This week is definitely a great week for you if you’re a fan of tag team wrestling. 2 excellent looking tag team matches are on this week’s card. We start off with a recap of the bloody fantastic (literally and figuratively) Tag Team Title match from Death Before Dishonor VIII. See it. Why haven’t you yet?! The recap is used to pimp our two big tag matches tonight. The Kings of Wrestling face the Dark City Fight Club in non-title action, and in the main event, Roderick Strong teams with Christopher Daniels against the American Wolves. Yes! Here comes the rush!
Your Hosts are, as always, Dave Prazak and Mike Hogewood.
**We send it right to the ring, where the Dark City Fight Club are making their way out. Good stuff!
**Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) (c) vs. Dark City Fight Club (Kory Chavis & Jon Davis) – Non-Title Match
Hagadorn and Del Rey have plaques with them that I don’t recognize. Hopefully Prazak will helpfully identify them. The KoW get a chant before we get started. Hero and Chavis start. Chavis takes control early with a shove, a bodyslam and mounted punches before Hero tags out. Davis tags in as well for the DCFC. Lockups go nowhere, and Prazak identifies the plaques as being from Pro Wrestling NOAH. Thank you, sir. Dueling shoulder blocks establish no advantage so Claudio hits the knee and turns a leapfrog into a backbreaker. Claudio is disgustingly strong. Davis catches a top rope crossbody into a powerslam for 2 and tags in Chavis. Davis showing off some strength himself, there. Claudio lands a couple strikes and brings in Hero who gets chopped and elbowed by Davis allowing Chavis to bring him in with the tag and the DCFC work a backbreaker/legdrop combo for 2. Hero tags out after a headbutt and Davis continues controlling over Claudio. Good story here so far. The Kings can’t stand and strike with the DCFC and will need to use their technically skills and cheating to take control. They do just that with Hagadorn breaking up a Hart Attack so the Kings can take over briefly. Claudio uses Del Rey as a shield allowing Hero to hit a baseball slide and the Kings take over in earnest on the floor. Claudio tags in as they double team Davis in the corner and Hero comes in again with a snapmare/senton combo for 1. Claudio in again and the double team corner charge; miscommunication sees Claudio deck Hero with the bicycle kick and Davis knocks down Claudio and brings in Chavis for the lukewarm tag. Typical stuff, clotheslines, backdrops, etc. Hero puts a stop to that only to eat a spinebuster bomb. Sit-out blue thunder driver for Chavis gets 2. The Hart Attack leg lariat they tried for earlier gets 2 as Davis tags in. Blind tag to Hero and Davis eats a big boot for 2 before Chavis saves. Claudio knocks down Chavis, pounced by Davis who eats a roaring forearm and the deathblow from Hero for TWO?! A little surprised by that, actually. Del Rey runs distraction, Hero loads up the elbow pad, and here come the Briscoes for the DQ.
Dark City Fight Club def. Kings of Wrestling via DQ (Briscoe-ference) in 8:02.
Well, all told it was a solid tag match. There wasn’t a significant time to build heat on the DCFC, but all told it made a simple, yet effective story about the Kings not necessarily being able to strike with everyone. I appreciate that. (**3/4)
**Post-match, the entire locker room is out to try to separate the teams, and the Kings beat feet towards the locker room as the Briscoes obliterate the nameless “security” staff, including an Awesome Bomb to the outside (onto 3-4 others) and a Jay Driller. Wow. Guess this isn’t over.
**We now get a recap of last week’s great Black vs. Generico main event, which was fantastic right up to the Steen interference and Kevin eating a superkick from the champ. This leads us to Kyle Durden hoping to get words with Tyler Black. Instead we get PRINCE NANA! We play the video of most (if not all) of the atrocities committed on Necro Butcher by The Embassy and it leads into the turn last week which last week was actually fairly well done, I thought. We come back to Nana dancing as Durden asks how? Nana says that Necro took Rasche Brown’s spot to be the new Crown Jewel, and continues to dance as we shoot it back to “ringside.”
**Daizee Haze vs. Jamilia Craft
So Daizee trained “Jumping” Jamilia Craft, and now Craft is getting her big shot–such as it is. She’s worked SHIMMER before, but this’ll be my first time seeing her. I hope I’m getting the spelling right as Craft doesn’t get a nameplate. Chain wrestling to start and Daizee takes control with the arm, but Craft rolls out and grabs a headlock. Daizee can’t send her off the ropes on the first or second tries. Takeover and Daizee reverses out into the hammerlock. Craft rolls out and back to the headlock. Daizee backs her into the corner and lays in a couple shoulders. Irish whip across and a dropkick as Daizee goes back to the armwork and a fujiwara armbar. Craft moves toward the ropes and Daizee lays in a couple knees and goes back to the armbar before Craft reaches the ropes. Arm wringer, short shoulder block and a divorce court follows, and now Daizee lays in a hammerlock seated abdominal stretch. Craft turns in and lays in an elbow and counters a bodyslam into an inverted DDT. Daizee recovers first, but we have a strike war which Craft gets the better of, Daizee reverses the whip but eats a diving clothesline and a spinning side slam for 2. Daizee comes back quickly though, hitting the heart punch and a tiger suplex for 3.
Daizee Haze def. Jamilia Craft via Tiger Suplex in 4:31
Felt a little dry, but it was technically solid. No real missed spots or anything. Plus, it gets an extra 1/2 star for ending with a non-botched tiger suplex. What can I say, I’m a sucker. And a quick check of ROH on HDNet’s Facebook says that I was spelling her name right all along. Sweet. (**1/2)
**We look back at Delirious’s return a couple weeks ago alongside Jerry Lynn, where they had a solid, if unspectacular match against the All-Night Express of Kenny King and Rhett Titus. True to form, this sets up a match for next week. Delirious, Jerry Lynn & Tyler Black vs. Austin Aries and the All-Night Express. Okay, I’m on board.
**A Christopher Daniels interview. I am on board with this. Daniels makes the claim that Davey Richards is ducking him. Works for me. Daniels says the partner tonight was his choice, and he chose Roderick Strong. However, with Strong’s mindset, I have to question the logic of that choice. But hey, it means a great tag match, I’m sure, so I’m on board. Daniels again drives home that he feels he is the best in the world.
**Now we get an ad for the next big weekend of shows, July 22nd-24th in Louisville, Collinsville & Chicago Ridge. Too bad I can’t get to any of them. If you live nearby, get there. Louisville and Chicago Ridge specifically both look ridiculous.
**The following message has been paid for by The Embassy. Shawn Daivari wants us to know that he still exists. Really that’s about all this did. Daivari could be a solid hand, but if he’s never around, what’s the point?
**The American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) vs. Christopher Daniels/Roderick Strong
And here’s the ring announcements for the main event at 8:30. That means a near 20 minute main event. Yes. Yes. And more yes. Separate ring announcements for Daniels and Strong. I approve. It gets over that Strong is out for number one and only number one. Or maybe I’m just reading too much into it. Davey Richards chant before the bell.
Daniels and Edwards start. Daniels grabs a quick headlock and Edwards powers out into a headlock of his own. Now we go into chain wrestling and a standoff.
Fun fact: Daniels was 1/2 of the first ROH Tag Team Champions. If you know who his partner was (without looking it up) leave it in the comments. First one gets a mention (or a plug if you so desire) next week.
Edwards mows down Daniels with a shoulderblock and a suplex for two. Daniels eats boot off an irish whip but comes back with a leg lariat before bringing in Strong who stomps away. Strong takes a swing at Richards but Edwards uses the opportunity to whip in Roderick to the corner who reverses and gets a pin com for 2. Dueling arm drags and stereo big boots lead to a standoff and applause. Damn fine sequence. Richards tags in and Daniels wants him some.
Daniels takes control with arm work and Richards counters with a fireman’s carry and an armlock. Daniels counters as well and hits a gorgeous arm drag and controls with the arm bar. Daniels counters Richards’s kick into a Malenko/Guerrero sequence, but that ends with Davey kicking Daniels’ head into the third row. Daniels responds with a forearm and it’s a shoving match. Daniels hits the shoulder tackle, but Edwards distracts Daniels and allows Davey to recover, and a double team elbow gets 1 as Edwards maintains control. Quick tags from the Wolves now as they start to focus on the knee of Daniels. Edwards eats boot on a charge, and Roderick gets the hot tag and just lays waste to the Wolves and hits a facewash on Edwards for 2. Daniels back in and hits a clothesline before tagging in Strong who hits a suplex for a near-fall.
Strong lays in the shoulders and lights up the chops in the corner before bringing Daniels back in. Eddie manages to make the tag to Richards but the story stays largely the same as the Wolves can’t get going. Just as I say that, Edwards distracts Strong and the Wolves take control. Davey tosses Strong to the outside and Edwards greets him with a bodyslam and rolls him back in. Both Wolves take their turns beating up Strong, until he’s able to hit a gordbuster on Richards and get the hot tag to Daniels, just as Edwards tags in. Daniels cleans house and hits the STO on Edwards for 2. High knee in the corner and Death Valley Driver get 2. Eddie reverses a corner whip but eats boot, and tosses Davey, but takes the enzugiri/big boot combo for 2. Richards hits a dragon screw on the second rope, and the Wolves kick out the good leg from under Daniels allowing Edwards to hook on the achilles lock. Davey adds a diving headbutt for good measure, just to be a dick.
Strong hits a kick on Richards, and a uranage backbreaker on Edwards allowing Daniels to tag him in cleanly. Now Davey and Roderick just take turns striking each other, until Strong hits the half-nelson backbreaker for 2. Richards misses a corner charge and takes an enzugiri and the double knee gut-buster for a long 2. Forearm and slap exchange in the center of the ring. Both men hit big boots and Davey takes over with kicks. Handspring enzugiri gets 2 for Richards. Strong counters the german suplex but eats a superkick from Edwards and they kick Strong down and Richards gets a spinning kick for 2, saved by Daniels. Strong backdrops out of the DR Driver and hits a kick to tag in Daniels who peppers with japs and hits the blue thunder driver for another long 2. Daniels calls for Angel’s Wings, reversed into the DR Driver, reversed into a short clothesline, ducked, Richards winds up hooking an ankle lock, but Daniels makes the ropes. Davey hits a couple more kicks, but Daniels starts answering, and it’s a forearm war, until Davey kicks low, but Daniels comes back with palm strikes and takes the alarm clock, but is able to hit a uranage slam. He goes for the B.M.E. but Edwards stops him. Strong hits a plancha to take out Edwards. Davey hits a top rope release german that I’m shocked didn’t break Daniels’ neck and that’s enough for 3.
American Wolves def. Christopher Daniels/Roderick Strong via top rope release german suplex (Richards pins Daniels) in 18:46 (****)
Two weeks, two fantastic main events, back to back. Just a great tag team match, and Daniels being the recipient of the heat segments as the face in peril works great, as his selling is second-to-none and he can put together a hell of a match. Just great stuff all around, and I continue to want more and more Christopher Daniels in ROH.
**Post match, Roderick is upset with Daniels for failing him, apparently. Um. To be fair, Daniels chose you. So technically, you let him down. But I see where they’re going with it. The two men argue as we fade out on another Death Before Dishonor VIII commercial.
Let’s add up the numbers. On a 50+ minute show, there was 31:19 of wrestling, and pretty much all of it was good/great. I’m not as excited for the six-man next week, but given enough time, trios matches can be a blast, so here’s hoping. The string of really great shows continues, and ROH is on a roll coming out of Death Before Dishonor. Would have liked to have seen more Kevin Steen, but hey, that’s a minor complaint at best.
As always, thanks for reading, never hesitate to hit me up with any comments questions or anything else and I hope to see everyone next week!
