1. I know wrestling announcers are prone to hyperbole, but if Mike Hogewood really thought Austin Aries’ injuring Delirious’ throat last week was the most despicable act he’s seen in his entire life, then he really hasn’t been watching wrestling for very long.
2. Tonight’s match against the Briscoes was the best Dark City Fight Club match I’ve seen on HDNet. They were smart to let the Briscoes set the pace, and just follow along and hit their power moves. I still don’t care for them much (and judging from the lack of reaction they get on TV, I’m not alone), but they are good role players as the tag division’s powerhouse team.
3. HD really does Necro Butcher’s forehead no favors. Well, neither do years of gratuitous blading, I suppose.
4. Shawn Daivari is a logical addition to the Embassy. He and Prince Nana are motivated by the same things, and Daivari hating the Necro Butcher, who is different from him in so many ways (uneducated, unpolished, unwealthy, but beloved) makes perfect sense. Still, I wonder if anyone of real consequence will join the Embassy one of these days. Probably not, but at least it gives some of the lower-card guys something to do, and it keeps Nana on my TV.
5. Glad to hear there will be another Pick 6 match next week, especially after I complained a couple of weeks ago that the series wasn’t being treated with enough importance. Still, with the presence of the Television Title, it’ll be interesting to see the powers-that-be pay sufficient attention to the TV title, the Pick 6 Series, and feuds involving neither of these things. On the flip side, ROH featuring different things in different shows prevents angles from getting stale too quickly.
6. Hey, here’s a thought as to how they can make sure they have enough time to cover important angles: stop running these pointless “Art of Wrestling” segments. Colt Cabana is a funny guy, but this is a waste of ROH’s already limited air time.
7. Austin Aries emulating Big John Studd’s and Andre The Giant’s “step over the top rope” entrance was pretty damn funny, especially because he needed someone to pull the rope down for him. I was, however, disappointed that we didn’t get the “shot in HD by Digi Super 75 XS” graphic this week.
8. Rasche Brown didn’t disappoint facing off against real competition for the first time on HDNet. Sure, Aries, Rhett Titus, and Jerry Lynn worked their asses off to make him look like a powerhouse, but he definitely pulled his weight. I wasn’t high on him at first, but they may have something.
9. Not a great main event tonight, which is usually to be expected with battle royals. However, the stuff with the Final Four (Aries, Titus, Lynn, Brown) was pretty good, and the right guy went over, even if he’s not going to be in a title program anytime soon.
10. Another underwhelming show this week. The Briscoes-DCFC opener was good, Austin Aries was his usual entertaining self, and there was nothing cringe-worthy or affirmatively bad, but nothing really stood out, either.
