This week on ROH on HDNet features what should be two strong matches, featuring Davey Richards taking on Erick Stevens, and Eddie Edwards defending the ROH World TV Title against Colt Cabana. The exclusive preview on ROHwrestling.com promises El Generico vs. Bobby Shields, in something that…well…should likely be short. I don’t have a lot of wit to offer because I’m doing this on my wife’s computer and I’m struggling to cobble something together without having my usual template to go off of.
Reading is FUNdamental
*Ricardo Rochetti is off this week, so I’ll also be taking care of this week’s 10 Thoughts. Nevertheless, he is awesome.
*Pulse Glazer‘s Monday Morning Backlash looks at the TNA treatment of Jeff Hardy and Samoa Joe.
*David Roberts checks in with his DR. TNA column, looking at the Ken Anderson, Jeff Hardy, Matt Morgan issue.
*Raffi Shamir weighs in with a discussion of the Edge/Kane feud on SmackDown.
*And finally, Mark Allen checks in with the goings-on This Week In The E, and the crowning of the 2010 King of the Ring.
*There is no beer sponsor for this week’s ROH on HDNet, mostly because I haven’t been shopping. Since I don’t know that any of you actually have access to any of the beers I recommend, I don’t know that this will even be missed. Nevertheless, the show must go on.
**We open on the ring with Mike Bennett and “Brutal†Bob Evans showing their tickets quite clearly and taking their front row seats. Apparently we’re going to open with our TV Title match, and it’s now!
HERE COMES THE RUSH!
**After the intro, we plug the main event tonight, where Davey Richards takes on Erick Stevens. From there, it’s literally, directly in the ring! No entrances, just the ring announcements.
Eddie Edwards(c) vs. Colt Cabana – ROH World TV Title Match
Fifteen minute time limit given for this. Hopefully that will become the norm. The clock helpfully appears in the corner.
This is technically Colt’s 3rd shot, if you count their meeting in the TV Title tournament. Colt grabs a wristlock to start, and Edwards reverses and Colt goes with the european reversal into a folding press for 2. Colt gets back up and they pursue a knuckle lock, with a wrestling sequence ending in Edwards locking in the Achilles Lock, but too close to the ropes. Meanwhile, we’ve cut to Bennett in the crowd, getting advice from Evans. Back in the ring, Edwards grabs a side headlock and takes Cabana over putting him in a near fall situation. Edwards wrestles around into a front facelock that Cabana escapes with a headstand and segues into a hammerlock and as Edwards escapes, the two jockey into another Edwards front face lock. Very amateur feel so far, as Edwards grabs a side headlock. Cabana shoots him off, and the shoulder block takes Edwards down. Cabana grabs an odd cross legged boston crab variant, but Edwards reaches the ropes.
Back up now, the two circle and lock up again, and Cabana grabs a side headlock into an arm wringer. Edwards reverses a whip and chops Cabana, who responds. The two trade strikes, and Edwards quickness allows him to hit a dragon screw variant and a running knee to the chest for 2. Cabana blocks a corner charge with an elbow and backdrops Edwards to the outside, but slingshots over the top rope, sending Cabana outside and following with a suicide dive. Back in, Eddie adds a top rope missile dropkick for 2. Edwards lays in the chops and follows with a headbutt, but Cabana cuts off a charge with a shot to the midsection, and catches Eddie with a cradle facebuster into a northern lariat. Series of pin sequences ends in dueling small packages rolling about the ring. Edwards however charges into a butt-butt off of that for 2. Cabana locks in a sort of seated octopus variant, dead center of the ring, but Edwards counters into a roll up for 2, and Cabana reverses for 2 as well off the escape. Cabana goes for the Flying “Apple,†but Edwards counters with a running knee strike.
As they make it to their feet, they start exchanging slaps into fists into elbows into chops. Edwards lays in several and whips Cabana off only to get met with a series of jabs into the bionic elbow. Colt is fired up and sends Edwards into the corner and follows with the Flying “Apple,†but Edwards counters the lariat with a superkick, but Cabana answers with a clothesline and goes up top for the moonsault for a long 2. Cabana throws a couple punches and a bell ringer, and gets 2. Cabana throws a couple of short rights followed by a short clothesline for 2, and starts showing some frustration. He picks up Edwards and goes for the Colt 45, but Edwards escapes, and the two go into the Malenko-Guerrero sequence—or something like it—and it ends with Edwards getting 2 off La Majistral. Edwards charges into a boot in the corner, but answers with a leaping enzugiri, and hits the backpack stunner for 2. Edwards goes up top but meets boots off a dive. Cabana charges, but Edwards counters with a quick go-behind and a bridging O’Connor Roll for the 3 count!
Eddie Edwards def. Colt Cabana in 14:01 via O’Connor Roll.
One of the better TV Title matches yet, and a very strong opener. Cabana let it hang out with some submission work and even a little more high flying than we’re used to seeing from him. Given that he was just signed to wrestle TJ Perkins at Final Battle, hopefully this is a more serious Cabana as a wrestler, who’ll keep vestiges of the existing character. Match was strong, and I love him but, hey, Eddie didn’t hurt himself, so that’s good for something. (***)
**Post match, Bennett hops the barricade and applauds both men. He extends his hand to Eddie but pulls it back at the last moment and walks out.
**After that, we cut to an interview with Christopher Daniels, who is now officially a full-time roster member. Daniels is going to show the world how good he really is. Solid interview from Daniels as always.
**Back in the ring, Kyle Durden with Kevin Steen and Steve Corino. Steen takes the mic and talks to the mask in his hand as though it is, in fact, El Generico. Durden for his part looks confused and concerned and Corino helpfully gestures that Steen has lost it. Steen recaps the events of the last two times in New York City, at Final Battle 2009 and Glory By Honor IX. Steen recaps the stakes and says that this will be the last time. Ever. He throws the mask down in disgust.
**Now we go to pimp the women’s dream partner tag match at Final Battle. The graphic screws up (I think?) and announces Amazing Kong as Daizee Haze’s partner. This segues into interviews with both Haze and Del Rey discussing the rivalry between them (which Del Rey claims doesn’t exist, as she says she’s dominated).
El Generico vs. Bobby Shields
Shields jumps Generico off the bell and tries to press his advantage in the corner with a jawbreaker. Generico stops that quickly with a t-bone suplex into the corner and the running yakuza kick. He props Shields up and hits another one. Generico calmly picks up Shields and drills him with a brainbuster for the pin.
El Generico def. Bobby Shields in 1:10 via Brainbuster.
Well…that was short. Really, that’s about all that can be said. (*)
**After the match, Generico sees the Steen shirt with the bloody Generico head laying on the timekeeper’s table. He throws it into the ring with a chair and props the shirt over the open chair and brainbusters Shields through it!
**Back in the ring, apparently we’ve got Shane Hagadorn, the Kings of Wrestling and a faceless enhancement talent/student. Hero says that he has arranged for a Kings of Wrestling public workout with Blaine Rage (I believe). Claudio will officiate (Starbucks cup in hand, naturally). Hero bullies Rage into complying with “the rules.†Apparently these come into effect when Rage grabs a waistlock off a collar and elbow tie-up. Apparently Rage is not allowed to get any offense in. Or so I’m guessing. And Hagadorn goes for the worst go-behind ever and a waistlock suplex. After another minute or so of this, Rage finally gets sick of it and fights back, prompting the Kings to double team him and hit the KRS-1. Hero instructs Hagadorn to “give him the business,†and Hagadorn adds an elbow drop for a 3 count. That was just painful. I refuse to look at that as a match.
**Backstage, Kyle Durden—with Roderick Strong and Truth Martini—announces that next week, Roderick Strong will take on Austin Aries. Yes. Yes, yes yes. I am on board. Truth denies that Aries is the greatest wrestler in the world, as the title is Roderick’s. He further denies that Aries is the greatest manager that’s ever lived, now that we’ve met Truth Martini. Strong says that he’s earned all of it and isn’t happy that Aries looks to downplay what he’s done. Solid contribution from Strong and Truth was good as well. But really, they didn’t need to do much to make me want to see Strong vs. Aries.
Erick Stevens (w/ Prince Nana & Mr. Ernesto Osiris) vs. Davey Richards
As I recall, these two had one or two pretty solid matches during the No Remorse Corps vs. The Resilience days. The story also went, I believe, that Richards was responsible for injuring Stevens’ shoulder and putting him out of action for awhile. We’ll see if anyone mentions it.
Lockup, as Philly informs Nana that he sucks. Davey grabs a wristlock and wrings away. Stevens counters into a top wristlock and takes down Davey, who kips up and cartwheels into a dropkick, and follows it up with an armdrag. Davey wrings away on the arm and grabs a side headlock. Stevens shoots him off into a shoulderblock and no one moves. Davey charges again and no one moves. Stevens piefaces Davey but is able to counter the kick and take Davey down. Unfortunately that just pisses Davey off and he lands a series of strikes and kicks to take control. Stevens blocks a vertical suplex, but gets kicked in the chest and snap mared and kicked in the back with authority for 2. Stevens backs Davey into the ropes off a tie-up and throws some punches, but Davey regains control quickly and sends Stevens to the floor. Stevens dodges the baseball slide and runs Davey into the guardrail and the apron, before sending him back in.
Back in the ring, Stevens boot chokes Davey in the corner, and adds two shoulder blocks and a running shoulder block, but walks into a couple of shots to the midsection. Stevens clubs him down and hits locomotion knees to the midsection into the russian legsweep and a seated crucifix/abdominal stretch type combo. Davey fights back, but Stevens adds a couple shots to the back and just stands on the midsection as Davey is in the ropes. Back up, Davey throws a couple of weak body blows, but Stevens answers with two knees to the midsection to drop Davey again. Stevens hits the snap mare and the Embassy Elbow for 2. On the kickout, Stevens grabs a reverse bearhug (I still hate that move). Davey backs him up into a corner and throws two elbows to free himself. Stevens goes up to the second rope but Davey answers with a running high enzugiri and a big chop. Both men on the second rope now as they exchange forearms, slaps and Davey takes advantage with a series of headbutts and hits the superplex, putting both men down.
Davey is first to his feet, barely. Stevens throws elbows and Davey throws slaps, until Stevens whips Davey in only to get met with the handspring enzugiri for 2. Stevens counters the corner forearm charge with a backdrop to the apron, but Davey answers with a jumping enzugiri and a missile dropkick—after disposing of a would-be interfering Nana—and hits the corner forearm. Davey hits the Dynamite Kid headbutt for 2. Davey goes for the backdrop driver, but Stevens counters with elbows and gets met with a kick. Davey cuts him off with another before charging into Stevens’ lifting lariat. Stevens goes for the Doctor Bomb but thinks better of it and goes for the TKO. Davey slides off and a wrestling and counter sequence ends with Davey grabbing the ankle lock. Stevens escapes, but runs into the alarm clock, but then answers with a release german suplex. The Runaway Train connects, but Davey counters the lariat with a kick to the arm and a suplex. Series of counters leads to a discus lariat by Stevens for 2. Stevens goes for the Doctor Bomb, but Davey counters and rolls into the ankle lock again. Stevens goes to kick off again, but Davey counters it and turns it into a figure four grapevined ankle lock and Stevens has no choice but to tap!
Davey Richards def. Erick Stevens in 11:55 via ankle lock.
This match and the match with El Generico from a few weeks ago make me wonder why this company has nothing for Erick Stevens. He’s a solid hand to have around, and would be a great benefit to the TV Title division. This one was solid, Davey got in all his major stuff and still came off looking good, Stevens looked like a million bucks hanging with him, and I’m a happy guy. (***)
**Next week, on the final countdown to Final Battle 2010, we remind you that Roderick Strong will face Austin Aries. Be there!
**Let’s add up the numbers. On a 50+ minute show, there was 27:06 of wrestling. For a show that only had 2 real matches, that’s pretty impressive. The TV Title match to open was tremendous, the main event was quite solid, and reminded everybody that, yes, if given a chance, Erick Stevens can still go with the top guys. The public workout was a little ridiculous and a little insulting. Even that, though, featured the Kings of Wrestling being entertaining, so it was hard to complain. Hard to complain about a pretty good all-around show.
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!
