ROH Buffalo Stampede
ROH Buffalo Stampede (10/15/2005)- Buffalo, NY
LACEY'S ANGELS BACKSTAGE- bad. Lacey gives them new clothes to wear and says it will make them more money. They are resistant at first (especially BJ), but decide to give in to her fashion sense because she is their manager. After Jimmy and BJ leave, Lacey cuts some promo saying that she has manipulated the "big dumb men." Into doing what, exactly? Dressing better? Lacey's promo came off like she had some malicious intent towards Jimmy and BJ, but there was no evidence of this from her actions. The quicker they drop the "man-hater" part of Lacey's gimmick, the better.
STEVE CORINO PROMO- he cuts a lame promo about wanting to win the ROH World Title because it will give him "all the power." I think this might have worked a bit better if they had done it last month, before they appointed a new commissioner.
DAVEY ANDREWS vs. BJ WHITMER (w/Lacey)- 4.5/10
A lot more competitive than anyone thought it would be. It did a good job of getting over Lacey's ability to inspire people to be more aggressive.
EMBASSY PROMO- decent, but Abyss destroying Derek Dempsey in the background while making noises like Frankenstein's monster would make in a lame 1950's horror movie kind of brought things down. Shelley's part of the promo was very good. Nana's was eh. Rave once again teases the debut off a new finisher tonight.
CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI vs. STERLING JAMES KEENAN- 4/10
JADE CHUNG PROMO- a bit better than her promo from Unforgettable, but that doesn't say much. Her promo last night was better... but not by much. Her words are usually good, but the delivery doesn't have the emotion that it should.
JAY LETHAL vs. JIMMY JACOBS (w/Lacey)- 7/10
Just plain great wrestling. Even against someone close to his size and with less experience like Jay Lethal, Jacobs manages to feel like an underdog, and is so charismatic that you can't help but root for him (even with Lacey shrieking at ringside).
ROH PURE TITLE MATCH: Nigel McGuinness(c) vs. Samoa Joe- 7/10
Nigel cut a funny pre-match promo on Joe and also gave his view on American Football. The match was great, but I think they squandered some real potential here. Both men used two ropebreaks early on, and they could have told a great story about finding the time when it was absolutely necessary for both men to use that last rope break. Still a great match, though.
NO DISQUALIFICATIONS WAR: Generation Next (w/Jade Chung) vs. The Embassy (Jimmy Rave, Alex Shelley, & Abyss) (w/Prince Nana)- 7.5/10
A wild and violent brawl with a very creative finish. MUCH better than the "War" they would have a few weeks later in Chicago at Vendetta
BRYAN DANIELSON PROMO- would have been good if it didn't break kayfabe by talking about wrestlers not being allowed to wrestle how they want and only being given three minutes for their matches etc, etc. Spanky and Gibson might be gone, but their criticism of WWE certainly doesn't seem like it will go away.
ROH TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Tony Mamaluke & Sal Rinauro(c) vs. The Rotweilers (Ricky Reyes & Homicide)- 6.5/10
A good match, but the crowd never really bought into the possibility of a title change.
COLT CABANA vs. LOW KI- 7/10
Great character stuff and a great story. The match felt very unique. Like a match that could only happen between these two men at this specific time. I was quite disappointed when Cide came out and screwed Cabana out of the match.
ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Bryan Danielson(c) vs. Steve Corino- 7/10
The match started out with Corino immediately hitting two finishers on Dragon for a nearfall less than ten seconds in, which was an interesting start to the match, but it was completely wasted by Corino's complete and total lack of aggression after that. He should have been relentlessly chasing Dragon around the whole match, with Dragon just barely hanging on. Going and doing your standard opening Greco-Roman Knuckle Locks in the middle of the match completely squandered that. Without that spot, it would have felt like the match built from the groun up to a big conclusion, but because they had Corino hit two straight finishers for a nearfall early on, that feeling of building up to things wasn't there.
GEN NEXT BRAWLS WITH THE EMBASSY- this started in the back and spilled out through the curtain (not by the ramp, though, which I loved) after the house lights had gone on and the crowd was filing out. This wasn't much, but it was a nice little touch.
ACE STEEL PROMO- this started off great, but then it dragged on forever and I stopped caring.
Overall, a solid show from ROH, but entirely skippable.
LACEY'S ANGELS BACKSTAGE- bad. Lacey gives them new clothes to wear and says it will make them more money. They are resistant at first (especially BJ), but decide to give in to her fashion sense because she is their manager. After Jimmy and BJ leave, Lacey cuts some promo saying that she has manipulated the "big dumb men." Into doing what, exactly? Dressing better? Lacey's promo came off like she had some malicious intent towards Jimmy and BJ, but there was no evidence of this from her actions. The quicker they drop the "man-hater" part of Lacey's gimmick, the better.
STEVE CORINO PROMO- he cuts a lame promo about wanting to win the ROH World Title because it will give him "all the power." I think this might have worked a bit better if they had done it last month, before they appointed a new commissioner.
DAVEY ANDREWS vs. BJ WHITMER (w/Lacey)- 4.5/10
A lot more competitive than anyone thought it would be. It did a good job of getting over Lacey's ability to inspire people to be more aggressive.
EMBASSY PROMO- decent, but Abyss destroying Derek Dempsey in the background while making noises like Frankenstein's monster would make in a lame 1950's horror movie kind of brought things down. Shelley's part of the promo was very good. Nana's was eh. Rave once again teases the debut off a new finisher tonight.
CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI vs. STERLING JAMES KEENAN- 4/10
JADE CHUNG PROMO- a bit better than her promo from Unforgettable, but that doesn't say much. Her promo last night was better... but not by much. Her words are usually good, but the delivery doesn't have the emotion that it should.
JAY LETHAL vs. JIMMY JACOBS (w/Lacey)- 7/10
Just plain great wrestling. Even against someone close to his size and with less experience like Jay Lethal, Jacobs manages to feel like an underdog, and is so charismatic that you can't help but root for him (even with Lacey shrieking at ringside).
ROH PURE TITLE MATCH: Nigel McGuinness(c) vs. Samoa Joe- 7/10
Nigel cut a funny pre-match promo on Joe and also gave his view on American Football. The match was great, but I think they squandered some real potential here. Both men used two ropebreaks early on, and they could have told a great story about finding the time when it was absolutely necessary for both men to use that last rope break. Still a great match, though.
NO DISQUALIFICATIONS WAR: Generation Next (w/Jade Chung) vs. The Embassy (Jimmy Rave, Alex Shelley, & Abyss) (w/Prince Nana)- 7.5/10
A wild and violent brawl with a very creative finish. MUCH better than the "War" they would have a few weeks later in Chicago at Vendetta
BRYAN DANIELSON PROMO- would have been good if it didn't break kayfabe by talking about wrestlers not being allowed to wrestle how they want and only being given three minutes for their matches etc, etc. Spanky and Gibson might be gone, but their criticism of WWE certainly doesn't seem like it will go away.
ROH TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Tony Mamaluke & Sal Rinauro(c) vs. The Rotweilers (Ricky Reyes & Homicide)- 6.5/10
A good match, but the crowd never really bought into the possibility of a title change.
COLT CABANA vs. LOW KI- 7/10
Great character stuff and a great story. The match felt very unique. Like a match that could only happen between these two men at this specific time. I was quite disappointed when Cide came out and screwed Cabana out of the match.
ROH WORLD TITLE MATCH: Bryan Danielson(c) vs. Steve Corino- 7/10
The match started out with Corino immediately hitting two finishers on Dragon for a nearfall less than ten seconds in, which was an interesting start to the match, but it was completely wasted by Corino's complete and total lack of aggression after that. He should have been relentlessly chasing Dragon around the whole match, with Dragon just barely hanging on. Going and doing your standard opening Greco-Roman Knuckle Locks in the middle of the match completely squandered that. Without that spot, it would have felt like the match built from the groun up to a big conclusion, but because they had Corino hit two straight finishers for a nearfall early on, that feeling of building up to things wasn't there.
GEN NEXT BRAWLS WITH THE EMBASSY- this started in the back and spilled out through the curtain (not by the ramp, though, which I loved) after the house lights had gone on and the crowd was filing out. This wasn't much, but it was a nice little touch.
ACE STEEL PROMO- this started off great, but then it dragged on forever and I stopped caring.
Overall, a solid show from ROH, but entirely skippable.