Escape From New York
July 9, 2005
Colt Cabana opens up with a promo hyping his match against Nigel McGuinness tonight. Austin Aries interrupts him asking what's the deal with Punk. Cabana denies any involvement in what Punk is doing these days. It looks like they're going to have to reshoot the promo.
Ring Crew Express and Dixie vs Lacey's Angels and Vordell Walker
This is sort of a do-over from the last time ROH was in Manhattan. At Manhattan Mayhem, the first match was supposed to be RCE vs Dixie and Azrieal vs Lacey's Angels with the losing team having to split up. However, before the match the Carnage Crew attacked Dunn and Marcos. So now, RCE are teaming with one-half of the losers of that first match (Dixie, of course) against Lacey's Angels (Cheech is subbing for Izzy). Vordell Walker is a Florida guy who's been wrestling at a ROH show here and there in 2005. He looks a lot like an in shape, Italian version of David Young. Your typical spotty scramble match follows. The faces plays some air guitar on Cheech while Dixie rocks out on Cheech's back. Cheech proves his little worth by not connecting on any moves, making everything look so badly. Dixie throws some of the worst punches I've ever seen. They wouldn't be so bad if he'd continue to punch a few more inches instead of letting it be known there's a wide space between the face and his fists. Vordell Walker gets in a few nice moves including a wheel barrow suplex. The fans don't really seem into him though. Soon everyone gets involved and we get SPOTZ~! Walker gets the spinning Rock Bottom on Dixie, but RCE breaks it up. Electric Chair Senton by RCE gets the pinfall on Cheech, so long Cheech.
The match had some decent moments early on, but they it just broke down into the same tired match you always see from these guys. The addition of Cheech did little to help the match. I have to question how good the wrestlers are when I feel trimming 4-5 minutes off of an 11 minute match would help a lot. The fans at least were into it and it served it's purpose as the opener. 12 Minutes. 2 1/2 Stars.
Back to Colt Cabana taping his promo. Midway in, Samoa Joe interrupts. Cabana tries blowing him off by telling him that he already told Aries. That only agitates the big man. Colt repeats that Punk is doing what Punk wants and he's not involved. Joe seems just as dissatisfied by the answer as Aries was. Cabana gives up on the promo to get ready for his match.
BJ Whitmer and Jimmy Jacobs (c) vs The Carnage Crew - ROH Tag Team Titles Match
Another tag match already? So Jacobs and Whitmer have been champions since April. Against all odds, they've successfully defeated the likes of Samoa Joe/Jay Lethal, Generation Next, Lacey's Angel's, The Embassy and The Second City Saints. Not taking anything away from the CC, but this would seem to be an easy day for the champs. Jacobs as always, is very over. Devito reluctantly agrees to shake the hands of the champions. Jacobs plays the face-in-peril for most of the match. The commentator smartly admits how stupid of an idea that is since everyone has tried that and failed. Devito looks to be in glory being booed loudly. Just to piss people off even more, he actually hits some nice wrestling moves. Jimmy gets the hot tag, but Whitmer doesn't fair much better. CC locks in a double Boston Crab. Jacobs tries to help his partner, but he's thrown to the outside. Spike Piledriver gets a two count. CC tries a middle rope Spike Piledriver, but Jacobs is there to break it up. Whitmer is pushed down and falls through a table. Jacobs goes for the Contra Code on Loc, but Loc blocks it and feeds Jacobs to an awaiting Devito. Middle Rope Spike Piledriver to Jacobs. 1...2...3. NEW ROH TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS. The fans chant 'Bullshit'.
Being one of three Carnage Crew fans in the world (This includes family members), I love this. However, I have to question what Gabe was thinking. For a last minute thrown together team, Jacobs and Whitmer had some great natural chemistry together. Even better, the fans were loving them. So to take the straps off of them and give them to the Carnage Crew of all teams, seems idiotic. After going through so many great teams, Whitmer/Jacobs lost to a team that were nothing more than a brawling jobber team? Luckily, Gabe smartened up and gave the belts back to Whitmer/Jacobs after one CC defense. As poor of a choice as this was, Gabe would outdo himself just a few months later in the same building. Poor booking aside, this was a fairly good match. Not as good as some other Jacobs/Whitmer defenses, but you can't say the CC didn't put effort into their big win. Kudos to Loc for really putting over his meaningful it was to him. Roderick Strong vs Jimmy Rave vs Azrieal vs James Gibson
Any guesses on who's taking the fall? Strong and Gibson circles and...the lights go out. A small spotlight is shown to one of the balconies. ROH World Champion, CM Punk is looking down. The crowd instantly starts chanting things at him. Punk takes the time to bury James Gibson. He makes the announcement that he was going to have the winner face him in the main event, but now he doesn't want to. Instead, he'll just face Strong...in a non-title match. Mick Foley creeps up behind Punk and grabs him by the neck. Punk is held over the balcony. Foley demands that Punk puts the belt on the line or he'll let Punk drop to the floor. Punk screams that he will. Back in the ring, James Gibson pumps Strong up and tells him to get out of here so he can go prepare. Jimmy Rave jumps Gibson starting the match. Alex Shelley comes out and apparently joins the match leading to...
Alex Shelley vs Jimmy Rave vs Azrieal vs James Gibson
We're told that the winner gets a Pure Title shot at Fate of an Angel. To the shock of the commentators, Shelley and Rave works together to work on Azrieal. A few minutes in, we cut to a short Matt Hardy promo. Back to the match, Azriel continues to be beaten down. Hmm...Rave and Shelley are working very well together. Gibson is just dying to get in the ring. Gibson runs through Shelley and Rave and hip tosses Azrieal to his corner. Gibson tags himself in and locks in a choke on Rave. Shelley breaks it up. Ghanarrhea to Gibson. Azrieal hits a nice springboard closeline to Rave. Shinning Wizard to Gibson. Rave nails his Rave Clash to Azrieal to pick up the victory and the Pure Title shot. Post-match sees more Jade Chung humiliation.
Even with a replacement, the loser was still obvious. Azrieal looked good though. I really enjoyed the little hint of Shelley/Rave working too good together. Gibson as always puts in a lot of effort and looked great. I swear, it's impossible to see a bad Gibson match in 2005. Nice four corner that's fresh enough to make to make this overly done match seem new. 30 Minutes. 3 1/2 Stars. Samoa Joe (c) vs Austin Aries - Pure Title Match
Joe's an unbeatable monster normally in ROH. However, for once he's an underdog. Aries seems to have Joe's number by being 3-0 against Joe. This time, the Pure Title is on the line. Before the match, Prince Nana returns to offer Aries a spot in the Embassy. Aries blows Nana off by ordering him to draw his bath water. Hmm...that surely won't anger Nana off enough to start some big war, right? Early on, this is almost a squash. Unlike in past matches, Aries is being over confident and it's costing him. Aries attempts some of Joe's trademark moves, but it doesn't work out quite as well as when Joe does. Joe murders Aries with an OLE Kick on the outside. Aries becomes more and more frustrated when he can't even pick Joe up for the Brainbuster. Joe avoids a 450 Splash resulting in Aries landing hard on his back. Aries without any rope breaks nails a Crucifix bomb that sets up the 450 Splash. ONE...TWO...NO! Joe gets a foot on the bottom rope using his last rope break. Aries is in shock and horror. Aries attempts another 450 Splash, but Joe gets up in time to catch Aries on the top rope. MUSCLEBUSTER! Joe FINALLY gets the pinfall on Aries to break the losing streak. Joe and Aries shakes hands.
After 3 matches, it has to be difficult to come up with something new when your first match was just six months ago. However, the addition of the pure rules along with Aries foolishly being cocky, provided just that. After some awkward moments early on, the pair built up to a very exciting finish. The crowd loved it and so did I. Kayfabe-wise, I'd say this is perhaps Joe's biggest win to date in ROH. 17 Minutes. 4 Stars.
Gary Michael Capetta is with the new Tag Team Champions. Loc continues to impress me how much he seems to genuinely love this moment. The CC is off to the nudie bar, but GMC isn't invited. Aww.
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 20 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Colt Cabana vs Nigel McGuinness - European Rules Match
After Nigel felt that Colt's childish antics cost them a tag team titles match against Maff and Whitmer, Cabana and Nigel started up a friendly rivalry. The rivalry didn't remain friendly too long when Nigel low blowed Colt to pick up the win at The Final Showdown. So Colt's here to prove you can have fun, yet still be a talented pure wrestler. The match is broken up into eight 3 minute rounds. You must score two falls to win a match. 3 closed fists or kicks will result in a DQ. Nigel punches Colt behind the ref's back to anger Colt enough to use a closed fist himself. The ref spots that one and Colt loses one warning right off the bat. Colt pulls an Eddie and acts as if Nigel gave him a low blow out of the ref's sight. The ref gives Nigel a warning. Colt twists Nigel up, but the first round is over.
Nigel pulls a Piper and throws his towel at the face of Colt. Nigel complains to the ref, so Colt pushes Nigel. Nigel thinks the ref is the one who pushed him, so he pushes the ref. That costs Nigel his second warning. One more and he loses. Colt quickly gets in a sunset flip to score the first fall of the match.
Round three sees Nigel spitting water in the face of Colt. Nigel bridges a hold and when Colt can't knock him down, he just gives Nigel a low blow. That earns Colt his second warning. Next warning results in the winner. Colt finishes off the round with an ode to Tito Santana with the flying forearm.
Another Matt Hardy promo airs before round four. We're going to see Matt Hardy vs Christopher Daniels. Nigel distracts the ref with his iron so that he can punch Colt. Nigel locks in an nice looking Figure Four/Tequila Sunrise. Colt has to tap out.
No one holds anything back for round five. Caban ducks down for a back body drop, but Nigel kicks to block it. Uh...shouldn't that be the end of the match? The commentators call the kick, but I guess even they forgot that's illegal. Colt with the single leg Boston Crab. Nigel taps on the back of Cabana. Cabana thinks it was the ref. Nigel comes back with with a rollup to score the second fall and victory over Colt Cabana.
The match fell apart in the final round with some poor moves and the ignoring of the kick. The match is worth checking out to see all of the tactics Nigel used. Nigel was really just getting ready for his Pure Title reign. Fix the final round and you would of had a nice little match of unique stipulations. 14 Minutes. 2 1/2 Stars.
Austin Aries pumps Roderick Strong up for the main event.
Homicide vs Jay Lethal
The last time they were in the building, Lethal took the Cop Killa/Ghetto Stomp combo. At The Future is Now, Lethal attacked Homicide and put him through a table. With Low-Ki in Japan, Homicide has Lethal to himself. Very squash-like with Lethal unable to be in control except for small bursts. Julius Smokes uses a baseball bat to bust Lethal open. The commentators tells us that this is the first time Lethal has ever bleed in a match. Lethal pumps himself up and gets in some nice offense. A super DDT through a table only gets Lethal a two count. On the top rope, Grim Reefer runs out and hits a Super Sidewalk slam on Lethal. Homicide covers. One...Two...NO! Lethal won't stay down. Lethal hits the Dragon Suplex, but Smokes pulls out the ref. Homicide pulls out a steel chain and nails Lethal with it. That's enough to keep Lethal down for the three.
A bit long for how one sided it was for most of the match. But Lethal continues to impress in NYC. Homicide is typically always consistent though. Not as good as Lethal vs Low-Ki from DBD III, but still better than most of the matches tonight. 19 Minutes. 3 1/2 Stars. CM Punk (c) vs Roderick Strong - ROH World Title
This is Punk's second title defense in the highly unpredictable Summer of Punk. Punk pulled out Strong's best match up to now at The Future is Now. This time, the fans are less torn and are very pro Strong. Samoa Joe is shown in one of the balconies watching on. Punk proves that he learned something in their last match by avoiding the chops. Punk even nails some of his own. A lot of headlocks by the master of the Headlock. After failing to run from one corner to the other on the apron (ala Flair), Punk starts feeling the chops by Strong. Within a few minutes, Punk is already bleeding from his chest. Punk continues his ode to Flair by working in the tights being pulled down spot. Punk keeps them down far longer than he needed to. Strong starts hitting the backbreakers and Punk shows a little pain in the back. By now, James Gibson and Mick Foley are watching on with Joe. Punk locks in the Anaconda Vice, but Strong gets to the ropes. The fans are very into the match expecting a title switch. Strong sets up the Stronghold, but Punk gets to the ropes. Strong looks exhausted while Punk looks like he could run a few miles still. I suppose wrestling a big Samoan for two straight one hour time limits will give you that kind of stamina. Strong surprises Punk with a rollup, but Punk rolls through on top of him. With a little help via feet on the ropes, Punk scores the pinfall victory. Strong looks absolutely crushed. Post-match has Punk once again playing to the crowd on the mic. This brings Gibson out from the entrance way. Punk decides to head out through the fans, but Joe is in the crowd not letting Punk get away like he did at DBD III. Gibson is in the ring while Punk runs back to the entrance. Punk backs up into Mick Foley who punches him back to the ring. Gibson nails the Tiger Driver. Foley counts 3. Gibson celebrates some with the belt until the fans chant 'You're Not the Champion' HA...what fickle fans. They boo Punk the entire night, but turns on Gibson the moment he grabs the belt.
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 20 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Gibson gets on the mic and confirms that he's not the champion, but that he challenges Punk for Fate of an Angel.
Give Punk his due, he once again helped produce Strong's best match to date. For the first time in his ROH career, Strong looked like a main eventer. The fans seemed able to buy him as champion as well. I'll be willing to say it's better than Aries vs Punk from DBD III. Maybe a MOTYC, but when there's so many great matches from 2005, it's hard to give out MOTYC's. 27 Minutes. 4 1/4 Stars. Overall
For a company that people claim doesn't have storylines, this show was full of them. The biggest is of course the World title and who will be the one to beat Punk. The two singles title matches makes this an easy thumbs up. Everything is at least decent and involves some sort of previous feud to help the match. It's a worthy sequel to both the Manhattan Mayhem and John Carpenter's film of the same name. Sadly, ROH dropped the ball on the chance of the epic CM Punk vs Snake Plissken match.
Best Match: CM Punk vs Roderick Strong
Worst Match: Lacey's Angel's and Vordell Walker vs Ring Crew Express and Dixie
Overall Grade: A-
Linear Mode
