ROH 2006: 6/24/06 Danielson vs KENTA!

Ring of Honor - 6/23/06
Detroit, Michigan

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DVD Exclusive
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The scenario opens with ROH World Champion, Bryan Danielson with the ROH World Championship belt wrapped around his shoulder. Bryan says that because of Jim Cornette’s promise to Team ROH of the ROH vs. CZW feud, he has to defend the World Championship against the whole team on separate shows starting from tonight with BJ Whitmer. Danielson says that while that’s no problem as he thrives on competition and plans on retaining the championship on all four occasions. Danielson then talks about how tomorrow night he’ll have to defend the title against a fifth opponent because of the Four Corner Survival. Danielson runs down the people involved in the match, stopping on KENTA . Danielson says that whoever wins that match will only go on to be defeated by him. Danielson finally mentions the fact that he gets to team with Japanese legend, Kenta Kobashi at Fight Without Honor IV when he faces Mitsuharu Misawa and someone he knows well in Nigel McGuiness. Danielson says that while it would make him happy to beat McGuiness one more time, he is making it his mission to pin Mitsuharu Misawa.

1) Davey Richards defeated. Jerelle Clark after connecting with the DR Driver. The show opens with a singles match involving Davey Richards and Jerelle Clark. Richards is coming of a loss to Alex Shelley just nine days earlier and was looking to get back on the winning side. The match was a solid opener with the action evenly based between both competitors through out. The finish eventually arrived with Jerelle Clark calling for the 630 senton only for Davey Richards to move out of the way, Richards took advantage of the situation by quickly dragging Clark to his feet and hooking the arms to connect with the DR Driver. Richards hooked the leg to get the three count.

2) TJ Wilson, Rhett Titus & Jimmy Jacobs defeated. Jimmy Yang, Roderick Strong & Austin Aries after Jimmy Yang tapped out to the End Time. While it is fair to say that TJ Wilson looked out of place with the gothic looking Rhett Titus and Jimmy Jacobs but the trio worked very well together against their opponents, Jimmy Yang and the ROH tag team champions, Austin Aries and Roderick Strong. The match was even through out with a lot of tags. Eventually the match slowed down with Rhett Titus and Roderick Strong going at it. Near the end of the match, all hell broke less and it boiled down to Jimmy Jacobs and Jimmy Yang in the ring. A cool spot happened where Jimmy Yang spring boarded in to the ring looking to hit a diving clothesline. It looked as if the move was going to connect until the last second where Jacobs moved back and planted Yang with a DDT before wrapping his legs around Yang’s waist, locking in a Guillotine. Yang quickly tapped out.

3) Claudio Castagnoli defeated. Ricky Reyes after connecting with the Ricola Bomb. Claudio got quite a few boo’s as he made his way do the ring, being the only member of Team CZW still a member of the ROH roster. Before the match got underway, Castagnoli got on the microphone and claimed that he was a changed man, putting the blame of his dirty tactics before on his former tag team partner, Chris Hero. The match was the second shorted of the night behind McGuiness vs. Steel but still had its moments. It’s fair to say Castagnoli had a lot more momentum through out and the finish eventually arrived with Claudio connecting with the Ricola Bomb to get the three count. After the bell, just to prove his point, Claudio agreed to the Code of Conduct and shook hands with his opponent.

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DVD Exclusive
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The scene opens in Japan where Kenta Kobashi is standing. Kobashi speaks in Japanese but the subtitles say that Kenta is talking about making his third appearance for Ring of Honor, this time continuing his feud with long time rival, Mitsuharu Misawa. Kobashi then says that it will be great for the US fans to be able to witness the "best of Japan" Kenta Kobashi team up with the "best of America" Bryan Danielson.

4) Nigel McGuiness defeated. Ace Steel after connecting with the Tower of London. Nigel McGuiness lost the ROH Pure Championship to Colt Cabana but managed to get back on the winner column by defeating Jay Briscoe. Now, McGuiness made a direct challenge to Ace Steel, the man who trained Colt Cabana in order to get some revenge for his loss. The match was the shortest of the night and Ace who can be a bit of a comedy wrestler was super serious tonight as he had his way with Nigel for a few minutes before he was taken off guard with the Rebound Lariat. Nigel quickly hooked the leg and got the three count. After the match, Nigel cut a promo on ROH World Champion, Bryan Danielson, claiming that he was over the loss of losing the Pure Championship and was now seeking the ROH World Championship.

5) KENTA defeated. Delirious, Jay Briscoe and Homicide in four corner survival after connecting with the Go To Sleep on Jay Briscoe. The crowd seemed to be most in to this match throughout the night as the winner would face whoever the world champion is the next out in Chicago Ridge, Illinois. The match was very open with all four men getting equal offence in with plenty of near falls. Homicide eliminated himself from the match after hitting the Tope con Hilo on Delirious. Because of the momentum used, Homicide was sent in to the crowd, taking out several of the front row audience, leaving them and himself on the floor. Back in the ring, KENTA quickly managed to counter a Double Underhook in to the fireman carry. KENTA then used the momentum to connect with the Go To Sleep, kicking Jay Briscoe clean in the face. Briscoe fell down to the canvas allowing KENTA to hook the leg and get the three count. KENTA celebrated in the ring knowing that tomorrow he’d be facing Bryan Danielson or BJ Whitmer for the ROH World Championship.

6) Matt Sydal defeated. AJ Styles after countering a Powerbomb in to a pin fall. These two challenged for the ROH Tag Team Championships at the previous show only to be beaten by the current champions, Austin Aries and Roderick Strong. After the match it was clear, AJ Styles was upset with Matt Sydal. It was announced that they’d be facing each other to settle any negativity each may have towards each other. The match was probably the best of the night, fast paced with some good technical ability thrown in as well. Styles looked a tad stronger through out the match but Sydal was a bit quicker with the counters which kept him in the going. The finish eventually arrived with Matt Sydal coming of the top rope looking to connect with the hurricarana. Styles caught Sydal and attempted to get in position for the Styles Clash only for Sydal to keep his arms away from being hooked. Styles showed great strength lifting Matt back in to the air for a Powerbomb only for Sydal to flip over with a sunset flip, surprising AJ enough to get the three count. AJ was shocked after the bell but shook hands with Sydal who was delighted with the victory.

7 - ROH Pure Championship) Colt Cabana© defeated. Jimmy Rave with Prince Nana after Jimmy Rave tapped out to the Billy Goats Curse. Before the match, Prince Nana cut a good promo on how it was the destiny of “The Crown Jewel” Jimmy Rave to win the ROH Pure Championship tonight. The match was a good technical bout that showed Cabana’s more serious side during the middle of the match. He started of being funny by starting a “Twinkie” chant towards Sr. Referee, Todd Sinclair. The rest of the match however was all serious for Cabana as he nearly lost the title through a lack of concentration. The match eventually finished with a counter fest before Cabana eventually locked in the Billy Goats Curse. Jimmy Rave had no choice but to tap out meaning Colt Cabana retained the ROH Pure Championship.

Main Event - ROH World Championship) Bryan Danielson© defeated. BJ Whitmer after the referee stopped the match. The main event of the night saw ROH World Champion, Bryan Danielson put the belt on the line against one quarter of Team ROH in BJ Whitmer. The crowd were split even throughout the match, clearly respecting what BJ has done for ROH during the feud with Combat Zone Wrestling. The bout was extremely back n forth with both men hitting some big time moves. The finish eventually arrived with BJ Whiter attempting the Reverse Piledriver he calls the Adrenaline Spike. Being the “Best in the World” that he is, Danielson managed to counter the move so that Bryan was now holding Whitmer upside down. Danielson connected with the Tombstone Piledriver but collapsed himself, too fatigued to pin his opponent. After eventually managing to get an arm over, the ref began the count but Whitmer got the shoulder up at the last second. Both men slowly got to their feet and Whitmer decided to run of the ropes. Danielson caught Whitmer in an abdominal stretch like hold but started delivering sick elbows to the face of Whitmer. Danielson delivered at least fifteen before the referee decided that Whitmer was out cold and called for the bell. The night came to an end with Danielson celebrating, still the ROH World Champion.

King of the Indy's Tournament announced!

The respective owners of ROH, CZW, PWG and Chikara came together last night to announce the arrival of a new three night tournament that will take place on the 17th, 18th and 19th of November called the King of the Indy's. The tournament winner will recieve the King of the Indy's trophey as well as recieve a title match for any of the companies involved of his choosing. All parties involved want this to be an annual tournament with the hope of more promotions joining in the future.

Tournament details:

- 16 men will be involved, 4 from each company.
- night one will feature 8 tournament matches
- night two will feature 4 tournament matches from those who advanced from night one plus more interpromotional madness
- Night three will feature 2 semi final matches and 1 final match of the tournament plus more interpromotional madness.

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DVD Exclusive
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The scenario opens with Jimmy Jacobs and Rhett Titus in the locker room looking in to the camera. Jacobs does all the talking as he talks about how he has created a star in Rhett Titus and that tonight, they will win the ROH Tag Team Championships from Austin Aries and Roderick Strong. Jacobs then says that when they have the ROH tag team titles in their grasp, they will go one further and take over ROH by claiming the ROH Pure Championship and ROH World Championship for themselves. The segment ends with Jacobs bursting in to a twisted laugh as Titus pushes the camera away.

1) Homicide defeated. Mark Briscoe after connecting with the Cop Killah. The opening match of the show saw “The Notorious 187” Homicide do battle with one half of Ring of Honor’s top tag teams, Mark Briscoe. The match started off slow and actually stayed at the same pace for the whole match but the crowd were in to it from start to finish. The finish eventually arrived after Homicide connected with a Cop Killer after a short counter fest took place. Homicide hooked the legs and got the three count. Following the bell it was visibly clear that Mark Briscoe wasn’t happy.

2 - Four Corner Survival) Nigel McGuiness defeated. Jimmy Rave, Claudio Castagnoli and Davey Richards after connecting with the Tower of London on Claudio Castagnoli. The crowd were really in to this match as they are with most Four Corner Survivals. Nigel, Claudio and Davey Richards were all coming in to the match with wins from the last event as Rave was looking to score a victory after losing the last several matches he took part in. The match itself was kept at a good pace with plenty of action throughout. The eventual finish of the match arrived with Claudio surprisingly going to the top rope looking to hit a diving move on Davey Richards but Nigel ran in to the ropes, groining Claudio on the top rope allowing Nigel to connect with the Tower of London allowing him to get the three count as Jimmy Rave and Davey Richards were unable to break the pin fall attempt.

3 - ROH Pure Championship) Colt Cabana defeated. Jason Blade after Jason Blade tapped out to the Billy Goats Curse. The first title match of the evening saw a bit of an average challenger to Colt Cabana’s Pure Championship in Jason Blade however the match didn’t disappoint as Jason Blade nearly won the match on several occasions. Unfortunately for Jason Blade, he used up all three of his rope breaks early so when Colt Cabana locked in the Billy Goats Curse for a second time, Jason had no choice but to tap out. Following the match, Cabana once again did an over the top celebration as if he’d just won the Super Bowl.

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DVD Exclusive
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The scenario opens in the locker room where KENTA is standing. He talks about how tonight he will do battle with Bryan Danielson and challenge him for the ROH World Championship. KENTA says that the battle will be long in hard but he intends to win and bring the ROH World Championship back to his homeland of Japan. KENTA ends the segment by saying that when he defeats Bryan Danielson tonight, he’ll be proud to defend the championship against anyone who deserves a shot, he runs down a few names including Samoa Joe and even Kenta Kobashi.

4) Delirious defeated. Jay Briscoe after connecting with the Chemical Imbalance II. The second match of the night that featured one of the Briscoe Brothers as Mark’s brother Jay took on the deranged Delirious. Both men are crowd favourites with the live audience so they were pretty split down the middle. The match itself was pretty solid with both men hitting their spots and getting in their big moves. When it came down to the finish, Delirious managed to counter the Jay Driller in to the Chemical Imbalance II, a Pump Handle Wheel Barrow Driver. This was enough to give Delirious the three count. As in the previous Briscoe match, Jay didn’t look happy with his loss and stormed out of the ring.

5 - Fight without Honor) TJ Wilson defeated. Jack Evans after connecting with the Canadian Stampede. The match started off with Jack Evans running down to the ring with a bat in his hand, swinging it at TJ Wilson’s head. Wilson managed to duck under the bat that would of most likely smashed his head in and tackled Jack down to the canvas where the two men rolled out of the ring. The match continued with both men getting in their shots and hitting several spots that made the crowd chant “this is awesome” and “holy s**t” The finish of the match eventually arrived with an unknown woman running down to the ring and getting in the middle of the two men. On commentary, Dave Prazak mentioned that the woman was Tyson’s girlfriend and daughter of Jim Neidhart, Natalya Neidhart. Natalya told both men to pack in it and shake hands which surprisingly they did, Natalya then hugged Tyson and then went to hug Jack but instead kicked him right in the groin. TJ Wilson then connected with the Canadian Stampede, a rolling fireman carry slam. Wilson hooked the leg of Evans and picked up the three count. Following the bell, Wilson and Neidhart laughed as they left the ring.

6 - ROH Tag Team Championship) Austin Aries© & Roderick Strong© defeated. Jimmy Jacobs & Rhett Titus after Roderick Strong connected with the Gibson Driver on Rhett Titus. The second title match of the evening saw Austin Aries and Roderick Strong put the titles on the line against Jimmy Jacobs and Rhett Titus. The crowd didn’t know who to get behind as both teams were seemingly heel but it became clear that Aries and Strong were getting some pretty big pops throughout the match. Several times throughout, Jacobs managed to lock in his Guillotine Choke Hold he calls “End Time” only for the opponent to reach the ropes. The finish to the match eventually arrived with Roderick Strong moving out of the way of a Frog Splash attempt from Rhett Titus and quickly brought him back up to a vertical base. Austin Aries dived through the ropes crashing in to Jimmy Jacobs as Roderick hit the Gibson Driver on Titus to get the three count.

7) Matt Sydal & AJ Styles defeated. Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin after AJ Styles connected with the Styles Clash on Chris Sabin. The crowd were all over this match as all four men are favourites to the ROH audience. At the previous show just last night, Matt Sydal managed to pick up the victory against his now tag team partner, AJ Styles and now the two teamed once again against the recently named in Japan “Motor City Machine Guns” The match itself was fantastic, down to a tee as they would say. Every sport flowed perfectly and all four men seemed to have equal offence through the great encounter. The finish of the match eventually arrived with Matt Sydal going to the top rope only to be dropkicked by Alex Shelley, sending him crashing in to the ringside barricade. Shelley climbed too the top rope and at the same time, Chris Sabin charged at AJ Styles. Sabin attempted a drop kick on Styles but AJ sidestepped and redirected Sabin so he kicked his own partner from the top rope, sending him crashing on top of Matt Sydal. AJ Styles quickly finished the match by lifting Chris Sabin upside down and slamming him down with the Styles Clash. Styles rolled over in to a pin fall and got the three count.

8 - ROH World Championship) Bryan Danielson© defeated. KENTA after the referee stopped the match. During their entrances, both men received the traditional Japanese style streamers from the fans as a show of respect and both men shook hands before the bell. The match started off slow with both men testing each other night but quickly turned in to a stiff brawl with both men chopping, kicking and slapping the hell out of each other. To say this was the longest match on the card would be an understatement as it lasted just over 50 minutes with both men only starting to tire out in the final few minutes. KENTA had kicked out of the Regal Plex and even grabbed the ropes to escape out of the Cattle Mutilation and Danielson kicked out of the Go To Sleep. The final minutes of the match saw Danielson counter another Go To Sleep attempt and he quickly locked in the Abdominal Stretch, grounding KENTA with the hold. Danielson began delivering elbows to the face just like the previous night to BJ Whitmer, but unlike Whitmer, KENTA managed to get back up to his feet only too be grounded again. The referee kept asking KENTA if the match should be stopped but KENTA let out a primal scream and once again got up to his feet before one final elbow knocked KENTA down to the canvas, stunning him so he wouldn’t respond to the follow up elbow forcing the referee to call for the bell. The fans cheers and gave a standing ovation as Danielson was announced still the ROH World Champion. Danielson helped KENTA to his feet and the two shook hands as KENTA left allowing Danielson to celebrate as his theme “The Final Countdown” by Europe played to close the show.