10 Thoughts on ROH on HDNet 07.12.2010 feat. Tyler Black, Roderick Strong, and The Necro Butcher

Reviews, Shows, TV Shows

1. Obviously, Necro Butcher’s Embassy debut on HDNet had to be a squash match to make him look strong, but did it have to open the show? I hate it when ROH deviates from its customary fun, fast-paced opener (although sadly, no match in this show fit that description, other than maybe the main event).

2. I am a little curious as to whether ROH is eventually going to address the fact that all of Necro’s matches are contested under “Butcher’s Rules”, since it obviously plays into the hands of The Embassy. I can see either Cornette just ending the stipulation, or continuing to put Necro in matches against tough opponents. Or there’s always Option C: ignore it. Seems to work for other wrestling promotions.

3. Eddie Edwards could really hit his stride in this dickhead heel role as the television champion. I just hope he didn’t hurt his shoulders and back carrying “Right Leg” tonight, given that it was obvious Edwards was having to consistently move himself into position to absorb Ridge’s sloppy offense.

4. Nice potshot by Aries at Cornette (something about an asshole with a tennis racket). They’ve had some nice interactions in the past, and I think some promo work between the two of them now that Aries is working as a manager could be pretty awesome.

5. I liked Rhett Titus mentioning that no one takes him seriously, but he has learned to put business ahead of pleasure. There has been a slight shift in Titus’ character in weeks past, and it is good to hear him acknowledge it on the air. Things like this will hopefully help him stay over on his own down the line.

6. Truth Martini’s introduction as Roderick Strong’s manager can’t have gone as well as ROH officials had planned. He even had the crowd chanting “boring!” Martini’s delivery is pretty awkward and the promo really wasn’t very good, but at least he is still better on the mic than Roderick Strong. And he makes me wish I had a book cover with my likeness on it.

7. That Louisville card is looking pretty “blah”. It’s understandable, considering they have Collinsville the next day and Chicago the day after that, so they couldn’t give away the farm on a Thursday night show. With that being the case, I wonder if there were just no other dates to run this show.

8. Hog does a terrible job of putting over wrestlers with his commentary, especially heel wrestlers. I don’t know why he thought saying Kenny King relies on athleticism and does not work on getting down the fundamentals is a good idea, especially when anyone with half a brain has noticed the strides King’s made this year.

9. Lackluster match tonight to end a lackluster show. The finishing sequence was pretty good and fast-paced, and Aries’ taunting of Delirious amused, but the body of the match itself was quite dull. I like all six guys involved in the match (in varying degrees), so even knowing that this was more about storyline advancement and less about putting on a kick-ass match, I still expected more.

10. Generally speaking, wrestling fans (at least those who are not mindless drones) will react positively to guys who are booked strongly and negatively to guys who are booked weakly. Keeping that in mind, the “Mr. Wrestling” chants that Kevin Steen received after piledriving Tyler Black tonight should surprise no one. I doubt they’ll pull the trigger on a title change in Chicago, but here’s hoping this won’t be Steen’s last crack at Black’s belt.