[Benjo™]

Originally Posted by Caponex75

I was wondering what are your guys matches that you just plain consider the best of the year? I mean I already have Stevens/Strong at ***** and that is my singles MOTYC for the moment. My tag one is Davey Richards & Super Dragon vs. Steenrico II although I have a problem figuring out the fucking story to the match. So what are your just straight MOTY match thus far in single and tag?

Singles - Nigel McGuiness vs. Tyler Black ****1/2 (On another watch i will likely put it up to ****3/4 though)

Tag - Steenerico vs. Speed Muscle ****1/2

[GP_Punk]

My favourite singles thus far is Masato Tanaka vs. Daisuke Sekimoto (BJW 28/4/08) which i have at ****1/2-3/4

Favourite tags, i have all these at ****1/2, in this order of preference

- Daisuke Sekimoto & Yoshihito Sasaki vs. Takashi Sasaki & Yuko Miyamoto (BJW 2/1/08)
- Naruki Doi and Masato Yoshino vs. Shingo Takagi and BxB Hulk
- Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. Shingo Takagi and BxB Hulk (ROH Supercard of Honor III)
- Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino (ROH DG Challenge II)

I'm missing some stuff (sill haven't watched the new ROH PPV, Tanaka/Kanemoto, KENTA/Doi or Ryuji Ito vs. Shadow WX, plus i haven't seen Davey Richards & Super Dragon vs. Steenrico II either...where is that from?

[Caponex75]

Originally Posted by GP_Punk

My favourite singles thus far is Masato Tanaka vs. Daisuke Sekimoto (BJW 28/4/08) which i have at ****1/2-3/4

Favourite tags, i have all these at ****1/2, in this order of preference

- Daisuke Sekimoto & Yoshihito Sasaki vs. Takashi Sasaki & Yuko Miyamoto (BJW 2/1/08)
- Naruki Doi and Masato Yoshino vs. Shingo Takagi and BxB Hulk
- Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. Shingo Takagi and BxB Hulk (ROH Supercard of Honor III)
- Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino (ROH DG Challenge II)

I'm missing some stuff (sill haven't watched the new ROH PPV, Tanaka/Kanemoto, KENTA/Doi or Ryuji Ito vs. Shadow WX, plus i haven't seen Davey Richards & Super Dragon vs. Steenrico II either...where is that from?

It's from PWG's European Vacation 2 Night 2 in England. I have links to the ROH New PPV Semi Main Event and the Main Event as well as the Steenrico/Super Dragon & Davey Richards II match. If you want I'll send them to you.

[GP_Punk]

Originally Posted by Caponex75

It's from PWG's European Vacation 2 Night 2 in England. I have links to the ROH New PPV Semi Main Event and the Main Event as well as the Steenrico/Super Dragon & Davey Richards II match. If you want I'll send them to you.

i have the PPV, i just haven't gotten round to it yet - figured i'd get a break after watching three ROH shows in 2 days before it.

I'd appreciate the tag though

[Caponex75]

Check your pm box and enjoy.

[TheUnholyDragon]

Jere's a rematch I've been waiting a LONG time for. A lot of recent matches involving Maru actually interest me, especially his match with Quack from WXW and his two bouts with Danielson, who he's shockingly 0-3 against.


Jun Akiyama vs. Naomichi Marufuji - ****

To enjoy this match, you really have to have seen the 06 GHC Title match first. This one sort of shows how far both have come, and how far Marufuji has to go.

The story of this is actually really simple. Much like their previous match, it's the roles that make it interesting, and specifically, the changes in these roles since their last match. Marufuji is a lot tougher and can stand toe to toe with Akiyama now, but Akiyama isn't treating him lightly anymore. For him this is about redeeming a major loss.

The structure is kind of frustrating. Marufuji dukes it out with Akiyama a lot and comes in fighting rather than picking him apart like he did in their previous match. Of course, fighting it out is more Akiyama's game so while Maru comes close a few times and actually does put up a hell of a fight, the ending isn't really in doubt.

What IS surprising is how much it takes to put Marufuji away. Akiyama has to unload most of his arsenal to put him down for the 3 count. Maru's last hope comes in the attempted Perfect Cradle, which put Akiyama down last time, but when that's countered it's only a matter of time. At least he went down to a strong move, with Akiyama busting out the Exploder 98 for the first time I can recall in a long while.

This is a really good match when viewed in context, but it pales when compared to their previous bout and it really shows how far Marufuji has to go before he'll be able to beat Akiyama. Ironically, if he hadn't been trying so hard to fight it out with him, he just might have won.

[Derek]

Just watched KENTA & Taiji Ishimori vs. Ricky Marvin & Kotaro Suzuki for the GHC Jr. Tag Titles

Rating: ****-****1/4 (might watch again to decide on which one)

Match started out a bit differently than I was expecting. Kotaro (who didn't botch once, much to McQueen's dismay) and Marvin worked over KENTA's leg for the first few minutes, KENTA tagged in Ishimori, and when tagged back in about 2 minutes later, KENTA was no longer selling the leg, and didn't the rest of the match.

After about the 12 minute mark, things start to pick up. Some pretty nice spots, almost typical of a NOAH Jr tag match, where everybody hits a big move and everybody kicks out of everything. There was a cool spot where Kotaro countered the Go 2 Sleep into a Tombstone, but instead of letting go, he stood back up and gave another Tombstone.

The ending was a bit anti-climactic as Marvin kicked out of everything, but KENTA locked him into a variation of an Octopus Hold (similar to the one Minoru Suzuki does) which lead to Marvin submitting. Not a bad match by any stretch of the imagination, but I felt that the somewhat awkward start and the finish hurt the match.

Will be rating next:
Marufuji & Suguira vs. Smith & Saito GHC Tag Title match
Marufuji vs. Akiyama (06/01/08)
Morishima vs. Yone

[bubz123]

Anything from SOH3 is just awesome, well, the last 5 matches anyway, as for the tv companies, jericho vs hbk at judgement day was amazing, i think i liked it more than most people, i'd have it at ****1/4

[GP_Punk]

ROH - Take No Prisoners

Aries vs. Danielson - ****1/4
Yeah, as if these two were gonna have a bad match...

Nigel McGuiness vs. Tyler Black - ****1/2
Black kicked out of one thing too many imo, but still a brilliant, brilliant match.
There's a great story you can play off for a rematch here too.

Also,
"Guess what......Rooooderiiiick!"

[Derek]

As promised, a couple more reviews:

GHC Tag Title match: Marufuji & Sugiura (champs) vs. Smith & Saito

This was Smith & Saito's (or Smaito, as I call them) second attempt to win the tag titles from Marufji & Sugiura. Smaito recently won the Global Tag League, so they had momentum in their favor.

I really liked the pacing in this match, not too slow, and remained consistant until the finish. I really like Smith & Saito as a team, they're a couple of powerhouses that can work, and neither one is a weak link in the team, which is what we see sometimes in other teams *cough* Misawa & Ogawa *cough*.

Near the end, there's a close to minute long period with all men in the ring, hitting big move after big move. Smaito pick up the victory after a second rope Bisontennial! Since Smaito was going to win, and Sugiura being the next challenger for Morishima's GHC Title, Marufuji took the brunt of the punishment in this match (much to some peoples delight). Very Solid match.

****1/4

Jun Akiyama vs Naomichi Marufuji

This being the first singles rematch of the two since Marufuji won the GHC Title from Akiyama. Marufuji came out looking a bit upset (which gave away who was going over) but decided to start the match quickly by giving Akiyama a Springboard Dropkick before they could even get to introductions.

Jun took over the match quickly, working over the head of Marufuji with moves like a Curb Stomp and a DDT on the ring apron that really spiked Marufuji. They teased the finish of their last match, where Marufuji escaped the Wrist Clutch Exploder and went for the Perfect Inside Cradle, but Akiyama countered with a brutal knee to the face when Marufuji ducked his head down going for the PIC.

Akiyama hit another big knee, a couple of Exploders, and finally a Wrist Clutch Exploder for the win. Akiyama avenges his previous loss, and gets a big win.

***3/4