Sorry folks, meant to get to the show a little earlier tonight, but Rangers-Yankees took precedence over just about everything else tonight. Hey, cut me some slack, we haven’t been good in what feels like forever.
As always, for a blow-by-blow recap of the show, check out the always good Kyle Sparks.
1. The opening segment was a simple, yet effective way of getting to the Tyler Black-Davey Richards match. I liked Davey even offering to pay Tyler to wrestle him, as it conveyed just how badly he wanted the match. I’m not quite sure how Davey got the idea that Tyler has been ducking him. Didn’t they have a title match just a few months ago?
2. If Davey doesn’t think the fans where Tyler is going will “boo your ass out of buildings” if they are so inclined, he clearly hasn’t watched many John Cena matches.
3. I let out a groan when Cornette said we were going to get video packages all night, but then ROH got into my good graces by busting out the “Inspiration” video hyping Tyler-Davey at Death Before Dishonor. That was an awesome video that really helped give that title match a “big fight” feel – and did the same for tonight’s match.
4. I’m glad they’re giving the Briscoe Brothers one last title shot at the Kings of Wrestling, and then are presumably blowing off the personal side of the feud at Final Battle. Don’t get me wrong, the matches between these two teams have been awesome. It’s just that with as many shots as the Briscoe Brothers have received, it makes sense for them to go to the back of the line and let the Kings feud with someone else for a while.
5. Prazak is once again the voice of reason on commentary. I just don’t see how anyone can even pretend to begrudge Tyler for deciding to maximize his earning potential while he is in his physical prime. Was Hogewood even keeping a straight face when he tried to argue against that logic?
6. Black showed some really good smarminess here, as he has shown in most of his appearances since news of his jump surfaced. If he can develop his promo skills in FCW, hopefully the ‘E can debut him in a manner different from the “former indy darling trying to make it in the big leagues” approach they’ve recently used twice (Kaval and Danielson).
7. Between overshooting his suicide dive (and almost hitting the barricade head-first) and taking a sick bump on the reverse hurricarana, it looked like Davey was actually trying to kill himself tonight. Maybe Tyler’s earlier comment about Davey being able to walk in 3 years was shoot-ish. I wish Davey had taken the time to sell the rana, instead of opting for the All-Japan “clothesline, then sell” approach.
8. Prazak and Hogewood take some time to mockingly wonder what Tyler’s WWE name will be. Honestly, Seth Rollins isn’t that bad, especially compared to some of the crap other guys have been saddled with. Tyler actually looks like a Seth Rollins.
9. Outstanding match between Tyler and Davey, as you’d expect from those two. Some may complain that it was too punchy-kicky, but I thought the slugfests actually added something here, as they really helped convey the intensity of the match. It wasn’t quite at the level of their Death Before Dishonor match, but it’d be unrealistic to expect it to be. I’ll have to go back before determining the order, but this was definitely in my Top 3 for ROH free TV matches this year, along with the TV Title tournament finals (Edwards vs. Richards) and the Cabana/Generico vs. Steen/Corino Street Fight.
10. By letting Davey Richards be ROH’s “white knight” in Tyler Black’s last appearance, it’s apparent they are planning on getting behind him all the way. I still think the ideal time to put the belt on Davey was at Death Before Dishonor, but it seems like the fans haven’t tired of waiting for him to win the big one yet. While I think Roderick Strong’s title reign still has legs, here’s hoping ROH doesn’t wait too long to pull the trigger.
