In the great state of Connecticut RoH returns with a show featuring a four way main event for the Ring of Honor title. There are also a few new superstars being given a chance to shine. Will they shine? Will the title change hands? Read on to find out…
The disc starts with Nigel McGuinness talking about how he has beaten everyone.
Papadon vs. Bobby Fish
Both of thse guys suck…horribly….horribly. Papdon almost became relevant about six years ago as part of the tag team The Soulution. He didn’t. Bobby Fish has gotten a few tours of Pro-Wrestling NOAH under his belt, but is wholly unremarkable in every way. This match is paint by numbers, but long, boring, and boring. This match is freaking terrible. I haven’t seen the Insane Clown Posse’s appearance, but I have seen Jeff Hardy’s drugged out RoH debut. This is just as bad with none of the star power. Bobby Fish wins with a jumping knee to the head. Thank God, it’s over. The finish is the only thing about the match was “over†however.
Winner: Bobby Fish via pinfall, DUD only because I don’t give negative stars
Rhett Titus and Kenny King vs. Erick Stevens and Bobby Dempsey
Bobby Dempsey just came from the sizzler because he is still wearing a bib or a gherkin, not sure which. Rhett Titus might have the best self sung theme song since Shawn Michaels. We get another pretty standrad match, but all four guys here have personality. What a difference it makes. It is funny watching Dempsey be made to look like a world beater. Stevens and Dempsey actually have pretty good chemistry together too. King and Titus steal the win after Kenny reverses the Doctor Bomb into a rollup with his feet on the ropes. The match was fun, but a tad too long. A five star classic compared to the opener though.
Winners: Kenny King and Rhett Titus via pinfall, **
We get an interview Tyler Black…now I know why he hasn’t won the belt yet. He starts the promo by saying his ultimate goal is to win the world title, but then says his goal for the title match later is not to win the world title but to eliminate Jimmy Jacobs, on his way to winning the world title. Ugh.
We get some highlights of Claudio vs. Albright from Detroit when Albright refused to release his crowbar submission and lost the match as a result.
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brent Albright
These two don’t quite bring the hate that they should, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have good chemistry together. This is the type of match that would bring in casual fans to fall in love with the best RoH has to offer. These guys are book and look like standard “TV†wrestlers. Claudio is the foreign stereotype, and Albright is pretty much everyone who has gone through WWE developmental. They pick up the pace quite nicely for the finishing sequence. They show that they know what each other has to offer and block what they can and rebound quickly from what they can’t. Brent Albright had to use a crossface to try and get the win, but Claudio rolls it into a pinfall just as he taps out. The match is ruled a draw. Albright asks for five more minutes, and Claudio sneak attacks him and takes a powder. This match was fun.
Result: Draw via double pin, ***
We get a recap of the American Wolves taking out the Briscoes at Final Battle putting Mark on the shelf until this weekend in Philadelphia as a matter of fact. The Wolves also took out El Generico giving us this match.
Sweet and Sour Inc of Chris Hero and Eddie Edwards with Sara Del Rey and Shane Hagadorn vs. Kevin Steen and Jay Briscoe
They go Bonzo Gonzo from the opening bell brawling on the outside. Steen and Briscoe play up the reluctant partnership throughout the match via bickering and a game of oneupsmanship. It settles in to pretty standard tag formula stuff with Steen taking most of the heat. Hero and Edwards do a great job of working over Steen’s leg, and Steen does a great job of selling the beating. Briscoe finally gets tagged in and is a house afire. They go into the finish with a ton of big moves, fancy double teams, and dives to the floor which obviously gets a huge reaction from the crowd, the first of the night, really. Jay tries to set Chris Hero up for the Doomsday Device, but Steen’s leg is too hurt to help out. Mark Briscoe comes out to convince Steen to get up there. After a few reversal attempts, Steen makes the climb and Hero takes the plunge and the loss. After the match Sweet and Sour try to get some revenge, but “Crazy†Mark Briscoe runs them off. This match was a lot of fun.
Winners: Kevin Steen and Jay Briscoe via pinfall, ***1/2
Intermission time with Kyle Durden in the back with Sami Callahan. I really think Callahan has a decent future in RoH. He has his character fleshed out and with some guidance and experience could become a serviceable lower card guy. As it stands he is just a step up from the other cannon fodder jobbers on RoH on HDNet, but he is capable of more.
Delirious with Jimmy Jacovs vs. “American Dragon†Bryan Danielson
Danielson does his normal knot tying mat wrestling to start the match off. Delirious did some great character work in this role being under the spell of Jacobs and constantly looked to Jimmy for approval and instruction throughout the match. The match itself is pretty slow to get going though. Delirious focuses on the back and Dragon makes his comebacks with his usual awesomeness. Delirious almost gets the win with the Cobra Stretch, but Dragon surprises him with the unbeatable small package. This match was solid, but instantly forgettable. It was a far cry from their great stuff in 2006. After the match Delirious looks like he is going to turn on Jacobs and the Age of the Fall, but a hug cures all.
Winner: “American Dragon†Bryan Danielson via pinfall, ***
Jimmy Jacobs is in the back and talks about tonight being his third shot at the title. Jacobs is money on the mic. His comparisons to Eddie Gilbert and Kevin Sullivan couldn’t be more accurate.
Austin Aries vs. Sami Callahan
Aries starts the match on the mic and engages in the time honored tradition of running down the local town. Aries is such a great old school in such a new school way. He is far and away the best thing going in RoH right now. No wonder he is the first two time champion. Aries challenges the New Horror to some amatuer wrestling. Callahan gets the better of it, but it is clear he never actually wrestled folkstyle. But I digress. I like Callahan, but Aries just proves he is better than him at every step of the way. A-Double is the Greatest Man who Ever Lived, though, so it should come as no surprise. Callahan looks like a world beater in this match with some cool suplexes and hard strikes. Unfortunately, the suplexes weren’t cool enough and the strikes weren’t hard enough as Aries takes the win with a Brainbuster.
Winner: Austin Aries via pinfall, ***
We get an interview with Jerry Lynn hyping the title match. He growls.
Anything Goes Street Fight: Necro Butcher vs. Brodie Lee
They actually take a little bit before getting to the plunder. The main weapon used is one of the guard rails which gives the Big Rig a huge gash on his shoulder. They continue the brawl and Jacobs and Delirious make their way in to interfere. Daizee Haze tries to get Delirious to see that light, but gets pushed to the canvas for her trouble. Necro fights off the Age of the Fall and hits Brodie with a chair shot for the win. This was just kind of there.
Winner: The Necro Butcher via pinfall, **
RoH World Title Elimination Match: Nigel McGuinness © vs. Tyler Black vs. Jimmy Jacobs vs. Jerry Lynn
They do the traditional trade out that starts basically all multi-person matches and run through pretty much all of the pairings. Nigel is great playing the sneaky, smart oppurtunist in the match picking his spots, and forcing in ring matchups that benefit him. Jerry Lynn is the first to go down after Jimmy Jacobs grabs his foot and holds him down ala Bobby Heenan and Rick Rude against the Ultimate Warrior at Wrestlemania V. Lynn shows his sportsmanship by hitting an air raid clash on Nigel after he is eliminated.
Tyler Black is almost able to capitalize on this, but Jacobs breaks up the pinfall deciding that he doesn’t want his former disciple to have any success. Normally pinfall breakups in elimination matches are dumb. This one is less so. Tyler does a great job of playing the feisty underdog. It is really his best role, and probably second only to El Generico at it on the entire roster. Side note: Buckle Bomb is my least favorite move name ever. I almost wish it could have a pretentious pseudo-intellectual name like the rest of Tyler Black’s arsenal. That’s it, I am calling the combo Fulmination…look it up. Tyler Black gets hit with the Tower of London on the floor and actually gets counted out, kind of dumb. Jacobs barely has time to gloat before being hit with the Jawbreaker Lariat to be the final elimination. Nigel retains the title. Black’s elimination was super dumb, but the match itself was a lot of fun. After the match Tyler Black tries to exact some revenge on Jacobs, but Delirious saves his master, and Jerry Lynn saves Tyler Black.
Winner: Nigel McGuinness via pinfall on Jimmy Jacobs, ***1/2
Big Andy Mac’s Big Andy Final Thoughts: Despite an inauspicious and quite frankly atrocious beginning the show ended up being quite a lot of fun. Steen and Briscoe vs. Hero and Edwards and the Main event were the class of the show, but Danielson delivered and there was a surprise match from Austin Aries and Sami Callahan. I can’t call this show memorable or must buy (a problem with a lot of RoH shows right now), but it is damn entertaining and for a throwaway show has some real good stuff on it. It might be a good way to round out a buy three get one free sale.
On another note, this show took place the night before the first set of TV tapings for HDNet and a lot of this show felt like a trial run for the upcoming TV broadcast. It is worth it as a curio for that reason as well.
I’ll see you next time…
