I'm still trying to get through my pile of DVDs. A big blind spot is Ring of Honor starting with the HDNet era stuff. I'm going to start with 2009 and I'm going in with the DVDs that I got: Best of ROH on HDNet vol. 2, American Wolf: Davey Richards comp and Best of the American Wolves that was a bonus DVD compilation with Champions vs All-Stars 2011 (pretty obscure place to put a Best of Comp). I think I have 3-4 matches from YouTube. I'm not going to find more...there's way too much material to shift through that YouTube channels post..I'm kinda burnt out on hunting on YouTube. So if you're interested in finding more, by all means - go for it! I'll post links to ROH's YouTube where available. Overall, I think I've got a got sample of 2009 especially the top stuff along with middle of the road stuff to pad things so I get the vibe.

KENTA & El Generico vs Nigel McGuinness & Davey Richards (Steel City Clash 2009): Ohhh shit! This was badass! Sure you get the awesome fast paced action and it's a great match on that alone. But the added wrinkle of Nigel being hurt is what makes it a classic. Davey has to fight even fiercer, KENTA smells blood but Nigel, still the champ is hurt and in a way more deadly. This is a fantastic setup to he & KENTA's title fight the following night but it's a classic match in its own right. 

ROH has this up so, enjoy!

...and here's the Nigel vs KENTA match from the 7th Anniversary Show the next night. It's a classic but definitely different from what you'd expect due to Nigel's arm injuries:

Now let's get to ROH on HD net Vol. 2:

The first couple matches are actually bonuses not listed on the case - sweet!

Jerry Lynn vs Delirious (ep. 1) Fun match and a good showing from both guys. First match for ROH on HDNET. Jerry Lynn is an ageless wonder. I never understood why people had problems with him winning the title. He's been a staple of indie wrestling in the States, he's one of THE guys in ECW that inspired a generation to wrestle a certain style... and he proves here that he has the goods. Nice to see this after my ECW project.

Nigel McGuinness vs Jay Briscoe (ep.2) - Man this was really good stuff. Smart work a body part match. Nigel targets Jay's shoulder ALL match. Jay does a great job selling the damage but refraining from using it. Chops & elbows with the strong arm and kicks for his big moves. Yeah super enjoyable non-title bout for TV between two of the best ROH has ever seen.

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Davey Richards vs KENTA (Supercard of Honor IV 2009): Picking back up after Steel City Clash... Davey & KENTA have a score to settle. And holy cow, this is a match! Not a super long epic with a great internal story but damn do they push the limit with the action. And let's be honest, that's what you want with this kind of fight. Tons of great strikes, suplexes and high spots...I think the pace and building intensity is what makes this special. That all culminates with a awesome finish! That really pushes this over the top to a Classic match at around 18 minutes. Davey has officially levelled up in 2009 and KENTA in early 2009 is on a roll.

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KENTA & Tyler Black vs Austin Aries & Katsuhiko Nakajima (Take No Prisoners 2009): This is a late addition but since this is a puroresu centric blog, I gotta see this. And very glad that I did! It's one of those ones that got better as it went along. Having seen a bunch of wrestling, surprises are appreciated and I felt that's what made this a classic. Hayabusa era FMW tags are like this just when you think you have it figured out they hit you with something different and ratchet up the pace or intensity and end things beautifully. I think this did that. I had this as a near classic for the last 3/4 of the bout but the couple minutes and the finish made this a classic all action tag. What's different than was expected in terms of characters is that Aries is in his chicken shit heel era. So this isn't badass 2004-2008 GenNext Aries but you know what? It works because it makes this different and eases you into the match. Shit that's too serious at the start puts me off a match. Like, "oh I gotta be in the right place to enjoy this." This actually feels more American in style early and it's funny to see Aries squirm & get beat up. So, I definitely recommend it if you're interested. 

ROH has this up also:

This was an absolute great start! Enough variety to keep things interesting but still some classics to take note of. Thanks for reading!