Originally Posted by PWInsider.com
Match 1: Grudge Match featuring Austin Aries vs. Ricky Reyes with J. Smokes
Aries initiated this match by cutting a promo on Reyes beforehand. The contest was short with both wrestlers trading stiff shots back and forth. The finish saw Reyes apply a reclining Dragon Sleeper/reverse DDT on Aries. However, as Reyes applied the move his shoulders were down and the ref counted a three count.
Winner by pinfall: Austin Aries
Time: 6 minutes
After the match, Reyes refused to break the hold and Roderick Strong ran down to make the save. Reyes grabbed the mike and challenged them to put the belts on the line because in ’06, they were going to rule wrestling.
Match 2: Pure Title Match featuring Nigel McGuinness defending against Tony Mamaluke
These two put on a decent, if not memorable, match where Mamaluke was really playing up his heel role. Tony lost all three of his rope breaks and received a closed fist warning shortly before Nigel reversed Mamaluke into some mat submission.
Winner by submission: Nigel McGuinness
Time: 10 minutes
Match 3: Jimmy Rave & Alex Shelley with Prince Nana vs. Azrieal and Claudio Castagnoli with Colt Cabana
The Embassy reached the ring first and was greeted by toilet paper streamers and the occasional luffa. This match was originally scheduled to feature the team of Cabana and Claudio, but Cabana entered the ring and informed the audience that after wrestling in the Midwest on the previous two evenings, he sustained a back injury and his doctor had informed him that he couldn’t wrestle. He said he hoped the fans understood as he selected Azrieal as his replacement.
The beginning of the match showcased a lot of good tag team comedy action. Rave would run at Claudio who would gently touch his ass and push him aside like a matador. This prompted the chant, “Jimmy loves it.” Later, Claudio got the hot tag from Azrieal and hit a 39 second standing suplex. Both teams then traded a series of power moves including a top rope head stomp by Azrieal, a torture rack slam by Claudio, a top rope huricanrana by Shelley, and a top rope elbow drop by Rave.
Shelley later hit an enziguri which Rave combined into a reverse full nelson on Azrieal. As Shelley locked Claudio up in the ropes, Azrieal had no option but to tap out. Solid match.
Winners: Jimmy Rave & Alex Shelley
Time: 15 minutes
Match 4: FIP Heavyweight Title Match in a Three Way Dance featuring Homicide (champion), Roderick Strong, and Bryan Danielson
Gary Michael Capetta walked over to a FIP backdrop that had been set up in the corner of the arena and grabbed the microphone.
GMC: FIP is the sister promotion of Ring of Honor and we are proud to present this match to you this evening. Full Impact Pro is a unique promotion in that there are no general managers, there are no commissioners; the wrestlers rule the roost. And the man that had ruled for the last sixteen months is no stranger to you fans. Allow me to introduce Homicide.
Homicide joins Gary at the FIP set.
GMC: Homicide, how is your shoulder injury rehabbing?
HOMICIDE: It doesn’t matter. I’m here to fight!
Homicide charges into the ring awaiting the arrival of his challenger, Roderick Strong. Roderick enters the arena and joins Gary at the set.
GMC: Homicide clearly doesn’t want to talk. How about you, Roderick Strong?
RODERICK: Homicide, your shoulder injury is really unfortunate. But I put FIP on the map and tonight I’ll become its champion. But before I do, I have one question for you…do you really want to fight me?
Inside the ring, Homicide flips off Strong.
RODERICK: F*** me? F*** you!
Strong is about to charge the ring when the music of ROH Champion Bryan Danielson hits. He approaches the FIP set.
DANIELSON: So, wrestlers get to make up the matches, huh? Well in that case, I say we make this a three way dance for that title. Strong, you scarred my chest and I’ll scar your face.
As Strong and American Dragon start battling in the crowd, Colt Cabana jumps Homicide from behind. Smokes races up to defend Homicide and chases the injured Cabana to the back. As Homicide is led backstage by referees, Strong and Danielson battle through the crowd and into the bleachers. At one point they were two feet in front of me and strangling each other with some guy’s jacket. As the two returned to the ring, Strong gained the upper hand and was in control when Homicide returned to the ring. He threw Strong out, but gave Danielson time to recover. Danielson quickly focused in on Homicide’s injured shoulder by applying an armbar submission. Homicide had no choice but to tap out.
Winner and new FIP Heavyweight Champion: American Dragon Bryan Danielson
Time: 4 minutes
Match 5: Special Challenge Match #1 featuring Christopher Daniels with Allison Danger vs. Jay Lethal
Lethal really dominated the middle of this match until the Fallen Angel caught Lethal on the top rope with what looked like a combination muscle buster/brainbuster. At the end of the match, Lethal went for a top rope maneuver, but Daniels got his legs up. Lethal stopped short, grabbed Daniels’s legs and rolled him over into a pin which Daniels reversed with a roll-through for a pin of his own. Ok, but unspectacular match. There was just too much offense by Lethal.
Winner: Christopher Daniels
Time: 15 minutes
After the match, Samoa Joe charged the ring to lay out Lethal. Daniels recovered and attacked Joe while Lethal landed a devastating low blow from behind. As Lethal started to attack Joe, Daniels pushed him off, wanting the Samoan Submission Machine to himself. Amidst this bickering, BJ Whitmer hit the ring and laid out Daniels from behind.
BJ: Chris, the fans may have forgiven you for walking out on Ring of Honor two years ago, but I haven’t, and neither has The Prophecy. And Joe, the reason I saved you is because I want you at 100% tonight.
BJ leaves the rings and Joe feigns doing the same thing before changing his mind and laying out Daniels with a vicious running drop kick.
INTERMISSION: It was announced that ROH will return to Philadelphia on April 22nd to run its 100th show. As a special treat, they will have a rematch of the very first ROH main event featuring Low Ki vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Bryan Danielson in a three way dance.
Match 6: Six Man Mayhem with Jack Evans vs. Jason Blade vs. Kid Mikaze vs. Adam Pearce vs. Sal Rinuaro vs. Davis
I’ve never seen this Davis kid before (I assume his name was Davis because it was written on his pants), but he was a replacement for Azrieal who was called up to the tag match with the Embassy earlier in the evening.
This match was a lot of fun! Kid Mikaze and Jason Blade started out with a set of really cool move and counter-move stuff. They showed lots of athleticism and originality. Jack Evans (who was really over) did some dancing on Adam Pearce prompted the “You got served,” chant.
Late in the match, Davis, Jason Blade, and Sal Rinuaro had eliminated each other on the outside. Adam Pearce went for a pin on Kid Mikaze, but Evans hit an AMAZING 630 degree splash on both of them, facilitating the pin Kid Mikaze. Really good match.
Winner: Jack Evans
Time: 13 minutes
Match 7: Special Challenge Match #2 featuring Samoa Joe vs. BJ Whitmer with Lacey
This was yet another solid Samoa Joe match. I don’t think he has bad matches. BJ tried to hit Joe’s running knee spot on the outside, but Joe eventually threw him into the crowd and set up a table at an angle in one corner of the ringside area. Joe made to throw Whitmer through it, but BJ stopped short, grabbed Joe, and gave him an exploder suplex through the table. Nice spot!
The match ended when Joe connected with a vicious kick to the head. As Joe attempted to continue clubbing Whitmer, the ref called for the bell.
Winner by KO: Samoa Joe
Time: 14 minutes
After the match, BJ sold the knockout well and was assisted to the back.
Match 8: Special Challenge Match #3 featuring AJ Styles vs. Matt Sydal
GET A TAPE OF THIS MATCH. This was just amazing stuff. Sydal is a relative newcomer to the Ring of Honor promotion and I think this match made him a star tonight, even in losing. I’ll just run down some of the cooler spots:
A prone AJ nips up and wraps his legs around Sydal’s head leading into a hurrrancanrana. AJ hits a brainbuster on the RING APRON that legitimately looked like it could have broken Sydal’s neck. Sydal connects with a top rope moonsault into the crowd and onto AJ. Sydal missed with a shooting star press and AJ counters into a variation of the black hole slam where he finishes with Sydal on his own back. AJ goes for the Styles Clash, but Sydal uses his legs to counter into a hurrancanrana-piledriver that looked like a variation of the Canadian Destroyer. The entire crowd was on its feet expecting the upset. When AJ kicked out before three, the entire building started chanting ROH. AWESOME!!! After throwing everything they had at each other, AJ goes for a Styles Clash from the top rope. Sydal attempts to counter into a top rope huricanrana, but AJ reverses the reversal and turns it into a top rope flip powerbomb for the pinfall.
Winner: AJ Styles
Time: 18 minutes
This match was simply spectacular. It prompted a “Thank you both” chant afterwards. AJ grabbed the microphone.
AJ: Man, if I’m phenomenal, Matt, there is no word for you. There is a reason why I requested this match.
FAN: Because you’re gay?
AJ: No, I’m not a f***t. This isn’t WWE and we’re not Billy and Chuck. I’ve been ROH tag champs before with the Amazing Red. This was a test and tonight you passed. I want you to consider going for the tag titles with me. Think about it.
SYDAL: AJ, I don’t need to think about it. Let’s go for those belts.
Match #9: ROH World Title Match featuring Bryan Danielson defending against CZW’s Chris Hero
After an altercation with ROH security, Chris Hero entered the ring not from the entranceway, but from the general public entrance. He was flanked by a few CZW compatriots, including Necro Butcher.
HERO: Hey, a***es! I’ve come with some friends like the Necro Butcher here. Ring of Honor makes me sick to my stomach. Thinking of Ring of Honor and Gabe Sapolsky is like thinking of an elite dictatorship reminiscent of Nazi Germany under Adolph Hitler. Tonight, Chris Hero, the wrestler never good enough for ROH, will take its title home to CZW and throw it in the trash.
American Dragon made his way to the ring was sure to inform the ring announcer to announce Danielson as the “wrestler too good to ever wrestle for CZW.”
Much of the beginning of this match was back and forth jockeying for crowd support, which Dragon was unsurprisingly winning. There were a fair number of Hero supporters, though. The body of this match was, in my opinion, rather dull though it appeared the crowd was into it. Most of the offense was trading of submission moves, mostly arm related. The finish of the match came when Danielson locked in a rear choke right in the middle of the ring.
Winner: Bryan Danielson
Time: 32 minutes
After the match’s conclusion, Prince Nana came out as the CZW wrestlers discreetly left the arena.
NANA: Give it up for Bryan Danielson, eh? Bryan, you and I know each other and I am willing to offer you a check for the ROH title right here and now. How about it?
DANIELSON: Before I accept this offer, why don’t you tell the fans just how much you believe the Ring of Honor Championship is worth. How much are you willing to pay?
NANA: You know that I have bank accounts in Switzerland and all over the world. I can offer you money right now that you will never see in ROH.
DANIELSON: Well, it seems that the money you’re offering is in Ghana currency. And as everyone knows, Ghana currency isn’t worth shit. So maybe if you come back with some real American money, I’ll consider your offer.
After this insult, Nana slaps Danielson in the face and Jimmy Rave and Alex Shelley hit the ring to attack American Dragon. After a quick beatdown, Shelley hits a shinobi on the ROH title and grabs the mike.
SHELLEY: Danielson, why don’t you take that back to your 1998 WWE developmental territory?
The Embassy poses and the show comes to a close.
