The Glimpse:
Supercard of Honor VII is upon us – All three ROH titles will be defended tonight and we may learn why World Champion Kevin Steen seems to be at odds with SCUM.
Follow along here all night for live results, impacts and thoughts courtesy of yours truly and Pulse Wrestling.
The Action:
Match 1: ACH and Tadarius Thomas vs QT Marshall and RD Evans
Winners: ACH and Tadarius Thomas via pinfall
Evans runs his mouth and announces himself as Marshall’s partner. Evans cheats his way into a headlock and plays up his usual Chikara goofiness shtick. He gets a Charlie horse and then tags in QT who gets bounced around by the opponents, before landing a boot and tagging Evans back in – TD proceeds to use Evans’ foot as a weapon against QT and gets a two count. Marshall blasts TD with a clothesline after taking out ACH and Evans gets a two.. Marshall back in to lay into Thomas. Evans’ turn to deliver a gutbuster for another two before tagging Marshall back in for some double team offense. TD fights his way out and finally tags in ACH who runs roughshod, landing Ready or Not to both men in the corner and putting on a Giant Swing Cloverleaf on Evans, which is broken up by Marshall.
ACH tosses both men to the floor and lands a baseball slide on Evans and Air Jordan on Marshall. Evans tries to deliver a plancha of his own and ends up hitting QT. TD wipes everyone out with a handspring moonsault on the floor. Evans delivers a reverse Styles Clash back in the ring for a very near fall. TD breaks up a finish attempt allowing a flurry of kicks from TD and ACH’s Big Bang Attack (cradle DDT) for the win.
Shelton Benjamin shows up even though Haas is not around for their scheduled match. Benjamin says it’s a shame he doesn’t have a match tonight and calls in crowd favorite crew member Cheeseburger. Shelton calls for a round of applause for Cheeseburger standing up to Haas previously. Cue Mike Bennett’s music and himself, Bob Evans and of course, Maria. Bennett tells the crowd, who seems happy to see him, to shut up. Bennett touts himself as the greatest thing ever and mocks Cheeseburger. Cheeseburger swipes the mic and insults the trio, then gets KO’d as Shelton takes a shot at Bennett.
Match 2: Shelton Benjamin vs Mike Bennett
Winner: Mike Bennett via pinfall
Benjamin tosses Bennett about on the floor and Maria runs away. Huge back body drop back in the ring and Shelton takes control early with a huge double stomp out of the corner for two. Bennett blocks a powerbomb attempt and they trade forearms, ending in Bennett landing a spinebuster. Maria gives Bennett a quick shoulder rub as he gloats before he lays boots to Shelton. Into a chinlock (practicing for that eventual WWE contract?). Benjamin begins to fight back and hits a T-bone suplex for two. Bennett blocks Paydirt and hits the Box Office Smash for a very near fall. Bennett hits a knee in the corner and mocks CM Punk, but Benjamin counters a GTS into a half crab mid-ring. Maria hops on the apron and Brutal Bob levels Benjamin with a diving shoulder block. Bennett heads to the top rope for a guillotine leg drop, but panders to the crowd by canoodling with Maria. He gets a Dragon Whip from Shelton for his troubles and Maria hasn’t stopped sexy dancing, winding up grinding on Shelton. Bennett tries to boot Shelton and tags Maria instead, then he walks into a superkick and a German suplex for a very very near fall. Benjamin now with a big belly to back suplex, then gets tossed to the apron. Benjamin tries a sunset flip from the apron, but Bennett sits down and gets leverage from Brutal Bob to steal it.
Match 3: Jay Lethal vs Michael Elgin, ROH World Title #1 Contender’s Match
Winner: Michael Elgin via pinfall
Gotta predict a Lethal win here considering how things have gone for both men recently. Feeling out process for the men at the start with Elgin showing he’s the stronger man. Pinning combinations are exchanged and both men want finishers but both avoid it. Lethal counters out of the corner with a second rope leg lariat for an early near fall. Lethal wants a ‘rana and doesn’t quite make it and the men make a smooth transition to a Boston Crab spot instead. Lethal gets the upper hand and hits the hiptoss/dropkick combo for two again. Elgin catches a boot off the ropes and Lethal dives into a powerslam from the apron for two. Elgin holds Lethal in a vertical suplex for a count of about 30 from the crowd and gets two. Elgin sets up for a powerbomb and Lethal flips out, but ends up in a Crossface. Lethal gets the ropes with his foot to break it up.
Elgin catches an enzuigiri on the ropes and Lethal takes flight with a suicide dive, then another – Elgin pops up on the apron and gets a triangle jump dropkick and a third dive for his troubles. Lethal readies and hits a springboard dropkick. Next is a forearm and a DVD, leaving Elgin prone. Lethal heads to the top and gets a “Randy Savage” chant. Elgin cuts him off and wants a superplex, which Lethal fights out of. Elgin follows up with a running boot to knock Lethal down. Elgin follows up with a deadlift superplex but Lethal is out at two. Botth men rise at the same time, ready to fight it out. Bomb right hands back and forth and Elgin gets the upperhand and hits corner clotheslines and a Bossman slam for another near fall. Lethal drives Elgin to the corner, but he hits a spinning elbow and a German suplex into the top turnbuckle. Elgin wants the twisting senton but Lethal gets knees up. Lethal wants to fly again but Elgin runs under, only to run into a flatliner and the Koji Clutch. Elgin’s turn to break it up with the bottom rope. Lethal wants the Injection, but Elgin blocks and they roll through multiple times. Elgin hits the bucklebomb and they exchange multiple superkicks, ending in Elgin hitting a ripcord lariat. Back to the buckle bomb but Lethal counters into a reverse ‘rana. Lethal hits the Injection and Elgin pops up, walking into the Lethal Combination and Hail to the King, but it’s still only good for two!
Lethal elevates Elgin to the top rope and ends up jumping himself into a super Elginbomb, followed by a vicious backhand, a third buckle bomb and a final Elginbomb to put Lethal away.
SCUM hits the ring and assaults both men as Steve Corino mocks them, demanding the ROH faithful to come out.
Match 4: ROH vs SCUM
Winners: SCUM
Wouldn’t expect too much rule following in this one – It’s going to be an all out war. Seltzer and Corino go to war on the mics.
Rave and Mondo final end up in the ring for some semblance of a match. Rhino tags in and corners Mondo. Titus’ turn to boot away at Mondo and rough him up. Jacobs takes his turn now as Mondo remains isolated. Jacobs wants a suplex but Mondo turns it around; Titus gets in and stops Mondo from making a tag. Seltzer and Corino keep going at it and Seltzer is made to look like a total goofball. Compton tags in and beats on Mondo a bit, then Jimmy Rave comes back in. Mondo goes to the wrong corner then rolls to his, tagging in Whitmer. C&C hit stereo dives to the outside and Mark Briscoe lands a missile dropkick and dive. Whitmer lands an exploder and all the men in the match hit signature moves back and forth ending in Whitmer cornering Rave with chops and a suicide dive out of the corner.
Corino roughs up Seltzer and tosses him to the barricade, then gets thrown into the ring by Whitmer, which allows Jacobs and Rhino to jump him from behind. Mondo makes his way back in and BJJ Whitmer gets handcuffed to the bottom rope. Mondo gets powder to the eyes and more shenanigans in the ring. Rave takes a crucifix piledriver (no, really) and Rhino lands a Gore on Coleman to cinch it.
Intermission
Review of Jay Briscoe’s chances against Xavier, Samoa Joe, Morishima, Nigel McGuinness and Roderick Strong for the ROH title – A ton of time is spent on this. It’s hard to not believe that Jay might pull it out tonight and bring the power back to ROH by defeating Steen.
Match 5: Roderick Strong vs “Machinegun” Karl Anderson
Winner: “Machinegun” Karl Anderson
Anderson takes the early advantage and Strong doesn’t get high enough on a leapfrog, but recovers with a leg lariat. Big chops from Roddy and a low dropkick from Anderson to take control back. Anderson hops onto the fan side of the barricade and lands elbows to the back of the head. Anderson wants an Ace Cutter on the barricade but Roddy counters and hits a gordbuster on it himself. Strong rolls him back and strings Anderson up in the corner for a running knee to the face and a forearm, followed by an Olympic slam for two. Chops back and forth and a strike exchange out of the corner ends in a spinebuster from Anderson for two.
Roddy rolls out of Anderson’s next offense and lands a lower superkick for a two of his own. Roddy wants the Stronghold, but Anderson fights away and gets on the apron. Forearms back and forth on the apron and Anderson blocks the belly to back on the apron, landing a bicycle kick. Anderson heads to the top for a diving neckbreaker, only getting two. Anderson follows with a huge sitout powerbomb and Roddy kicks out again. Anderson wants a powerslam, but Roddy fights down and hits the Sickkick and Death by Roderick, followed by a second Sickkick, still only good for two. Another exchange of boots and knees ends in Machinegun hitting a belly to belly piledriver for another two. Anderson wants the Ace Crusher but Roddy counters twice, falling victim to it the third time.
Match 6: Adam Cole vs Matt Hardy vs Matt Taven (c), ROH TV Title
Winner: Matt Taven via pinfall
Taven and Truth enter with yet another Hoopla Hottie and put on quite the display. Ring of Honor, if you want to get picked up more widely, this needs to stop immediately. It adds nothing and is absolutely not garnering you extra followers, fans or ad revenue. Bad. Bad, ROH.
Corino gives Hardy a minutes-long introduction, which in the case of SCUM is quite alright.
Cole immediately pounces on Hardy and Taven just observes before going on the offensive. Cole hits a dive on Hardy and a kick to Taven from the floor. Cole runs Hardy into the barricades multiple times before Taven lands a kick to head of Cole on the apron. Taven follows up with a dive on both challengers. Taven hits a backbreaker and Nigel McGuinness is given an unwanted lap dance by the Hoopla Hottie. In the interim, Hardy takes control and lands his signature second rope leg drop for two on Cole. Cole absorbs shots from Hardy and lands a clothesline, then drops Taven and hits a shining wizard on Hardy for two. Hardy runs into a neckbreaker onto the knee of Cole and winds up in the Figure Four. Taven takes to the top rope and lands a splash on Cole to break it up. Hardy wants a Twist of Fate on Taven, but Cole lands a neckbreaker on Hardy, driving Taven down for a DDT in the process. Taven counters a suplex attempt and Hardy drops Taven now, resulting in a Russian leg sweep to Cole. Hardy pins both and they both kick out. Hardy runs into a superkick and gets cradled by Taven for two. Cole lands a brainbuster on his knee to Taven for another nearfall.
Cole fights with Hardy on the top rope and ends up hanging in the Tree of Woe while Taven hops up – The result is a tower of doom with Hardy taking a superplex and Taven taking a spider German suplex. Nobody gets pinned as a result but Cole is first to his feet. Hardy hits the Side Effect on Cole who stays alive. Taven tries the Beautiful Disaster but whiffs and takes a Twist of Fate. Martini hops on the apron to distract and in the mess, Cole pays Hardy back for Final Battle with a low blow and a small package to eliminate him.
Cole stalks Taven and Corino enters the ring offering a handshake. Cole falls for the distraction and after being kicked into Corino after a roll up walks into Taven’s bulldog DDT for the win.
Match 7: American Wolves vs ReDRagon (c), ROH Tag Team Champsionship
Winners: ReDRagon via pinfall
Richards and O’Reilly start if off and Davey hits a back kick to the gut. Quick exchange between them and then Edwards and Fish tag in. They have their own exchange before Richards tags back in for a quick attack then Edwards is back in for chops and kicks to fish. O’Reilly gets booted to the floor but recovers quickly to tag back in and deliver kicks to Edwards. Edwards slaps O’Reilly and tags in Richards who locks in the arm trap Cloverleaf. Fish can’t control himself and the ref pays him attention, allowing Edwards to pull on Richards for more leverage. Fish ends up tagged back in and lands a senton from the apron then a snap suplex. O’Reilly tags back in and lands sliding knee strikes for a two count. Richards locks in a surfboard on the mat but Fish breaks it up (thank you for not doing the usual reverse spot!)
Fish tags back in to keep the pressure on Richards who begins to fight out of the corner but gets cut off. Edwards gets the hot tag and knocks down O’Reilly then chops Fish in the corner. Edwards hits a huge flurry ending in a fisherman buster for two on Fish. ReDRagon tries to doubleteam Edwards but he low bridges them to the apron and the Wolves hit tandem knees which are answered with tandem forearms. ReDRagon ends up back on the floor and take tandem dives. Edwards and Fish are back in the ring and the Wolf delivers a powerslam. Richards comes in and ReDRagon get the advantage, throwing both Wolves to the floor and each hitting their own dive – Fish over the top rope and O’Reilly with a missile dropkick.
Fish and O’Reilly hit kicks on Edwards for a near fall. O’Reilly tags back in for a snapmare and knee drop, then Fish is back in. Edwards fights his way back and ends up dropping O’Reilly on Fish. Richards tags in and heads to the top to missile dropkick both men. Richards delivers kicks in the corner to both opponents. O’Reilly lands a bicycle kick but takes a German suplex for his efforts for a near fall. Combination of moves from the Wolves for another two. O’Reilly unleashes a flurry on both Wolves and catches the foot of Richards on the Alarm Clock, resulting in a double dragon screw. Richards tries the Ankle Lock and it’s broken up, then he tries the Trailer Hitch. Fish tries to break it as well but Richards keeps it locked on. Richards trips Fish and locks in the Ankle Lock holding down both members who get to the ropes. Richards kicks the chest of O’Reilly who fights back. Insanely fast exchange between all four men including a superkick from Edwards to Richards and too much to even accurately track.
Richards tags Edwards but the ref didn’t see it, leaving the winded Wolf to be beaten by both members of ReDRagon. ReDRagon fights back and hits Davey’s own Alarm Clock on him, then O’Reilly hits a Regalplex for a very very near fall. Richards disposes of Fish and rallies the crowd, then meets O’Reilly on the top rope for a superplex. Fish and Edwards join the party and Edwards hits a Frankensteiner on Fish followed by Richards hitting a superplex, followed by Chasing the Dragon which O’Reilly kicks out of. Double doublestomp from the Wolves and O’Reilly STILL kicks out. Wolves want the powerbomb/backstabber combo but Fish stops it from the floor. O’Reilly counters with a reverse hurricanrana and after a roll up attempt, Richards catches a head kick from Fish on the floor and a roll up from O’Reilly with a handful of tights which is good enough to pin him.
Match 8: Jay Briscoe vs Kevin Steen (c), Ring of Honor World Champsionship
Winner: Jay Briscoe, new Ring of Honor World Champion
Oddly enough after all the SCUM presence tonight, Steen enters alone.
Collar and elbow with a clean break to open up. This pace to be set on whether Steen takes shortcuts will tell a tale for his future relationship with SCUM and the Title itself. Steen goes right to work on the hurt shoulder of Jay, but he answers with a dropkick. Briscoe and Steen fight in the corners and Steen wants a powerbomb to the apron but Jay backdrops him. Jay lays in with jabs and a back elbow for a quick one count. Steen tries to go back to the shoulder again and Briscoe fights it, but takes a DDT for two. Briscoe throws a boot out of the corner followed by a rolling elbow. Briscoe snaps off a leg drop for two. Steen blocks a whip and wants F-Cinq but Jay fights down to a rear waist lock. Steen throws him bad shoulder first into the ring post then wraps it around the middle rope. Steen with a hammerlock and running Briscoe into the corner and rips the shoulder tape off before clubbing the arm. Once again wrapped in the ropes, then knee pressure on Jay’s face.
Briscoe tries to fight out but Steen hits an arm breaker and a single arm DDT for two. Steen keeps it up with a hammerlock Russian leg sweep for another near fall. Briscoe once again tries to fight out but Steen hits a cradle shoulder breaker followed by a cross armbreaker, but Jay gets into the ropes. Briscoe fights back yet again out of the corner with a somersault neckbreaker. Jacobs hits the apron but Mark Briscoe drags him out of the ring area. Steen looks agitated at Jacobs showing up and gets into a back and forth with Briscoe. Steen runs into a DVD off the ropes for a near fall. Jay heads to the top but Steen cuts him off and drapes his arm on the top rope, followed by the corner cannonball for another near fall. Briscoe wants a Jay Driller on the apron but Steen avoids and lands the powerbomb on the apron then rolls him back in. Steen tries a Swanton but takes Jay’s knees instead. Jay lands a hangman’s noose neckbreaker and Steen kicks out as Compton and Titus invade. Even Veda Scott gets in on holding off SCUM.
My Stream has shattered as it has for many people, judging by Twitter.
I can confirm Jay Briscoe won, but I cannot…Ok, I’ve managed to get back to the freeze point. And it froze again. ROH has fought SCUM bak. Matt Hardy wants a Twist of Fate on Jay and Steen fights him away. Briscoe hits the Jay Driller after he does, but only for two. Nigel cheers him on from the sideline.
The Reaction:
Solid action, keeping the ACH/TD team strong. No sloppiness from the guys involved and ACH lands his finisher on Marshall, along with the rest of his key signature offense. Marshall still does not scream “star” when he’s in the ring. They seemed to want to have a repeat of Mike Bennett, but instead of hating him as a wrestler, everyone hates his presence.
Three on one for poor Shelton and more atrocious officiating from ROH referees…Nigel really needs to have a talk with these guys, they don’t see anything! Nice touch from Bennett to mock Punk, considering the chants he usually gets due to Maria’s history, especially on WrestleMania weekend. Excellent, crisp action from both men and I still believe Bennett will end up in at least NXT within a year or so.
This is the type of match that critics of ROH usually hate – High energy the entire match and kicking out of multiple huge moves and finishers. For ROH fans? It was an amazing match with top notch action throughout. Even where mistakes are made, both men adjust on the fly to call an audible, the sign of men who really know their craft. Elgin is your number one contender and I’m happy to have been wrong about my prediction.
Lot of extracurriculars in this one. Very messy and all over the place, but sometimes that’s the point you need to try and get across. SCUM will take any shortcut required to win and rip ROH apart, which they’re successfully doing so far. Hard to call the action on this one.
Incredible match and I watched it grab a friend of mine sitting here who is just a burgeoning ROH fan. Roddy and Karl embrace after a great bout with action back and forth. Hard hitting strikes as you always expect from a Strong match.
Referee once again just allows Corino to walk in the ring and cause problems which is a bit of a theme so far. Hardy literally cries to McGuinness about the low blow, but McGuinness shrugs him off. Good triple threat, but it was a situation where nobody got to shine. Having the Hoopla Hottie distract the entire crowd AND the cameramen from the action doesn’t help anyone look good or better. It’s piss poor television and benefits nobody and nothing.
That one had me in that ever-so-rare state of “Oh wow they might actually do it” for the Wolves. A lot of back and forth with the guys using one another’s moves and I didn’t see O’Reilly kicking out of his own Chasing the Dragon whatsoever. Always a shame to see a match like that end in a roll up with a handful of tights, but this gives a reason for the Wolves to stay together and stay in the chase. Top notch action and right on point as always from all involved.
A top notch match and as we hit the denouement, the curse of the iPPV strikes myself and many others. Even fighting with the buffering and streaming, I can’t actually see the ending of the match as it keeps jumping around. I know he won, and I expected him to win, plus I expected Steen to toss SCUM aside, wanting to prove himself. I will try to watch this tomorrow morning before I head to the ROH TV taping in Manhattan to finalize this for you all.
The Shill:
As always, if you like what you read here, let me know in the comments or on twitter @sbfantom. I sincerely would like to hear what people think and strike up some conversation!
