japanese crowd reacted surprisingly well to the brawling. This feud was becoming a bit tiresome at this point, so the shorter duration was a welcome change of pace. While there were better candidates on the card for the main event slot, the finish was inventive and made the champions look strong. **¾
Overall: Briscoe Brothers: Since Day One is a great purchase for even a slight fan of the Briscoes who doesn’t already own most of these matches. Fourteen out of the nineteen inclusions reached three stars, while four of them cracked four stars. Additionally, I must commend Ring of Honor for conducting an interview with the Briscoes specifically for this compilation. Before many of the matches, the Briscoes would give their thoughts on their opponents or what the matches meant for their career. It was a nice touch that made the compilation feel more complete. I think it’s easy to forget how many quality matches the Briscoes have had over the years and this compilation was an effective reminder. Thus, Briscoe Brothers: Since Day One earns a high recommendation.
You can purchase this DVD at Ring of Honor’s store right here.