Big Andy Mac’s RoH on HDNet Review

Reviews, Shows, TV Shows

Tonight’s offering looks like the best edition of Ring of Honor Wrestling on HDNet thus far. You have one of the marquee match-ups of the past two years headlinining and a solid undercard with some new/unfamiliar faces to RoH. How is this week’s offering? Read on to find out…

The show starts with breaking news about Jerry Lynn winning the world title. Boo-urns to that. I still don’t like Mike Hogewood. They go to the wrestlers for the first match and Sterling James Keenan introduces himself as an international badass…awesome. Erick gets his promo time…less awesome.

Sterling James Keenan vs. Erick Stevens

Sterling Keenan, who Hogewood mistakenly calls James, looks kind of weird in simple black trunks. Stevens is back with the mohawk which is great. The match is surprisingly competitive despite the fact that Keenan has not been back since. Stevens gets the win after a series of huge moves and the Doctor Bomb. Mike Hogewood says, “Slap the porpoise folks, it’s over.” I don’t get it. Until that comment I was just thinking that he was getting better. He’s not.

Winner: Erick Stevens

We go to the back with Kyle Durden and “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson. Danielson talks about how awesome he is. I agree. He talks about how he deserves to be in the main event. I agree.

Cheech and Cloudy vs. The Dark City Fight Club of Kory Chavis and Jon Davis

The promo thing they do before each match is good for focusing on the talent, but some guys like Cheech and Cloudy would be better served with a highlight video. Sadly, Cheech and Cloudy are pretty much just cannon fodder for The DCFC. It makes sense since Cheech and Cloudy are not the type of guys the casual fans would buy. Chavis and Davis are though. Still the DCFC has not been on an RoH show since this set of tv tapings. Cheech and Cloudy do get some nice double teams, but it proves not to be enough. This match was probably the worst one yet on RoH on HDNet. Hogewood said, “Slap the porpoise!” again. What the hell does that even mean? Slobberknocker and rocketbuster are nonsense words too, but they seem to fit. If he says “slap the porpoise” one more time, I may have to kill him.

Winners: The Dark City Fight Club

Kyle Durden is in the back with the other half of the main event. Austin cuts a killer promo. He is cocky and really puts over his new character.

”That Young Knockout Kid” Chris Hero w/ “Sweet and Sour” Larry Sweeney and Sara Del Reyvs. The Necro Butcher

A bearded Chris Hero talks about how great his knock out skills are. This was probably the best of the mini promos on tonight’ show. I would have liked to hear more from Larry Sweeney on that promo, though. Necro has a weird charm which totally comes out through his promo. He talks about the oscars and piling the bodies to the sky, and it all fit…awesome.

Hero also has new gear, gone are the long shiny pants in favor of short trunks and a tank top. I am not sure which suit him better. The match is pretty standard fare. It is a standard match so Necro isn’t in his ideal environment. Hero holds the match together and Sweeney and Del Rey draw heat on the outside. This is the first show that I have noticed them hyping live shows on the bottom of the screen. It is a step in the right direction from the previous week. It doesn’t take long for Necro to resort to chairs and on the floor violence which makes this match different from everything previous. Chris Hero gets the win after a hit with the loaded elbow pad. Prazak and Hogewood tried to work a bit of a face/heel thing in this match. It didn’t much work. At least Hog didn’t say “slap the porpoise.” He gets to live…for now. This was a fun match if a bit disjointed, and easily the best on the show to this point.

Winner: “That Young Knockout Kid” Chris Hero

Main Event: “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson vs. Austin Aries

Continuity error alert!!! At the top of the show they announce Jerry Lynn as the champ, but in this match Prazak says that Dragon will have to beat Nigel McGuinness to win the belt. Dragon’s new music is pretty non-descript. Screw you Europe! Anyways, on to the match. Not surprisingly this is one of those chess match type affairs. These guys know each other unbelievably well and it shows. Both guys mix it up as a result. The result is just an amazing match that finally showcases what the company is all about. The only downside is that the crowd is not miked particularly well, the dvd releases are better. It hurts some of the drama. Dragon gets the tap out with the triangle choke. This match didn’t have the drama of some of their other matches, but it was still pretty awesome, and far and away the best thing that RoH has put on tv yet.

Winner: “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson

Big Andy Mac’s Big Andy Final Thoughts: This was the best offering thus far, but RoH still needs to figure out the point of this TV show. It is not a hard sell for live shows or PPV. There are no storylines whatsoever. They need to figure out why they are having a TV show instead of just having four matches and a couple of interviews. Still the wrestling is very very good.

I’ll see you next time…