[2005-05-13-ROH-The Final Showdown] Austin Aries vs. James Gibson

[Makai Club #1]

ROH World Title Match: Austin Aries (c) vs. James Gibson
I’m not a fan of the finish. It’s not inconceivable, but something about Aries collapsing into Gibson while in a Trailer Hitch, fluking his way to the win rubs me the wrong way. But still, these two are so good together. Gibson’s back is near enough fully healed so he’s more of a threat this time around so Aries attacks his arm to create that weakness himself and the match goes on from there. I thought Gibson’s selling was excellent as well. His defensive body language is something that really stood out to me. As soon as Aries trapped his arm in the barricade, he went into defense mode and I love that. Aries crafted some excellent counters out of Gibson's signature moves due to the weak arm in return. This was yet another awesome match between the two.  I’d put the Stalemate match ahead of this though. Just on a gut feeling. ****

[ohtani's jacket]

This was a good match, I thought. They matched up well size-wise and I didn't have to worry about whether Aries looked credible against his opponent. I'm not really sold on this angle of Aries trying to defend the belt everywhere and raise the profile of the title while still acting like a dick, but the match was good. I kind of wish his finish wasn't a 450 splash though as it has some convoluted set-ups.