Ring Of Honor – May 23, 2024: It’s Like They’re Trying

Ring Of Honor
Date: May 23, 2024
Location: Rogers Place, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We are about two months away from Death Before Dishonor and that means we are still too far away to really start setting things up. I’m not sure what that is going to mean for a bit, though it would be nice to have something of an interesting program going on around here. Ring Of Honor is capable of pulling that off but just doesn’t for some reason. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

JD Drake is ready to fight on his own but Anthony Henry comes in to say the Workhorsemen are back.

Here’s what’s coming on the show.

Kyle Fletcher vs. London Lightning

Non-title Proving Ground match meaning if Lightning wins or survives the ten minute time limit, he gets a future title shot. Fletcher takes him down with a headlock to start but Lightning slips out and hits a running crossbody. They head outside with Fletcher hitting a brainbuster but Lightning beats the count back in. Lightning strikes away until Fletcher runs him over to cut it off. Fletcher snaps off three slams but Lightning fights up and hits an atomic drop.

A suplex drops Fletcher and a middle rope elbow gets two. Back up and Fletcher knocks him to the floor, setting up a suicide dive. Another brainbuster gets two back inside but Lightning fights up AGAIN and gets two off a hurricanrana. A spinebuster plants Fletcher and Lightning grabs a Sharpshooter. That’s escaped with a rollup so Fletcher hits a superkick into the piledriver for the pin at 9:09.

Rating: C. Ring Of Honor/AEW is mad at Fletcher right? He regularly loses on AEW TV and then has to escape a match like this one. It’s ok to let a champion act like a dominant force every so often, but for some reason that doesn’t seem to apply to Fletcher these days. And also: a brainbuster on the floor should not be something that just happens in the middle of the match. That should have been a countout or a pin, and no I do not care that it happens that way on a regular basis. It’s stupid when that is just another move and it was awful here.

Workhorsemen vs. Spanish Announce Project

Angelico and Drake start things off with Angelico failing to sweep the leg. Henry comes in to trade wrist control with Serpentico before an exchange of headscissors gives us a standoff (and a VERY intrigued crowd). Drake comes back in and dances a bit before hitting a hard chop to Serpentico in the corner.

Serpentico manages a tornado DDT and kicks Henry away, allowing the hot tag to Angelico. Everything breaks down and a dive takes out Drake, leaving Henry to get planted with a lifting Downward Spiral. Cue Griff Garrison and Cole Karter for a distraction, allowing the Workhorsemen to hit a Downward Spiral/enziguri combination to finish Serpentico at 7:44.

Rating: C. The Workhorsemen are back and that’s about all of the interest I can muster about them. They’re a fine team who aren’t going anywhere but will be around more weeks than not. At the same time we have the Project still dealing with Garrison and Karter because that feud must continue for months on end.

Post match Garrison and Kole jump the Project but Serpentico fights back and the villains are dispatched.

Matt Menard is ready for Mike Bennett, even if Angelo Parker isn’t here.

Nyla Rose vs. Riea Van Slasher

Van Slasher has some size to go with her awesome name. She stomps on Rose’s foot to start but gets run over with a hard shoulder. A neckbreaker and the Beast Bomb finish for Rose at 1:32.

Video on Marina Shafir

Satnam Singh vs. Jimmy Jacobs

Singh hits a crossbody for one and a chokeslam for the pin at 46 seconds.

Blake Christian is in the Best Of The Super Juniors.

Shane Taylor Promotions vs. Artemis Spencer/Jon Cruz

Spencer’s wristlock to Ogogo gets nowhere so it’s already off to Cruz. For some reason Cruz wants Taylor, who drops him with a single left hand. The big right hand and the Marcus Garvey Driver finish Cruz at 1:56.

Mike Bennett vs. Matt Menard

Matt Taven is here with Bennett. Menard, with his taped up ribs, wastes no time in backdropping his way out of a piledriver attempt. Bennett grabs a headlock takeover instead but they head outside where Menard hammers away. Menard sends him shoulder first into the steps, only to be whipped into them as well to put him in trouble. Back in and Bennett hits a nice dropkick and we hit the chinlock.

That’s broken up and they trade rollups until Bennett grabs a Kimura. Menard reaches the rope for the break and blocks the piledriver three more times. The third sees Bennett backdropped out to the floor, with Taven offering some advice. Back in and Menard hammers away before grabbing the Boston crab. Taven’s distraction breaks things up though and Bennett hits a Death Valley Driver. The referee gets distracted so Taven tries powder but hits Bennett by mistake. Menard cutters them both and pins Bennett at 10:35.

Rating: C+. This right here is what I’m wanting more from on this show: a match that felt like it actually mattered. Menard mentioned that a win here might put he and Angelo Parker that much closer to a Tag Team Title match, making it feel somewhat important. It’s an actual story that could go somewhere and that is very needed around here.

Post match the Kingdom jumps Menard and beats him down.

Athena and the Minions are ready for Queen Aminata and Red Velvet.

Griff Garrison/Cole Karter/Premiere Athletes vs. Lee Johnson/Top Flight/Action Andretti

Darius backslides Daivari for two to start but an armbar is driven into the evil corner. That doesn’t last long and it’s off to Andretti, who headscissors Nese into a dropkick. Andretti slips out of Karter’s suplex and hands it off to Johnson to clear the ring. Johnson gets caught in the wrong corner as well, with Daivari grabbing a backbreaker into a chinlock. That’s broken up in a hurry and Johnson wins a slugout, setting up an enziguri.

Nese breaks up the tag attempt but gets caught in a Blue Thunder Bomb, allowing the diving tag to Dante (wrestling in a shirt for some reason). Everything breaks down and the villains are sent outside, where they are taken down by four way stereo dives. Andretti tries a springboard back inside but gets knocked down, leaving Garrison to break up Dante’s Nose Dive. A chair is loaded up in the corner but cue Serpentico to take it away for a distraction. Dante’s spinning half nelson slam finishes Garrison at 11:27.

Rating: B-. And here’s your latest multi team match with a bunch of people flying around until one of them got the pin. They tied the ending into a feud, but unfortunately it’s a feud that stopped being interesting months ago but is still going week after week. It’s nice to see Top Flight and Andretti getting a pin, but I have long since stopped believing that they are going to mean anything after seeing them fail in big matches far too often.

Overall Rating: C-. The wrestling was ok enough, but at the same time, this show could not feel more worthless if they tried. Throughout this show, a total of two feuds feud got any significant development and one of them is the Spanish Announce Project vs. Garrison/Karter feud. This show keeps coming and going with almost nothing whatsoever that feels important.

Case in point: assuming the there isn’t a last minute title match on either Collision or at Double Or Nothing, none of the Ring Of Honor Title will have been defended in a month, with most of them closing in on two months. We get Proving Ground matches, which have had one successful win in the show’s history, but other than that it’s nothing more than talking about title matches that come around once every few months. That makes for an incredibly tedious show as you’ll spend months waiting around for anything that feels important.

I’ve gone on a similar rant to this several times now but it just keeps happening. What happened on this show? Fletcher won his third straight Proving Ground match over a very low level opponent, the tag feud continued, Rose, Singh and STP won squashes, Menard and Parker (who isn’t here) might be on their way to a title shot and the main event saw the second segment in the same tag feud (which has been going for five plus months now). That is pretty much nothing and that is pretty much what it feels like around here WAY too often. Fix this stupid show already.

Results
Kyle Fletcher b. London Lightning – Piledriver
Workhorsemen b. Spanish Announce Project – Downward Spiral/enziguri combination to Serpentico
Nyla Rose b. Riea Van Slasher – Beast Bomb
Satnam Singh b. Jimmy Jacobs – Chokeslam
Shane Taylor Promotions b. Artemis Spencer/Jon Cruz – Marcus Garvey Driver to Cruz
Matt Menard b. Mike Bennett – Cutter
Lee Johnson/Top Flight/Action Andretti b. Griff Garrison/Cole Karter/Premiere Athletes – Spinning half nelson slam to Garrison

 

 

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Ring Of Honor – September 28, 2023: Wanted: Missing Champions

Ring Of Honor
Date: September 28, 2023
Location: Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re back to the weekly show and there have been a lot of changes around here. In addition to Eddie Kingston winning the World Title last week, there are also new Six Man Tag Team Champions to go with the new Tag Team Champions, who won the belts a month ago and haven’t been on the show yet. Maybe that will change with the other new champions. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Josh Woods vs. Brayden Erving

Mark Sterling is here with Woods, who drives Erving into the corner to start and hammers away. Erving misses an enziguri and gets German suplexed. The Tilt-A-Woods (Anarchist suplex) finishes Erving at 1:15.

Prince Nana is excited about the Gates of Agony and Brian Cage in separate matches tonight because they’re ready to be awesome again.

Scorpio Sky vs. Tony Nese

Mark Sterling is here with Tony Nese, because we need him in the first two matches of the show. Nese does his usual group training deal before we’re ready to go. Sky cuts him off so Nese is right there to jump start the beating, only to get knocked to the floor. Back in and Nese bails to the floor again but gets tossed back inside this time. Sterling offers a distraction though and Nese manages a whip into the steps.

Nese ties him in the Tree of Woe for some crunches kicks to the ribs. The neck snap over the top rope and we’re off to a bodyscissors. A belly to back suplex gets Sky out of trouble and a clothesline drops Nese as well. Sky hits Sky High for two but Nese kicks him in the head for two more. Back up and Nese grabs a suplex, followed by the TKO for the pin at 9:08.

Rating: B-. I’m still not sure why Sky keeps falling lower and lower. While the injuries are a problem, seeing him facing Nese on Ring Of Honor isn’t the best sign for his career. There almost has to be a better use for him somewhere across AEW or ROH. He can clearly still go in the ring, but it needs to be in another ring.

Gravity vs. Lee Johnson

The wrestling doesn’t go to either of them so we have an early standoff. Johnson has to flip out of a wristlock before Gravity runs him over with a shoulder. A flipping armdrag pulls Lee out of the corner but he drops Gravity without much effort. Johnson whips him into the corner, gets in some pushups, and grabs the chinlock.

Gravity fights up and sends him to the floor for a springboard dive, followed by a top rope armdrag for two back inside. A standing moonsault gets two more but Johnson is back with some superkicks. Gravity hits his own superkick though and the top rope splash finishes Johnson at 9:21.

Rating: C+. Gravity is another guy who seems like he could be something if given a chance and he’s getting some pretty significant TV time. I’m not sure if he’s ever going to move up to the next level, but he’s doing well with getting out of Bandido’s shadow. Granted it helps when Bandido isn’t here, but Gravity is doing well either way.

The Outrunners aren’t impressed with Action Andretti and Darius Martin.

Billie Starkz vs. Lady Frost

Athena is here with Starkz. Frost is sent to the floor to start where Athena offers a fast distraction, allowing Starkz to nail a dive. Athena yells at Starkz for a bit, allowing Frost to hit a cartwheel kick of the apron to put Starkz down. Back in and Frost stomps away in the corner before flipping over her back for a dropkick. Starkz is back up with a Death Valley Driver for two but Frost throws in another cartwheel into an Air Raid Crash. The moonsault connects for Frost but Athena offers a distraction to break it up. Said distraction lets Starks hit something like a Neutralizer for the pin at 6:59.

Rating: C+. The more I see of Frost, the more impressive she becomes. She has a unique look and the athleticism to back it up. In short, she feels different and that helps her stand out a lot. If she was able to string some wins together, I could see her having a nice run somewhere. This was still all about Athena and Starkz though, as their big match is coming one day.

Post match Athena takes Frost outside for a ram into the barricade as Starkz begs Athena to stop. Starkz takes the title away before Athena can slam Frost into it, which doesn’t sit well with Athena.

Allysin Kay is ready to face Mercedes Martinez because she wants to end her losing streak.

Outrunners vs. Darius Martin/Action Andretti

Andretti works on Magnum’s arm to start before Martin comes in to do the same. It’s off to Floyd, who gets headlocked rather quickly. Andretti takes both of them down at once and stereo dropkicks send the Outrunners outside. The stereo dives are broken up though and it’s Floyd hammering away on Andretti back inside. Magnum drops a knee on Andretti but he breaks up Total Recall. The tag brings Martin back in to clean house as everything breaks down. Floyd is sent outside and a double swinging slam finishes Magnum at 6:49.

Rating: C+. The Outrunners are the definition of goofy, harmless fun and I can always go for more of that. They aren’t out here getting wins over big teams but rather losing every time and giving the fans a bit of a laugh. Martin and Andretti aren’t going anywhere, but at least they’re filling in a nice spot around here while they aren’t.

Griff Garrison is interrupted by Maria Kanellis-Bennett and Cole Karter but says he believes the team can work. They agree to do it the right way.

Leyla Hirsch vs. Laynie Luck

Maria Kanellis-Bennett comes out to watch as Luck scores with some kicks to start. Hirsch shrugs those off though and snaps off a German suplex into the Fujiwara armbar for the tap at 1:12.

Post match Maria leaves and Hirsch says she wants Athena.

Mercedes Martinez, with Diamante, thinks Allysin Kay must be sick of losing.

Shane Taylor vs. Jimmy Jacobs

Lee Moriarty is here with Taylor and Jacobs is the hometown boy. Jacobs slugs away to start and it goes as well as you would expect. Taylor misses a charge and gets sent outside though, where Jacobs grabs a front facelock. That’s broken up as well and Taylor crushes him in the corner.

The splash gives Taylor two and he slowly forearms Jacobs down over and over. Jacobs actually scores with a clothesline but Taylor’s clothesline is a little bit better. Back up and Jacobs tries Sliced Bread but is easily reversed into Welcome To The Land to give Taylor the pin at 5:31.

Rating: C+. Jacobs is a name and Taylor beating him is better than a win over some nobody. It also helps when Jacobs was able to get in some offense of his own and turned it into a decent match. Taylor is still a monster though and ROH seems interested in turning him into a big deal, meaning a Jacobs win wasn’t exactly in the cards.

Maria Kanellis-Bennett is interrupted by Leyla Hirsch, who wants more competitive matches. That hasn’t happened, so Hirsch has gotten her Women’s Title shot against Athena next week.

Dalton Castle/The Boys vs. Ren Jones/Trenton Tormenta/Xavier Walker

Castle takes Jones down without much effort to start before the Boys come in for a dropkick. Jones drives Brent into the corner though and it’s Walker coming in to knock Brandon and Castle outside. Brent rolls over without much effort and Castle gets the tag to clean house. Everything breaks down and the Bang A Rang into a knee to the back (that’s a weird bonus) finishes Tormenta at 3:38.

Rating: C. Nothing much to see here, save for Castle adding a mostly unnecessary move after his big finisher. Castle and the Boys have absolutely nothing to do at the moment as the Six Man Tag Team Titles don’t mean much and for some reason Castle can’t get a singles run. Not quite a squash here, but the Boys squashing someone wouldn’t make sense anyway.

Griff Garrison/Cole Karter vs. The Infantry

Maria Kanellis-Bennett is here with Garrison and Karter. Garrison hiptosses Bravo to start and adds a boot to the face. Karter comes in and gets caught in the wrong corner, allowing Dean to come in for an elbow. The Infantry alternates on the beating until Karter hits a dropkick to take over on Bravo.

Garrison won’t listen to Maria’s orders to choke from the floor, leaving Bravo to roll over for the tag to Dean. A high crossbody gets two on Karter with Garrison having to make the save. Boot Camp hits Karter but Maria distracts the referee. Trish Adora chases Maria off, leaving Karter to roll Dean up (with feet on the ropes) for the pin at 7:02.

Rating: C. I’m still not sure why this Maria/Carter/Garrison story is supposed to be interesting but it’s falling pretty short. It feels like they have taken months to get very little accomplished and Karter/Garrison still aren’t exactly gelling. Maria is capable of so much more but here she is because….I have no idea really.

Ethan Page says if he wins tonight, he’s on a roll. Rohit Raju (Page’s opponent tonight) comes in to say you can’t spell Rohit without ROH, but Page promises a beating.

Mercedes Martinez vs. Allysin Kay

Diamante is here with Martinez. They fight to the floor rather quickly before Kay grabs a belly to back inside. Diamante breaks up a charge in the corner and Martinez gets in a cheap shot. After some posing inside, Martinez heads outside to beat Kay up on the floor. Kay manages a quick German suplex for a breather and a swinging neckbreaker takes Martinez down again. A missed charge sets up a Cheeky Nandos kick though and Diamante blasts Kay again. The fisherman’s buster finishes for Martinez at 5:38.

Rating: C. I’m not sure why they needed to go outside the ring that many times in a five minute match but it happened over and over. Other than that, Martinez is someone who can look good against anyone and she did it again here against a talented Kay. Again though, if you just keep winning matches and don’t move up the ladder into something more important, it doesn’t matter that much.

Lexi Nair and Billie Starkz aren’t happy with Athena’s interference early, but Athena pops up to say it’s time for some more minion training. Starkz can watch her beat up Leyla Hirsch next week.

Iron Savages vs. Gates Of Agony

Jacked Jameson and Prince Nana are here too. Kaun dropkicks Bronson to start before it’s off to Toa and Boulder for an exchange of clotheslines. Everything breaks down and Bronson’s dive is blocked, setting up a drop onto the apron. Back in and Bronson gets caught in the wrong corner, with the Gates getting to take turns. An elbow drop misses though and it’s Boulder coming in to clean house. Bronson hits a top rope elbow for two on Toa but Kaun shoves Boulder off the top. Nana steals Jameson’s Jacked Juice, leaving Bronson to take Open The Gates for the pin at 6:44.

Rating: C+. Nothing but a hoss fight here and that is something that will work most of the time. The Gates dominated the Six Man Tag Team Title scene for so long that it makes sense for them to be a successful two man team in their own right. Then you have the Savages, who are as over the top as you can get and it’s still entertaining, they aren’t likely to be getting a big win in the near future. Still though, pretty fun fight here.

Rohit Raju vs. Ethan Page

Raju jumps him to start but Page gets in a running shoulder. A delayed running suplex plants Raju and the capture belly to back suplex puts him down again. The Ego’s Edge is broken up though and Raju hits some running shots in the corner. A big boot cuts Raju right back off and it’s the slingshot cutter to give Page the pin at 2:37.

Brian Cage vs. Metalik

Prince Nana is here with Cage. Metalik starts fast and sends him outside but a dive is pulled out of the air. Back in and Cage snaps off a kick to the head in the corner, followed by a German suplex. There’s a 619 to drop Metalik again but a missed charge sends Cage into the corner.

Metalik snaps off a springboard hurricanrana, followed by the reverse Sling Blade. A big rope walk dive to the floor hits Cage again and a Code Red gives Metalik two. The rope walk Swanton misses though and Cage grabs a sitout powerbomb for two. Cage Drill Claws him for the pin at 8:01.

Rating: B-. Pretty nice power vs. speed match here and as usual, the formula worked well. What matters is getting Cage back on track after the surprising title loss and it isn’t like Metalik is going to be hurt by the loss. Cage has long since needed to get away from the Gates and if this is the start of that change, it is a good move for everyone involved.

Overall Rating: C. Within the last five weeks, Ring of Honor has crowned a new World Champion, Tag Team Champions and Six Man Tag Team Champions. None of them (or the TV/Pure Champions) were on this show, but I’m sure they’ll be on the upcoming AEW shows. In other words, ROH continues to be nothing more than a plot device for AEW and that is not making this show (the longest episode they’ve had in over a month) any easier to watch.

As for this show, it was exactly what you should expect from ROH: a bunch of mediocre to ok matches with so much stuff taking place that very little gets to stand out because it’s so bogged down by everything else. There was some minor storyline advancement, but as usual it takes either no time or the better part of forever to get anywhere. I’m running out of ways to make the same complaints every week but ROH keeps doing the same annoying things, making this show less and less interesting every single week.

Results
Josh Woods b. Brayden Erving – Tilt-A-Woods
Scorpio Sky b. Tony Nese – TKO
Gravity b. Lee Johnson – Top rope splash
Billie Starkz b. Lady Frost – Faceplant
Action Andretti/Darius Martin b. Outrunners – Double swinging slam to Magnum
Leyla Hirsch b. Laynie Luck – Fujiwara armbar
Shane Taylor b. Jimmy Jacobs – Welcome To The Land
Dalton Castle/The Boys b. Ren Jones/Trenton Tormenta/Xavier Walker – Knee to Tormenta’s back
Griff Garrison/Cole Karter b. The Infantry – Rollup with feet on the ropes to Dean
Mercedes Martinez b. Allysin Kay – Fisherman’s buster
Gates Of Agony b. Iron Savages – Open The Gates to Bronson
Ethan Page b. Rohit Raju – Slingshot cutter
Brian Cage b. Metalik – Drill Claw

 

 

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Evolve #1: When They Were Young

Evolve #1
Date: January 16, 2010
Location: Rahway Events Center, Rahway, New Jersey
Attendance: 500
Commentators: Leonard F. Chikarason, Lenny Leonard

So a good chunk of the Evolve library has been put up on the Network and since the whole thing is being blown up for the sake of Peacock sooner than later, I figured I would take a look at one of their shows. This is the promotion’s debut event so there is not likely to be much in the way of storylines. Let’s get to it.

Kyle O’Reilly is warming up when Davey Richards gets annoyed at the cameras. They’re here to film everything for a documentary but Davey and manager Tony Kozina throw them out anyway. Davey Richards being really serious? Stunning indeed.

Akira Tozawa and Kota Ibushi have a chat that I can’t understand.

Opening sequence, mainly featuring clips from Full Impact Pro.

Various people talk about why they wrestle, with one of them saying he would be dead if he didn’t.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Bobby Fish

O’Reilly has Tony Kozina with him. They trade kicks to the legs to start and then fight over the wrist, which the fans appreciate. Back up and Fish nails a dropkick and avoids a charge to send O’Reilly shoulder first into the rope. The big dive takes him down and it’s back inside for a t-bone suplex to send O’Reilly flying again. A top rope headbutt gives Fish two but O’Reilly knees his way to freedom. O’Reilly is back with the rolling butterfly suplexes for two of his own and it’s time to trade the hard kicks.

Fish kicks him down into a cross armbreaker, sending O’Reilly straight into the ropes. More big kicks rock O’Reilly but he counters one into a reverse fisherman’s suplex for two of his own. Fish hits a superkick but walks into a discus lariat for the double knockdown. O’Reilly is back up with a tornado DDT for no cover so Fish grabs a Falcon Arrow for his own two. Back up and O’Reilly hits another tornado DDT into a brainbuster for the pin at 6:35.

Rating: C+. This was a good way to start things off as it was all action and the kind of match that an audience like this would appreciate. If nothing else, it was bizarre to see these two looking so young but that’s the point of an opener like this. It was a hard hitting indy style match and that’s what it should have been in this spot.

Chuck Taylor vs. Cheech

No transition between the match and no entrances, which makes the show move a lot faster. Cheech was a regular on the independent scene around this time and Taylor would get more famous later on. This is an official qualifying match for the Evolve singles division. They start fast with Cheech hitting a shoulder but Taylor sidesteps a dropkick.

Cheech takes him down without much trouble and grabs something like a Sharpshooter where he sits down on the leg rather than pulling it back. That lets him get in some posing until Taylor makes the rope and comes back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. A headscissors has Cheech in trouble and an overhead belly to belly sends him flying. Cheech is right back up with a moonsault press for two but Taylor hits a dropkick for the same.

The Awful Waffle is broken up and Cheech grabs some rollups for two each. Cheech superkicks him into the corner and hits a running kick to the face, followed by a 619 from the floor. Back in and Chuck hits his own kicks to the face, only to get caught with a spear. A running elbow in the corner drops Cheech for two and the Awful Waffle finishes Cheech at 6:29.

Rating: C-. It was energetic but this was every stereotype of an indy match you can find. They were doing everything they could all match with no selling and one spot after another. I know that’s the style that they want to have around here but it would be nice to see someone stop for a few seconds just to let something sink in for a change.

Post match Chuck is asked about his win and doesn’t like the idea of having to win a qualifying match. Vengeance is coming.

Ricochet vs. Arik Cannon

Cannon is an indy mainstay and RICOCHET HAS HAIR! LIKE SHOULDER LENGTH HAIR!!! Ricochet flips out of a wristlock to start so the bigger Cannon runs him over with a shoulder. A headscissors sends Cannon to the floor and Ricochet hits the cartwheel flip dive. Back in and Cannon nails a suplex into the corner but Ricochet takes him down for two off a quick rollup.

They trade strikes in the corner until Cannon drops him with a right hand into a brainbuster for two. Ricochet can’t hit a tornado DDT as Cannon reverses into a swinging brainbuster for another near fall. Back up and Ricochet kicks him in the face, setting up a 630 for the pin at 4:01.

Rating: C. Ricochet got to showcase himself a bit here but Cannon was dominating most of the match. That being said, Ricochet wasn’t exactly intimidating with the hair and not exactly filled out physique. Then again he was in his early 20s here and had a long way to go. Not a bad match, but they were flying through it so fast that it could only go so far.

Post match here’s Chuck Taylor to say that he’s from the south where they don’t believe in evolution. He’s into creationism so he’s here to create. The challenge is on, with Ricochet saying let’s do it now but Taylor walking off.

Silas Young is with Jimmy Jacobs and talks about what they want to do around here. Another wrestler (who might have been a very young Adam Cole) comes in to tell Jimmy that his match is coming up, which Jimmy does not seem to appreciate.

Brad Allen writes MOM on one set of wrist tape and MAC on the other, both with some crosses surrounding the names.

Dark City Fight Club vs. Aeroform

The Club is Jon Davis/Cory Chavis and were around the indies for years without ever making it to the big time. Aeroform is Louis Lyndon/Flip Kendrick, another team who would hang around for years. The smaller Aeroform starts fast and hits a double dropkick for two on Chavis. Back up and Chavis blasts Kendrick for two, setting up a modified Hart Attack (side kick instead of a clothesline, which Harlem Heat called the Big Apple Blast). Lyndon gets double teamed down as tags just seem to be a suggestion here.

Davis misses a charge in the corner and Lyndon gets over for the hot tag to Kendrick to clean house. Everything breaks down (Was it ever together in the first place?) and Lyndon has to avoid a brainbuster onto the apron. A springboard DDT Plants Davis and a 540 Spiral Tap gets two with Chavis making the save. Back up and Davis Pounces Kendrick, leaving Lyndon to take Project Mayhem (double hiptoss into a sitout powerbomb/neckbreaker combination) for the pin at 6:25.

Rating: C-. I really wasn’t feeling this one as it was just a mess with a bunch of flips vs. a bunch of power stuff. That isn’t quite thrilling stuff but it’s a basic formula that can work in most cases. I know tag team wrestling has basically devolved into two on two matches with tags just kind of being a detail but a little lip service to the idea that they still matter would be nice every now and then.

Mercedes Martinez vs. Niya

Mercedes is introduces as the WSU (Women Superstars Uncensored) World Champion but this seems to be non-title. Niya didn’t seem to wrestle very long and Martinez chops her into the corner to start. Some rolling suplexes set up a fisherman’s buster to finish Niya at 1:11. Yep Martinez is still awesome.

Post match, Martinez says she is here to fight men and women because she is here to evolve.

Brad Allen vs. Silas Young

Allen starts fast with a dropkick to knock Young into the ropes, setting up the big dive to the floor. Back in and Allen misses a high crossbody out of the corner and it’s time to chop it out. Allen gets the better of it and hits a springboard flip dive for two, followed by a gator roll to send Young outside. That means a DDT on the floor to drop Allen for a change, followed by a knee drop for two back inside.

A rolling elbow into a basement clothesline gives Young two more and frustration is setting in early. Allen uses the delay to grab a neckbreaker, followed by a slingshot Swanton for two more. Young gets flipped backwards onto the apron and then the floor, setting up a big moonsault from the top. That sounds good in theory, but Young dropkicking him out of the air made it a bit worse.

That’s good for a nineteen count and then two more for Young back inside. Young is even more frustrated and starts kicking Allen in the head. A hard clothesline gets two but Young misses a springboard moonsault, allowing Allen to hit a springboard spinning high crossbody for two of his own. Allen catches him in the corner and hits a swinging Downward Spiral for the pin at 10:23.

Rating: C+. I liked this a bit better as they had some more time and even sold a thing or two. This was a good deal slower than the previous matches and that’s a smart change after everything else has been so fast paced. It’s no classic or anything but Allen made a bit of an impression and you could see the potential in Young, even if he had to change a lot to become a star. Now why did Allen not have the writing on his wrist tape?

Post match, Allen says he has been fighting for this chance for his entire career and thanks Evolve for the chance. And his mom too. Allen goes to leave but comes back to say he wants Chris Hero at the next show.

Jimmy Jacobs vs. Ken Doane

That would be Kenny from the Spirit Squad. The much bigger Doane shoves him down with ease to start and unloads in the corner but Jacobs is right back up with some stomping of his own. A small package gives Jacobs two but his guillotine choke is broken up in a hurry. Doane ties him up in the ring skirt and hammers away for two back inside. Jacobs’ shoulder being up earns him another beating and we hit the chinlock. Back up and Doane trips him down again with a slingshot elbow getting two.

The chinlock goes on again and the fans think this is awesome. As I try to figure out if that is sarcasm, Jacobs breaks out and hits a quick clothesline. Doane’s slam and running forearm can’t keep Jacobs down so he whips Doane hard into the corner. Some stomps to the ribs get two but Doane is back up with a heck of a spinebuster for two.

A hanging DDT out of the corner gives Jacobs two but the Contra Code is countered into a bridging German suplex to give Doane two more. Doane’s guillotine legdrop (that always looked good) is enough for the pin at 10:07. Hold on though as Jacobs’ foot was on the ropes and TOMMY DREAMER (HOW IS HE ON EVERY SINGLE SHOW EVER???) comes down to point out the referee’s mistake. The match is restarted and Jacobs grabs the guillotine choke for the fast tap at 10:51.

Rating: C+. Doane is someone who was crippled by a horrible gimmick but he was completely watchable once he got away from the nonsense of the Spirit Squad. I’ve never been a Jacobs fan but he was doing a nice underdog deal here, which is more than I would have bet on. Nice match and that’s nice to see.

Post match Dreamer gets in the ring to say he’s back (When did he ever leave?). He walked away from something that he loved but he would never walk away from being in the wrestling ring. He thanks everyone for trying to live their dream and letting him live his. It was his dream to have a midcard match on an indy show restated? Get better dreams. Dreamer goes to leave but Jacobs says hang on a second (it has been a full thirty seconds since Dreamer got some praise).

Jacobs thanks Dreamer for promoting the show but won’t thank him for helping him win his first Evolve match, because Jacobs doesn’t need it. He is choosing to stand alone in Evolve and wants to know why Dreamer is here. Is it because he needs that one more minute in the spotlight? Jacobs wants that look off of Dreamer’s face because he has seen it for the last fifteen years. Dreamer takes his jacket off but Jacobs doesn’t need approval from a washed up has been. Dreamer is just here to have fun though and isn’t even being paid, so he jumps Jacobs. The fight is on with Dreamer getting the better of it because reasons.

Davey Richards is still warming up.

Ken Doane leaves the rest room with his bag over his shoulder and rants about how he is tired of being treated like this everywhere he goes. He storms off.

Chris Dickinson vs. Johnny Gargano

Gargano has long hair for a weird look and has only been wrestling for about five years. Dickinson takes him into the corner to start but Gargano is back with an enziguri into a running clothesline. An Ace Crusher gives Gargano two and it’s time to start trading cradles for two each.

Gargano gets something like the Rings of Saturn but it’s broken up for an exchange of strikes to the face. They’re both knocked to their knees with Gargano blocking a big kick to the ribs. Dickinson is right back with a Falcon Arrow for two and an elbow to the face gets two more. The knee pad comes down but Gargano catches him with a running DDT. There’s the Lawn Dart into a full nelson spun into a faceplant to finish Dickinson at 6:04.

Rating: C. This is one of the best parts about watching a show like this: seeing future stars as absolute nothings who are mainly there to fill in a spot on the card. Gargano looked a little odd with his longer hair but managed to keep his calm against the bigger and more athletic Dickinson. Good enough match here but another short one.

Post match some people show up to the VIP area and Gargano is rather pleased to see them. Again: NAME THESE PEOPLE.

TJP vs. Muneori Sawa

They trade some kicks to start with Sawa taking him to the mat for a quick trip to the rope for a break. A snap German suplex sends TJP flying but he’s right back with a rollup into a standoff and applause. Sawa can’t get the arm so he takes TJP into the corner for a kick to the chest. More rapid fire strikes connect but Sawa misses a running boot. Not that it matters as he takes TJP down by the leg and headbutts away at the knee, followed by an elbow to the ribs.

TJP is right back with a cross armbreaker, sending Sawa straight into the ropes for the break. Some kicks to the arm keep Sawa down but he’s back up for an exchange of strikes to the face. They slug it out from their knees until Sawa pulls him into a kneebar. The rope is grabbed so it’s a dragon screw legwhip, only to have TJP pull him into a cross armbreaker for the break. Back up and TJP’s leg is fine enough to fire off kicks, setting up another cross armbreaker. That’s reversed into a rollup for two and Sawa nails a Shining Wizard for two more. The Octopus goes on and TJP taps at 9:18.

Rating: B-. I’ve always liked TJP and that was the case again here. They were tearing it up with the submissions and holds, which made for a heck of a showcase. That’s the kind of thing you can always go with and it was great to see here. I don’t think I have ever seen Sawa before so it was cool to have someone fresh but still fun to watch. Good stuff here.

Adam Cole narrates his talk with Tommy Dreamer and promises people will remember him. So yeah the guy who looked like Adam Cole earlier was in fact Adam Cole.

Team Frightening vs. Akuma’s Army

That would be Frightmare/Hallowicked/Mike Quackenbush vs. Brodie Lee/Gran Akuma/Icarus and these guys are from Chikara. Mike takes Icarus down by the arm to start and that goes nowhere as commentary tries to explain the story here, which is as much of a downward spiral as you can get. Icarus slips out of an Octopus attempt and it’s quickly off to Hallowicked vs. Lee for an exchange of shoulders.

Hallowicked snaps off a running hurricanrana and brings Akuma back in, with Hallowicked taking him down with a spinning armdrag. It’s back to Icarus so Akuma gets in a cheap shot from the apron but a series of kicks from the ring and apron rock Akuma in a hurry. A victory roll gets two on Icarus and it’s back to Lee for a heck of a powerbomb. Frightmare gets knocked off the top and Lee pulls him back over the top for two.

Akuma comes back in and Frightmare uses him as a launchpad to hurricanrana Lee. The hot tag brings in Hallowicked, who charges into Lee’s swinging Boss Man Slam. The pace picks up and Akuma hits some double knees to the chest for two on Frightmare. Mike comes in for a super hurricanrana into a Swanton with Frightmare adding a standing moonsault for two on Akuma. Frightmare snaps off a tornado DDT to Lee and the Rydeen Bomb (Sky High) finishes Icarus at 11:34.

Rating: C+. This was another fast paced and entertaining match, though egads trying to figure out what the backstories in a Chikara match is harder than something that is very complicated. It was a nice addition on the show from an energy perspective but the costumes and characters do feel completely out of left field here. Pretty high energy match though and that’s all you can ask for out of a showcase.

The documentary filmmaker consoles TJP but then runs away when she realizes she is on camera.

Davey Richards vs. Kota Ibushi

Kyle O’Reilly, Tony Kozina and Michael Nakazawa are here. They waste no time in going with the hard strikes to the face with Ibushi knocking Richards out to the floor. Back in and Ibushi strikes away in the corner until they head to the apron where Richards snaps him down onto the apron. Richards starts in on the arm with a hammerlock suplex into a flipping over hammerlock.

There’s a stomp to the arm, followed by a modified Tequila Sunrise. Richards goes up top but Ibushi is right up there, only to get taken down by a flying armbar. Ibushi fights up with forearms to the face, with Richards seeming to enjoy them as usual. More cranking to the arm ensues and they both go to the apron. A fight over a superplex to the floor is broken up with Ibushi knocking him outside. That means the big moonsault can connect, followed by more rapid fire strikes into a standing moonsault for two.

Richards shrugs them off and hits his own missile dropkick, followed by the handspring kick to the head for two more. A cross armbreaker is broken up in a hurry but Ibushi flips out of a superplex attempt. The rapid fire kicks just wake Ibushi up more and it’s the double moonsault for two. Ibushi goes up but Richards catches him with the release German superplex. Running kicks in the corner rock Ibushi again and a big kick to the face gets two.

Ibushi rolls out of a kimura and snaps off the poisonrana, only to get blasted with a running clothesline. More strikes set up another running clothesline and the DR Driver gets two on Ibushi. They head up top for the exchange of headbutts and Ibushi knocks him down. The Phoenix splash misses and Richards knocks him down for a shooting star press. The Kimura makes Ibushi tap at 18:13.

Rating: B. It was very hard hitting and a very strong style match, but my goodness I had forgotten how annoying Richards could be. The ultra serious and hard hitting/striking stuff gets old fast and it did here again. There is something that seems so ridiculous about being hit in the face and just screaming at someone but that is almost all Richards would do. Good match for the style they were wanting, but I wouldn’t be complaining that this was Richards’ only Evolve match for about three years because of his new deal with ROH.

Brad Allen talks about how he signed with WWE and his mom was killed in a car wreck the next day. Egads that’s rough.

Johnny Gargano, Jimmy Jacobs and the VIP people from earlier try to get Silas Young to go out on the town with them. Young agrees, but gets a phone call as they leave to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This is the definition of a promotion where if you like it you’ll like it and if you don’t like it you won’t. That might sound really simplified, but there is not going to be much of a middle ground on this stuff. It was a VERY similar style throughout with a good chunk of the roster using a bunch of kicks to the chest/head and submission holds. You know what you are getting here and if you like that style then you will enjoy it, but if that is not your thing, this is not likely to change your mind. The show is far from bad and nothing is overly terrible, but it very well might not be your style.




Ring Of Honor Motor City Madness 2006: I Get It

IMG Credit: Ring Of Honor Wrestling

Motor City Madness
Date: October 7, 2006
Commentators: Dave Prazak, Jared David

It’s another ROH DVD and another era I don’t know much about. That was a lot of fun when I checked out the 7th Anniversary Show and this one is a little earlier, as we are only about four years into the company’s history. This time around we have Bryan Danielson defending the World Title against Austin Aries and a dream tag match between Samoa Joe/Homicide vs. the Briscoes. I’m not sure what to expect here so let’s get to it.

In an extreme closeup, Samoa Joe says that the Briscoes are in the wrong place at the wrong time. Bryan Danielson knocked him out with a title that he made and tonight, he’s taking it out on the Briscoes.

Homicide is ready to kill Jim Cornette (that’s kind of implied in the name) and doesn’t care who Cornette brings.

Austin Aries talks about his rivalry with Bryan Danielson and says he’s ready to take the World Title back.

Bryan Danielson talks about the two of them feuding forever and tonight, he’s taking the title.

Delirious vs. Zach Gowen

Hometown boy Gowen (who has one leg if you haven’t seen him before) seems to be a big surprise and if nothing else, it’s nice to hear Out Of My Way again. Gowen doesn’t want to shake hands before the bell so the bell rings and Delirious snaps, as he tends to do. Back in and Delirious grabs the referee, allowing Gowen to hit a missile dropkick. Commentary talks about Gowen bringing some sports entertainment to ROH as Delirious brings a clothesline to Gowen.

They head outside with Gowen knocking him into the barricade, setting up a falling flip dive for the big crash. Gowen: “THAT’S HOW I BEAT THE BIG SHOW B****!” Back in again and Delirious takes him down to bite the back of Gowen’s head before stopping to….sing? Now it’s a bite of the leg, followed by a fireman’s carry faceplant. A running knee in the corner sets up the missed top rope splash to the back and Gowen hits a rolling neckbreaker for two of his own. Gowen misses a moonsault though and it’s a cobra clutch into a Cobra Stretch to make Gowen tap at 4:25.

Rating: C-. There is something funny about Gowen being the hometown boy but being such a jerk that the fans don’t seem upset when he loses. To be fair, Gowen was never exactly a big star, but rather someone who was around big stars. That doesn’t quite make him someone the fans would be rather interested in, though a little star power, especially a local star, isn’t going to hurt that much.

Here’s Commissioner Jim Cornette for a chat. After saying he sounds like James Earl Jones on the microphone, Cornette shrugs off a fan shouting that Homicide is going to kill him. Cornette talks about all the other sports going on in Detroit this year and thanks the fans for supporting Ring of Honor. Thanks to the fans, Ring of Honor is going to be back in Detroit in April for Wrestlemania weekend. So if you want to go see the pyro and insanity, go over to the stadium but come here early to see some wrestling.

Now we have some bad news though: Roderick Strong was injured last night in Cleveland, Ohio and can’t wrestle tonight. Cue Strong, in street clothes, who needs a chair to help him get inside. Strong says he’s here to wrestle tonight but Cornette says he can’t do it. Cornette talks about being 23 years old once and can appreciate the fire and passion, but Strong isn’t wrestling tonight. That doesn’t work for Strong, who gets in Cornette’s face and says he’s doing this.

Cornette gets firm with him and says no but here’s Homicide to cut them off. Cornette heads to the floor as Homicide throws in chairs before wisely running to the back. Homicide talks about having a bad day because the Detroit Tigers beat his Yankees today. Tonight, that “little cracker” Jim Cornette is going to get his tonight. And yes, Strong should wrestle tonight because Homicide says “f*** him”, in regards to Cornette. I don’t think he and Homicide like each other.

Allison Danger/Lacey vs. Daizee Haze/MsChif

This era’s women’s division wasn’t the strongest but I’d still take it over what ROH offers fourteen years later. I’m not overly familiar with most of these four’s work though so this should be interesting. Lacey freaks out at fans patting her on the back on the way to the ring so I’m guessing they’re the heels here. They shout at each other a good bit before the bell and again we have no handshake. The bell rings and commentary says the partners were chosen at random so they don’t exactly get along. Fair enough.

Haze sunset flips Lacey for two to start and we hit the quick pinfall reversal sequence. The threat of a test of strength sends both of them over for a tag with Danger working on MsChif’s arm. Some armdrags have MsChif in trouble but Lacey tags herself in. Allison tags herself back in as well and rolls MsChif up for two in a hurry. Lacey grabs an armbar on MsChif and hands it off to Danger for the same but this time Haze comes in to break it up.

Haze comes in for a bodyscissors and rolls Danger around into a cradle for two. A standing moonsault gives MsChif the same and there’s a gutbuster to put Danger down again. Haze’s suplex is countered into a small package for two but she’s right back with a Stunner. Danger drops her throat first across the top though and the hot tag brings in MsChif to Roll the Dice on Lacey.

A TKO gives Lacey her own two with Haze making a very last second save. Everything breaks down and Danger gives Haze an STO. MsChif takes Danger into the corner for something like a middle rope Pedigree but the referee stops to yell at Haze. The distraction lets MsChif spray mist into Danger’s eyes by mistake so Haze comes back in for the Mind Trip (falling forward cutter) to finish Danger at 9:52.

Rating: C+. Again, not exactly a good match but they did their thing and looked totally competent at the same time. The women’s division has always been a weak spot for ROH and given that these women were on loan from Shimmer, there was only so much that could be expected. That being said, I liked what we got here and I could go for more of them, though preferably after hearing a bit more about them and having some kind of a story included.

Claudio Castagnoli vs. Davey Richards

That would be Cesaro and both of them look VERY young here. I’m also not sure that they can get away with Running With The Devil and We Are The Champions as entrance music on a DVD release. Castagnoli has the ROH Tag Team Title, the Chikara Campeonatos de Parejas and a big briefcase. Ok so one of them isn’t as impress as the other, but that Chikara title makes a nice third piece. Also, three matches in and still no handshakes. Davey grabs an armbar to start and then kicks his way out of Claudio’s counter.

The fans get on Claudio’s nerves in a hurry but he shrugs off the much smaller Davey’s running shoulders. A running boot to Claudio’s head works a bit better and there’s a headscissors to take him down. Davey headlocks him for a bit and then takes him down again, this time with a steal of Claudio’s HEY! Back up and Claudio gets in a poke to the eye to set up a belly to back suplex to really take over.

We hit the seated abdominal stretch, followed by a running knee in the corner with Richards doing a near comical face first fall to the mat. Now it’s a standing abdominal stretch but Davey is out in a hurry, meaning it’s a running clothesline to take him down again. The choking in the corner keeps Davey down and Castagnoli runs him over with a clothesline. Castagnoli misses a running knee in the corner though and falls outside, allowing Davey to hit a hard suicide dive.

Back in and a nice springboard missile dropkick into a nip up lets Davey strike away. A bridging German suplex gets two on Castagnoli but he faceplants Davey for the same. Castagnoli puts him on top but Davey reverses into a heck of a sunset bomb for two more. The Kawada Kicks connect, only to have Castagnoli snap off the European uppercuts.

One of the bigger uppercuts gets two but the Riccola Bomb is countered into a DDT into an armbar on the mat. Cue Castagnoli’s partner Chris Hero for a distraction, allowing Castagnoli to roll Davey up for two. Hero gets in a shot with the briefcase though and Castagnoli hits the Alpamare Waterslide (something like an Angle Slam) for the pin at 12:21.

Rating: C+. They hit each other rather hard here but it’s strange to see Castagnoli as so much more of a character with all of the Very European stuff. That being said, the Kings of Wrestling were an awesome team and Richards wasn’t quite much yet. The match was good enough, despite the fairly cheap ending.

Post match Hero says the Kings of Wrestling will reign forever.

Jimmy Jacobs/Colt Cabana vs. Christopher Daniels/Matt Sydal

Lacey is here with Jacobs (there’s a LONG history there as Jimmy loves Lacey but she doesn’t care for him, which went on for years) and Cabana. The fans seem rather into Daniels, which isn’t that surprising. Jacobs and Sydal get things going with Sydal working on the leg early on. That gives us a standoff so they lock up again with the fans laughing at something. Another standoff lets Jacobs blow a kiss to Lacey before going to a test of strength. Sydal bridges up off the mat but gets taken down by an anklescissors.

Sydal’s own anklescissors sends Jacobs outside as the rather choreographed opening continues. Cabana and Daniels come in with Cabana cartwheeling and strutting away. Daniels takes him down into a headscissors but Cabana is back up for some shaking knees. Cabana sends him outside to set off the frustration and things slow down a bit. Back in and Daniels shoulders him down a few times before hitting a kick to the head.

Lacey grabs Daniels’ foot so Daniels pulls her in, which results in Lacey landing in various positions with Cabana. Jimmy freaks out and comes in for the save but Lacey yells at both of them as Cabana gives an “uh, sorry” look. We settle back down to Daniels slamming Sydal onto Cabana before hitting the STO into the Koji Clutch. Lacey gets up on the apron for a distraction though and for once it actually works, though Jacobs goes outside to check on her.

Jacobs comes in to work on Daniels’ arm, followed by Cabana coming in for more of the same. A top rope stomp to the arm (ow) gets two on Daniels and the arm cranking continues. Daniels gets some boots up out of the corner and the STO gives us a double knockdown. The diving tag brings in Sydal and it’s time to start kicking people in the head/chest.

A super hurricanrana brings Cabana off the middle rope and Sydal sends Jacobs flying into Cabana. The standing moonsault gets two on Jacobs but he’s right back with a spear for two. A middle rope legdrop/belly to back suplex combination gets two on Jacobs and Sydal crotches Cabana on top. Lacey checks on Cabana so Jacobs lets go of the Contra Code, allowing Daniels to hit the Angel’s Wings for the pin on Jacobs at 14:07.

Rating: B-. I liked this a lot more than I was expecting to as they were four talented wrestlers having a nice match. Jacobs is usually hard to take as the over the top heel so having him as the lovesick face was a nice switch. The Lacey stuff worked well and I got what they were going for with only a basic understanding of the story. Well done here and a perfectly enjoyable match.

Jacobs throws the chair again and almost hits Daniels this time, even as Whitmer continues promising to end Jacobs. As Jimmy yells at Whitmer, Lacey is more worried about Cabana crotching himself. Lacey and company leave so Daniels calls out the Kings of Wrestling for ducking them. Cue Chris Hero, who asks what Sydal has ever done. Sydal grabs the mic to say Daniels has proven himself time after time, but what has Hero done?

The challenge is on but Hero walks away instead. Sydal insults Hero’s pants though and asks what kind of a champion he is. Daniels says Hero isn’t good enough to be booked around here anyway. Hero says that’s not true and Daniels says get in the ring right now. That’s enough for Hero and we’re ready to go.

Matt Sydal vs. Chris Hero

Hero hammers away in the corner to start but Sydal snaps off some flippy armdrags. Sydal knocks him outside but the Lionsault is pulled out of the air. Back in and we hit the choking, followed by the front facelock for a more legal version. Hero drops an elbow and slaps on a reverse chinlock. Sydal fights up but gets taken down with a running atomic drop out of the corner.

The double arm crank with a knee in the back goes on before Hero heads up top, only to have to bail out of a flip. Sydal kicks him in the head and they’re both down for a bit. Back up and Hero grabs a powerslam for two and can’t believe the kickout. With frustration setting in, Hero grabs the referee so Castagnoli can bring in the briefcase. Daniels cuts him off though and they fight on the floor, allowing Sydal to hit a missile dropkick. The shooting star press finishes Hero at 9:29.

Rating: C. This felt like a WWE TV match and that’s all it needed to be. The idea here was to set up a title match down the line and that is exactly what they did the following month, when Daniels and Sydal won the titles. They had to get things ready here though and that worked out rather well, despite Hero’s offense not being the most thrilling.

The fans want Samoa Joe (Homicide’s partner tonight) but Cornette spits in Homicide’s face instead. Cue Samoa Joe for the save with a chair though before the Jay Driller can flatten Homicide. With the villains out of the way, Homicide swears a lot and calls the three of them “fa****s”. Tonight, Homicide wants a falls count anywhere street fight with the Briscoes. That’s fine with Joe.

We’re on intermission so Delirious rambles on about Zach Gowen and seems to say that he wants the World Title.

Jimmy Rave vs. Pelle Primeau vs. Dave Crist vs. Jake Crist vs. Shane Hagadorn vs. Matt Cross

One fall to a finish with tags because calling it a Six Man Mayhem implies controlled mayhem. It’s also under Lucha Rules with one fall to a finish. Hagadorn has the Top Of The Class Trophy but it does not seem to be on the line here. The fans throw toilet paper at Rave, as is their custom, with one roll hitting him square in the head to a reaction from the fans. Finally, it’s Cross’ debut, just in case you didn’t have enough details to remember yet.

The rather small Pelle starts with Rave, who takes him down and hammers away. A heck of a chop sends Pelle into the ropes for some swearing. Pelle seems to miss most of a dropkick and it’s Hagadorn coming in to dropkick Pelle down again. Dave comes in with a running hurricanrana to Hagadorn but he dropkicks the knee out to take him down. A wristlock has Dave in trouble though and he runs the corner for an armdrag. Jake comes in to cover Hagadorn for two but Cross makes the save and sticks around for a bit.

A Japanese armdrag takes Jake down into an armbar, with Jake being sent outside. Pelle comes in to go after Cross but charges into a Rock Bottom onto the apron. Cross head fakes Rave and then feet fakes him for a bonus, only to get knocked outside. Back in and the Crists knock Hagadorn to the floor but Dave’s half of the stereo dives is cut off by Rave. That sets off a parade of dives with Cross hitting the big one and getting a rather strong reaction.

Pelle tries his own but gets speared down by Rave, who snaps off a suplex to Cross. Back up and Cross hits a springboard double stomp to Rave’s back as Dave is sent hard into the barricade. Cross’ corkscrew moonsault gets two on Rave with Hagadorn making the save this time. Hagadorn rolls Cross up for two with the feet on the ropes not mattering all that much. The Crists come back in for a double spinebuster on Hagadorn but Rave is back in to get beaten up for a change. The Irish Air Raid (powerbomb onto raised knees) gives Dave two on Rave but Pelle comes back in to Stun Rave for the pin at 8:11.

Rating: C+. This was the all action match that you would expect from something like this and that was fine. Pelle is someone whose name pops up every now and then in ROH history but he isn’t exactly someone who stood out other than from being small. The winner wasn’t quite the point here though as they just threw everyone out there and let them do their thing for a bit, which worked out just fine all things considered.

Post match Pelle is very, very excited and shakes everyone’s hand.

Ring of Honor World Title: Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries

Danielson is defending and gets a heck of a reaction, as you probably expected. If nothing else, the Final Countdown in front of an ROH crows is always worth seeing. That being said, it’s hard to see Bryan in blue trunks after all those years of seeing him in the signature red. They stare at each other for a bit to start and it’s a feeling out process to get things going. Danielson gets driven into the corner and we actually get a clean break. A test of strength doesn’t get Danielson very far so he takes Aries into the corner for a kick to the arm.

Danielson poses a lot before snapmaring him down into a chinlock. Commentary makes me feel a lot better by explaining that the airline lost both of their bags so neither is in their usual gear. That explains a few things and at least I’m not going nuts. Danielson takes him down by the leg for a change but the cranking only sends Aries over to the ropes. Aries grabs a short armscissors and they roll around a bit until Danielson knees him in the face. Danielson’s headlock is broken up in a hurry and they head outside, where Aries sends him hard into the barricade.

Back in and Danielson manages a suplex before they head right back to the floor. This time it’s Aries going into the barricade so Danielson can choke away a bit. They go inside again and this time Danielson grabs a reverse chinlock to make Aries shout a lot. Aries manages to reverse into one of his own but Danielson reverses into a cross armbreaker. The rope is grabbed, but Danielson HAS UNTIL FIVE. Back up and Aries misses a dropkick so Danielson slaps him in the face.

The chinlock goes on for a bit, followed by one of the only bearhugs that you will ever see from Danielson. Aries breaks out with some ear claps so Danielson grabs a belly to belly suplexes to drop him again. Danielson takes way too long going up for a Swan Dive and (awkwardly) dives into a raised boot. The comeback is on with a bunch of forearms to set up a frog splash but the running dropkick in the corner misses.

Danielson slaps on the half crab so Aries goes for the ropes, meaning it’s off to an airplane spin. That’s reversed into something like the Rings of Saturn to put Danielson in trouble so he grabs the rope as well. Danielson is back with the hard elbows to the head before slapping on the crossface chickenwing in the middle of the ring.

Cattle Mutilation is blocked so Danielson elbows him in the head over and over again. Aries absorbs those and loads up the brainbuster, which is blocked with a knee to the head. Another attempt works just fine though but Aries has to bail out of the 450. Danielson is right back with a small package to retain the title at 22:44.

Rating: A-. Oh like this was going to be anything but great. Danielson and Aries are two of the best that Ring of Honor has ever had and they had over twenty minutes to do their thing here in the co main event. There was no way this wasn’t going to work and they had an awesome match. Danielson wouldn’t be champion that much longer, so it was nice to see him get in another big title defense.

Post match Samoa Joe comes in for the fight with Danielson, drawing in the Briscoes to beat Joe down. Here’s Homicide and it’s time for the main event.

Homicide/Samoa Joe vs. Briscoe Brothers

Anything goes and falls count anywhere. The brawl is on in a hurry and the Briscoes are sent to the floor in a hurry. We settle down to Joe punching Mark in the face with the other two on the apron because ANYTHING GOES means structure. Joe’s knee drop makes it even worse and Homicide comes in for a double shoulder. Jay dares to try a cheap shot from the apron and gets knocked outside, which allows Mark to nail a spinwheel kick.

The delayed double vertical suplex drops Joe and it’s time to hammer away in the corner. The chinlock goes on as we are in no way shape or form resembling a street fight so far. Joe fights up and brings in Homicide to clean house, including sending the two into each other. Jay gets sent into the barricade so it’s Mark hitting the big dive over the top to take Homicide out.

Joe’s suicide elbow takes the Brothers down and NOW we get to the street fight part. Joe starts pelting chairs at the Briscoes (and hitting them with several of them) and everyone else gets involved with their own chair shots. Homicide suplexes Jay onto a bunch of open chairs (egads) and then throws him through them for a bonus. Mark is sat in a chair but pops back up with a big boot to take Joe down. Joe doesn’t seem to mind and snaps off a powerslam to drive Mark through an open chair….and it’s ladder time.

That ladder is punted between Mark’s legs but here’s Jay to break it up. They all fight outside with Joe sending Mark into a brick wall and PELTING a chair at Jay’s head. Mark rolls underneath a production truck so Joe Razor Edges Jay HARD into the side of the truck. Mark is back up with a shooting star off the top of the truck because OF COURSE HE IS. Everyone is mostly dead so Homicide gets powerbombed onto a table as Joe is carried out. The table isn’t broken up so the Briscoes flapjack Homicide through it in a nasty crash.

Homicide pops back up and sends Mark into a brick wall, only to be sent into it by Jay. They fight back inside with both Briscoes being dropped onto the same table for no break. Mark is dropped on the table again but it still doesn’t break so Jay is slammed through it instead. They get back to ringside with more chairs being thrown as the fans are WAY into Homicide. Back in and Homicide can’t hit the Gringo Killer, instead getting caught in a spike Jay Driller to give Mark the pin at 18:50.

Rating: B+. This actually felt wild and that is the kind of thing you need in a match like this one. The Briscoes were a big deal but it is amazing to see how much bigger they would get. Homicide is clearly the hottest thing in the world but Joe is still revered in ROH today. You can imagine what he was like at this point, even if he was wrestling in a shirt here which feels so out of place given how well known his regular look has become.

Post match the fans call that awesome but Jay says it’s the stupidest chant he’s ever heard. He drops quite a few F Bombs over everyone around here, both in and out of the ring, before leaving to end the show.

Actually we’re not done yet as Jimmy Rave won’t answer questions about the recently broken up Embassy and leaves his gear behind. Now we’re done.

The DVD also includes another Video Wire, which is a bunch of videos related to the show.

Colt Cabana talks about how high tech the Video Wire is but doesn’t seem to know the words he is using. He’s the host of this edition but you never know who it is going to be next time. Next time it might be Alf or Bobby Dempsey, but he’s starting it off because he’s Colt Cabana. He has a match featuring the Kings of Wrestling for us but here is Lacey to interrupt. She has something for him, though Cabana says she has something big for her. Lacey doesn’t mind the implication but this is business.

Apparently the match is only available on the online version of the Video Wire. They didn’t think of that when they included this on the DVD?

Here is a bunch of merchandise you can buy! WWE DVDs are included.

Jack Evans is going to be out for the rest of the year but he’ll be back in January. He wants some gold.

Cabana wishes Jack Evans good travels in Japanese and says play some Pokemon while he’s over there. Lacey comes in and says she has gotten Jimmy Jacobs and Colt Cabana a Tag Team Title shot in Cleveland on October 6 (the day before this show). Jimmy comes in and asks if Cabana will team with him for Lacey’s sake. Jacobs apologizes and Cabana agrees because he’s always down for a title shot.

And now, some Glory By Honor V highlights.

Bruno Sammartino is in the ring to praise Ring of Honor, which earns quite the round of applause.

Later in the night, Adam Pearce introduced Shane Hagadorn as his new manservant.

We get some clips of Homicide and Samoa Joe beating the Briscoes. Jim Cornette came out after the match and gave Homicide the World Title shot at Final Battle but promised to make it really hard to get there.

The Kings of Wrestling won the Tag Team Titles. And Castagnoli had hair!

Clips of Nigel McGuinness unsuccessfully challenging Naomichi Marufuji for the GHC Heavyweight Title.

Then Bryan Danielson beat Kenta to retain the Ring of Honor World Title.

House show ads.

Samoa Joe meets the debuting Takeshi Morishima and hopes he can hack it in Ring of Honor. Morishima doesn’t seem impressed.

Colt Cabana, with Lacey’s legs on his lap, thanks us for watching while Jacobs glares. As usual, this isn’t much of an addition but it wasn’t a bad thing at all.

Overall Rating: B+. I liked this show a lot and that was kind of a surprise. It wasn’t a major show and felt like any run of the mill event, but one of the nice things about Ring of Honor at this point is they didn’t really have traditional house shows. You get something out of all of them and that helps a lot, as you don’t feel like you’re wasting your time on a nothing show. I could go for more from this era and it’s really easy to see why Ring of Honor had such a reputation from around this time.

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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Ring Of Honor vs. SCUM (3 Disc, 9.5 Hour DVD Set): Fight ROH Fight

IMG Credit: Ring of Honor Wrestling

Ring of Honor vs. SCUM
Date: 2012, 2013

So over the last few weeks, I’ve bought a ton of DVDs and video downloads from Highspots as they had a crazy sale with everything in both categories at 50% off. They had a ton of cheap stuff included, including this 3 disc, nine plus hour set which I couldn’t pass up for $5. SCUM was a heel faction in ROH and the set is the major matches, angles and promos from the story. Let’s get to it.

I’ve never seen any of this as I wasn’t watching ROH at the time so I’m coming in mostly blind. I’m only going off what they show me here. Also for the sake of simplicity, all dates are the broadcast dates rather than the dates the matches were taped.

Disc 1

From Border Wars 2012 (May 12, 2012).

We see the end of Kevin Steen (Owens) challenging Davey Richards for the World Title. They beat the heck out of each other and Owens spat at him a lot but got caught in an ankle lock. That was reversed with a roll into an exposed buckle and the package piledriver gave Steen the title after about 4:30 shown of 24:27.

Post match, ROH boss Cary Silkin can’t bring himself to present the World Title to Steen so he hands it to the referee and walks away instead. Owens’ friend Jimmy Jacobs celebrates with him and commentator Steve Corino gets inside as well. The jacket comes off and Owens is ready to fight again but Corino hugs him for a big surprise, though Corino didn’t seem to do anything until after the match.

From ROH TV, June 2, 2012.

Here’s Kevin Steen, with Jimmy Jacobs and Steve Corino, for a chat. Corino cuts off Kevin Kelly and says that it’s about time the junior member of the commentary team got to talk. He introduces Steen and handles the interview with the new champ. Eighteen months ago, Silkin tried to kill Steen’s career but now he has to call Steen if he wants to book the World Champion.

Steen looks at the title and says he promised this would happen six months ago. Steen: “LOOK HOW SHINY IT IS!” Corino talks about how Steen has shows him evil is the only way to go and Steen talks about how he’s going to decide which appearances he makes. Of course he’ll go to the health and fitness expo, plus the affiliate dinner where the World Champion is expected to appear. He’ll dress to the nines and tell all of those people what they really need to hear about Jim Cornette.

Cue Cornette, who doesn’t want Steen anywhere near that meeting and promises Steen won’t be the World Champion by then. Cornette wanted Corino to keep Steen from winning the title and then he hugged him! Just for that, Corino is fired from doing DVD commentary. Corino blames Cornette for putting him out of the ring in the first place and rants about how Cornette made him sign some horrible contract.

Cornette calls Steen a cancer to this company who does nothing to his image. He’ll find someone who can take the title from Steen and there are a lot of people who want a shot at Best in the World. Cue Davey Richards, with Kyle O’Reilly, to say he’s sick of being lumped in with Camp Cornette. Before Cornette can say anything, Davey cuts him off to say that he’s here to fight for himself. Davey admits Steen was the better man in Toronto, which Cornette says is the problem. It is a problem, but it’s Cornette’s problem.

At Best in the World, Davey wants the two best to fight for that title. If Cornette won’t give him the title match, Davey is beating Cornette up instead. Steen and company leaves as Cornette makes the title match, which is Davey’s final shot at the title. Davey is coming for the title for himself and Steen’s worst nightmare begins in New York City. This was longer than it needed to be but it set up the next title match and showed you who was where.

From The Nightmare Begins (June 15, 2012).

Steen comes out for a match but first, Cornette rants about how Steen recently lost the company a potential sponsorship. Kevin has the fans chant MR. WRESTLING and makes sure Cornette hears it. Cornette gets in the ring and says Steen doesn’t deserve to be called Mr. Wrestling (he doesn’t even wear a mask).

Steen brings up the dinner with the sponsor and doesn’t get why saying the sponsor’s wife was more wrinkly than a puppy or threatening to eat the sponsor’s face were bad ideas. Cornette talks about how someone has to defeat Steen and every time he wrestles in a singles match, the title is on the line. Steen says Cornette will die before someone takes the title from him because he’s the World Champion.

Ring of Honor World Title: Kevin Steen vs. Eddie Edwards

Date: June 15, 2012

Location: Charleston Civic Center, Charleston, West Virginia

Commentators: Jim Cornette, Steve Corino, Kevin Kelly

Steen is defending and Jimmy Jacobs is at ringside. Jacobs goes for the trip from the floor to start so Eddie dives on him early on. A low bridge puts Steen on the floor but he trips Steen onto the apron. The apron bomb is countered with a hurricanrana but a fall away slam sends Eddie into the barricade (Corino: “I was hoping he’d hit a fan.”).

They fight up the aisle with Eddie being sent into the barricade again, right in front of some Hooters girls. We look at commentary as Cornette rants about how Steen is destroying everything the company is building. Steen fishhooks Edwards’ face to freak Cornette out again and they head back inside. The beating continues as Corino and Kevin Kelly get in an argument on commentary.

We seem to go to a commercial as commentary stops with Steen choking in the corner. Commentary pops back in as Steen cuts off a comeback attempt. The chinlock goes on with Steen saying it’s straight out of the 1980s. Corino: “If we had been around in the 80s, there wouldn’t have been a Midnight Express!”. Eddie fights out and hits a missile dropkick for two as the fans start getting behind the comeback.

Steen gets sent outside for a suicide dive and a middle rope Codebreaker (called the Boston Knee Party here) gets two. The pop up powerbomb gives Steen the same and the Sharpshooter goes on. Eddie makes it to the rope so Steen gives him a Randy Orton hanging DDT.

The Cannonball misses so Eddie drops a top rope double stomp for two. Steen bails to the floor and Edwards follows, earning himself a spinebuster through the announcers’ table. Back in and they trade superkicks but Steen reverses a Backpack Stunner into a sleeper suplex. The F Cinc (F5) retains the title at 16:17.

Rating: B. They were getting somewhere here, even though the title wasn’t exactly in danger. Edwards is a former World Champion who won the title in a surprise so it wasn’t completely out of the question, but Steen isn’t losing the title in his first major defense. Having Steen run over former World Champions makes him seem all the more dangerous and gives Cornette something else to rant about.

Post match, Steen spits in Cornette’s drink for a bonus.

From ROH TV, June 23, 2012.

Kevin Steen/Jimmy Jacobs vs. Davey Richards/Kyle O’Reilly

Date: June 23, 2012

Location: Du Burns Arena, Baltimore, Maryland

Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness, Steve Corino

Richards jumps Steen before the bell and the brawl starts on the floor. Richards kicks away at Jacobs and takes him inside but has to save O’Reilly from an apron bomb. A suicide dive sends Jacobs into the barricade as Richards is basically fighting on his own so far. Back in and Richards hits a top rope double stomp to Steen, setting up the ankle lock. That’s broken up and it’s Steen hitting the pop up apron bomb to break Richards in half.

We take a break (for some reason with the commercial footage not shown) and come back with Steen sending Richards into the barricade. Things settle down into a regular tag match with Jacobs hitting a springboard elbow to O’Reilly and grabbing him by the ear. It’s back to Steen for a backsplash to stay on the ribs but O’Reilly grabs a rollup for two.

Richards comes back in without a tag for a double clothesline and it’s time for the kicks in the corner. A big kick drops Steen and we hit the ankle lock. Jacobs makes the save with a guillotine choke but O’Reilly makes a save of his own. O’Reilly and Jacobs fight to the floor with Richards joining them.

Steen hits the big running flip dive to take all three of them out. Not to be kept down, Davey pops up with a t-bone suplex to Steen on the apron. Steen is back up and kicks the rope into a low blow on Richards but the other two knock Richards and Steen onto the timekeeper’s table. Jacobs drives O’Reilly through the table though and that’s a double DQ at 12:37.

Rating: C. This was your wild brawl style main event and that’s what it should be. We’re coming up on Best in the World and there is no reason to have Steen or Richards lose a fall here. That being said, having Richards take Jacobs out for a pin here would have been fine, but what we got here was good enough.

Post match the brawl stays on with Steen taking out a referee until security breaks it up.

From Best in the World 2012 (June 24, 2012).

Ring of Honor World Title: Kevin Steen vs. Davey Richards

Date: June 24, 2012

Location: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York

Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly

Steen is defending and anything goes, including Steen’s package piledriver. Hold on though as we need to hear from Corino, meaning the ECW chants are out in full force. Corino says he is an evil man but you are seeing the era of KILL STEEN KILL. He’s going to be out there giving Steen the proper representation that he deserves, unlike Jim Cornette. Cue Cornette to say Corino can do commentary, but Cornette will be sitting at ringside as well.

We’re not ready to go yet though as Kyle O’Reilly comes out to complain about the fact that he’s not in Davey’s corner. Apparently Davey didn’t like O’Reilly’s match against Adam Cole. Well Adam Cole is getting stitches so he’s here to stab Richards in the f****** eye. He hates Steen but respects Davey but he’s no one’s lackey. Corino: “Does he kiss his boyfriend with that mouth?” O’Reilly flips the fans off and leaves, much to Richards’ chagrin.

Steen bails to the apron to start so Richards knocks him through the timekeeper’s table. A running boot against the barricade hits Steen and Richards whips him into it again. Davey has to deal with Jacobs though and it’s a pop up apron bomb to drop him cold. Steen rips off the barricade covers and buries Richards under them, setting up the frog splash off the apron. They go inside with Steen’s Swanton hitting raised knees (yelling at Cornette might have something to do with it) but he’s right back with a hanging DDT for two.

Just to be a bit more evil, Steen goes outside again and superkicks the ring announcer, allowing Richards to hit a suicide dive. Cornette and former boss Cary Silkin help the announcer to the back as Richards suplexes Steen on the apron. The fans want fire but have to settle for Richards hitting a top rope double stomp through the announcers’ table. Cornette is back and panicking as Richards sends Steen back inside for another double stomp and a near fall.

Richards throws in a couple of chairs and then adds two more, including the one Cornette was sitting in. Steen gets in a chair to the head though and the Cannonball onto the chair onto Richards gets two. The chairs are piled on top of Richards but he gets up before the Swanton can launch. A top rope superplex onto the chairs gets two on Steen so it’s table time.

Richards loads him up on top again but gets reversed into a spinning fisherman’s superplex through the table for two more. Cornette is selling the heck out of this as he panics over the near falls. Steen steals the mouthpiece and puts it in his own mouth but takes too long setting up the chairs. That earns him a German suplex onto the two open chairs and they’re both down again.

With nothing else working, Richards grabs a chain and wraps it around his boot for some Kawada kicks. Steen spits at him so it’s the big kick to the head, with the chain, for two more. The referee gets bumped and Davey busts out a ladder. Steen grabs a quick F Cinc (Corino: “WE NEED A REFEREE! WE NEED A REFEREE!”) so here’s another referee for a slow two.

That earns the new referee a package piledriver as the fans think this is awesome. Richards grabs a Jay Driller onto the ladder but there’s no referee, even as the fans count to twenty. The referee is thrown back in but Jacobs gets in and busts out his spike. That brings Cornette in to take it away, which brings in Corino to kick him low. Richards suplexes Jacobs onto the ladder in the corner but Steen stabs Richards low. The package piledriver retains the title at 21:20.

Rating: B+. This was a wild fight and while I’m rarely a fan of Richards, I got pulled into the story here and that’s a hard trick to pull. They made me believe that they might do a title change here and the story they were going with, of Richards having no friends because of his obsession and being overcome by the numbers, worked really well. I was rather surprised by this and they beat the heck out of each other.

Post match, Corino announces Steen the winner by clean pinfall. Steen says cut the music because he’s waited a long time to close a New York City show as World Champion. He can’t stand hypocrites and there aren’t many bigger hypocrites than Cornette. We’ll come back to that, as Steen needs to talk about Eddie Edwards (seems like he said the wrong name as he is talking straight to Richards) because he has been working a long time to face Richards in a title match like this.

The most hypocritical people in wrestling are the fans (that makes them cheer louder) because they cheered when El Generico got rid of him at Final Battle 2010. That brings up the OLE chants but Steen cuts them off by saying he came back six months later and the fans cheered him all over again. If you need even more proof of the hypocrisy, what about fans buying tickets to an ROH show and then chant for Brian Danielson and CM Punk. Like they even remember this company!

These people like turning on former World Champions like Nigel McGuinness and Tyler Black, but they can’t turn on Steen because he doesn’t care about any of them. He’s going to be the final ROH World Champion because they’re killing this company. So f*** this company and f*** New York City. I guess this was designed to make the fans boo Steen, but I’m not sure how well that is going to work.

From ROH TV, August 11, 2012.

Kevin Steen/Jimmy Jacobs/Steve Corino vs. Jay Lethal/All Night Express

Date: August 11, 2012

Location: Du Burns Arena, Baltimore, Maryland

Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly

The Express are World Tag Team Champions Kenny King/Rhett Titus and Lethal has been asking for a shot at Steen. It’s a brawl to start with Lethal and Jacobs staying in the ring as the other four fight outside. Lethal’s basement dropkick connects but Corino throws Lethal to the floor. Titus comes in for a jumping elbow to Corino so it’s off to King vs. Steen for a change. The good guys clear the ring but head straight to the floor to keep up the fight. That lets Steen throw King into the barricade as Titus gives Corino a slingshot belly to back suplex.

We settle down to a regular tag match with Titus splashing Corino for two and King adding a suplex. Titus’ slingshot shoulder gets two and we hit the chinlock. That doesn’t last long so it’s back to King, who gets his neck snapped across the top by Jacobs so the villains can take over.

We take a break and come back with Steen planting King and sending him into the evil corner. Corino pulls on King’s ears (that’s just cruel) and kicks out of King’s sunset flip at two. It’s off to Lethal for the house cleaning, including a neckbreaker/DDT combination to Jacobs and Corino. Steen misses a clothesline and Lethal suicide dives onto Corino. Back in and Titus drops Steen, setting up the Hail to the King top rope elbow for two on Steen with Corino making the save.

A Downward Spiral plants Lethal and we hit the parade of secondary finishers. Lethal hits the Lethal Combination on Steen and everyone is down. The Lethal Injection is broken up and Jacobs hits the Contra Code (Sliced Bread) on Lethal. Steen’s Swanton gets two so Jacobs pulls out the spike, only to walk into the Lethal Injection for the pin at 12:16.

Rating: B-. Fine enough six man main event here and that’s all it needed to be. They had a nice, longish match here and it gives Lethal some momentum towards what is likely going to be a World Title shot. It’s fine to beat someone like Jacobs as he is the glorified lackey of the team, so everything is fine from all of this.

Post match Steen and company beat down the Express, including a suplex to put King through an open chair. Jacobs and Corino hold up the Tag Team Titles.

From Death Before Dishonor 2012 (September 15, 2020).

We see Corino and Jacobs defeating Charlie Haas and Rhett Titus for the vacant Tag Team Titles after King left the company over a contract dispute. That’s not mentioned here, along with why Haas is in the match or why the titles are vacant.

From Killer Instinct (October 6, 2012).

We see the end of Steen vs. Lethal with Steen spitting on Lethal’s mother, sending Lethal into a rage. The beating was on and the match was thrown out as a result. Steen storms off as Cornette tries to calm things down. The fans are TICKED as Lethal beats on things with a chair. Lethal leaves through the crowd but comes back in and threatens to murder anyone who spits on his mother. Of note: Corino was wearing a jacket that said SCUM, though there has been no mention of the name or what it means yet. For a DVD about Ring of Honor vs. SCUM, that might be an important detail.

Post show, Lethal is ticked off in the back and throws Cornette over a table, writing him out of the promotion. Lethal storms off as Cornette is checked on.

From ROH TV, December 15, 2012.

Steve Corino vs. Jay Briscoe

Date: December 15, 2012

Location: Rostraver Ice Gardens, Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania

Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Caleb Seltzer

Street fight as I guess the Briscoes are chasing the Tag Team Titles. Corino comes to the ring in a suit and the team is officially named SCUM. Kelly confirms that SCUM is defending in a three way tag match at Final Battle against the Briscoes and Caprice Coleman/Cedric Alexander. They fight to the floor in a hurry and Jay hits him in the face with a drink. A whip into the barricade gives Corino a breather and it’s time to fight over a table. Jay punches him down though and it’s a double stomp to put Corino through the table.

Back from a break with Jay hitting him in the head with the bell and wedging chairs in the corners. Cue Jimmy Jacobs for a distraction though and Corino gets in a right hand with a roll of quarters for two. Mark Briscoe comes out to drop Jacobs and here’s a wheelbarrow full of chairs for a bonus.

As Mark beats on Jimmy a bit more, Corino sends Jay into a chair in the corner. Corino slams Jay onto the pile of chairs and it’s time to bring in another table. A suplex onto an open chair gives Corino two (and Jay a rather sore back) but you don’t do that around here, as Jay gives him a Death Valley Driver onto two open chairs. Mark comes back out with a piece of barricade but Jacobs hits him low.

The distraction lets Corino suplex Jay through a table, because a Death Valley Driver onto a chair is a thirty second injury. The barricade is bridged between the chairs but Corino takes too much time and gets top rope superplexed onto the barricade. Fans: “HOLY (MOSTLY) CENSORED!”. Alexander and Coleman come down to brawl with Jacobs and Mark as Jay gets the pin at 17:53.

Rating: B-. The violence was good but at the same time, there was so much going on and the big spots were getting a little ridiculous by the end. I know they’re building up to the big title match, but how much sense does it make to have a major street fight on the go home show to a pay per view? It was violent, but it didn’t make the most sense.

Post match here’s Steen, holding El Generico’s mask. He talks about Generico beating him at Final Battle 2010 to get rid of him from Ring of Honor. Since then, Steen has returned and become World Champion. That isn’t enough to make the feeling go away because he realized that he and Generico are destined to fight forever. Steen starts rocking back and forth as he says he isn’t scared of a ladder war with Generico. He goes to the floor to yell at Kevin Kelly for being worried about what would happen to Generico and Steen two years ago. Back in the ring, Steen promises to leave Final Battle either as champion or as a corpse.

From Final Battle 2012 (December 16, 2012).

We see the end of Jay Lethal defeating Rhino. Commentary suggests that SCUM hired Rhino to take Lethal. Corino grabs the mic and says he dated Lethal’s mom. Lethal used to carry Corino’s bag and Corino respects him, but Lethal isn’t messing up SCUM. Cue Jacobs from behind and the double teaming is on. Rhino gets up to Gore Lethal so Corino can shout that Lethal will never be in the main event.

Also from Final Battle 2012 (December 16, 2012).

We get some highlights from the Ladder War between Steen and Generico. They beat the heck out of each other and destroyed a bunch of ladders, including a package piledriver to put Generico through a bridged ladder. Steen won (and it’s a newly designed title) because Generico was mostly dead.

From ROH TV, January 23, 2013.

Nigel McGuinness is in the ring, surrounded by security, and brings out Jay Lethal and Kevin Steen for a chat. Lethal is surprised that Steen came out here but isn’t surprised that he came out here with his lackeys (including Rhino, who has joined the team). He wants another title shot but Corino thinks Lethal’s mother would have raised him better than that. It was Lethal’s father who threw a drink on Steen to set everything off.

Steen takes the mic from Corino but Lethal calls him a vile human and disgusting human being. For some reason, Steen wants to destroy the company because of some grudge but Lethal is more about honor than anyone else. If Steen wants to destroy everything, he has to beat Lethal, or he isn’t s***. Jacobs and Corino say it isn’t happening but Steen heads to the apron and says he accepts.

Video on Lethal vs. Steen, which is Ring of Honor vs. SCUM. During the buildup, Steen even prevented SCUM from beating Lethal down because he was much happier now that Jim Cornette was gone. Who got rid of Cornette? Jay Lethal of course. Steen decided he cared about this company but Lethal didn’t buy any of it.

From the 11th Anniversary Show (March 2, 2013).

Ring of Honor World Title: Kevin Steen vs. Jay Lethal

Date: March 2, 2013

Location: Frontier Fieldhouse, Chicago Ridge, Illinois

Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Caleb Seltzer

Steen is defending and there are no seconds. They slug it out immediately and the fight is on the floor in a hurry. Steen gets whipped into the barricade but comes back with shots to the face. That earns him another shot into the barricade as they keep going around the ring. This time it’s Lethal going into the barricade so Steen can send him inside. A quick dropkick gives Lethal two and another sends Steen into the corner as he can’t do much when they get down to the wrestling.

Lethal’s basement dropkick gets two and he sends Steen to the apron for a triangle dropkick. Two suicide dives connect but the third is countered into the apron bomb to give Steen his first control. Steen crotches him against the post and the taunting is on in a hurry. Choking on the rope gets two but the Swanton hits raised knees. A Backstabber drops Steen for two but he’s right back with the pumphandle brainbuster onto the knee for the same.

The Cannonball misses though and Lethal grabs a belly to back neckbreaker for two more. The ref gets bumped and, of course, the Lethal Injection connects two seconds later. Cue Jacobs and Corino to beat Lethal down, including a spike cradle piledriver to give Steen two. Jacobs decks the referee again but here’s Nigel McGuinness to cut Corino off. Nigel scares Corino to the back and Lethal kicks Jacobs to the floor.

That leaves Lethal and Steen to slug it out until Lethal hits a pair of scary looking release dragon suplexes for two. Steen’s pop up powerbomb gets the same but Lethal is right back with a Koji Clutch to put Steen in real trouble. A rope is grabbed so they head to the apron and it’s the F Cinc through the announcers’ table to destroy Lethal again.

Lethal is on the way back in and beats the count despite Jacobs grabbing his leg. The package piledriver gives Steen two and he tells Jacobs to get out of here. A heck of a clothesline blasts Lethal and they’re both down again. Lethal heads up top and hammers Steen down but Hail to the King is broken up. Instead, Steen grabs a Brainbusterrrrr (or however El Generico spelled his version onto the top turnbuckle) to retain at 20:47.

Rating: B. This was a good job of giving us a big showdown for the title and advancing Steen’s issues with SCUM. Steen is turning into the anti-hero and that could make for some interesting material going forward. On the other hand, Lethal has gone from some young guy who feels in over his head to someone who feels like a serious challenger to the World Title. Good match here and it felt like the major fight they were shooting for the whole time.

Post match Steen looks calm but here are Jacobs and Rhino to take out Lethal again. The Briscoes run in for the save but get taken down as well. Caprice Coleman and Cedric Alexander run in as well but here’s former ROH star Jimmy Rave, in a SCUM shirt, to take care of them as well. Now it’s BJ Whitmer and Rhett Titus coming in with the former going after Rave. Titus dropkicks Whitmer though and reveals his own SCUM shirt.

Michael Elgin comes in this time and goes after SCUM but Cliff Compton (Domino of Deuce N Domino) with powder to blind Elgin. Steen gets up and looks confused as Elgin is handcuffed to the corner. We’re still not done as the Wolves (Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards) run in to fight SCUM but the numbers get the better of it and the team starts tying everyone to the ropes. Adam Cole comes in (looking about 14 years old) and can’t do much either.

Matt Hardy comes in and he’s SCUM too as the huge beatdown continues. Steen is down on the floor watching now (he hasn’t done anything physical since the match ended) but Corino grabs the mic to say evil is here. This is the evolution of SCUM and the destruction of Ring of Honor. Corino praises Steen as the King of SCUM, Ring of Honor and professional wrestling because the vision has always been the same: bring suffering, chaos, ugliness and mayhem (the first time the acronym has been explained on the DVD) to this company.

They hold up an ROH banner as Steen gets in the ring and Corino introduces the (several) new members. Jacobs pulls out his spike and stabs the banner, which is torn to pieces. Corino declares war on ROH but it won’t last long because tonight, honor has died. The team poses, with Steen looking on from the side, to end the show after a very big and very long angle.

Disc 2

From ROH TV, March 16, 2013.

Nigel McGuinness is in the ring with a bunch of the roster on the apron. Nigel, holding the torn banner: “S*** just got real.” It’s time for ROH to fight because SCUM has started a way. They are still united and still believe in this company. Steve Corino said three things: SCUM will go down in history as the company who killed Ring of Honor, that there are no credible contenders to Kevin Steen and that honor is dead. Look at all of these people around the ring and you’ll know honor isn’t dead.

There are plenty of credible contenders, like Adam Cole, who will be getting a World Title shot. He has defended the TV Title with honor and next week he’ll be facing Matt Hardy with the winner getting a TV Title shot. Then there’s BJ Whitmer, who is getting a title shot as well. As for Jay Lethal and Michael Elgin, they can face off at Supercard of Honor with the winner getting a title shot. Roderick Strong jumps up on the ropes but Nigel says this isn’t the time for fun and games. They’ll talk about this in the back.

That brings him to the Briscoe Brothers, who are the pioneers around here. Mark Briscoe is getting a title shot in two weeks in Ashville, North Carolina. Then there’s Jay Briscoe, whose arm is in a sling. He gets in the ring and says he’ll fight with one arm if he has to though because he only needs one chance. Nigel grants him the title match at Supercard of Honor. As for tonight, SCUM is banned from the building, but that will change next week. The roster gets in the ring and Nigel says they aren’t running and hiding from SCUM.

From ROH TV, March 23, 2013.

Veda Scott (lawyer/manager) and Grizzly Redwood (short guy with a big beard) are in the ring to interview Mike Mondo, who has been out of action with an injury for four months. Mondo was supposed to be out for a year and cut that down for four months because he’s in Beast Mode every day. He has no fear….and here’s SCUM to beat the guys down. Corino asks if this is what Nigel wanted as Compton grabs Veda.

BJ Whitmer and some other wrestlers come out but Corino says Compton will end Scott if they take one more step. Nigel can come out here to talk face to face, because Corino wants a SCUM show next week. Nigel does come out and makes ROH vs. SCUM next week, so prepare for h***.

From ROH TV, March 23, 2013.

We see the end of Matt Hardy vs. Adam Cole, with Hardy pulling the floor mats back but having the Twist of Fate countered into a suplex. Rhino Gored Cole down so Cedric Alexander and Caprice Coleman ran in for the DQ.

The big brawl is on with both factions running in for the fight.

From ROH TV, March 30, 2013.

Here’s Kevin Steen to get things going but Jay Briscoe, still in a sling, cuts him off before anything can be said. Briscoe talks about how this company has been his life for eleven years and now SCUM is talking about wanting to kill it. That sounds like threatening his livelihood and that isn’t a good idea. Before Steen can say anything, here’s Corino to say how dare Briscoe disrespect the World Champion.

Briscoe wants to hear from the champ himself so Steen says he’s glad both Briscoes are getting the title shot. Steen: “In New York City, we’ll see who the b**** is, b****.” Steen leaves and Corino laughs at Briscoe, who pulls out a metal rod. Corino realizes no one else is here so SCUM comes in….and we take a break.

From ROH TV, March 30, 2013.

Date: March 30, 2013

Location: Frontier Fieldhouse, Chicago Ridge, Illinois

Commentators: Caleb Seltzer, Kevin Kelly

This starts with Coleman and Alexander running in to save Briscoe so maybe we’re getting the full episode here. Coleman takes Titus into the corner to start and Alexander springboards in with an elbow for two. Cedric fights out of the SCUM corner but Compton pulls him down for a crotching against the post. Titus drops him ribs first across the top rope so Compton can hit a top rope elbow to the back. A boot scrape in the corner has Alexander down and it’s off to a chinlock.

That’s broken up though and Cedric gets in a shot to the face, allowing the roll into a hot tag to Coleman. We take a break and come back with Titus breaking up a dive but tossing Coleman over the top….right onto Compton. Well to be fair, they haven’t been partners that long. Coleman’s guillotine legdrop gets two but cue Jimmy Rave to shove Cedric off the top (for a NASTY landing on the apron. Jimmy Jacobs comes out and slips Compton some powder to blind Coleman and Titus adds a dropkick for the pin at 10:11.

Rating: C-. This was fine and a good example of how SCUM can cheat to win with the numbers advantage. It’s not like Alexander and Coleman lose anything after this much cheating. Not a good match but Coleman and Alexander were a good team when they got to face the right opponents. I’m not sure they had that chance here.

From ROH TV, March 30, 2013.

Jimmy Jacobs vs. Mike Mondo

Date: March 30, 2013

Location: Frontier Fieldhouse, Chicago Ridge, Illinois

Commentators: Caleb Seltzer, Kevin Kelly

Sweet goodness this company loves alliteration. This picks up right after the previous match as well with Mondo running in for the save and the bell ringing. Mondo fights off Rave and avoids a dive from Jacobs, setting up a running corkscrew dive of his own. Back in and Jacobs gets in a kick to the face but Mondo catches him on top and unloads with kicks to the ribs.

We take a break and come back with Jacobs catches him on top but getting headbutted right back down. Jacobs knocks him down from the top to the floor though in a big crash. A running elbow from the apron to the….well some part of Mondo but it worked anyway. Jacobs puts him in a chair and hits a suicide dive to crush them both. Mondo is right back up and trips Jacobs off the apron.

Back in and Jacobs flips out of what looked like a tiger bomb and grabs a guillotine choke. That’s reversed with a northern lights suplex but Jacobs is right back with the guillotine. Mondo breaks that up and blocks the Contra Code so they go to an exchange of rollups with Jacobs grabbing the rope for the pin at 10:07.

Rating: C. Mondo is someone that Cornette raves about as an underrated talent but there is only so much that you can get out of him when he used to be in the Spirit Squad. He looked good here, but Ring of Honor isn’t supposed to win these matches. What we got was good enough though and Mondo looked solid even in defeat.

From ROH TV, March 30, 2013.

Corino presents Inside SCUM (instead of Inside ROH), starting off with a look at Rhett Titus. ROH has overlooked Titus several times now and he has no faith in the company. He’s found acceptance in SCUM though and that’s to their benefit. Then there’s Cliff Compton, who has never gotten a chance in ROH because Cornette wouldn’t give him a chance. It was always next time, but now it’s his time.

Next up is Jimmy Rave, who has been very successful in ROH and has beaten his personal demons so he can be back where he belongs. Matt Hardy has been screwed over by ROH despite his star power. Eight years ago, Matt yelled RING OF HONOR on Monday Night Raw but he still can’t get any respect. These men plus the rest of the group are wrestling’s worst nightmare and on April 5, Steen is defeating Jay Briscoe like he does to everyone else.

We go to Steen, who says he doesn’t care about what SCUM is planning. What matters to him is Steen vs. Briscoe at Supercard of Honor. Steen knows how tough Briscoe is….and Corino says get the camera back on him to wrap it up in a hurry. Corino yells at the production staff for playing the wrong music.

Steve Corino/Matt Hardy/Rhino vs. Jay Lethal/BJ Whitmer/Michael Elgin

Date: March 30, 2013

Location: Frontier Fieldhouse, Chicago Ridge, Illinois

Commentators: Caleb Seltzer, Kevin Kelly

Apparently Corino is replacing Steen here because the team is already 2-0. Corino is wrestling in a suit and tapes his wrists on the way to the ring. With the other four fighting on the floor, Corino stops to offer Lethal a SCUM shirt, which goes as well as you would expect. Lethal even takes Corino’s glasses off to stomp on them, which is rather evil indeed. Elgin and Hardy take their places in the ring and the delayed suplex drops Matt. Now it’s Lethal coming in with a handspring elbow to rock Rhino and a springboard missile dropkick gets two.

Back from a break with Lethal hitting a suicide dive to take out more members of SCUM who aren’t involved in the match. The numbers game starts getting the better of the ROH guys and it’s time to zip tie Elgin and Lethal to the ropes. That leaves Whitmer to get triple teamed but he somehow gets in a spinebuster to Rhino. An exploder suplex sends Rave flying but a Corino distraction lets Rhino hit the Gore. Matt adds the Twist of Fate for the pin at 11:40.

Rating: C. This was more of an angle than a match and that’s not a bad thing. The whole show has been about SCUM dominating and taking over the company even more than they already had and that’s what they did here again. It was a nice brawl while it lasted though and Lethal continues to look like a star, which is the secondary point of the whole thing.

Post match Lethal and Elgin get loose and fight SCUM off. Jay Briscoe comes out and promises he’ll lose the sling while Steen loses the belt.

From Supercard of Honor VII (April 5, 2013).

Date: April 5, 2013

Location: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York

Commentators: Caleb Seltzer, Kevin Kelly

It’s Compton/Jacobs/Rave/Titus/Rhino with Corino sitting in on commentary. This is an impromptu match after SCUM attacked Lethal and Elgin to break up their #1 contenders match. The big brawl is on before the bell with ROH getting the better of things to start. Everyone brawls on the floor with Seltzer snapping on Corino early on.

We finally settle down to Rave slugging Mondo into the corner so the villains can take over. Rhino hits the running shoulder in the ribs and Titus rubs Mondo’s face in the mat. Corino goes into a rant about how horrible the ROH guys are, including calling Cedric and Caprice the “black version of the Midnight Rockers.” Titus sends Mondo into Compton’s boot and we get a DEUCE WAS BETTER chant. This is likely the only time Deuce has ever received a chant in wrestling history.

Mondo slips between Rave’s legs, realizes he’s gone to the wrong corner, and rolls over to the right corner for the tag to Whitmer. Everything breaks down for a bit with the Factory hitting stereo dives, followed by Briscoe hitting a big springboard flip dive for a bonus. Titus beats on Whitmer and hits a running Fameasser from behind. Compton gives Caprice a Falcon Arrow but Cedric kicks him down. Corino: “HE’S A MOVE STEALER!!! HE STOLE THAT FROM STRONG!!!”.

Jacobs gives Cedric a Pedigree but gets dropped by Mondo. Rhino runs Mondo over but Briscoe shotgun dropkicks him into the corner. They’re taken down as well, leaving us with Whitmer sending Rave to the floor for a heck of a suicide dive. Corino gets off commentary and slaps Seltzer, so Whitmer makes the save.

Whitmer goes after Corino but gets grabbed by Rhino and Jacobs. He’s fine enough to spit at Corino but Titus comes back in for a dropkick. That’s enough for Whitmer to be cuffed to the rope and Jacobs throws powder in Mondo’s eyes. Corino gets back on commentary as Coleman hits a nasty piledriver on Rave. Rhino Gores him down though and Coleman is done at 11:14.

Rating: C+. This got better at the end and they were smart to keep it a little shorter. A big ten man match like this can get a little long winded at times so it was a good move to make it feel like a TV match. SCUM continues to dominate, but at some point ROH is going to have to pick up an important win.

Post match Corino brags about how awesome they are and promises to win their other matches tonight.

From Supercard of Honor VII (April 5, 2013).

We see the end of Kevin Steen vs. Jay Briscoe for the World Title, with the Briscoe family and some ROH wrestlers coming out to prevent SCUM from interfering. Briscoe kicked out of the package piledriver and here’s SCUM for the big brawl in the aisle. Matt Hardy snuck in from the other side but Steen broke up the Twist of Fate and threw him outside.

Steen kicked out of the Jay Driller and Nigel McGuinness is LOSING IT on commentary. Jay fought out of the Crossface and hit another Jay Driller to win, with Nigel literally jumping around ringside in celebration before coming back to commentary. Of all the things on this set, they couldn’t air THIS match in full? The set is looking to be close to ten hours long and you cut the major turning point? After airing the ten man tag in full? Weird choice there.

Post match Jay’s dad, his brother, Nigel and others got in the ring to celebrate. Jay grabs the mic but Steen gets back up and, after listening to the THAT WAS AWESOME and THANK YOU STEEN chants, drops the mic and shakes Jay’s hand. Steen leaves and Jay says tonight, SCUM dies and honor lives.

From ROH TV, April 20, 2013.

Here’s Steen for a chat, but first we need some THANK YOU KEVIN chants. Corino cuts him off though, saying Steen hasn’t been around for a bit so this is how they have to talk. He knows how hard it was to lose the World Title but the mission to kill Ring of Honor is still intact. Steen says Corino has been talking about the plan for over a year but now that Jim Cornette is gone, Ring of Honor doesn’t need to be put out of its misery. Right now, the only mission in Steen’s head is getting another World Title shot.

Cue SCUM to interrupt to surround the ring, as Corino suggests that it’s time for a new star of the team. The camera pans over to Matt Hardy but Steen says he’ll follow Corino through a lot. One part that he can’t get behind though is this mother ****** Matt Hardy. That’s too far for Corino so maybe it’s time he and Steen go their separate ways. SCUM gets in the ring and Steen says there are two ways they can do this.

Either they can walk away, or the people in the ring can start something they’re going to regret. Corino picks option two so the fight is on in a hurry. Hardy is held back by Corino as the beatdown is on, drawing out security and referees for a failed save attempt. Corino tells SCUM to step back and tells Matt to do his work. That would be a Twist of Fate and Steen is left laying. They had been building that for a long time so the turn not only makes sense but has been well set up. Nice job.

From ROH TV, April 20, 2013.

We see the end of Jorge Santi vs. Tadarius Thomas as SCUM runs in for the big beatdown. Corino says that the mission is still the same, even without Steen. After what happened earlier though, you’ll probably never see Steen again so it doesn’t matter anyway. Cue Nigel McGuinness to say Corino should shut up because SCUM is dissolving into the grave. Corino says he created and destroyed Steen so the mission continues.

Nigel brings out Jay Lethal and Michael Elgin and tells them to get out of the ring. Corino: “You don’t tell god what to do Nigel.” They do need the World Title back, so his spiritual son will become the next and final Ring of Honor World Champion. Corino is willing to sweeten the pot though: if the team gets one shot and loses, he’ll leave Ring of Honor. He knows Nigel won’t accept it though because he remembers Nigel as World Champion. The truth is that Nigel thinks a lot of himself and didn’t know why the fans booed him when he was World Champion.

Nigel shrugs that off and makes the match: Elgin/Lethal vs. any two members of the team at Border Wars. If SCUM wins, they get the World Title shot but if ROH wins, SCUM is done. Corino: “No deal.” He wants one more thing: if SCUM wins, he gets the vacant commentary spot next to Kevin Kelly, completely uncensored. Nigel takes off his jacket, slowly gets in the ring, and says he’ll see Corino at Border Wars. Corino says he’ll see him next week.

From Border Wars 2013 (May 4, 2013 in Toronto, mislabeled as March 30, 2013 in Chicago on the DVD).

Michael Elgin/Jay Lethal vs. Cliff Compton/Jimmy Jacobs

Date: May 4, 2013

Location: Ted Reeve Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness

This is immediately after SCUM interfered in a BJ Whitmer vs. Rhett Titus I Quit match so we start in a hurry with Titus still zip tied to the top rope. Lethal superkicks him before the four people actually in the match head outside where Elgin chokes Compton with a chair. SCUM gets beaten up some more as Titus is finally cut away from the ropes. Compton gets sent hard into the barricade and Elgin adds a running boot to send him into the crowd.

We finally settle down to Lethal vs. Jacobs in the ring for a chop off with Lethal getting the better of it. Elgin comes in for the very delayed vertical suplex on Jacobs, holding him up for 38 seconds, doing some squats, and then suplexing him down after another nine seconds. Lethal comes in for his hiptoss into a basement dropkick but Jacobs gets smart by going to the eyes.

It’s back to Compton, who is taken straight down by the handspring elbow. Elgin suplexes the much bigger Compton as well and holds him up, with Lethal adding his own delayed suplex on Jacobs for a nice visual. A backsplash gets two on Elgin but Compton knees Lethal in the face. It’s still too early for SCUM to take over though as Elgin tags himself in for a torture rack neckbreaker on Compton.

Everything breaks down again and Lethal hits a suicide dive on Jacobs, only to come up holding his knee. Elgin plants Compton with a spinning Boss Man Slam but Elgin goes outside to check on Lethal. Nigel goes over as well as SCUM demands they be awarded the win. Elgin is ready to fight n his own and throws Jacobs and Compton down. Jacobs gets powerbombed into Compton in the corner and it’s a Samoan drop to Compton with a fall away slam to Jacobs at the same time (that’s insane).

Back up, Compton gets in a shot in the corner and the clubberin is on (Corino: “YOU ASKED FOR IT! YOU ASKED FOR IT!”). Jacobs hits a DDT and mocks Elgin’s lack of a partner. Compton drops a leg and grabs a headscissors but Elgin stands up and tosses him to the floor. It’s back to Jacobs for a sleeper and Compton comes back in, meaning Elgin German suplexes Compton while dropping Jacobs onto his back for the three way knockdown.

Cue Kevin Steen to stand on the apron but Elgin won’t tag him. Nigel tells him to do it so Elgin goes with it. House is cleaned in a hurry, including back to back Cannonballs. There’s the apron bomb to Jacobs and Elgin’s buckle bomb makes it worse. Compton breaks up the Elgin Bomb so Steen gives him the pop up powerbomb (more like a spinebuster here but close enough). The package piledriver is loaded up on Compton but Jacobs grabs a fast rollup to pin Steen at 20:08.

Rating: B. This felt a bit like the Outsiders vs. the NWO at Bash at the Beach 1996 for a bit with the injury, though it was quite the different ending. You knew they weren’t going to have ROH win here as they can’t go with the faces winning with a 3-2 advantage. Steen taking the fall makes things even worse for him as they can now blame him for not getting rid of SCUM, thereby allowing him to need to do even more to redeem himself. Good match here though and it felt big, even though it was on the first half of the show.

From ROH TV, May 18, 2013.

Jimmy Jacobs vs. Jay Lethal

Date: May 18, 2013

Location: Ted Reeve Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Steve Corino

Jacobs sends the bad leg into the apron and we start in a hurry. Lethal slugs away with right hands to get a breather, only to have the knee sent into the barricade. They get inside for the first time with Jacobs staying on the leg (well duh) as Corino declares that Lethal is in fact an African American. Lethal manages a basement dropkick for two so Jacobs starts crawling around to make Lethal chase him. That works just fine for Lethal, who grabs a DDT.

The Lethal Injection takes too long though and Jacobs ties the leg in the rope to stomp away. Back from a break with Lethal caught in a leglock. That’s broken up in a hurry though and Lethal hammers away. Jacobs is right back with a DDT on the leg but the Figure Four is quickly countered. Lethal chops away but the leg gives out on a superkick attempt. The Lethal Combination works though but the Lethal Injection doesn’t work either. Jacobs hits the Contra Code for the pin at 12:26.

Rating: B-. The story was right there throughout and that’s always a good thing to see. It gives SCUM another win and Lethal stays safe, with the bad leg costing Lethal in the end. This was a fun one and while I’m not usually big on Jacobs, he was nearly perfect in his role here. Lethal is looking more and more like a star every time though, and that’s going to serve him well in the future.

From ROH TV, May 18, 2013.

Adam Cole vs. Kevin Steen

Date: May 18, 2013

Location: Ted Reeve Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Steve Corino

Feeling out process to start but Cole forearms his way out of the corner. Steen runs him over without much effort and a headbutt drops Cole in the corner. They head outside with Cole missing the slingshot dive and getting sent into the barricade for more pain. Three straight apron bombs look to end Cole (Corino: “WHERE IS THE TWENTY COUNT???”) but Steen goes after Corino instead, allowing Cole to dropkick the knee (because you can be up forty five seconds after three apron bombs) and we take a break.

Back with Cole kneeing him in the face for two but Steen slugs away. The knee holds up well enough for a powerbomb for a very delayed two and they’re both down. Cole gets up with a nasty German suplex into a Shining Wizard but the Figure Four is blocked. Instead it’s the Sharpshooter (you can imagine Corino’s reaction), sending Steen straight to the rope. The F Cinc gets two so here’s Compton, who is quickly dispatched. Steen grabs the Sharpshooter but another Compton distraction lets Jacobs come in with a chain shot (which Cole clearly sees). Cole’s Florida Keys (arm trap German suplex) is good for the pin at 14:00.

Rating: C. The three straight apron bombs being just a moment in the middle of the match wasn’t a good idea but at least they did something else near the end. Cole is someone else who is starting to rise up the ranks and that’s a great thing to see. Ring of Honor is the kind of place that needs to develop new talent in a hurry and that’s what they seem to be doing here. Nice match, but not exactly great.

From ROH TV, May 25, 2013.

Nigel McGuinness is announcing the Best in the World main event when Steen comes in to ask about his rematch for the World Title. That won’t be anytime soon after Steen messed up at Border Wars so maybe he’s still working with SCUM. Steen says not exactly, and offers to fight all of them in exchange for a title shot. Nigel agrees, but Steen has to beat them all.

From Dragon’s Reign (May 11, 2013)

Rhett Titus runs out and interrupts a match between two guys making their in-ring debuts for the company (one of which is future World Champion Dalton Castle). Cue Steen in a hurry and we’re ready to go.

Kevin Steen vs. Rhett Titus

Date: May 11, 2013

Location: Rostraver Ice Gardens, Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania

Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Steve Corino

Steen slugs away and sends Titus to the floor before the music even stops. Titus is sent into the barricade a few times and there’s a Cannonball to make it worse. The fans are WAY into Steen here but the delay lets Titus get up and send him into the barricade to even things up a bit. Owens is right back up with a pair of crotches against the post, drawing a YES chant.

The apron bomb is countered with a ram into the barricade though and they head back inside. Titus whips him into the corner but Steen is right back with a backsplash. That doesn’t get him very far though as Titus sends it back into the corner and kicks Steen’s head against the post. It’s time to choke on the ropes but Steen kicks him away. After relieving his nose on Corino, Steen gets taken back down for a double arm crank.

Steen fights up and runs him over again though and the Swanton gets two as the audio and video are a little out of sync. Titus is back with the running jumping Fameasser (ala Kenny Omega) for his own two. A frog splash to the back gets two more but Steen is back with the pop up powerbomb for the same. Neither of Steen’s finishers can hit and he almost runs over the referee, allowing Titus to kick him low for two. Steen crotches him in the corner (that’s three for Titus) and gets in a low blow of his own. The package piledriver finishes Titus at 13:46. Corino: “THIS MATCH IS UNDER PROTEST!”

Rating: C. They’re doing an interesting idea here with Steen having to run through the entire time. It’s been done before (Big Boss Man vs. the Heenan Family comes to mind) but that doesn’t mean it’s a boring idea. Steen had to start somewhere and Titus is a low enough name to have Steen run through him in a hurry.

Post match Steen leaves but comes back in for another low blow and package piledriver.

From Relentless (May 18, 2013).

Corino interrupts an announcement and tells the people to let everyone know about this: Matt Hardy is getting his World Title shot on June 23 at the TV tapings in Baltimore. That’s not all though because Corino wants to go all in. At the TV tapings: five members of SCUM vs. five members of Ring of Honor. If ROH wins, SCUM is gone, but if SCUM wins, Corino runs Ring of Honor. Twelve years ago he helped kill a company and now he’s going to do it again.

From Relentless (May 18, 2013).

Kevin Steen vs. Jimmy Jacobs

Date: May 18, 2013

Location: Greater Richmond Convention Center, Richmond, Virginia

Commentators: Joe Dombrowski, Steve Corino

They slug it out in the aisle to start with Steen whipping him into the barricade. More whips into the barricade ensue and they head inside for the opening bell. A clothesline takes Jacobs right back outside and there’s another whip into the barricade as Corino makes fun of French. Back in again and Jacobs busts out a chain to choke away and that’s a DQ at 1:02.

Post match security comes in but Steen gets up and wrecks Jacobs again. Steen swings a chair at everyone before saying he knew this is how it would wind up going. Jacobs is FINALLY ready to be a man so let’s do this again, No DQ. The referee grabs a phone and hears from Nigel McGuinness that we’re restarting the match. Steen goes outside to beat up the interfering Rhett Titus and there are some shoes to Jacobs’ head.

Jacobs gets in a low blow with the rope though and there’s a spear on the apron (Joe: “That’s the hardest part of the wrestling ring!” I didn’t realize that line was that old.). Back in and Jacobs stomps and elbows at the ribs before ripping at the eyes. Jacobs chokes with the chain as Corino shouts about breaking up with Steen. The choking is broken up and Steen takes it to the floor for the apron bomb.

The Swanton gets two but Jacobs is back with a springboard cutter for two. A quick Contra Code onto a chair gives Jacobs two so he unloads with the chair and grabs a piece of the barricade. That takes too long though and Steen gets in a chain shot, followed by the F Cinc for two. Corino: “YOU CAN’T WIN WITH THAT MOVE ANYMORE STEEN!” The package piledriver is reversed with Steen’s head bouncing off of the barricade but Jacobs can’t hit a chair shot. Instead Steen kicks him low and hits the package piledriver onto the barricade for the pin at 14:55 (counting the break between falls).

Rating: C+. They had a good brawl here and the No DQ deal made it better. You can only get so much out of a big name like Steen vs. someone like Jacobs on its own so adding the stipulation helped. If nothing else, this made me want to see Steen FINALLY get his hands on Corino, which has to be coming at some point in this right?

Post match, Steen hits the F Cinc onto an open chair and blows a kiss to Corino.

Disc 3

From Honor in the Heart of Texas (June 1, 2013).

Michael Elgin/BJ Whitmer vs. Rhett Titus/Jimmy Jacobs

Date: June 1, 2013

Location: San Antonio Shrine Auditorium, San Antonio, Texas

Commentator: Kevin Kelly

Anything goes and Texas Tornado rules. The fight starts outside before the bell, as you probably guessed. Elgin is whipped into the barricade but Whitmer rams their heads together to slow them down. Jacobs gets thrown into the trash as Whitmer and Titus fight on the other side of the building. Kelly: “This one is not Funk and Brisco!”. Well maybe Funk but probably not Brisco.

Elgin throws Titus onto a table, sending it sliding across the floor in a cool visual. A chair to the ribs hunches Jacobs over and Elgin backbreakers him onto said chair. They actually head to ringside for a change with SCUM getting Elgin alone for a double delayed vertical suplex. Elgin pops back up (I’m as surprised as you are) and this time it’s Elgin and Whitmer hitting a delayed vertical suplex of their own for a pretty nasty crash.

Whitmer grabs the exploder suplex on Jacobs and Elgin launches Titus into the corner for two. Titus is back with a dropkick to Whitmer and Jacobs dives over the top to take Elgin down again. That doesn’t last long as Elgin slingshots back in with a back elbow to Jacobs but Titus scores with a discus lariat.

We get another Titus vs. Whitmer showdown with Whitmer planting him off a powerslam. A Downward Spiral/DDT combination takes SCUM down and Elgin is back in to make it even worse. There’s a pump kick to Titus and Elgin powerbombs Jacobs onto Whitmer’s knees for two. Elgin gets crotched on top though and an assisted splash gets two on Whitmer. Titus heads outside to pull back some mats but Elgin breaks up a piledriver on the concrete.

The apron superplex brings Titus back in for two with Jacobs making the save this time. Jacobs grabs a middle rope springboard cutter on Elgin, who pops back up for a spinning backfist. The buckle bomb connects but the Elgin Bomb is countered into a guillotine choke. Whitmer is back in for the save and fisherman’s suplexes Jacobs for two more. Elgin plants both of them for two as frustration is setting in again. The buckle bomb hits Jacobs again but here’s Steve Corino with a chain. Mark Briscoe comes out with a cowbell for the save but Titus gets the chain. Whitmer kicks it away, only to get rolled up for the pin at 19:35.

Rating: B. I got into this more than I would have expected to and that’s a good thing. This was a lot of action throughout the match and while the interference was a bit annoying, that’s what SCUM would do in this situation. Solid match here and the rules played into it well. I could go for more of stuff like this, as the wild brawling feels more appropriate for this feud.

From some undisclosed show.

Nigel McGuinness talks about how serious this is and how Ring of Honor has their chips in with the best of it. Ring of Honor isn’t dying on June 23 because it’s only SCUM’s final chapter. The match is officially on and it’s going to be Steel Cage Warfare. Honor lives mother******.

From Ring of Honor TV, June 8, 2013.

Here’s SCUM to interrupt….well nothing actually but commentary isn’t pleased anyway. Steve Corino talks about all of the mistakes made around here in the last eleven years with all of the people coming and going. Corino blames Nigel for not giving Matt Hardy the World Title shot but Matt will be World Champion anyway. Why weren’t Cliff Compton, Jimmy Jacobs and Rhett Titus in the #1 contenders matches? Nigel takes off his headset but Corino talks about how he should have sued ROH after Border Wars. That’s enough for Nigel to get up and Corino promises to sue if Nigel does anything.

From Live And Let Die (June 8, 2013).

Kevin Steen is in the arena before the fans come in and interviewer Veda Scott asks what the Ring of Honor locker room thinks about him now. Steen says he doesn’t really care because this company makes money off of his name. He is this company but here’s SCUM to interrupt. Corino shouts something I can’t make out as Steen grabs a chair. Some referees (in street clothes for a rare visual) get ready to break it up but Compton wants to fight Steen right now. Cue Jay Lethal, BJ Whitmer and Michael Elgin to even things up as Compton talks enough trash to get a fight going.

Kevin Steen vs. Cliff Compton

Date: June 8, 2013

Location: Ohio Expo Center, Columbus, Ohio

Empty arena match. They head outside early on with both guys being whipped into the barricade. Steen chokes away but nearly gets in a fight with Whitmer, allowing Compton to get in a cheap shot. That doesn’t seem to bother Steen, who whips him HARD into the barricade. They go beyond the barricade with Steen getting backdropped onto some open chairs. Steen pops back up for a kick to the ribs and a big toss through the chairs (how rude to people who set those up).

Some chair shots to the knee keep Compton in trouble but Steen would rather dive onto SCUM than follow up. They get inside for the first time with Compton getting in a cheap shot. Corino throws in a chain so everyone else starts brawling at ringside. There’s the F Cinc onto a chair but Matt Hardy comes in to jump Steen and give Compton the pin at 5:19.

Rating: C. This is the kind of different action that I was hoping for on this thing. It actually felt different and that’s what this has been needing. It was actually unique for a change and the lack of commentary made it more realistic. Given how SCUM comes and goes at will, there is little reason to believe that something like this wouldn’t break out at some point. Not a great match, but it was entertaining enough with the special atmosphere.

SCUM just leaving by walking outside feels so indy. Lethal, Whitmer and Elgin say they came out here to see which side Steen was on and don’t seem pleased by the results. A distraught Steen sits in the ring.

From Live And Let Die (June 8, 2013).

Kevin Steen vs. Rhino

Date: June 8, 2013

Location: Ohio Expo Center, Columbus, Ohio

Commentator: Kevin Kelly

At least this one is scheduled. Steen shoulders him down to start and Rhino is sent outside in a hurry. They both wind up outside with Steen being sent into the barricade and suplexed on the floor. Some right hands get Steen out of trouble and there’s the flip dive off the apron to drop Rhino again. They get back inside with Rhino hitting a spinebuster for two, followed by the knees to the chest.

The bodyscissors goes on and Rhino even rolls him backwards for two. Back up and Steen gets in a shot to the face for a double knockdown. Steen’s dropkick into a middle rope dropkick sets up the Cannonball for two. Steen is surprised by the kickout so he hits the Swanton for two more. Instead it’s a Gore to Rhino for a change and the F Cinc is enough to give Steen the pin at 8:05.

Rating: D+. I wasn’t feeling this one as Rhino was treated as the monster of the team earlier in the year and now he’s beaten clean in eight minutes. That’s quite the short match and it doesn’t make it seem like Steen had to work too hard to pull off a win here. It’s not the worst, but it felt like a low level challenge instead of some big threat.

Post match here’s Matt Hardy to take Steen out, setting up the following.

From Live And Let Die (June 8, 2013).

Mark Briscoe vs. Matt Hardy

Date: June 8, 2013

Location: Ohio Expo Center, Columbus, Ohio

Commentator: Kevin Kelly

Hardy is in a #1 contenders match at Best in the World while Briscoe is in the World Title match at the same show. Briscoe comes in to jump Hardy and start in a hurry. Matt tries to hide on the floor so Briscoe posts him and goes up top. Corino throws in the microphone and then shoves Briscoe off the top, allowing Matt to hit the Side Effect for two. There’s a swinging neckbreaker to take Briscoe down again so we get the MAN UP chants.

The sleeper/chinlock goes on for two arm drops but Brisco powers up again. That just earns him a trip from Corino and Matt’s neckbreaker gets two more. Mark is up again and this time pulls Corino off the middle rope, meaning it’s time for Red Neck Kung Fu. Some chops to the head get two and a top rope version drops Matt again.

Rating: C. It worked well enough while it lasted and at least Briscoe didn’t lose clean on his way to a World Title shot. They’re getting into a pretty standard formula with SCUM though and that’s not going to work out all that well in the long term. The good thing is that the long term is likely finishing in less than two months, though I’m starting to roll my eyes every time it’s more interference for the SCUM win.

Post match the beatdown is on so Steen makes the save. As has been the case before, let’s go straight to the next match.

From Live And Let Die (June 8, 2013).

SCUM vs. Michael Elgin/Jay Lethal/BJ Whitmer

Date: June 8, 2013

Location: Ohio Expo Center, Columbus, Ohio

Commentator: Kevin Kelly

Anything goes and it’s Jimmy Jacobs/Cliff Compton/Rhett Titus for the team. It’s a brawl to start as the ring announcer tries to get the entrances. SCUM hits a triple suplex but the ROH guys are right back up for the delayed triple verticals. It’s already time to go outside with Lethal suicide diving onto Jacobs. Elgin beats Compton up the aisle as Corino is losing his mind at ringside.

Compton fights back near the entrance as the other four brawl nearby. Lethal and Jacobs finally get back in the ring but Titus makes the save and clotheslines Lethal outside. Titus walks into Whitmer’s suplex but here’s Compton to take him down in a hurry. One heck of a discus forearm sends Compton off the apron and his partners can’t quite catch him. Jacobs can’t hit the Contra Code off the apron to Elgin but they fall onto the pile anyway.

Back in and Jacobs hits the middle rope cutter on Lethal before going up top. A top rope backsplash….is pulled out of the air by Elgin. That’s just insane power and sets up a powerbomb for two with Titus and Compton making the save. Elgin doesn’t like that and suplexes both of them at the same time.

Jacobs comes back in with a chair to Elgin, followed by a reverse hurricanrana to Whitmer. Lethal is back in with a Downward Spiral/DDT combination to Jacobs and Titus. The Lethal Injection to Compton is broken up with a chair to the back though and Compton hits an F6 for the pin at 9:21.

Rating: C-. The action here worked but these matches are starting to bleed together. There’s only so much that can be gained from all of these matches that you see with some combination of the same handful of ROH guys vs. the same SCUM soldiers. They’re not bad matches, but I feel like I’ve seen these things time after time now.

Elgin is TICKED about the loss.

From Best In The World 2013 (June 22, 2013).

We recap Kevin Steen vs. Matt Hardy. Steen got thrown out of SCUM as Steve Corino seemed to be willing to get rid of him now that Hardy was here. Steen has tried to help in the war against SCUM but hasn’t quite pulled it off yet. He has to beat everyone in SCUM to get his title rematch and this is his big showdown, though he is still somewhat untrustworthy.

Kevin Steen vs. Matt Hardy

Date: June 22, 2013

Location: Du Burns Arena, Baltimore, Maryland

Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly

Steve Corino is here with Hardy and rants about how Baltimore loves false heroes. Hardy on the other hand is an icon and has over 800,000 Twitter followers. Corino yells at some fans and they throw toilet paper back at Hardy. We get the full intro from Corino, including saying that Hardy is a beautiful man. Steen’s entrance gets a ton of streamers but hang on because he wants this to be No DQ. Nigel says game on and Steen accuses Matt of being the bigger coward of the Hardy brothers.

We’re on in a hurry with Steen pounding him down in the corner, only to have Hardy pull the referee in front of the Cannonball. That’s enough of a distraction so Hardy can start working on the leg. Steen uses the good leg to kick him to the floor, allowing Steen to yell at a fan before chopping Matt against the barricade. Some crutch shots to the back have Matt in more trouble and Steen picks up a sign in his name to punch Hardy.

There’s a crotching against the post as the fans are WAY into Steen here. Hardy finally sends him back into the barricade and it’s time for a trashcan inside. A pair of neckbreakers plant Steen but he sends Hardy hard into the corner for the Cannonball. The Cannonball into the trashcan into Hardy gets two and it’s time to set up a table at ringside. That takes too much time so Hardy grabs the Side Effect for two more.

Steen fights back on the apron, drawing out Jimmy Jacobs to get rid of the table before a package piledriver can connect. Instead, Jacobs gets powerbombed onto the apron so here’s Compton to chair Steen down. Back in and Hardy hits him in the face with a ladder but Steen grabs a Codebreaker to send the ladder into Hardy’s face for two.

Thankfully that hurts Steen’s knee and the delay lets the Twist of Fate give Hardy two more. The low blow into the F Cinc drops Hardy for another near fall. Matt gets in his own low blow this time, setting up the Side Effect onto a chair. Compton throws in some more chairs and it’s a Twist of Fate through said chairs to finish Steen at 14:10.

Rating: B-. This felt like a big match though Steen losing feels rather flat. At the same time though, Hardy was kicking out of Steen’s big stuff so it does give him some credibility rather than just coasting on his reputation. Steen’s path forward almost has to lead to the big save in Steel Cage Warfare, but you never can tell around here. That’s a good thing too, especially in this situation.

Post match the beatdown stays on and no one comes out for the save.

From Ring of Honor TV, July 6, 2013.

We see a clip of Jay Briscoe after he survived against Mark Briscoe at Best In The World.

Nigel is in the ring and talks about how Best In The World reminded him why he loved this business. You had two people who helped build this company fighting to determine who was the best man. They did everyone proud (Kevin Kelly: “Amen.” Steve Corino: “Shut up.”) but the question now is how much do you have left.

The point is that both Briscoes are banged up with Jay having hurt his shoulder and Mark having suffered a concussion (Kelly to Corino: “Stop clapping.”). Therefore, Mark is out of Steel Cage Warfare, meaning we need a replacement. The fans want Steen….and here he comes, much to Corino’s fear. Steen gets straight to the point: put him in Steel Cage Warfare.

Nigel isn’t sure because he’s not wild on trusting the man who started SCUM in the first place. Steen is here for payback and to beat them up so now he can finish this. Steen: “So grow a pair and put me in the G** d*** match!” Cue SCUM to go after Steen so here are BJ Whitmer, Michael Elgin and Jay Lethal for the save. Security breaks it up as Corino looks worried.

From Ring of Honor TV, July 20, 2013.

SCUM is in their limo, as paid for by Hardy, on their way to the arena. They are ready to pay him back for everything by making him World Champion. They’re closer to him than his own brother.

We see SCUM arriving at the arena with Matt offering to buy pro-Steen signs and cutting promos on fans. Corino: “IMAGINE THE DRUGS YOU CAN BUY WITH EIGHTY BUCKS!” The fan won’t budge so Rhett Titus rips it up for him.

Ring of Honor World Title: Jay Briscoe vs. Matt Hardy

Date: July 20, 2013

Location: Du Burns Arena, Baltimore, Maryland

Commentator: Kevin Kelly

Briscoe is defending with a bad shoulder and Corino is here with Hardy. Corino handles Hardy’s introductions, including saying he can walk on water. They lock up to start with Matt wisely going after the shoulder but Briscoe stomps him down in the corner. The bad shoulder goes into the post a few times though as Matt is showing the brains early on. Briscoe tries to slug away but gets caught in the Twist of Fate for two. Matt hits the hammerlock and we take a break.

Back with Jay hitting the forearms and nailing a dropkick but not being able to follow up. A superkick drops Hardy for two and the hangman’s neckbreaker is good for the same. The Jay Driller is broken up though and Matt grabs another Twist of Fate for another two. They go outside with Hardy sending him into various things for two back inside. Jay breaks out of the double underhook choke though and hits a very quick Jay Driller for a near fall.

A bunch of stomps to the leg in the corner have Hardy in more trouble so the referee pulls Briscoe off. That lets Hardy take off his boot for a shot to the head and two of his own. Two more Twists of Fate give Hardy two more and he can’t believe the kickout. The double underhook choke goes on but Briscoe is out in a hurry. Hardy takes his sweet time going up top and a belly to back superplex gives Jay two. They slug it out and the Jay Driller is countered into the Twist of Fate, which is countered into a small package to retain the title at 18:45.

Rating: B. They came as close to epic as you can get in this situation and that’s a good feeling. Matt taking the fall is a big deal as Briscoe gets to establish himself a little bit more. Briscoe hung in there against a legend and even got the pin after surviving several finishers. It felt big and that’s what they were going for so well done.

Post match here’s Rhino to Gore Jay, drawing out Mark Briscoe for the save. ROH and SCUM come out for the brawl with the latter using zip ties to tie ROH to the ropes. Corino puts the title around Hardy and the already concussed Mark takes a pair of Conchairtos. Matt Pillmanizes Jay’s shoulder, which is treated as a bigger deal than the Conchairtos. Corino promises to burn ROH down to end the show. Steen was notably absent for the save.

From ROH TV, July 27, 2013.

Long video on the history of SCUM and how we got to this match. No one on Team ROH really trusts Steen, but they know he’s their only chance.

Team ROH vs. SCUM

Date: July 27, 2013

Location: Du Burns Arena, Baltimore, Maryland

Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Steve Corino

ROH: Michael Elgin, Jay Lethal, BJ Whitmer, Kevin Steen

SCUM: Rhino, Cliff Compton, Jimmy Jacobs, Rhett Titus

It’s Steel Cage Warfare with everything on the line. If SCUM wins, Steve Corino runs ROH but if ROH wins, SCUM disbands. The match is WarGames with one ring and under elimination rules. Two men are in for five minutes, then SCUM gets a two minute advantage. Then it is back and forth entrants every two minutes until one team is completely eliminated. Before the match, Corino mentions that Steen had flat fires and couldn’t be here for the save last week, but Kelly realizes there is no way Corino would have known that without having something to do with it.

Jacobs and Whitmer start things off and immediately slug it out until Whitmer headscissors him into the cage. Whitmer shrugs it off and sends Jacobs into the cage over and over as Corino is being way closer to neutral than you would expect. The exploder suplex gives Whitmer two and he rakes Jacobs’ face into the cage.

Titus makes it 2-1 so Whitmer is waiting on him with some weak looking clotheslines. Whitmer sends him into the cage a few times and we take a break (feels so wrong in a match like this). Back with Whitmer being stomped down in the corner until Elgin is in to tie things up. Elgin suplexes both of them at once and then throws them both at once as the power is on full display. There’s the delayed vertical suplex to Jacobs but Elgin just sits him down for a whip into the cage instead.

Compton makes it 3-2 and he throws powder in Elgin’s eyes. SCUM busts out the zip ties to tie Elgin to the cage so Whitmer is triple teamed. The spike piledriver gets rid of Whitmer so here’s Lethal to take his place with a chair. House is cleaned and Lethal is smart enough to untie Compton so the comeback is on. Titus gets crotched on top and we take a break. Back again with Rhino (MATT HARDY ISN’T IN THIS???) completing SCUM and it’s a Gore to Elgin. Rhino Gores Titus by mistake and it’s a Lethal Injection to get rid of Rhino in about thirty seconds. Corino: “THAT WASN’T PART OF THE PLAN! THAT WASN’T PART OF THE PLAN!”

Lethal goes Savage with a top rope ax handle for two on Compton. Elgin throws Jacobs onto the cage but he bounces off with a back elbow. Steen is in to complete Team ROH but Matt Hardy (at least he’s here) jumps him from behind and sends him into the cage. The door is left open though and everyone fights to the floor with Steen fighting back up without much effort. ROH takes over as Corino is wondering about the lack of disqualifications.

A table is slid into the cage as everyone keeps brawling on the floor. Elgin side slams Compton through a chair and the table is set up in the corner. Lethal is left alone with Titus and Jacobs with a backflip cutter dropping Titus for the elimination. So it’s Lethal/Elgin/Steen vs. Compton/Jacobs, though Hardy is here too. Hardy gets whipped into the barricade again (they like that around here) and Steen gives him a crutch between the legs. Jacobs chairs Lethal in the back and hits a spear through the table. Compton steals the pin to get rid of Lethal and it’s back to 2-2.

Steen gets back in to send Compton into the cage and we take another break. Back with Jacobs hitting the Contra Code on Steen but Elgin sends Jacobs into the cage. Compton climbs the cage for some reason and gets super sitout powerbombed down to give Elgin the pin, leaving us with Elgin/Steen vs. Jacobs. Corino gets in the cage and throws a fireball at Elgin to give Jacobs the pin.

Hardy comes in with a Twist of Fate to Steen and Corino has a briefcase. Corino opens it up to reveal lighter fluid and a bunch of matches with Jacobs even trying to call this off. Hardy holds the referee back as Corino lights the match. Cue Nigel McGuinness to stop Corino and take him down with a lariat. Steen saves Nigel from the Twist of Fate and gives Matt the package piledriver. Another package piledriver ends Jacobs to finish SCUM at 25:47.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t very good actually and I was kind of disappointed. After over a year of buildup, you kind of expect a lot more than ROH only being in any kind of danger in the last minute. Nigel laying out Corino was a great moment but why in the world did SCUM not put Hardy in there? Over Rhett freaking Titus?

Anyway, it wasn’t a bad match, but they really didn’t do a great job of setting up the drama. I can understand why they didn’t want to go with one fall to a finish here, but the elimination didn’t leave a ton of drama in the end. Steen getting the final fall worked, though he never even got his hands on Corino after everything that happened between them. What we got was good, but I was expecting an epic fight and only got a pretty good one.

The celebration is on with Adam Cole of all people coming out to watch as Nigel hugs Steen to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. It’s kind of hard to give an overall rating to something nearly nine and a half hours long, though I do it every year with Wrestlemania so it’s not completely foreign. This worked well in that it showed a complete story (keep in mind that there is a difference between everything there is to know and everything you need to know) and made me want to see how it was going to end. You knew SCUM would go down in the grand finale, but they did a decent job of making me want to see it happen.

The problem though is the story is only so good. The ending cage match is a big deal but once that was announced, a lot of the time was spent killing time until they reached the match. Once Steen was thrown out of the group, the story kind of stopped evolving and it was little more than “SCUM attacks, ROH can’t fight back, we build up the cage match”. That gets a little tiresome, especially when Steen’s fight through SCUM didn’t wind up going anywhere.

Overall, it’s worth checking out if you haven’t seen the era before (as I hadn’t), but it’s not something that needed to be nine hours. They EASILY could have cut out a handful of matches and trimmed this down by at least an hour and a half, but for the price I paid for it ($5, albeit in a huge sale), I really can’t complain about it whatsoever. It’s an interesting sit, but I wouldn’t watch the three discs back to back to back.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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On This Day: October 16, 2004 – Joe vs. Punk II: Shades of Wrestlemania XII

Joe vs. Punk II
Date: October 16, 2004
Location: Frontier Fieldhouse, Chicago Ridge, Illinois
Attendance: 700
Commentators: Jimmy Ballard, Mark Nultey

I don’t usually do ROH but this was a request. The main event of this show should be obvious. Joe is champion and this is Punk’s rematch after a time limit draw in their first match. We’re in Punk’s hometown so expect the crowd to be rabid. The whole show is about that match and it’s about 1/3 of the show so I wouldn’t expect the rest of the matches to mean much. Let’s get to it.

Punk talks about how his first match with Joe was a draw and the monster known as Joe couldn’t stop him. He talks about growing up in Chicago and fighting every day when he was a kid, even when the bullies would come to his house and he’d be the one left standing at the end. This is his home and with everyone looking, he’s going to be ready in his home town.

Generation Next (heel stable) talks about how Ricky Steamboat cost them their match last night against the Second City Saints (Punk’s team). Austin Aries, part of the team, isn’t here tonight because of the beating last night. Oh that’s Alex Shelley talking. He has an I Quit match with Jimmy Jacobs tonight. The other two guys are Jack Evans and Roderick Strong and tonight they team up to face the Rottweilers (Homicide/Rocky Romero).

Davey Andrews vs. TJ Dalton

No idea who either are but from what I can find, neither have wrestled for any company of note in over four years. Andrews was in ROH for awhile and Dalton was in OVW for awhile. Yeah that’s all I’ve got. And never mind as two other guys run in and beat them both down about 20 seconds after the bell.

Their names are the Carnage Crew and their names are Tony DeVito and HC Loc. They yell about Mick Foley and how they’re hardcore. I’m guessing this is leading to something later.

Delirious vs. Jay Lethal

Lethal is 19 here and is VERY young looking, probably because he is young. Delirious starts off with his usual insane stuff. Wait. DELIRIOUS WAS THE LIZARD MAN??? I heard about this for years about how ROH had a lizard man and it was Delirious? I’ve wondered who that was for years. Delirious hasn’t won a singles match yet so this is a big deal for him. Lethal takes him to the corner but is knocked off and takes a rana for two.

They exchange forearms which is a required sequence in ROH. There are the chops and the WOOs. Out to the floor and it’s kind of cool to see them using handheld cameras. Delirious hits a front flip dive to the floor to take Lethal down again. Lethal reverses a rollup for two. Delirious shouts a lot but gets caught in a neckbreaker but catches Lethal coming off the top in a Cutter. That’s not worthy of a pin though. Well to be fair Delirious is supposed to be insane. Shadows Over Hell (splash to the back and not called that yet) gets two. Delirious yells some more and gets caught in a dragon (full nelson) suplex for the pin.

Rating: C-. There wasn’t much of a point to it but for the opener this was fine. Lethal would get a lot better and Delirious would get a lot funnier so this is one of those matches that would be much better about 3 years later. Nothing great here but they were trying and for guys who didn’t have much experience, this worked well enough. Just not that interesting though.

Joe says tonight we’ve got a sixty minute match and all Punk has proven is that he can’t beat Joe. Tonight, Punk will fail again.

At this point on the card there’s a match listed as Dixie vs. Matt Stryker (not that one) but there’s no mention of it here. Maybe it’s coming later.

Tracy Brooks vs. Daizee Haze

Brooks you know from TNA and Haze is currently too skinny to wrestle for awhile. They haven’t had much women’s wrestling lately since Alexis Laree left (more famous as Mickie James). They do some basic stuff as the announcers point out that they can be just as good as the men. A forearm gets two for Haze as does a missile dropkick. In a weird ending, Haze tries forever to get a Stunner and finally hooks it but Brooks totally no sells it and hits a clothesline for the pin.

Rating: D-. And no that’s not because they’re girls. It’s because this match was really boring and the ending was awful. It’s like they were supposed to be having a big match and in short, they didn’t. There was nothing here that was interesting and there was nothing that made me think this was better than the Divas or what would become the Knockouts. The ending was as awkward as I’ve seen in a very long time.

Angel Dust vs. Matt Sydal vs. Josh Daniels vs. Trent Acid

Daniels is some indy guy that I’ve heard of and that’s about it. Angel Dust is an indy guy known as Azrieal and had a one off appearance in the X-Division Showcase on Impact as Federico Palacios. Acid is an indy guy that died last year and Sydal is Evan Bourne and a heel here. This is called a survival match but it’s one fall to a finish. Ok then. Acid is in the shirt, Dust is in the bandana and Daniels has the gold/yellow trim. Got it.

Dust is part of a team called Special K which I believe was a bunch of drug addicts. This is a fast paced match but Dust loses a headlock for a second on Sydal in a bit of a botch. Acid sends Sydal (who I might call Bourne) to the floor and it’s off to Daniels. I think if you go to the floor it’s the same as a tag. Daniels sets for a dive but runs into a forearm from Acid. Dust tries a huge moonsault to the floor but misses everything.

The announcers have no idea who is legal here. Everyone is back in now and it’s a big brawl still. A Blue Thunder Bomb gets two for Acid. I think it’s Daniels vs. Acid who are legal but Dust tags himself in. Daniels is like cool man and fires off some kicks. Sydal comes in out of nowhere and tries a shooting star but lands on his feet. Everything breaks down and Acid hits a reverse inverted DDT on Sydal but Daniels hits a German on Dust and they’re legal so Daniels gets the win.

Rating: C. Fun match but it was totally insane. The fans liked Acid the best and were MAD when he lost. Still though, this one got too insane and it was hard to tell what was going on at all by the end of it. That can get very annoying and it did so here. Not a horrible match or anything but it was too big of a mess to make much sense.

Chad Collyer/Nigel McGuinnes vs. BJ Whitmer/Dan Maff

Collyer/Nigel have Ricky Steamboat with them while Whitmer/Maff have Mick Foley. It’s the whole wrestling vs. hardcore jazz. Steamboat and Foley started to hook up in WCW but I guess they figured that one of the best heels vs. one of the best faces would make too much sense and therefore money so they bailed on it immediately. Steamboat asks the four wrestlers to get on the floor because he wants to talk to Foley.

The audio here is AWFUL and I had no idea what Steamboat was talking about for part of it. Ok now I can a bit. The fans are saying speak up. Last night Foley issued a challenge for this tag match and Steamboat says it’s not about skill but it’s about the style the guys use. Steamboat calls it garbage wrestling because you use things like garbage cans in it. “In fact Mick I got an e-mail today from the Chicago sanitation department that says when your next novel fails they have a job for you cleaning up the garbage.” BURN.

Foley gets on the mic and makes fun of Steamboat for being too serious and not an entertaining talker. Foley talks about Steamboat winning the title in 1989 right here in Chicago from Ric Flair (Chi-Town Rumble, well worth checking out). Steamboat may be the greatest pure wrestler of all time. I’m not sure “may be” is needed here. However, saying someone is the greatest pure wrestler of all time “is like saying someone is the greatest softcore adult actor of all time.”

Foley defends hardcore wrestling because it’s about toughness and giving it all you have. He wants to know how long Steamboat plans to ride Flair’s coattails (even though Flair is a washed up loser). The fans are split here. Steamboat comes back with I know Flair, I’ve worked with Flair and you Mick Foley are no Ric Flair. Foley blasts Flair, saying he has a banana nose, orange teeth and looks like Barbara Bush in drag.

Steamboat says those were funny when Funk said them 20 years ago. Foley comes up with some new ones, like Flair says the same things time after time and carries Batista’s bags and sucked up to HHH. Oh and Flair has botox. This is HILARIOUS. Here’s the real burn: “I’m no Ric Flair because I knew when my time was done, I stepped aside for the sake of younger guys.” Bear in mind that about three and a half years later Foley won the TNA World Title, although TNA was still pretty awesome at this point.

Oh hey we have a match to get to. Everyone shakes hands pre match. Ok so it’s Nigel vs. Whitmer to get us going. We go over who has the best trainer in this and Maff is kind of left out in the cold. This is under pure rules, which is an overly complicated system that means you have a limited amount of rope breaks and no punches. Off to Maff as the pure guys are dominating with a lot of arm drags in a nice touch. And here are the Carnage Crew to jump Foley and a brawl breaks out. Not long enough to grade but it was pretty basic up to this point.

Steamboat goes off on the Carnage Crew for ruining the match and even calls them a bunch of dickheads. Announcer: “STEAMBOAT SAID DICKHEADS!!!!!”

Ok so now the match is starting again but it’s under hardcore rules. Well sure why not? It’s a bit brawl to start and once they’re on the floor Foley drills McGuinness with the mic. They’re into the crowd already. The Crew is gone. Maff cracks a water bottle over the head of Collyer and McGuinness gets taken down by a chair. Ok so now we’re into the ring and there are a few chairs involved. This is a total brawl and Steamboat is back now. Ok he wants it to be pure wrestling again. McGuinness gets all technical and such and gets a slick rollup on Whitmer for the pin.

Rating: C+. That’s for the whole thing. Steamboat and Foley were by far the best things about this but I don’t think that surprises anyone. The idea of mixing both styles was interesting but it needed more than it had here. The main conclusion I can draw from this though: MAN WCW was stupid for not following up on Steamboat vs. Foley in 92.

Steamboat rubs in the win post match.

Acid yells at Dave Prazak because he had a pin and says he feels like an outcast here.

TJ Dalton/Davey Andrews vs. Caranage Crew

Nice to see them following up on the angle from earlier in the show. The non-regular tag team takes over early with some nice double team stuff. And never mind as Dalton gets caught in a Doomsday Device as we finally get into a regular match. The Crew settles into rhythm and beats the tar out of Dalton. Andrews comes in and fights back. He’s one of the first graduates of the ROH Wrestling Academy. Not that it matters as the Crew hits a bunch of violent double team moves, finally killing Andrews with a double team middle rope piledriver. Total squash.

Rottweilers vs. Generation Next

This is heel vs. heel. It’s a big brawl to start which leaves us with Homicide vs. Evans and you know Evans is going to start diving. Romero and Stong have a fast sequence in the ring and everything breaks down quickly. Ok so now we’re into an actual tag match, in this case Strong vs. Romero. Romero is half of the tag champions but his partner (Ricky Reyes) isn’t here tonight.

Strong finally shoves Homicide into the corner and brings in Evans to a moderate pop. Generation Next (I keep wanting to say Gen Me) double teams a lot and gets two off a double team splash in the corner. Middle rope elbow gets two for Strong. Strong Hold (Boston Crab) goes on but Strong walks to the corner on his own for some reason. Weird.

Homicide grabs a DDT on Evans to take over and bring Romero back in. Camel clutch goes on but Strong comes in and chops the back of Romero’s neck HARD. See that’s how you break something up: in a surprise and with something other than a weak stomp. The Rottweilers keep hammering away and Evans is such a tiny man that it works more effectively than it normally would.

An Alabama Slam into a slingshot into a backbreaker into a double stomp (there was some double teaming in there too) has Evans in trouble. A reverse double gorilla press sends him flying over the top and onto Strong. Evans finally avoids a swan dive and makes the tag to bring in Strong. Here’s some double teaming with flips but since this is an indy company the selling lasts all of 8 seconds.

A Steiner Bulldog gets no cover for the dog enthusiasts. Evans comes in via a springboard kick where the springboard and spinning weren’t needed at all. Everything breaks down and Homicide hits a piledriver for no cover on Strong. Homicide kills (get it?) Evans but he’s not legal. This is one of those matches where there’s too much going on to keep track of. A top rope splash gets two on Strong. Strong fights back and takes out both Rottweilers with a Razor’s Edge into a Diamond Cutter which lets Evans hit a 630 for the pin.

Rating: C+. Fun stuff here and Generation Next would become a huge force in the company in the next year or so with Aries winning the title soon after this, I think in December. I’m not a fan of this style as the lack of a story and the total lack of selling hurts it a lot. Either way, I like Strong and him being on the winning team helps somewhat. Not exactly bad but I couldn’t get into it.

The Rottweilers want to shake hands post match and yeah they beat up Generation Next because they’re idiots. Romero grants them a title shot post match.

Jimmy Jacobs vs. Alex Shelley

This is an I Quit match. Oh and for all the people that said Ryder was original for the one long leg and one short leg in the tights, Jacobs has him beaten here by about 3 years. They slug it out and then head to the floor quickly with Jacobs hitting a rana off the apron. Shelley tries to throw him back in and takes another rana for his efforts. Jacobs chokes Shelley with a chair but takes a spinning downward spiral into the barricade instead.

Shelley takes over and works over the neck of Jacobs because….well I guess he has to work on something. Oh ok these two are former partners. See how easy it is to explain that? “Jacobs has frustrated Shelley ever since this team split up.” See it’s not hard. Back in the ring now and it’s almost all Alex. Jacobs manages a clothesline and Shelley’s head is rammed into the chair on the mat. That looked good. Or bad. I wonder which one it is.

Jacobs pulls a spike out of his boot which would become one of his trademarks later in his career. Shelley gets it away and rams it upside Jacobs head. “That thing has got to be 12 inches long!” That’s what she said? Now the spike is driven into Jacobs’ head and he’s busted. A tombstone onto a chair half kills Jacobs but he won’t quit. Here’s a kendo stick which always makes me think of the things they put newspapers on at the library.

Shelley uses duct tape and ties Jacobs to the top rope with his back exposed. LET THE BONDAGE AND TORTURE PLAY BEGIN!!! Jacobs gets a low blow in and gets his feet up to his hands where he pulls another spike out to cut himself free. Announcer: “How many spikes can you have in a pair of furry boots?” Jacobs gets the stick and wears Shelley out with it and chokes away. A senton misses and Shelley beats him back and forth with the spike and stick.

Off to something like half of a Regal Stretch minus the leg trap and Jacobs is out cold. His hand only drops twice though and Jacobs fights out again. Something like a Killswitch puts Shelley down but Jacobs is spent. The senton (the backsplash, not the bomb) hits this time and he wears Shelley out with the stick and puts the same hold on Shelley. Jacobs takes forever to set up a pair of chairs with a third bridged over it. And of course he winds up going through it himself in a brainbuster and then back to the Stretch. Jacobs shouts he’s better than Shelley but gives up.

Rating: B. Pretty good and violent match here. When these kind of matches are on they can be very on and this one worked pretty well. Shelley is a guy that can be interesting when you let him do something other than being half of the Machineguns. Jacobs would become a very interesting character who was mentally tortured by a lot of things. Cool match here.

Shelley goes off on Jacobs post match and Strong comes in to help with the beatdown. Steamboat comes out for the save. The Carnage Crew comes out and beats Steamboat down but finally Maff/Whitmer/Foley come out for the save.

ROH World Title: Samoa Joe vs. CM Punk

Punk is blonde here. The fans are split as Joe is the most popular guy in the company but it’s Punk’s hometown. They shake hands and here we go. It’s weird to see Joe using power moves. The idea is that Joe proved he could go long distances and now Punk needs another idea to fight Joe. Feeling out process to start with not much of note going on so far. They go into the corner and Joe breaks clean to tick off the crowd.

Joe hooks a hammerlock and into an armbar. Punk takes him to the corner and it’s another clean break, almost shocking everyone. Punk cartwheels out of a wristlock and Joe is like boy please and takes him down into a camel clutch. Man and he cranks on that thing. He’s channeling his inner humbler. Punk rolls out into a headlock which he used a lot in the first match. They have a ton of time to work with here so this is fine.

In a nice looking move, Joe has Punk in a Pedigree position but they’re on the mat and it’s a submission hold. I like the plug from the commentator as he talks about the shopping site where there are DVDs and all that jazz. That’s all normal and fine but at the end of it he says “Ok we got that out of the way. It’s important but I want to get back to the match.” I don’t know why but I found that really refreshing.

This has been almost all on the mat or in a technical style and I’m digging it. Punk has used a bunch of headlocks here but the idea is he used that in the first match to wear Joe down and had success with it. That’s some higher level psychology and the announcers did their part by explaining it in like two sentences. See it’s not hard. Even a belly to back suplex can’t get the hold broken.

They exchange shoulder blocks and Punk is getting fired up. We hit the strikes and Punk speeds things WAY up, grabbing a rollup and Joe bails for a bit which stuns the announcers. Back to the mat game and man are they fast down there. After Punk chills for a bit on the floor he tries a test of strength because….uh…..why would you try that against Joe? They fire off chops in the corner and while it’s not exactly Flair vs. Steamboat it’s not bad.

They go to the corner now and Punk walks the ropes to start in on the arm. Joe’s arm gets worked on for a long while and now it’s back to the headlock. This has been going on about half an hour now and it’s pretty solid stuff, almost like a chess match. Out to the floor and of course Punk is in over his head out there. Joe is a big power brawler to go with his submission stuff here so he was really more like Benoit actually.

Over to the corner and Joe fires off some face washes but Punk avoids the running boot. Now Punk washes Joe’s face in the other corner. Nice little touch there. Foley is watching from the crowd. Thankfully they don’t cut to him and miss part of the match. A driving knee from the top (knee on the back of Joe’s head and Punk drove him down) gets two. Joe grabs a very modified STF out of nowhere and DANG. They were up on their knees but then Joe bent him back so that Punk was laying on his back but his legs were underneath him. FREAKING OW MAN!!!

Punk goes up but Joe just walks away like only he does. I love that realism thing. Delayed vertical suplex (about twenty seconds) gets two for Joe. Punk goes for the arm but Joe cuts the knees out and hooks a Boston Crab. Joe fires off a bunch of kicks to the head but Punk fires off some forearms. Joe is like whatever and pops him in the face for two. This time Joe gets the Facewashes and the running boot.

Punk finally gets a boot up in the corner and then a rana to the floor. A suicide dive puts both guys down and Punk gets control back. Punk, ever the jerk, hits Joe’s Ole Kick on the floor. He tries another rana off the apron but Joe catches him in a powerbomb position and spins Punk around into the barricade. Now Joe fires off the Ole but Punk blocks. They slug it out on the floor and this time the Ole hits.

After a quick skirmish in the ring they go back to the floor…..and the announcers walk off. They say they want to watch it as fans and say the match speaks for itself. Joe gets a DDT onto the apron and I’m assuming the fanboy announcers are pleased with that. Were they paying them by the hour and run out of money or something? Back in and a spear gets a very fast two.

We’re at 45 minutes. A top rope splash misses for the fat man and they do the slugging it out from their knees spot. A snap powerslam gets two for Joe and it’s off to a cross armbreaker. Punk just can’t get away from that, even today. A big boot gets two for Punk. There’s someone at ringside but since the announcers ran out for guacamole and gram crackers, we’re on our own as to who he is.

Punk gets a tornado DDT and the Anaconda Vice which he lets go for no apparent reason. Joe takes over with a clothesline and follows it up with a pair of busters (gut and brain) for two each. Joe does his powerbomb into a crab into the STF into the crossface sequence. Sunset flip gets two for Punk as does a kick to the head. They do the whole exchange submission finishers and Punk winds up putting the Clutch on Joe.

That gets him nowhere and a double clothesline puts them both down. Two Pepsi Plunges are blocked into a superplex by Joe for a delayed two. Joe sets for the MuscleBuster but Punk goes insane pounding on Joe’s back to break it up. Another Plunge is attempted but Joe counters into the MuscleBuster….and that’s the time limit as Punk is out cold. Uh…shouldn’t the match end with Joe out cold and Punk needing 5 more seconds to win the title?

Rating: B. It’s good, but the feeling I got here was “we have to have a classic”, not “this was a classic”. The first 15 minutes of this were all about the headlock and wearing Joe down and all that jazz, but it never went anywhere after that. The last half an hour or so didn’t really have much drama for my taste.

The problem was they were going for regular moves instead of trying to finish. The problem with that is that you have Joe and Punk who have already gone an hour before and you know that’s not going to finish either guy. This was reminiscent of Hart vs. Michaels, where a lot could have been condensed and the match would have improved a lot. It’s still good, but it’s not the epic classic that it’s supposed to be.

They shake hands post match.

Punk is sure he can beat Joe but he’s not sure if Joe can beat him. Punk wants a no time limit match. That match would happen and Joe would win.

Joe says that was your second and last chance. The job was to beat him, not survive him. He’s right.

Overall Rating: B-. The show is good but other than the last two matches there’s not much to see here from a wrestling standpoint. Steamboat and Foley are great and the Flair jokes are hilarious. I know someone is going to rip me for the Joe vs. Punk stuff and I have a feeling I know who it’s going to be. It’s good, but it’s not the classic it’s said to be and I’m sure the ROH bots are going to explain to me why I don’t get it and I don’t know real wrestling. Let’s get it over with.

 

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