BRM Reviews ROH Manattan Mayhem IV

[Big Red Machine]

ROH Manhattan Mayhem IV (3/19/2011)- New York, NY

ADAM COLE & KYLE O’REILLY vs. MIKE MONDO & MICHAEL ELGIN (w/Truth Martini)- 6/10. Michael Elgin is a F*CKING BEAST! Cole & O’Reilly were both very impressive. Mondo… not so much. Good action, and O’Reilly was a good babyface in peril The only thing I didn’t like about this match was the finish. It seemed really weird to have Mondo kick out of a big double-team from Cole & O’Reilly, then get pinned immediately afterwards by something as common as a German Suplex.

GRIZZLY REDWOOD vs. TOMASSO CIAMPA (w/the Embassy)- Nothing much, and not too enjoyable, but it was booked purely for the aftermath, which was good advancement for Corino’s angle.

STEVE CORINO vs. MIKE BENNETT (w/Bob Evans)- 6.25/10. Told a very good story. I really didn’t like Corino kicking out after taking Bennett’s finish twice in a row, but other than that, it was a very good match, with great aftermath.

THE BRISCOE BROTHERS vs. THE ALL NIGHT EXPRESS (Kenny King & Rhett Titus)- 7.5/10. Great match. Everyone played their roles perfectly, to the point that I didn’t realize that the Briscoes were playing the heels until most of the way through the match when I found myself inexplicably rooting for King & Titus, which made the double turn feel perfectly natural. Needless to say that aftermath was great.

EL GENERICO vs. TJ PERKINS- 6.75/10 Extremely fast paced and had some very unique stuff, but really lacked any sort of story. BRING TJP BACK!

LAX (Homicide & Hernandez) vs. THE KINGS OF WRESTLING (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) (w/Shane Hagadorn & Sara Del Rey)- 7.75/10. Bordered on awesome and had some awesome spots. Easily Hernandez’s best match in a very long time.

JULIUS SMOKES GIVES HOMICIDE A MOTIVATIONAL SPEECH BACKSTAGE- hinted at a Rotweilers return, but it never happened due to Cide leaving the company.

PURE RULES MATCH: Christopher Daniels vs. Davey Richards- 8.5/10. Even with the botch at the end (the weirdest botch I have ever seen, too), this match was amazing. I will go out on a limb and say that this is the match that made the best use of the Pure Rules in ROH history.

ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Roderick Strong(c) vs. Eddie Edwards- 9.25/10. I really want to give this some extra points for shock value, too, as the booker did such a great job of convincing everyone that this was a throwaway title defense (like already having the next title match set, and playing up Davey vs. Roddy to the point where everyone assumed that this would just be a part of that feud).

Overall, an awesome show from ROH full of awesome storytelling. Highly recommended.