Blood Generation vs. Do Fixer Supercard of Honor 3/31/06

Oh, the last 5 star match of ROH or so claims the Wrestling Observer. Is it overated? Yes. I pretty much have the same issues with this match that I did with Blood Generation/Generation Next. I guess this match had the better 1st 2/3rds, but both matches had wrestlers not selling the last move during the home stretch. The only reason I’m going to rewatch this is to double check to see if I was right the first time. Very real possibility I may not put this on the list

AJ Styles & Matt Sydal vs. Austin Aries & Jack Evans Supercard of Honor 3/31/06

Pretty good match. However, I didn’t find it as exciting as some of the matches from Dragon Gate Challenge. It’s not bad, it is just that I have gotten rid of better matches. No.

Christopher Daniels vs. Samoa Joe Dragon Gate Challenge 3/30/06

It was OK. Lacked desperation from Daniels to really put over that he wanted that victory against Joe. As an aside, Daniels was no where in Joe’s league. No.

Blood Generation vs. Generation Next Dragon Gate Challenge 3/30/06

This did not turn out as great as I thought it would. You had the first 2/3rds of the match which were fine, but a bit meandering. Then you had the last third which was a fun stretch, but nothing was being sold. This feels more like a match that would barely sneak onto a list then a top 30 ROH match. It’s on the rewatch pile, but I don’t know if this will hold up.

Dragon Kid/Genki Horiguchi vs AJ Styles/Matt Sydal Dragon Gate Challenge 3/30/06

The DG in ROH era begins and I did not expect this to rule as much as it did. If this did not have the botched déjà vu, this would be a MOTYC. Definitely a better DG showcase then Styles/CIMA. On to Blood Generation.

Jimmy Rave/Alex Shelley vs Bryan Danielson/Delirious Dragon Gate Challenge 3/30/06

A whole lot of nothing until the final stretch. Just not a lot of interesting stuff happening. Easy no.

BJ Whitmer vs. Jimmy Jacobs Dragon Gate Challenge 3/30/06

A tale of two halves. I understand the first half tends to be a bit slow, but this went slower then usual and did not have a lot of direction. Then Jacobs and Whitmer begin to kill themselves, especially Jacobs, and it becomes awesome. And yes, the apron powerbomb was lunatic. I don’t think this will hold up as well the farther I get along, but it is good enough to keep for now.

KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji vs. Bryan Danielson & Samoa Joe Best in the World 3/25/06

There was no reason this should have went 30+ minutes. I wish this had more Joe/KENTA exchanges because those two really brought it. Danielson was a fine FIP, and Marufuji did stuff. So looking at his ROH stuff so far, I am 95% certain Marufuji is not going to age well. Reminds of the Strong/Evans vs Briscoes. Evans shady, everyone else on there game. I feel this was the better match, so I will rewatch it.

Roderick Strong & Jack Evans vs. Jay & Mark Briscoe Best in the World 3/25/06

This is a close one. This match is making me regret not listing Whitmer/Jacobs vs Evans/Strong from 2005. That was a better match then this one. Yet I feel this is listable because how great the middle of the match is. It did feel like at points that Evans was dragging the match down with his awkward offense. Listable, barely.

Nigel McGuiness vs Claudio Castagnoli ROH Pure Title Match Best in the World 3/25/06

Can’t find Shelly/Daniels. May be for the best.

Meh, I was expecting better. I liked the uppercuts and the final lariat, but they were repeating moves and using overkill in a match that was under 15 minutes. Just didn’t dig it. Pass.

Bryan Danielson vs. Alex Shelley Arena Warfare 3/11/06

For a match that went 30+ minutes, there wasn’t much substance to the match. I think what bothered me the most was how easy the transitions were. Kind of felt like a spotfest at points. The ending was great, but too little too late. No.

Matt Sydal vs Austin Aries Arena Warfare 3/11/06

It was alright. All the headlock stuff in the beginning didn’t do anything for me and I feel the match should have been shortened. No.

Austin Aries/Roderick Strong vs. AJ Styles/Matt Sydal 4th Anniversary Show 2/25/06

This is a good match, but the pace was uneven at points. A lot of death moves, but they really didn’t sell it for as long as I would have liked. All I know is that I have 9 nominated matches in the first two months and in the end, I have to let this go.

Bryan Danielson vs. Jimmy Rave 4th Anniversary Show 2/25/06

This was a sweet match. Rave’s chops and elbows were great in this match and he showed me that he could hang on the mat. The only complaints I can think about is that it got a little back and forth at points and that Dragon’s MMA elbows are still not there yet. Keep.

Homicide vs. Colt Cabana Ghetto Street Fight Fourth Anniversary Show 2/25/06

This shit was crazy. Best match I’ve seen so far. These two are great brawlers and Colt sold his blood loss like a champ. Very hate-filled and violent. Possible top 10 match unless it gets even better.

Jimmy Rave/Adam Pearce vs Bryan Danielson/CM Punk Unscripted II 2/11/06

This one is teetering on the line. You have fun control sections from both teams and Rave and Pearce make a good team. There was this stretch in the beginning for a minute or two where they did a poor job of reseting the match. The issue is near the end where the match slowed down and Punk botched a hurricarana. Plus, Punk’s Olympic Hell Anaconda Vice was not popping the crowd. Other then that, it is a really solid tag match. Another keeper.

Nigel McGuinness vs. Austin Aries Unscripted II 2/11/06

About halfway through the match, this looked like the best match I had seen in 06 so far. But, then a couple issues reared its ugly head. There was the rope breaks which didn’t really need to be there. Especially one where Nigel was pulled to the ropes. Aries selling of the arm was pretty great, but the match was too back and forth at points. I still really liked it and is on the rewatch list.

AJ Styles vs. Bryan Danielson Dissension 1/28/06

It took a bit to get going, but I liked it. It got interesting when Danielson worked on AJ’s nose and all the shots in this match were snug. Both are better then what they were in 02-03, but this is another match which could have been shortened. Good enough to keep for now.

Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs Bryan Danielson & Jay Lethal Tag Wars 1/27/06

Fun, but felt directionless and unimportant for a tag title match. It felt like more of a setup for Strong/Danielson 3. I thought the last 6-man had enough fun stuff that I can discard this match. No.

Jimmy Rave/Alex Shelley/Abyss vs Jimmy Yang/Jack Evans/Matt Sydal Tag Wars 1/27/06

I’m not even sure this better then the semi final. The match lacked urgency and would have been best to cut time out. Enough fun stuff for a rewatch, but not a hidden classic.

Low Ki vs Christopher Daniels Tag Wars 1/27/06

This was OK I guess. Would have liked this matchup in 2003. It felt like Low Ki was lowering himself to Daniels level. I don’t think Daniels is a great ROH singles wrestler as of this moment. Maybe there is a good tag with him, but his focus seems to be on TNA. No.