BRM Reviews ROH's 6th Anniversary Show

[Big Red Machine]

ROH Sixth Anniversary Show (2/23/2008)- New York, NY

JULIUS SMOKES GIVES THE VULTURE SQUAD A PEP-TALK- eh.

HUMAN TORNADO vs. DELIRIOUS- No rating… I HATE THE AGE OF THE FALL! How dare they interrupt Human Tornado’s dancing! Good segment, getting heat on AOTF, leading smoothly into…

HUMAN TORNDAO & DELIRIOUS vs. TYLER BLACK & JIMMY JACOBS (w/Zack Gowen)- 6.5/10.
Lots of action.

SEGMENT TO BUILD UP THE WORLD TITLE MATCH- PERFECT! AMAZING promo by Nigel. He really knows how to work the crowd and how to have them eating out of the palm of his hand. Follow this up with an equally amazing promo by Dragon. It is impossible to watch this segment and not think that the ROH World Title is the most important thing in the world.

EL GENERICO vs. BRENT ALBRIGHT (w/Shane Hagadorn)- 6.5/10

THE LARRY SWEENEY SHOW WITH SPECIAL GUEST ALLISON DANGER- possibly the worst segment in wrestling history. Not because the promos were bad or because it wasn’t executed well or anything, but rather because it crossed that line in such an unnecessary way for such an unnecessary purpose.
Sweeney comes out (with Bobby Dempsey), then brings out his special guest: Allison Danger. Sweeney accuses Danger of being a huge slut, leading to one slightly funny punchline. Danger gives a speech about how she is the reason that ROH has a Women’s division (because jobbing to Mickie James a bunch of times constitutes a women’s division). To say that ROH has a women’s division is a pretty laughable claim, as the largest such a thing had ever been was four women: first Daizee Haze, Sara Del Rey, Lacey, & Danger, and then Lacey, Sara, Daizee, & MsChif).

Danger says that she doesn’t need to take this crap, and she goes to leave, but one blow to the back of the head from Larry Sweeney knocks her out. Sweeney then drags her body to the center of the ring and encourages Bobby Dempsey to rape her. Dempsey, obviously, doesn’t, so Sweeney hits him from behind and knocks him down on top of her, then starts stepping on Dempsey to force him to hump Danger, simulating rape. Then Sweeney cuts a promo and says that he is staging a hostile takeover of ROH.

Aside from being in horrifically bad taste, this segment did nothing at all. What do we learn from this segment? That Larry Sweeney is a scumbag who likes to abuse Bobby Dempsey. WE KNEW THAT ALDREADY! Anyone who had seen a single ROH DVD in the 9 months proceeding this one knew that all ready. So this segment didn’t do anything aside from waste time and offend people.

KEVIN STEEN vs. JOEY MATTHEWS- 6/10

DAIZEE HAZE PROMO- good

AUSTIN ARIES vs. GO SHIOZAKI- 8.5/10
Awesome!

AGE OF THE FALL, AUSTIN ARIES, & TAMMY SYTCH SEGMENT- Great segment, really propped up by the interaction between Tammy and Lacey. Without their interactions it would have been good… but they made it great.

NO REMORSE CORPS SEGMENT- eh. It did an okay job at establishing character, but the comedy totally failed.

SHIMMER TITLE MATCH: Sara Del Rey(c) (w/Sweet N’ Sour Inc.) vs. Daizee Haze- 4.5/10.
Too short.

ROH WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Davey Richards & Rocky Romero(c) vs. The Vulture Squad (Ruckus & Jigsaw) (w/Julius Smokes & Mercedes Martinez)- 6/10

AFTERMATH- great

NO DISQUALIFICATION MATCH FOR THE FIP WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE: Roderick Strong(c) vs. Erick Stevens vs. Necro Butcher (w/Lacey)- 8/10.
Awesomely violent.

ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Nigel McGuinness(c) vs. Bryan Danielson- a PERFECT 10/10.
A true masterpiece of storytelling, set up perfectly by the segment earlier on the show. You cannot help but feel personally betrayed by Nigel during this match. Easily the best double-turn in wrestling history (yes, better than Bret-Austin).


Overall, an awesome show from ROH, and a must-buy for fans of Nigel McGuinness, as well as the Danielson vs. McGuinness rivalry (or really anyone who loves good storytelling). Just make sure you skip the “Larry Sweeney Show” segment.