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DVD REVIEW: RING OF HONOR BUFFALO STAMPEDE

RING OF HONOR: BUFFALO STAMPEDE
OCTOBER 15, 2005
BUFFALO, NEW YORK
 
Lacey’s Angels Promo: Last night was a big night for Lacey’s Angels.  They came so close to becoming the Ring of Honor Tag Team Champions once again.  BJ Whitmer says it would have been for the third time.  Lacey then continues and yet so far.  Jimmy questions so far.  Lacey says yeah.  Jimmy says they tried.  Lacey said trying just isn’t good enough.  They were the same old Jimmy Jacobs and the same BJ Whitmer.  Jimmy said they did their thing.  That’s what they do.  Lacey said that they don’t need to do their thing anymore.  Now they’re doing her thing.  She is their manager now.  They need to follow her.  She is going to bring them straight to the top.  She says listen and she has something for Jimmy.  She promises he will like it.  She breaks his blue feather robe for Jimmy to wear.  She asks what they think.  BJ asks what that thing is and she says this thing is going to get them to the top.  She tells Jimmy to put it on and it’ll look great on him.  BJ asks if she’s sure about this and she says she’s positive.  She says aww look at that.  Jimmy is starting to like the robe.  Lacey says to see because she knows these things.  She says that is why they need to start listening to her.  Jimmy says he feels good in the robe then BJ asks if he feels good in the robe.  Lacey says of course he does.  Then she says that she has something for BJ.  BJ asks if he had something for her.  She says the old tee shirt and the raggedy jeans will not work anymore.  BJ says he likes it because it’s trendy.  She says not for Lacey’s Angels she doesn’t.  She hands him a coat kind of like a robe with a collar and buttons all the down.  She says this is what she’s talking about.  This is Lacey’s Angels making money.  Business people making money.  Jimmy says yeah really and if he agrees with her on this one.  It’ll go well.  Come on.  BJ says he’s willing to give it a shot but is still not quite sure on the jacket.  As Whitmer and Jacobs walk off Lacey says to the camera “Just like single man… a stupid little boy and big dumb man.  It’s so easy.”

Dave Prazak Interviews Steve Corino: Dave Prazak joined at this time by Steve Corino.  He’s going after the ROH World Championship tonight.  Corino says no doubt and calls Prazak a stooge.  Why do you think he’s here?  Prazak, everybody knows why Steve Corino is in Ring of Honor.  It’s because Steve Corino wants the ROH World Championship.  Why does he want it?  He wants it because things are going to change around there when he wins the championship.  Not if, when he wins the championship things are going to change.  All the Internet fans are sitting there downloading Internet porn while going to ROHWrestling.com.  He asks if we want a title for tonight.  Tonight is a night of change courtesy of Steve Corino because when the belt changes hands everything changes.  Steve Corino will have all the power in just a few hours.     

Davey Andrews vs. BJ Whitmer
 
To start the match, Andrews and Whitmer exchange wristlocks and forearm shots.  Whitmer then hits a headbutt.  Whitmer then chops Andrews followed by a slap to the face.  Whitmer then delivers a backbreaker for a two-count.  He then hits a snap suplex for a two-count.  That is followed by a knee to the midsection and more chops.  That is followed by a clubbing shot to the back of the neck.  Andrews finally gets some offense in when he hits a clothesline coming off the ropes.  He then delivers chops of his own followed by some forearm shots.  He then a knee strike and a dropkick.  Whitmer followed that up with more forearms then an exploder.    Andrews then hits a spear.  That is followed by a waistlock.  Whitmer hits an exploder, picks up Andrews, hits a lariat, and picks him up again and gives a wrist clutch exploder for the pin.  I really like Davey Andrews based on what I’ve seen so far.  He can overpower you like he did at Steel Cage Warfare against Pelle Primeau and he can hold his own against the likes of BJ Whitmer on this show or against Adam Pearce on the Vendetta show.  I think his future in ROH looks very bright.

Embassy Promo: Prince Nana starts by saying to Generation Next that somebody is not walking out of the building.  He also has a threat to Jade Chung that if she gets back in his way they will kill her.  He then calls a unidentified jobber in then calls Abyss in.  He tells Abyss he has a new toy for him as they finish the promo and Abyss proceeds to beat the jobber up in the back.  Alex Shelley then begins by saying tonight is a little bit of poetic justice and he does not mean the movie with Janet Jackson and Tupac.  He then asks how many nights Generation Next has seen to it that he wasn’t able to walk out of the building.  The tables have turned now because the Embassy will make sure one of them will not walk out of the building tonight.  Then Jimmy Rave chimes in and says he might debut his new move.  Maybe.  We’ll see.  Then all of the Embassy tells Generation Next to be ready.

Sterling Keenan versus Claudio Castagnoli
 
The match begins with wristlocks by both men.  Claudio then hits a drop toe-hold followed by a European uppercut and a back bodydrop.  Keenan hits a back elbow.  He then follows that up with a bodyslam and a fist drop.  Claudio hits some uppercuts.  He then hits a vertical suplex after the crowd counts to near thirty.  Keenan then hits a backbreaker then a rumlore.  Claudio then hits a Riccola bomb for the win.  I thought it was funny that Keenan was trying to imitate Claudio’s “hey” gimmick and the crowd booed him mercilessly.  I do not understand why Nigel McGuinness has this thing about thinking Claudio is not a worthy opponent for the Pure Title.  Is that just his way of getting heat or what?  I have now seen Claudio wrestle Keenan, Alex Shelley at “This Means War”, against Nigel at “Showdown in Motown” and against Milano Collection AT at “ A Night of Tribute” and I think if Nigel just gave him a straight up, fair match, Claudio could hold his own.  But you see Nigel doesn’t want to do that.  After all, he is the epitome of the European wrestling style or he should know better than I if Claudio is a worthy opponent or not.  Give me a break.  Nigel knows in a straight up match Claudio could beat him any night of the world so that is why he reacts the way he does.

Jade Chung Promo:  Oh she’s sure that Prince Nana was celebrating over Abyss’s big over Jack Evans.  Okay.  However, she is just a little bit upset.  Just a little bit.  Why?  She is because she had the courage to step into Abyss’s path and showing no fear because she’s sick of all the abuse and all the torture that he put her through.  Nothing scares her.  Not him, not the Embassy, nothing.  She will stop Nana.  He had better keep his eyes on her.

Jimmy Jacobs versus Jay Lethal
 
Let’s face facts here.  Jay Lethal dominated most of this match for the.  He hit a backbreaker.  He hit a snap suplex.  He hit dropkicks.  Jacobs started getting offense in when he hit Lethal’s throat off the bottom rope.  Then hit a dropkick then it was elbow drops.  He then hit a fist to the throat.  He then hit palm strikes.  He then double stomps and a senton.  Lethal hit a forearm, a chop, an uppercut, and an enziguri.  That is followed by Lethal hitting back elbows and a back bodydrop that was followed by his hitting a spinebuster and a leg lariat.   He then hits a springboard into a DDT.  Jacobs hits a hurrancanrana then a spear and a back senton.  Lethal wins the bout with a dragon suplex.  After the match, the crowd wants Jacobs to huss and you could tell he was wanting to huss for him but Lacey squashed that real quick basically saying she was more interested in his winning matches.  Jay Lethal looked really fluid in this match.  I just wish Jacobs had had more of an opportunity to get more offense in.

Samoa Joe versus Nigel McGuinness for the ROH Pure Title
 
Before the match, Nigel McGuinness takes the microphone after the referee reads the rules.  He says he knows the fans all are excited about his title defense and he is pretty excited himself.  Then he takes a potshot at the Bills calling them the Bulls.  He says football is a stupid game anyway because you don’t even kick the ball.  It’s just an excuse for men to wear shoulder pads in order to give each other sacks.  He wants the fans to be rest assured that if they want old school wrestling, they are in for a classic because not only is there a pure title match with pure title rules but he is defending the belt against a wrestling bear.  It’s Nigel McGuinness versus Samoa Bobo.  He then asks Joe if he wants any honey.  Please do not think he is putting Joe down in any form.  He is a hell of a wrestler and the future in this business.  The crowd applauds.  Nigel then says he shouldn’t say this but he has accepted a role in an upcoming movie.  Dreamworks wants him as the lead role in Shrek 3.  Now for those of you who are not familiar with the rules for a ROH Pure Title match, they are as follows: First, each man gets three rope breaks to prevent a pin or a submission.  Second, after all the rope breaks are used, the opponent can use the ropes to their advantage but they cannot use the ropes to break up a pin or submission.  Third, there is a strict twenty (20) count on the floor.  Fourth, no fist strikes to the face.  The first results in a warning.  The second results in a rope results in a rope breaks and if there are no breaks left, he is disqualified.

Im not going to mince words here.  Samoa Joe dominated this match.  McGuinness got Joe in a situation where he used all his rope breaks in the first minute.  Joe hit Nigel with everything.  He hit him with kicks.  He applied a Boston crab.  He hit chops.  He hit a powerbomb.  He hit a senton.  There was a fear that he would be counted out when he tried for a facewash on the floor and got his leg caught.  Joe then applied a STF.  Nigel won the bout when he got the pin in the corner with the ropes.  It didn’t matter to me though because Joe dominated him.  I think if Joe had not used his rope breaks so early, he would have won that match.  It just seems to me that Nigel has a very limited offense arsenal.  It is almost like he lives and dies by the European uppercut.  Other than that, he is very limited in my opinion by what he can do in the ring.

A video package of the feud between Generation Next and the Embassy is shown. 

Jimmy Rave, Alex Shelley, and Abyss versus Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, and Jack Evans with Jade Chung
 
When they labeled this a “No DQ War” they were not kidding.  Hardly any of this match was in the ring.  All six men mostly battled outside.  No object was off limits.  They were using chairs.  They used tables.  They used the steel guardrail.  As far as Jack Evans goes, he’s either brave or nuts.  He was on top of the batting cages in the back of the building and hit a moonsault on Abyss through a table!  All six men battled all over the building.  Alex Shelley hit a shell shock on Roderick Strong through a table.    They brought a ladder in the ring.  They did drop toeholds on chairs.  The Embassy won the bout when Rave and Prince Nana pinned Aries underneath a ladder.  How any of them still walked after that match is beyond me.


Dave Prazak Interview with Bryan Danielson at intermission:  He said he talked to Steve Corino earlier and he said he wants the ROH World title so he can have all the power.  Prazak then asks Danielson his thoughts on Corino’s comments.  Danielson said that a lot of people want the belt for different reasons.  He said Corino wants power in ROH and probably wants power in all of wrestling.  People might want money out of it.  He might want girls and all that other stuff.  He said the ROH belt is not about that.  It’s not about egos.  It’s not about having power.  He says the ROH belt is about being able to go out there and wrestle how you want to wrestle.  He carries the belt proudly because this company, Ring Of Honor, allows him to wrestle the way he wants to wrestle.  He doesn’t have to go out and wrestle for three minutes or eight minutes.  He doesn’t have to do a back flip to please a company.  He says that if Corino wants this belt for power, it’ll be fantastic if he can beat him for it.  He can use it for all the power he wants.  But that is not what the belt represents.  The belt represents freedom.  It represents them being able to do whatever they want the way they want to do it.  That’s what Ring of Honor and what the belt represents.  Those are his thoughts on Corino’s comments.  Prazak thanks Danielson and says a big second half is still to come in Buffalo.

Tony Marmaluke and Sal Rinauro versus Homicide and Ricky Reyes for the ROH Tag Team Titles
 
What, no Julius Smokes at ringside nor mention of him during the match?  Anyway, I digress.  I really liked this match.  I finally got to see what Ricky Reyes can do in the ring.  Most of what I’ve seen thus far has either mike work or squash matches.  I thought both teams really worked well together.  I like Sal Rinauro’s work.  He is fluid and crisp in the ring and normally does not make a lot of mistakes.  I really like his agility in the ring.  He is very quick on his feet.  At the first of the match, there was a bit of a mind game being played between Marmaluke and Homicide in regards to Marmaluke’s flag and Homicide’s bandana.  Reyes did a lot of mat wrestling in this match.  He hit moves such as knee drops, headbutts, kicks to the back and a neckbreaker.  Rinauro hit an exploder on Homicide.  Homicide hit an ace crusher.  Homicide hit a swinging DDT.  Marmaluke applied a headscissors on Homicide.  He then hit a frog splash.  I think where Marmaluke suffered his concussion during this match was when Homicide had him in the headscissors and picked him up for the powerbomb.  Toward the end of the match, it looked like Reyes had Rinauro choked out until Marmaluke made the save.  Rinauro got the pin on Reyes with a springboard crossbody.  I really liked this match.  I thought both teams worked well.  I thought this was an entertaining match.

Jim Cornette Segment: He first wants to apologize to the fans in Buffalo for not being at the show.  He was not able to clear his schedule in time so they are seeing him on videotape but he hopes he will rectify that soon.  He then says that there is an issue as Commissioner he wants to address and that is the World Title.  He says it has to be focused on and acted on after being studied very carefully.  When the ROH World Title, was founded, it was supposed to showcase the finest athlete in ROH.  Also, contenders to the title are supposed to be the top contenders for the championship.  Personal feelings play or should play no part in determining the top challenger.  However, over the last several months the title has been in disarray.  Challenges have been made and accepted out of anger and because of that the fans have not seen the two top athletes competing for the ROH title.  He wants to rectify that.  He believes the championship should be as important and meaningful as possible.  He has decided to re-institute the top five rankings.  These rankings are going to be very simple.  It’ll be the top five challengers for the World Title and how a guy is on the rankings is by an exceptional win/loss record.  He’s going to have to earn it.  There will be no outside interference.  There will be no cowboy challenges or guys going into business for themselves.  It will strictly be on a rankings system.  The win/loss records will determine those rankings.  He will stand by those rankings.  He assures that everyone deserving will get a title shot but first they need to deserve it. He thanks the fans in Buffalo for coming out live and to have a great time then thanks watching on video before ending the segment.
        
Low Ki versus Colt Cabana
 
This was a very strange match.  There was a lot of jawing back and forth.  There was some biting.  There was a point where Cabana and Low Ki were on the ring apron trading shots and Cabana grabbed Low Ki and started dancing across the ring!  Low Ki starts to work over Cabana’s arm while his legs are draped over the top rope.  Cabana applied a lot of locks in this match.  He used wristlocks, waistlocks, side headlocks.  Low Ki was hitting a lot of chops.  Both men applied armbars and armdrags.  Low Ki then applied a bodyscissors after hitting a snapmere.  Cabana then came back with a lariat and a bodyslam.  That was followed by a frankensteiner.  Low-Ki then stomped on Cabana’s back on the top rope.  Low Ki then hit a shoulder block.  Cabana hit an airplane spin.  Homicide then comes out and distracts Cabana.  He asks if he wants to play him.  He then says to Cabana that if he is Konnan’s bitch then Cabana is CM Punk’s bitch.  This allows Low-Ki to apply the double stomp for the pin.  I thought this was a really good back and forth match but if Homicide was going to get involved, have him do more than distract him by voice.  Cause him to lose the match by interfering not just cutting a promo.

For the ROH Title: Steve Corino versus Bryan Danielson
 
This was the match of the night bar none.  Corino came out early and tried to get an early pin on Danielson.  These two guys went move for move.  Corino hit a chop.  He choked Danielson over the guardrail.  He sent Danielson into the steel hitting his shoulder.  Both delivered forearm shots.  Then both engage in a knucklelock.  Danielson hit a dropkick.  Danielson works on Corino’s arm.  Corino applies a side headlock.  Danielson hits a dropkick.  They engage in a second knucklelock.  Corino applies a waistlock.  Danielson hits a suplex.  Then he hits a shoulder to the midsection, a chop, headbutt, slaps, and an enziguri.  Corino hits a neckbreaker.  That is followed by a scoop slam.  Corino hit elbows.  He then hit kicks.  Danielson applies a bodyscissors.  Corino hits a suplex.  He then hits some right hands.  Danielson hits some uppercuts.  Corino hits a DDT.  There is an exchange of slaps.  Danielson hits some kicks to the head.  He follows that up with chops.  This match continues to go back and forth.  Chops, kicks, a STO, a near choke out.  They threw everything at each other.  Corino tried another Northern lights bomb.  Danielson won the match with the chicken wing.  This was equal to the hype. 
After the match, Roderick Strong congratulated Danielson on the win. Then the Embassy jumped Strong and it was Embassy versus Generation Next round two in the back.  They brawled all over the backstage area.  How was Abyss even able to stand after Evans putting him through that table?

Ace Steel Promo:  Ace Steel is lifting weights and asked if the camera was on.  He then says he was in Chicago watching a couple of his students wrestle when Chad Collyer hit him with that chair.  Now he is to the point of losing his wife and his neighbors are thinking he’s crazy because all he does is pump iron and think about exacting revenge on Collyer.  He tells Collyer to watch his step.  He knows where he lives.  For all Collyer knows, he could jump him in a grocery store.  He could jump him in the bushes at his house.  He warns Collyer to watch his step because he will be coming for his revenge.

The DVD closes out with ads for ROHWrestling.com and the ROH Wrestling Academy.
 
Thoughts on the card: The main event was great.  Danielson held himself up well against Corino.  The Embassy/Generation Next War was just that….a war.  They were all over the place and nobody or nothing was safe.  I liked Jacobs and Lethal.  Samoa Joe should have won the Pure Title.  I liked the Tag Team title of Marmaluke/Rinauro vs. Homicide and Reyes.  Cabana/Low-Ki was an okay match.  I really like Davey Andrews although BJ Whitmer beat him.  I give this card a “B” because most of the matches were really good and the main event and Generation Next/the Embassy are just awesome.


Next time, I will review the December 17, 2005 show, “Final Battle 2005”.  If you have any comments or any ROH DVD requests you’d like to submit, feel free to email me at ke4ole@bellsouth.net or if you are an Elite subscriber, feel free to send a request through the Elite message board.