Ring of Honor 2007: Reborn Again Up

ROH Newswire

May 8th: Takeshi Morishima once again showed why he is the ROH World champion at both ‘The battle of St. Paul’ and ‘Good times, Great Memories’, which saw him successfully defend the title against Austin Aries and Shingo, respectively. Morishima will defend the title at Reborn again on the 11th against Rocky Romero, a former ROH World Tag Team champion, and a member of the No Remorse Corps. The 12th will see a massive tag team match as Takeshi Morishima and the returning Bryan Danielson will clash in a pick your partner match. We will update you on who the two men choose to compete in this big match.

May 8th: Brent Albright had an excellent showing at our last two shows, and looks to capitalize on them this week. Albright will feature on both the 11th and the 12th, in matches against Erick Stevens and Jigsaw.

May 9th: Following Shingo Takagi’s appearance at our last two shows he will make further appearances on the 11th and the 12th. We con confirm is that Shingo will feature in a match against Adam Pearce at ROH Reborn Again, while at Respect is Earned he will feature against Nigel McGuiness in a battle of Britain V. Japan.

May 9th: The Briscoe Brothers will not have an easy ride this weekend with two big title defences. Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw will challenge for the titles on the 11th, while on the 12th the Briscoe Brothers will face off against No Remorse Corp members Roderick Strong and Davey Richards. If Quackenbush & Jigsaw win the titles on the 11th they will defend the titles on the 12th instead.

May 10th: We can reveal that Takeshi Morishima has called up KENTA as his partner for Respect is Earned, while Danielson has called in the assistance of Chris Hero. Danielson made a deal with super agent Larry Sweeny to gain the support of Chris Hero. There is currently no word on what the deal consists of however.

May 10th: Jimmy Rave made his big return at our last weekend worth of shows, and will feature in action this weekend as well. Rave will feature on the 12th in action against BJ Whitmer.

May 11th: Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli have certainly had their problems in the past, and they will once again come to a head on this weekend. Castagnoli will take on two members of Sweet n’ Sour Inc. when he takes on Chris Hero on the 11th and Matt Sydal on the 12th.

Reborn Again
Current Line Up
ROH World Championship: Takeshi Morishima V. Rocky Romero
Chris Hero V. Claudio Castagnoli
Brent Albright V. Erick Stevens
ROH World Tag Team Championship: The Briscoe Brothers V. Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw
Matt Cross V. El Generico
Adam Pearce V. Shingo Takagi
Eddie Edwards V. Shane Hagadorn

Reborn Again
11th May 2007 – Hartford, CT

BJ Whitmer Def. Jason Blade
Not a long match, but one that saw Whitmer completely destroy Blade, hitting him with some brutal strikes and strong grapples, before putting him away with the Exploder ’98 for the win.

After the match Jimmy Rave was shown watching from the ramp, scouting Whitmer out for their match tomorrow night.

Eddie Edwards Def. Shane Hagadorn
Although this was not the longest match, it certainly achieved its purpose of giving Edwards an opportunity to shine. Edwards did this in great form, putting on a great match with Hagadorn, which went back and forth solidly with both men nearly getting the win numerous times. Edwards picked up the win after connecting with the C-4.

Adam Pearce Def. Shingo Takagi
This was not the best match; it was essentially a massive brawl that led the two into the ringside area. Shingo put on a decent performance but really did not impress here. Pearce hit Shingo with some stiff elbows but Shingo fired back, nearly taking Pearce’s head off with a brutal clothesline. Pearce picked up the win after laying Shingo out with a big kick to the skull, followed by a Big Splash.

Ricky Reyes Def. Gran Akuma
This was an incredible ‘A’ rated match which really saw these two men step up and prove why they are on the roster. This match saw fourteen minutes of pure action, and the crowd was really into it. Akuma looked incredible, and Reyes had no idea what was coming next. However Reyes used a mix of quick strikes and strong technical moves to take advantage, dodging a cross body attempt and connecting with the Fisherman’s Buster to get the win.

Prior to their match the No Remorse Corps cut a promo hyping how Romero will challenge for the ROH World title tonight, and that tomorrow night Strong and Richards will challenge for the ROH World tag team titles. Strong promised that by the end of this weekend, the No Remorse Corps will have all the gold.

Roderick Strong & Davey Richards Def. Delirious & Hallowicked
A good tag team match that saw Strong and Richards really demonstrate why they are receiving the tag team title match. Delirious seemed off his game during this match, and whenever he seemed to get the advantage he just seemed to mess up, which led to the NRC capitalizing. The crowd was split between the two teams, and this match featured dueling chants for both. Delirious tried to take it up a notch, but it was too late in the match and he was leveled by a vicious clothesline from Strong. Richards followed up by laying out Hallowicked, and connecting with the Shooting Star Press for the win.

-- Intermission --

Sweet N’ Sour inc. was backstage, with Bryan Danielson standing next to Larry Sweeny. Sweeny cut a promo on how this weekend Claudio Castagnoli will lose twice to Sweet N’ Sour Inc. members and that tomorrow night Danielson and Hero will get the win over Takeshi Morishima and KENTA. Sweeny then made the announcement that Bryan Danielson is the newest member of Sweet N’ Sour Inc. and that with Sweeny’s help, Danielson will be holding the ROH World Championship once again.

-- End Intermission –

El Generico Def. Matt Cross
This is the match that saw Generico step up as a singles competitor. Although Matt Cross put on a great showing it was nothing compared to Generico, who really got the crowd on his side early on. Cross came out strong in the early going, hitting some rough strikes on Generico and focusing on keeping Generico grounded. This tactic would not work for long though, as Generico connected with a big dropkick before taking control, hitting some quick strikes and high adrenaline moves. One spectacular spot saw Cross head to the outside of the ring, and Generico hit a suicide dive into a tornado DDT which laid Cross out. Generico got the win after hitting a Turnbuckle Brainbuster.

Prior to the ROH World Tag Team Championship match Roderick Strong and Davey Richards took seats in the crowd to scout out their opponents tomorrow night.

ROH World Tag Team Championship: The Briscoe Brothers © Def. Mike Quackenbush & Jigsaw
This was a surprisingly disappointing match. The main story of this match seemed to be between the Briscoe Brothers and the No Remorse Corps at ringside. The two teams nearly came to blows a number of times, which allowed Quackenbush and Jigsaw to take advantage throughout this match. The Briscoe Brothers looked particularly dangerous here, hitting some stiff shots. This match featured a great ending stretch, which saw Mark lay Jigsaw out with a DDT on the outside of the ring right in front of the NRC, and Jay hit the Jay Driller on Quackenbush for the win.

Post match Roderick Strong and Davey Richards jumped the guard rail and attacked the Briscoe Brothers. The two teams brawled in and out of the ring. The NRC came out better, with Mark being laid out by Richards, who nailed him with the ROH World tag team title, and Jay being sent into the guard rail by Strong.

Erick Stevens Def. Brent Albright
Stevens really stepped up here, putting on one hell of a performance in a really close match. Albright came out strong early on, and nearly got an early win after hitting an exploder suplex, but only got a near fall. Stevens fought back, hitting Albright with most of the moves in his arsenal, including multiple Lariats and a Fireman’s carry cutter. Albright would not go down though, and the match spilled out onto the outside of the ring, where Albright managed to lock on the Ankle lock. Albright thought that he could take advantage of an apparently injured Stevens, setting up for another Exploder Suplex, but Stevens reversed it, and hit the Sarasota Screwdriver for the win.

Post match Erick Stevens got an ovation from the crowd. Stevens cut a promo promising that now that he has proven himself, that he is going to gun for the big prize, so Takeshi Morishima better watch out.

Chris Hero Def. Claudio Castagnoli
This was another ‘A’ rated match. The bad blood between these two was apparent from the start, as both men went all out as soon the match began. Castagnoli seemed intent on crippling Hero in this match, working away at his right knee throughout. The distraction of Larry Sweeny at ringside gave Hero the edge, and there were numerous times in this match that Sweeny distracted Castagnoli, allowing Hero to recuperate and go on the attack. Hero attempted to hit the Hero DDT but Castagnoli countered and hit the Match Killer. The match would have ended then if a distraction from Sweeny had not allowed Bryan Danielson to interfere and hit a brutal Roaring Elbow, which allowed Hero to hit the Hero’s Welcome for the win.

Post match Larry Sweeny raised Chris Hero’s and Bryan Danielson’s hands, signifying that Sweet N’ Sour Inc. is now better than ever.

ROH World Championship: Takeshi Morishima © Def. Rocky Romero
This match was not particularly long, or anything special. Morishima came out strong early on, hitting some stiff shots, including a brutal Forearm club. Romero attempted to fight back, including hitting a jumping knee kick which sent Morishima to the ground, and followed up with a high speed roundhouse kick to the skull of Morishima. Romero looked like he would capitalize, setting Morishima up for the Tiger Suplex. Morishima stopped it though and hit a big backdrop driver. Morishima never really looked like losing from there, and finished Romero off with the Amaze Impact.

Post match Bryan Danielson, Chris Hero and Larry Sweeny watched Morishima from the ramp. Danielson signaled that he is coming for the ROH World title and Morishima told him to come and get it.