ROH 2K8: It Return'eth ... For the last time!

ROH: Sixth Year Anniversary Celebration; Night 3 (March 8th; St. Paul, MI)

-Before the show got underway The BLKOUT cut a promo about the Briscoe’s. They said Jay & Mark may have gotten rid of Homicide, but they can’t get rid of them. Kingston then claimed tonight they’ll regain the ROH World Titles, and then they’ll get rid of The Briscoe’s forever.

Kevin Steen & El Generico def. The King’s of Wrestling w/Larry
Really fun opener, Claudio, Hero & Sweeney have become a very comedic unit and along with Kevin Steen put on a hilarious encounter. The fans loved every second of comedy, and every second of action, not many false finishes at the ends which was a nice change of pace from the usual. Generico was wiped out with the Hero’s Welcome however Steen made the save on the subsequent cover before clearing the ring. After a short exchange with Hero he hit the Package Piledriver gaining victory for his team and a Tag Title shot tomorrow night.

FIP World Title: Austin Aries © def. Jigsaw, Kenny King & Gran Akuma
Aries defended the title in Four Corner Survival here; giving all of his opponents a chance to shine. And shine they did. King, Jigsaw & Akuma put on a very exciting contest along with Aries and the fans legitimately thought the belt might change hands towards the end. Akuma scored a 2.9 count when he hit Aries with the Yoshi-Tonic. Aries would kick out, roll back and try to hit his trademark combo. However Jigsaw cut off the 450 with the Leap of Faith. He would get a two count from that, however Kenny King broke it up. King would hit a huge the Coronation on jigsaw however Aries would make the save. Austin would pitch King to the floor before delivering a Brainbuster to Jigsaw for the victory.

Mike Quackenbush def. Tyler Black
Lacey was once again missing from ringside which caught the fans attention. There were rumours going around that she had been fired. However these rumours murmurs from the crowd died down as the action picked up in the ring. Quack & Black put on a very entertaining match, not quite up to the quality these guys can produce but decent nonetheless. Some cool false finishes towards the end before Quack eventually finished Black off with the CHIKARA special.

ROH World Tag Team Title Match: The Briscoe’s © def. The BLKOUT
The Briscoe’s & BLKOUT picked up from where they left off last year here. The fans where really into everything Jay, Mark, Ruckus & Kingston did and they were very appreciative of everything the competitors did. Jay & Mark nearly came away with an early victory after a Springboard ace crusher by Mark however Ruckus would kick out of it. This became a pattern as The Briscoe’s dominated for large portions. Eventually the BLK Out found their stride and nearly took victory on several occasions, the closest of which came after Kingston turned Jay inside out with a vicious Yakuza kick. Eventually The Briscoe’s retained the titles when they hit Ruckus with the Spiked J-Driller.

--Intermission--

-During intermission Davey Richards cut a promo saying he will defeat Takeshi Morishima tonight, just like he defeated Delirious in Philadelphia.

--End Intermission--

Four Corner Survival: Bryan Danielson def. Roderick Strong, Naomichi Marufuji & Brent Albright
Awesome stuff from all the individuals involved. Albright was an absolute beast and came close to taking victory over all three of his opponents. Albright best opportunity to gain the win was when he locked Danielson in the Crowbar; however Marufuji broke it up with his sit out clothesline manoeuvre. Strong & Marufuji had plenty of exchanges, the best of which saw Marufuji counter the Gibson Driver with a huracanrana before connecting with his run in behind clothesline. He would connect with the Shiranui but after landing smoothly he staggered back into Danielson who hooked him and took him down with the Cattle Mutilation, Marufuji eventually tapped out giving Dragon the victory.

-After the match Strong was clearly pissed about suffering yet another loss.

Nigel McGuinness & Go Shiozaki def. Jimmy Jacobs & BJ Whitmer
McGuinness’ partner turned out to be Go Shiozaki out of the NOAH organization in Japan. He received a very sizeable pop, not on the level of KENTA or Marufuji but decent nonetheless. Shiozaki put in a decent performance, as did the other men in the match. Jacobs & McGuinness had several heated exchanges, at one point getting into a striking exchange with McGuinness coming out on top after a European Uppercut. Whitmer nearly finished Shioazaki off with the Wrist Clutch Exploder but Go kicked out. Moments Later Shiozaki nailed a huge Belly to Back Suplex that folded BJ up like an accordion, this served as a set up to the Rebound Lariat which Nigel connected with for victory.

-After the match Jimmy Jacobs nailed Shiozaki & McGuinness with a railroad spike, McGuiness began to bleed profusely as Jacobs hammered away with right hands. He left Nigel in a pool of his own blood as Whitmer laid out Shiozaki with the Exploder.

2 out of 3 Falls Match: Delirious def. KENTA
KENTA & Delirious would have a hard time topping their previous encounters however they just about did it here. Both men were on top form and brought the very best out of one another. The fans were on fire the whole way through an enjoyed every second of this contest. KENTA took the first fall with a Tier Suplex. It took nearly 15 minutes for the second fall to take place, and it occurred when Delirious blocked a big kick from Kenta, span him around and hit the Chemical Imbalance II for the pinfall. The two men would do battle for several more minutes, desperate to gain the victory. The biggest false finish of all saw KENTA nail a Falcon Arrow off the top rope for a two count. Eventually Delirious would counter the Go 2 Sleep with a Sunset Flip esque rollup for the win.

ROH World Title Match: Davey Richards © def. Takeshi Morishima
Really good big man/little man match. The crowd got behind Morishima due to their hatred for Richards. Davey really put Morishima over and made him look like a beast, for most of the match Morishima just destroyed Davey inside the ring and outside of it. Davey was hanging on by a thread as he barely kicked out of the Big Side Slam, a Missile Dropkick and the flying Hip Attack. The crowd were desperate for a title change as Richards was brutalised in the corner, he would come out firing on all cylinders making a brief comeback. He looked to hit the DR Driver however Morishima countered it with a Backdrop. Davey crawled to the corner trying to distance himself from the Challenger. Takeshi Morishima looked for the Cartwheel splash in the corner but Richards narrowly avoided it before sneaking a roll up for the three count.

ROH: Sixth Year Anniversary Celebration; Night 4 (March 9th; St. Paul, MI)

-Before the show Bryan Danielson & Delirious cut a promo, Danielson claimed he didn’t like Delirious and Delirious didn’t like him but tonight they’re putting their differences aside to team together and defeat Davey Richards & Takeshi Morishima. Danielson questioned if Takeshi Morishima would do the same.

Matt Cross & Erick Stevens def. Fast & Furious
This opener was everything it needed to be. They warmed the crowd for the show and in the process but on a decent match that made all four individuals look strong. Cross & Stevens displayed some nice chemistry and some innovative double team offense which eventually lead to their victory.

Naomichi Marufuji def Roderick Strong
Strong has been on a small losing streak recently, it continued here in a very solid encounter with Marufuji. Strong really got the fans on his case and played the heel role well taking every shortcut he could to try and gain victory. Marufuji made a comeback and after some back and forth picked up the win with the Shiranui.

-After the match Strong sulked, kicking the guard rails and thumping the ring apron as he made his way to the back.

Havana Pitbulls def. Lacey’s Angels
Lacey was once again absent from ringside, which caused some questions. However the fans have accepted this is part of an angle due to the mentioning of it in a recent ROH newswire so the rumours going around did not detract from the in-ring action. These two teams haven’t gelled as well as it was thought they might, and this contest wasn’t as good as their previous encounter however it was solid to say the least. Tyler Black continues to improve and looked great in there with Romero and it would be Romero who won the contest for his team; forcing Black to tap out to the Jujigatame.

Go Shiosaki def. BJ Whitmer
After last night Shiosaki was out for revenge, however Whitmer would not let him get it ducking out of the ring and every opportunity avoiding wrestling GO at every turn. That was very much the story of the match and it left the fans somewhat disappointed. On one hand they appreciated the furthering of BJ’s heel character, but just wanted to see a damn wrestling match instead of all the staling. The wrestling they did get was of a good quality and really picked up in the last few minutes of the contest. Shiosaki took the win with the Go Flasher.

--Intermission--

-During Intermission Kevin Steen & El Generico cut a promo hyping their ROH World Tag Team Title shot.

--End Intermission--

Austin Aries vs. Mike Quackenbush ended in a Time Limit Draw.
Aries and Quackenbush just gave it everything here, they really wanted to put on something special and the match really did have a big match feel to it. Aries & Quack did a good job of getting the fans into things, and had them on their feet towards the end. Lots of great false finishes and it could have gone either way in the end. Quack came closest of all to victory when he put a stop to Aries 450 attempt and connected with the Quackendriver. Aries was able to endure that and survive the CHIKARA special until the time limit ran out.

-After the match the fans applauded the efforts of both men. They begged for five more minutes. Aries & Quack shook hands before leaving the ring.

ROH World Tag Team Title Match: The Briscoe’s © vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico
The tag division has been extremely hot for the last several months and the fans have loved everything they’ve seen. This was no exception as The Briscoe’s, Kevin Steen & El Generico put on a hell of a tag team display. Both teams gelled effortlessly and the match had an incredible flow. It built and built to an incredible finish that saw all four men hit their trademark manoeuvres before The Briscoe’s finally put Generico away with the Springboard Doomsday Device.

Grudge Match: Jimmy Jacobs def. Nigel McGuinness
Jacobs and McGuinness weren’t looking to gave traditional match here. They were looking for a fight. They brawled all around ringside to the fans delight; they used steel chairs and the barricades to inflict just a little more damage to one another. The crowd really bought into the personal issues between these two and it made for an extremely heated match. There weren’t many near falls, there weren’t very many pinning attempts, this match was solely about one man beating the other. Jacobs was busted open by McGuinness the hard way after a chair shot on the floor, he continued to bleed throughout the match and he looked a mess as he countered Nigel’s Rebound Lariat with a spear, for the victory,

Davey Richards & Takeshi Morishima def. Delirious & Bryan Danielson
Really good stuff here, all four individuals played their roles and it worked well. Morishima did not care for Richards and just dominated everybody with Richards making blind tags now and then to pick the bones of Danielson & Delirious. Delirious & Danielson also played up their past rivalry before being forced to team together to topple the beast that is Morishima. Delirious & Danielson nearly took victory with a leaping Lariat/Regal-Plex combination on Morishima but Davey made the save. Richards nearly suffered the fall when Delirious connected with the Shadows over Hell but the resilient champion managed to escape. During the home stretch Morishima & Danielson had a heated trading blow after blow, Danielson would hit the Roaring Elbow but Morishima came back with a Lariat taking Dragon down. Morishima would go on to hit the Backdrop Driver. However before he could make a cover Richards bundled him out of the ring and made the cover himself to gain the win.

ROH Newswire

March 30th: Those of you who will not be enjoying the WWE’s Wrestlemania XXIV event, come out and join us for the sixth night of out Sixth Year Celebration. We have quite a show in store for you tonight, headlined by ROH World Champion Davey Richards defending his title against Austin Aries. Aries defeated Delirious, Nigel McGuinness & Mike Quackenbush in Four Corner Survival to earn this shot and former champion Aries will do everything in his power to end Richards reign; just like he did Samoa Joe’s back at Final Battle 2004.

March 30th: Also on tap for tonight’s show is tag team action, with ROH World Tag Team champions the Briscoe Brothers defending against the King’s of Wrestling. The Briscoe’s will also be scouting their next challengers as the winners of Ultimate Endurance; featuring The Havana Pitbulls, Lacey’s Angels Kevin Steen & El Generico as well as The BLKOUT, will receive a shot at the belts in the near future.

Ring of Honor
ROH Sixth Year Anniversary Celebration; Night 6
March 30th, 2008- 8:00 pm belltime
Orlando Downtown Recreation Complex
649 W Livingston St
Orlando,FL 32801

Tickets are available at www.rohwrestling.com or www.Tickets.com as well as calling 215-781-2500.

Current Line up:
ROH World Title Match: Davey Richards © vs. Austin Aries
ROH World Tag Team Title Match: The Briscoe’s © vs. King’s of Wrestling
Ultimate Endurance: Featuring The BLKOUT, Havana Pitbulls, Lacey’s angels & Steen & Generico
Jimmy Jacobs vs. Mike Quackenbush
Naomichi Marufuji vs. Bryan Danielson
KENTA vs. Nigel McGuinness
Erick Stevens vs. Jigsaw
Matt Cross vs. Hallowicked

March 30th: Just added, Erick Stevens vs. Jigsaw, and Hallowicked vs. Matt Cross. These four men have been involved in tag team competition as of late with Cross & Stevens coming out the victors in their most recent outing. Hallowicked & Jigsaw will look to rebound from that loss whereas Stevens & Cross will try to continue that momentum leading into All Star Extravaganza IV & Supercard of Honor III when we return to the Manhattan Centre.

March 30th: After some scheduling conflicts that prevented KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji appearing last night, they will return tonight to do battle against Nigel McGuinness & Bryan Danielson respectively. These four men have met one another in singles competition in the past, and every single one of them will be looking for a victory and a possible shot at the ROH World Title which has so far eluded all of them this year.

March 30th: Also on tap for tonight is a big between Jimmy Jacobs & Mike Quackenbush, both men have been rising through the ranks and this could very well be a break through match for either man. Jacobs has been on a quest of sorts over the last few weeks claiming to have used Nigel McGuinness as a stepping stone. We are still not aware of what that goal is, however you can bet Mike Quackenbush does not want to be the next stopping stone on Jacobs rode to it.