A2Z Analysiz – ROH Glory By Honor XII: Champions vs. All-Stars (Michael Elgin, Adam Cole)

Wrestling DVDs

gbh12

Frontier Fieldhouse – Chicago Ridge, IL – Saturday, October 26, 2013

Kevin Kelly does commentary solo for the preshow matches, and Nigel McGuinness joins him for the main show.

PRESHOW MATCH #1: The Romantic Touch vs. Will Ferrara

Touch kisses Ferrara’s hand after the handshake, and then he kicks Ferrara in the gut. Ferrara fights back but Touch cuts him off with a nice dropkick. Touch continues to beat Ferrara down with some basic offense. Ferrara comes back with some babyface fire and he heads up top. He misses a big cross body and Touch struts around the ring. Touch hits a Fisherman’s Buster to get the pin at 3:23. The Romantic Touch doesn’t do much for me as a character, but introducing him on the preshow is fine I guess. As for the match, it was a perfectly acceptable squash.
Rating: *½

PRESHOW MATCH #2: MsChif vs. Kasey Ray w/ The H.O.T.

Ray has Truth Martini and Scarlett Bordeaux in her corner. The smaller Ray actually slams MsChif down at the start. She pays for it though, as MsChif overpowers her and goes to work, stretching Ray out. Bordeaux gets on the apron to distract the referee, so MsChif kicks her down into Martini’s waiting arms. Ray takes advantage with a rollup for two. MsChif goes to run off the ropes but Martini and Bordeaux trip her up. Ray hits a Superkick and a standing moonsault for two. MsChif shrugs it off and hits a vertical suplex for a two-count. She hits the Eye of the Hurricane for another near-fall. MsChif goes to the ropes again and Martini grabs her leg, so MsChif screams at him and then pulls him up to the apron. Ray does a multiple handspring back elbow, and then hits a bulldog. She does more unnecessary flipping and hits a standing frog splash for two. MsChif decides she’s all done selling for that and hits the Desecrator for a two-count. A series of reversals ends with MsChif hitting a Choke Bomb to score the pin at 3:14. I know they only got three minutes, but MsChif looked completely disinterested in having a match with Kasey Ray, and Kasey Ray did some flips and not much else.
Rating: ¼*

MATCH #1: Mark Briscoe vs. “Pro Wrestling’s Last Real Man” Silas Young

They brawl to start and quickly spill to the floor. Young hits a back body drop and goes for a suplex, but Mark reverses it and suplexes Young right on the edge of the ring frame. Mark follows up with a dropkick through the ropes and then takes Young out with a moonsault. Back in the ring Mark stays on offense, wearing Young down. Young gets himself back into it by back dropping Mark over the ropes and to the floor. He brings Mark back in the ring and hits a gourdbuster for two. Young is trying to work Mark over but Mark doesn’t seem interested in selling anything for poor Silas. Finally Young is able to come back and hit the backbreaker/clothesline combo for a two-count. Of course it doesn’t last and Mark sends Young back to the floor. Mark follows him out with the Cactus Elbow. Back in the ring Mark continues to beat on Young with his unique offense. Mark goes up top but Young avoids him. He charges into the corner and Young avoids him and gets a rollup with his feet on the ropes to get the pin at 9:02. That was an odd match, as Mark sold almost nothing and was on offense almost the entire match until Young cheated to win. How is that supposed to help Silas Young get more over? Does Mark need to be protected that much? After the bell Mark attacks and Young beats him down. Young takes off referee Todd Sinclair’s belt and whips Mark with it, and a gaggle of officials have to break it up.
Rating: **

MATCH #2: Jimmy Jacobs Trial Series Match #4 – “Zombie Princess” Jimmy Jacobs vs. Adam Page

There seems to be some tension here, as Page is likely still upset with Jacobs about the whole S.C.U.M. thing for some reason. Jacobs clotheslines Page to the floor and goes for a dive but Page cuts him out of the air with a kick to the face. Page then wipes Jacobs out with a shooting star press off the apron. Back in the ring Page hits a cross body from the top rope for two. Page works Jacobs over for some time, and then Jacobs is all like “eat it, rookie,” and goes on offense. Jacobs hits the old Colt Cabana tornado vertical suplex for a two-count. Page fights back and hits a powerslam for a near-fall. Jacobs responds with the diving Ace Crusher for two. Page hits a Falcon Arrow for a two-count. He tries a springboard moonsault but Jacobs hits him with a dropkick. Jacobs nails the Contra Code but it only gets two. Momentum continues to shift and Page finds himself on the top rope. Jacobs joins him and after a struggle is able to bring Page down with a Super Contra Code to get the win at 10:59. That was a fine back and forth match but with Jacobs coming in with a 1-2 record in a five-match series essentially facing a job guy, there wasn’t a whole lot of drama to it. Still, they did solid work.
Rating: **¾

MATCH #3: Battle of the Piledrivers – “Mr. Wrestling” Kevin Steen vs. Michael Bennett w/ Maria Kanellis

Punches are thrown right from the get-go and these two are eager to prove who has the more effective piledriver. Steen goes for the Package Piledriver early, but Bennett is able to escape and seek solace in the arms of his girlfriend. Back in the ring Steen keeps control so Bennett rolls to the floor again. Steen throws Bennett around ringside, into the barricades and crotch-first into the ring post. He slams Bennett’s boy parts into the post again, just to be a jerk. The crowd chants “one more time” so Steen goes for it, but Bennett blocks and throws Steen into the barricade. The brawl continues on the floor and the referee has no control over anything. Bennett misses a big punch and Steen follows through on ramming him crotch-first into the ring post. Back in the ring Steen goes up top and tries the Swanton Bomb but Bennett gets his knees up. Bennett hits the Box Office Smash for a two-count. He stays in control, keeping Steen grounded. Steen comes back and tries the Sleeper Suplex but Bennett avoids it. Bennett charges into the corner and Steen moves, sending Bennett shoulder-first into the post. Steen follows with a swank tornado DDT for a two-count. A series of reversals ends with Steen hitting a Codebreaker. More reversals end with Bennett hitting a Superkick for two. Steen tries the Sleeper Suplex again but Bennett hits a chinbreaker. Bennett charges in and Steen grabs him for a pop-up powerbomb. Steen hits a back senton for a two-count. He hits Go To Sleep and Maria throws her shoe in the ring to break up the count. Not sure why the referee wouldn’t just keep counting. Steen chases Maria and runs right into a Bennett TKO. Bennett then hits the Piledriver for two. He goes for a superplex but Steen shoves him down and hits the Swanton Bomb for a near-fall. Steen goes for the Package Piledriver and Maria distracts Steen again. That allows Bennett to hit a second piledriver and get the pin at 12:24. That was well-paced and the internal story of who has the better piledriver gave the match a solid directive. Maria interfered just a little too much down the stretch for my liking, but that’s kind of their deal.
Rating: ***

After the match Bennett goes for a piledriver on the ring apron, but Lisa Maria Varon comes out and attacks Maria! Steen recovers and the fight with Bennett is back on. They brawl and security and officials have to break them up. Steen wipes out Bennett and a bunch of the job squad with a huge dive off the top rope. He then helps Varon hit Maria with the Widow’s Peak. You’d think that would lead to a mixed tag team match at Final Battle, but it didn’t.

Steve Corino replaces Nigel McGuinness on commentary for the second half.

MATCH #4: “Sicilian Psychopath” Tommaso Ciampa vs. Jesse Sorensen

Sorensen comes out without his football, so it’s already a step up from his TNA days. They start with some back and forth and Sorensen looks confident. Momentum shifts a few times and both men land strikes. Ciampa is able to send Sorensen to the floor and he follows him out. He exposes the floor and goes for a suplex, but Sorensen avoids it and takes Ciampa out with a house show dive. Back in the ring Ciampa gets the momentum back on his side and he goes to work. Sorensen won’t give up though and he fights back with a variety of offense. Ciampa catches him and drops him in an inverted-type Attitude Adjustment for a two-count. He gets Sorensen prone in the corner, and hits him with two running knee strikes sans knee pad. Ciampa goes for a Super Air Raid Crash and Sorensen reverses to an ugly Sunset Bomb, dropping Ciampa’s spine on his knees. That gets a two-count. A series of reversals ends with Ciampa locking on the Sicilian Stretch and Sorensen taps out at 9:57. That was the usual Ciampa goodness and a solid showing for Sorensen in his ROH debut.
Rating: **½

MATCH #5: Outlaw Inc. (“Notorious 187” Homicide & Eddie Kingston) vs. Adrenaline RUSH (ACH & TaDarius Thomas)

Kingston and ACH start the match. They chain wrestle and ACH uses his agility and Kingston uses his size advantage. ACH sends Kingston to the floor and goes for a dive, but when Kingston moves ACH is able to flip himself back in the ring. Back in the ring Outlaw Inc. take control and start wearing down ACH, keeping him away from his partner. After just a short time ACH is able to make a tag. Thomas comes in guns blazing but he’s quickly cut off by Kingston. Momentum shifts back and forth and all four men get various chances to shine, albeit briefly. The referee loses control and Outlaw Inc. are able to hit the old Steiner Brothers bulldog to get the win at 11:22. That was not great, as they never established any kind of rhythm and it just went back and forth seemingly at random. Outlaw Inc. is pretty terrible.
Rating: **¼

MATCH #6: “Intrepid Traveler” Paul London vs. “Mr. ROH” Roderick Strong

This is a first-time ever match I do believe. They start off with some mat wrestling to feel each other out in the early going. London strikes first with a dropkick and Strong bails to the floor. When London tries to follow him out with a dive, Strong catches him with a knife edge chop. Strong continues throwing London around ringside, but London is able to hop up on the guardrail and hit a moonsault! They head back to the ring and Strong brings London in with a backbreaker! That was neat. Strong is firmly in control now and he is assaulting London as only he can. London starts to fire up but both men cross body block at the same time and knock the wind out of each other. Back on their feet London fires up and unleashes a flurry of offense. Strong cuts him off and they fight on the apron. London is able to knock Strong to the floor with a dropsault, and then wipes him out with a somersault plancha. Back in the ring London hits a springboard missile dropkick for a two-count. Strong responds with another backbreaker and then a superplex for a near-fall. He puts on the Stronghold and London counters it with a rollup for two. The pace gets fast and they trade reversals, ending when Strong tries the gut buster but London counters it into a double stomp! I’ve never seen that before. They slug it out and London wins that battle with a nasty Superkick. London hits the Waffle Face for a two-count. He goes for the Shooting Star Press but Strong rolls to the apron. London goes for the double stomp just like Richards did to him back at Border Wars, but Strong avoids it and hits a half-nelson backbreaker onto the edge of the ring frame! Sick. Back in the ring Strong hits the gutbuster and the Sick Kick but London kicks out at two! Back on their feet they trade reversals and such, and Strong is able to land a knee strike and the Gibson Driver for two. Strong turns that into the Stronghold and London reaches the bottom rope! London rolls to the apron and is able to headscissor Strong into position for a Tombstone Piledriver on the floor! Back in the ring London hits a double stomp to the back, and then lands the Shooting Star Press for the win at 16:52! What a tremendous match between two of the best to ever come through ROH. Their styles just clicked together and they did some really unique spots and built up to one hell of a finish. They kept up a torrid pace and made sure the crowd stayed with them. I really wish they would have been able to do the rematch in San Antonio, but life happens.
Rating: ****

MATCH #7: ROH Champions vs. All-Stars – ROH World Champion Adam Cole, ROH World Television Champion Matt Taven & ROH World Tag Team Champions reDRagon vs. “Unbreakable” Michael Elgin, Jay Lethal and C&C Wrestle Factory (Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander)

In a somewhat surprising move, Elgin and Cole start the match. Before any contact is made Cole runs away and then tags Taven. Lethal tags in as well, and that kicks off the tag parade, as everyone gets a chance in the ring during the opening minutes. The All-Stars team takes the first control, so the Champions regroup on the floor. It doesn’t do them much good though, as Taven gets beat up by Elgin and Lethal for a bit. Taven is able to force Lethal back into the wrong corner, and O’Reilly tags in. The tag teams get a chance to battle, and the All-Stars take control on Fish. All four All-Stars work Fish over in their corner, focusing on his arm. Fish survives the onslaught and is able to stave off elimination. The Champions go to work on Alexander, and we see Outlaw Inc. out in the crowd causing a ruckus. Elgin and Cole get tagged in at the same time and Cole bails in a hurry. Taven comes in instead and Elgin throws him around. Elgin beats up the Tag Team Champions as well, but Cole is the one he wants. The referee loses control and chaos erupts with a brawl outside the ring. The Champions get the better of the fight and the match settles back in the ring. Homicide and Kingston are causing trouble on the floor, getting into a heated argument with Fish. Elgin fights back and destroys all of his opponents, leaving himself alone in the ring with Cole. The ROH World Champion tries to beg off and offers a handshake but Elgin will have none of it. Everyone gets in the ring again for a big brawl and this time it’s the All-Stars in control. When the match settles back down again the Champions resume control, isolating Lethal. Cole and O’Reilly have a cool little Future Shock reunion with some awesome teamwork. We’re approaching the 30-minute mark and there have been no eliminations yet. Eventually Lethal gets the hot tag to Alexander and he is a house afire, taking it to all four of his opponents. Alexander sends Cole to the floor and goes for a dive but Cole cuts him off with a kick to the face. Coleman comes to his partner’s aid, and then reDRagon goes after Coleman. Homicide and Kingston jump the barricade and go after reDRagon. Everyone tries to break that up and Taven takes out the crowd with a dive. Alexander follows with another dive and security is finally able to run Homicide and Kingston off. Back to the ring, Alexander tries a springboard dive but Cole catches him with a Superkick to score the first elimination at 33:11.

Elgin comes in and goes after Cole, but Lethal takes offense to that because he wants to eliminate Cole himself and earn a shot at the ROH World Title. Lethal and Coleman work together on Taven until Scarlett Bordeaux peddles her wares in front of Lethal to distract him. Even so, Lethal is able to hit Taven with the Lethal Combination! Lethal goes up top and Kasey Ray climbs up to stop him. Taven hits Lethal with a Superkick and both Lethal and Kasey crash off the top rope and through the timekeeper’s table! Coleman takes advantage and goes after Taven. The TV Champion comes back and hits Coleman with the Climax, but Cole had made a blind tag. Taven and Cole argue briefly, but it doesn’t escalate to fisticuffs. Cole then hits Coleman with the Florida Key to score the second elimination at 38:10. The Champions have a huge advantage now and they go right after Elgin, beating him down. Lethal has been injured and is down and out at ringside, leaving Elgin at a four-on-one disadvantage. This goes on for several minutes, but Elgin never gives up and he’s able to blast O’Reilly with a spinning back fist and a short-arm lariat to eliminate the first Champion at 46:38. Elgin continues to fight off all three of his remaining opponents while officials try to herd Lethal backstage. Lethal will have nothing to do with that though, and he gets up on the apron! Elgin makes the hot tag and Lethal is fully recovered and ready to go. Lethal goes crazy, taking everyone out including Truth Martini! He locks Taven in a half crab but Taven is able to make the tag. Cole sneaks in and kicks Lethal in the back of the head. He follows with the suplex into a neckbreaker to get the win and officially eliminate Lethal at 51:29. We’re down to three-on-one in favor of the Champions now. Taven goes for the Climax but Elgin counters to the Crossface and Taven taps out at 52:51. The commentators are really pushing the fact that Fish has never been defeated since coming back to ROH about a year ago. Cole and Fish beat Elgin down for several minutes, but the resilient Elgin stays strong and gets rid of Cole. Elgin is able to hit Fish with the Buckle Bomb and the Elgin Bomb to get the pin and take it down to one-on-one at 57:30.

Before leaving, Fish gets in the ring and decks Elgin with a chair. Cole immediately covers but he only gets two! Elgin powers up and takes it to the Champion, throwing him around with suplexes. He sends Cole to the floor and tries to grab on to him, but Cole delivers an enziguiri. Cole hits a Shining Wizard for a two-count. He hits a couple of superkicks but again only gets two. Elgin catches Cole charging in with an STJoe, and then kills him with a lariat for a near-fall. Cole rolls to the floor. Elgin joins him but it backfires when Cole hits him with the Florida Key! He barely makes it back to the ring at the count of 19, and Cole immediately traps him in the Figure Four Leglock. Elgin reaches the ropes. He then traps Cole in the Crossface and this time it’s Cole barely making it to the ropes to break the hold. Elgin hits the Buckle Bomb and goes for the Elgin Bomb but a series of reversals force him to settle for hitting a vicious spinning back fist. They fight up on the ropes and Cole hits a super rana and then follows with the Panama Destroyer but Elgin kicks out! They fight up on the ropes again and Elgin brings Cole all the way down with a super Elgin Bomb to get the pin at 71:34. Cole’s shoulder definitely came up; I think he landed badly on his head and got a concussion. That was certainly long, but it didn’t really feel it. Besides, to register seven falls on Ring of Honor Champions and All-Stars should take a long time, so there’s no issue there. Elgin eliminating all four members of the opposing team may have been a little bit much, but at least they were pushing someone hard and really going for it. The action here was great and everyone got a chance to shine, obviously Elgin in particular. It was a great showcase for the top stars and teams in the company (and Taven), and a worthy main event for one of the biggest shows of the year.
Rating: ****

While both men are down and exhausted, Jay Briscoe makes his way out with a mystery bag. Elgin gets up and gets in Jay’s face. Jay hits Elgin with the bag, and then blasts Cole with it as well. He reveals the contents of the bag – his own customized “World Title” belt.

I grew up and now I write for Inside Pulse. Oh, and one time I saw a blimp!