Dearborn, Michigan – 3.19.10
The holders of the gold, The Briscoe Brothers and Tyler Black, are hanging out outside with their belts and getting each other fired up for their match tonight against Chris Hero and the American Wolves.
Dave Prazak and Joe Dombrowski are on commentary.
MATCH #1: Rasche Brown vs. Rhett Titus
Titus tries to use his cunning to outsmart the big man, but Brown comes back with a big shoulderblock to take Titus down. Seemingly not getting the point, Titus slaps Brown in the face and then runs around ringside. Brown chases and when Titus slides back in the ring and tries an elbow drop, Brown wisely avoids it. Back in the ring Brown is dominating. Titus makes a brief comeback with some thrusting, so Brown grabs him with the testicular claw and then presses him down to the mat. Brown tries a splash but Titus gets his knees up and puts the boots to Brown. That goes nowhere and Brown comes back with a suplex. Brown tries an elbow drop but misses and Titus covers for two. Titus locks on a headscissors and jaws with the audience. He works on Brown’s neck until Brown powers his way out of it. Brown hits an atomic drop and an inverted atomic drop. He hits a clothesline for two. Titus fights back with a dropkick and a schoolboy for two. Brown fires back with a Spear out of nowhere. He hits Titus with the Burning Hammer to get the pin at 7:45. I’m not against the idea of these two opening the show, but they didn’t really have chemistry together.
Rating: *½
Earlier Tonight, someone recorded Shane Hagadorn talking about his dream last night. He dreamt that two wolves ate a bunch of chickens. He also saw a King standing over the ashes of a phoenix. He’s thinking that tonight his dream will come true.
ROH Pick 6 Rankings:
1. Roderick Strong
2. Kevin Steen
3. Chris Hero
4. Delirious
5. Kenny King
6. Austin Aries
MATCH #2: Pick 6 Series Match – (5) Kenny King vs. Tyson Dux
They lock up and King backs into the corner to break it up. Back in the center of the ring they lock up again and Dux goes after the arm. King gets up and they trade armdrags. Dux remains one step ahead but King isn’t too far behind as they wrestle to a stalemate. Now they trade headlocks, and then leapfrogs. Dux scores a shoulderblock and takes control. He hits a snap suplex and then goes back to the arm. King comes back with a rake of the eyes. He charges into a boot in the corner but is able to catch Dux with a spinebuster for two. King continues to control the action, thwarting Dux’s comeback attempts. Dux comes back with a couple of clotheslines and a back elbow. He hits a back body drop and a diving forearm for two. King comes back with a chinbreaker and tries to snap Dux’s neck off the top rope but it gets blocked. Dux cleverly fakes King out, pretending that the move connected, which allows him to catch King with a Death Valley Driver into the bottom turnbuckle for a two-count. He hits a clothesline in the corner, and King pops out with the shotgun knees to the chest. King then hits the Royal Flush to get the win at 9:27. That was perfectly solid.
Rating: **½
MATCH #3: Steve Corino & Kevin Steen vs. Pee Wee & Player Dos
I have never heard of Pee Wee. The injured Player Uno is accompanying his regular partner, Player Dos, to the ring. Before the match Steen gets on the microphone for some cheap heat. He says he’ll deal with Dos tomorrow night in Toronto. He then sneaks to the floor to attack Uno, and when Dos tries to save his partner Steen powerbombs him into the edge of the ring frame! He hurls Dos into the crowd as Corino verbally berates Wee. Corino says Wee should be smart and just leave now, but Wee doesn’t want to do that, and the match is on.
Wee sends both Corino and Steen to the floor and then wipes them out with a dive. Back in the ring Wee continues to control Steen with some fast paced, agile offense. Corino interferes from the floor and Steen catches Wee with a powerbomb and makes the tag. Now Steen and Corino brutalize Wee in their half of the ring. Every time Dos tries to get on the apron Steen kicks him back down to the floor, leaving poor Wee by himself. Dombrowski keeps saying that the Smash Brothers beat Steen and Generico almost a year ago, but July 25, 2009 – March 19, 2010 is more like less than eight months. Out of nowhere Wee hits Corino with an enziguiri and finally makes the hot tag. Dos is all over the nefarious duo. He wraps Corino up with a rana and gets a two-count. He hits a release dragon suplex for two. Corino fights back with a Flatliner and makes the tag. Dos makes a tag as well and Steen immediately goes for a Package Piledriver, but Wee counters with an enziguiri. Dos hits Steen with a DDT. Both Wee and Dos go up top, but Corino pushes Dos down to the floor and Wee misses a moonsault. Corino and Steen hit a double superkick. Steen hits the Package Piledriver and Corino hits a lariat for the pin at 9:09. That was all about making Steen and Corino look like world-class jerks and it worked, but the match was pretty much a long squash.
Rating: *¾
MATCH #4: Petey Williams vs. Austin Aries
Earlier tonight Williams cut a nearly unintelligible promo, promising Aries that tonight would be a brawl rather than a wrestling match. Aries chooses to cut his promo in the ring, and the fans try to irk him but he invokes the sticks and stones rule. He goes on for a while until Williams sneaks up behind him and sucker punches him to start the match.
Williams unloads on Aries, hitting a series of punches and a back body drop. Maple Leaf Muscle is on fire and the crowd seems into him. He tries the Canadian Destroyer but Aries slips out if it, only to get leveled by a clothesline. Williams gets a headscissors and Aries takes a powder. Aries pulls Williams to the floor but winds up getting thrown into the barricade himself. Williams has a counter for everything Aries tries. Back in the ring Williams hits a slingshot reverse lungblower for two. Finally Aries gets an advantage by maneuvering the referee out of position and hitting Williams with a low blow. Williams immediately fights back and ties Aries up in the Tree of Woe. He goes for Oh Canada but Aries catches him with a Super Release German Suplex. Now Aries is in control for real, wearing Williams down. They show Eddie Edwards watching creepily from behind the curtain. I guess I spoke too soon, since Williams just fights right back again. Williams goes up top and Aries knocks him down. Aries hits a knee lift for a two-count and then locks on a Figure-Four Stump Puller and rolls it into a cradle for two. He sets Williams up on the top rope but gets knocked down. Williams goes for a cross body block but Aries swats him out of the air with a dropkick. Aries puts Williams in the Tree of Woe, but Williams pulls himself out of the corner with a Stunner and both men are down. Back on their feet Williams hits the Canadian Legsweep for a two-count. Williams hits an elevated capture Flatliner for another two-count. He goes for the Destroyer again but Aries counters with a sunset flip for two. He hits an enziguiri for another two-count. He rubs Aries’ groin across the top rope and dropkicks him down to the floor. He goes for a dive but Aries avoids it and hits the Heat Seeking Missile. Back in the ring Aries hits the slingshot elbow and the IED for a two-count. He then kills the mystique of the Canadian Destroyer by hitting it on Williams, who kicks out at one. I would like to talk about why that is stupid, but someone will probably just pick out one sentence and post in on the ROH message board so a bunch of people can draw conclusions about who I am as a person, and tell me that I don’t like wrestling and say that I just nitpick everything to death. Aries grabs the ring bell and tries to hit Williams with it but misses. Williams grabs the ring bell and the referee takes it from him. He instead goes for the Canadian Destroyer but Aries sweeps the legs and gets a cradle with a little help from the ropes to get the pin at 13:30. That was better than their New York match, but Williams fights back way too much and it doesn’t allow for any suspense to be built up. Plus there’s the matter of that Canadian Destroyer nonsense. Speaking of that move, Williams attacks Aries and hits it on him after the bell.
Rating: **¼
MATCH #5: Colt Cabana & El Generico vs. The House of Truth
Brian Gorie, one of the greatest referees of all-time, is refereeing this contest. Cabana and Christin Able start it off. That goes about as you would expect, with Cabana taking Able down to the mat. Raymond tries to interfere but Generico comes in and the House of Truth gets tossed to the floor, twice. The commentators are trying to sell Generico as being emotionally disturbed, but he’s acting like normal El Generico to me. Cabana and Generico do some dancing and continue to control the House. Truth Martini finally interjects himself from ringside, distracting Cabana long enough for his charges to take the advantage. The House works Cabana over in their half of the ring, keeping Generico on the apron. Cabana gets Able to chase him to the floor, and then he sneaks back in the ring to make the tag! Generico is en fuego, hitting Able with the tornado DDT for two. He hits Raymond with the Michinoku Driver for another two-count. The House makes the comeback, throwing Cabana to the floor and hitting Generico with the elevated quebrada. Able hits Cabana with a solid Alabama Slam (which Prazak calls a spinebuster) for two. Raymond interferes from the floor, so Generico comes in and wipes him out with a somersault dive! That was unexpected. Back in the ring Cabana hits Able with the flying butt for a two-count. Cabana locks Able in the Billy Goat’s Curse, but Raymond fights off Generico and breaks it up. Martini comes in behind the referee’s back and hits Cabana with his shoe. Able hits Cabana with a suplex and Raymond follows up with a corkscrew press for a two-count. Generico comes in and goes for the running Yakuza, but Martini grabs his leg. So Generico pulls Martini into the ring with him. That of course goes badly for the House. Generico hits the Yakuza and then the brainbuster on the turnbuckle. Cabana follows up with a big splash off the second rope for the pin at 14:52. I love me some House of Truth but they were clearly just there as fodder for Cabana and Generico and never really looked like a serious threat. The match was okay there was just no drama to it.
Rating: **½
Steve Corino comes out to say bad things to Cabana, Generico, and the city of Detroit. He promises that tomorrow night in Canada he will hurt Cabana. I didn’t know that Corino was originally from Canada, but apparently he’s from Winnipeg.
MATCH #6: Pick 6 Series Match – (1) Roderick Strong vs. Kenny Omega
They take it right down to the mat and exchange holds, wrestling to a stalemate. They continue going back and forth, no one gaining a real advantage. Omega tries a springboard something but Strong chops him out of the air. Strong hits another chop but Omega fights back with a spin kick, a bodyslam, and a sliding dropkick to the face that sends Strong to the floor. Omega wipes Strong out with a dive. Strong comes back by reversing a whip into the apron, and then dropping Omega’s back against the edge of the ring apron. Strong hits a vertical suplex. Back in the ring Strong hits a few chops and another suplex for a two-count. The number one contender works on Omega’s back with a variety of submission holds. Omega gets back to his feet and tries matching Strong with chops, but that ends badly for him. Strong goes for a suplex but Omega slips out and gets a rollup for two. Omega runs into a snap powerslam for two. Moments later Omega comes back with his trademark flurry of offense. Omega hits a dropkick and a uranage slam for two. He picks Strong up and starts hitting chops, Strong fights back with chops of his own. Strong hits a half nelson backbreaker for a two-count. He ties the Stronghold but Omega counters with a cradle for two. Omega hits the stop sign enziguiri, but Strong fights back with one of his own and then a side slam for two. Strong looks for the gutbuster but Omega counters with a snap German Suplex. Omega hits a springboard dropkick and a 2K1 Bomb for a two-count. He tries Croyt’s Wrath but Strong avoids it and kicks him to the apron. They trade kicks around the apron, and then Strong hits a side slam off the top rope for a two-count. Strong hits the gutbuster and Omega fires back with a lariat. Omega hits another 2K1 Bomb for another two-count. He tries a running something, but Strong absolutely destroys his face with a Sick Kick. Strong hits the Torture Rack Backbreaker and then finishes up with the Gibson Driver to retain his Pick 6 spot at 16:31. I like the subtle heel edge that Strong was showing during this match. They kind of let selling go away in the last six to eight minutes or so, but when Strong was taking heat Omega was selling really well.
Rating: ***¼
MATCH #7: Six Man Tag Team Match – Tyler Black & The Briscoe Brothers vs. Chris Hero & The American Wolves
Black is the ROH World Champion, the Briscoes are the ROH World Tag Team Champions, and Eddie Edwards is the new ROH TV Champion. Hero and the Wolves are accompanied by Shane Hagadorn. Black and Richards will start the match. They wrestle around on the mat aggressively. Edwards and Jay get tagged and Jay takes the advantage, working Edwards’s arm. Mark tags in and Edwards backs him into the corner and makes the tag to Hero. They go back and forth and Mark makes the tag to the Champ. Black slams Hero down but misses the face stomp and Hero takes a powder. Back in the ring Hero and Black trade holds and take it to the mat. Then they take it to the floor and Black backdrops Hero into the crowd. Back in the ring Black hits a slingshot leg lariat for two. Hero attacks the eyes and then makes the tag to Edwards. Black fights Edwards off with a back body drop and then tags Jay. The tag team champions work together to wear Edwards down. The referee loses control and all six men are in the ring. Black and the Briscoes stand tall, while Hero and the Wolves regroup on the floor. Back in the ring Black and the Briscoes continue working on Edwards. Black hits a dropkick for two. Edwards slips out of a suplex and Richards makes a blind tag. Now Hagadorn’s trio goes to work on the ROH World Champion. After several minutes of abuse, Black hits a Pele kick and both men are down. Before Black can make the tag, Richards rings the bell to distract the referee, so he doesn’t see the tag and won’t allow it. Finally Black levels Richards with a kick to the head and makes the tag! Jay is all over all three opponents, sending them to the floor and wiping them out with a dive. Mark makes the blind tag and follows his brother out with a Moonsault. Back in the ring Mark hits Edwards with a cross body block for two. Mark hits the Iconoclasm for two. Edwards comes back with a sit-out F5 and then makes the tag. Hero starts throwing elbows and gets a two-count on Mark. After a few more elbows Mark makes the tag to Black. The champ hits the springboard lariat and a standing shooting star press for two. Black hits the running forearm I the corner and goes for Paroxysm but Hero blocks it. Hero hits a nasty belly to back suplex and makes the tag. Richards tries the handspring kick but Black blocks it and hits Paroxysm for two. They get up and trade strikes. Richards wins the battle and hits a German Suplex with a bridge for a near-fall. Black fights back and hits Richards with a superplex, and hangs on to deliver the F-5 for a two-count. Jay gets tagged in and looks for the Jay Driller but Richards blocks it. He gets a rollup for two and then a spinebuster for two. The Briscoes try the Doomsday Device but Hero pulls Mark off the apron. Meanwhile Richards locks Jay in a Texas Cloverleaf and Edwards locks Black in the Achilles Lock. Mark gets back in the ring and unleashes Kung Fu on Hero and the Wolves. Hero then locks Mark in the Stretch Plum. Eventually the submission holds dissipate and the brawl resumes. Jay gets triple-teamed, and action appears to be happening all over the place. Black hits Edwards with a Buckle Bomb and all six men are down. Hero and Jay are the first two to get back on their feet. The Briscoes are able to hit Hero with the Doomsday Device kind of out of nowhere to get the pin at 29:35. That maybe ran a little bit long but it was pretty action packed and it was kind of neat to have all four champions in one match.
Rating: ***½
The Briscoes and Black cut a brief promo after the mat, seeming to focus on the fact that Davey Richards has no belt to call his own.
Backstage, “Addicted to Love†Rhett Titus is mocking the man who he lost to tonight, “Skullcrusher†Rasche Brown. Unbeknownst to Titus, Brown sneaks up behind him and throws him out of the building, and then promises to break his neck in three tomorrow night in Toronto.
BONUS
– ROH Video Wire 3/15/10
– ROH Video Wire 3/23/10
The Pulse: There really isn’t anything that bad on the show, but there’s also nothing that really seems all that important in the grand scheme of things. The last two matches are good but not earth shattering, and they did a little bit of stuff with the Steen/Corino vs. Cabana/Generico feud, but nothing worth going out of your way to see. You can purchase the show right here if you’d like.
