Match #1: ROH Pure Title: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Samoa Joe (Buffalo Stampede – 10/15/05)
Joe eventually grows tired of Nigel’s pre-match stalling and Nigel tricks him into using two rope breaks. Make that three. Joe has no rope breaks left. He starts kicking Nigel in the head and adds a facewash kick. Joe comes off the middle rope with an elbow drop. He hits a powerslam and maintains control. Nigel uses all three of his rope breaks to escape various submission situations. They exchange forearms. Joe blocks the jawbreaker lariat with an atomic drop and hits a senton. The action goes to ringside where Joe connects with a facewash kick against the barricade. Nigel dodges a second facewash kick and Joe’s leg gets stuck in the barricade. He barely beats the twenty count. In the ring, Nigel escapes a Muscle Buster and sneaks in a pinning combination using the ropes to retain his title at 10:54. This was on the short side, but they told a terrific story. Joe let his aggression get the best of him early on and it cost him all of his rope breaks. Then, he settled down and made Nigel use his rope breaks. When Joe picked up the aggression again, he almost cost himself the match. This really put over Nigel as an expert strategist. ***
Match #2: ROH Pure Title: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Christopher Daniels (Weekend of Champions Night 1 – 4/28/06)
Nigel retreats to the floor and doesn’t seem too anxious to lockup with Daniels. They trade control of a wristlock. Nigel goes to the eyes and takes over on the mat. Daniels now has to retreat to the floor to regroup. Back in, Daniels hits a back suplex and applies the koji clutch. Nigel has to use a rope break to escape. He lures Daniels into his kick-lariat combination in the corner. Nigel takes control until Daniels fights back with a neckbreaker and an STO. Nigel fires back with a lariat. Daniels blocks a headstand in the corner and hits a death valley driver. Nigel avoids the BME but runs into a flatliner. Nigel utilizes all three of his rope breaks. He connects with a jawbreaker lariat for a nearfall. They exchange reversals and fall to the floor. Nigel shoves a photographer into Daniels and runs into the ring. Nigel retains his title via countout at 20:21. The finish was unique but in no way paid off the twenty minutes of action that came before it. In fact, you could argue that this match was just picking up steam when the countout happened. **¾
Match #3: ROH Pure Title: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Jay Lethal (Ring of Homicide – 5/13/06)
They trade control of a wristlock and Lethal becomes frustrated by the end of the exchange. Lethal tries to fire off some chops but continues to get grounded by Nigel. Lethal eventually finds success with his chops and connects with a basement dropkick. Nigel lures him into his kick-lariat combination in the corner. Nigel starts going to work on the left shoulder. Lethal fights off the Tower of London and comes off the middle rope with a leg lariat. They exchange uppercuts. Lethal ducks a jawbreaker lariat and connects with a superkick. Nigel crotches him on the top rope and lariats him to the canvas. Lethal uses his final rope break to break up the pin attempt. Lethal finds life with a diving headbutt. Nigel responds with the jawbreaker lariat for a two count. Nigel hits the Tower of London for yet another nearfall. One final Tower of London and Nigel retains his title at 14:23. These two had good chemistry together as their styles meshed well. Everyone bought Lethal’s fight from behind and gave him a chance to take the title here. Nigel respected Lethal’s history with the Pure Title and it all made for an interesting title defense for Nigel. ***¼
Match #4: ROH Pure Title: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Roderick Strong (Death Before Dishonor IV – 7/15/06)
Strong chops Nigel during a pre-match promo. Nigel blocks two more chops and attempts to ground his challenger. That only works for a little bit, as Strong connects with more chops and hits a backbreaker. Nigel uses his first rope break to escape an early Stronghold. He finds an opening to start working over the left shoulder. Strong comes back with a back suplex and connects with a dropkick. He slaps Nigel across the face and hits the Gibson Driver for a nearfall. Nigel crawls to the floor to escape another Stronghold. He snaps the ropes into Strong’s eyes but falls victim to a back suplex across the apron. Nigel takes a few chops at ringside and then throws Strong into the front row. Nigel runs into the ring and attempts to win via countout. Strong barely beats the count as the crowd comes alive. Nigel connects with his kick-lariat combination in the corner. He charges with an uppercut but Strong answers with the Sick Kick. Strong hits a gutbuster but gets plastered by the jawbreaker lariat. They battle on the top rope. Nigel finds knees on a top-rope senton attempt. He recovers with the Tower of London for a nearfall. The action goes back to the floor, where Nigel hits a DDT. Nigel scrambles back into the ring at the twenty count to retain his title at 15:48. Nigel taking multiple chops at ringside in order to lure Strong into a countout loss was brilliant and the crowd was electric for the possibility of a title change. This match really encapsulated how good Nigel was in his role and Strong was the perfect opponent for him at the time. ***¾
Match #5: Nigel McGuinness and Doug Williams vs. Takeshi Morishima and Chris Hero (This Means War II – 4/13/07)
Hero and Morishima get the better of some early brawling. Williams drags Hero to the floor and they trade holds. Morishima uses his size advantage to keep Nigel down. In the ring, Nigel and Williams punish Hero with various submissions. Morishima interjects himself and the heels isolate Williams. I should note that any interaction between Morishima and Larry Sweeney throughout the course of this match is gold. Williams plants Hero with a tornado DDT out of the corner and makes the tag. Nigel superkicks Morishima and Williams takes him out with a dive from the top rope. Nigel ducks a mafia kick from Hero and connects with a lariat. Hero chokeslams Nigel in an attempt to impress Morishima with NOAH finishers. Nigel hits the Tower of London on Morishima for a two count. Williams catches Morishima with repeated knee strikes and drops a knee from the top rope. Morishima won’t stay down. Hero catches Nigel with a series of elbows and hits sliced bread. Nigel escapes Go 2 Sleep but runs into a mafia kick. Everyone takes their turn with strikes and all four men are down. Williams and Morishima brawl around ringside. Morishima reenters the ring and hits the backdrop driver on Nigel for a nearfall. Williams shoves Morishima into Hero. Nigel connects with the jawbreaker lariat on Hero for the win at 18:54. This was one of those fun Friday show main events that helped setup the Saturday main event (Nigel/Morishima for the title in this case). The action was all over the place at times, but an interesting mix of personalities helped make this main event stand out enough. ***¼
Match #6: ROH World Title: Takeshi Morishima © vs. Nigel McGuinness (Live in Tokyo – 7/16/07)
Nigel tries an early jawbreaker lariat to no avail and barely escapes a backdrop driver. Nigel starts working over the left shoulder early on. He tries a sunset bomb to the floor but Morishima just sits on him. It happens. Morishima sends Nigel into the barricade and charges with a boot. The champion takes over in the ring until Nigel connects with a rebound lariat on the floor. Nigel follows with a dive from the top rope. In the ring, Morishima takes him out with a hip attack. Nigel charges with an uppercut and takes down the champion with a lariat. Morishima blocks the corner headstand with a yakuza kick. Nigel is able to lure him into the Tower of London. Morishima tackles Nigel and connects with a missile dropkick. He blocks the jawbreaker lariat and hits a backdrop driver for a nearfall. Nigel connects with three consecutive superkicks. Morishima blocks the fourth and lays in a lariat. They battle on the top rope. Nigel fights off a backdrop driver and lariats Morishima to the canvas. Morishima blocks a second lariat and side slams Nigel to the floor. In the ring, Morishima unleashes a flurry of offense but Nigel won’t stay down. Nigel connects with the jawbreaker lariat for a two count. He tries a rollup to no avail. They exchange lariats and Morishima hits the backdrop driver to retain his title at 20:14. This was a hard-hitting match that stemmed nicely from their war at Fighting Spirit, but the main criticism is that there wasn’t any cohesive story to hold the match together. Nigel’s early arm work went nowhere, as Morishima was throwing lariats down the stretch like it was nothing. Thankfully, the crowd energy nearly told a story by itself, but the Fighting Spirit match was likely a better representation of what these two could do together. ***½
Match #7: Nigel McGuinness vs. Chris Hero vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Naomichi Marufuji (Man Up – 9/15/07)
Marufuji and Nigel have an excellent exchange to start the match and find themselves at a stalemate. Hero starts flipping around the ring until Claudio makes him bail. Sweet N Sour Inc. take a moment to regroup on the floor. Claudio and Marufuji trade claw holds. This match is quickly turning awesome. Nigel and Claudio have a nice exchange on the mat. Hero finally gets into the ring with his former partner after he is weakened. They start brawling around ringside as Marufuji and Nigel trade control in the ring. Marufuji connects with a superkick and hits the Shiranui for a nearfall. He curb stomps Nigel into the canvas and connects with a basement superkick for another two count. Nigel finally answers with the Tower of London. Claudio giant swings Hero and charges with a european uppercut. Marufuji connects with a coast-to-coast dropkick on Claudio. Nigel intervenes with a series of lariats. Claudio hits Marufuji with the Ricola Bomb. Hero stops the pin attempt by jumping onto Todd Sinclair. Nigel takes an uppercut from Claudio and connects with the jawbreaker lariat for the victory at 17:53. This was pretty much all you could ask for out of a pay per view opener. Every pairing from these four was entertaining to watch and the crowd was vehemently into the action. Nigel winning was the right choice given that he would win the title at the next pay per view and the crowd wasn’t even bummed that Claudio got pinned. ***½
Match #8: ROH World Title: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Jay Briscoe (Chaos at the Cow Palace – 10/21/07)
Nigel rams Jay’s left shoulder into the ringpost and divorce courts it. Nigel is not joking around – perhaps because he knows that there’s going to be chaos at the Cow Palace. I’ve had better I guess. Jay fights back with a dragon screw leg whip. This causes the champion to retreat to the floor, where Jay slams the limb into the barricade. In the ring, Jay kicks away at the injured leg. Nigel creates some space with a chinbreaker. Jay ducks the jawbreaker lariat and hits a chinbreaker of his own. He follows with a sit-out gourdbuster. Nigel answers with a back suplex but Jay flatlines him into the middle turnbuckle. Jay kicks a ringside table into Nigel’s leg and applies a half crab. Nigel is able to reach the bottom rope. Jay goes up top but Nigel hits the Tower of London for a nearfall. Jay fights off a Tower of London to the floor so Nigel settles for a Tower of London onto the apron. Nigel synchs in the London Dungeon to retain his title at 18:17. This seemed like a token title defense at the time, but Jay has proven multiple times that he can come through in these situations. In fact, as I’m typing this, Jay will be challenging Kevin Steen for the ROH World Title on one of the biggest shows of the year. This was a solid little match despite the inevitable result. ***¼
Match #9: ROH World Title: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Austin Aries (Rising Above 2007 – 12/29/07)
The crowd was starting to turn on Nigel at this point. Nigel gives Aries a clean break in the corner and the crowd boos him for it. I think that’s when you know. They trade control on the mat until Nigel gets sent to the floor. Aries sends Nigel head-first into the barricade with a heat-seeking missile. Nigel looks like he’s seen a ghost as a cut opens above his eyebrow. They take a second to reset before Nigel connects with a rebound elbow. Back in, they exchange punches. Nigel blocks a dropkick when Aries escapes a headscissors but still looks loopy. Aries takes control, opening the cut wider and trying to wear down Nigel with various submissions. Nigel tries a headstand in the corner but Aries dropkicks him to the floor. Nigel blocks a second heat-seeking missile and hits the Tower of London to the floor. In the ring, Nigel connects with a lariat. Aries answers with a missile dropkick. Nigel gets a boot up to block the IED and hits the Tower of London. Aries fights off the London Dungeon and avoids a jawbreaker lariat. He splashes Nigel to the floor and both men are down. Nigel lariats Aries off the top rope and to the floor! The crowd comes alive. At ringside, Aries hits a brainbuster onto the edge of the barricade. This just keeps getting more insane. Aries hits a brainbuster in the ring but finds knees on a 450 attempt. Nigel applies the London Dungeon but Aries reverses into a rollup for a nearfall. Aries hits another brainbuster and transitions into the Last Chancery. Nigel reaches the ropes. Aries fights off the London Dungeon but Nigel connects with the jawbreaker lariat to retain his title at 23:38. Both men had unlimited counters to each other’s offense and no one knew where the match was headed in the closing minutes. Once Nigel got busted open on the barricade, there was a feeling that “anything goes” and they just continued to raise the bar with ridiculous spots. I think this match might have been forgotten over the years, but it should really hold a special place in ROH history. ****½
Match #10: ROH World Title: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Roderick Strong (Without Remorse – 1/26/08)
Nigel backs Strong into the corner and gives him a clean break. He out-wrestles Strong early on until Strong lays in a chop. Nigel runs through a couple more chops and connects with a lariat. Strong retreats to the floor in shock. He catches the champion with a few chops at ringside and takes control in the ring. Nigel sends him shoulder-first into the ringpost and begins to target the body part. Strong shrugs off a charging uppercut and hits a backbreaker. Both men are down. Strong drops Nigel back-first across the edge of the barricade and hits a side slam onto the floor. In the ring, Nigel connects with his kick-lariat combination in the corner. Strong answers with another backbreaker and hits a superplex. Nigel lures him into the Tower of London and connects with a nasty lariat. Both men are down once again. They exchange strikes and Strong tries a quick backslide to no avail. He catches Nigel with the Gibson Driver for a nearfall. They battle on the apron. Nigel fights off a suplex and connects with a lariat off the middle rope. Strong recovers with a back suplex onto the apron, which was his original plan. In the ring, Strong applies the Stronghold but Nigel reaches the bottom rope. They go back to the floor and Nigel hits the Tower of London onto a chair! Back in, they trade rollups to no avail. Strong dead-lifts him into a backbreaker. The Sick Kick and Gibson Driver only get nearfalls. Nigel shrugs off a boot and connects with the jawbreaker lariat to retain his title at 25:06. This match is a good illustration of why Strong obtained a reputation for failing at ROH World Title opportunities. There didn’t appear to be any reason for him receiving a title shot besides him being a fresh challenger. The story of the match was predictably Nigel trying to weather the storm and eeking out a victory. It’s not as though the story was poorly executed, it’s just that we’ve seen this from Strong many times before. ***¼
Match #11: ROH World Title: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Kevin Steen (Return Engagement – 4/19/08)
Steen low blows Nigel before the opening bell to the crowd’s delight. They trade strikes around ringside. Steen blocks a jawbreaker lariat and lands a splash off the apron. Nigel divorce courts his left shoulder on the floor. The champion takes control in the ring. Steen attempts to comeback with a corner cannonball but whiffs. Steen escapes the Tower of London and locks in a sharpshooter. Nigel reaches the bottom rope. Steen explodes with a senton and a cannonball. He goes back to the sharpshooter but Nigel once again makes the ropes. Steen lands a swantan and a frog splash for a nearfall. They trade forearms. Steen blocks a jawbreaker lariat with a superkick. He follows with the package piledriver for a two count. He tries for one on the apron but Nigel sends him through the ringside table with a lariat. Back in, Nigel connects with a lariat for a nearfall. Nigel rakes the eyes to escape a sharpshooter and connects with the jawbreaker lariat to retain his title at 19:23. This was a solid outing between these two and they would go on to top themselves at Northern Navigation. Steen came into this contest with purpose and his tunnel vision ended up costing him the title. Much of Nigel’s title reign consisted of him surviving his opponents, and this was a unique example of that. ***½
Match #12: ROH World Title: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Go Shiozaki (Respect is Earned II – 6/7/08)
Shiozaki dropkicks Nigel to the floor and busts open Nigel’s chest with chops around ringside. Shiozaki drops him across the apron and continues with the chops. Shiozaki lures Nigel to the floor once again. He attempts a dive but Nigel blocks and hits a Tower of London to the floor. Nigel goes to work on the left shoulder. Shiozaki keeps trying to fight back with chops, but the damage done to his left shoulder lessens the effectiveness of them as well. Shiozaki comes back with a german suplex. Nigel tries to rebound with the jawbreaker lariat but Shiozaki lariats him first. Shiozaki hits a superplex but misses a top-rope moonsault. He rolls through a flying crossbody and lays out Nigel with an orange crush for a two count. They slap each other. Shiozaki connects with a superkick. Nigel fires back with the jawbreaker lariat and applies the London Dungeon to retain his title at 16:25. This was a fun sprint and the story of Nigel neutralizing Shiozaki’s chops by also targeting the shoulder was interesting. This wasn’t the main event of the pay per view, so I think they delivered exactly what they needed to deliver here. ***½
Match #13: Nigel McGuinness vs. Jerry Lynn (Vendetta II – 6/28/08)
Lynn would eventually dethrone Nigel nine months after this match, but this was just Lynn’s return to the promotion. They feel each other out and Lynn connects with a dropkick. He seems to have hurt his shoulder….but it was all just a trap to lure Nigel in for a small package. You have to watch out for this Lynn character. Nigel plays a trick of his own and starts working over the left shoulder. The action goes to the floor where Lynn back drops Nigel into the crowd. He dives over the barricade onto Nigel. Back at ringside, Lynn hits a tornado DDT onto the floor. In the ring, Lynn counters the jawbreaker lariat into a german suplex. Nigel responds with the Tower of London. Lynn fights off a second one and hits a sunset bomb. He anticipates the jawbreaker lariat and connects with a lariat of his own. Lynn hits a TKO for a nearfall. Nigel connects with two consecutive lariats but Lynn won’t stay down. Lynn tries a quick rollup to no avail. Nigel quickly responds with a rollup of his own for the win at 19:29. I actually think this match has aged quite well, especially with the knowledge that Lynn beat Nigel for the title. This gave you a good sense as to why Nigel might have trouble putting Lynn away. The crowd energy was also important and felt genuine because they seemed happy about Lynn returning and the non-title stipulation didn’t mean an inevitable result. All around, this worked out as well as possible. ***¾
Match #14: ROH World Title: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Jimmy Jacobs (The Tokyo Summit – 9/14/08)
Jacobs attacks before the opening bell but Nigel doesn’t back down. Nigel is playing the de facto face here, as the Tokyo crowd seems to respect him. They exchange control on the mat. Jacobs eventually becomes tired of that game and low blows Nigel behind the referee’s back. He takes control, keeping the action outside of the ring and utilizing his environment without drawing a disqualification. For instance, he sets Nigel onto a chair and planchas him through it. Jacobs lands a senton from the top rope for a two count. He hits the Contra Code for a nearfall. Nigel sets him on the top rope and lariats him to the canvas. Nigel tries for the jawbreaker lariat but Jacobs traps him in the End Time. Nigel pushes himself to the bottom rope. Jacobs utilizes a chain out of frustration but runs into a lariat. He blocks an uppercut but Nigel quickly responds with a discus lariat. Jacobs tries to use his chain again but Nigel connects with the jawbreaker lariat to retain his title at 20:58. This was an interesting matchup and probably would have benefited from happening in front of a crowd more in-sync with their personalities. Jacobs utilized every trick that he knew, but Nigel caught him with his hand in the cookie jar to retain his title. I think it’s unfortunate that these two never had the proper chance to deliver a classic. ***
Match #15: ROH World Title: Elimination: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Go Shiozaki vs. Kevin Steen vs. El Generico (The French Connection – 11/7/08)
Steen mocks Shiozaki’s lack of knowledge of the English language and they have a shoulder block battle. Steen even throws a dig at Nigel’s jawbreaker lariat. Any Steen/Nigel interaction is almost always a good thing. Shiozaki blocks an armdrag from Generico and chops him. Nigel orchestrates things so Steen and Generico have to face off against each other. If you can believe it, they were actually hesitant to do so. Generico mocks Nigel’s corner headstand and more mockery ensues. Nigel and Shiozaki eventually decide to form an alliance and work over Steen. Generico gets the tag after awhile and lands a splash onto Shiozaki followed by a blue thunder bomb. Nigel kicks Generico from behind, allowing Shiozaki to hit the Go Flasher and eliminate Generico. The match settles down into Nigel directing orders at Shiozaki as he beats down Steen. Steen makes his comeback by fighting off a Tower of London and applying a sharpshooter on Shiozaki. Shiozaki taps out and is eliminated. We’re down to Steen and Nigel. Steen connects with a superkick and hits a corner cannonball. Nigel locks in a sharpshooter to a chorus of boos. Steen counters a jawbreaker lariat into a sharpshooter of his own. Nigel reaches the ropes. He hits a Tower of London onto the apron but Steen won’t stay down. Todd Sinclair gets unintentionally bumped. Nigel tries to utilize the title belt but Generico stops him with a corner yakuza kick. Steen hits a package piledriver for a huge nearfall. Nigel connects with a jawbreaker lariat to retain his title at 31:45. This felt like another way to give Steen a title shot without having it be a straight singles match. While Generico and Shiozaki felt like afterthoughts (especially because the show was taking place in Canada), they received a lot of time to shine and this match was full of worthwhile exchanges. The final stretch with Steen and Nigel capped the action off nicely as well. You can’t have these kind of main events all of the time, but this felt like a fresh idea this time. ***¾
Match #16: ROH World Title: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Jerry Lynn (Southern Hostility – 12/6/08)
They begin with a feeling-out process showing that Lynn can hang on the mat. He ducks a lariat and snaps off a headscissors. Lynn hits a tornado DDT out of the corner. Nigel continues to back away in frustration and not let Lynn pick up momentum. Nigel anticipates a charge and sends Lynn to the floor. He throws Lynn shoulder-first into the barricade and starts targeting the body part. Lynn comes back with a spear and dropkicks Nigel onto the timekeeper’s table. He lands a flying crossbody. Lynn escapes a Tower of London and hits an inverted DDT. He follows with an air raid crash. Nigel creates an opening with his kick-lariat out of the corner. He hits a Tower of London to the floor. In the ring, Nigel hits another Tower of London. Lynn ducks a lariat and hits a sit-out powerbomb. They battle up top and Nigel hits a superplex. Lynn recovers with a thesz press and reigns down punches. He clotheslines Nigel to the outside and lands a dive to the floor. Lynn hits a sunset bomb for a nearfall. Nigel retreats to the floor and rams him into the barricade. He traps Lynn between the ringside table and the barricade and tries to get the countout victory. Lynn makes it back into the ring at nineteen. He hits the Cradle Piledriver for a nearfall. Lynn blocks the jawbreaker lariat and hits a TKO. Nigel sneaks in a rollup while holding the ropes to retain his title at 21:54. Lynn’s eventual title reign might be considered a failure, but you can’t say that they didn’t build to the title win well. If the Vendetta II match showed Nigel’s possible difficulty with beating Lynn, this match showed Nigel overcome by a sense of desperation never seen before in his reign. The crowd was still very sympathetic towards Lynn at this point, so this was a high-tension main event that toppled expectations. ****
Match #17: ROH World Title: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Naomichi Marufuji (Final Battle 2008 – 12/27/08)
Nigel hangs onto a cravate as the crowd quickly gets on his case. They exchange quick pin attempts and find themselves at a stalemate. Marufuji hits a snap suplex out of the corner and connects with corner punches. Nigel sends him to the floor. Marufuji blocks a charge with a superkick and hits the Shiranui onto the floor. In the ring, Marufuji connects with an enzuigiri and a lariat. He applies a cobra clutch and transitions into a triangle choke. Nigel is able to reach the bottom rope. Marufuji escapes the Tower of London. Nigel fights off the Shiranui and hits his kick-lariat combination in the corner. Marufuji escapes a Tower of London and hits the Shiranui onto the apron. He misses a coast-to-coast dropkick and Nigel successfully hits the Tower of London onto the apron. Marufuji blocks a headstand and connects with his coast-to-coast dropkick. Nigel gets caught by a superkick and a roundhouse kick. He dodges another superkick and tries a rollup for a nearfall. Nigel connects with the jawbreaker lariat to retain his title at 18:13. For the time given, this delivered in the semi-main event slot of the biggest show of the year. Marufuji always brings a solid effort and Nigel had good chemistry with him. Marufuji trying his best to avoid the Tower of London made the move look threatening, which isn’t always the case. ***¾
Match #18: ROH World Title: Nigel McGuinness © vs. El Generico (Caged Collision – 1/31/09)
Nigel attacks before the opening bell and hits a Tower of London to the floor. Kevin Steen runs out to encourage his partner. Nigel takes control in the ring. Generico fights back by sending the champion into the barricade. Nigel dodges a yakuza kick and stomps Generico’s head into the barricade. Nigel continues to work over the shoulder until Generico comes off the top rope with a hurricanrana. Nigel retreats to the floor, where he gets caught by a springboard crossbody. In the ring, Generico lands a flying crossbody. Nigel blocks a yakuza kick but runs into a michinoku driver. Nigel connects with his kick-lariat combination in the corner. Generico misses another corner yakuza kick and falls victim to a Tower of London onto the apron. He barely beats the twenty count. Generico attempts a top-rope brainbuster but Nigel lariats him to the canvas. Generico counters the London Dungeon into a rollup for a nearfall. Nigel connects with a lariat and goes back to the London Dungeon to retain his title at 17:03. I loved the beginning of this match, as Nigel’s pre-match assault came out of nowhere and it showed that he didn’t want to mess around with Generico. This thread continued throughout the match, as Nigel wrestled relatively safely in order to not let Generico’s explosiveness come to the forefront. I’m pretty partial towards this match, as I think this is exactly what a Nigel/Generico match should be. ****
Match #19: ROH World Title: Nigel McGuinness © vs. KENTA (7th Anniversary Show – 3/21/09)
Nigel recently tore biceps in both of his arms. Ironically, KENTA finds himself in a similar situation as his title match against Bryan Danielson. He slaps Nigel and kicks away at the injured arm. Nigel actually falls to the canvas in pain after one kick. Todd Sinclair keeps checking if Nigel wants him to stop the match, but he takes more kicks. Nigel baits KENTA into a Tower of London to the floor. He works over KENTA’s shoulder in the ring. KENTA fights back with a kimura and Nigel struggles to get to the ropes. Nigel hits his kick-lariat combination in the corner. KENTA ducks a lariat but gets pushed to the floor. Nigel follows out but gets draped across the barricade. In the same position, KENTA catches him with a flying double stomp from the top rope. In the ring, KENTA connects with two yakuza kicks and a hesitation dropkick. He hits a fisherman buster. After a few close nearfalls, Nigel locks in the London Dungeon. KENTA leaps to the top rope and hits a super falcon arrow for a nearfall. He follows with the Go 2 Sleep for a two count. Nigel hits a Tower of London onto the apron and both men struggle to get back into the ring. Nigel hits a Go 2 Sleep of his own and applies the London Dungeon. KENTA reverses into a rollup for a nearfall. Nigel goes back to the London Dungeon and leans back with the hold to retain his title at 25:18. Nigel is a madman for going through with this physical of a match. Due to his injuries, they often walked a fine line of Nigel out-smarting KENTA and KENTA looking lame for not being able to defeat a beaten-up opponent. However, I think these two did the best with what they had and this was a blast to watch if you’re familiar with the progression of Nigel’s title reign. ***½
Overall: When a compilation comes out for certain wrestlers, you know you should probably purchase it unless you already own a majority of the matches. Nigel McGuinness is one of those wrestlers. Fortunately, this compilation features a wide variety of opponents with high match quality and covers two important parts of Nigel’s career. To me, Nigel will always be a special part of Ring of Honor’s legacy and the recommendation here is obvious.
You can purchase this DVD at Ring of Honor’s store right here.
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