Post by Goldash on Apr 19, 2008 7:57:59 GMT -5
I picked these DVD's up from a local FYE for 7.99 a piece...and it's probably the best 16 bucks I have ever spent.
For those of you who haven't watched Ring of Honor, it isn't pretty and is definitely NOT for the casual wrestling fan. This is modern professional wrestling at its finest. It's not pretty. The production values are a VERY small fraction of WWE's, and a lot of it comes off as amateurish at first, but when the wrestling starts, the production becomes second-fiddle. To those of you who have heard a lot about ROH but haven't watched an event of theirs, believe the hype. This is probably the best WRESTLING promotion out there right now...not necessarily the best in terms of entertainment, however. That's WWE's job, after all. ROH is all about wrestling. Forget about the embarrassing buyrate for their last few PPV's, ROH is the real deal in the ring, where it counts.
With that being said, these two compliation DVD's just may be some of the best examples of wrestling on the market. "Stars of Honor", on paper, has some dream matches, including two matches from Matt Hardy's short stint in the league. Matches like Christopher Daniels vs. Christian Cage, which is featured on this DVD, will never happen in TNA because of weight differences...but both men have a great match. Of course, the marquee match on this DVD is the first match of the DVD, the third match in the CM Punk/Samoa Joe title feud. It's as amazing as advertised, with amazing moves on each side that both men can not, for obvious reasons, use in their current promotions. It's a five-star contest that should be seen by every Samoa Joe and CM Punk fan, just to see how much potential they have.
I haven't got into the Bloodstained Honor DVD as much as the Stars of Honor DVD, but it has a great lineup as well, with some highly-publicized matches being included, such as the ROH vs. CZW "Cage of Death" match and the best (IMO) tag team match in any promotion in years between the Briscoes and Steen and Generico. Tag team wrestling is a dying breed, but ROH is doing a lot to keep it alive with teams like the Briscoes. I mean, if your main event of your first PPV is a tag team match in the state tag team wrestling's in, you have to deliver. And ROH definitely did. Some memorable names round out this disc, including Chris Hero and Necro Butcher.
If you're a wrestling fan, do your damndest to pick these discs up, because it will open your eyes. It will make you appreciate professional wrestling. If you're a casual fan who needs angles and video vignettes to accompany your matches, you may want to skip this DVD...but, if you're curious to see wrestling at its most primal, do your best to track these DVD's down. They're definitely worth it. You always hear me mention one of my favorite matches of all time...yes, that's right, Angle/Michaels WM21. Well, just imagine (nearly) an entire disc of that type of match. Yes, a lot of matches on these two disc (moreso on Stars of Honor) are worthy of that distinction.
So, in three short words, I sum up this review and my opinion of ROH: Believe the hype.
For those of you who haven't watched Ring of Honor, it isn't pretty and is definitely NOT for the casual wrestling fan. This is modern professional wrestling at its finest. It's not pretty. The production values are a VERY small fraction of WWE's, and a lot of it comes off as amateurish at first, but when the wrestling starts, the production becomes second-fiddle. To those of you who have heard a lot about ROH but haven't watched an event of theirs, believe the hype. This is probably the best WRESTLING promotion out there right now...not necessarily the best in terms of entertainment, however. That's WWE's job, after all. ROH is all about wrestling. Forget about the embarrassing buyrate for their last few PPV's, ROH is the real deal in the ring, where it counts.
With that being said, these two compliation DVD's just may be some of the best examples of wrestling on the market. "Stars of Honor", on paper, has some dream matches, including two matches from Matt Hardy's short stint in the league. Matches like Christopher Daniels vs. Christian Cage, which is featured on this DVD, will never happen in TNA because of weight differences...but both men have a great match. Of course, the marquee match on this DVD is the first match of the DVD, the third match in the CM Punk/Samoa Joe title feud. It's as amazing as advertised, with amazing moves on each side that both men can not, for obvious reasons, use in their current promotions. It's a five-star contest that should be seen by every Samoa Joe and CM Punk fan, just to see how much potential they have.
I haven't got into the Bloodstained Honor DVD as much as the Stars of Honor DVD, but it has a great lineup as well, with some highly-publicized matches being included, such as the ROH vs. CZW "Cage of Death" match and the best (IMO) tag team match in any promotion in years between the Briscoes and Steen and Generico. Tag team wrestling is a dying breed, but ROH is doing a lot to keep it alive with teams like the Briscoes. I mean, if your main event of your first PPV is a tag team match in the state tag team wrestling's in, you have to deliver. And ROH definitely did. Some memorable names round out this disc, including Chris Hero and Necro Butcher.
If you're a wrestling fan, do your damndest to pick these discs up, because it will open your eyes. It will make you appreciate professional wrestling. If you're a casual fan who needs angles and video vignettes to accompany your matches, you may want to skip this DVD...but, if you're curious to see wrestling at its most primal, do your best to track these DVD's down. They're definitely worth it. You always hear me mention one of my favorite matches of all time...yes, that's right, Angle/Michaels WM21. Well, just imagine (nearly) an entire disc of that type of match. Yes, a lot of matches on these two disc (moreso on Stars of Honor) are worthy of that distinction.
So, in three short words, I sum up this review and my opinion of ROH: Believe the hype.
