Ring of Honor
Date: April 1, 2020

Things have changed up all over again as Ring of Honor is out of new material to show for weekly television. However, being around for over eighteen years means you have a long video library to draw from and that’s what they’re doing here. Over the next few weeks, we’re going to have some special biography episodes on various stars, starting with the Briscoes tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We start in Delaware with Jay and Mark Briscoes showing us where they ran their trampoline wrestling federation in their backyard. Jay talks about a variety of memories wrestling back here, most of which involve a variety of injuries. Mark pulls out some barbed wire from underneath the porch. It used to be tied to a board but the board is rather rotten.

Jay’s barbed wire bat is still in the garage though and he talks about getting it at a minor league baseball game. The matches took place all over the property and you can tell this means a lot to them. Now it’s off to the chicken house, where they had to go around and pick up all of the dead birds every day. It was a two person job and they did it together.

From Driven on June 23, 2007 in Chicago.

Tag Team Titles: Briscoes vs. Kevin Steen/El Generico

The Briscoes are defending and that would of course be Kevin Owens and NOT Sami Zayn (Completely different people entirely. Not even close you see.). Jay drives Generico into the corner to start and it’s almost scary to see how young the Briscoes look here. A headscissors keeps Generico down and seems to rough up the mask a little bit (you never rough up the mask). We take a break and come back with a double tag to Jay and Steen (who looks crazy young as well).

A springboard elbow drops Steen but he gets in some chops to slow things down. Steen runs him over with an elbow but Mark pops back up for some (yet to be named) Red Neck Kung Fu. Jay comes back in and everything breaks down with Steen taking some running kicks to the face in the corner. Steen gets in a knee to Jay’s ribs and it’s back to Generico as the double teaming begins. There’s a drop toehold to set up a flipping legdrop to the back of Jay’s neck for two as the champs are in trouble for a change.

Steen chokes Jay on the rope but stops to knock Mark off the apron in a smart move. Jay gets in an atomic drop though and Mark comes in with a big boot for two. A knee drop gets two on Generico and we take another break. Back again with Jay hitting a middle rope Fameasser for two on Generico and we hit a chinlock. Mark’s Samoan drop gets two more and he knocks Steen off the apron as a receipt from earlier. You don’t do that to Steen, who comes back in sans tag and hits a big flip dive onto Jay.

Mark gets sent to the apron so he flip dives onto Steen. Jay gets back in for a Cactus Clothesline on Generico to put everyone outside. A moonsault off the apron hits Steen and Generico gets LAUNCHED over the barricade onto a bunch of chairs in a scary looking bump. Steen powerbombs Mark over the barricade as well and everyone is down. Jay gets back inside and walks into a Pop Up sitout Powerbomb for two.

Generico takes Mark outside and hits a springboard moonsault, setting up the yet to be named Helluva Kick on Jay. Steen’s Swanton gets two in a rather hot near fall. Generico hits his corner walk tornado DDT to plant Mark but he’s right back up for a slingshot double stomp over the top to put Steen through a table. That leaves Jay to hit a gorilla press Death Valley Driver (dang) for a very close two on Generico. A spike Jay Driller ends Generico at 19:38.

Rating: A-. This was awesome and I can see why the tag team division had the reputation that it built up over the years. Steenerico was an awesome team but the Briscoes were the best team in the world for a long time. This was great stuff and I got way into the whole thing as it was a heck of a match.

The Briscoes talk about fighting as kids. Jay: “I’m a year older and a year more handsome.” Mark: “That means he’s gonna be dead a year earlier than me.” They’ve been wrestling for years but have been fighting even longer. Jay was in the first ROH match ever and lost, with Mark saying he let the family down.

Mark couldn’t wrestle in Pennsylvania but he could in Boston, and Mark beat him for the only time in his career. Then Jay won the rematch but they went to a draw in their third. Mark won in Philadelphia, making me wonder if he knows what it means by “the only time ever”. They’ve won a lot of titles and Jay rubs it in that Mark has never won a singles title.

From Best in the World 2013.

ROH World Title: Jay Briscoe vs. Mark Briscoe

Jay is defending. The fans are WAY into this as they fight over a lockup to start. Jay gets taken down off of the lockup and we take an early break. Back with the camera bouncing back and forth between the MARK/JAY chants for a cool shot. Mark gets backed into the corner as they’re waiting to really get going here. Jay isn’t about to be taken down and they stare at each other again.

They go to the mat for a split second before Mark scores with a spinwheel kick as commentary talks about the family not being sure what to do. Another handshake and the pace picks up a bit with Mark rolling underneath a kick and….I think dancing like a chicken? This time Mark won’t shake hands as it’s getting a little more serious. Mark knocks him to the floor for a chop off around (the very spacious) ringside. Jay gets dropped on the floor and we take another break as they get back inside.

Back with the fans chanting about chickens (oddly appropriate here) and Mark kicking him in the face. Jay scores with a superkick and a discus forearm, followed by a Downward Spiral into the middle buckle. Mark gets in an enziguri and Jay is knocked outside for a breather. For some reason Mark goes outside and sets up a table, followed by a Too Sweet and a slugout. Neither can get a superplex through the table so Jay throws Mark off the top to the floor for a big crash instead.

Back in and Jay hits a neckbreaker as we take another break. We come back again with Mark hitting an exploder and dropkicking Jay into the corner. An Iconoclasm gets two more and Mark sends him to the floor for a slingshot dive. Jay is laid on the table and the Froggy Bow drives him through for the huge crash.

Another Froggy Bow gets two back inside and something close to a Burning Hammer connects for the same. Jay fights back up and hits the Jay Driller, followed by a heck of a clothesline. Another Jay Driller only gets one and the fans are back into it. For some reason we look at the fans while Jay throws superkicks, setting up another Jay Driller to retain at 24:44.

Rating: A. There’s something interesting about watching two people who care about each other slugging it out and beating the heck out of each other like this. These two of course have great chemistry together and the story is set up just because of who they are. The fact that they beat the heck out of each other made it even better and they had an awesome match that lived up to the pay per view main event level.

Overall Rating: A+. I’m almost scared to imagine how long of a DVD you could make showcasing the best of the Briscoes. These two work together so well as you can’t recreate these characters no matter what. The Briscoes are as genuine of a team as you can get and it turns out that they’re both awesome at what they do. Awesome show here and I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do with more of them in the future.

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:

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

Supercard of Honor VIII
Date: April 4, 2014
Location: Alario Center, Westwego, Louisiana
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Nigel McGuinness, Steve Corino

I’m not the biggest ROH fan in the world but I was in New Orleans for Wrestlemania weekend and saw ROH was having a pay per view the night I got into town. The general admission ticket was cheap so I grabbed a seat and took in my first Ring of Honor show ever. I didn’t know a lot of the people on the card so it’s going to be interesting to hear the commentary to fill in some details. The main event is Adam Cole defending the World Title against Jay Briscoe in Ladder War V, which is their version of a TLC match. Let’s get to it.

The opening video shows last year’s Supercard of Honor where Jay Briscoe won the title in the first place. He was injured last summer and had to vacate the title, but held onto the belt and said he was never defeated for the title. Therefore, there are two titles but only Adam Cole is champion, setting up the main event tonight. The idea here is Briscoe is nuts but Cole is classy. Adam gives off a Bobby Roode vibe in his promos.

We start with a YES chant as the announcers run down the card.

Cedric Alexander vs. Roderick Strong

Strong is part of the Decade (Strong, Jimmy Jacobs and BJ Whitmer with their assistant Adam Page), which represents the old days of ROH and doesn’t like a lot of the disrespectful young punks around anymore. They threw Cedric’s bag out of the locker room to show their displeasure after Cedric used Strong’s backbreaker. The Decade also has their Young Boy Adam Page here to towel them off and hand them water, which isn’t the worst gimmick in the world.

They trade wristlocks to start with Strong getting the better of it until Cedric quickly flips out of it and sends Roderick into the corner. The Decade is quickly on the apron to check on Strong as the match slows down already. A dropkick puts Strong down though and he’s bleeding from the hand. Alexander goes to the corner but gets tripped up, sending the back of his head into the top turnbuckle to give Strong control.

Adam Page runs back down to the ring with a bandage for Strong as he hits a backbreaker for two on Cedric. We stop to get the thumb taped up which I thought was putting on a foreign object live. Some knees to the back are good for two and we hit a rear waistlock. Back up and Roderick misses a dropkick as the announcers talk about RD Evans’ streak. Strong loses the tape off his hand and gets caught with a slingshot DDT for two.

A half nelson facebuster gets the same but he gets caught by a running knee to the ribs and an Angle Slam for two. Some running knees in the corner look to set up a Rock Bottom but Cedric crucifixes him down for two. Strong comes right back with a backbreaker for two more and they chop it out. A running knee to Cedric’s face sets up a fireman’s carry into a double knee gutbuster for a VERY close two and the fans think this is awesome. That’s a stretch at this point.

Alexander comes back with a spinning kick to the face out of the corner (remember that for later) but has to go after Adam Page. A fireman’s carry into another kick to the head drops Strong and another kick knocks Jimmy Jacobs to the floor as well. Cedric dives onto the Decade but springboards into a dropkick which mostly misses. Strong lifts him into the air for a suplex but drops him onto his knees (ankles but whatever) for the pin.

Rating: C+. The match was going well but the camera showing the misses at the end really brought it down for me. You could see that the dropkick missed live but the cameras made the finish look a lot worse. Still though, I liked the idea they were going for here and it was a fast paced opener which got the crowd going.

Post match Jimmy Jacobs agrees that that was wrestling (another stretch) and says you can learn exactly what NOT to do by watching Cedric Alexander. You can learn how to get started in this company by watching Adam Page however. Alexander almost comes back into the ring but Jacobs orders him out of their building. Jacobs advises Adrenaline Rush and Andrew Everett to take a lesson from Alexander in what NOT to do.

Decade vs. Adrenaline Rush/Andrew Everett

This is a scramble match, which I believe means lucha rules, meaning that if you leave the ring, it’s as good as a tag. Adrenaline Rush is ACH and Tadarius Thomas. Steve Corino says ROH popularized this kind of match, which is just flat out wrong as WCW was having these almost weekly back in their heyday. ACH makes sure to get as many handshakes as he can get when the Decade won’t give him one. Jacobs pulls out his spike to go after ACH but the referee won’t let it happen.

ACH wants to start with Jacobs but Jimmy tags in Page after swearing a bit. They start fast with ACH nailing some fast armdrags into a nipup for a standoff. Off to the powerful BJ Whitmer who knocks ACH into the corner. Some dropkicks have little effect on BJ so ACH actually points into the air to distract him before dropkicking the knee out. Whitmer bails to the floor, allowing Jacobs to come in and knocks ACH to the floor.

Thomas comes in for a rollup to Jimmy followed by Richie Steamboat’s Sling Blade. The high flier Everett comes in and speeds things up with a moonsault over Jacobs followed by a big dropkick. Two backflips set up a hurricanrana to Whitmer but BJ pulls Andrew to the floor. Thomas hammers on Jacobs but charges into the corner and moonsaults down onto Whitmer and Page. Jacobs sends ACH to the apron where BJ pulls him onto his shoulders, setting up a Jimmy spear through the ropes to crush ACH. Cool spot. I’m sorry for all the play by play here but we’re in total spot fest mode.

Back in and ACH gets beaten up as Corino says one of the photographers looks like he’s from Jamaican. Kelly: “HE’S FROM ARKANSAS!” The guy they’re talking about was all over ringside and did more than any crew member I’ve ever seen. The Decade triple teams ACH to give Page a two count followed by a chinlock. A nice spinwheel kick gets the same on ACH and it’s back to BJ for some kicks in the face. ACH comes back with a running clothesline to send BJ onto the floor, setting up a HUGE flip dive to take him down again.

That allows Thomas to come in legally and kick Jacobs in the face (that’s at least two tonight) for two before throwing him down with a suplex. Page comes in for a fireman’s carry backbreaker but Everett comes in as Thomas rolls to the floor. Everett charges too fast into the corner and slips onto the ropes, and we get something I really liked: Page is right on him. Instead of waiting around like an idiot for Everett to get back into position, Page goes over and starts pounding on a fallen opponent, like a wrestler should be doing. It MAKES SENSE for him to be doing that but you hardly ever see that in WWE.

Anyway Andrew comes out of the corner with a nice moonsault press and Page rolls to the floor. BJ comes in but gets caught by a springboard kick to the face (you may be noticing a pattern here). Everett hits a gorgeous springboard shooting star to take out Jacobs and Page followed by a springboard shooting star press for two on Whitmer. A big backdrop sends Everett over the top and to the floor, followed by a wicked clothesline to Thomas. The All Seeing Eye (gutwrench mat slam from Whitmer with a sliding neckbreaker from Jacobs. I’ve seen that somewhere before and I think it was in TNA) is good for the pin on Tadarius.

Rating: C. Total spot fest here and there’s nothing wrong with that. ACH looked polished out there and I can see why he was given a WWE tryout a few months back. That being said, the opening two matches should have been combined into one or had the opener cut. The show starts to drag at the end and neither of these matches really did much differently from the other.

Jacobs gets his spike post match and goes after Thomas until an injured ACH makes the save.

We recap Truth Martini vs. Matt Taven. Martini is a heel manager who led Taven to the TV Title, but after losing the belt they parted ways with Taven firing Truth. Tonight Martini is back with a mystery wrestler to take care of Taven.

Martini says he’s alone tonight but that doesn’t bother him. He won’t be alone for long and promises a big surprise.

Matt Taven vs. ???

Martini comes out alone and says Taven is nothing without him. He calls Kevin Kelly into the ring (Corino: “YOU’RE THE MYSTERY GUY???”) as he reads the end of the Book of Truth. Matt says no one wants to see this and opens the book, only to get kicked low by Martini. Truth says surprise and walks out. No match.

Silas Young vs. RD Evans

Time for a comedy match! Evans is back and on a made up win streak but it’s played totally for laughs. He called himself a real man and that’s not cool with Wrestling’s Last Real Man in Silas Young. However, the interesting part here is Evans’ manager Veda Scott, who is absolutely GORGEOUS. I had heard her name before but I had never seen her in person. She’s a redhead with a kind of sexy nerd thing going on here in a short green skirt. Evans’ other dude Ramon comes out with an 82-0 sign which will come into play later.

Evans kicks Young in the face to start but gets driven hard into the corner to give Silas control. We get a Flair Flip in the corner but Scott trips Silas up for two. Young chases her around the ring but she SPRINTS away and loses her shoes in the process. Ramon offers a distraction and Evans takes over. Scott jumps in on commentary as Evans is slammed off the top. Apparently she’s an attorney along with Evans who is a wrestler on the side. I’ve heard worse gimmicks.

Young puts on a bodyscissors as the announcers talk about Evans winning a match in what sounded like Romania. Back up and a dropkick nails Evans but Young runs into a boot in the corner. A top rope shoulder block puts Young down again and a powerslam gets two. Evans misses a top rope splash though and a backbreaker into a lariat is good for a near fall on RD. Fans: “YOU CAN’T BEAT HIM!”

They head to the apron where Young can’t hit a German suplex to the floor but does hit an electric chair drop onto the apron. Evans DIVES back in at 19 (ROH goes to 20, which I forgot until the referee got to 11) and gets a near fall off a small package. Scott gets on the apron for a distraction as Ramon gets on the apron.

Silas takes the belt and claps his hands before grabbing his back. It’s not enough for the DQ so Evans gets a VERY close near fall off a rollup. The referee takes a belt shot to the head and goes down as Evans hits a running neckbreaker. Young gets up and hits a rolling fireman’s carry into a slingshot moonsault for the pin by another referee to break the streak.

BUT WAIT! The original referee says Young hit him in the head so THAT’S A DQ AND THE STREAK LIVES! Ramon sprints to the back and comes back with an 83-0 sign as Scott goes nuts.

Rating: C. This was so over the top and completely goofy but I totally loved it. There’s something awesome about a character that is played totally for laughs like this and Veda Scott made it all the better. The fact that the skirt was barely there helped a lot but she’s also hilarious on commentary. I dug this one a lot and the fans did too.

Mike Bennett and Maria promise to make Mark Briscoe feel pain tonight. He promises a new submission to put Chicken Briscoe down.

Mark Briscoe is all fired up and sounds completely insane, talking about a shark and a female dog being in a jungle before tearing Bennett’s face off like a gorilla.

Mike Bennett vs. Mark Briscoe

No DQ. Maria is with Mike here and somehow blows Veda Scott away by wearing basically a bikini. Briscoe takes him down with a flip dive off the apron to get things going. Maria rants at the commentary table about how she didn’t want Mike to do this in the first place. Back in and a hard clothesline drops Bennett again but he comes back by whipping Mark into the barricade.

They head into the crowd with Briscoe backdropping him onto the stands and landing a big dive off a railing. Back to ringside where Bennett is able to pelt a chair at Mark’s head a few times to take over. Inside again with a low blow with a chair before Bennett wedges the chair in the corner. In a funny bit he sings Edge’s theme song but misses a charge into the chair, knocking him back to the floor. Mark hits a running elbow off the apron for two and they fight up to the entrance.

The fans and announcers say they can’t see anything as Briscoe is knocked off the stags and through a table as the cameraman goes down. They head back to the ring with Maria acting as a shield for Bennett. To his credit he shoves her out of the way to take the kendo stick shots for her. Maria gets in a cheap shot from the floor and a Side Effect onto a chair sets up a series of chair shots to the back. Bennett Pillmanizes the neck (it’s not a Conchairto if it’s wrapped around a body part people) and puts on an Anaconda Vice for the easy win.

Rating: C. This was a wild brawl which made sense given the story they were telling here. That was quite the ending spot with the Pillmanizing and it was nice to see the match again as I spent most of the first viewing staring at Maria. Seriously, she’s just hard to take your eyes off at any time but barely dressed makes it even better. She’s also great at messing with the crowd as she stands there in terror when Bennett is in trouble but then poses and shakes her hips when Mike wins.

Matt Taven is looking for Truth Martini and gets beaten down in the bathroom by Truth’s new guy who we don’t see. This didn’t air for the live crowd.

Intermission, during which Nigel McGuinness was working the merchandise stand. This ran about twenty minutes but they cut it out here for obvious reasons.

Speaking of Nigel, he replaced Corino on commentary for the second half of the show.

A small guy named Cheeseburger is in the ring and asks who wants free t-shirts. He’s interrupted by Matt Hardy who tells Cheeseburger to get out of the ring before something bad happens to him. Matt says he’s back in Ring of Honor and it’s on to its biggest year ever. ROH’s ratings, attendance and merchandising are setting records and it’s all because Matt Hardy is here again. He’s giving ROH the rub and has picked Adam Cole as the Holy Spirit of Wrestling.

Matt says the internet smark fans just don’t get it. Cole and himself are like the Holy Trinity you hear about in church because they’re one in the same. Hardy: “Go ahead and boo. It’s just part of my $15,000 payday.” Matt says he and Cole run this company along with Michael Bennett and Maria Kanellis instead of the fans or announcers. Tonight Cole will cement himself as the greatest ROH World Champion in history, including CM Punk. Cheeseburger gets in the ring like an idiot and takes a Twist of Fate. “You’re not on my menu anymore.” The heat was great, but this didn’t need nine minutes.

Forever Hooligans vs. ReDragon vs. Hanson/Raymond Rowe

The Hooligans are Alex Kozlov (fake Russian but a small guy) and Rocky Romero. ReDragon is Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly. Fish is very energetic and tries to fire Kyle up before we get things going. Hanson and Rowe are two big power guys that you don’t often see in ROH. The winner of this gets a Tag Team Title match against the Young Bucks at some point in the future.

Rowe and O’Reilly get things going by circling each other for a bit. Kyle knocks Hanson to the floor but makes the mistake of heading outside for a breather. Hanson plants him with a slam so it’s off to Fish who walks into an overhead belly to belly. Hanson gets the tag and nails a clothesline to the back of the head for two. Bobby heads outside again and we get a chase, resulting in Fish sliding back in and tagging out to Romero.

Two fingers to the eyes slow Hanson down and a hurricanrana puts him on the mat. Off to Kozlov for some double teaming, including a springboard cross body for two. O’Reilly tags Hanson after the big man drops Alex with a clothesline but Romero gets in a cheap shot from the apron to give the Hooligans control. Now we get to the stupid comedy portion of the match with Kozlov putting on one of those Russian hats and hitting some dancing kicks to the head. Thankfully it doesn’t last long.

Romero starts firing off running clotheslines to Kyle in the corner and won’t let Alex hit one of his own. They nearly come to blows but hug it out to a big reaction. Rowe comes in to blame Romero with something resembling a release Rock Bottom but Fish tags himself in to work over Rocky. ReDragon hits a backbreaker/middle rope knee combo for two on Romero before things settle back down.

Kyle works over Rocky’s arm before it’s back to Fish for some shots of his own. Kyle comes in again for a hammerlock slam and a chinlock but Rocky fights back with a spinning kick to the face. Alex gets the tag and hits a springboard cross body on Kyle, despite Rowe clearly touching O’Reilly’s back in plain view of the referee. Kozlov nails a bunch of kicks to the head and takes out most of the people in the match with a big flip dive.

A springboard missile dropkick gets two on Kyle but Hanson comes in and cleans house. Everything breaks down even more and everyone is knocked to the mat or floor. Kozlov and O’Reilly are the only ones left in the ring and they slug it out until Rowe trips Kyle to the floor. Rowe is driven into the barricade by Kyle and hit with a running dropkick off the apron from Fish. Hanson catches a diving Fish in a powerslam but Kozlov sends him to the floor. Alex hits a shooting star for two but Fish makes the save. Forever Hooligans loads up some kind of a double team move on Fish but he slips off Alex’s back and gets a rollup for the pin.

Rating: B-. This was an insane tag match but it went on a bit too long. It was entertaining enough but I would have gone with the title match here instead of the #1 contenders match. Still though, this was another fun spot fest with some power added in to balance things out in a nice addition.

Replays show that Fish had a handful of trunks.

We recap Tommaso Ciampa vs. Jay Lethal which started about two years ago when Ciampa injured his knee in a match against Lethal and was put out for a year. Lethal has had Ciampa beaten twice but various issues has cost him the TV Title. Tonight it’s 2/3 falls again.

TV Title: Tommaso Ciampa vs. Jay Lethal

Ciampa is defending and this is 2/3 falls. This is where the fans were getting restless as you could see a lot of them looking at their phones and the chants started to die a bit. Ciampa takes off his knee brace for the first time since his injury in a symbolic move. Feeling out process to start as they trade headlocks and rollups for two each. A hiptoss puts the champion down and Lethal cartwheels over to a standoff.

They chop it out in the corner but Lethal misses a springboard dropkick. Jay kicks him into the barricade and nails a suicide dive followed by a second one for good measure. A third puts Ciampa into the crowd and the fans chant for ROH. Why they don’t chant for Lethal is beyond me, but it’s happened since the ECW days. Lethal is whipped into the barricade and Ciampa hits a running knee so fast that he falls right back into the crowd. The referee restarts the count for no apparent reason before Ciampa throws Jay back inside.

Jay comes back with some kicks to the head and a dropkick in the corner for two until Ciampa bites Jay’s hand to escape. Lethal tries a Tajiri handspring elbow but gets caught in what was supposed to be a Backstabber. They fight over a suplex until they both go over the top in a big crash. Neither guy gets the better of a slugout and they both slide back inside at the 19 count, which didn’t please the fans in my section. Another Tajiri handspring is countered but Lethal grabs a German suplex for the pin and the first fall.

There’s no rest period so gets in a quick shot to the head and they trade near falls. Lethal Combination (backbreaker into a Downward Spiral) sets up a Koji Clutch on the champion but he counters into a Rings of Saturn Crossface. Jay gets his feet into the ropes though and it’s time for another slugout. Again neither guy can get the better of it so Jay tries another Tajiri handspring but gets caught in a Diamond Cutter, which apparently is the finish to the handspring.

Lethal busts out Ciampa’s finisher (powerbomb into double knees to the back) for two but ANOTHER Tajiri handspring hits the referee. Ciampa rolls some Germans and hits a discus lariat to put both guys down. This brings out Truth Martini who throws Jay the knee brace. He nails Ciampa in the face for two before nailing the top rope elbow, only to have Ciampa Hulk Up. Some superkicks have no effect but Lethal FINALLY hits the handspring into the cutter for the pin and the title.

Rating: C-. This was longer than it needed to be as the second fall could have been cut out to the same result. The ending really didn’t work for me either as Lethal knocked Ciampa out but they did another minute or so, making the entire knee brace thing seem completely worthless. Just too long here, but I’ve never been a Jay Lethal fan in the first place.

Post match Lethal says there’s a new house in New Orleans and it’s the House of Truth.

Michael Elgin vs. Kevin Steen

Winner gets an IWGP Title shot at Global Wars in May. Elgin is one of the few ROH guys I really like but Steen is pretty much the top star in ROH. Steen immediately tries the Package Piledriver but Elgin fights out, only to get caught by a Cannonball in the corner for two. You can tell this is going to be a power brawl. They head to the floor with Elgin being thrown into the barricade which is knocked into the crowd.

Michael is sent into the barricade again around the ring as the fans chant OVER HERE. Elgin reverses and “hits” a running big boot to the….chest I think? Steen teases getting back in but would rather load up a piledriver on the floor. Thankfully Elgin backdrops him down to prevent the whole broken neck thing and lands a delayed vertical suplex on the floor. They head back inside but Elgin’s sunset flip attempt is countered by some running knees to the head for two.

A senton backsplash gets two on Michael but he muscles Steen up into a German suplex to put both guys down. The Sharpshooter from Steen is quickly countered into a suplex for two but Steen misses a moonsault into a flip to give Steen a breather. A knee to the back of Elgin’s head gets two but a second Cannonball is countered into a powerbomb. Steen comes right back with the F-Cinc (French for 5) for another two count.

Elgin wins a slugout and Steen almost falls out to the floor. Michael tries the Cesaro superplex but Kevin headbutts him down, only to get enziguried (again with the head kicks!) to the floor. Kevin powerbombs him onto the apron but Elgin gets up and powerbombs him against the post. That’s only good for two as well so Michael tombstones him down for another near fall. They slug it out until Steen throws him into the air for a powerbomb and gets two off the Package Piledriver.

Steen is STUNNED and takes too long going up top, allowing Elgin to block a Cannonball with knees. A sitout powerbomb gets Elgin another near fall so he loads up a superplex. Steen fights back AGAIN and hits a top rope brainbuster. The kickout shocks everyone again but Elgin is able to counter a Package Piledriver into a triple bomb. Another powerbomb and a lariat set up a buckle bomb on Steen, followed by a Package Piledriver to FINALLY pin Steen.

Rating: B+. This is the kind of match the show was needing for awhile now. It’s totally different from the rest of the show and that was the big problem. The show had become repetitive so mixing things up like this made a good match feel like a very good match. Elgin gets a big win as well which can only help him.

Steen takes awhile to get up and receives a THANK YOU BOTH chant.

The main event took awhile to set up so a bit was cut out here.

ROH World Title: Jay Briscoe vs. Adam Cole

Cole is defending. There are two belts above the ring and three ladders at ringside, first person to pull down the belts wins. Corino is on commentary as well. Jay wins a fight to start and nails a quick backdrop to stagger the champion. He heads outside but comes up with a chair to the head to stop a suicide dive. Back inside and the chair bounces off Briscoe’s head before Adam slams him down onto the steel.

An AA breaks the chair and it’s time for the smallest ladder, only to have Jay baseball slide it into Cole’s face. Some more chair shots put Cole down before Jay pelts the chair at his head to even the score. Adam comes back with a suplex onto the ladder and Briscoe’s head is busted open BAD. The first attempt at the belts is easily cut off as the referee brings in a towel to wipe Jay’s face. He refuses the help of course and brings in the medium sized ladder.

Cole is sent up the ramp but Jay goes after him instead of climbing for the titles. There’s another LOUD chair shot to Cole’s head and Jay bridges the small ladder between two chairs. A big splash knocks Cole off the ladder and now it’s time to climb. Scratch that actually as Jay shoves the medium ladder over and gets a table. Cole is able to get off before Jay can dive off the big ladder though and Adam gets in another cheap shot to take over.

The big ladder is laid against the ropes but both guys head back inside. Briscoe is knocked down by a hard clothesline and the small ladder is thrown into the ring again. Jay pops right back up though and powerbombs Adam onto the small ladder in the corner. Adam fights off a superplex through the ladder (fans: “PLEASE DON’T DIE!”) and superkicks Jay onto it instead for a HUGE crash.

Adam climbs the medium ladder but Jay is right back up and throwing Cole through the small ladder in the corner, badly bending it in the process. Briscoe is now bleeding from the back as well but is still able to put the champion down with a neckbreaker. Jay sets up another ladder bridge but the ladder is badly broken so it collapses as soon as Adam lays down on it. That’s fine with Jay as he tries a splash onto the mostly broken ladder but Cole moves, sending Jay crashing down.

The medium ladder is set up in the middle of the ring but Jay pelts another chair off the champion’s head to put him back down. They both climb up to fight on top but Jay knocks him off for a big crash. Cole is able to talk enough trash from the mat though that Jay drops down and hits the Jay Driller piledriver. He still won’t climb though and loads up a Conchairto onto the ladder, only to have Matt Hardy run in and hit a Twist of Fate to Jay on the floor.

Matt helps Cole climb but Mark Briscoe runs out, completely crippling a lot of the momentum this show had going for it. His neck was Pillmanized but here he is an hour and a half later? I don’t care how tough he is. Mark Briscoe shouldn’t be seen for AT LEAST two months after a spot like that. He puts Matt on the table but Mike Bennett comes out to shove the ladder over, sending Mark through the table.

Jay and Cole are alone in the ring and the Jay Driller puts Cole down again. A Jay Driller puts Bennett down as well and there’s a third to take out Matt Hardy. Cole and Jay climb at the same time but the champion wins a slugout and shoves him down. Jay tries one last climb but Cole pulls down the belts to retain.

Rating: B. This was a solid fight but the Mark Briscoe stuff really took me out of things. To be fair though I got to look at Maria a bit more when she came down with Bennett so I can’t complain too much. Jay looked like a soldier out there which is the right idea and Cole holding onto the title is the right choice at the end of the day. Good stuff here.

The heels pose to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This is a show where the parts don’t add up to the final total. As mentioned, the show just went on forever and it really started to drag around the TV Title match. It’s certainly entertaining and the last two matches brought things back up, but it didn’t really fire me up and make me want to see more ROH.

At the end of the day, it’s about the same take on ROH that I’ve always had: there’s good stuff here, but it’s not enough to make me want to keep coming back. Thankfully they cut WAY down on the no selling stuff (Mark Briscoe aside) but unfortunately they cranked up on the repetitive moves. From Jay Lethal trying Lethal Injection four times to seemingly EVERYONE using a spin kick to the head, I felt like I saw the same match several times tonight. If ROH was near me again and relatively cheap I’d go, but it’s not something I’m going out of my way to see.

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I didn’t take notes so my memory isn’t going to be perfect.  These are the mental notes I took and I’ll save the full breakdown for later.  Also I took about 20 pictures but the cord for the camera is about 750 miles away so you’ll have to wait on those.I got to the event about 40 minutes early and saw a VERY long line.  Thankfully it didn’t take long to get through.  I had general admission seating and could sit anywhere in the endzone of the arena.  The seats were looking straight at the entrance so I had a great view all night.  Not bad for about $32.  The arena was mostly full but the bigger side did have some empty seats at the top.

Almost as soon as I got through the door, I could see Jay Lethal standing at an autograph table.  There were I believe twelve people at the row of tables and autographs were $10 each.  Being the eternal cheap guy that I am, I opted for some quick handshakes with Kevin Steen, the Briscoes, Matt Hardy, and Maria Kanellis, who was rocking a little black dress.  She’s somehow even more gorgeous in person and seemed like a very nice person with a stunning smile.

I went inside and caught a few moments of the dark match which was a fourway won by Luke Hawx.  The other name I recognized was Mike Posey who used to be a referee.  There was also a masked man named Romantic Touch, who Wikipedia says is Rhett Titus under a mask.  I went to the concession stand before this was over and only saw about a minute of it.

Roderick Strong beat Cedric Alexander to open the show.  Strong is a guy I like to a degree so it was a nice touch.  The Decade (Strong’s heel stable, led by Jimmy Jacobs) is fine for an idea (We were here first and like the old ways better) and Jacobs isn’t bad as the boss.

The Decade called out Adrenaline Rush and Andrew Everett for a six man that saw ACH hit some awesome high spots.  The guy reminds me of Shelton Benjamin from the start of his singles push, which is a very big compliment.  Everett hit some great looking springboard shooting stars for two but Coleman got caught in a slam/neckbreaker combo from Decade for the pin.  ACH seemed to have hurt his knee.

Truth Martini (heel manager) vs. Matt Taven (former client) didn’t happen as Martini kicked him low and left.  Kevin Kelly was brought into the ring for this for no apparent reason.

Next up was RD Evans (Archibald Peck for you Chikara fans), a guy you might vaguely remember Ryback beating up on Smackdown a few months back.  Dude is freakishly tall.  Anyway he’s doing a Goldberg Streak gimmick but totally for laughs and the fans are way into him.  He got Silas Young to hit the referee with a belt before getting pinned, only to get the Dusty Finish for the DQ.  Not much to the match, but Evans’ valet Veda Scott is GORGEOUS.

And then no one remembered her because Maria came out with Mike Bennett for his match against Mark Brisco wearing a blue bikini.  Seriously there’s not much else to say about it and it stole most of my attention during the match (I have a thing for redheads.  What can I say?).  She knows how to be evil too as she was all scared and timid when Mike was in trouble but after the match when he was standing tall she was shaking her hips and had this awesome evil smile.  When she was on the apron and leaning into the ring you could see a cameraman filming her from behind which made me chuckle.  The match was a solid brawl with Mark looking insane.  Bennett wound up Pillmanizing MArk’s neck with another chair, setting up an Anaconda Vice for the win.  Remember that, because it becomes important later.

Intermission came, so I went outside and look to my left to see none other than Nigel McGuinness talking to fans.  Again just a handshake, though he was working the merchandise stand and offering his documentary autographed for $25.  I’ve heard it’s good in case you’re a fan of his.  Nigel seemed like a nice guy from what I could tell as he was handling money but still had time to shake my hand and smile.  Everyone seemed nice all night, though I only said hi to most people.

After the break a guy named Cheeseburger (seriously?  No actually because there’s nothing serious about a guy with that name) came out to throw t-shirts to the crowd but was interrupted by Matt Hardy.  Matt put over ROH (literally using those words) and praised Adam Cole (the Holy Spirit of wrestling, to go with Matt Hardy as the Jesus of wrestling.  Seriously).  This went on WAY longer than it needed to and of course ended with Cheeseburger taking the Twist of Fate.

ReDragon beat Forever Hooligans and two muscle guys with beards named Hanson and Raymond Rowe.  THis is one of those matches that is going to be praised by ROH fans but it was a glorified comedy match at times.  It wasn’t bad, but it highlighted a lot of the problems I have with ROH, which I’ll get into in the full review.  Match was energetic and fun at times but not a very high quality.

Next up was Jay Lethal vs. Tomasso Ciampa in a 2/3 falls match for Ciampa’s TV Title.  The crowd was starting to get restless at this point and you could see a lot of people messing with their phones.  I can’t say I blame them as the show was already running long and a 2/3 falls match sounded like death.  Not much to talk about here as Lethal used the Tajiri handspring into an elbow or cutter far too often and it got boring fast.  Lethal won the first fall and then the referee got bumped.  Truth Martini came out and threw Jay a knee brace which I think is part of Ciampa’s history.  A shot with that got two and after Ciampa Hulked Up, Lethal kicked him a lot and hit the Tajiri handspring into a cutter to win the title.  He joined the House of Truth after.

Kevin Steen and Michael Elgin (one of the few ROH guys I actually like) had a big old fight for a shot at the IWGP Title in May.  This was the old school heavyweight slugfest with both guys beating the tar out of each other.  It’s probably the best match of the night and a really solid brawl.  Elgin won by hitting Steen with Steen’s package piledriver.  They hugged after the match and Steen had to be helped out.

The main event was a ladder war (TLC) for the World Title.  Adam Cole was champion but Jay Briscoe has his own title since he was never defeated for the belt.  It was a very violent and brutal match with Jay getting busted open hardway and Matt Hardy, Mike Bennett and Mark Briscoe interfering.  Yeah remember earlier when MArk had his neck crushed by a chair?  He was fine 90 minutes later.  That’s the kind of thing that gets on my nerves in wrestling.  Why am I supposed to buy a big injury spot if it doesn’t even last two hours?  Back in the day that would be six months of TV but here it doesn’t even go until the end of the show.  That’s just not smart.  Anyway Jay fought very hard but the numbers were too much for him and Cole retained the title.  Most of the fans including myself bolted the second he got the belts down.

Overall the show was fun, but overstayed its welcome.  They needed to cut one of the matches (the opener would have been a great choice) and get this a little shorter.  Also one of the major problem with ROH showed through tonight: too many of the wrestlers have the same style and it gets really repetitive.  I lost count of the number of spin kicks to the face I saw tonight and it gets old after awhile.  That’s partially why Steen vs. Elgin was so well received: it was completely different from anything else all night and the fans were interested in seeing something different.

I liked the show, but it’s the same reaction I always get out of watching ROH: good stuff here and there, but not enough to make me watch more than a show here or there.

Full review coming later as I’m sure this is going to be online in like an hour.  If you find it on Dailymotion or something, let me know.

Ring of Honor TV
Date: January 11, 2014
Location: Tennessee State Fairgrounds, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Prince Nana, Kevin Kelly, Steve Corino

Some of you might remember me trying ROH TV when it first debuted and giving up after about two months. Since then, a lot of their very annoying fans have told me that I just don’t get it and I MUST give it another chance. Well here you are. I taped an episode of the show to give it one last chance. I’m not going to review this regularly but I’ll take a chance on an hour. I keep up with the basic stories in ROH so I’m not totally blind coming in. Let’s get to it.

We open with clips from Final Battle where Matt Hardy interfered to help Adam Cole keep the world title, apparently joining forces. This was followed by the return of Chris Hero who cleaned house and said he was back in ROH.

Opening sequence.

AJ Styles returns in three weeks.

Top Prospects Tournament First Round: Ray Rowe vs. Kongo

This is a tournament of young guys with the winner getting a TV Title shot. Rowe is your typical tough guy with tattoos and a beard while Kongo is a fat guy in war paint from South America. No handshake to start until they slug it out with no one getting an advantage. Kongo runs over Rowe with a shoulder but misses a splash in the corner. Rowe comes back with some forearms (in ROH? I’m STUNNED) as the announcers talk about a three way elimination tag on January 25.

The guys fight to the floor with Kongo being sent into the post to knock him silly as Corino talks about being runner up in the Top Prospect Tournament in 1995. Kongo hits something like a MuscleBuster but Rowe comes back with more forearms. Rowe ducks a right hand and hits a very impressive German suplex for one as the fat guy kicks out.

Two knees to the chest put Kongo down for a close two before hitting some YES Kicks. Kongo pops up and hits something like Money Brown’s Pounce and an Umaga hip attack in the corner. The fat guy misses a Vader Bomb, allowing Rowe to pick him up in a full nelson slam down onto Rowe’s raised knee for the pin.

Rating: C-. Rowe has a good look but I’m not wild on his in ring work. Kongo is just too fat to do much though he wasn’t immobile. This wasn’t too bad but there was almost no way Kongo was going to win given how he looks. Not a terrible match and the right guy won so I can’t complain that much.

Post match Kongo staggers to his feet but a ticked off Michael Elgin comes to the ring for a staredown. A spinning backfist knocks Kongo silly and an awesome looking release powerbomb puts him down. I’ve always liked Elgin.

House show ads.

Post break Elgin says this is his ring. Final Battle was supposed to be the night he finally won the world title. Adam Cole left New York with the title but it’s far from over. The way Cole was talking makes Elgin think the champion has forgotten just how good Elgin was in 2013. If Cole thinks Elgin is behind him, he needs eyes in the back of his head. Cole needs to stop worrying about Chris Hero, AJ Styles and Jay Briscoe because Michael Elgin is right in front of him.

This brings out Chris Hero who says he’s glad to be back, but doesn’t like what he’s hearing. It’s been a long time since he’s been in ROH but Elgin has become the man. Both of them want the title but they have to work together in Pittsburgh at the aforementioned three way tag, which will be the two of them, the Briscoes and Cole/Hardy. After that though, anything goes.

This brings out Kevin Steen who says (I think at least, as the audio is pretty horrible) that he still hasn’t gotten his rematch for the title (audio is better now). Elgin can’t get a rematch until after Steen does and Hero hasn’t been here for two years. If Hero thinks he’s getting a title shot, Steen has some bad news for him. They’re fighting tonight and after Steen gets done with him, all Hero will be able to say is OH NO. Eh point for a funny line.

Final Battle video.

AJ Styles is coming back.

Top Prospect Tournament First Round: Corey Hollis vs. Bill Daly

Daly has some goon with him who talks about how Daly has turned his life around. The goon holds up a sign with a bunch of sponsorship logos on it, but Daly says he’s unable to compete tonight due to an ankle injury. He demands a title shot anyway, despite not being able to compete. Hollis wins by forfeit, but a guy named Mike Posey offers to fight him instead.

Top Prospect Tournament First Round: Corey Hollis vs. Mike Posey

Apparently Posey is Hollis’ trainer. Both guys take the other to the mat for some head slapping as the announcers try to figure out if this is a tournament match or not. Posey heads to the floor but Hollis hits a nice plancha to take him down. Mike gets all aggressive and rams him into the barricade and post before throwing him back in. A slingshot legdrop gets two and Posey goes after the arm.

Posey drops five straight legdrops for two and it’s back to the arm. Hollis fights up with an atomic drop and some clotheslines before kicking Posey’s knee out. A running neckbreaker gets two for Corey but the arm gives out, allowing Posey to hit a double underhook spinning slam for two.

They trade forearms with no selling anywhere to be seen. Hollis shrugs off an enziguri and clotheslines Posey in the back of the head for two. That’s the kind of stuff that drives me crazy about ROH and it’s getting on my nerves again here. Posey ducks a roaring elbow and puts Hollis down with a neckbreaker before a guillotine legdrop gets two more. Hollis’ roaring elbow connects for the pin, sending him on to face Ray Rowe.

Rating: D. Erg that no selling drives me crazy and it’s still around in this company. If you get kicked in the back of the head, YOU SHOULD GO DOWN. Spare me the whole adrenaline nonsense too. I might buy that if you get kicked, hit one more move and THEN stay down but Hollis just kept on going with his offense. That drives me nuts.

Video from Pursuit Night Two with Caprice Coleman and Cedric Alexander amicably splitting up. I never cared for that team.

Caprice Coleman vs. Jay Lethal

The announcers talk about the new TV Champion Tomasso Ciampa challenging Jay Lethal for a title defense. Coleman is sent to the floor for a nice dive by Lethal for two back inside. Jay drops a few elbows for two as the announcers talk about Adam Cole and Matt Hardy hooking up at Final Battle. Steve Corino was involved with it somehow and was still thrilled to see it happen. Back to the floor with Lethal missing a kick and having his leg kicked into the post.

An Asai Moonsault with Coleman jumping from inside the ring puts Lethal down again for two as Coleman takes over. Caprice gets two off a top rope leg lariat but a Lionsault hits knees. He comes right back with rolling northern lights suplexes for two, only to walk into the Lethal Combination (backbreaker/downward spiral). Coleman counters a top rope elbow with a hurricanrana and gets two off an STO (leg sweep clothesline). Lethal comes right back with a superkick and a Tajiri handspring into a Diamond Cutter for the pin.

Rating: C. That finisher was ridiculous. I can understand someone getting in position for a move, but Coleman had to take a step back and lower his head so Lethal could grab him. If you want to use a Diamond Cutter then use a Diamond Cutter, but don’t make it look completely scripted. I still don’t get the appeal of Lethal.

Post match Lethal offers a handshake for having such a bright future. Coleman leaves and Lethal accepts the challenge from Ciampa. He’ll even do commentary for Ciampa’s match next week.

Jay Briscoe wants Adam Cole next week for the real world title. Briscoe has his own title belt which I guess he claims he never lost.

Chris Hero vs. Kevin Steen

They shake hands to start and we’re ready to go. The fans think Chris is Awesome, which is also the name of his theme song. Steen stalls to start until Hero grabs a cravate. That goes nowhere so it’s off to a top wristlock, sending Steen into the ropes. Kevin takes him down to the mat for some short lived technical stuff before shrugging off Chris’ shoulder blocks. Steen offers to try some shoulders but instead dropkicks Chris down in a surprising athletic display.

We take a break and come back with Steen knocking Hero off the apron and into the barricade. Back in and Steen hits (kind of) a slingshot hilo for two. The fans are split on who they like best as the guys slug it out in the middle of the ring. Hero flips over the ropes and comes back with some kicks to the face followed by a running forearm in the corner.

A big boot to the jaw gets two for Hero before the Package Piledriver and Roaring Elbow both miss. Steen comes back with an F5 (F-Cinq in a clever name) and a swanton for two. A BIG powerbomb puts Hero down as the fans start a LOUD ROH chant. Steen charges into a roaring elbow and a spinning kick to the face gets two for Chris. Cue the Decade (BJ Whitmer, Jimmy Jacobs and Roderick Strong, because one heel alliance on top isn’t enough) to distract Hero, allowing Steen to hit a sleeper suplex for the pin.

Rating: C+. Bring Hero back, have him lose in his first match on TV. Sure why not. This was a nice back and forth match but it would have been improved with an extra five minutes to shore things up. It’s not a great match or anything but it was a good change to have the main event run twelve minutes unlike the early days when it would get twenty.

Steen goes to leave but Cliff Compton jumps him from behind and chokes Steen down to end the show after 58 minutes.

Overall Rating: C-. It’s not as bad as it used to be but there are still a lot of problems here. As I mentioned, having Cole/Hardy and the Decade at the same time is overkill and I give them until March to merge into the latest mega heel stable that ROH and TNA are obsessed with. I’ll give them this though: the pacing is WAY better than it was when I stopped watching. Now there are multiple stories in an episode and you get a nice variety, meaning it might draw in more fans. I’m still not a fan of most of the guys featured here though and like I said I won’t be watching again. It’s better than it used to be though.

 

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Final Battle 2010
Date: December 18, 2010
Location: Manhattan Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Dave Prazak

 

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

 

Davey says Final Battle is the beginning for him.

 

The Briscoes say Man Up.

 

Steen says if he loses he’s gone.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

TJ Perkins vs. Colt Cabana

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Sonjay Dutt vs. Eddie Edwards

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Christopher Daniels vs. Homicide

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Kings of Wrestling/Shane Hagadorn vs. Briscoes

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

ROH World Title: Davey Richards vs. Roderick Strong

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Kevin Steen vs. El Generico

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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