ROH Glory by Honor VIII: The Final Countdown Review

From December 27, 2009.

For years, Bryan Danielson & Nigel McGuinness have put on amazing professional wrestling matches for Ring of Honor and in September of 2009, the two men decided to leave Ring of Honor for bigger things.
Match 1: Colt Cabana vs. Rhett Titus
The opening match of the night was Colt Cabana taking on Rhett Titus in what I consider to be a fun match. This match was pretty much exactly what you would expect it to be, a comedy match. The two managed to pull out a great match that gave me a good laugh here and there. The finish came when Cabana made Titus submit to win the opening match.
Winner: Colt Cabana
Rating: **1/4

Match 2: Dark City Fight Club vs. Cheech & Cloudy
Following the comedy match was the tag match between two lesser known tag teams. Although both teams were not widely known, the crowd seemed to really dig them and they really enjoyed the in ring action. It was pretty evident that Cheech & Cloudy were not going to be the winners but you would not know this by just watching this match. The two teams went back and fourth for a good 7 or so minutes until Dark City Fight Club got the pin for the win.
Winners: Dark City Fight Club
Rating: **1/2

Match 3: Claudio Castagnoli vs. Kenny Omega
One of my favorite indy wrestlers today is Claudio Castagnoli, he has the look, the charisma, & the wrestling ability to back it all up. However, Omega can be descrbied as the same and when you put both men together in a ring, you get one hell of a match. Sadly, the match was not given enough time for it to completely develop and it turned out to beh the match's downfall. Although the two men jampacked the time that they were given, it just failed to reach my expectations.
Winner: Claudio Castagnoli
Rating: ***

Match 4: Roderick Strong vs. Delirious vs. Sonjay Dutt vs. Grizzly Redwood
On paper, this match looks to be a total filler but that is far from the truth. All four men delivered their parts beatifully, and that includes Grizzly Redwood. Roderick Strong rightfully got the win here which I feel is highly important. Roderick has seemingly been lost in the game several times and it is time for him to rebound back to the top and this victory helps plenty. As for the match, it was a non stop action match but once again, time restraints got in it's way and it turned out to be a pretty big disappointment.
Winner: Roderick Strong
Rating: ***1/4

Match 5: Ladder War II - ROH World Tag Team Championships - The American Wolves (c) vs. Kevin Steen & El Generico
How do you end a hot blooded feud between two tag teams? You put them in Ladder War for the ROH World Tag Team Championships. After the very first Ladder War at Man Up 2007, the chances of another one happening were slim to none. However, the feud between these two tag teams turned personal and there, they decided to lay it all on the line in Ladder War II. The match began with some heated words being exchanged and lots of brawling outside and inside the ring. They then slammed each other into both ladders and tables and there, the chase for the belts was on. El Generico landed a huge Sunset Flip into a Powerbomb through a table off a ladder to Davey Richards and tried to do the same to Eddie Edwards but was unsuccessful. After, Kevin Steen climbed a taller ladder to grab the belts but failed as well when he was thrown through both a ladder and a table. After, The American Wolves grabbed the belts to retain their titles.
Winners: The American Wolves
Rating: ****1/2

Match 6: Chris Hero vs. Eddie Kingston
From one boiling feud to another as Chris Hero tries to take out Eddie Kingston in a grudge match. This match was a huge fight with a lot of the action taking place outside of the ring. The two showed a lot of intensity and rightfully so as this feud is easily one of the year's most intense ones. Kingston tried to take out Hero with an elbow shot to Hero but Hero pulled the trigger first as he landed a devastating Deathblow to Hero which gave Hero the victory.
Winner: Chris Hero
Rating: ***1/2

Match 7: ROH World Championship - Austin Aries (c) vs. Petey Williams
After having much success in the Lucky Lottery which was featured on ROH on HDNet, it was only fitting to have another one at Glory by Honor VIII. Aries pulled Bret Hart's name out of the hat but was interrupted by Canada's Petey Williams. Williams has been called a "one trick pony" by many and to be quite honest, there is some truth behind that. However, Williams did show a lot more in this match with an impressive array of moves. Williams also landed the Canadian Destroyer twice, including one off the top rope. Williams was unsuccessful in winning the ROH World Championship as Aries got the pin fall for the victory.
Winner: Austin Aries
Rating: ***1/2

Match 8: The Young Bucks vs. The Briscoes
In a match that some are calling a "dream match," The Young Bucks took on The Briscoes in a very satisfying tag match. The Young Bucks can somewhat be seen as the present day Hardy Boys while The Briscoes are seen as a hard hitting tag team with an innovative style. The match was full of some amazing spots including The Briscoes hip tossing one of The Young Bucks out of the ring onto their partner. The Young Bucks prevailed in the end to get the upset victory over the former ROH World Tag Team Champions.
Winners: The Young Bucks
Rating: ***3/4

Match 9: Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness
The main event match was the match everyone was awaiting, Bryan Danielson vs. Nigel McGuinness in their final ROH match. After the amazing ring entrances, the match was under way. To no one's surprise, the match began with a technical style as both Danielson & McGuinness put each other in all sorts of submission moves. Eventually, the two kicked it up a notch as they then began to brawl outside of the ring which lead to McGuinness landing a huge Tower of London outside of the ring. Danielson refused to give up as he climbed back into the ring only to be taken out once again by McGuiness and the Jawbreaker Lariat. Again, Danielson refused to back down as he went right back to McGuinness and landed several headbutts to which he finally ended the match when the referee stopped it when he landed some hard hitting elbows to Nigel's head.
Winner: Bryan Danielson
Rating: ****3/4

Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
The Final Countdown concluded on a high note as every match on the card delivered. The card had a nice mixture of comedy matches, brawling matches, highflying matches, technical matches, and hardcore matches. Glory by Honor VIII is a historic show and is a show that every Ring of Honor fan should watch.
Rating: 9.5/10