BellaOnline Forums Sports Wrestling Ring of Honor's Wrestlemania weekend pt. 1

Alright, here is my review of this past weekend's Wrestlemania wrestle bonanza! Keep in mind I did not watch any of TNA's shows or Wrestlemania. I cannot compare it to those shows, only the past efforts of tna, wwe & ROH.

That said, this was probably ROH's biggest weekend. That's covering a lot considering they did the Manhattan Center two nights in a row back in December to tape their ppv Rising Above & Final Battle 07. Here goes my report.

Dragon Gate Challenge 2 3/28/08

1. Delirious vs. Nigel McGuinness.

I am a HUGE fan of Delirious' work. If you've never seen him, I can't recommend his work enough. The guy is extremely entertaining & is an awesome wrestler. This is definitely the match you want to see to transition yourself from sports entertainment back into wrestling. Nigel goes back to his traditional chain wrestling that is common to his British roots. A very fun match that had Delirious calling Nigel Mickey Mouse a few times. Great stuff!

Winner: Nigel after making Delirious Submit

2. Jigsaw & Ruckus of the Vulture Squad vs. Kenny King & Sal Rinauro of the YRR.

Very fast paced match. Some might recognize the name of Kenny King as he was a participant in the second Tough Enough. I never watched the show, but I found out quickly the first time I saw him wrestle. Definitely a star imo. Sal is a guy I used to really dislike his work, but as a heel, I love him more & more. Jigsaw does some amazing stuff & Ruckus is a hell of a high flier. I love the YRR in Ring of Honor as it brings more character to the company instead of "I'm a great wrestler". I like having a mix in my wrestling. Really solid match w/ both teams doing great stuff.

Winner: Ruckus & Jiggy after a Double Stomp/Jig & Tonic combo.

3. Genki Horiguchi vs. Austin Aries

I really dig Genki's work as he's one of my favorites out of Dragon Gate. Austin Aries is an unbelieveable talent who tna is absolutely retarded for letting go. Need proof? See his fued w/ Danielson or his matches w/ Nigel! Very well built match w/ Genki reversing a lot of Austin's moves.

Winner: Austin Aries after making Genki tap to the Horns of Aries (Front chancery w/ a bridge)

After the match, the Age of The Fall come out to try to recruit Austin into their group. They did a great thing w/ the lighting trying to portray Austin still being "good" & the AOTF being "evil". Austin was kept in a blue as Jimmy Jacobs tried talking to him from a scaffold in red. After Jimmy tried to convince him, Lacey came to give some persuasion. Shortly after, Tammy Sytch (Sunny) came out to give her persuasion. Austin told them all he was only focused on winning the ROH world title & left. This led to Lacey attacking Tammy & laying her out.

4. Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino.

WOW! Fast paced action that never seemed to give in. I enjoyed both teams thoroughly. Masato Yoshino is special for the fact that he may be the fastest wrestler out there. When he runs the ropes, it's like watching a blur. El Generico is someone I like w/ his character as well. Overall an extremely fun match that possibly stole the show.

Winner: Kevin Steen & Generico after Package piledriver/brainbuster combo.

5. Jimmy Jacobs & Tyler Black AOTF vs. BxB Hulk & Shingo.

It's great to see Shingo back in ROH. Tyler Black is a future superstar in this business. Another fast paced match that had the crowd locked in. Lots of high risk moves were involved. Tyler Black is basically a more athletic CM Punk. Lots of double team moves that you've possibly never seen before here. Great showing.

Winner: BxB Hulk & Shingo after Shingo hit the Last Falconry (fireman's carry into Michinoku driver).

6. Dragon Kid & Ryo Saito vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe.

Nothing really to say except...wow! Again, double teams you won't see anywhere else. A very innovative tag team match including the opening segment w/ Jay wanting a test of strength, but Dragon Kid is too small, to which he stomps on Jay's foot & gets on Saito's shoulders. Only Jay still overpowers him. FUN!

Winner: The Briscoes after a springboard Doomsday Device.

7. Go Shiozaki, Cima & Erick Stevens vs. Rocky Romero, Roderick Strong & Davey Richards of the No Remorse Corps

Larry Sweeney comes out after the NRC's entrance & tries to bring their stable into Sweet & Sour Inc. Roderick basically turns him down saying he started the NRC & wants nothing to do w/ him. Sweeney still slips Davey Richards a card. This match is of HUGE importance as Go Shiozaki works for Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan & Cima works for Dragon Gate in Japan. So it's basically a dream team of Japan & ROH. Go is a rising star as is Erick Stevens. Cima has been named the best technical wrestler in Japan a few times. Rocky Romero throws some of the best kicks out there & is another one of my favorites. Davey Richards is no slouch when it comes to kicks & has a very Dynamite Kid/Chris Benoit style about him. Roderick is just a brutal wrestler w/ his chops, strikes & plethora of backbreakers. Lots of action w/ lots of chain wrestling. The two biggest parts of the match was Roderick & Go facing off w/ a chop battle as well as Roddy's chop battle w/ Erick. They have been fueding for sometime & will continue their fued in the next night.

Winner: Go/Cima/Erick after Cima hits a crossarmed powerbomb.

A really solid show w/ a LOT of fast paced action. The slower opening got you ready for all the insane work to be done later in the show. I would get this show to familiarize yourself w/ the Dragon Gate crew before watching the next night. I apologize for not giving you an exact detail match write-up, but it's nearly impossible. That must be all from me for now. I have to finish up some work. Hope you enjoyed this.

Excellent review! I am just insanely jealous that you got to see this live. It must have been over the top awesome.

1. Delirious and Nigel McGuiness have completely opposite wrestling styles. I like them both and although Nigel is known risk taker, I can't imagine him keeping up with the speed Delirious works with.

2. Jigsaw and Ruckus must have made a great tag team. I am not as familiar with Kenny and Sal. I'll have to make an effort to find some of their matches.

3. Austin Aries is my favorite ROH wrestler. Not only is he one of the best wrestlers in the ring today, he's a vegetarian. TNA not only didn't keep Austin on the roster, they never allowed him to show his abilities. They are doing the same thing with Jimmy Rave. (Please tell me this match was taped for an upcoming pay per view!) Is Genki old school or is he high risk?

4. I enjoy watching Steen and Generico in the ring. Steen is an agile wrestler for his build and I think he surprises a lot of fans who have never seen him in action. The chemistry between these two wrestlers works well. Do Masato and Naruki come off as a competent tag team?

5.I am just learning to like Jimmy in the ring and what I have seen of Tyler makes me believe he will be one of the outstanding talents in ROH. I am not familiar with BxB but I am a fan of Shingo. It sounds like a match worth seeing.

6. I hear a lot of differing opinions regarding the Briscoe Brothers but I find them a fascinating tag team. I have an ROH DVD that contains a match where they faced each other. I don't know how they keep up the pace. I am not familiar with the work of Dragon and Ryo. Are they generally billed as a tag team?

7. The NRC is another group that works well together. Do you think Davey will do an about face and joining that dastardly Larry Sweeney's bunch? As much as I dislike NRC (and that's what they are hoping for), I have to give Rocky, Roderick and Davey credit. They are great ring workers. The first time I saw Erick I was surprised at his ability. I thought he was going to be a brute that bulldozed his way through matches. I am not familiar with Go although I have seen Cima in action.

It sounds like a very good show and I see several athletes I need to be finding out more about in the near future.

Thanks for the review and I look forward to Part 2!

DPu

WHERE'S PART 2????

Not to be pushy or anything.

Soon, I've been extremely busy. Hopefully sometime today or tomorrow.