Double Feature DOS!

Two shows for the price of one (sort of) as Ring Of Honor presents “Double Feature II” (4/17/09 and 4/18/09).

First up we have “The Hunt Begins” from Montreal, Quebec:

-Tyler Black and Jimmy Jacobs should hate each other. HATE. In fact, Black spends an entire interview segment before the match talking about essentially maiming Jacobs first chance he gets tonight. So why is it that when these two meet in the ring, their disdain seems to be gladly put aside in the name of a fair and proper pro wrestling contest? It feels unnatural and frankly comes off as disappointing. The first half of the match feels slow; it is as if neither man is in any particular rush to finish the other off. The second part picks up quite a bit. There is some really good work from both guys, but again, no passion or desire to destroy one another like there really should have been. I was generally let down by how vanilla this contest ended up being.

-Austin Aries singling out Kenny Omega and telling him to prove his worth during their four-way against Roderick Strong and Jay Briscoe is a truly great booking move. It draws attention early on to Omega, who is fairly new in the ROH ring, and who could be a huge star for the company if given the shot. The match essentially comes down to four great workers busting out some fun things to entertain the crowd, which is fine in my book. Lots of entertaining stuff, especially the moments shared between Strong and Briscoe.

-Can’t say a lot about Claudio Castagnoli and Jimmy Rave vs. Colt Cabana and Brent Albright. It is a perfectly acceptable match and keeps you fairly amused while it is on, but then it is also the kind of match you could go make a sandwich during and really not miss a thing. Not bad, just not essential.

-Main event time as Kevin Steen, El Generico, and Bryan Danielson take on The American Wolves and Sylvain Grenier. Actually a pretty enjoyable match! Can’t say that was expected, especially with Grenier involved. Everybody works really hard and puts on a good showing. Again, it is nothing must see or can’t miss, but it is interesting enough if you do check it out.

Now onto “Tag Title Classic” from Markham, Ontario:

-Colt Cabana has been really enjoyable in his post-WWE indie scene run so far. He isn’t lighting the world ablaze with five-star matches or anything, but he’s been showing some really solid in-ring prowess. Cabana and Claudio Castagnoli mix really well together here and do quite a bit of interesting chain wrestling that wasn’t expected of either man. Good match.

-In some ways, the Austin Aries, Rhett Titus, and Kenny King vs. Kevin Steen, Kenny Omega, and Player “Generico” Dos six-man is even better than the tag main event from the night before. Okay, maybe not better, but more entertaining? I don’t know, I just liked it! It is especially nice seeing Dos stand out among these competitors. Again another up and coming star that deserves some special attention paid to him by the audience.

-Definitely found the Jimmy Jacobs vs. Delirious Markham Street Fight to be better than Jacobs vs. Black from the first half of this DVD. A bloody brawl is exactly what these two should be having, and they do a pretty good job of it.

-Unfortunately, Roderick Strong vs. Jay Briscoe did nothing for me here. On paper, the rematch from their awesome encounter at Stylin’ & Profilin’ earlier in 2009 sounded quite exciting, but in execution – not so much. Can’t really say what it is that didn’t work here, but there a big disconnect for me from the bout. Not bad, just not as captivating as I was hoping for.

-Not quite a “tag title classic,” but The American Wolves vs. Bryan Danielson and Tyler Black is a pretty good match. The name of the show could be something of a spoiler, but let’s avoid that and simply say that the opening of the bout drags a bit, which starts things off on the wrong foot. Eventually though the action gets way more involved and things become quite enjoyable, even if the finish can be seen coming from a mile away, especially if you know your ROH history. In some ways, that may do the match a disservice, as being able to guess what the conclusion of the contest will be takes away a large part of the drama; however, overall the action gets quite good and ends the night on a strong note.