KENTA/Nigel McGuinness vs Takeshi Morishima/Bryan Danielson ROH Respect is Earned 5/12/07

Not what I expected. Way more back and forth then I would have thought. All the pairings were fun, however. I really need to rewatch this, just to see if I was right the first time.

Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe vs Claudio Castagnoli/Matt Sydal ROH Respect is Earned 5/12/07

Very good Briscoes spotfest. Better then the MCMG match because it went around 20 minutes, but does have similar issues. Especially the back and forth and Briscoes finisher selling down the stretch. Still, both teams had some pretty looking spots and will keep it on the list for now.

Naomichi Marufuji vs. Rocky Romero ROH Respect is Earned 5/12/07

For a “Marufuji in ROH” match, this was actually good. Marufuji kept the shitty strikes to a minimum and did a pretty fine job of working the leg with Rocky selling it pretty well on first watch. Hell, Marufuji even sold the early armwork well. The final minute had some no selling rubbish, but for a match where I had low expectations, it turned out way better then I thought. Rewatch.

Delirious vs KENTA ROH Reborn Again 5/11/07

Better then people might think. The Delirious comedy was funny as was his attempts to stop KENTA from kicking him by biting his leg. Still, no one was buying the kickouts in the end and as much as KENTA can kick a good match out of people, his matches tend to lack direction. No.

Jay Briscoe/Mark Briscoe vs Murder City Machine Guns ROH Good Times Great Memories 4/28/07

It’s very good on first watch, but I have no idea why this was getting the love that it was. It’s essentially a 30 minute spotfest although better then you would expect with the Machine Guns being entertaining and different in an ROH environment. I do feel that I have seen better Briscoe matches before and after this match. I will give this one more shot for now. Rewatch.

Roderick Strong vs Jack Evans ROH Good Times Great Memories 4/28/07

Pretty good, but Evans was coming back way too fast at points. Roderick laid a good beatdown, but nothing compared to there match in ASE3. I liked that match better and that’s not even on the list. No.

Takeshi Morishima vs Shingo ROH Good Times Great Memories 4/28/07

God this is a tough one. I mean it is a better Morishima formula match then most I‘ve seen with the fighting spirit spots being at least cut off. But you still have Morishima going down way too early, not really selling that he is on the brink of losing, and not really having a story to the match. If he fixed one of those issues then I could see myself rewatching it. Instead, I have to give another slight no to a Morishima match.

Takeshi Morishima vs Austin Aries ROH The Battle of St. Paul 4/27/07

I say better then the last match. I loved Aries taking the fight to Morishima early and the announcers trying to put over the combination that beat Samoa Joe could beat Morishima. But Morishima made some questionable decisions like going down for a clothesline early when he could have built him being finally knocked down or no selling the combination way too fast and easily finishing Aries off. I think the added selling issues put this outside the list. Slight no.

Takeshi Morishima vs Nigel McGuinness ROH Fighting Spirit 4/14/07

If you are a fan of fighting spirit, you may like this. I don’t because it undermines the move that was hit and I feel there are ways to get around this. Especially, when fighting spirit happens after a finisher. This was a good slugfest, but there is no story and no selling. Those two reasons are why I can’t highly recommend it. No.

Kevin Steen/El Generico vs Jay Briscoe/Erick Stevens ROH Fighting Spirit 4/14/07

This is a storyline match and is better then most Briscoe matches. The hate between Jay and Kevin was fun and everyone was really laying in there shots on each other until the NRC interference. The 2 on 1 lasted a bit too long, but then Mark comes in and it gets exciting and scary during the stretch run when Steenerico targets Mark’s head. Letting Stevens stay a bit longer and cutting some time off, it may be a MOTYC. It is still very good and is on the rewatch list.