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Bitter Friends Stiffer Enemies II
Date: April 24, 2010
Location: Frontier Fieldhouse, Chicago Ridge, Illinois
Commentators: Dave Prazak, Joe Gondrowski
This was a request from Thriller and apparently he and CH David were at the show so there you are. The main event is a street fight between Steve Corino/Kevin Steen and El Generico/Colt Cabana. I don’t have a lot of experience with the more recent ROH so this should be interesting. Let’s get to it.
With NO intro, it’s time for our first match.
Rashce Brown vs. Sami Callihan
As usual with this company, most of these guys are brand new to me. Callihan is from the Last House on the Left so I’m happy already. Brown is a guy I’ve heard a lot about but I know next to nothing about him. Sami jumps him from the top to start, even though or in spite of being a heel. Not sure which but whatever. Brown is a pure power guy and has bad ribs here. Well that’s basic psychology if nothing else.
Apparently he’s been doing the Magnum TA/Goldberg thing by beating people really fast which is always simple yet effective. In a nice move, Brown lifts Sami up in a gorilla press on the floor and just drops him on the apron. That works. They’re going back and forth here but it’s not really working that well. The problem with guys that run through people that fast have limited experience and it’s showing a bit here.
He’s not bad, but I think there’s a reason as to why he’s starting the show here. Sami gets a running start and is caught by a hand to the chest which is called a swinging chokeslam for no apparent reason. He goes for a Burning Hammer which is just awesome but he can’t because of the ribs. So then he just picks him up and does it anyway. My head hurts a bit because of that.
Rating: C-. Nothing special here in the slightest but I’ve seen worse. I’m not sure why this is the opener as it’s not a particularly exciting match or anything but rather just two guys having a basic match. I guess they could be out there because they’re the guys that are the least interesting, but this did very little to get me excited for the show. Just an odd choice, but nothing really horrible.
Dark City Fight Club vs. Bravado Brothers
The Bravado Brothers are named Lance and Harlem? The Fight Club is really good apparently. Ok then. Their names are Jon Davis and Kory Chavis. Got it. I’m not going to remember any of their names so it’s not like it matters. Harlem and Kory start us off. The Bravado Brothers look almost identical so I’m even going to try to tell them apart. We’re into squash territory here which is never a good sign at all.
It’s power vs. speed here but it just isn’t working. More or less the announcers talk about how great the Fight Club is and how much of an upset this would be so what am I supposed to think? Davis hits a Pounce and then a bunch of headbutts. The announcers don’t even know the Bravados’ first names. And the referee stops it after a bunch of punches. Post match they hit a double team move called Project Mayhem. Yeah that’s original.
Rating: D+. Again like I said this wasn’t much at all as it was just a very basic extended squash. It wasn’t very interesting and followed the form of a lot of TV matches from the 80s. That doesn’t mean it’s good though, as this just made me want the match to end. Why have a squash on a big show like this?
Eddie Edwards vs. Metal Master
Metal Master is a guy that’s in OVW a lot and is more famously known as Chad Collyer. He’s in a mask here and I think is supposed to be Japanese yet he’s from Indianapolis. Edwards is the TV Champion and I think is the first and only guy to have it so far. Yep I’m right. His mask is made of metal. That’s kind of pointless but whatever. They start off by having a standoff. Ok then.
Master hits a cross body that Edwards is going down from before it actually hits. Oh dear. Master works on the arm a lot so at least he’s thinking a bit. The announcers here are fairly annoying as hell. They trade a bunch of strikes which for some reason make me think nothing of the match at all. Master gets a hammerlock crossface. Nice one. Edwards goes for the leg as this just isn’t that interesting.
It’s not bad, but it’s just not that entertaining. And we hit the near fall segment of course. We hear all match about this AWESOME Achilles lock that Edwards has. Master misses a dropkick and he gets the hold. And it’s a half crab which gets the tap.
Rating: C-. This wasn’t bad, but damn man, I just didn’t care at all here. It didn’t come off as being a competitive match but rather a competitive dance recital. Everything felt like it was so well rehearsed and planned out and that’s just not that interesting at all. It looks fake which is very annoying to me.
House of Truth vs. Shawn Daivari/Erick Stevens
I remember the House of Truth being pretty bad the last time I saw them. Something tells me that’s still the case. Oh hey the Embassy is back. The idea here is Prince Nana is an African Prince and pays for his wrestlers off the money he has from taxing the people. He lost his money and then got it back from the stimulus package. And people wonder why they’re a glorified indy company.
Daivari is apparently tired of being treated like a stereotype. Pay no attention to all of the money and TV time that he made off of such stereotypes. We see the problem with ROH summed up in this match: why are these guys fighting? Is there a reason here other than being competitive? Based on what I’m being told, this is just a match to be competitive.
So in other words, we have no real reason to see these guys fight, but they’re going to fight anyway. That sums up about 80% of the card in ROH and that’s the big problem with them. There needs to be a reason for these guys to fight and for the most part there isn’t, which is very annoying. Apparently the Embassy injured Necro Butcher the previous night.
Daivari calls spots WAY too loudly. We get an abdominal stretch with the heels getting additional leverage and there’s the required kick from the referee to break up the hold. Is there any other counter to an abdominal stretch in a tag match? The House of Truth, who are apparently faces, take over for a bit and hit some double team stuff for two. DOUBLE NOGGIN KNOCKER!!!
Truth Martini comes in and does a headscissors on Daivari for the DQ since it was right in front of the referee. That was freaking STUPID. I mean he just walked into the ring and hooked it like there was no way he could get caught at all. Was he thinking he was wearing an invisibility cloak or something? Embassy wins by DQ.
Rating: D+. Not that great here at all. It’s just a generic tag match with a HORRIBLE ending. I just didn’t care at all about this match and with good reason: there was no reason to care about it at all. You have a stable tag team and a team that’s “rising up the ranks” with a stupid ending. Why in the world should I care here?
Roderick Strong vs. Davey Richards
Now allegedly Richards is the best guy in the company or one of them at least and I’ve always liked Strong so let’s see what they’ve got. There’s a thing called the Pick Six where those six guys are the top contenders to the world title. Strong is first and Richards is 3rd, so if nothing else these are two of the top guys in the company. The referee is kind of fat here.
The fans are totally split here so that’s normally a good sign. We get a LONG feeling out process here to start which is fine. We’re reminded that Daniels is back and is going to be challenging for the title or wants to. I’m not sure if I like that or not. I’ve always found him very overrated but that’s just me. Richards gets a nice half Sharpshooter/figure four which is cool looking but it only lasts about three seconds.
An STF lasts a bit longer but it’s still not anything special. As the commentators say, there is more or less no way that this is going to be a short match. We hit the floor for a bit and Strong pulls him back in by his LIP. FREAKING OW MAN. We break into Richards just going insane with strikes here and the fans think it’s awesome. Uh…not really. Yep it’s just a strike fest now.
Strong busts out his backbreakers and then the Strong Hold. We go into a LONG sequence of counters and pin attempts and which they’re very good, I’ve seen stuff like this done before. It’s good, but it’s not like they’re blazing all kinds of new ground with it or something. Strong spits at him and we’re on all over again. Richards pounds the hell out of him with them both no selling WAY too much.
Richards DDTs Strong onto the floor and both guys are down. Oh that’s right they get twenty counts in ROH. Yeah that’s annoying. Richards goes for a front flip over the top and lands BACK FIRST on the railing. FREAKING OW AGAIN MAN! And now for a change of pace, we chop the hell out of each other some more. Strong Hold is countered again and it turns into ANOTHER strike fest.
Ok, we get it: you can hit each other a lot. Richards kicks the living hell out of Strong’s head and there’s the bell for the time limit. It was more like 18:30 out of twenty but whatever. He asks Strong for five more minutes and Strong turns him down because he wants to be as ready as possible for his world title match. That sounds heelish to me.
Rating: B. Good match, but DAMN enough already with the striking! There’s more to wrestling than being able to punch, kick and chop. That’s the main issue I have with ROH (at the moment): there is so much of an emphasis on the damn striking. This was a solid match though, but it just took too long and the ending was weak and predictable.
Rhett Titus wants revenge on Petey Williams. Is that the first promo of the night?
Rhett Titus vs. Petey Williams
He’s Addicted to Love Rhett Titus mind you, which mainly means he has some hilarious named for his moves. They make dick jokes to start us off and I’m fearing a comedy match here. Williams hooks a reverse figure four which was a nice hold there. And now let’s talk about Chris Hero. Ok then. We get a nice wrestling sequence and then a long spot calling thing.
This has been almost all counters and rest holds. So after the last match was almost all strikes, this one has almost none. Got it. The announcers are getting on my nerves. There goes the bowtie! I have no idea what that means but I’m going to make it seem like it’s a big deal by ending it with an exclamation point! Titus is dominating here, which wasn’t the case at Apocalypse but there we are.
Do we really need all these annoying jokes from the announcers? Yeah I’m thinking no on that one. This match just isn’t interesting me at all. It’s not particularly bad but it’s just not interesting at all. Williams has Titus set for a Sharpshooter and turns around and just stops so Titus can roll him up. What the hell was that supposed to be?
The Sharpshooter goes on and it means nothing at all. We hit the floor as Williams hits a rana over the top. Titus hits a Fameasser and then a top rope knee drop for two. Williams goes for the Canadian Destroyer and gets caught in a backdrop and the feet on the ropes end it. Post match Williams goes for the Destroyer again but Titus gets out of it.
Rating: D+. This just didn’t do it for me at all. It’s not bad or anything, but it’s just not that impressive. It felt like a match that belonged far earlier in the card and this one just didn’t work for me. Like I said it’s not bad, but it’s just not something I had any interest in watching at all.
Briscoe Brothers vs. Kenny King/Austin Aries
I guess this is supposed to be another of those DREAM tag matches or something like that. Aries gets a microphone before the match and says that there are no issues with King and that they’re perfectly fine. Aries is the manager for Titus and King apparently. Also the Briscoes got drunk and had a fight last night. Ok then. We’re a minute in and there has been no talk about the match but rather all just backstory stuff.
Would a little play by play kill them? Seriously, we’re closing in on five minutes with NONE. Jay and Mark have a few issues here and there they go! AHA! It was a trick! Also since when is Delaware a redneck state? It’s already a big brawl with everyone on the floor beating each other up. Read as the Briscoes are dominating. This has been mostly face dominance and we FINALLY are told which is which. Mark has the tattoo on his back.
Got it and if I’m lucky I’ll remember that for the rest of the match. Ok never mind that’s Jay. This is making my head hurt. And King is dancing up the aisle. Does he think he’s Thriller or something? And now he’s back. Apparently the heels have chemistry because they can both do cartwheels. Mark makes a comeback and we get a Haku reference for no apparent reason.
This has been ok but nothing special at all. A double team neckbreaker gets two on Aries. Aries gets the Last Chancery, a bridging neck lock on the mat, on Jay which looks GREAT. The fans think it’s awesome.
We need to have a chat about what awesome is. A LOT of heel miscommunication allows King to hit his finisher on his partner and the Doomsday Device ends Aries easily. Aries and King go at it afterwards. Titus comes out and gets shoved down by both of them so they can keep fighting. And they hug it out.
Rating: C+. Not bad, but this was nothing special really. This came off as a filler, but that doesn’t mean that it was bad. It was more about having Aries and the dissension be played up more which is fine. This wasn’t terrible and Aries was great as always so I can definitely give this a good grade.
The Dark City Fight Club says it wants the Wolves and then the tag titles.
ROH World Title: Chris Hero vs. Tyler Black
Hero is one half of the tag champions here. Black is mostly over. I’ve only seen a little of him but he’s not bad. Hero is solid of course so this should be pretty good. Hero is doing the whole knockout forearm thing where his arm is likely loaded in some way. The fans seem to like Chris more. Allegedly Black is starting to feel the pressure of being champion which says HEEL TURN to me but whatever.
It’s all Black to start us off here. See WWE? See how to make a champion look strong? Is it really that hard to do? I certainly wouldn’t think so. Hero does something very innovative and just grabs Tyler’s face. Actually it’s not innovative as George Steele did it at Mania 2 to Savage so there we are. We even get basic heel cheating from Hagadorn on the floor. Hero is whipping that ass at the moment.
Hero kicks him on the floor and Black just collapses in a great visual. This match is just kind of plodding along but I’d bet that we have a lot to go in it so I guess that’s fine. Also I’m expecting the whole finisher-fest to start up in about ten minutes here. Hero REALLY likes arguing with the referee. Here comes the first comeback and there goes Black as he gets knocked to the floor by a big old elbow smash.
He stays on the floor to ten and then I remember that we go to twenty which is just not something I’m anywhere close to being used to. He got popped in the jaw by an elbow and covered for two when he got back in at 19 so there we are. There is absolutely no feeling of drama in this at all. It’s just not there.
Black throws him to the floor where his head slams into the railing. A nice somersault plancha takes Hero down as we hit the floor for I believe the third time tonight. Both guys try springboard moves but neither work at all. The fans again think it’s awesome and again I have to disagree.
Black signals for the superkick by stomping on the mat so thankfully Hero blocks it. I’ve always hated that whole stomping or clapping thing as it just acts as a way to get the other guy knowing what’s coming. Hero hooks a Cravate (headlock from the side. Think of the start of a snapmare kind of) and then he lifts him up and uses it as a neck crank. NICE LOOKING move.
Hero keeps using the elbow which makes the big elbow smash as his finisher seem a bit weaker. We slug it out in the middle of the ring and Hero asks why Black won’t go down. Black punches him in the face. I love that. Black busts out an F5 in a nice move. We go to the corner and they slug it out for position but Hero gets caught in a Tree of Woe. DOUBLE STOMP OFF THE TOP! Nice one again as that looked like it hurt like hell.
They’ve cranked it WAY up in the last 4 minutes or so. Black’s eyes are great here as they just roll back in his head here. The spinning elbow hits twice and Black kicks out to almost no reaction. See what I mean? No one thinks the title is going to change here. The crowd is FAR more pro-Hero than Black. Black hits the Buckle Bomb as apparently the knockout shot didn’t have much effect on him I suppose.
The third doesn’t even knock him down as Black hits the superkick immediately afterwards in a last gasp of breath which is pure AJPW stuff which I can’t complain about. Another superkick gets another two. Yeah they’re doing more strikes here like in the Strong match but this is more entertaining for some reason.
Hagadorn interference doesn’t work and a small package driver (God’s Last Gift which is a good name) ends it. In something that made me laugh for no apparent reason, Black gets Hero’s tag title and throws it to him, but has to make sure it’s the right belt first. Not sure why but that made me laugh.
Rating: B+. The ending 8 minutes or so made this match as they were entertaining enough for a high grade. However it once again falls under the problem I tend to have with big ROH matches: while they’re entertaining, there’s this level that they reach and then they stop.
At the end for instance, Hero and Black started just hammering each other and while it was entertaining, you could feel them hit the ceiling and you knew it wasn’t going to get past it. A great match is one that reaches that point and then blows past it moments later. I’ve never gotten that in an ROH match and it’s a recurring problem in this company.
Kevin Steen/Steve Corino vs. El Generico/Colt Cabana
Corino is in a white suit. This is Come As you Are so there’s your explanation I guess. Cabana is the hometown boy here so he’s over as hell. Corino got into Steen’s head and made him all jealous of Generico. Cabana helped Generico by telling him that he was great too and that got us here. Generico and Steen had their first big match I think a week or so ago at Death Before Dishonor so you know what comes after this.
It’s just mindless brawling at this point which at least makes sense. Corino pelts a chair at Generico which just bounces off. That looked PAINFUL. Corino in the suit works for some reason. The chairs are admittedly plastic but they still work pretty well. They haven’t been in the ring at all yet and I have a feeling that the ladder you could see in the background for most of the show is going to come into play here later on.
We head over to the concession stand here as the small venue thing becomes clear here. Steen goes up onto a scaffold to hammer the ECW tendencies home. Generico runs through the metal parts of the scaffolding to hit a DDT on Corino. That looked like something out of an action movie. Steen and Generico fight on the scaffolding in a kind of cool visual.
Steen hits a Michinoku Driver on the scaffold and it’s pure brutality at this point. I would have had the Title match as the main event but I can see the idea here. Back at ringside we set up a table. There are a TON of chairs here too. Generico is still back on the scaffolding as we might actually get IN THE RING! HOKEY SMOKE!
Steen throws a piece of barricade at the regular barricade which has to make the management cringe over the possible insurance fiascos. CABANA IS IN THE RING! Corino breaks open a beer bottle and blasts Cabana in the head with it. Cabana looks a bit like Miz in the face actually. Colt is bleeding and Corino goes Abdullah the Butcher with a fork. Ok: Steve Corino isn’t a legend. Stop calling him one.
Steen licks the open wound of Cabana. Ok then. Generico comes back in and saves Cabana by putting Steen through a pair of tables. Generico just goes INSANE with a chair and beats the hell out of everyone not named Cabana, referee or Generico. It’s ladder time. I’d pay big money to see how much room there is under that ring. There’s been so much stuff pulled out from under there it might as well be my anus.
Corino is of course busted open due to being Steve Corino. Everyone other than the masked guy is busted open. The OLE chants make me want salsa. Generico and Cabana hit a Coast to Coast front flip dropkick into a ladder that isn’t as awesome as it sounds. Generico spits at Steen so Steen breaks a chair over his head. That looked awesome. A bunch of spots lead to the barbed wire baseball bat emerging.
Is there a list of hardcore weapons you have to go through to get to that one? Generico goes insane again and half kills Steen. Cabana puts Corino in a reverse Boston Crab as Generico puts Corino’s face on the barbed wire and does a concharito on it. Corino is out cold and it’s over. The faces celebrate to end it.
Rating: B-. For a wild and insane brawl, this was fine. It did the job of making Generico vs. Steen pretty much a given after this which is the main idea. Cabana and Corino are kind of side players here so having them be the ones to end the match makes sense as you keep the other two away from each other. This was fine for what it was.
Overall Rating: B-. This was good, but it’s by far the weakest of the three ROH shows I’ve watched so far. The main events are solid, but this felt like a minor show or even a glorified house show which I don’t think it was supposed to be. This was fun, but it just felt like it came up short in a way. You won’t miss anything if you don’t watch it and it’s fun enough to be seen, but this wasn’t as great as it was built up to me as.
Date: April 24, 2010
Location: Frontier Fieldhouse, Chicago Ridge, Illinois
Commentators: Dave Prazak, Joe Gondrowski
This was a request from Thriller and apparently he and CH David were at the show so there you are. The main event is a street fight between Steve Corino/Kevin Steen and El Generico/Colt Cabana. I don’t have a lot of experience with the more recent ROH so this should be interesting. Let’s get to it.
With NO intro, it’s time for our first match.
Rashce Brown vs. Sami Callihan
As usual with this company, most of these guys are brand new to me. Callihan is from the Last House on the Left so I’m happy already. Brown is a guy I’ve heard a lot about but I know next to nothing about him. Sami jumps him from the top to start, even though or in spite of being a heel. Not sure which but whatever. Brown is a pure power guy and has bad ribs here. Well that’s basic psychology if nothing else.
Apparently he’s been doing the Magnum TA/Goldberg thing by beating people really fast which is always simple yet effective. In a nice move, Brown lifts Sami up in a gorilla press on the floor and just drops him on the apron. That works. They’re going back and forth here but it’s not really working that well. The problem with guys that run through people that fast have limited experience and it’s showing a bit here.
He’s not bad, but I think there’s a reason as to why he’s starting the show here. Sami gets a running start and is caught by a hand to the chest which is called a swinging chokeslam for no apparent reason. He goes for a Burning Hammer which is just awesome but he can’t because of the ribs. So then he just picks him up and does it anyway. My head hurts a bit because of that.
Rating: C-. Nothing special here in the slightest but I’ve seen worse. I’m not sure why this is the opener as it’s not a particularly exciting match or anything but rather just two guys having a basic match. I guess they could be out there because they’re the guys that are the least interesting, but this did very little to get me excited for the show. Just an odd choice, but nothing really horrible.
Dark City Fight Club vs. Bravado Brothers
The Bravado Brothers are named Lance and Harlem? The Fight Club is really good apparently. Ok then. Their names are Jon Davis and Kory Chavis. Got it. I’m not going to remember any of their names so it’s not like it matters. Harlem and Kory start us off. The Bravado Brothers look almost identical so I’m even going to try to tell them apart. We’re into squash territory here which is never a good sign at all.
It’s power vs. speed here but it just isn’t working. More or less the announcers talk about how great the Fight Club is and how much of an upset this would be so what am I supposed to think? Davis hits a Pounce and then a bunch of headbutts. The announcers don’t even know the Bravados’ first names. And the referee stops it after a bunch of punches. Post match they hit a double team move called Project Mayhem. Yeah that’s original.
Rating: D+. Again like I said this wasn’t much at all as it was just a very basic extended squash. It wasn’t very interesting and followed the form of a lot of TV matches from the 80s. That doesn’t mean it’s good though, as this just made me want the match to end. Why have a squash on a big show like this?
Eddie Edwards vs. Metal Master
Metal Master is a guy that’s in OVW a lot and is more famously known as Chad Collyer. He’s in a mask here and I think is supposed to be Japanese yet he’s from Indianapolis. Edwards is the TV Champion and I think is the first and only guy to have it so far. Yep I’m right. His mask is made of metal. That’s kind of pointless but whatever. They start off by having a standoff. Ok then.
Master hits a cross body that Edwards is going down from before it actually hits. Oh dear. Master works on the arm a lot so at least he’s thinking a bit. The announcers here are fairly annoying as hell. They trade a bunch of strikes which for some reason make me think nothing of the match at all. Master gets a hammerlock crossface. Nice one. Edwards goes for the leg as this just isn’t that interesting.
It’s not bad, but it’s just not that entertaining. And we hit the near fall segment of course. We hear all match about this AWESOME Achilles lock that Edwards has. Master misses a dropkick and he gets the hold. And it’s a half crab which gets the tap.
Rating: C-. This wasn’t bad, but damn man, I just didn’t care at all here. It didn’t come off as being a competitive match but rather a competitive dance recital. Everything felt like it was so well rehearsed and planned out and that’s just not that interesting at all. It looks fake which is very annoying to me.
House of Truth vs. Shawn Daivari/Erick Stevens
I remember the House of Truth being pretty bad the last time I saw them. Something tells me that’s still the case. Oh hey the Embassy is back. The idea here is Prince Nana is an African Prince and pays for his wrestlers off the money he has from taxing the people. He lost his money and then got it back from the stimulus package. And people wonder why they’re a glorified indy company.
Daivari is apparently tired of being treated like a stereotype. Pay no attention to all of the money and TV time that he made off of such stereotypes. We see the problem with ROH summed up in this match: why are these guys fighting? Is there a reason here other than being competitive? Based on what I’m being told, this is just a match to be competitive.
So in other words, we have no real reason to see these guys fight, but they’re going to fight anyway. That sums up about 80% of the card in ROH and that’s the big problem with them. There needs to be a reason for these guys to fight and for the most part there isn’t, which is very annoying. Apparently the Embassy injured Necro Butcher the previous night.
Daivari calls spots WAY too loudly. We get an abdominal stretch with the heels getting additional leverage and there’s the required kick from the referee to break up the hold. Is there any other counter to an abdominal stretch in a tag match? The House of Truth, who are apparently faces, take over for a bit and hit some double team stuff for two. DOUBLE NOGGIN KNOCKER!!!
Truth Martini comes in and does a headscissors on Daivari for the DQ since it was right in front of the referee. That was freaking STUPID. I mean he just walked into the ring and hooked it like there was no way he could get caught at all. Was he thinking he was wearing an invisibility cloak or something? Embassy wins by DQ.
Rating: D+. Not that great here at all. It’s just a generic tag match with a HORRIBLE ending. I just didn’t care at all about this match and with good reason: there was no reason to care about it at all. You have a stable tag team and a team that’s “rising up the ranks” with a stupid ending. Why in the world should I care here?
Roderick Strong vs. Davey Richards
Now allegedly Richards is the best guy in the company or one of them at least and I’ve always liked Strong so let’s see what they’ve got. There’s a thing called the Pick Six where those six guys are the top contenders to the world title. Strong is first and Richards is 3rd, so if nothing else these are two of the top guys in the company. The referee is kind of fat here.
The fans are totally split here so that’s normally a good sign. We get a LONG feeling out process here to start which is fine. We’re reminded that Daniels is back and is going to be challenging for the title or wants to. I’m not sure if I like that or not. I’ve always found him very overrated but that’s just me. Richards gets a nice half Sharpshooter/figure four which is cool looking but it only lasts about three seconds.
An STF lasts a bit longer but it’s still not anything special. As the commentators say, there is more or less no way that this is going to be a short match. We hit the floor for a bit and Strong pulls him back in by his LIP. FREAKING OW MAN. We break into Richards just going insane with strikes here and the fans think it’s awesome. Uh…not really. Yep it’s just a strike fest now.
Strong busts out his backbreakers and then the Strong Hold. We go into a LONG sequence of counters and pin attempts and which they’re very good, I’ve seen stuff like this done before. It’s good, but it’s not like they’re blazing all kinds of new ground with it or something. Strong spits at him and we’re on all over again. Richards pounds the hell out of him with them both no selling WAY too much.
Richards DDTs Strong onto the floor and both guys are down. Oh that’s right they get twenty counts in ROH. Yeah that’s annoying. Richards goes for a front flip over the top and lands BACK FIRST on the railing. FREAKING OW AGAIN MAN! And now for a change of pace, we chop the hell out of each other some more. Strong Hold is countered again and it turns into ANOTHER strike fest.
Ok, we get it: you can hit each other a lot. Richards kicks the living hell out of Strong’s head and there’s the bell for the time limit. It was more like 18:30 out of twenty but whatever. He asks Strong for five more minutes and Strong turns him down because he wants to be as ready as possible for his world title match. That sounds heelish to me.
Rating: B. Good match, but DAMN enough already with the striking! There’s more to wrestling than being able to punch, kick and chop. That’s the main issue I have with ROH (at the moment): there is so much of an emphasis on the damn striking. This was a solid match though, but it just took too long and the ending was weak and predictable.
Rhett Titus wants revenge on Petey Williams. Is that the first promo of the night?
Rhett Titus vs. Petey Williams
He’s Addicted to Love Rhett Titus mind you, which mainly means he has some hilarious named for his moves. They make dick jokes to start us off and I’m fearing a comedy match here. Williams hooks a reverse figure four which was a nice hold there. And now let’s talk about Chris Hero. Ok then. We get a nice wrestling sequence and then a long spot calling thing.
This has been almost all counters and rest holds. So after the last match was almost all strikes, this one has almost none. Got it. The announcers are getting on my nerves. There goes the bowtie! I have no idea what that means but I’m going to make it seem like it’s a big deal by ending it with an exclamation point! Titus is dominating here, which wasn’t the case at Apocalypse but there we are.
Do we really need all these annoying jokes from the announcers? Yeah I’m thinking no on that one. This match just isn’t interesting me at all. It’s not particularly bad but it’s just not interesting at all. Williams has Titus set for a Sharpshooter and turns around and just stops so Titus can roll him up. What the hell was that supposed to be?
The Sharpshooter goes on and it means nothing at all. We hit the floor as Williams hits a rana over the top. Titus hits a Fameasser and then a top rope knee drop for two. Williams goes for the Canadian Destroyer and gets caught in a backdrop and the feet on the ropes end it. Post match Williams goes for the Destroyer again but Titus gets out of it.
Rating: D+. This just didn’t do it for me at all. It’s not bad or anything, but it’s just not that impressive. It felt like a match that belonged far earlier in the card and this one just didn’t work for me. Like I said it’s not bad, but it’s just not something I had any interest in watching at all.
Briscoe Brothers vs. Kenny King/Austin Aries
I guess this is supposed to be another of those DREAM tag matches or something like that. Aries gets a microphone before the match and says that there are no issues with King and that they’re perfectly fine. Aries is the manager for Titus and King apparently. Also the Briscoes got drunk and had a fight last night. Ok then. We’re a minute in and there has been no talk about the match but rather all just backstory stuff.
Would a little play by play kill them? Seriously, we’re closing in on five minutes with NONE. Jay and Mark have a few issues here and there they go! AHA! It was a trick! Also since when is Delaware a redneck state? It’s already a big brawl with everyone on the floor beating each other up. Read as the Briscoes are dominating. This has been mostly face dominance and we FINALLY are told which is which. Mark has the tattoo on his back.
Got it and if I’m lucky I’ll remember that for the rest of the match. Ok never mind that’s Jay. This is making my head hurt. And King is dancing up the aisle. Does he think he’s Thriller or something? And now he’s back. Apparently the heels have chemistry because they can both do cartwheels. Mark makes a comeback and we get a Haku reference for no apparent reason.
This has been ok but nothing special at all. A double team neckbreaker gets two on Aries. Aries gets the Last Chancery, a bridging neck lock on the mat, on Jay which looks GREAT. The fans think it’s awesome.
We need to have a chat about what awesome is. A LOT of heel miscommunication allows King to hit his finisher on his partner and the Doomsday Device ends Aries easily. Aries and King go at it afterwards. Titus comes out and gets shoved down by both of them so they can keep fighting. And they hug it out.
Rating: C+. Not bad, but this was nothing special really. This came off as a filler, but that doesn’t mean that it was bad. It was more about having Aries and the dissension be played up more which is fine. This wasn’t terrible and Aries was great as always so I can definitely give this a good grade.
The Dark City Fight Club says it wants the Wolves and then the tag titles.
ROH World Title: Chris Hero vs. Tyler Black
Hero is one half of the tag champions here. Black is mostly over. I’ve only seen a little of him but he’s not bad. Hero is solid of course so this should be pretty good. Hero is doing the whole knockout forearm thing where his arm is likely loaded in some way. The fans seem to like Chris more. Allegedly Black is starting to feel the pressure of being champion which says HEEL TURN to me but whatever.
It’s all Black to start us off here. See WWE? See how to make a champion look strong? Is it really that hard to do? I certainly wouldn’t think so. Hero does something very innovative and just grabs Tyler’s face. Actually it’s not innovative as George Steele did it at Mania 2 to Savage so there we are. We even get basic heel cheating from Hagadorn on the floor. Hero is whipping that ass at the moment.
Hero kicks him on the floor and Black just collapses in a great visual. This match is just kind of plodding along but I’d bet that we have a lot to go in it so I guess that’s fine. Also I’m expecting the whole finisher-fest to start up in about ten minutes here. Hero REALLY likes arguing with the referee. Here comes the first comeback and there goes Black as he gets knocked to the floor by a big old elbow smash.
He stays on the floor to ten and then I remember that we go to twenty which is just not something I’m anywhere close to being used to. He got popped in the jaw by an elbow and covered for two when he got back in at 19 so there we are. There is absolutely no feeling of drama in this at all. It’s just not there.
Black throws him to the floor where his head slams into the railing. A nice somersault plancha takes Hero down as we hit the floor for I believe the third time tonight. Both guys try springboard moves but neither work at all. The fans again think it’s awesome and again I have to disagree.
Black signals for the superkick by stomping on the mat so thankfully Hero blocks it. I’ve always hated that whole stomping or clapping thing as it just acts as a way to get the other guy knowing what’s coming. Hero hooks a Cravate (headlock from the side. Think of the start of a snapmare kind of) and then he lifts him up and uses it as a neck crank. NICE LOOKING move.
Hero keeps using the elbow which makes the big elbow smash as his finisher seem a bit weaker. We slug it out in the middle of the ring and Hero asks why Black won’t go down. Black punches him in the face. I love that. Black busts out an F5 in a nice move. We go to the corner and they slug it out for position but Hero gets caught in a Tree of Woe. DOUBLE STOMP OFF THE TOP! Nice one again as that looked like it hurt like hell.
They’ve cranked it WAY up in the last 4 minutes or so. Black’s eyes are great here as they just roll back in his head here. The spinning elbow hits twice and Black kicks out to almost no reaction. See what I mean? No one thinks the title is going to change here. The crowd is FAR more pro-Hero than Black. Black hits the Buckle Bomb as apparently the knockout shot didn’t have much effect on him I suppose.
The third doesn’t even knock him down as Black hits the superkick immediately afterwards in a last gasp of breath which is pure AJPW stuff which I can’t complain about. Another superkick gets another two. Yeah they’re doing more strikes here like in the Strong match but this is more entertaining for some reason.
Hagadorn interference doesn’t work and a small package driver (God’s Last Gift which is a good name) ends it. In something that made me laugh for no apparent reason, Black gets Hero’s tag title and throws it to him, but has to make sure it’s the right belt first. Not sure why but that made me laugh.
Rating: B+. The ending 8 minutes or so made this match as they were entertaining enough for a high grade. However it once again falls under the problem I tend to have with big ROH matches: while they’re entertaining, there’s this level that they reach and then they stop.
At the end for instance, Hero and Black started just hammering each other and while it was entertaining, you could feel them hit the ceiling and you knew it wasn’t going to get past it. A great match is one that reaches that point and then blows past it moments later. I’ve never gotten that in an ROH match and it’s a recurring problem in this company.
Kevin Steen/Steve Corino vs. El Generico/Colt Cabana
Corino is in a white suit. This is Come As you Are so there’s your explanation I guess. Cabana is the hometown boy here so he’s over as hell. Corino got into Steen’s head and made him all jealous of Generico. Cabana helped Generico by telling him that he was great too and that got us here. Generico and Steen had their first big match I think a week or so ago at Death Before Dishonor so you know what comes after this.
It’s just mindless brawling at this point which at least makes sense. Corino pelts a chair at Generico which just bounces off. That looked PAINFUL. Corino in the suit works for some reason. The chairs are admittedly plastic but they still work pretty well. They haven’t been in the ring at all yet and I have a feeling that the ladder you could see in the background for most of the show is going to come into play here later on.
We head over to the concession stand here as the small venue thing becomes clear here. Steen goes up onto a scaffold to hammer the ECW tendencies home. Generico runs through the metal parts of the scaffolding to hit a DDT on Corino. That looked like something out of an action movie. Steen and Generico fight on the scaffolding in a kind of cool visual.
Steen hits a Michinoku Driver on the scaffold and it’s pure brutality at this point. I would have had the Title match as the main event but I can see the idea here. Back at ringside we set up a table. There are a TON of chairs here too. Generico is still back on the scaffolding as we might actually get IN THE RING! HOKEY SMOKE!
Steen throws a piece of barricade at the regular barricade which has to make the management cringe over the possible insurance fiascos. CABANA IS IN THE RING! Corino breaks open a beer bottle and blasts Cabana in the head with it. Cabana looks a bit like Miz in the face actually. Colt is bleeding and Corino goes Abdullah the Butcher with a fork. Ok: Steve Corino isn’t a legend. Stop calling him one.
Steen licks the open wound of Cabana. Ok then. Generico comes back in and saves Cabana by putting Steen through a pair of tables. Generico just goes INSANE with a chair and beats the hell out of everyone not named Cabana, referee or Generico. It’s ladder time. I’d pay big money to see how much room there is under that ring. There’s been so much stuff pulled out from under there it might as well be my anus.
Corino is of course busted open due to being Steve Corino. Everyone other than the masked guy is busted open. The OLE chants make me want salsa. Generico and Cabana hit a Coast to Coast front flip dropkick into a ladder that isn’t as awesome as it sounds. Generico spits at Steen so Steen breaks a chair over his head. That looked awesome. A bunch of spots lead to the barbed wire baseball bat emerging.
Is there a list of hardcore weapons you have to go through to get to that one? Generico goes insane again and half kills Steen. Cabana puts Corino in a reverse Boston Crab as Generico puts Corino’s face on the barbed wire and does a concharito on it. Corino is out cold and it’s over. The faces celebrate to end it.
Rating: B-. For a wild and insane brawl, this was fine. It did the job of making Generico vs. Steen pretty much a given after this which is the main idea. Cabana and Corino are kind of side players here so having them be the ones to end the match makes sense as you keep the other two away from each other. This was fine for what it was.
Overall Rating: B-. This was good, but it’s by far the weakest of the three ROH shows I’ve watched so far. The main events are solid, but this felt like a minor show or even a glorified house show which I don’t think it was supposed to be. This was fun, but it just felt like it came up short in a way. You won’t miss anything if you don’t watch it and it’s fun enough to be seen, but this wasn’t as great as it was built up to me as.