2006 was a wild year for ROH. CZW invaded ROH and ROH invaded CZW. Homicide chased down the world title and tried to destroy Colt Cabana. The Briscoes returned, Brent Albright debuted, and Jay Lethal exited stage left. ROH also debuted in England. I imagine this list, and the list of 2007 shows will probably be the most controversial since the top shows from both years don’t seem to have a general consensus, but, what can you do.
1. Glory By Honor V Night 2 (A+)
It is a difficult task to identify the best show of the year in 2006. Better Than Our Best was loaded with really good matches top to bottom. But Glory By Honor V Night 2 was seemingly more important. KENTA vs Danielson had been built up since March. The GHC Title was defended for the first time in ROH, and a big title change occurred.
Pros: KENTA vs Bryan Danielson is one of the best matches in ROH history. Danielson’s legitimately injured shoulder becomes a focal point of the match, and KENTA’s brutal kicks to the shoulder and Danielson’s subsequent selling and compensation is amazing. This is as dramatic of a match as you will see in ROH. Nigel McGuinness vs Naomichi Marufuji isn’t quite as good, but is a match that starts with some fancy arm work and progresses to a crazy hard hitting, spectacle. There are some absolutely epic nearfalls in this match, and it represent’s Nigel’s coming out party as a top star, capping off a summer where he nearly took the ROH title from Bryan Danielson. Colt Cabana vs Jimmy Jacobs vs Chris Daniels isn’t the third best match on the show, but it sure is a lot of fun. It builds the Jacobs and Cabana storyline and features utterly hilarious interactions between the two. The Kings of Wrestling vs Strong and Aries probably isn’t in the top 10 of defenses by the former Generation Next, but it is still a good match and a historic title change. Joe and Homicide vs the Briscoes isn’t as great as you would expect, but given its place on the card merely being a slightly wild, good tag match is what it should be. Finally, Davey Richards vs Jack Evans is one of my favorite openers from 2006, a fun sometimes cringe inducing (in a good way) match.
Cons: You could argue that Delirious vs Adam Pearce is a con, but it is an average, watchable match.
2. Better Than Our Best (A+)
You can make a great argument that Better Than Our Best is the best show ROH put on in 2006, and maybe its best show ever. The one thing it lacks is that epic, match of the year quality bout in my opinion. What it does have is top to bottom quality.
Pros: Homicide vs Cabana is a blow off to a long bloody feud. I don’t like it quite as much as some people. To me there is a little too much time spent having to scavenge for weapons which hurts the pace a bit. But it is a brutal, epic war for redemption and really turned the feud into the stuff of ROH legends. Aries and Strong vs CIMA and Doi stands as one of the best matches of GN’s reign. It has a few tiny problems (dodgey use of tag rules, I personally prefer it when the Briscoes just say fuck it to the rules rather than Aries and Strong selectively caring) but overall it is yet another excellent match from Dragon Gate’s breakout weekend in the US.
My personal favorite match of the night is Lance Storm vs Bryan Danielson. If you are a big Lance Storm fan, this is a must see match, and stands as his best singles match in the US. The Embassy + Yoshino vs Do Fixer is super fun. The Four Corner Survival is really good hard hitting, fast paced action. The Six Man Mayhem is insanity with wacky spots. There is something for everyone on this show.
Cons: Reyes vs Delirious is average. But Delirious securing his spot is a nice moment that I can’t see anyone disliking. It is good stuff.
3. Final Battle 2006 (A+)
You could also make an argument that this is the best show of 06. It is historic, it has a super hot crowd, and some amazing matches. It isn’t quite as top to bottom great as the previous two shows though… Actually, it is. This is another awesome, nearly perfect show.
Pros: Bryan Danielson and Homicide have a match that is on par with a Wrestlemania main event in terms of drama and storytelling. This match features one of the better uses of a run in in ROH history, one of the most dramatic nearfalls (I won’t spoil what it is) that when I saw it live was so epic it actually put a finish that was never in doubt before, in doubt. It is a combination of two great wrestlers, the babyface’s home town, and something that just felt long overdue that made for an amazing atmosphere. Next up, the Briscoes vs the Kings of Wrestling is a great match. I have never been a fan of the KoW, but they match up perfectly with the Briscoes, and this was big move tag team wrestling at its best. It is followed up by Hero joining with Sweeney which is pretty historically important. Then you have a Dragon Gate rules Six Man tag. More great stuff. Then Rave vs Nigel, which takes time to get going, but once it does, it makes you excited to see more from the two of them. It isn’t on the level of their Fight Without Honor, but it makes Jimmy Rave feel like a big deal, and that you weren’t screwed over by Samoa Joe’s injury which prevented a Nigel vs Joe match from happening on this show. Jimmy Jacobs and Brent Albright vs Colt Cabana and BJ Whitmer also delivers. This set up the first “Tables Are Legal” match in ROH, and while that had some huge spots, to me this is the better, faster paced match. Actually, almost all of the tags in this feud were really good. The opener is also good stuff as Jimmy Rave would end up pulling double duty that night in a great bit of heelery. Seriously, watch for Rave any time you don’t see him in the ring, watch him avoiding fights and letting the faces go at it while he bides his time. Good stuff. El Generico also gets his first time to really shine in an ROH ring, looking great and getting some crowd support.
Cons: Just one, Adam Pearce vs Ricky Reyes. This set up the main event nicely, but it could have just as easily been accomplished by not booking Reyes! I’m not even one of the people who despises Reyes, but the match and angle just didn’t work.
4. Dragon Gate Challenge (A)
This is the real debut of Dragon Gate in ROH. Sure they had “invaded” in 2005, but this time they show up with 6 wrestlers and compete on three shows, blowing the crowd away each time. But, that isn’t all, because the CZW war continues and Samoa Joe and Chris Daniels go one on one again.
Pros: Dragon Gate. Even the weakest match involving a Dragon Gate wrestler is above average. That match, Jimmy Yang vs Ryo Saito is fine, but probably a bit disappointing to anyone watching these DVDs after all of the hype Dragon Gate got. But, after that, things get great. AJ Styles and Matt Sydal show why it was such a shame they couldn’t team more against Dragon Kid and Genki Horiguchi. This match is flat out fun, but doesn’t do too much. Because there is one more DG match to go. And that is Blood Generation vs Generation next. This isn’t the cleanest match in the world (Jack Evans missed a weird spot) but the botching is minimal, and the action is almost mind blowing.
What I like the most about this show is Daniels vs Joe. Before this they had three singles matches in ROH with Joe winning them all. Daniels did get a pinfall in a 4CS, but, never in singles competition. This match starts with a huge amount of intensity with Daniels mocking Joe with the TNA X Division title and Joe’s old entrance and proceeds from there. The finish puts both guys over with Daniels needing multiple BMEs to get the win, and then transitions into a continuation of the CZW war.
The good stuff doesn’t stop there either. BJ Whitmer vs Jimmy Jacobs is on this show. The match with the ugliest botch in ROH history. The match itself is really good, but the botched super bomb spot is… scary. Very scary. But an incredibly important match given it wasn’t blown off for a full year, and by then it was a main event. There is also Bryan Danielson and Delirious vs the Embassy, and this match is on the opposite end of the spectrum, it is fun. Very fun!
Cons: Ricky Reyes vs Chad Collyer. A boring match that shouldn’t have happened given Collyer was supposed to be somewhat important a day later in a first blood match. Also, Claudio vs Hagadorn. I get the importance of squashes, but… Hagadorn… ugh. The first leg of the Homicide/Cabana best of three series gets off to a bad start, Cabana takes another beating in a hard to see mess of darkness.
5. Ring of Homicide (A)
I don’t think many people would rank this show this high on first thought. But I hope after reading this, they’ll agree. First of all, it is a top to bottom quality show. It isn’t like DBD IV which is very top loaded, or Supercard which is too long and has too much filler. And it comes at one of the hottest points in the ROH vs CZW feud.
Pros: The best match on this show, to me is Danielson vs Delirious. That may not be the best THING on this show, but it is the best match. It is the best Delirious match I have ever seen, and live it blew me away. I honestly thought that as Delirious ran wild near the end that he would win. I really can’t do justice to this match, but you will never feel more like a guy was totally screwed after a clean finish in your life. The best thing on this show is probably Homicide’s entrance and his brawl with Necro. I’m not sure if it is really a match even though it ends with a pinfall. It has it all though, an insane pop, crazy bumps, a chair riot and tons of heat. Well, I guess it lacks psychology but who fucking cares! It is Necro vs Homicide! (guest starring Joe and a bunch of dudes.)
So what else is great about this show? How about a hilarious opener with Cabana and Kikutaro. Or Jay Lethal returning to ROH after being gone for 3 months and having a really good match with Nigel? Or the first in the Briscoes vs Aries/Strong series? What a good match that was too, with the perfect finish to continue the feud but not change the belts. The opposite happened with Daniels vs Sydal. The match was still really good, but Sydal loses a third time in a row to Daniels and that continues the rivalry. Not Gabe’s most brilliant move. I get the young guy has to lose to the old guy and get closer and closer, but Sydal had already lost in two matches to Daniels before their singles series, so the three singles losses in a row were a bit much.
Cons: This show does have a couple clunkers. Homicide and Reyes vs Dunn and Marcos is… there. It was taped to be an ROH videos match and it shows. Yang vs Rave is below average as well, and was supposed to set up a blow off involving Nana and Bruce Leroy, but Yang screwed it all up. I wish his post match promo made the DVD, because live it was very weird given he was heading to WWE.
6. Fight of the Century (A)
In retrospect this show is more amazing than it was live. One of the complaints I had with Gabe’s booking was for his last two years or so, he just did matches. Matches often just didn’t feel special. Matches didn’t feel BIG. But, Joe vs Danielson, this… this was big.
Pros: Joe vs Danielson for the ROH title had been built up for months. People had been waiting for it ever since Danielson won the title, but Gabe waited. He laid hints of it in the Best in the World main event, but then really got things rolling at Destiny when Joe mocked Danielson, and Danielson started his Summer 06 Chop Block World Tour. By chop blocking Joe’s sissy knee. Then they faced off in a non title three way at In Your Face and Joe got chop blocked again. And then again inside the Cage of Death. So, by the time this match rolled around, the crowd knew Danielson cared more about himself and his title than he did about anything, including ROH. So what followed was an epic match. I’ve heard people complain about the middle third of this match. They claim it is too slow, with too much leg work. But to me, it is perfect. Because by the end of it, the crowd buys that Joe’s leg is destroyed. It makes his comeback so much more dramatic, especially with the 60/40 split, and everyone being so rabid. Even if the workover is slow, the first 20 and last 20 minutes of this match are masterful, and make for a great match. I personally love the whole thing and think it is one of the best of all time.
But, this is not a one match show. Davey Richards and KENTA have a great, hard hitting match. This is easily Davey’s best match in ROH up to this point, and really made everyone think “Wow, this guy is the future of ROH. Hell, the future may be now!” He wasn’t quite there yet, but he was close. There is also the best Ultimate Endurance up to that point, although that isn’t saying much. The Four Corner Survival is also fun, but the real story of the undercard is this: I loved the Shane Hagadorn/Bobby Dempsey match. Sure it is 3 seconds long, but I thought it was a great idea.
Cons: Adam Pearce and Steve Corino vs Homicide and BJ Whitmer just didn’t work. Like much of the Corino vs Homicide 06 feud, it felt plodding, and like we were in a holding motion. In a way we were, since Homicide needed to kill time until he won the belt at Final Battle, but, this wasn’t the way to really kick off a Corino/Homicide re-feud. Colt Cabana and Sal Rinauro also had a match, and while I usually like Cabana openers, this wasn’t so good. Cabana vs the Embassy in 2006 was a really lackluster feud, and it just lacked what Cabana matches usually have… FUN!
7. Unified (A-)
ROH’s debut in England. Well, the first official ROH show in England. Obviously ROH had a joint show in 2003 at “Frontiers of Honor” but this is the first full ROH show with a mostly full ROH roster outside the US. It also features the Unification of the ROH World and Pure titles, if you couldn’t tell from the title.
Pros: The main event between Nigel McGuinness and Bryan Danielson is an amazing match. August and September were pretty amazing for Danielson in general, but this is one of three matches that were in the argument for Match of the Year 2006. From the brutal headbutts, to the athmosphere in Liverpool, to the tremendous finishing sequence, this match is amazing. It also elevated Nigel to the main event, a spot that was solidified when he faced Marufuji a month later.
Aries and Strong wrap their rivalry with the Briscoes up as well, in a match that is another Match of the Year contender. This is an absolutely action packed, excellent match that features one really epic near fall. It is just so perfectly done, you’ll know it when you see it.
Also on this show is Jimmy Rave and Davey Richards finishing up their mini rivalry. I said before that Gabe booked some odd rivalries in 2006, and this is one. Davey wins two matches to set up a third. The third match is the best, but why exactly did it happen? Team NOAH vs Team Britain rounds out the good stuff, but in the end it was pointless because the tag title shot it was for never happened due to an injury to Aries.
Cons: The undercard isn’t bad. The four Corner Survival, Whitmer/Claudio and Cabana/Hero are all average. But, in ROH’s debut in the UK, they feel worse than they are in reality. Leftovers from the ROH/CZW feud aren’t as appetizing on this stage, I suppose. But, in the end there isn’t a match on this show that is worse than “meh” which is in the end, pretty darn good.
8. Supercard of Honor (A-)
The second stop in the epic Triple Shot Weekend before Wrestlemania 22. An incredibly long show, but it was one with two Match of the Year candidates, one of which being incredibly long! This is currently the last event which required two discs upon DVD release.
Pros: The first Dragon Gate six man in Ring of Honor was rated Five Stars by Dave Meltzer and got a ton of buzz. At around half an hour long, it is an incredible sprint with a finishing sequence that seems to go on forever, in a good way. There really isn’t much to say. Guys fly around, hit tons of big moves, kick out of them, and you’ll enjoy it. My personal favorite match on this show is Roderick Strong challenging Bryan Danielson a third time for the ROH title. This match goes 56 minutes, and is just as epic as the Dragon Gate insanity earlier. The crowd isn’t as into it because by the time it started it was after midnight, but, I just love this match. Especially how Roderick changes his game after Danielson gets him to chop the pole.
Those two matches stand out, but this is not a two match show. AJ Styles and Matt Sydal vs Austin Aries and Jack Evans is a great tag match. The visual of Evans taking the Styles Clash on the floor is awesome, and a friend who went to the show live and hated how long it was even had to admit “the break dancer getting killed on the floor was awesome.” There is also a three way between Joe, Daniels and Jacobs that is decent. No where near the level of what the three men did the night before, but it is a good little match. Finally, you also have a Six Woman Mayhem which is a spot fest, but a fun one. Plus it is a spot fest of lots of weird submission holds, which is always a nice change of pace!
Cons: Now, there are 5 good matches, 2 of which are awesome. Why isn’t this show higher on the list? There are 10 matches on this show. Why? I have NO IDEA. There is a 4 way involving Flash Flanagan and Shane Hagadorn. Collyer vs Steel in a First Blood match had been built up for 8 months, but it gets relatively little time and suffers for it. Or maybe it doesn’t, because first blood matches are rarely good. But why did this match that had been built up for so long not get more of a chance? The ROH/CZW war continues on with a fairly uninteresting brawl, and after 3 months the ROH and CZW guys just brawling in shows with no match had kind of run its course. Especially after the dozens of guys brawling at Arena Warfare! How is this supposed to follow that? Then you have Homicide crushing Mitch Franklin and then leaving Cabana laying again, denying the crowd a match they had been promised in Cabana vs Homicide for a worked injury to add heat to a feud that had seen Homicide try to maim and kill Colt Cabana. A worked injury is pointless at this point, so don’t waste time on a show this long!
9. Death Before Dishonor IV (B+)
It is hard to get bigger than DBD IV. 1400 people crammed into the PA National Guard Armory for the blow off of 2006’s biggest indy feud, ROH vs CZW. While it wouldn’t be the last match in the war, it was the biggest.
Pros: Obviously, the Cage of Death match. It is brutal, but not disgusting on the level of many indy death matches. It is long, but doesn’t feel like it drags. While I felt the Danielson turn was quite obvious, it is well executed and gets the crowd riled up and rowdy for Homicide’s eventual entrance. There are some absolutely crazy spots, and Ace Steel being awesome with a cow bell. It’s also followed up by what felt like a real shocker, a big angle between Jim Cornette and Homicide that set up Homicide’s second half of 2006. Unlike many of the events above, nothing else comes close to the best match on this show. Nigel vs Strong is really good, and one of Nigel’s… STRONGER defenses. It also features one of the better count out finishes you’ll see. Dutt vs Danielson is hilarious, but one of Danielson’s weaker defenses. (It is still a good match however.) Danielson also gets some wonderful mic work on this show. Finally, Briscoes vs Irish Airborne is fine, but IA never really became what ROH seemed to hope they could be. It is cool to see them out do the Briscoes in the air, leaving the Briscoes somewhat confused how to go about taking these young bucks down.
I have no idea where to put AJ Styles vs Davey Richards. This is a weird, disjointed match. Both seem to be on opposite pages, and following a bump on the outside, AJ seems legitimately pissed off at Davey Richards. But, the match is still enjoyable to watch, though it may not be technically brilliant. Easily AJ’s weakest ROH match of 2006, though.
Cons: After a star making match at 100th, Delirious is put in the opener. The match isn’t bad for an opener, but it just seemed like a waste. Seth Delay is fine, but the match wasn’t a squash, wasn’t highly competitive, and didn’t really seem to serve a purpose. Cabana and Lethal vs The Embassy is also pointless feeling. Sal Rinauro is introduced as the newest member of the Embassy, and realistically he is just the new foot stool of the Embassy. Why this was built up as a big deal, I have no idea. The match is fairly bland, so it doesn’t really add anything onto a disappointing introduction.
10. Best in the World (B+)
This show is pretty controversial. Before the DVD release Gabe Sapolsky called the rough footage better than Manhattan Mayhem. Because of the hype, there was a bit of a backlash against the show, which I feel is unwarranted.
Pros: The two tag matches on top of this show are excellent. The main event dream tag match is excellent and to me is a great showcase of Marufuji who is the glue who holds the match together. KENTA and Joe provide the drama and anticipation, but Marufuji (and Danielson too) provide the wrestling. The Briscoes vs Strong and Evans is also a great tag match, despite the slightly botched finish. (When asked about it Jack Evans had a great line for the fans about breaking a Briscoe’s face.) It was the first sign that the Briscoes were really back, and that they had some new tricks up their sleeve. It was also another sign that Roddy ‘s chops are disgusting as he cut up Mark’s chest until it was red and bleeding.
Another thing I liked about this show was the booking of Daniels vs Shelley which the newswires promoted would be Shelley’s first title defense if he won the belt. You knew he wasn’t going to, but, it was a nice try. It is also a really good match, showcasing Shelley’s mat wrestling ability. I love the MCMGs and all, but Shelley doesn’t get a chance to get away from high spots and big moves often enough. The guy can flat out wrestle.
Elsewhere on the show, Bruce Leroy debuted in ROH. If you haven’t seen The Last Dragon, go see it. After a decent Yang/Rave match he came out and made every B Movie/ROH fan’s dreams come true. SHIMMER provided a good little 4 Corner Survival and Nigel bested Claudio in their feud to retain the Pure title in the best match in that series.
Cons: Very few really. I don’t like the CZW involvement in this show, because it really just petered out. Necro and Hero squashing Blade and Mikaze, fine. But the Pearce brawl was just weird considering Pearce had not really been established to the New York fans as a champion of the ROH cause, or really as a part of the ROH roster in general. So having him brawl with Necro just sort of… existed. After Arena Warfare and 4th Anniversary, this just didn’t have the pop those two spectacles had. Aries vs Reyes was fine before the DQ, I’m not really sure what the point of this match was, since Aries beat Reyes already, and Homicide was about to turn face in a few weeks and challenge for the tag titles with Reyes… so why was Reyes losing here? Granted he shouldn’t be beating Aries either, but, I don’t know. It was just weird.
11. 4th Anniversary (B+)
It is tough to place Milestone Series shows outside of the top 10 since all of them have great matches and some historic moments, but 4th Anniversary, the 100th Show and Arena Warfare just miss the cut. But, they are still well worth checking out.
Pros: Jimmy Rave announces I AM A REALLY GOOD WRESTLER. He had a really good cage match with Punk, but it involved a lot of wacky Embassy involvement. His blow off with Styles didn’t really reach the level one would expect, and against Generation Next he never really had to carry the load himself. But against Bryan Danielson, he looks great. And sure, anyone can have a good match with Danielson, but this is an easy ****+ match, which isn’t something everyone could have with him. AJ Styles and Matt Sydal get a title shot right after announcing they were becoming a full time team (although they had teamed once before in 2005) and tear down the house in the main event. All four guys are on fire, and this is action packed ROH tag wrestling at its best. We’ve seen better psychology since, but in terms of action and building up some great near falls this was unparalleled in ROH up to this point in the tag division.
But there are other important things on this show. Namely, the first full scale invasion by CZW. Hero and Necro had been around before, but this marked the first time hordes of CZW wrestlers took over the ring and a huge brawl broke out. Hell, it almost felt like a riot. Hell Freezes Over was a good starting point, but this is where it began to feel like a war.
The Briscoes also made their return to ROH, dominating a quick, fun three way tag match. Jay Lethal also made his exist from ROH (for a few months) losing to Samoa Joe to quickly blow off their feud. The match is good, but it definitely showed that Gabe was pissed at Lethal following up his departure at Unscripted II. Finally, the Homicide/Cabana feud really hit its stride with a BRUTAL “Ghetto match.” At the time I didn’t like Cabana losing three times in one match, but it really put heat on Homicide and provided some great visuals of Cabana being gutsy. Now, why they needed to repeat this twice during the Triple shot, I don’t know. There’s no need for a guy to be beaten down five times in a row. That just makes him look like a joke.
Cons: The Four Corner Survival is utterly forgettable. How forgettable? The most memorable thing about it is Jay Fury eliciting “D-LO” chants from the crowd. And I didn’t remember that at first. Jack Evans vs Ricky Reyes also isn’t much of a match since Evans had apparently had his flight delayed and got to the building very late. And Reyes forgets to catch Jack and Jack nearly dies. Incredibly scary.
12. Weekend of Champions Night 2 (B)
Here’s a gimmick that probably can’t return, doing a double shot promoted on the fact that all of the titles would be defended both nights. It just isn’t as impressive to do with two titles.
Pros: Nigel McGuinness and Bryan Danielson began their epic series of matches, under Pure Rules. This of course made it so the titles did not have to change hands, because after a fantastic match, Bryan Danielson got a bit hubristic and over stepped his bounds with a huge dive to the outside, and we got the finish we did, and set up the amazing rematches. The funny thing about doing a finish like that is when you actually want to unify the titles, the fans don’t believe you actually will, and assume there will be a loophole. So before Unified, Gabe had to answer a bunch of questions about “What happens if there is a double knock out?” “The match will be restarted. No draws.” “What if there’s a double pin?” “Match restarted.” to convince everyone THE TITLES WILL BE UNIFIED.
Beyond that, a match that had been much anticipated happened in the main event. When you look back, it seems weird that Nigel vs Dragon wasn’t the main event, but it probably wasn’t even the biggest match on the card in the fans eyes. ROH fans had been waiting for Shelley and Rave to challenge for the ROH tag titles for ages. Many people thought there’d be a title change. They couldn’t match up to the Title vs Title match, but it was still a great match. It was a giant shame Shelley vanished after this, because he and Rave had great chemistry.
This event also saw the end of the BJ Whitmer vs Super Dragon mini feud. I have mixed feelings on this match. As a match, it isn’t great. But given the limitations the match has on it because of the storyline involving Whitmer’s neck, it works really well. So it is a thumbs up, but don’t expect an epic match in the ROH vs CZW war. Daniels and Sydal have their second match, and like the other three matches in the series it is really good.
13. Tag Wars 2006(B)
After a terrible debut, the Trios Tournament returned in 2006. This time the field was cut to four teams, and it was a huge improvement. But, on top of the trios action, Bryan Danielson and Jay Lethal joined forces to challenge for the tag titles.
Pros: Bryan Danielson and Jay Lethal vs Austin Aries and Roderick Strong is great. Unlike most of Gen Next’s defenses, this match has a more old school feel. It’d almost have to given there are sequences centered around the airplane spin, but the entire match just feels smarter worked and planned out than most of the action packed matches Aries and Strong had as champs. Danielson and Lethal are great heels, and it is amazing how Danielson was able to switch between face and heel during the CZW war.
On top of that, you get three super fun Trios matches. Especially the two matches the Embassy are involved in. There are just piles of antics here, and it becomes so clear that Abyss would have been great in ROH if he had stuck around. His interactions with Shelley are off the charts awesome, especially when he teases a dive. On top of this there is also a really good Low Ki vs Christopher Daniels match, and a continuation of the CZW invasion. This is just a really good show.
Cons: The only thing on the show I didn’t really enjoy is Nigel vs Delirious. Nigel hadn’t yet worked the kinks out of his style yet, and his matches were slower and honestly, dull. It wouldn’t be until February that he’d have a really good defense, and an ROH videos match against Delirious was not a way to get him out of what was to that point an average Pure title reign.
14. Anarchy in the UK (B-)
15. Chicago Spectacular Night 2 (B-)
16. 100th Show (B-)
17. Honor Reclaims Boston (B-)
18. Arena Warfare(B-)
19. Glory By Honor V Night 1 (B-)
20. In Your Face (B-)
21. Hell Freezes Over (B-)
22. Destiny (B-)
23. Dissension (C+)
24. Irresistible Forces (C+)
25. Chitown Struggle (C+)
26. War of the Wire II (C+)
27. Generation Now (C+)
28. International Challenge (C+)
29. Throwdown (C)
30. Unscripted II (C)
31. Epic Encounter II (C)
32. Survival of the Fittest 2006 (C)
33. Gut Check (C)
34. Motor City Madness (C-)
35. Weekend of Champions Night 1 (C-)
36. Dethroned (C-)
37. Time to Man Up (C-)
38. How We Roll (D+)
39. Chicago Spectacular Night 1 (D+)
40. Black Friday Fallout (D)
41. The Bitter End (D-)
42. Suffocation (F)
