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Ring of Honor returned to the Manhattan Center in New York City for Final Battle 2006 featuring the following results:
*The Briscoes hit the ring to lay out Santa Claus and his elves (ROH students) who were giving out presents and demanded a rematch with the Kings of Wrestling. Crowd loved the segment.
*Jimmy Rave defeated Christopher Daniels (with Alison Danger, who was dressed as a naughty girl scout. Danger has toned up her body a great deal, dropping 20 lbs. in the process and is really coming into her own from a charisma standpoint), Davey Richards and El Generico in a Four Corners bout. Rave, who had spent some time hiding on the floor, grabbed Generico from behind in a halfcrab/anklelock submission after Generico was about to pin Richards. Solid match. Nigel McGuiness came out and went after Rave after the match.
*Adam Pearce and Shane Hagadorn came out and promised that in honor of Jim Cornette they would keep Homicide from winning the ROH title tonight. Ricky Reyes and Julius Smokes came out and Smokes said Reyes would take out Pearce now. Pearce nailed Reyes with a foreign object to score the pin. Crowd was all over Pearce, chanting "Repo Man" at him. Crowd didn't like the finish but it was an old school throwback "heel screwing the babyface" ending and accomplished it's goal, which was establishing Pearce as a threat to the title challenge.
*Brent Albright and Jimmy Jacobs defeated BJ Whitmer & Colt Cabana. The finish saw Albright (who really stands out in ROH, he's much larger in person then he appeared on WWE TV) powerbomb Whitmer out of the ring through a table on the floor. Daizee Haze did an awesome job crying and selling it like Whitmer was dead. Albright destroyed Cabana with a series of suplexes and Jacobs got the pin. Whitmer sold the table spot for a long time before being helped out, getting a "Thank you" chant on the way out.
*In the best match of the night (in my opinion), The Briscoes defeated Claudio Castagnoli & Chris Hero (with new "agent" Larry Sweeney). This was off the charts awesome with lots of insane moves that I won't even begin to describe. Castagnoli said after the match that he had a big long speech planned but it looked like he would be staying longer and the team would conquer again in 2007. Sweeney said that plans had been made already and Castagnoli wasn't in them. Castagnoli didn't believe Hero would pick someone over him, but Hero shook his hand, then left with Sweeney. Sweeney came off good on the mic doing the role of a sleazy huckster agent.
Claudio seemed at a loss for words when Samoa Joe came out and told him to leave the ring. Joe welcomed all the NYC fans to ROH. Some fan yelled Umaga sucks, so Joe put him over as a hardworking Samoan brother. Joe then said that he was issuing an open challenge for NOAH to send someone to face him when they returned on 2/19/07. He teased a few names, including Mitsuharu Misawa. No mention of Kenta Kobashi. Nigel McGuiness (who works for NOAH) came out and said he'd relay the challenge to the office, but if they didn't send anyone, he would take it. Jimmy Rave attacked Nigel from behind but Joe slapped him. Joe then said that if they had a problem, they should fight later in the show.
*After intermission, Rave defeated McGuiness, forcing him to tap out with the finisher and issued a World title challenge for the February show.
*In a Dragon's Gate Rules bout, CIMA & Shingo Takagi & ROH Tag Team champion Matt Sydal defeated Austin Aries & Roderick Strong & Delirious in a good match that saw tons of unique moves and near falls. The last five minutes was off the charts. CIMA promised to return in 2007 and signed autographs after the show for fans.
*Homicide defeated Bryan Danielson to win the ROH title with a lariat. It was a chess match early with lots of mat wrestling and counters. Adam Pearce and Shane Hagadorn attacked Homicide at one point and the referee rang for the bell. Monsta Mack and Grimm Reefer hit ringside from the crowd and brawled backstage with Pearce and Hagadorn. The referee said he wasn't allowing a DQ and re-started the match. Danielson tried to force a DQ by refusing to let go of a submission while Homicide was in the ropes but the referee again refused. They started really pouring it on with dives into the crowd before going into a ton of near falls. The place went insane when Homicide won. Homicide and a number of ROH babyfaces celebrated in the crowd afterwards. Danielson presented Homicide with the belt and Homicide made a brief speech putting over Brooklyn, the fans, and his friends for their support. It was a nice moment to see. The match told a good story and it really was all about the company's go to guy and MVP finally getting his moment in the sun. This was as much as celebration of appreciation for his work in the company as it was a title win.
Notes: The show was once again a turnaway sellout....ROH will return on 2/19/07 and announced they would run the venue more often in 2007....Ringside prices for the next show were raised to $60...CM Punk, WWE Diva Maria, Low Ki, and the Maximos were visiting backstage.
Thoughts: It was impossible for ROH to top their NYC debut (that was as perfect a show as anyone has ever produced and ROH didn't have the NOAH talent tonight) and they didn't from a match standpoint when comparing the two events. Still, it was a solid show with several matches of interest that will stand out on DVD, especially the Briscoes vs. Kings of Wrestling and the top two matches. The crowd seemed really happy with the show and got what they paid to see, their hometown boy Homicide make good. That was a sight to see....No, I'm not making up Jimmy Rave challenging for the ROH title. Rave actually issued a challenge for the February. I don't know that I buy Rave in that position. He's grown as a heel and shows charisma in the role, but it seems forced. I guess time will tell because Gabe Sapolsky has re-invented him before into new roles.
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