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Official Indy DVD Discussion Thread

520K views 5K replies 190 participants last post by  sXeMope 
#1 ·
#3,805 ·
ordered a bunch of Steen show dvd's from highspots when they were on sale a couple weeks back. Came yesterday so going to be watching those for the next week or so.

Saw the Chuck Taylor Backstage Pass from rf. Plan on getting more of those backstage passes. Enjoyed it.

threw in a novelty grab bag with my highspots order. I believe this was the 4th time I got one. First time I felt I didn't get my moneys worth. A program, a stone cold steve austin drinking straw, old WWF/WCW cards/stickers, couple pencils, and a couple dogtags. Disappointed.
 
#3,807 ·
ROH: The Summer of Punk


ROH Championship Match:
Austin Aries(c) vs. CM Punk

I’ve heard the story of what happens in this match but hearing about the match and seeing the match are two very different things. Punk is unanimously cheered by the fans for what’s supposed to be his last ROH match while anything that Aries does is met with boos. It created a pretty amazing atmosphere and made the post match stuff all the better.

Punk starts out going after the head and neck of Aries. The commentators were talking about how it was injured so it made sense for Punk to attack that area. You also got some shades of his matches with Samoa Joe as early on Punk was the one dominating the match and he used a headlock to control the match, but he would break the hold to hit more impactful moves against Aries. Punk was actually dominating the match and was in control for a really long time before Aries was able to take control. And when Aries did take control it was because he sort of got lucky and hit a huge move on the ring apron. Once Aries took control the fans just went against Aries 100% and that only made the control segment leading to the eventual comeback all that much better.


And the comeback was fantastic. They reached a fever pitch and they just kept going and the crowd kept loving it. What’s great is that ROH fans are “smart” and they were totally worked over here. I don’t think they believed that Punk had a chance to win despite the fact that they really wanted to see him win. Punk and Aries work their asses off to get the crowd to believe that Punk can win the match but I’m not sure if they ever really thought it was going to happen until it happened. The match also has one of my favorite uses of a “Fighting Spirit” spot that I can remember and I think it led to the crowd being fooled on a finish. Aries hits the Pepsi Plunge, Punk gets up at 1, then Aries knocks him down again and hits him with 450. At this point you could feel the crowd starting to deflate because if this was Punk’s real last ROH match the match would have ended here or would have ended a few seconds later when Aries went for a backslide. But it wasn’t and then Punk took it home with an awesome combo of moves and Punk wins the title. OK if the show ended here and nothing else happens with Punk this is a classic match because they took everyone on a rollercoaster and had the crowd eating out of their hands. I would probably give this the full 5 if Punk’s win didn’t involve him sort of no selling everything Aries hit him with.
****¾


Then comes a promo that starts of as if it will be this nice heartfelt promo where Punk talks about how he was so happy to win the title and all of that. Then Punks tells us a story about a snake and an old man… And a nice farewell promo turns into one of the best promos that I’ve ever heard from anyone. Then Christopher Daniels comes out and Punk again works the crowd. They thought he was going to drop the title to Daniels then and there. And he didn’t. And he left through the crowd. And I still don’t know if New Jersey has forgiven for him it.


ROH Championship Match:
CM Punk(c) vs. Jay Lethal w/Samoa Joe

Punk had the chance to name his opponent after being goaded by Foley into defending the title. He picks Lethal who was far from a main event guy when this match took place I think. So Lethal is a huge underdog and is now fighting for all of ROH. He hits a dragon suplex as soon as the bell rings and started off being in control of the match. That was probably the best thing that Lethal did because Lethal is just not very good. Despite the fact that he’s in the ring with Punk who says that after he wins this match he’s leaving ROH with the title he just doesn’t connect with the crowd or me and I don’t understand how. Punk picked him because Lethal pinned him once and Punk wants some petty revenge. Lethal was picked because Punk knew he could beat him so the guy is in an ideal situation for a babyface underdog. Lethal got in a lot of offense early on but there wasn’t urgency or anything to it, he was just controlling the match like it was any other match. Lethal even kicked out of a big move at 1 and it was just pointless because he didn’t fire up or anything, he just kicked out at 1.

Things got a lot better at the end because made it look like Lethal had a chance at times and just played an amazing heel. Despite the fact that Lethal isn’t good it was just impossible for the crowd to not care here. Punk was great, Lethal was a warm body for him to have a match with, and Samoa Joe being at ringside was a pretty cool idea. The ending was amazing as Punk looked right at Joe and hit Lethal with the Muscle Buster and then choked him out while staring right at Punk. The match was good and it was an amazing carry job by Punk.
***¼


ROH Championship Match:
CM Punk(c) vs. Roderick Strong

Strong did everything that I wanted Lethal to do in the previous match. When he had his chance on offense it always looked like he was trying to get the win. His chops to Punk were brutal and when he got going on offense you could believe in him. Punk was just as good here as well because he would do whatever he could to keep Strong from building momentum and had some great trash talk towards Joe, Gibson, and Foley who were watching from a balcony. The change from his match with Aries to this match are just unbelievable because he was now playing as cowardly of a heel as you can get. The amount of eye pokes, running out of the ring, and other cheap tactics was great and it was getting him heat with the NYC crowd. He was not getting cheered by anyone at the show.

The match was great obviously and I love how they are able to take the crowd on a roller coaster like ride. Strong gets some offense in at the start and he immediately tries to hit his signature moves but fails to do so. Punk takes control and then you get a long time of Punk trying to keep Strong down but Strong constantly getting in offense. He starts hitting moves and building momentum and the crowd starts feeding off of him and then Punk cuts him off. That’s what happened the entire match really and it was amazing to watch. Strong would get more and more momentum and at the end there were some points where it looked like he was going to get the win and then he would lose that momentum as Punk would take control and sometimes come close to winning himself. Todd Sinclair deserves some credit here as his near falls were perfect on some of the roll ups. The ending was in line with the rest of the match as Strong fires up again and this time it really seems like Punk won’t be able to stop him but then Punk cheats and somehow walks away with the belt.

This wasn’t quite a Ric Flair heel championship defense but it was close as Punk was really generating those emotions that Flair did as champion. Watching Punk’s chest bleed from chops and seeing him take a brutal beating had me feeling that he couldn’t possibly escape with the title and then Punk went on and did just that.
****


ROH Championship Match:
CM Punk(c) vs. James Gibson

More great heel work from Punk. Earlier in the night Punk had hit Gibson with a chain and busted him open so Gibson comes out with the cut wrapped up. Unlike what I was expecting Gibson still comes out on the offensive and you can feel some hatred in the opening minutes. Gibson sort of evens the score when Punk gets a big cut on his back. Gibson’s offense was really good early on as he hit the big moves and had Punk where he wanted him and then he took Punk to the mat with some arm work (that Punk sold well and gradually recovered from).

The match had less of that roller coaster feeling to it but what they did worked. This felt like it was going to be Gibson’s night as everything Punk was doing at the end had the appearance of Punk trying to hold off the inevitable. Gibson could not be stopped, until Punk stopped him. Punk was in control at times and I loved how he would go right for the cut on Gibson’s head in an attempt to open him back up (which did happen a couple times). But those moments of control from Punk were fairly early in the match and as the match neared conclusion it just seemed like Punk was trying to weather the storm for as long as possible.

I loved the match because it was designed to be heartbreaking. The whole time it just looks like there is no way that Punk was walking out with the title because Gibson was on fire that night and the crowd wanted him to take the title. He was in there with someone that he clearly hated and he had the chance to stop his plan to take the ROH title to WWE. Punk had been talking a ton of shit to him and Gibson did a great job of playing a babyface during the match. And then Punk steals a win and you’re just left feeling pissed off.
****


ROH Championship Match:
CM Punk(c) vs. Christopher Daniels w/Allison Danger

Very cool match, I’m not sure exactly I feel about it. I can easily see why someone wouldn’t like this 60 minute draw because it did seem kind of slow and it wasn’t all that exciting for such a long match. The match reminded me a lot of the 60 minute match that Tyler Black and Austin Aries had at Final Battle. Now I know that might not seem like the highest praise but I didn’t hate that match as much as some. The reason why I say that is that I was given the impression for a huge chunk of the match that Punk didn’t really want to win. At about the 45 minute mark I would have told you that Punk wanted the match to end in a draw. At one point he hit a move and went for a very nonchalant pin attempt and Daniels kicked out. Punk’s response was to smile and say, “Shocking.”

I’m just not sure how I feel about him doing something like that. Part of me loves him being a total piece of shit and doing something like that. Then there is the other part that wishes they had just gone and had a really exciting match like I know they could have. I do love that the scene seemed to be set for the perfect Daniels title win and we were again denied seeing Punk drop the title. The show was “The Homecoming” and it was taking place in Philly in the same venue where ROH started. Even at this point there was this thing about Daniels never being able to win the title in ROH. And he had that backstory of being a guy that defied the rules that him winning the belt to defend the honor of ROH was fitting. But naturally that wasn’t meant to be. Tough to rate because I love the idea and writing this review makes it seem like an amazing match but actually sitting there and watching it for 60 minutes it isn’t as awesome as I just made it out to be.
***½


Elimination Match for the ROH Championship:
CM Punk(c) vs. Samoa Joe vs. James Gibson vs. Christopher Daniels

Really cool concept here. You had to tag in and out and there was a 60 minute time limit and we’re told right away that if there isn’t 1 winner at the end of 60 minutes Punk retains even if he’s been eliminated. So you have that dynamic and you have 3 guys that just want to kill Punk but have to follow the rules of the match. So you see Punk making blind tags in and out and doing his best to just piss off everyone. There was a ton of tension with Joe and everyone wanted to see those two in the ring together again as Punk hadn’t previously had a singles match against him. It was just great to see a match where there was so much going on and you had to think about everything that was going on or could happen. Punk wanting to leave ROH as champion was again the focus and it created this cool dynamic where all of the challengers had an understanding that Punk could not win the match. So you had Punk being a great heel and some good antics where the faces just wouldn’t let him tag out.

Just like the previous match the story and the strategy from everyone was fantastic but this was executed much better because the match was a lot more entertaining to watch. Punk just acts like a little shit the entire time and does everything to piss people off and get cheap eliminations. He takes Gibson out with a chair, pushes Daniels’ foot off the bottom rope so he gets choked out, and then gets a fluke roll-up on Joe. Gibson then makes his return and they have a great exchange before we get a really emotional win by Gibson. And man did it seem like a big deal when Gibson won the title. Punk was amazing here and the match was a blast because it was something different. The basic mindset of everyone was unlike a normal match because while everyone wanted to win they really wanted to make sure that Punk didn’t. Punk on the other hand was stalling at some points and avoiding entering the ring against a fresh opponent. Until Gibson was taken out with the chair it seemed like a battle of wits between Punk and his opponents to get Punk in the ring alone with an uninjured opponent. Great way to end a brief, but amazing title run.
****


2-Out-Of-3 Falls
CM Punk vs. Colt Cabana

Kind of sucks that Punk’s entrance was cut but I guess it had to be done considering ROH isn’t your average indy company any more and there was a lot of licensed music used here. Anyway this is a really cool match and I can’t decide if they had the easiest situation to work in or the hardest. On one hand they could do no wrong for the crowd but on the other hand everyone knew they were friends and it sort of limited what they could do in the ring. So they did a lot of mat based stuff early on and Punk got in a lot of moves that he knew he wouldn’t have the chance to do for a long time. Cabana was goofy the entire first fall which was pretty funny and as the match wore on Punk got more and more annoyed with it. I loved the way the first fall ended with Punk hitting a low blow and then pinning Colt with one of his own moves. The crowd was put in a strange situation where Punk did something really heelish but I loved the match and it was a brilliant way for them to justify them doing some more serious things in the ring. Punk didn’t want his last match to be a joke so he forced the intensity to pick up.

Once the intensity picks up it was all about making Colt look strong as Cabana hangs with Punk and beats him cleanly in two falls. As the match wore on I was left with the impression that neither of them wanted to lose their last match against each other which was a plus. It’s just a shame that the crowd was put in such a tough spot because once Punk hit a low blow they quieted down because they wanted to cheer Punk but still liked Cabana and all of that. They absolutely should have had this match but it was just tough to work and keep the crowd being interested. But from the comfort of my own home I had no problems and they told a really cool story that really wouldn’t be appropriate in most other circumstances. This match is more about the moment than anything else and it’s amazing that just the previous night Punk was the huge asshole that was holding the company hostage. It’s a nice way to end what was a pretty amazing Summer for CM Punk.
***¾

It's a great DVD that you really should get. The matches alone were amazing but throw in some Punk heel promos and this is well worth the price.
 
#3,809 · (Edited)
CHIKARA Permis de Tuer
(August 16, 2014)


Elimination Match
The Sullivan Brothers (Ivan Sullivan & Razen) vs The Flood (Jaka & Qefka the Quiet) vs Osirian Portal (Amasis & Ophidian) vs The Spectral Envoy (Hallowicked & UltraMantis Black) *

Ashley Remington vs Kodama DUD

The Proletariat Boar of Moldova vs Silver Ant *3/4

The Shard vs Eddie Kingston N/R

The Colony: Xtreme Force (Orbit Adventure Ant & Missile Assault Ant) vs 3.0 (Scott Parker & Shane Matthews) **

Archibald Peck vs Juan Francisco de Coronado **1/2

Dasher Hatfield, Fire Ant, Icarus, Mark Angelosetti & Worker Ant vs The Flood (Nokken, Flex Rumblecrunch, Max Smashmaster, Jimmy Jacobs & 17) ***

Overall Rating: 3.75


CHIKARA Vivre et Laisser Mourir
(August 17, 2014)


Elimination Match
The Colony (Fire Ant & Worker Ant) vs Los Ice Creams (El Hijo del Ice Cream & Ice Cream Jr.) vs The McGoths (Bloodlust McGoth & Spooky McGoth) vs Osirian Portal (Amasis & Ophidian) *

Kodama vs Nokken *

Ashley Remington vs Chuck Taylor *3/4

3Peck0 (Shane Matthews, Scott Parker & Archibald Peck) vs The Wrecking Crew (Max Smashmaster, Flex Rumblecrunch & Jaka) **1/2

Jimmy Jacobs vs Silver Ant **

Missile Assault Ant, Orbit Adventure Ant, The Shard & 17 vs UltraMantis Black, Hallowicked, Dasher Hatfield & Mark Angelosetti **

CHIKARA Grand Championship
Icarus (c) vs Juan Francisco de Coronado ***1/4

Overall Rating: 4.0
 
#3,810 ·
Watching Global Wars and Steve Corino is patting himself on his back for knowing Kushida's MMA record and Kevin Kelly is giving him a verbal bj for doing his research.

The problem is Corino fucked up the record. Kushida is undefeated in MMA (6-0-2), but Corino gave him some losses.

Dying laughing here.
 
#3,811 ·


:mark:

Just pre-ordered the package deal, plus with all the loyalty points I had from Black Friday I basically got free shipping :mark:

BONUS OFFER:
February is "Cutest Tag Team Month" and we have THREE DVDs that will be released on February 4th featuring Candice LeRae and Joey Ryan. GET ALL THREE FOR ONLY $29.99!!!

You will receive the following is you select the Bonus Offer:

Diva Diaries with Candice LeRae DVD-R
The Joey & Candice Highspots Special DVD-R
Best Friends with Joey Ryan DVD-R
 
#3,817 ·
Got my DGUSA Black Friday order today. Not sure if this is known but apparently the EVOLVE DVDs that were up for pre-order weren't ready in time to ship. That's what the note in the package said anyways. Could have just had more orders for them than he had copies. I did get a complimentary Wrestlecon 2013 guide though. Great addition to the pile of wrestling stuff I have absolutely no use for.
 
#3,821 ·
ROH Glory by Honor XIII
(November 15, 2014)


The Romantic Touch vs Tommaso Ciampa 3/4*

Hanson vs Moose vs BJ Whitmer vs Mark Briscoe **1/4

Frankie Kazarian vs Roderick Strong **3/4

ROH World Tag Team Championship
reDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly) (c) vs The Kingdom (Michael Bennett & Matt Taven) **3/4

Will Ferrara vs Adam Page 1/2*

ROH World TV Championship
Jay Lethal (c) vs RD Evans ***

Adam Cole vs Christopher Daniels **1/2

ROH World Championship
Jay Briscoe (c) vs ACH *1/4 (Post Match win)

Overall Rating: 3.75
 
#3,822 · (Edited)
Got some Dragon Gate USA DVDs. They're old and they're lots of reviews out there already, but I have a voice too goddammit!

Dragon Gate USA: Open the Historic Gate​

1. BxB Hulk vs Yamato ★★★

2. Ken Doane vs 2 Cold Scorpio ★★★

3. The Colony vs F.I.S.T. ★★★¾

4. Dragon Kid vs Masato Yoshino ★★★¼

5. CIMA & Susumu Yokosuka ★★★★¼

6. Shingo vs Naruki Doi ★★★★

Really easy to watch. I had to pick this one up given all the hype. I found the opening match solid. It was legit in the four star category until BxB Hulk went complete stupid on selling the leg. If you're gonna no sell a leg at least do it gradually. Dude got irish whipped, fell down half way cause the injured leg, then started flippity flopping out of nowhere. Was still fun but man it really, really brought this match down.

I liked Doane/Scorpio. There was a point where they sort of lost the audience but they told a story. And if the opener can still get three stars, then it's only far this one can as well.

CHIKARA match was lots of fun. No complaints. Dragon Kid/Yoshino was good but it felt a bit too over the pace and disconnected at some points.

I don't think I need to say much about the tag match and the main event. Tag match was what you'd expect and the main event was worked really well and had a nice slow place and built gradually to a nice finish. No complaints.

I'm not sure if I'd call this show a must-watch. Tbh, nothing really stands out as MOTY worthy. Still, it flows well and it's a show where you can just sit back and watch to kill some time....and it will be worth it.

/DVD review from a show everyone has seen by now.
 
#3,824 ·
I would absolutely call DGUSA's first show a must see. For my money, it's probably one of the most well paced, quality filled Indy shows I've ever seen. All 6 matches are ***+ and vary in styles while the double main event are two absolutely awesome spectacles. I believe I gave **** 1/4 to both on last watch (maybe even higher for the tag match). Shingo/Doi is one of the most slept on in DGUSA history. That and Shingo/Hulk from the first Bushido: Code of the Warrior show are totally forgotten about and underrated.

Glad you liked Doane/Scorpio. Real good undercard match that gets overlooked. (Y)
 
#3,825 ·
PCW vs ROH Supershow of Honor Night 1

6-way scramble - **3/4
~ Started off with a bit of comedy and then broke down into a big ol' generic spotfest.

Michael Elgin vs Brodus Clay - *1/2
~ Not a good big-man match up. Clay didn't seem terribly motivated.

Delirious vs Mad Man Manson - N/R
~ Hardly a wrestling match but very fun.

Martin Kirby vs Lance Storm - ***
~ Technically sound but it never kicked into a higher gear.

Adam Cole vs Dave Mastiff - ***3/4
~ Strong character work, well paced, good selling...this was a lovely little match. At one point Mastiff collapses while attempting the cannonball due to all the legwork Cole had been focusing on Mastiff's knee, but considering it's Mastiff we're talking about, I'm not sure it was warranted.

Uhaa Nation vs Tomasso Ciampa - **3/4
~ Was plodding along nicely, but we had some pretty poor interference from Masters at the end which dragged it down.

Bubblegum vs Paul London - **1/2
~ Standard stuff really. Harmless, forgettable.

Team Single vs ReDRagon vs The Decade vs The Briscoes - **3/4
~ Adequate, nothing more. No one had long enough in the ring to really impress or do anything out of the ordinary.


I'd heard extremely positive things about the Supershow of Honor weekend, but this was a very average way to start things. Here's hoping it picks up for Night 2 and 3. Cole/Mastiff is worth checking out at least.
 
#3,827 ·
ROH Final Battle 2014 PPV
(December 7, 2014)


4 Corner Survival
Mark Briscoe vs Caprice Coleman vs Jimmy Jacobs vs Hanson ***

Roderick Strong vs Adam Page ***

Michael Elgin vs Tommaso Ciampa *3/4

Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian & Cedric Alexander vs Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson & ACH ***1/2

RD Evans vs Moose *1/2

ROH World TV Championship
Jay Lethal (c) vs Matt Sydal **

ROH World Tag Team Championship
reDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly) (c) vs Time Splitters (KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley) ***3/4

ROH World Championship - Fight Without Honor
Jay Briscoe (c) vs Adam Cole ***

Overall Rating: 7.25

Another really good PPV from Ring of Honor
 
#3,833 ·
Nah I didn't watch it. I haven't seen an ROH show in full since probably... The Homecoming 2012? Showdown in the Sun? One of those two. Final Battle 2011 was one of the worst shows I've ever seen and I haven't liked the product since. I've liked a few matches here and there but most of the time I can't get into anything they do.
 
#3,834 ·
Well Briscoe vs Cole was a great match that served as a finale to their very personal feud. It was pretty hardcore (Briscoe's face got stapled, Cole poured thumbtacks into Briscoe's mouth and superkicked him, Cole took a back body drop onto thumbtacks, a few swell table spots) most of which I normally wouldn't enjoy but it worked well in this case. Pretty exciting and very eventful match that was structured well and fit the story going into the match. So I gave it 4 stars.
 
#3,835 ·
I thought ROH rebounded nicely in 2014. Obviously not what they were back in say 2006, 2007, but I thought they had a pretty good year. 2013 I was ice cold on their product. But really enjoyed the product this year. Still obvious problems (i.e. Michael Elgin and whatever the fuck he is doing right now), but on the whole I've been very happy with the ROH product over the past 10 months or so.
 
#3,837 ·
It's been fairly mediocre from War of the Worlds up to the build toward Final Battle. Nothing really happened and the only matches that stood out were Young Bucks matches.

There's obviously a problem when the company hasn't the right wrestler to pit against its champion. Jay has no full time ROH guy to feud with, now that Cole will be doing something else, who'd make for an interesting title feud. No thanks to Elgin or Ciampa (Ciampa particularly).
 
#3,836 ·
I agree with Cole/Briscoe being in the three star range. The highest I'll go on it is ***1/2. Nothing really stood out nor did it feel like a big heated match. Felt as if they were just going through the motions. It's also quite funny seeing a staple in gun in an ROH ring. Deathmatch wrestling's reputation has sure come a long way. Oh, and an ass full of stacks doesn't make for quite the visual as a back full of tacks does. Still, Adam Cole is hardcore.

As far as ROH in 2014 goes, I have most of 2014 on my laptop but I haven't watch any in full apart from War of the Worlds which is legit imo a Show of the Year contender. I just can't get into anything ROH. Even some of the guys who I am a fan of, I can't watch their ROH matches. It just seems as if their ROH work is shitty in comparison to their work outside of ROH. I don't think I'll ever get into current ROH. There's something that's just missing from the product that I can't seem to put my finger on.
 
#3,839 ·
I wonder how many of hardcore ROH bots thought about the hardcore stuff.

I agree completely about what you said about current day ROH. It's not something I feel the *need* to watch. I think the wrestlers being different in ROH may be to do with them having TV and everything. Can't have a PWG style match in the midcard of a TV taping.

Going off-topic slightly, but the talent they use has dropped tremendously in quality as well IMO. There are very few wrestlers that they have that I feel I need to see. The only new generation guy I could honestly see fitting into ROH 5-10 years ago is Cole. I honestly feel Elgin would be relegated to being the powerhouse in a scramble filled with spot guys if this was 2006. I know that guys like Nigel, Danielson and Joe are rare but I don't get why they use guys like Taven and Bennett (Neither of them have ever impressed me honestly) when you've got fantastic all-around workers like Donst and Kingston floating around on the indies.
 
#3,838 ·
The story of ROH in 2014 in terms of match quality seems to be sometimes things just overdeliver out of nowhere with no rhyme or reason as to why sometimes. Some matches that come to mind that fit that bill are Silas Young/Kendrick from Philly TV, Briscoes/Bad Influence from SOTF N2, Daniels/Cedric from the Kalamazoo show, ACH/TD from the Dearborn TV.
 
#3,840 ·
I was gonna mention the likes of Taven as well who, honestly, do nothing for me. I dont give a shit about over half the ROH roster.

I'd like to see guys like Trevor Lee, Busick, Gulak, Trent, Ricochet, and the list goes on in ROH. The best talents in Indy wrestling do NOT work for ROH. Ah, maybe that's the reason I don't give a shit about their product.
 
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