1. I don’t see why Hogwood had to lament that Aries is wrestling a non-title match against Cabana, instead of a title match against Tyler Black. That doesn’t exactly lend credibility to Cabana, who by the looks of things is ascending to the main event and needs to be regarded as a legitimate threat. Couldn’t he just gripe about the fact that it’s not a title match, and leave it at that?
2. Castagnoli looked pretty impressive tossing Eddie Kingston around. Too bad the match wasn’t anything to write home about. I continue to be unimpressed by Kingston in “standard” wrestling matches.
3. So it seems that when Kingston said he was going to strive to be more like Hero, he was referring to his use of Chris Hero’s loaded elbow pad. Is it really that hard for Hero just get another loaded elbow pad? Here’s hoping this isn’t going to be blown off in a “Loaded Elbow Pad on a Pole” match.
4. Between interviews and video packages, ROH has recently been putting quite a bit of time and effort into getting Kenny King over. He’s still bad on the mic, but this is probably as good a way as any to help him improve, so you have to appreciate the effort.
5. The match-ending brawl between the Briscoes and the Dark City Fight Club was intense and well-done. Better than the match itself, actually, which was too slow for my liking – especially the portion where the DCFC was in control. Hopefully this will lead to something more between the two teams, as I think they are capable of better – certainly of a stiff, hard-hitting affair, if nothing else.
6. The Aries interview was the highlight of the show up to this point. I liked that he was more intense and less smug than usual (even though I love his smugness). I liked that he alluded to his prior history with Cabana, who was Aries’ first challenger after he won the title in 2005. And I definitely chuckled at his ROHwrestling.com plug. Every time Aries is on screen, he shows what an amazing all-around performer he is.
7. Hogwood echoed my thoughts on The Set when he said, “what the heck are we seeing here?”. In a company that already has a wealth of tag team talent and and a limited amount of time to showcase that talent, I don’t see the need to debut a team that isn’t funny enough to be a comedy team, doesn’t appear (at first glance) to be skilled enough to be a threat, and is unlikely to rise above jobber status.
8. Much like Bret Hart, as he stated in his DVD set, I’ve never been a big fan of the “skin the cat” move. So naturally, it brought a smile to my face to see Cabana counter it by simply kicking Aries in the stomach as he was hanging upside down. Reminded me of when Samoa Joe just sidesteps a missile dropkick, which I also like.
9. I have no problem with the fact that Cabana didn’t pick up the win tonight, even though it was a non-title match, for three reasons. First, Cabana has gotten one over on Aries recently (pinned Aries in a six-man in Edison, NJ). Secondly, Colt made Aries tap, only losing the match due to King and Titus-ference. Therefore, we know Cabana can beat Aries. Third, with their a big title match coming up in Chicago this weekend, it’s natural that they would hold something back on free TV.
10. Pretty middling show tonight, ending somewhat of a hot streak by ROH. Other than a good Aries promo and an entertaining main event (not a classic, but I doubt Aries and Cabana are capable of having anything less than an enjoyable match with each other), there wasn’t much of note here.
