The Cubed Circle Newsletter
This was originally supposed to be
a small bonus issue before the year end special issue, but it has turned into
one of the biggest issues I have ever put out. Think of it as the Final Battle
issue in a way, going over 12 pages it is an almost a double issue, which makes
it a good precursor to the year end issue. As always you can find a full PDF
above and if you haven’t downloaded it already, I urge you to do so. As always
feel free to send in feed back and comment, enjoy your holidays.
ROH on SBG 2011/12/10 Review
As always the show started off with
a great recap of last week’s show, highlighting the Steen segment from last
week. Nigel and Kelly previewed the mainevent, Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team
vs. The All Night Express. We then had a Caprice Coleman and Cedric Alexander
promo, Caprice Coleman continues to impress me with his mic skills.
1. The Bravado Brothers vs. Caprice
Coleman & Cedric Alexander
The crowd chanted Justin Bieber at
Harlem Bravado, Coleman and Alexander double teamed Lancealot, Coleman and
Alexander were looking good as a team. Lancealot made the tag to Harlem. The
Bravado’s got the heat for a short period of time on Alexander. He got the hot
tag to Coleman, Coleman ran wild hitting a tiger kick around the ring post.
Alexander then hit a topé suicida on the Bravados. Coleman and Alexander then
hit a neckbreaker inverted side walk slam combo for the win. After the match
Harlem refused to shake hands. A pretty decent opener, I am constantly
impressed by Coleman.
** ½
Silvio is a wrestler from OVW, his
gimmick is he is the psychedelic superstar, he is a pretty good promo, Silvio
said that to win he will need to catch lightning in a bottle. Perkins was
interviewed, he said that he won’t catch lightning he will get hit by it,
Perkins strength definitely isn’t his mic skills.
2. TJ Perkins vs. Chris Silvio
I will never understand why Perkins
isn’t used more, as specially at a time like this when ROH needs fresh faces,
he could really be high up in the promotion. Perkins showcased his technical
prowess early on in the match, he then nailed both boots to the face of Silvio
on the outside. Silvio rammed Perkins into the barricade shoulder first, the
crowd was behind Silvio at this point, due to him being a local talent. Silvio
ran at Perkins in the turnbuckle, but Perkins moved out of the way and hit a
dropkick. He then nailed Silvio with strikes and a hurricanrana that took
Silvio to the outside, where Perkins hit a topé suicida. Silvio’s placing was a
bit off when he took the hurricanrana, but it wasn’t really that noticeable.
Perkins locked in a submission of the leg of Silvio, Silvio escaped and hit a
powerbomb. Perkins took Silvio down by coming off the top landing the knees on
the shoulders of Silvio. Perkins then hit a fireman’s carry into a knee for the
win. Perkins was as crisp as ever and definitely came off well in this match.
Silvio was fine in his role, even though his placing was a bit off.
** ½
We had this week’s edition of
Inside Ring of Honor, footage was shown of Lethal’s title win and his title
defenses against Bennett and Generico. This set up a Bennett promo, he said
that ROH had to find two opponents for him at Final Battle, he said that he
beat Lethal and Lethal beat Generico, that meant he was in the ring with two
losers. Lethal was interviewed and said that he wasn’t going to complain about
needing to defend against two other men and he said that he was tired of people
saying that his matches could have gone the other way and at Final Battle he will
prove that he is the definitive winner. We had another Edwards and Severn
interview, he said that Richards was the most experienced, but now that isn’t
the case because he has Severn in his corner. Severn said that an inexperienced corner man may get rattled, but
he never gets rattled.
Davey Richards was interviewed
about his match next week at Final Battle, he said that it was no coincidence
that he was facing Elgin, he said that this was just mind games from Truth and
Strong. He said that he will always be ready to knock them down.
3. Proving Ground Match
Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team vs.
The All Night Express
King and Benjamin started the match
off in a collar and elbow tie up, they chain wrestled for about to minutes
until they finally met in a face off. King tagged in Titus, Titus was double
teamed, Haas was tagged in. Haas began to work on the injured elbow of Titus,
they cut to a commercial and when they came back Benjamin was targeting the
injured left arm of Titus. Benjamin hit a German suplex and held on, he tagged
in Haas. The turnbuckle cover came off, Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team continued
to work on Titus. Benjamin was Irish whipped into the exposed turnbuckle, Titus
almost got the tag to King, but Benjamin was still in control. Titus finally
got the tag to King who ran wild with kicks, strikes and a spinebuster, he then
hit a spinning kick on Benjamin. King hit an enzuigiri on Haas on the top
turnbuckle, Titus then hit a face buster. Haas hit an Olympic slam on Titus,
King went to the top rope and taunted but he taunted for too long, Benjamin
leaped straight up to the top turnbuckle and delivered a slam on King. Haas got
the leap of faith ready on King, but Benjamin was low bridged. The Briscoes
came out, but the referee never saw, Benjamin got hit with a chair shot to the
back, Benjamin sold like he had just been killed. ANX then got the back breaker
leg drop combo for the win.
***
After the break medical personnel
and referees came to ringside, Benjamin was still down. Haas said that he
wanted the Briscoes, he said that they took out his brother, he said he knew
something about loosing a brother referring to Russ. He said when Russ died
Benjamin took his place and said that the Briscoes will be dead. This segment
touched on real life tragedy, but it was still delivered in an elegant manner
that made it feel real and in it’s place.
Overall Show Thoughts
Overall a very good edition of ROH
on SBG. The openers offered something different and the mainevent really built
to Final Battle well, while progressing the feud between the Briscoes and
Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team well.
ROH on SBG 2011/12/17 Review
This is the go home show for Final Battle and they are still
in Kentucky. They cut to an Eddie Edwards promo, he said that Severn told him
how to reverse the ankle lock and he had
perfected the dragon sleeper, he said that no one will distract him and that he
will only listen to Severn. He then said he will be victorious in Richard vs.
Edwards III.
1. Eddie Edwards vs. Andy “Right Leg” Ridge
I think that it was a really good idea to put Richards and
Edwards on the go home show for Final Battle. Truth Martini was on commentary,
Truth said that he is now a fan of Edwards, because Richards refused his offer.
Edwards and Ridge landed and blocked strikes until they landed face to face.
Ridge got some chops and kicks in, but Edwards hit an enzuigiri and went for a
backpack stunner. But, Ridge escaped and hit some big kicks. Edwards locked in
the STF, but Ridge got to the ropes, this was a great little touch, that adds
to the Severn angle. Ridge nailed a springboard ace cutter, but Edwards hit a
powerbomb and locked in the dragon sleeper. Ridge tapped as he hit the ground.
Truth applauded Edwards at the end of the match, this match really did
everything it could to build to Final Battle and add to the intrigue over
Edwards training.
** ¾
We had an update on the condition of Benjamin, a
retrospective video package was shown on the feud between Wrestling’s Greatest
Tag Team and the Briscoes. Including the Briscoes match against ANX. The
retrospective also included the involvement of the ANX in the feud. This
retrospective did a great job at building to Final Battle.
We then had this week’s edition of Inside Ring of Honor,
Kevin Kelly ran down the card in full, highlights of the match between Richards
and Edwards were shown, including the post match promo. Richards vs. Strong
from TV was shown as well, showcasing the resilience of Richards. Strong’s
match against O’ Reilly was shown next, showing the post match attack and the
save from Richards and Edwards, Kelly made it clear that they were still close
friends at that point. But, the heat between them was shown, when Edwards was
announced as the challenger. The tag match was shown next, showing Edwards
first use of the dragon sleeper. Kelly then left the question open as to
whether or not the friendship between the wolves would end.
2. Proving Ground Match
Davey Richards vs. Michael Elgin
Kevin Kelly pointed out and explained the IWGP tag titles
before the match. Elgin knocked Richards to the outside with a forearm,
Richards then locked in the modified scorpion death lock in the ring. Richards
attempted to knock Elgin down, but he wasn’t able to get him down, Davey ran at
him, Elgin got him up in the fireman’s carry, bit Davey was able to get off of
the shoulders and chop Elgin down to the ground. Once Elgin was on the ground,
Davey began to work on the legs of Elgin. Elgin made it to his feet and hit a
spin out side walk slam, Elgin then distracted the referee while Truth Martini
dug at the eyes of Richards. Elgin worked on the back of Richards, Richards was
able to power out. Richards bridged Elgin out onto the outside and landed a big
kick and topé suicida on Elgin. Richards and Elgin exchanged strikes in the
ring, Richards hit an enzuigiri. Elgin was on the outside once again, Davey
went for the kick, but he was caught by Elgin, who hit a modified muscle buster
on the floor. Fans in started to get behind Richards, Elgin shouted at Richards
as he started to crawl back into the ring. Elgin then hit a suplex into a
spinout side walk slam. Elgin went for a powerbomb, but Richards took him down
and hit a foot stomp on Elgin. Elgin and Richards where both on the top rope,
Richards was nearly knocked off, but he fought back with head butts. He then
hit a superplex, Elgin fired up, Richards hit kicks to the head and elbows, but
Elgin no sold. A kicking battle ensued, the battle was ended by a enzuigiri
from Elgin, it was really impressive. Richards hit kicks to the chest of Elgin,
he then hit a bridging suplex, but Elgin still kicked out. Three minutes
remained in the time limit, Richards hit a kick of Truth Martini and a double
foot stomp on Elgin. Richards then hit a kick to the head of Elgin and locked
in the armbar. Richards still had the armbar locked in when he was picked up by
Elgin, but he was able to roll Elgin up for the win. After the match Elgin hit
a big suplex on Richards, the crowd started to chant “we want Eddie”. Out came
Eddie who cleaned house, but he accidentally hit Davey with the belt, Richards
was still on his feet, Richards and Edwards faced off in the ring. Richards
took down Edwards, but Edwards locked in the dragon sleeper and Richards
tapped. Both men had to be pulled away by team members and referees, as the
show went off the air. This was an excellent finish, after having Richards go
through a monster on his way to Final Battle, he was inadvertently attacked by
his partner who made him tap prior to his match, this was pulled off perfectly.
*** ½
Over Show Thoughts
This was really one of the best go home shows I have seen in
2011, it built to the show and had both main event participants on the card and
the finish really left you wanting more. Both matches were good as specially
the main event and the commentary was good, plus inside ROH also helped the
build. Overall a very good show.
ROH Final Battle 2011
Review
The show opened up with an almost unwatchable segment with
Kevin Kelly, Joe Koff, Jim Cornette, Cary Silkin and McGuinness, the
transmission was terrible, even on the replay.
1. “Unbreakable” Michael Elgin vs. TJ Perkins
Bryce Remsburg made what I believe was his ROH debut.
Perkins attempted to take down Elgin, but couldn’t. He then slid under the legs
of Elgin, and was able to hit a suicide clothesline. Perkins attempted to hit
the tiger kick through the ropes, but he was caught by Elgin who slammed
Perkins into the barricade in a reverse powerslam position. Perkin went for a
flying head scissors on Elgin, but he was slammed. Elgin attempted to throw
Perkins through the ropes, but Perkins held onto the ropes, he was then pushed
off the ropes by Martini. Perkins hit a flying take down with his knees on the
shoulders of Elgin and then hit his topé to the outside. He then hit a dropkick
and attempted to hit a sun set flip on Elgin, he wasn’t able to get him over,
but Elgin missed the sit down. Perkins then hit a standing senton on Elgin for
one. Perkins went to the top rope and went for a neck breaker on Elgin, but
Elgin hit the sit out slam for two. Perkins tried to lock in the figure four
leg lock, but Elgin hit the torture rack bomb for two. Perkins then hit a
neckbreaker on Elgin, Perkins went for another take down, but Elgin hit the
buckle bomb, he went for it again in the turnbuckle, but Perkins hit an
absolutely beautifully executed reverse hurricanrana for two. Perkins hit a
super kick and attempted to get Elgin up, but obviously couldn’t get Elgin up,
Elgin then hit a second buckle bomb and sitout power bomb for the win. This was
a very fun opener, Perkins and Elgin really meshed well and the crowd was
really into it. The match moved really fast, but it still worked, really fun.
***
2. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Jimmy Rave
This was Rave’s first match in ROH in quite some time. The
fans proceeded to shout vulgar chants at referee Todd Sinclair. Nana got on the
mic and called Rave a fat big and then started to speak what sounded like
gibberish. Evans then got on the mic, he said that Rave is like a fat girlfriend
that ruins Christmas by showing up at dinner, Evans is definitely one of the
best talents that ROH has on the mic. Rave and Ciampa started the match off
face to face in the middle of the ring. Both men fought in and out of the wrist
lock, Rave then slapped Ciampa who responded with a push, Rave spat in the face
of Ciampa. Ciampa hit a big clothesline and rammed Rave into the barricade.
Ciampa hit the big exposed knee in the corner twice, Rave fought back with
chops and locked in the heel hook, but Ciampa made it to the ropes. Ciampa was
thrown to the outside, Rave went for the baseball slide, but he was grabbed by
Ciampa and thrown into the barricade. Rave then hit a shining wizard and the
Rave Clash for the count of two. Rave went for the pedigree, but Nana offered
Rave back his old robe, but he strangled him, Rave kneed Evans into the
barricade, but he was held by Ernie Osiris who set the kick up for Mia. Rave
ducked and Mia hit Osiris with the kick, Osiris when then thrown to the
outside, Ciampa came up from behind and hit Project Ciampa for the win. Kevin
Kelly and Nigel McGuiness did a very good job of explaining the relationship
between the Embassy and Rave, after the match Ciampa put on Rave’s old robe.
There were some technical issues during the match, like cut outs and the like,
but nothing too drastic. The match was fine for what it was, although it was
pretty average, I never expected much else since it wasn’t really built as
anything to begin with.
** ½
3. ROH TV Championship Match
Jay Lethal vs. El Generico vs. Mike Bennett
Bennett was accompanied to the ring by Maria, who really
looked like she didn’t want to be there, although she does add to Bennett’s
gimmick. There were CM Punk, and “sloppy seconds.” chants, since Maria was a
girlfriend of CM Punk at one point. Bennett and Maria responded to this by
French kissing. Bennett then got on the mic and said that there is nothing
better than Christmas in New York, he said that he was there with a Playboy
model and the fans were stuck at home, ummm, well, lets just say he said that
they were doing things. Bennett made more sexually orientated jokes, finally
Bennett exited the ring as Generico and Lethal made their entrances. Bennett
was on the outside as Lethal and Generico started the match, as the match got
underway Bennett hit Lethal over the head. Generico and Bennett went back and
forth, Bennett was then double teamed by Lethal and Generico, Lethal and
Generico argued over who was going to take the dive to Bennett who was on the
outside, they hit dual topé suicidas on Bennett. Generico and Lethal went back
and forth in the ring while Bennett was on the outside, but Bennett made it
back in the ring after Lethal was taken out, slamming Generico and working on
him. I was fine with Bennett working on Generico, Generico is such a great face
in peril that he compensated for Bennett. They exchanged strikes in the center
of the ring, Generico went for a topé, but he was hit with a flying dropkick
from Lethal. Lethal locked in a modified surfboard submission, Generico then
hit a back breaker for two. Bennett was then pushed to the outside, as Generico
worked on Lethal, Lethal hit a handspring
back elbow and drop kick to knock Bennett back to the outside. Lethal was
then caught with a cross body from Generico. Generico began to hit arm drag
after arm drag on Lethal and Bennett and started to land strikes in the corner.
Lethal hit a really wacky looking combination, where he placed Generico on top
of Bennett, so when Generico is kicked he inadvertently locks in a surfboard on
Bennett who is kicked by Lethal. Generico hit the exploder in the corner, but
Brutal Bob pulled the leg of Generico, Bennett then ran to the outside and hid
behind Maria and Bob. Generico hit the Yakuza kick on Bennett and Lethal hit a
super kick on Generico. Lethal hit the combination on Generico for two. Bennett
hit the spinebuster, Lethal hit the enzuigiri on Generico while Bennett was
down. Lethal went up for the elbow, but he was caught with the Yakuza kick from
Generico. Generico hit a senton on Lethal on the outside and what was
definitely the spot of the match a tornado DDT on Bennett, after Generico
basically slid through the ring and onto Bennett who was on the outside, the
crowd really popped for this. Bennett was suplexed, Lethal set up the elbow on
Generico who was pretty far away, he hit the elbow for two, the crowd really
didn’t react to this. Lethal went up for the second elbow, but Generico got up
and teased the top rope brain buster, but Bennett broke it up and eliminated
Generico with a roll up with tights in hand. Lethal hit the Lethal Injection
for the win. This match went way too long and as the match went longer
Bennett’s flaws became more and more apparent. The match felt like a WWE three
way more than anything else, each man in the match would take their turn going
to the outside. Bennett definitely left something to be desired, very drawn out
match.
** ¾
4. No Disqualification Match
Kevin Steen vs. Steve Corino with Jimmy Jacobs as Special
Guest Referee
I can not understand why this match was placed at such an
early point in the show, it really was difficult to follow and should have been
co-mainevent. Jacobs, Cornette and Silkin made their way to ringside. Corino
then came out with bleached blond hair, this really acted as a visual
representation that Corino is an evil person once more, the crowd chanted ECW
during Corino’s entrance. The lights went off and Steen showed up on the
balcony in the crowd, very Sandman esque. The fans really didn’t pop as big as
I thought they would, I think that this is due impart to it being so early in
the card. Both men ran at each other and began to brawl, Corino went for the
baseball slide and like in other matches on the card, was thrown into the
barricade. Steen hit the cannonball senton on Corino who was on the apron
against the ring post on the outside. Corino began to throw chairs into the
ring, Corino ran with chairs in hand into Steen, Steen then super kicked a
chair into the head of Corino. Steen powerbombed Corino on the apron, he then
landed the frog splash on the outside. Steen picked apart the barricade and
rammed it into the head of Corino, he then through the barricade into the ring.
Corino placed a steel chair between the guard rail, but he was powerbombed onto
it by Steen. Steen ran up to McGuinness and said “It’s good to see you again
Nigel.”. Steen grabbed a table from
underneath the ring and placed it between the apron and guard rail, he was then
clotheslined by Corino on the outside. Corino then threw a garbage can into the
ring, he then started to throw more chairs into the ring, which landed on the
bad knees of Steen. Steen hit Corino with the lid of the trash can, he then hit
a standing senton leg drop onto the head of Corino with a garbage can. Corino was
bleeding from the back of the ear, Corino hit a low blow on Steen and grabbed
the chair, he then hit him with the chair on the head. Corino then grabbed the
trash can once again and landed a suplex on the can. Corino then slammed Steen
on the chair pile and hit a frog splash. Corino then placed the guard rail
between a couple of standing chairs, he then landed a superplex on the guard
rail, the crowd began to chant please don’t die. Corino went for the frog
splash through the table, but Steen landed a chair shot to the back of Corino.
Steen then set up two chairs on the table between the guard rail and apron, he
then placed a chair in the middle of the other two chairs. Corino hit Steen
with the lid of the trash can, Steen then went flying through the chairs and
table, holy God this looked brutal. Some of the idiots in the crowd started to
chant “we want fire!” suffice to say they never got it. Corino placed the guard
rail in the corner, he then hit a shoulder drop with chair in hand on Steen who
had a chair placed on his face. Steen delivered a really stiff back suplex and
an exploder/ neckbreaker on a chair, this was a pretty brutal spot. Corino
lifted his hands up and spat in the face of Steen, Steen then hit him with a
completely unprotected chair shot, this boggled my mind. And this wasn’t the
only brutal unprotected chair shot on the show, there were more to come, what I
am wondering is why would you be so stupid to do this? I understand that you
want to pop the crowd and send them home happy, but to risk your long term
physical and mental well being for one pop, that could be achieved with
protection is just ridiculous to me. Jacobs pulled the chair away from Steen,
Corino then hit Steen with what looked like tongs, but I could be wrong. Corino
set up another table with chairs on it, he went for something, but Steen
countered it into the package piledriver on the chairs! Jacobs was hesitant to
count, but he counted the three. This match went pretty long, but it never felt
dull, my only major problem with the match was the idiotic unprotected chair
shots, which could have been avoided.
*** ¾
Kevin Steen grabbed a mic after the match and said “Merry
Christmas the devil is back.” He said that he came there to do three things.
Number one was already accomplished that was to destroy Corino, he said number
two and then package piledrived Jacobs. He then raised a third finger and
turned his gaze to Jim Cornette, who attempted to escape but failed. Just as
Steen was about to do something out came Generico, they started to brawl,
Generico hit the yakuza kick, he went for the top rope brainbuster, but Steen
countered and hit a package piledriver on the apron. They then went to an
intermission, this could be part of an injury angle.
5. Tag Team Gauntlet Match
The Bravado Brothers vs. Cedric Alexander & Caprice
Coleman vs. Future Shock vs. The Young Bucks vs. The All Night Express
The Bravados attacked Coleman and Alexander on their way to
the ring, Caprice Coleman hit his topé to the outside on the Bravados. Harlem
Bravado hit a bicycle kick on Coleman on the outside, the Bravados started to
work on Alexander in the ring. There was confusion as to who was the legal man,
it turns out Coleman was tagged in and in came out with big clotheslines and
hit a big dive to the outside. Coleman then tagged in Alexander, which seemed
pretty stupid since Alexander was just in the ring. Harlem got the small
package for two, Alexander then rolled up Harlem Bravado and eliminated the
Bravados at the five minute mark. The Bravados aren’t looking too good at the
moment. The next team was Future Shock who entered at the five minute mark, O’
Reilly started off and began to work on Alexander, landing double team after
double team. Alexander got the blind tag to Coleman, Coleman and Alexander hit
the double team another sloppy tag. Coleman then hit a really great dropkick,
Cole hit a Northern Lights suplex and began to work on Coleman. Coleman then
made the warm tag to Alexander. Cole hit a big enzuigiri on Coleman, Coleman
got Cole up in the fireman’s carry, Alexander went for the double foot stomp
but missed. Coleman then hit a big splash on O’ Reilly, O’ Reilly and Cole then
hit dual sliding drop kicks on Alexander who was in the tree of woe. They then
hit Ride the Lightning for the elimination. The Young Bucks entered at 11:30.
The Bucks taunted on the outside, Future shock hit dual baseball slides, O’
Reilly dived onto the Bucks he was caught by both Matt and Nick Jackson, but
Cole landed a topé suicida onto the Bucks. The camera missed what I can only
assume was a kick, the Bucks hit an assisted inverted neckbreaker on the apron,
they then began to get the heat on Cole. The Young Bucks knocked O’ Reilly off
of the apron and hit a footstomp combo on Cole. Cole finally made the hot tag
too O’Reilly who ran wild and hit a double dragon screw. O’ Reilly landed a
release belly to belly suplex, Nick Jackson attempted a splash. But landed on
the knees, O’ Reilly then hit nine rolling butterfly suplexes and tagged in
Cole. Future Shock hit a face buster German suplex combo, but it was broken up.
Cole then German suplexed Nick Jackson against the apron. O’ Reilly went for
the missile drop kick in the chair, but Jackson was able to move out of the
way. The Young Bucks hit double super kicks and hit more Bang For Your Buck for
the elimination. The final team, ANX, entered at the twenty minute mark. The
Bucks missed a dive to the outside, they were double teamed by ANX. King landed
a senton off the barricade, Nick Jackson hit the injured leg of Titus against
the ring post. The Bucks worked on King while Titus was on the outside, Titus
started to crawl to the ring, Matt Jackson went for the super kick, but King
countered into a single leg belly to belly suplex. Titus was finally tagged in
and ran wild with a bad wheel. Titus hit a sit out powerbomb, Nick Jackson went
for a dive, but it was countered into a spinout side walk slam. Titus locked in
a leg lock, but Nick Jackson hit a 450 splash on Titus and the referee stopped
the match at the 29 minute mark. This would have been fine, but if the referee
has the power to end a math like that why wasn’t the tag title match thrown
out. Nick Jackson then hit another 450 splash on Titus, but out came King with
a chair. This match was pretty much what was expected, a match that felt a bit
bloated from the amount of teams in the match, but the match really picked up
towards the end. The ending was a bit of an anticlimax, but it made sense as
specially since Titus is going into hospital.
*** ½
6. Roderick Strong Invitational Challenge
Roderick Strong vs. ??? (Chris Hero)
Strong came out and said that he had no opponent, he said
that he wanted to prove to everyone that he was the best in the world, but even
though he had been there for eight years ROH never brought him an opponent. He
got the referee to count to ten and at ten he would be awarded the victory. As
they got to ten out came Hero, as expected, he got a big pop. The deal seems to
be that he is waiting for tests to come back for the WWE, so in the mean time
he can work were he wants. Hero hit a big boot knocking Strong to the outside,
but Hero was hit on the back with the book of Truth on the outside. Strong hit
a big back breaker on the apron, we then had dueling chants. Strong worked over
Hero, Strong then chopped Hero on the outside, Strong hammered at the back of
Hero and locked in the head lock wearing him down. They exchanged elbows in the
middle of the ring, until Hero hit a big dropkick. Hero then hit a big
scoopslam and a back senton. He then flew through the ropes with a kick, Hero
hit boots in the corner and a crovate suplex, there were a lot of crovates used
in this match. Strong chopped and delivered elbows to Hero, Strong went for
another back breaker on the apron, Hero briefly escaped, but finally Strong hit
the back breaker. Strong locked in the Strong Hold, Hero powered out, Hero
landed another crovate suplex, working on the neck of Strong. Hero hit a big
elbow, but the crowd was pretty silent at this point. Strong landed a German
suplex on Hero into the turnbuckle, he then hit a gut buster and Gibson Driver
for two. Both men exchanged chops, but Hero hit two rolling elbows and then a
rolling boot, before Strong finally went down. Hero landed another elbow, but
Truth entered the ring and left immediately. Hero went after him, Strong hit an
O'Connor roll, Hero hit a boot on Martini, but Strong hit the sick kick for the
win. These two having a match could have mainevented any ROH show a couple of
months ago, but it really didn’t live up to expectations, it wasn’t that it was
bad, but it was a pretty uneventful match, that didn’t really work well.
** ¾
7. ROH World Tag Team Championship Match
Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team vs. The Briscoe Brothers
The New York fans actually got behind the Briscoes during
their entrance, embracing them, probably because of their heel turn.
Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team hit the Briscoes with the belts and began to
brawl pre-match. Jay Briscoe got back suplexed on the barricade, Mark was then
suplexed on the barricade. Jay Briscoe was thrown into the barricade and then
got back suplexed once again. Haas grabbed a steel chair, and landed a chair
shot to the back of Jay Briscoe. Mark received an unprotected chair shot, one
of the first of many, I will never understand this. Jay Briscoe also received a
chair shot to the head, but it was protected. They still continued to brawl,
Benjamin hit the midsection of Jay Briscoe with a chair, Mark Briscoe was then
back suplexed on the barricade. Haas then hit the side of Mark Briscoe over and
over again with the chair. At this point it became pretty nonsensical, since
one chair shot was sold so much on TV, yet everyone had taken so many chair
shots and they were still standing. The other problem was you really couldn’t
work out who were the faces and who were the heels through out the match.
Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team continued to beat down the Briscoes even when
they were covering up and trying to fight back. Then Jay Briscoe took a huge
unprotected chair shot, Nigel even shouted put your hands up, it was just so
brutal, after the chair shot Jay bladed. Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team then hit
the Leap of Fate on the Briscoes, at this point the bell finally rang after
around ten minutes of brawling. Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team were really
playing the heels at this point, getting the heat on Mark Briscoe, this in and
of itself was fine and good it was just in the context of the storyline and
brawl before the match that it made no sense. Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team
went for another Leap of Fate, but Jay landed a super kick, Jay then stared
Charlie dead in the eye, this was an awesome moment. They squared off, we had
dueling chants, Benjamin hit a splash, but sold the ribs, the Briscoes then
pulled off his shirt to reveal the hurt ribs. The Briscoes worked on the ribs
of Benjamin. Haas was tagged in and hit a knee lift and shouted **** you before
hitting an exploder. Jay went for the Jay driller, but Haas countered and
started to hit Germans while holding on. Haas then locked in the Haas of Pain,
Mark went for an elbow, but Shelton dived in the way and took the elbow to the
ribs. EMTs were called out as Benjamin was taken to the back. Haas was then
double teamed, he hit an Olympic slam, we then had a referee bump. Benjamin
then came back out and broke a board over the head of Mark Briscoe, if only the
chair shocks could have been gimmicked. The crowd broke into ho and USA chants.
Mark Briscoe looked for something under the ring, Wrestling’s Greatest Tag
Team, went for the doomsday, but Mark Briscoe hit Charlie Haas with a piece of
broken table, he was then taken up for the doomsday by the Briscoes and they
hit it for the win. It was almost like they were trying to tell three stories
in this match, but instead of getting different chapters or even different
books we got a whole bunch of jumbled words and nothing more.
** ½
8. ROH World Championship Match
Davey Richards vs. Eddie Edwards with Dan Severn
We had dueling chants, but even after everything that
happened prior both men shook hands. The match started off with an elbow
exchange, Edwards went for the dragon
sleeper, Richards went for the soccer kick, Eddie moved and both men met
eye to eye on their feet. Both men exchanged submissions and battled for
control, Eddie then hit a big kick. Edwards then locked in a modified scorpion
death lock, they then transitioned into a strike exchange. Both men battled on
the outside, exchanging strikes up until Richards hit a big kick on Edwards.
Edwards then locked in a toe hold with a bridge, but Richards punched out.
Eddie then hit two kicks to Edwards on the outside, but Richards hit a topé
suicida on Edwards. Richards then hit a big drop kick for two, Richards then
hit a forearm after forearm and a suplex. Richards hit a knee and went for a
German suplex, but Edwards chopped out, Richards then got the ankle lock locked
in after many transitions. Edwards locked in the single leg Boston crab on
Richards, but Richards countered into the small package for two. Edwards hit a
face buster, both men were down in the middle of the ring, they then exchanged
elbows once again in the middle of the ring. Richards went for the handspring
back elbow, but he was dropped to the outside, Richards was kicked by Edwards
who then hit a moonsault to the outside. Edwards hit the backpack stunner,
Richards went for the arm bar, but Edwards rolled him up for two. Edwards got
the STF locked in from the roll up. Richards locked in the ankle lock, Edwards
laid into Richards with kicks to the face, Edwards and Richards faced off and
exchanged slaps. Edwards hit the super kick and Richards hit a clothesline, but
Edwards kicked out at one, which was a great near fall. Richards went to the
top and hit a stomp to the back of Edwards, he then went back up and hit a
stomp to the stomach, Edwards then kicked out at two. Both men went to the top
and exchanged headbutts and slaps on the top rope, but Richards hit an
enzuigiri. Richards delivered a superplex and rolled through, both men got to
their feet and tumbled to the outside, which was an awesome spot. Both men got
back into the ring at 19, both men collided with boots twice. They exchanged
strikes, Edwards kicked and chopped, Edwards then got the machine gun chops in
the corner, but Richards then got machine gun kicks in the other corner.
Edwards fired back with chops, but Richards came back with the kicks, this
continued until Edwards slumped down in the corner. Both men were back in the
middle of the ring, Edwards dared Richards to hit him, they began to exchange
strikes once again, Edwards then hit Samoa Joe like kicks to the head of
Richards, who responded with an enzuigiri. Richards then hit a backdrop driver
on Edwards, who no sold and then delivered one of his own and then once more.
Edwards hit a dragon suplex, Richards responded with one of his own, Richards
hit an alarm clock, but Edwards, hit a huge kick, both men lay exhausted in the
middle of the ring. Strong then came out and took out the members of Team
Richards at ringside, Dan Severn went toe to toe with Strong and Elgin for a
few seconds which I thought was absolutely ridiculous. O’ Reilly then came out
and they brawled to the back and Severn carried Truth to the back, a segment
that really wasn’t need all that much. Both men finally made it to their feet and
walked to the middle of the ring, Eddie asked Davey if he had anything left in
the tank, Richards responded with an elbow, both men started to exchange
forearms once again. Edwards hit a tiger suplex right on the neck of Richards,
it looked brutal. Edwards placed Richards on the top turnbuckle and looked to
deliver a top rope tiger suplex, but Richards fought him off and eventually
knocked him off the top rope with a flurry of elbows. Edwards responded with a
knee, Edwards then hit a big hurricanrana, a power bomb and a sit out powerbomb
for two. Edwards hit a super kick on Richards who was still on his knees,
Edwards then chopped him down to the mat and locked in the dragon sleeper.
Richards countered into a pinning predicament, Edwards countered that into a
partial dragon sleeper and hit a tombstone and die hard, but Richards still
kicked out. The crowd began to chant “this is awesome!” Richards was perched on
the top turnbuckle, Edwards set Richards up for the superplex, but Richards
went for the sunset powerbomb, but he couldn’t get him over. Richards began to
lay into the back of Edwards head with forearms. He then hit a top rope full
nelson suplex for two, the crowd began to chant “ROH”. Richards went for the
full nelson suplex on the apron, but Edwards was able to counter, as both men
began to exchange strikes on the ring apron. Richards was then able to land a
sick looking suplex on the apron, Richards landed a big kick on Edwards as he
was making his way back into the ring and then hit a full nelson suplex on the
apron. Richards waited in the ring for the count out, but Edwards made it back
in the ring at 19. Richards almost snarled at Edwards in disgust, he shouted
this ends right now and hit two kicks to the head of Edwards, but he was still
able to get the shoulder up. Richards locked in the ankle lock, but Edwards
rolled him up, but Richards countered and got Edwards back into the ankle lock,
Richards came out with a big kick for two, the near fall got a lower reaction
then I had anticipated. Edwards was on his knees as Richards delivered a final
flurry of kicks for the win. People have been saying that this match was
overdone, but I personally believe that it was more story driven then their
match at Best in the World. My major gripe was actually not with the match
itself, but with the pacing and length of the show, which led to a dead crowd
for some spots. This isn’t to say that they weren’t into it, but some spots
really didn’t get the reaction I had anticipated, as specially from the New
York Crowd.
**** ¼
After the match Richards got on the mic and asked the crowd
if they wanted to here some honesty. He said that when he got to the arena, Jim
Cornette came up to him and said that no matter who won, ROH is about
sportsmanship and whoever won that night was the toughest SOB. Richards said
that he didn’t have to “put over” how tough Edwards was, because the crowd saw
it in the match. Richards said that whenever Edwards finds closure, his brother
will be waiting.
All of a sudden you hear fake crying, out came Steen, he
said mockingly “thank you ROH and thank you God. He said stop this horse s***.
He said if Richards came up to him, he would destroy him m***** f*****. He said
that Richards and his MMA group should finish their circle jerk in the back,
because what really mattered is that Steen is back. He said that in 2012 he
will take the ROH championship hostage, because his name is Kevin Steen and he
is the Anti-Christ of pro wrestling. This is the CM Punk angle done right.
Overall Show Thoughts
The show suffered from two major problems, the first was
that it went way too long, approaching the four and a half hour mark. Number
two was the pacing, even though they placed the Corino and Steen match before
the intermission, in what I can only guess was an attempt to stop the crowd
from getting burnt out, they failed. By the time the main event came, the crowd
was really burnt out and didn’t pop for a lot of the big spots in the match. I
also encountered a few technical issues, mainly during replays and the opening.
The show was good, but it definitely wasn’t on the level of other ROH iPPVs
from this year, luckily they set up a lot of things going forward for 2012.
Next Weeks Issue
In under a week I am putting out the year end special issue,
featuring the top 100 matches of 2011, year in review, year preview and more.
If everything goes according to plan it should be out before the end of the
year, so look forward to that.
Contact
New! Twitter:
@RyanClingman
