Periodically RoH needs to freshen the roster. In the past they have used shows called “Do or Die.†This time they are calling the show “Proving Ground.†It was so big that they had to stretch it out over two nights. The big question is: Will the new talent…Do or Die? Read on to find out…
The show starts with Roderick Strong and Erick Stevens in the back with the one and only newly free Bobby Dempsey. They psyc he him up for his six man match with them later on in the show. With that we go right into our first match.
Brad Attitude vs. Shawn Osbourne
These are two guys who have not done much in RoH, but have been featured on many FIP shows. They have a pretty basic match to show what they are capable of. Brad Attitude plays the hero and Osbourne the villain. The match is really nothing special, Attitude wins with a sloppy powerslam into the downward spiral. These guys would have been better served against more established talent to give the fans a reason to care about the match…oh well.
Winner: Brad Attitude via pinfall, *
Sal Rinauro vs. Bison Smith
It is really to bad that Sal, who is over in Florida has to be sacrificed to Bison Smith. Bison eats Rinauro as one would expect. Bison wins with the Claw Slam. Yup.
Winner: Bison Smith via pinfall, SQUASH
Chasyn “Not Cocky†Rance, “The Pretty Boy Pitbull†Kenny King, and “Addicted to Love†Rhett Titus vs. Roderick Strong, Erick Stevens, and Bobby Dempsey
The show has been off to a slow start, but strangely, the Bobby Dempsey match should be where things pick up. It is interesting to see Dempsey be treated like a “real†wrestler. Man, what an ironic term. This is another pretty straight forward match. There is nothing actively bad about it, but likewise nothing outstainding. The most surprising fact is that Erick Stevens plays Ricky Morton. Dempsey then gets the hot tag hits a few moves and wins with the Death Valley Driver on Rance. Wow.
Winners: Bobby Dempsey, Roderick Strong, and Erick Stevens via pinfall, **
We go to the back to see Bryan Danielson practicing his boxing????? Kyle Durden interupts him to ask him about his recent concussion at the hands of Bison Smith. Danielson says he is ok, but he does not trust Jimmy Jacobs.
Austin Aries vs. The Necro Butcher
This use to be a heated almost blood feud. Now Austin Aries is the greatest man who ever lived, and Necro Butcher is the Necro Butcher. They actually try to have a wrestling match, and not surprisingly A Double is much, much better. These guys, or should I say: Necro Butcher, should not be having a straight match. Their history is by no means erased after the end of the Jacobs/Aries feud. Necro was a big part of that angle having equal hatred for both sides by the end. These guys look like they are just having a match with no history. The result is pretty gosh darn awful. One bright spot is Aries going for the Ram Jam, but it is not enough to save this one. The finish is even worse as Delirious and Jimmy Jacobs of the Age of the Fall interfere, distract the ref, and hit Necro with a chair. This all allows Aries to hit the brainbuster for the win. What a terrible, terrible match…ugh.
Winner: Austin Aries via pinfall, *
We get an add for the RoH shows from Japan late last year. They look pretty sweet.
The Age of the Fall of Jimmy Jacobs and Delirious vs. “American Dragon†Bryan Danielson and Jerry Lynn
Since the show has been released Jerry Lynn has won the RoH championship in a move that pleased precisely no one. Hell, for this show he doesn’t even get his own entrance. I really hope that this match picks up the pace of this show because it has been pretty awful to this point. Lynn and Danielson work pretty well as a team, but Dragon is awesome so it is not that surprising. Still there is not a whole lot of flow. The match is pretty disjointed. The rules of tag team wrestling pretty much get thrown out of the window and they exchange a bunch of moves as Danielson is able to eventually lock in the cattle mutilation on Jimmy Jacobs for the submission victory. This match did not deliver the way that I hoped it would. It might be the best match thus far, but it is far from good.
Winners: “American Dragon†Bryan Danielson and Jerry Lynn via submission, **
After the match Delirious argues with Jacobs because he was accidentally speared, but it appears that he forgives him.
Non Title Match: Brent Albright vs. RoH Champion Nigel McGuinness
Maybe the RoH champ can turn things around. My hopes are not high. Nigel does do the “Ravishing†Rick Rude bit to start the match, so things are looking up. This goes hard and heavy right away, but neither guy can score the win. The pace slows and the chess match starts. The story in the match is Nigel’s technical prowess against Albright’s power. Nigel, as usual, is not afraid to take shortcuts. Albright continually goes for the crow bar which proves to be the only successful move against McGuinness. The Crowbar proves to be Albright’s undoing as Nigel is able to roll him up with a handful of tights to get the win. This was the best match on the show thus far, but that is not a tall order.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness via pinfall; **1/2
Non-Title Match: The Dark City Fight Club of Jon Davis and Kory Chavis vs. RoH Tag Team champions “Mr. Wrestling†Kevin Steen and El Generico
The Dark City Fight Club have appeared once on RoH on HDNet. I was not impressed, but I guess some people were. Steen and Generico, however, are pretty damn awesome. The DCFC Pearl Harbor Generico at the bell to get the early advantage. It is about time. This match is actually pretty fun. Both teams go at each other super hard and have some fancy double teams to go along with the bombs they throw at each other. The big downside is that there is not a whole lot of selling going on. Generico gets up from DCFC’s finish to take part in the package piledriver/brainbuster combo for the win. This still was a fun match.
Winners: Kevin Steen and El Generico via pinfall, ***
We get another hype video for RoH on PPV. Yay.
Main Event: Tyler Black vs. Davey Richards with Larry Sweeney
This is really a match that should have been saved until it could have some build behind it. These are two of the top up and comers on the roster, and their first encounter could have been made into a big deal. Instead it headlines a seemingly meaningless show. The match itself is more what RoH is all about. They go at each other hard and fast, each man working hard to put the other away. Tyler Black has some awesome looking moves, but man he should just stick to simple names, also calling his turnbuckle powerbomb the “bucklebomb†is just funny. Tyler’s impressive offense is enough to get the win, though as the Buckle Bomb/superkick combo puts Richards down. This was a very good match, but still it should have been saved for when it could have mattered.
Winner: Tyler Black via pinfall, ***1/2
Big Andy Mac’s Big Andy Final Thoughts: This show was terrible. There was nothing memorable, nothing important and none of the new stars proved themselves. The Dark City Fight Club came close, but there subsequent performances have not wowed me. It used to be an RoH show guaranteed something memorable. It used to be that there was something noteworthy. This show did not even advance storylines. If this show never happened the RoH universe would be no different. RoH has had shows in the past like that, but they also had one or more blowaway matches to make them worthwhile. This show didn’t. I hope that Night 2 is better. That review is coming shortly.
I’ll see you next time…
Also check out my reviews of RoH on HDNet and you can follow me on twitter @bigandymac. I hardly ever tweet about wrestling, but all of my tweets are haiku, so there’s that.
