RING OF HONOR ROH vs. S.C.U.M (FSM 104; March 2014)

information: – DVD Region: Region Free • Distributor: Ring of Honor • Price: $24.99 • Other info: 557 minutes • Release: Out now • Weblink: www.ROHWrestling.com

Suffering. Chaos. Ugliness. Mayhem. Those four words summed up what Ring of Honor went through in 2012 and 2013, as Kevin Steen, Steve Corino and Jimmy Jacobs ran amok, before the likes of Matt Hardy and Rhino joined their heel faction. In this three-disc set, almost every point in the ROH versus S.C.U.M battle is included, as the latter sets out to kill the decade old company.

Disc One begins with Corino joining forces with Steen and Jacobs at Border Wars 2012 – the start of Steen’s ROH World title reign. From there, the story segues to Steen’s many confrontations with Jim Cornette, and while Steen is portrayed as a plague to ROH, many fans are not happy over what they consider to be Cornette’s influence on the product, and as a result, Steen is favoured as an anti-hero. However, following a fine brawl with Davey Richards at Best In The World 2012, Steen turns on his supporters, declaring them hypocrites for celebrating when he was forced to leave the company, only to cheer him upon his return. Later in the disc, the events at Killer Instinct between Steen and Jay Lethal that lead to Cornette’s departure from the company are shown, resulting in a change in Steen’s attitude towards ROH.

Other highlights include Steen’s first title defence against Eddie Edwards, which is an entertaining contest somewhat overshadowed by bickering between Cornette and Corino on commentary; a fun trios contest pitting S.C.U.M against Lethal and The All Night Express; a wild Steel City Streetfight between Corino and Jay Briscoe that involves many weapons and Corino taking a nasty suplex; clips from Steen’s Ladder War with El Generico at Final Battle 2012; and Steen’s re-match with Lethal from the 11th Anniversary Show.

The second disc begins with the destruction caused by S.C.U.M in the build-up to Supercard Of Honor VII, with every match between S.C.U.M members and the ROH roster included. Following the events of his title match against Jay Briscoe, Steen quits S.C.U.M, and Corino turns the group against him, putting his weight behind Hardy as the man to take the ROH title, and kill the company. From there, much of the disc sees Steen battle S.C.U.M, including replacing the injured Lethal in a tag team match with Michael Elgin against Jacobs and Cliff Compton at Border Wars 2013, and then making a challenge to face each S.C.U.M member in singles matches, in order to get to Hardy. An excellent TV match pitting Steen against Adam Cole is also included, and the end of the disc showcases two wild battles involving Steen: against Rhett Titus at Dragon’s Reign, and then in a No Disqualification war with Jacobs at Relentless.

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN
Disc Three builds to the showdown between S.C.U.M and ROH, including Elgin and BJ Whitmer’s fight with Jacobs and Titus at Honor In The Heart Of Texas, and all the matches from Live And Let Die in Columbus, including a fun Empty Arena affair between Steen and Compton. The Steen versus Hardy rivalry heats up, leading to their interference-filled match at Best In The World 2013. Hardy then challenges Jay Briscoe for the ROH title, resulting in a massacre of The Briscoes that ends in Jay being stripped of the belt. The set concludes with the chaotic Steel Cage Warfare match that puts a cap on the feud, with S.C.U.M resorting to such tricks as powder, zip-ties, lighter fluid and fireballs in a bid to end Ring of Honor once and for all.

Overall, ROH vs. S.C.U.M is a little unevenly distributed, with the original group’s run covered on Disc One, and everything else taking up the other two. Although it’s rarely bad to have more content included, the set would have benefited from one less disc, thus less filler in the post-Steen run. There is no narration nor fresh interviews to support the footage, but the story arc is presented well throughout, and some excellent TV matches are included. That said, despite key players such as The Briscoes, Elgin and Lethal, it does comes off as another Kevin Steen collection, and while better matches from the same period are on his Hell Rising set, this is a fine complement.

Though the 2006 CZW angle is a superior example of outsiders battling ROH, and the S.C.U.M storyline was rushed to its end, ROH vs. S.C.U.M is a decent compilation of a key period in ROH history, and a useful set for fans of the newer product.