ROH DVD Review: Night of Appreciation


Date: 03/09 9:00 PM
Views: 3,829

Written by Stevie J

The third in our ongoing series reviewing RING OF HONOR DEE-VEE-DEEZ~! Tonight's show is from April 27th, 2002 and is titled "Night of Appreciation." The cover notes that ROH is "Voted #1 top pro wrestling promotion IN THE WORLD by the Wrestling Observer!" I'm sure by 2004 (the copyright date on this DVD) that may have been the case, but I don't think ROH had been in existance long enough as of the show date in 2002 to be #1 ANYTHING, although with matches by the likes of Christopher Daniels, Low-Ki, Eddie Guerrero, Super Crazy, Bryan Danielson, Spanky and Amazing Red they were certainly getting NOTICED. Ring of Honor had cultivated a reputation for bringing the best professional wrestlers in the world to South Philadelphia to put on a show, and the "Night of Appreciation" would continue this fine tradition.

We open with a black and white montage of events from the last ROH show Round Robin Challenge and the caption "nothing has been settled" but noting that tonight ROH will "give appreciation to Eddie Guerrero." Well there's nothing I could agree with more. Hit Squad interrupt ring announcer Stephen DeAngelis, and both Mafia and Monster Mack tell him to take a powder. He accidentally bumps into one of the two and realizing his mistake he puts on a pair of glasses - after all you wouldn't hit a man wearing glasses would you? Hit Squad continue to cut a promo but given the shitty PA system and the echoing gymnasium the only part that comes through loud and clear is "GET YOUR FUCKING FAGGOT ASSES OUT HERE RIGHT NOW." That can only mean one tag team in Ring of Honor, the Christopher Street Connection. Not surprisingly the straing of "YMCA" are soon hear throughout the building, as the disco lights and streamers present them to the ring along with a little bit of fog machine smoke. Apparently CSC has been promising revenge in every promo I've never seen on the Hit Squad... well, best of luck with that. Even if they weren't fags and punk lil' gays they're outweight by the Hit Squad by hundreds of pounds. An unofficial brawl starts outside the ring without a bell, but Allison Danger comes out to stop the action and cut a promo. She announces that the match will be a three-way, and apparently that means Prince Nana and Elax are on the card too.

* Hit Squad v. Christopher Street Connection v. Prince Nana & Elax

This match is a comedy clusterfuck right from the start, with the CSC doing every gay thing to their opponents that they can, while Allison Danger flirts with Simply Luscious, before Hit Squad take exception to the whole thing and knock everybody down. Mack splashes Nana back first and he rolls to the outside. Nana deserts the action and decides he's had enough, while CSC take a german suplex and the Hit Squad give a combo one-arm chokeslam powerbomb to Simply Luscious. Burning Hammer on SL and I guess this was a mixed tag because it leads to a three count. WINNERS: HIT SQUAD. Elax gets back in the ring to check on Simply Luscious, but eats a clothesline from the Hit Squad for his trouble. The ringside announcers scream "HE JUST GOT THE SHIT KNOCKED OUT OF HIM" as the Hit Squad bring a table into the ring and set it up. Elax gets laid across the table, Monster Mack goes top rope, and he does a sit out splash crushing Elax through the table. THREE HUNDRED POUNDS OF DEVESTATION or as the announcers say "total annihilation of anything in the Hit Squad's path." Gangster rap music plays and the crowd goes wild in celebration.

* Jay Briscoe (w/ Mark Briscoe) v. Tony Mamaluke

Amusingly Mamaluke is announced as weighing in at "Two-thousand, four-hundred and seventy-six OUNCES." Jay and Tony circle to start and scramble for position on the mat. No man gets the advantage and eventually it winds up in the ropes where Mamaluke falls through to the floor. He has his FBI tights on and the announcers mock him saying that Ring of Honor is no gimmicks and no chicanery. As if the Christopher Street Connection aren't a gimmick? Well anyway the two circle again, Mamaluke goes behind, standing switch, eventually Mamaluke ends up on top with a headlock but Briscoe gets back to his feet coached on by his brother. Series of reversals and now Briscoe is on top with an armlock. Mamaluke goes under, leapdrogs over, they trade off arm drags and kicks before a back wheel spin kick by Briscoe knocks Mamaluke to the mat. Briscoe hits a snap suplex and then stomps on his face, then another snap suplex and a two count. Mamaluke goes for a "Benoit armbar" according to play-by-play as they read off the five "Rules of Honor" including handshakes before and after the match and no sneak attacks. Back in the ring Mamaluke goes for kicks and an elbow to the neck, picks up Briscoe, and works on the left arm softening it up before switching to punches and chops. Both men end up in the opposite corner on a whip but Mamaluke gets Briscoe to the mat and appears to be going for a triangle choke. Briscoe escapes but Mamaluke signals it's all over, picks him up, sets him up on the top rope and nails him with an uppercut. He goes up for a superplex, gets knocked off, goes up again and gets knocked off, goes up a third time but Briscoe counters it and brings Mamaluke down on his head. Mark Briscoe yells instructions to Jay and he gets back to his feet and lights up Mamaluke with chops. Off the ropes high into the air with a toss, now a series of counters and reversals before Briscoe gets a two on a schoolboy and Mamaluke gets two on a small package. Finally Briscoe gets the Jay Driller and the three count. WINNER: JAY BRISCOE. Mark Briscoe doesn't seem happy that his brother got the win and in fact he leaves the ringside area. Jay helps Mamaluke back up to his feet and shakes his hand but Mamaluke tries to take a cheap shot on him afterwards.

* Scoot Andrews v. James Maritato v. Xavier

The announcers remind us that Xavier has beaten each of these men over the last two months, so they're both looking to even the score here. We start with Scoot and Maritato in the middle, Xavier tries to get in and gets tossed high onto his back, and they're going out of their way to refer to Maritato as anything other than "Lil' Guido" because he's not wearing the FBI tights, but one slips through. Scoot clubs Xavier in the back of the head, throws him off, misses with an elbow and a reverse head scissors results in Xavier getting drilled to the mat for a two count. Scoot and Xavier lock up again, Maritato jumps in for a piece and flips Scoot over for a DDT and gets a two count. Xavier clubs Maritato in the back of the head and gets a two count. Xavier with a series of MMA high knees to Maritato, but Maritato leaps to the top rope after a whip and comes off with a drop kick. Force of Nature gets blocked, all three men end up in the corner and we get the powerbomb that takes all of them down and out. All three get up at the same time and they exchange a triangle of punches, knocking each other down to the canvas again. Maritato and Xavier exchange chops while Scoot is on the ground, Maritato off the ropes goes for a suplex but ends up in a Force of Nature instead, still only a two count. Black Nature Boy gets off a series of chops and a powerlslam on Maritato but only a two count. Maritato gets a suplex and only gets two. Xavier is still down from the Force oF Nature. Leapfrog by Maritato but reverse DDT by Scoot gets two. Xavier goes for the top rope but Scoot shakes it to knock him down. He goes up, Maritato goes up, Russian leg sweep for two but Xavier goes for a crossbody and MISSES, ending up in a fujiwara armbar and getting tapped out by the Sicilian Shooter! WINNER: JAMES MARITATO.

* AJ Styles v. Low-Ki

Ki is a huge favorite with the ROH crowd, but the announcers say fans not familiar with "the debuting AJ Styles are in for a treat." AJ and Ki are on the mat to start, they trade a headlock and leg scissors, Low-Ki tries to bridge a pin for two and both get back to their feet. Test of strength, Styles gets the better of it and tries to put all his weight on the chest of Ki, getting a couple of two counts. Ki kicks out and they circle the ring again. Test of strength turns into each other doing leg kicks to the shin, Ki finally gets the better of it and takes AJ down, side headlock, but AJ escapes and gets on top, going first for a submission armbar, then getting a front facelock. Ki slips out and goes for AJ's neck, it's just one reversal after another here on the mat. Back to their feet to exchange chops and then face off warily. The announcers remind us last month Ki didn't tap out in his match with Danielson, he PASSED OUT because he refused to quit. AJ gets Ki down for a ground and pound but they roll into a double pin and the ref starts to count before Ki gets up and kicks Styles in the face. Styles tries for a leg takedown and Ki kicks him in the back of the head then unloads with some chops before throwing him off the ropes and knocking him down with another kick. AJ plays possum before doing a head scissors, gets back to his feet and gets a two count pin on Low-Ki. AJ nails a neckbreaker for another two count. The crowd has been converted to AJ fans thanks to the fast paced action and the fact he's going toe to toe with Low-Ki. Ki kicks a charging Styles in the face, stalks his prey, hits a backbreaker and a snap elbow for two and a half. Pulled back up by the hair, Ki "chops the Jesus out of him" but AJ comes back with a kick that knocks Low-Ki out of the ring. Roundhouse kick and sweet chin music knock Ki into the guardrail outside, AJ throws him back in, two count pin. The announcers put over Styles as a Born Again Christian and Low-Ki as the Devil, but then note it really doesn't matter since both of the bookers are Jewish. (Seriously, they said this.) AJ gets hit with a mafia kick and falls outside the ring as Low-Ki poses in a warrior stance for the crowd. Low-Ki goes out, chops him, throws him back in, works him over on the apron and signals a thumbs down. He looks to be going for a Ki Crusher from the apron to the floor but instead goes for a dragon sleeper on the ropes before the ref breaks it up (reminds me of Tajiri's old tarantula move). Ki pulls Styles up and sets up the Ki Crusher but Styles counters it into a DDT and both men are down. Huge AJ AJ AJ chant. Low-Ki and AJ reverse each other againon the feet, AJ with a back elbow and a sunset backflip into a reverse DDT and Low-Ki is down again.. 1-2-NO! Ki kicks out.

The crowd cheers AJ, then applauds both men, Ki bridges a powerbomb and gets two and the crowd starts a Low-Ki chant then starts applauding again. Ki pulls Styles back up to his feet for kicks to the face repeatedly, then knees to the head, then uppercut boots to the face, and "I don't think they're going to church together tomorrow." Ki crawls over for a pin, 2 and 9 tenths AJ kicks out! Crowd applauds again. Ki pulls Styles back to his feet for chops, tiger suplex, AJ kicks out AGAIN before three. Whip offf the ropes is countered into a lariat by Styles. Styles back to his feet first, suplex and bridge, two count. AJ grabs Ki with a front chancery, goes for a suplex but Ki blocks it and hits a falcon's aarow. Two count. Ki with a series of chops on Styles and a cartwheel kick and Styles is down on the mat with a glazed look on his face. Ki pulls him away from the ropes, goes up to the top rope, twisting 450 blocked as Styles gets his knees up. Styles with a piledriver on Ki but he kicks out before three! The crowd is going absolutely nuts at this point, everybody's on their feet. Styles goes top rope and goes for a corkscrew moonsault on Ki but he rolls out of the way. Both crawl to their feet and slap each other in the face before Ki knocks him down with a right kick to the head. Ki sets up for the Ki Crusher again, AJ blocks, tries to go for a Styles Clash but gets small packaged into a three and gets pinned. WINNER: LOW-KI. One hell of a match, you could buy the DVD for this one alone - definitely four stars and up. The crowd thinks the count was fast and chants "BULL-SHIT" but AJ offers him a handshake and Low-Ki accepts.

Daniels promo: "Finally Ring of Honor makes it up to me by bringing in a talent of my caliber, a man who wrestled in Japan like me, who lives in California like me, who won the Super 8 tournament, and a man who promoters bring in LIKE ME who makes their promotion seem worthy - Donovan Morgan. Tonight I don't have to go through some round robin bull, I get to wrestle a man who deserves to be in the ring with me. Tonight when I pin your shoulders to the man, I prove I'm the top man in Ring of Honor, and that's the gospel according to the Fallen Angel." Morgan: "I'm gonna prove who I am, Chris already knows, but tonight they all find out I'm damn good, so Ring of Honor get ready."

* Donovan Morgan v. Christopher Daniels

The announcers actually put this over as an "internet dream match." You know I appreciate they were marketing to their niche but I'm not sure that's a good way to put something over on commentary. Daniels refuses to shake Morgan's hand, Morgan takes exception and ends up on top of Daniels early, but Daniels counters out and works knees to the back. Morgan gets up, grabs the leg, goes for a side headlock. Both end up back on their feet, Morgan has a wristlock, Daniels counters, Morgan gets a leg wrapped around Daniels head before he gets to the ropes and the ref forces a break. Mogan goes behind, Daniels counters and ends up on top with the armbar, back to their feet and Morgan counters to a wristlock, Daniels and Morgan both roll through trading it off before Morgan takes him down with a headlock and hangs on even as Daniels tries to hit the ropes. Daniels finally breaks away for a second but Morgan goes right back to it, and the announcers say it's a "19 inch python getting tighter and tighter." Morgan is pretty muscular, although I wouldn't say he's got textbook definition like WWE would want, like the Disasterpiece. Daniels goes for a knee to the throat and a front chinlock then lets go to pound on Morgan some more and hit a high back bodydrop followed by a high snap suplex on the neck for a two count. Morgan finally counters Daniels with a neckbreaker and tries to choke Daniels out on the ropes before the ref breaks the hold. Snap suplex and a two count. Morgan works for a submission hold, pulls him to his feet, snapmare and a kick to the back of Daniels head. He rolls outside pulling Daniels to the apron and hits elbows to the throat before coming back in, throwing Daniels off the ropes, but Daniels counters into a running lariat. Dropkick and a two count. Elbows to the face, off the ropes, Morgan with a sunset flip, Daniels with a bridge, two counts go back and forth. Morgan goes for an ankle lock but Daniels gets the ropes. Suplex by Morgan and another two count. Elbows to the face, elbow off the ropes, 2 count again. Whip to the ropes, elbow by Daniels as he charges in, back suplex and both men are down. Lariat and a hard elbow by Daniels and a neckbreaker, he crawls over for the cover and gets 2. Russian leg sweep, time for the BME, 1-2.. NO! Morgan kicks out because Daniels didn'thook the leg. Daniels puts Morgan on the top rope, his an uppercut, Morgan kicks him in the face and gets an impaler DDT for 2.9. Morgan back on offense, Daniels pinned for 2, off the ropes Morgan gets a schoolboy for two but Daniels counters it into a crippler crossface but Morgan manages to hook the ropes with a boot. Daniels off the ropes with a shoulder tackle, goes behind for a schoolboy for two, Morgan knocks him down for two himself, pulls him up, both men end up on the apron, Morgan goes for the sunset flip but Daniels rolls through and Morgan ends up turning it into a neckbreaker but Daniels gets to the ropes before three. Morgan with elbows and the snap neckbreaker again and he pins the Fallen Angel! WINNER: DONOVAN MORGAN. Daniels asks DeAngelis for the mic. "I've had to deal with Round Robin tournaments, but the first time I get a straight-up no nonsense match you beat me. Donovan I can admit when somebody is the better man so come on in here." Daniels has his hand out but as soon as Morgan comes in Daniels pulls it away and says "The Code of Honor is a farce! I'm not gonna shake your hand but I'll do one better, you pinned me so that proves to everybody here that you're a top talent. Fat lumps like Low-Ki and the American Dragon are gonna come at you from behind. If you ever want anyone to watch your back against these people, then the Fallen Angel is your guy."

* Texas Academy Gauntlet Match

#1 in is Paul London already in the ring, and #2 is Michael Shane. London goes for a powerbomb but Shane counters and nearly gets three. Simply Luscious has joined the commentary table because she "didn't drive 30 hours just to be abandoned by Prince Nana." London dropkicks Shane in the face and gets two. Shane with elbows to the head but London gets a backbridge for two. London with a roll-up for two. Shane spears London for 2.5. DVD quality continues to be an issue with the Best Buy released ROH DVD's as the video keeps freezing momentarily here and there. Shane goes for a leg breaker submission, London reaches out and grabs the ropes and instead the hold is broken. London counters Shane into a sitout facebuster, goes for the top rope, misses on the shooting star press, Shane connects with a top rope elbow and gets the pin. PAUL LONDON ELIMINATED.

Next out to the ring is SPANKY DAWG. A "fuck him up Spanky, fuck him up" chant starts. Spanky goes for a handshake, Shane tries to walk away, Spanky slaps him in the face, and a war of chops breaks out. Shane drills him with a punch, tries to take him out but Shane slides to the outside. Headbutt to the midsection and head rammed into the turnbuckle, but Shane ends up getting the advantage back as Simply Luscious leaves the commentary position because she's tired of being hit on. Spanky goes after Shane outside the ring and throws him into the steel railing, jumps up to the apron, Rudy Boy comes over and gives him a razor blade to the head (yes it's that fucking obvious) and Spanky throws him back in as Shane experiences what must be his first ever blade job. Shane finally gets a comeback and clotheslines Spanky to the outside. The two are both on the floor in front of the guardrail again, Spanky rolls back in to get away, Shane kicks him in the head, misses on a charge off the ropes as Spanky pulls down the opposite side and Shane hits the ground of the gym floor hard. Spanky comes back out to punch Shane in the head again and again, then throws him back in and hooks the leg for two. Spanky keeps working on the head and neck. Shane fights back to his feet with punches. Spank screams and charges the corner but gets cut off with an elbow and a boot and then Shane comes off the top with a boot to the head. Spanky back to his feet first even though he's staggering, Shane begs him to keep punching the head and Shane finally hulks up with a clothesline and a high back bodydrop and a flying first. Spanky tried to skin the cat but Shane just kicks him out and then does a suicide dive to the outside to emphasize the point. Back in the ring Spanky misses an enzuguiri and gets put in a schoolboy roll-up for two. Steve Corino complains loudly that Rudy Boy cares nothing for either man, he just wants his 15%. Spanky sets Shane up on the top, hits an uppercut even as he sells a sole arm, climbs up and gets thrown down by Shane, Shane sells being dizzy from a loss of blood and falls off instead of being able to hit the big elbow. Spanky crawls on top but can only get two. Corino reminds us as a pro you have to learn to fight even while losing blood. Superkick by Shane but Spanky gets a foot on the ropes to prevent a three count. Spanky gets up slow, blocks the superkick, gets the Sliced Bread #2 and gets three. MICHAEL SHANE ELIMINATED.

Next man out is American Dragon. The two shake hands to start. The DVD keeps freezing so I go for a soda break and come back to Dragon unloading on Shane with a stiff chop. Dragon with a scoop body slam and a series of hard elbows before a two count. The glitches on this DVD are making me nuts, I can't wait until I review the quality official ROHWrestling.com DVD's. More chops by Dragon but he's floated over as he charges in and Spanky nails him with an elbow to the jaw sending him out to the floor, giving Spanky a little breather. Spanky throws Dragon back in and comes off the ropes with a judo chop before pulling his pants back up (yes the drawers are showing) and goes back on offense. The announcer tells a story about Spanky going outside in only his underwear in 30 degree below weather in Alaska to go in a convenience store and buy a candy bar. Dragon charges Spanky over and over in the corner with shoulders and then throws him across the ring neck first, but both men are down. Apparently Spanky's pants got split open in the process as there's now a big tear in the middle and they are hanging down even lower than before. Spanky tries to come off the top rope but Dragon catches him coming with a forearm and nails him with another off the ropes. Spanky whips ragon to the corner but it backfires with a belly to back suplex on his head. Dragon gets a two count. More chops by Dragon, Spanky whipped over but he gets the boots up, Spanky with a kick to the head and another two. As much as this DVD keeps freezing and skipping I half believe I'm going to miss the finish after over 20+ minutes of wathing this gauntlet. Snap suplex by Spanky and another two count. I guess not having pants is not an excuse to go home early in a match. Spanky kicks Dragon in the head and beats on his back, Dragon grabs ahold of his back and suplexes him with a Steiner-riffic belly to back that really looks like it should have taken Spanky's head off his neck. Nonetheless he still kicks out of Dragon's pinfall. Enzuguiri to the neck and another two count. This may actually be too many false finishes, it's not working as well as Styles and Low-Ki. Dragon powerbombs him and Spanky kicks out again. Slow motion chops by Dragon as the disc nearly freezes, an equally slow motion Sliced Bread #2, and Dragon kicks out at 2.9. Spanky staggers to his feet in disbelief, charges Dragon, gets a boot to the face and a hard lariat for his trouble, then Dragon tries to bridge a full nelson suplex for a pin but Spanky gets a foot on the ropes. Dragon puts Spanky on the top rope, Spanky fights off with punches and hits Sliced Bread #2 off the top for the victory! WINNER OF THE TEXAS ACADEMY GAUNTLET: SPANKY DAWG~!

* Amazing Red & Eddie Guerrero v. SAT (Joel & Jose Maximo)

It's a shame this DVD has gone to shit because this is undoubtedly the main event . Eddie comes out wearing a WWF Intercontinental Title belt, so obviously by this point he's back with the company. The announcers remind us both Joel and Jose have pinfalls over Red, so getting Guerrero on his side was perhaps the only way he could stop the losing streak. Red tags in Eddie and they do a double team headscissors then Eddie hits a backbreaker on Jose as the crowd goes nuts as the announcers put over the demons that Guerrero has overcome. Eddie and his Latino Heat trunks dance around the ring as the announcers note that WWF just recently changed their name to World Wrestling Entertainment. Apparently they hadn't updated the title belts yet. Guerrero calls for a test of strength but Maximo backs off, they try again and Eddie ends up in a headlock before throwing Maximo off the ropes. leapfrogging, but ultimately getting taken down with a head scirssors for two. Sunset flip is attempted but Eddie rolls through and locks in a boston crab before Maximo gets to the ropes and a little of that Latino temper comes out as Eddie does a couple of foot stomps and a somersault over the ropes for a two count. The camera angles on these early discs could really use some work, especially the "let's shake and move all the time for that dizzy MTV look" when a nice mounted camera would have been a thousand times better. The Maximos double team Eddie off a tag and stretch him in a reverse bow and arrow before Red can ake no more and breaks it up. Eddie is pushed into the Maximo corner for another tag and then put in a chin headlock before he comes off the ropes and a couple of standing switches result in Eddie eating a suplex and a bridge for two. Jose goes out to the rop rope but Eddie was playing possum and charges the corner, gets all the way up and hits a standing superplex. Red cheers him on and begs for a tag, he gets it and goes to work on Joel and hits the red star press but can only get two. The shittily encoded DVD is freezing every other second now and if Eddie Guerrero wasn't in this match I'd have given up a long time ago. To quote Bryan Alvarez, TAKEDOWNMASTERS.COM CAN SUCK MY DICK~! It's hard to tell what's even going on but the announcers say Red got dropped on his head and the Maximos are cutting off the ring with quick tags. Jose is in now for a snap suplex and a two count but he quickly tags Joel again. Baseball slide kick to Red's face and a two. Eddie complains to the ref about illegal tactics and Red gets wheelbarrowed in the process before being covered and Eddie breaks up the three cont. Red is whipped off the ropes, attempts to roll over Maximo's back, but gets superkicked in the face. Eddie comes in once again to break up the three. Every time the video pauses the commentary repeats itself and it's actually making me hate hearing Steve Corino's voice. All of the ROH wrestlers are shown looking on from the back on this match. Maximo tries to come off the top, Red kicks him in the face in the process, and both men are down looking for a hot tag. I've got to see if ROH has a remastered version of this night's card because this is unfreaking believable. Between pauses and freezes Eddie gets the tag and starts unloading with chops, appears to hit a brainbuster, but can't get the three count. Eddie gets reversed into a series of roll-ups for two but connects with a clothesline, pulls the man into position, and can visibly be seen signalling to the other Maximo to block him from hitting the Five Star as he grabs and shakes the rope. The Maximo obliges and they end up double teaming him before Red breaks it up. Eddie goes up for the frog splash a second time and misses but he picks up the Maximo for a gory bomb and nails it for the pin between frozen frames. WINNERS: AMAZING RED AND EDDIE GUERRERO.

A shame to say this for what would and could have been a four star match just by Eddie being in it but mercifully this DVD is over. Since I'm sick of the "Takedown Masters Series" next week we're going to jump ahead and review an ROH show from 2006. Eddie celebrates by putting his WWF title on Red, Red says no and hands it back to him, Eddie smiles and it's a beautiful moment ruined by a shitty DVD. Low-Ki has a conversation with somebody backstage outside Spanky's lockerroom, he's eating pizza, I don't know what this extra shit at the end has to do with anything. Spanky stands up and gets in their faces and his chest is BEET RED from all the chops. Daniels interrupts and gets in an argument with Low-Ki and the two get into a brawl before the lockerroom charges in to break it up. I can't take any more of the freezing and skipping and since I can't make out the dialogue anyway I'll just end it here. See you next week for more RING OF HONOR DEE-VEE-DEEZ~!



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