Mike Reviews ROH Glory By Honour VI Night One – 02.11.07

Happy Friday Everyone!

We’ve got some more ROH today with Glory By Honour VI Night One. I’ve never seen this show before but was drawn to it because it has the legend himself Mitsuharu Misawa wrestling in the Main Event. Elsewhere we’ve got the likes of Nigel McGuinness, Bryan Danielson, Kevin Steen (Owens) and El Generico (Sami Zayn) in action, so there should be some great wrestling going on here!

You can view the full card for Glory By Honour Night One by clicking the link below (and I apologise for using the UK spelling but I just couldn’t handle spelling it “incorrectly”)

ROH Glory By Honour VI Night One Card

Thanks to F&C for making this available

Glory By Honour VI Night One is emanating from the Pennsylvania National Guard Armory in Philly, PA on the 2nd of November 2007

Calling the action are Dave Prazak and Lenny Leonard

Rebecca Bayless interviews ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness. Nigel has torn his bicep as a result of throwing too many lariats. Nigel says that he’s not going to have surgery, but rather let the injury scar over and hope that it improves. Nigel gave a really good promo there, sounding like an actual human. I believe that torn bicep cost him a WWE gig at one stage as they demanded that he get it fixed with surgery and he couldn’t afford the surgery, so he went to TNA instead.

Age of the Fall (Jimmy Jacobs, Tyler Black, Necro Butcher and Lacey) cut a promo on the streets of Philly (although Bruce Springsteen doesn’t show up during it). The general gist is that they are revolutionaries. This was the usual “we’re dangerous revolutionaries who think they’re changing the world” style promo, which suited Age of the Fall’s cult-like presentation.

Opening Match
Steenerico (El Generico & Kevin Steen) Vs The Hangmen Three (BJ Whitmer & Brent Albright)

Hangman Three were a group made up of Adam Pearce, Whitmer, Albright and Shane Hagadorn. Keen-eyed readers will notice that the group was actually made up of four people, but Hagadorn was seen as more of a lackey and not a full member. He was the Justin Credible to Hangman Three’s Kliq, for those who will get that reference. Steenerico and Delirious had both had their issues with Hangmen Three, so this match is a continuation of that storyline. Steenerico are actually going for the blue attire theme here as opposed to the usual red, and they get jumped by The Hangmen during their entrance to kick us off with a brawl.

Whitmer looks like such a douche with his short bleached blond hair that I assume it had to be intentional on his part. Steenerico manage to fight back inside the ring and get to do their shine, with both of them playing the babyface role well and the crowd getting behind them. Steen is renowned for being a nasty Heel above all else, but he’s actually a decent fired up babyface when he chooses to be. Generico (the future Sami Zayn) is of course capable of playing pretty much every role he’s given with aplomb, and that’s the case here as well. Generico ends up getting worked over in the Hangman corner for a bit, and he sells that fantastically, including a moment where he gets flung into the turnbuckle with a suplex courtesy of Whitmer.

Eventually Steen gets the hot tag and runs wild on the Heels. In a nice touch, Steen shows that he may be a babyface but that doesn’t mean he’s a goody-two-shoes, as he kicks the middle rope when Albright is trying to get in the ring at one stage in order to hurt Albright right in his Gunner Scotts. Things breakdown following that, with Whitmer getting a two count on Steen with a Frog Splash when Generico breaks up the count. Steen gets a Fisherman Buster onto Whitmer for a two count of his own, when Albright breaks the pin up. Generico responds by taking out Whitmer with a Helluva Kick and then follows out with a dive onto Albright, which allows Steen to fire off a Swanton Bomb onto Whitmer for the three count.

9 Minutes

WINNERS: STEENERICO
RATING: ***

Thoughts: A good open to the show. They worked the traditional tag team formula well and didn’t go crazy with the near falls at the end. The Hangmen got a near fall, Steenerico got a near fall, and then they took it home whilst the crowd was at the peak of their investment. Good stuff and a pleasing display of restraint for an ROH show from 2007

Hagadorn throws some powder into Steen’s eyes following the match, leading to The Hangmen beating up Steenerico, meaning that this feud will continue. Nothing wrong with that. Steenerico get a battling win, the villains get their heat back, and we move on to the next chapter in the story. All good. Following that, we get a post-match promo from Albright and Whitmer backstage. They cut the usual “we’re mean Heels and we’re not letting that defeat stop us” promo, and it’s done well. Threats are also issued to Delirious.

Second Match
Claudio Castagnoli Vs Hallowicked

This is a battle between two bone-benders with CHIKARA lineage, as both wrestled for that group alongside taking bookings for ROH. Castagnoli had turned babyface and was building up for a big showdown with former partner Chris Hero, whilst also trying to stake a claim for the ROH World Title. We get some Lucha Libre styled exchanges to start us out, which makes sense given their respective backgrounds, and the crowd responds well to it. Hallowicked is quite gangly/lanky, so it’s not like the usual Castagnoli Lucha bout where he plays a base for a smaller more agile opponent, with Hallowicked actually being the base for Claudio at points.

Eventually Hallowicked starts firing off some strikes, turning this more into an ROH style strke and suplex match, and the crowd responds well to it. Neither wrestler is really playing the Heel role here, with them mostly trading momentum and high impact moves. Hallowicked gets a near fall with a running big boot at one stage, but he gets caught with a big running European Uppercut from Castagnoli, and that’s enough for the three count. The commentary team lets us know that Claudio will face Naomichi Marufuji on Night Two, so this was essentially a warm up win for him.

6 Minutes

WINNER: CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI
RATING: **

Thoughts: A decent quick paced undercard bout that existed to give Claudio a clean win ahead of his big match on Night Two. I liked how they had Castagnoli win with the uppercut as well, as it established that it could potentially win a match, hopefully making it a believable near fall move in the future when Claudio was competing with a grappler higher up the card. Hallowicked looked okay in there and seemed to get a reasonable response from the crowd, so he performed his role admirably

Larry Sweeney (Chris Hero’s manager) heads out with a mic following the bout to talk some smack to Castagnoli. Sweeney offers to buy Claudio out of his ROH contract and get him a WWE gig, just so he can get Claudio out of the way from Chris Hero. Castagnoli would eventually end up going to WWE, but he refuses the deal here and says he loves ROH. Castagnoli promises that he’ll eventually get his hands on Sweeney and give him a beat down, which the crowd likes the sound of. Castagnoli and Hallowicked then shake hands to end the segment. This was a good way to keep the storyline going and making Claudio reject WWE for ROH was a good way to get him over with the ROH fans.

Third Match
Delirious Vs Davey Richards

Delirious was in the midst of a feud with Hangmen Three at the time of Glory By Honour, whilst Richards was a member of the No Remorse Corps faction. Seeing as Hangmen Three were throwing shade Delirious’ way in the promo earlier, I’m guessing we’ll probably see The Hangmen get involved here in some form. Delirious also had some issues with NRC around this time as well, hence why he wanted a match with Richards here at Glory By Honour in order to tie up that particular loose end. Delirious shines on Richards to start with a mixture of technical wrestling, speed and character based antics, but Richards manages to catch Delirious with a Space Tornado Ogawa for the cut off.

Delirious sells well in the heat whilst Richards does a good job of playing to the crowd and being a jerk in an effort to draw some heat. Richards’ offence all has a smooth delivery, so it’s a heat segment that aims to antagonise the audience whilst also being aesthetically pleasing to watch. The heat segment succeeds with getting the crowd to clap for Delirious, and he makes sporadic attempts to fight back. Delirious eventually manages to catch Richards with his Panic Attack running knee in the corner, and that leads to the full comeback, as Delirious runs wild with clotheslines whilst the crowd approves.

Delirious fires off a Half-Nelson Driver (think Shingo Takagi’s “Made in Japan” or Jonny Storm’s “Wonder-Whirl”) but that only nets him a two count. Richards responds with a German Suplex for a two count of his own, which leads into Richards locking in a Kimura. Delirious is forced to make it to the ropes to break the hold, although he was probably in it a bit too long. That’s always a risk with using real life submission moves like that, as folks who watch MMA know that a properly applied Kimura is basically an instant finish, so it’s hard to believe that someone could lie in one for a prolonged period of time without tapping. Richards goes back to the hold following a Tombstone though, and that’s enough for the tap out.

14 Minutes

WINNER: DAVEY RICHARDS
RATING: ***

Thoughts: This was another prelim match where they didn’t go over the top with near falls or big moves. They had a good match, each wrestler had one clear chance to win it, and then they took it home before the match had overstayed its welcome. Solid Pro Wrestling. Surprisingly Hangmen Three didn’t show up and they just had Lenny Leonard say at the end of the match “Well I guess each man is moving on to deal with whomever they’re feuding with now” and that was it

Age of the Fall are walking around empty buildings and lots in a run down neighbourhood, talking about how they are waging a war against the apathy in the world to prevent this happening to more people. This felt like Jimmy Jacobs was going for a Raven-style promo, but it didn’t really land for me. I give Jacobs credit for constantly reinventing himself, but going from being the guy who wrote soppy love songs for Lacey to suddenly becoming a cult leader felt like a bit too much of a leap. I understand what they were aiming for, but I never quite bought into the transformation.

Fourth Match
ROH World Tag Team Titles
Champions: The Briscoes (Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe) Vs No Remorse Corps (Rocky Romero & Roderick Strong)

The Briscoes were feuding with Age of the Fall at the time whilst also defending their tag belts against allcomers. Strong was the leader of No Remorse Corps, and he was also the champion of Full Impact Pro at the time, which in some ways operated like an unofficial development territory for ROH. ROH was very big into faction warfare around the time of Glory By Honour VI, with the former Generation Next members splintering into different groups. Strong had formed No Remorse Corps, Austin Aries led The Resilience, Matt Sydal became a key member of The Embassy, and Jack Evans put together The Vulture Squad. NRC arguably felt the most cohesive of those factions, with Strong, Romero and Richards all complementing one another well, whereas groups like The Resilience sometimes felt more thrown together..

The Briscoes were a bit of an acquired taste for some during this time due to their propensity of doing matches stuffed (and some would argue “overstuffed”) with big moves and near falls. It’ll be interesting to see if the continual changing of times in Pro Wrestling has done anything to alter that perception whilst I review this one. It’s interesting to think that three of the competitors in this match as of 2026 are all working for AEW, and if Jay Briscoe’s tragic death hadn’t taken place then perhaps he would have eventually ended up working there too. Considering how often they were clobbering one another 19 years ago it’s impressive that the three surviving grapplers are all still capable of getting in there and doing a wrestle.

The story of this one in the early going is that the Briscoes have better chemistry as a duo due to Strong being more of a singles wrestler who occasionally tags with his stablemates. This means that The Briscoes are able to control things, with them getting some nicely executed tandem offence that the crowd enjoys. NRC just cannot get a foothold in the contest, with both of them even falling foul of some Redneck Kung-Fu from Mark at one stage. However, Strong and Romero are eventually able to double up on Mark with a pair of knee strikes, and that’s enough for the cut off and the heat segment. Mark receives support from the crowd whilst getting worked over, whilst Strong and Romero gradually get more comfortable on offence as the bout wears on and start to function better as a team, making it a good heat segment.

Eventually Jay gets the hot tag and runs wild, even surviving a signature stiff chop from Strong at one point. Jay has to fight both of the challengers himself though due to Mark still selling the effects of the heat segment, which allows NRC to cut Jay off and work him over until Mark is finally able to recover and help out. At this point we get what was considered the usual closing stretch to a Briscoes bout, wherein things totally break down and everyone gets into the ring for a festival of moves and near falls. The crowd gets into it and the moves themselves are well-executed, so it’s enjoyable to watch, although I can understand why some wouldn’t like it.

One thing I like about the home stretch here is that The Briscoes do ensure to keep making tags within the anarchy so that the legal wrestler is the one making the pins, which is a nice bit of attention to detail that you don’t always get in a match like that. Eventually Strong ends up on his own in the ring with the Champs, which leads to him taking a DOOMsday Device for the three count. I liked that finish as it gave The Briscoes a win over arguably one of the top stars in the promotion. Strong has an out though, in that the finish came from a double team move. The match itself was really good, so doing a clean finish didn’t hurt anyone and it gave the contest a satisfying ending.

18 Minutes

WINNERS AND STILL CHAMPIONS: THE BRISCOES
RATING: ***1/2

Thoughts: Lovely Stuff!! This was a very good match that actually didn’t go too crazy with the near falls and moves in my opinion. That could just be because what folks considered as going over the top in 2007 would seem almost quaint by the standards we have in 2026 though. Whereas I have seen some Briscoe matches that went a bit too long and passed the peak before the finish, the crowd seemed hot all through this one so they paced and timed the finishing stretch well

Age of the Fall runs down to make it a four-on-two attack on The Briscoes following the bout. Strong and Romero aren’t pleased by AOTF showing up, teasing a confrontation between the factions, but that’s the cue for The Vulture Squad to run out so we can segue straight into the next match in classic ECW fashion.

Fifth Match
The Age of the Fall (Jimmy Jacobs, Necro Butcher & Tyler Black) w/ Lacey Vs The Vulture Squad (Jack Evans, Jigsaw & Ruckus) w/ Julius Smokes

AOTF had formed back at Man Up, when they’d brutally assaulted The Briscoes, with Jay Briscoe actually getting strung up over the ring so that he could bleed onto Jacobs’ white suit. Vulture Squad was the faction that former Generation Next member Jack Evans had formed. Whereas No Remorse Corps are moulded in Strong’s image of being hard hitting technical grapplers, Vulture Squad do a lot more high flying, which fits nicely with Evans’ overall ring style. This one is a wild brawl right from the off, with all six going at it and no tags being made. It’s explained by the commentary team that NRC and Briscoes have brawled to the back, which I appreciate as it gives an understandable reason why The Briscoes don’t try and destroy AOTF for what happened back at Man Up.

Butcher is of course perfectly suited for a match like this, and he promptly starts throwing punches at people and trying to destroy the ringside area. Jigsaw kind of feels a bit out of place in this one, as he mostly worked in CHIKARA, and he even does some Lucha Libre on Jacobs here in this pier six brawl. Jacobs and Black show some good continuity and chemistry, setting the table for an eventual Tag Team Title reign. Evans fits into a wild brawl pretty naturally, as he does a good job of making his high flying style work in this kind of environment by mixing in flips and strikes in a way that lets him stick and move with a slugger like Necro. Necro eventually clocks Ruckus with a chair to remove him from the proceedings and that allows Black and Jacobs to double up on Jigsaw, leading to Jacobs getting the win with a Guillotine Choke.

6 Minutes

WINNERS: AGE OF THE FALL
RATING: **1/2

Thoughts: As can sometimes be the case with these sorts of matches, this felt a little bit overly choreographed at points, especially during the parts where Jacobs and Black were showing off their array of double team moves so that we’d buy into them as a team. That being said, Necro brought some anarchic joy to things by just wandering around punching anything that moved and the match found a way to give AOTF a commanding clean win whilst also allowing Vulture Squad to mix it up with them on the way to defeat

Following the match, The Briscoes and NRC run down so the brawl can pick up again and ROH can continue their version of the WWF Gang Warz from 1997 (in reality they were trying to mirror what DragonGate was doing with their factions, but I couldn’t resist making the aside). Lacey screeches on the mic, demanding that people support the AOTF cause, whilst the men fight outside the ring. Eventually Daizee Haze runs down to attack Lacey, as this just descends into further anarchy. Richards teases doing a dive out onto everyone, but he refuses to draw cheap heat, leading to Delirious running down to attack him. This leads to The Hangmen and Steenerico running down, as they just keep adding bodies to this without doing the promised dive. We finally make it to the fireworks factory, with Delirious, Black and Haze all doing dives out onto the throng of bodies, with each one getting a bigger pop. We get even MORE DIVES after that, and the highlight is arguably Necro of all people doing a big dive to the floor at one stage. I ponder the effectiveness of having Black, and even Necro, doing cool diving moves to the floor when they’re supposed to be this big existential Heel threat to the promotion. Vulture Squad eventually stand tall when all is said and done, so they can get their heat back for losing the match I guess. This was wacky, with the crowd wanting dives like Chris Walken wants cowbell, and eventually getting them. It certainly wasn’t dull, I’ll give it that. I think we needed more of AOTF hitting people with weapons and being violent as opposed to them doing slick wrestling and cool dives though if they were supposed to be the top Heel threat.

Rebecca Bayless is backstage filming a link when The Briscoes and Daizee Haze show up, all looking for matches with Age of the Fall. They leave to have a pint. That was short, to the point, and achieved what it needed.

Sixth Match
ROH Top of the Class Trophy
Trophy Holder: Mitch Franklin Vs Ernie Osiris

The Top of the Class Trophy is basically the ROH Academy Championship, where trainees from the school battle to decide who is the current top graduate. Franklin would later become Grizzly Redwood, the world’s littlest lumberjack, whilst Osiris would become Mr. Ernesto Osiris under the guidance of Prince Nana. These matches usually went on after the interval and were never really given much time, so fans tended to view them less as important contests and more as an extension of the intermission. That being said, the two lads do the best they can to have an entertaining match, with the execution from both being decent. The only move/sequence that doesn’t go too well is when Franklin tries a hurricanrana and it gets a bit sloppy. They quickly right things though, with Osiris getting a standing Shooting Star Press for the win.

3 Minutes

WINNER AND NEW TROPHY HOLDER: ERNIE OSIRIS
RATING: *1/2

Thoughts: Not much to say about this one. They did the best they could with what was given to them, but the live crowd didn’t really engage in the action, which was a symptom of how the trainee bouts were treated by ROH

Seventh Match
Best of Three Series Match #3
Bryan Danielson Vs Austin Aries

Aries had been “The Austin Starr” in TNA, but he’d grown unhappy there and jumped back to ROH earlier in 2007. Danielson had been the long reigning ROH World Champion from 2005/06, and he was trying to get back in the Title picture here. These two always had an interesting dynamic. Regardless of their respective alignments, they generally respected one another and tended to wrestle on the level rather than relying on shortcuts.. Danielson was using “Final Countdown” from Europe as entrance music at the time and the crowd of course enjoy singing along with it. Danielson wasn’t really a full babyface yet, being more of a cocky tweener who would play the de facto babyface role when in there with a Heel, and vice versa. Aries was ostensibly a babyface around this time, although a babyface who had an edge to him at times.

Prazak and Leonard on commentary push the idea that no one had been able to win the ROH World Title twice up to this point in history, which adds some weight to this contest. Seeing as each of the competitors in this one had previously held the World belt, both of them were pushing hard to win this one and move on to make history as a two time champ. The two wrestlers focus on grappling on the mat to start, with neither gaining a clear advantage and the wrestling itself being well executed. The bout turns a bit when Aries low bridges Danielson to the outside and tries a TOPE SUICIDA, only to find a Danielson knee to the face waiting for him. Danielson works Aries over in the ring following that, focusing on using punishing holds to try and wear Aries down and possibly gain a submission.

Aries sells well whilst getting worked over and Danielson’s attacks look suitably painful. It’s not what I’d class as a heat segment, because Danielson isn’t trying to cheat or rile up the crowd, but more of a “control segment”, which basically operates the same function of the heat segment but it’s done in a more sporting manner. Danielson does grab Aries’ face whilst applying a hold once or twice, but he always breaks when told and it’s presented more as Danielson being aggressive rather than him trying to cheat or be devious. The crowd isn’t making a lot of noise, but that’s more because they are watching intently rather than being bored. You don’t get the impression that the live crowd isn’t enjoying the bout, they’re just enjoying it in a manner similar to that of a Japanese crowd as opposed to your more classical rowdy American audience.

Aries eventually manages to fight back and connects with a TOPE SUICIDA on a second attempt, which is a nice call back to what happened earlier in the bout. Danielson manages to reply by catching Aries in a triangle choke, but Aries makes the ropes to break the hold and save himself. They do a good job of showing that Danielson has Aries scouted, as he manages to counter Aries’ trademark running dropkick in the corner by getting a boot up. By this point Danielson has countered three or four of Aries’ trademark attacks, showing just how well prepared he is for this bout. Eventually the two trade Roaring Elbows with one another for a double down, which earns the bout an “ROH” chant from the audience. Danielson tries both Cattle Mutilation and his trademark elbow strikes to put Aries away, but Aries manages to wriggle out of both and then powers out of a Danielson small package to get a Brain Buster and 450 Splash for the three count.

17 Minutes

WINNER: AUSTIN ARIES
RATING: ****

Thoughts: Excellent Professional Wrestling right there! Danielson was presented as an aggressive high level grappler, who studied his opponent well and had a lot of answers for what Aries threw at him. Meanwhile, Aries was presented as a resourceful and resilient competitor who eventually found a way to power through to victory. As you would expect from these two, the calibre of the meat and potatoes wrestling was to a high standard and the chemistry between them was undeniable. It would be very hard for two wrestlers this good to have a bad match, especially in front of an ROH crowd like this one, who clearly came to Glory By Honour to see these two do their thing and didn’t leave disappointed

Age of the Fall are still walking around Philadelphia, comparing modern homes to more traditional ones on the same street. The gist of the promo is that the modern homes are “cookie cutter” designs that house the more well-to-do in the neighbourhood, whilst the traditional ones house the less well-off, but at least have character. I can see what they were trying to go for with that analogy, but it didn’t really land for me, which has been a trend with these AOTF promos on this show.

Ring announcer Bobby Cruise tries to begin the introductions for the Main Event, but Sweet and Sour Inc. (Larry Sweeney, Chris Hero, Sara Del Ray and Bobby Dempsey) head down to the ring to interrupt. Sweeney notes that, as Hero won Survival of the Fittest 2007, he can get an ROH World Title whenever he wants, and he wants it tonight. As was mentioned earlier in the show, ROH World Champ Nigel McGuinness has torn his bicep, which means he can’t wrestle tonight. Sweeney notes that if Nigel can’t wrestle tonight, then he has to surrender his belt to Hero. Nigel comes down to cut a promo saying it kills him not to be able to wrestle tonight, and some of the fans give him some hassle whilst he speaks on the mic, sowing seeds for Nigel’s eventual Heel turn in 2008. Hero beats up Bobby Dempsey to show what will happen to Nigel if he wrestles tonight, which eventually goads Nigel into taking the match.

Eighth Match
ROH World Championship
Champion: Nigel McGuinness vs Chris Hero w/ Larry Sweeney, Sara Del Rey and Bobby Dempsey

Nigel had dethroned Takeshi Morishima earlier in the year as a babyface, but over the course of his reign he would gradually be rejected by the ROH fanbase. This would eventually lead to Nigel performing a successful Heel turn in 2008, but he was still trying to be a babyface here, and is even wrestling through the aforementioned torn bicep for the fans. Hero had turned on his partner Claudio Castagnoli in order to align with Sweeney. This had led to ROH giving Hero a singles push to the top of the card, leading to Hero winning the 2007 Survival of the Fittest Tournament and becoming Nigel’s first challenger. The dynamic within Sweet and Sour Inc. at the time was that Dempsey was the lackey being mistreated by everyone except Del Rey, which explains why Hero was beating the poor sap up in the pre-match segment. Del Rey helps Bobby to the back afterwards, meaning that neither of them are present for the title match itself.

Nigel’s injury limits what he is capable of doing in this one, with the bout mostly being based around Hero working heat on the one-armed champion. Hero notably gets some cheers from sections of the crowd, continuing the theme of fans turning on Nigel despite the fact he’s supposed to be a gutsy babyface champion. Nigel’s selling and babyface fire is really good here though, and that ensures that certain aspects of the crowd stay with him. Hero focuses mostly on strikes to the injured appendage and submission holds. From a kayfabe perspective it makes perfect sense to do this, and from a practical standpoint it allows Nigel to avoid anything too intricate that might aggravate the real injury.

Nigel is a really good fighting babyface here, battling with one arm, and adjusting his ring style accordingly to cover for his injured left bicep. The commentary team notes that Nigel usually uses his left arm for his Lariats, so his right handed Lariats aren’t as effective. Hero manages to catch Nigel in an arm bar on Nigel’s injured left arm and Nigel actually taps out, but he makes it to the ropes before tapping and that means that the referee throws out his original decision and states that the match will keep going. That’s a good way of giving Hero a visual submission without actually having him win the match itself.

Hero argues with the referee following that, which gives Nigel a chance to get an adrenaline rush and start making a comeback. Hero takes a cutter off the apron to the floor and then has his arm flung into the metal hoardings at ringside numerous times. Nigel sticks Hero back into the ring following that and locks in the London Dungeon, leading to Hero tapping out. Thankfully for Nigel, after selling all match, showing great babyface fire and finally prevailing in the end, he’s been able to win over the majority of the crowd and his victory gets a strong positive reaction.

9 Minutes

WINNER AND STILL CHAMPION: NIGEL MCGUINNESS
RATING: ***

Thoughts: They had a tricky time with this one at first due to some of the crowd turning on Nigel, but both wrestlers played their respective roles well and they managed to get the crowd onside by the end, with Nigel’s win getting a thunderous pop. Hero was good a snide cocky Heel here but Nigel was tremendous as a gutsy battling babyface, showing just how well-rounded a talent he is because his Heel run in 2008-09 was equally as good. Hero getting the false victory set the table for future matches and gives him something to brag/complain about as well. This was a good piece of business overall, with Sweeney doing a great job at ringside as the insufferable Heel manager as well

Larry Sweeney and Chris Hero are both furious backstage, with Hero demanding more matches. This was good stuff and led to Hero and Nigel eventually clashing inside a steel cage for the belt.

Main Event
Naomichi Marufuji & Takeshi Morishima vs KENTA & Mitsuharu Misawa

ROH had brought over Japanese Legends such as Great Muta, Jushin Liger and Kenta Kobashi in the past and had a working relationship with Pro Wrestling NOAH at the time, so they used that relationship to bring in Misawa for a rare match on American soil. Just as Kobashi did during his visit in 2005, Misawa gets a great reception from the crowd and they even throw streamers into the ring from the crowd in classic Japanese fashion. Misawa even breaks out into a very brief smile at one stage when the fans start chanting for him before the bout begins. In a nice touch, Morishima takes his time before shaking hands with KENTA before the match, but he quickly shakes hands with Misawa without hesitation, because even a gruff powerhouse like him has appropriate respect for the legend.

Marufuji and KENTA were both regular tag team partners and opponents, so they work together very smoothly and have some exciting high paced exchanges to start out. By comparison, Morishima and Misawa are both bigger lads so they do a more classical heavyweight collision where they throw shoulder tackles at each other and trade strikes. Misawa was past his physical peak by the time 2007 came around, but he still had the instincts, timing and psychology of an all-time great, so he’s able to entertain the crowd with his work here even if the quality is quite a few miles away from his 1994 glory days. Putting Misawa in a tag match and surrounding him with great workers like this is a smart move, as it allows Misawa to come in and play the hits for the crowd whilst KENTA can do the majority of the true heavy lifting for his team.

I suppose it would have been nice to see Misawa working with some American based ROH regulars as opposed to just the NOAH crew, as it would have made the occasion feel a bit more unique and would potentially elevate some of the ROH talent in the process. However, I understand that Misawa was probably more comfortable working with “his” guys as he knew where he stood with them and what he had to do in order to give the ROH fans an enjoyable experience, and they also knew best about his limitations. Putting Misawa in there with an ROH regular could have potentially been a more interesting bout, but it would also have introduced an unknown variable that might have hampered Misawa’s ability to wrestle to his maximum ability here.

Marufuji does an especially good job of working with Misawa in this one, taking big bumps for him and doing his utmost to make Misawa look like a grappling deity in there. The fans appreciate the work of all four of the wrestlers and the bout has good atmosphere in general, which is nice to see. The fans haven’t just shown up to cheer for Misawa and to sit on their hands when he’s not in there. They give the other three wrestlers the fullest of their attention as well and get into all of the action, regardless of who is delivering the punishment in there. Misawa utilises holds and strikes for the most part when in there, with Marufuji throwing himself around whenever he needs to, and it all works well.

One of the most impressive moves of the match is the huge Morishima flying off the top rope with a big dropkick to Misawa. Interestingly, despite the size difference between Morishima and KENTA, Morishima is happy to take bumps for KENTA, including when KENTA kicks him. In fairness, the kicks from KENTA look brutal enough that you believe they could fell a 300+ pound monster like Morishima were he to make appropriate contact with them, but it’s still nice to see Morishima being a professional in ways that other big guys perhaps wouldn’t in a scenario like this. Marufuji and Morishima eventually double up on KENTA to work him over and essentially do a heat segment, with it all building up to Misawa getting the crowd pleasing tag back into the contest.

At one point Morishima stands on KENTA whilst KENTA is down in the corner, and Marufuji then climbs onto Morishima’s back to make it so that KENTA has to carry 500+ pounds, getting the expected fearful reaction from the crowd as they look at poor KENTA getting squished. Marufuji and Morishima are both happy enough to play a subtle Heel role here, with them leaning on the referee’s five count and occasionally doing something a bit dirty without ever outright cheating. Misawa’s hot tag segment is done well once KENTA is finally able to tag out, with Misawa flying off the top rope with a diving forearm onto Morishima at one stage, and looking pretty graceful whilst doing so when you consider that Misawa’s body was being held together by sticky tape and hopeful thoughts at the time.

KENTA comes back in and gets another fun spot where he knocks Marufuji down and then slams Morishima onto Marufuji for added brutality. However, Morishima shifts his weight when KENTA tries a German Suplex and poor KENTA gets the life squished out of him in a painful looking moment. Marufuji and KENTA continue to work at an impressive clip 25 Minutes into the bout, especially as they have been going full throttle for the entirety of the bout. You certainly can’t say that the four NOAH wrestlers have skimped on effort here, as they’ve worked hard and the crowd have appreciated it. We of course get a parade of MOVES as the bout reaches the closing stages, with everyone getting a chance to hit a signature move and the crowd showing their appreciation by chanting “NOAH” following a quadruple down.

Sadly we don’t get a decisive finish here, as the 30 Minute Time Limit runs down and the bout ends in a draw, which causes quite a few of the fans to boo. However, that does then turn into the fans clapping in appreciation for the good wrestling they’ve just witnessed. I’ve personally found that fans tend to be a bit less cheesed off by a time limit draw as opposed to a disqualification or count out, and here it felt like the fans were disappointed by the draw, but not angry, and the applause for all four wrestlers at the end highlights that. I would have personally done a pin-fall finish here, or at least played the NOAH draw music at the end for the authentic Japanese experience, as all four leaving to no music once the bout is over feels a bit flat.

30 Minutes

WINNERS: TIME LIMIT DRAW
RATING: ***3/4

Thoughts: This was a great match that just needed that little something extra to push it into the four star tier in my opinion. In general I thought the bout was well-wrestled and they used Misawa well throughout it. Misawa’s physical limitations were hidden well and he was able to deliver all of his big moves and sequences successfully, thus giving the crowd pretty much everything they wanted from a Misawa appearance, outside of maybe getting to see him drop Marufuji with an Emerald Fusion for the three count. Marufuji and KENTA were both excellent in this one, never slowing down and producing some of the most exciting exchanges on the whole show. KENTA also did an admirable job of being Misawa’s “legs” here in this one, playing the role of Gennaro Gattuso to Misawa’s Andrea Pirlo. KENTA carried the workload when required and that allowed Misawa to come in and do his bits without getting overexposed or too tired. It was a clever presentation overall, and with a few tweaks it could have been a classic

Age of the Fall are standing outside where the Liberty Bell is housed, because you have to pay to get in to see it and symbol of freedom is now just a tourist trap. However, Age of the Fall won’t charge you to be educated, you might just not like what you’ll learn. That’s probably the cleverest promo they’ve done all show actually, as making people pay to see historical monuments does act as a barrier to learning and education.

In Conclusion

Glory By Honour VI Night One was an enjoyable show that never felt like it dragged. The matches on the undercard fulfilled their briefs without overdoing it, and the last three matches ranged from good to excellent. The only part of the show that I can see dividing people would be the lengthy post-match brawl following the Six Man Tag. Some will view it as a thrilling exhibition of high spots that added another chapter to ROH’s ongoing Gang Warz, whilst others will see it as an unnecessary diversion from what was supposed to be the promotion’s central storyline.

Aside from that, there was an admirable display of restraint throughout the undercard. Matches were brought home at sensible times without becoming overloaded with big moves or endless near falls. As a result, the card flowed nicely and built effectively towards the final three bouts, which were given the time and attention needed to stand out. The undercard still provided plenty of enjoyable wrestling and advanced the ongoing storylines, making for a well-balanced show overall.

Glory By Honour VI Night One comes recommended!