Welcome back to The Pulse, I am Kyle Sparks and, sorry ladies, I’m taken. Â Tonight on HDNet, El Generico and Kevin Steen take their feud to the next level as they–alongside Colt Cabana and Steve Corino respectively–climb into the hostile environment of the steel cage. Â But having been there for a couple of these live, don’t let them tell you it’s 15 feet high. Â It’s maybe 10. Â But where would wrestling be without exaggeration, right? Â Right?
Anyway…In other action, Eddie Edwards will defend the TV Title against “Addicted to Love” Rhett Titus, and the Women of Honor will get a showcase as newcomer Rachel Summerlyn will take on Sara Del Rey.
So that said, let’s just dive right into the plugs, shall we?
Reading is FUNdamental
*Ricardo Rochetti. ‘Nuff said.
*In all good conscience, most of the rest of the actual columns over the past week have been devoted to the Linda McMahon/US Senate/WWE ballyhoo. As that has nothing to do with my recap—and I greatly disagree with one of my cohorts—so as not to show favoritism, since I love my Pulse brethren, I’ll avoid plugs this week.
*In not having anything else, I’ll say that tonight’s beer of choice is Short’s Brewing Company’s Huma-Lupa-Licious IPA.
*Support local breweries, kids. Â But only if you’re over 21.
So now…on with the show. HERE COMES THE RUSH!
**We open with a video package detailing Shane Hagadorn getting dumped by both of the American Wolves in successive weeks. To his credit, Shane has turned into one hell of a heel manager. He’s still no Larry Sweeney, but he’s solid in his own right. The package culminates with Eddie Edwards coming to save Davey Richards from a 2-on-1 beatdown courtesy of the Kings of Wrestling, and from there we go right into the title sequence! Which still contains Rasche Brown, the Young Bucks and Tyler Black. Probably ought to do something about that…
**And we’re opening up going straight to the ring for a TV Title match! Interestingly, Bobby Cruise announces it as having a 30 minute time limit.  Wonder if that’ll come into play eventually…
Eddie Edwards(c) vs. “Addicted to Love” Rhett Titus – ROH World TV Title Match
Rick Rude–God rest his soul–likely approves of the giant lip print on the crotch of Titus’s trunks. Lockup goes nowhere, but a second one sees Edwards grab a wristlock; TItus reverses, and Edwards rolls into another reversal and grabs a side headlock. Edwards gets shot off the ropes, but goes under and grabs a waistlock. Wrestling sequence ends in a couple of legsweeps and a standoff. Titus slaps Edwards, who doesn’t take it kindly, and they wind up exchainging strikes. Titus surprisingly hangs with him, and whips him off the ropes but when he drops down, Eddie fires off a double stomp to the back and then another chop in the corner. Edwards hangs him out to dry on the top rope and lets loose a punt that would get him a job with the Patriots. Out to the ring apron, Edwards misses a charge into the ringpost, and Titus takes over control on the floor, running the shoulder into the post 2 more times. Titus rams the arm over the top of the barricade and rolls Edwards in, where he drops a knee on the shoulder and grabs a nice hammerlock. It’s been forever since I saw the hammerlock as an actual submission hold. Bravo.
Edwards fights to his feet and adds a couple of elbows and a snapmare, but charges into a boot. Titus hits the ropes but gets caught with a hurricanrana. Eddie meets boot on a corner charge, but recovers long enough to set up Titus for the backpack stunner; Titus counters and sends Edwards into the ropes to deliver a nice dropkick, and grabs a submission. Edwards counters to a nearfall for 2, but Titus recovers quickly to deliver a kick to the midsection. In a corner now, it appears Eddie is cut open as Titus sets him up top, possibly looking for the Super Sex Factor, but Edwards knocks him off into an unpleasant straddle of the top rope. Edwards scores with a top rope hurricanrana from there, and starts building the comeback. Edwards ducks his head early and meets a kick but counters a charge with a belly to belly release suplex, sending Titus to the floor, and follows it up with a suicide dive. Back in the ring, he covers Titus for the 3?!
Eddie Edwards def. Rhett Titus in 6:51 via Suicide Dive.
Now I remember. This was the match where Edwards cut his wrist open pretty badly on that dive. They had to rush into the finish there, but for that first seven minutes it was going to be a heck of a TV Title match. I love seeing this side of Titus, and I’d like to hope that there’ll be more coming.  If it lasted a little longer, the rating would be higher, but as it is… (**3/4)
**In the back, Colt Cabana and El Generico are prepared for tonight. Colt with a tremendous interview promising revenge for everything that’s happened. I wish I could do it justice. One of the best serious interviews he’s given in awhile.
**Coming up November 12th and 13th, ROH is in Dearborn, MI and Mississauga, ON, Canada. In Dearborn, ROH presents Survival of the Fittest 2010, and in Ontario, Roderick Strong defends the ROH World Title for the first time, against “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels. If you haven’t ever seen ROH live, take the chance. It’s a great time.
**This just in. The Briscoes and the Kings of Wrestling don’t like each other. I know. Try to contain your surprise.
Rachel Summerlyn vs. Sara Del Rey (w/ Shane Hagadorn, Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli )
As I recall, Rachel had a decent debut on HDNet a month or two ago–which Mike Hogewood quickly confirms. As she’s in the ring…GOOD LORD, THAT’S DANIEL BRYAN’S MUSIC…no, wait. It’s just Sara Del Rey. My mistake.
Del Rey piefaces Summerlyn, but as she fights back, Del Rey quickly puts a stop to that with a kick and a series of forearms. Del Rey counters a boot in the corner with an elbow, and adds a yakuza kick for 2. Del Rey hangs up Summerlyn in the ropes and just kicks away. Right to the areola! Okay, that was inappropriate. I apologize. Hero comiserates that he’s in pain just watching it.
Back in the ring, Del Rey gets 2 from the salvo, then locks in a version of the butterfly lock, but as Summerlyn is about to escape, kicks to the hamstring. Del Rey misses a coppo kick in the corner, and Summerlyn hits a fisherman neckbreaker for 2. Back up, Del Rey adds another series of kicks and grabs a leglock for the submission.
Sara Del Rey def. Rachel Summerlyn in 2:39 via Leglock.
Well that was…short. If they’re positing that she needs more competition, they can’t make Summerlyn look like too much of a threat, and she certainly didn’t here. (*3/4)
**Post match, Sara Del Rey demands better competition. Paging Awesome Kong…paging Awesome Kong…
**Back at The Arena, a video package detailing the Double Chain Match at Glory By Honor IX, which culminated with Kevin Steen unmasking El Generico. Steen’s promo talking to the mask was a thing of beauty. The package ends with Steen and Corino quitting ROH some two weeks ago, and Jim Cornette’s announcement that he still controls their contracts and setting up tonight’s cage match, which is up RIGHT NOW!
Colt Cabana & El Generico vs. Kevin Steen & Steve Corino – Steel Cage Match
Interestingly, Colt and Generico come out separately. Colt charges Corino on the floor like an idiot and gets the door opened into his face by Steen. Generico rushes Corino and hits the yakuza kick against the guardrail, but Steen comes out to break it up, and they’ve paired off now, Steen with Generico and Corino with Cabana. Steen decks Generico and tosses him into the ring, and now all four men are in. Todd Sinclair locks the door up and now Steen takes the key and tucks it…well…up his trunks. The distraction allows the faces to take control and run Steen and Corino into each other. Steen and Corino block rams into the cage, so Colt and Generico charge to opposite sides of the ring to lay in blows. The face team whips both Steen then Corino corner to corner, but both men dodge a running Yakuza Kick, and after some Cabana acrobatics, Generico hits a big high cross body onto both men. Cabana lays in the bionic elbows as Generico runs Steen into the cage. Generico and Cabana then run him into the other side. Corino recovers in a corner and takes advantage momentarily, but Cabana dodges a charge, sending Corino into the cage as well, adding an elbow for good measure. The faces ram Corino to the steel now. This is going almost too fast to keep up with, as the faces ram Corino into the cage again, and now a double team javelin into the cage. Corino is already cut open, and he meets the cage again as Steen is slowly recovering. Steen attacks, but Generico blocks a kick and lays in some chops. In opposite corners, Generico lays in 10 punches to Steen as Cabana does the same to Corino. Steen recovers, however, and powerbombs Generico into 2 sides of the cage and then drops him powerbomb style in the center of the ring.
Meanwhile, Cabana is still getting the best of Corino int he other corner, but Steen attacks and catches Cabana with a slingshot into a Corino superkick. Back on the other side, Steen rubs Generico’s face into the cage and then adds a boot choke. Corino meanwhile hits a running chop on Cabana, and Steen drops him down and just tears away at Cabana’s face. Corino whips Generico corner to corner and adds a running chop which Steen follows with a roundhouse right. Steen drills Generico with the Steenalizer as Corino taunts half the front row. Cabana now trying to fight back stuns Corino and starts making headway with Steen. Cabana tries to climb the cage, but both heels catch him, and just ram him into the top of the cage, but as he falls, he crotches Steen and Corino, allowing Generico to add a running dropkick to both men into the cage. Generico scores with his Lucha DDT on Corino and hits a Michinoku Driver for 2 on Steen. Cabana catches Corino in a lift, and Generico adds a running Yakuza kick, allowing Cabana to transition to the Billy Goat’s Curse until Steen makes the save. Generico scores with an overhead exploder suplex on Steen into the turnbuckle, but charges into a superkick from Steen. Cabana moonsaults off the top rope onto Steen, Corino scores with a lariat on Cabana, Generico hits a half nelson suplex on Corino, and then hits Yakuza kicks on Steen and Corino in two corners. Generico goes up for the splash on Corino, but Colt stops him and tells him to go higher. Meanwhile, Steen recovers, and shoves Cabana into the cage twice to knock Generico down to the floor outside. Steen shows off the key to Generico who is going ballistic on the outside as Corino produces a fork. Cabana is able to get it, and use it on Corino, but Steen decks Cabana with a piece of turnbuckle steel to disarm him. Steen forks Cabana, and locks in a crossface with the turnbuckle as Corino digs in with the fork! Todd Sinclair is forced to call for the bell!
Kevin Steen(W) & Steve Corino def. Colt Cabana(L) & El Generico in 13:22 via Referee Stoppage.
Solid cage match, but truth be told, I kind of expected better. I don’t want to come off as sounding ungrateful because these guys put themselves through hell for us as fans, but it just felt like a nondescript brawl. Still good stuff, but not great. (***)
**Post match, both men continue to taunt Generico who is swinging away at the side of the cage with a chair. Eventually, Generico runs to the back, and just as Steen and Corino unlock the cage and go to leave, Generico returns with bolt cutters. A little too late there, champ. As Cabana recovers, Generico appears to be losing it. It appears Steen has finally pushed Generico over the edge. How will the masked man respond? Stay tuned to Nitro! Drink Surge! Sorry…I don’t know where that came from…
**Next week on ROH on HDNet: The Kings of Wrestling against the Dark City Fight Club, and Eddie Edwards defends the TV Title against the Necro Butcher! Can you say “style clash,” kids? I knew you could. But next week…HOMICIDE makes his HDNet debut! Should be good stuff; I know I’ll be here. Will you?
**Let’s add up the numbers. On a 50+ minute show, there was 22:52 of wrestling. Â A solid TV Title match, that probably could/should have gone longer than it did, a solid cage match that advances an angle in anticipation of Final Battle 2010, and next week continues the trend of quality TV, with a couple of quality matches on tap and the return of Homicide. Â If you can find it, the TV Title match is worth a look to see a more serious side of Rhett Titus, but the rest is pretty nondescript.
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!
