1. Maybe I missed the explanation, but why did Prince Nana stop Necro Butcher from bringing a chair into the ring? Did the stipulation that all of Necro’s matches are to be contested under Butcher’s Rules get pulled? It’d make perfect sense from a storyline standpoint if that was the case, but it’s something that should be at least pointed out on commentary.
2. The crowd was as hot for the TV Title match, and Eddie Edwards in particular, as I’ve seen an HDNet crowd get for an opener in quite a while. That is a credit to Edwards, who in my opinion shares 2010’s ROH Breakout Wrestler of the Year Award with Kevin Steen.
3. Pretty decent opener. Necro and Edwards told a simple story (Necro needed to take the action to the outside to gain the upper hand, but within the confines of the ring, Edwards was clearly the superior technician), and Edwards got as good a straight-up match as anyone not called Samoa Joe is likely to get from Necro.
4. The Kings of Wrestling definitely have the Midas Touch right now, and tonight’s promo was their usual solid work. It’s hard to argue with Chris Hero’s claim that no teams have proven themselves worthy of getting a shot at the tag titles. I also liked that it transitioned logically into a match between two young teams seeking to prove themselves.
5. I’m on the fence regarding ROH’s decision to bring in Kyle O’Reilly and Adam Cole as a tag team, instead of as singles wrestlers. On one hand, it would make sense to try to elevate a team like Cheech & Cloudy or the Super Smash Brothers and add these guys to your singles division. On the other hand, the time available for all of ROH’s singles wrestlers is limited as it is, and it may be easier to get O’Reilly and Cole over like this than to try to find enough TV time for each guy individually.
6. O’Reilly and Cole had a perfectly acceptable HDNet debut. It’s apparent they’ve at least taken the time to plan out some tandem offense, and I thought O’Reilly looked particularly crisp. I think that he, as a newcomer, would have been a better choice for the first “Trial Series” than Andy “Right Leg” Ridge.
7. I think Homicide claiming Cornette is trying to screw him out of a title shot based on their past history (see 2006) would have been a nice angle, had ROH not rushed it. Homicide has not even been back in ROH for two full months. Why would he have a legitimate claim to a title shot? If he’d built a case for one, only to have Cornette repeatedly pass him over, then you have a good storyline.
8. I haven’t seen every Kings of Wrestling match there is to see, so maybe I’m wrong, but it appears that they bust out one or two new double-team moves every time they go out there. They really can’t do much wrong in my book right now.
9. Solid main event. The Dark City Fight Club certainly have a ceiling when it comes to match quality, and the Kings of Wrestling, not surprisingly, got them pretty close to it. The Kings going over also makes sense, as they continue to look so dominant that it is going to seem like a REALLY big deal when someone finally dethrones them. At this point, I don’t think ROH even knows who that’s going to be (and there should be no rush anyway), but some team could get a huge boost down the line.
10. Another entertaining hour of wrestling from ROH. The three matches ranged between decent and good, and all the promo work was well-done, Homicide’s logic gap (or a rushed angle . . . you decide) aside. Nothing about this show blew me away, but it was very enjoyable.
