Official ROH Discussion Thread

[Dearly Devoted Dexter]

EVOLVE 9 Results :

 

SPOILER - Highlight the black box to read

1. Eric Ryan vs. Bobby Beverly is a No Contest when Kevin Steen comes in and takes them both out. These two guys (both out of the Ohio area, Ryan did YLC last year, Beverly did ROH TV squashes last year) had a decent match prior to getting killed. Steen even package piledrove one guy onto the other. The commentary team - Lenny Leonard and Rob Naylor - were freaking out.

 

- Steen (wearing a PWG shirt) took the mic. Building sound was pretty low at first, but I could still hear him somewhat. He told Leonard and Naylor he would mouth-rape them if they talked during his mic time. He ragged on a few of the fans too (lots of "comedians" in the building). He sat in the middle of the ring Indian style before opting to stand back up. He mentioned how the last time he was in New York, he came to "Ring of Horseshit" and told them to go fuck themselves. Then he gave kudos to "that other guy" for following his lead the next night. He ran down Jim Cornette , mentioned how he helped sign away talent from EVOLVE, and how he wanted to shove that tennis racket up his ass... if not for Davey Richards already being shoved up there. He slammed Davey some more for leaving EVOLVE. Then he brought up his split with El Generico and how the real problem started when he was teamed up with him by the same guy now running EVOLVE, so he was looking to destroy EVOLVE now. He then went on his brief Anti-Christ of Wrestling tirade before Bobby Fish came out and calmly stood up for EVOLVE. He brought up how they defined their own rules, and that Steen should stay within them if he expects to stay. Fish left, and then Steen calmly left as well.

 

2. Super Smash Bros . def. Facade & Jason Gory after a Gory Special/Blockbuster combo on Facade. A little spotty at first, but it came together nicely. SSB are in new green gear. In the post-match interview, Uno said they were going to get a million wins.

 

3 Silas Young def. Sugar Dunkerton with his headstand moonsault finisher with a name I can't spell. Silas treated him like a joke throughout, including some playing with a basketball to start, but Sugar wanted to stay serious.

 

- Silas said afterward that this win puts him one step closer to Johnny Gargano, who then came out himself. He mentioned how after the first show, Gargano gave Silas a drink that sent him downhill, but Gargano didn't know Silas' history at the time and didn't know one drink could do that. He played face here and apologized for it, offering a handshake, but Silas walked away didn't accept it.

 

4. Pinkie Sanchez def. Lince Dorado with a Figure Four Leglock. Fun match to which Dorado brought his working shoes. Steen joined commentary at this match, from which point he talked about everything from Naylor being a midget to Leonard splitting up with Dave Prazak.

 

- Larry Dallas came out for his paid interview time, and now has that big black dude Ahtu as his own version of Diesel or Big Bubba Rogers . He again insisted that Gargano vs. Taylor wouldn't happen, and then he introduced his new team The Scene, which consisted of Scott Reed & Caleb Konley.

 

5. The Scene def. Up in Smoke with a DDT into a wheelbarrow German on Cloudy, ending Up in Smoke's undefeated streak. Larry and Ahtu watched from the entrance stage, not at ringside where they weren't allowed. This match got more time and was more competitive than I thought it would be, and pretty good overall.

 

- Dallas uncharacteristically turned down interview time, so Leonard asked for a statement from Cheech on their first loss. Cheech responded by kicking Cloudy in the gut and giving him Go To Cheech, so their team is now done.

 

6. Bobby Fish vs. Jon Davis is thrown out after just a couple minutes when Steen ran in and gives a forearm to Fish while he had Davis in a headlock (considerably weaker than his beatdown of the opening match guys). Fish was pissed and asked that Steen face him in an unsanctioned street fight. Davis wanted to kick some ass as well and asked to make it a three way, so the ref (Brett Lauderdale) rang the bell... and was promptly laid out by a Davis lariat. Mike Kehner came out to ref a little later. The three guys fought in and around the ring, and it was a solid brawl overall. Fish had Steen in the Fish Hook at the end, but Davis broke it up, gave Steen the Pounce, then pinned Fish with 3 Seconds Around the World. Steen grabbed a chair after this and started getting into it with Davis some more before security grabbed Steen and dragged him out of the building.

 

Intermission: They showed an FIP match from April 2010, Roderick Strong vs. Jon Moxley for the FIP World Title that Davey Richards vacated. This was from a weird time where FIP no longer had company ties to ROH, but still booked a few ROH wrestlers like Strong and Erick Stevens. A good match with Moxley working over Strong on the body and Strong fighting back with his usual offense. Erick Stevens (who turned heel on Strong at this time) came out to distract Strong, leading to Moxley hitting him with the Hook & Ladder and making him tap to the chicken wing. So Moxley won the title here, which he would go on to vacate a year later when he signed with WWE.

 

7. John Silver def. Tony Nese with an arm-capture lungblower. Silver is smaller than Nese and a bit more off-kilter; shades of Chris Dickinson or Mike Mondo . These two were allowed to go all out, and went from having a little support from local fans that knew them to winning almost the whole crowd over. Good match with a surprising result.

 

8. Dave "Fit" Finlay def. Sami Callihan with a tombstone piledriver after Sami kicked out of the Celtic Cross (Air Raid Crash) twice. I thought this match was amazing. Finlay was great, either kicking ass or performing the illusion of kicking ass when actually working light (based on stories I heard). Sami sold for for him like a mofo and got some comeback moments, including a Saito Suplex out of nowhere. Crowd was at its hottest for this match, as was I. Finlay put over Sami as one of his toughest opponents, and had a little trouble speaking due to chops to his throat. Definitely something must-see among all of the indie stuff out there.

 

9. Chuck Taylor def. Johnny Gargano with the Awful Waffle, so now both guys are 6-3 in EVOLVE. Dallas came out again and wanted the match to be cancelled, but Gargano called for the bell to ring and the match to stop. A few minutes in, Gargano had Taylor in a headlock and Dallas threw in the towel again in an attempt to end it, but Gargano wiped his ass with it, threw it back in Dallas' face, and fired him. Total babyface now. They went on to have a very fun match that the crowd was still into after the last match, but unfortunately the feed died (not just for myself, but for other viewers). So I missed a good few minutes from the middle, but it came back on as they were closing in on the finish. They used each others' finishers on each other (Taylor doing the Hurts Donut during the downtime, Gargano giving Taylor the Awful Waffle by the time they came back on). After the finish, they hugged and raised each others' hand.

 

 

[Dearly Devoted Dexter]

What's the deal with the whole cloak and dagger routine regarding the shows for the rest of the year? Why exactly do they have to wait until the first show airs on Sept 24th? Seems a bit odd to me.

[Dil|kid]

What's the deal with the whole cloak and dagger routine regarding the shows for the rest of the year? Why exactly do they have to wait until the first show airs on Sept 24th? Seems a bit odd to me.

 

from PWInsider....

 

The promotion plans to be light on the live events going into the Fall and then begin running more events come January. There's actually talk of running 2-3 show loops on a regular basis come 2012.

 

Ive also read that they are lining up shows in markets where the TV show will air. Although not having a December NYC show on the schedule is a strange one, and with no house shows scheduled until Sept (which I presume is Glory by Honor) it means we could be without new ROH dvds for a bit.

 

It is a shame though because ROH have been on a real roll this year and I wouldnt want to see that momentum broken up by the changeover.

[Big Benny HG]

Oooo, we're motoring now:

 

Gold Rush - 19 March 2010 (Dearborn, MI)

 

Where the fuck is Dearborn, I hear you ask? It's on the outskirts of Detroit.

 

Before watching the show, I watch the 'Video Wire' from the bonus menu, building this weekend of events in Michigan and Ontario. We get the usual kind of thing building Davey Richards vs. Kenny Omega, Eddie Edwards vs. Petey Williams, the 6-man tag team main event, Kevin Steen vs. Player Dos, Steve Corino and Tyler Black & Roderick Strong vs. Austin Aries & Kenny King. Eddie Kingston also talks about wanting to get The Embassy and there's a funny segment involving Rhett Titus and Rasche Brown that leaves Titus running for his life. Eddie Edwards is revealed as the first ROH Television Champion, having beaten American Wolves partner Richards in the final on HDNet. The Wolves say there is no animosity and look forward to future singles and tag success.

 

Main feature starts with an utterly craptacular Tyler Black and Briscoes interview. Holy cow, I have no idea who thought it was a good idea to: a) left these people talk, and b) INCLUDE IT ON THE DVD.

 

First match is one resulting from what we saw on the Video Wire, Rasche Brown vs. Rhett Titus. Commentary is still being handled by Joe Dombrowski and Dave Prazak, who open up by immediately saying about how we are on the road to the 'Big Bang' in Charlotte and that is where everyone is looking towards. Wow, what a way to immediately devalue this show and make it seem insignificant within seconds of starting to play the disc you've just bought. They make up for it by telling the brilliant Rasche Brown vs. A Lorry tale again. Starts of as real good fun, this match, with a great dynamic of sleazy little cheating dufus vs. big, strong, mean black dude. Brown joins in the comedy by doing Ultimate Warrior spots. That dynamic disappears, however, when the match ends up far more equal and competitive than seems likely, which kills any crowd interest in it. Brown hits a big BIN MAN-style spear and then the Burning Hammer for the win. Bit of a nothing bout.

 

The Pick Six series features for the first time this weekend with Kenny King vs. Tyson Dux. Dux is the Canadian geezer who looks a bit like Bodydonna Skip and has turned up virtually everywhere at some point over the last 10 years. Match starts with a DANCE OFF. Never thought I'd see that in ROH, but can never say I'm against it. Crowd was dead again for the actual match, though. Admittedly, there wasn't much to get excited about and it wasn't particularly interesting. They do come alive as Dux picks up King into a fireman's carry and runs him hard into the corner. King, however, is straight up just seconds later showing absolutely no ill-effect of that devastating move like it never happened, hits running double knees and then the Royal Flush spinning slam-thingy for the win. Yeah.

 

Steve Corino & Kevin Steen vs. Player Dos & Pee Wee. Player Uno is the unmasked one from the spectacularly crap Canadian tag team Super Smash Bros. It's also worth pointing out that he once played the part of 'Generico Dos' and teamed with Steen while the real El Generico was out injured. The build for this weekend recapped that, and also made out that Steen was once big friends with the SSB, continuing the theme of him turning his back on everyone. The masked and injured Player Uno is at ringside, meaning P2 has to team with PEE WEE. Pe Wee looks like a multi-coloured, pleather-bound version of Northern BritWres star Heresy, with a truly awful, awful tattoo on his back. He looks absolutely dreadful, the very worst stereotype of the indies. The action starts as Steen jumps and kills both of the Super Smash Bros at ringside, and Corino goads the alone Pee Wee in the ring. 2-on-1, then. Pee Wee hits a flippy dive over the ropes before the heels take over. Pee Wee's selling of every single move consists of him sitting up and staring at the crowd with a startled look of moronic shock on his face. As if he's just realised he's shat himself. Bad guys just beat this guy up, but the crowd are dead again as no-one cares. Pee Wee's selling has developed to flailing his arms around like a spaz. While this is going on, P2 has made it back onto the apron waiting for the tag, but Steen keeps knocking him off. This goes on.... and on.... and on.... Finally, hot tag to Dos, who runs wild with indyness. He then GERMAN SUPLEXES Steve Corino, as if we are meant to believe this skinny fuck could throw that fat bastard over his head. Heels then hit a double-superkick on Pee Wee, then a package-piledriver-lariat chain combo for the win. Steen and Corino actually looked good here and this bout continued to establish them as a new well-oiled no-nonsense heel force in ROH, but dear god did they drag this one on longer than it needed. It could have been just as effective, potentially more so, in half the time. After the match, Dos hits a corkscrew dive on the heels, building the scheduled Steen vs. Player Dos singles match tomorrow. Give me strength.

 

Following a poorly-lit Petey Williams promo in a park, it's on with former 2-time champion Austin Aries vs. Petey Williams. This is a rematch from 'Glory By Honor VIII' 5 months ago (not VII, as Petey said in his skit) that I have next to no memory of. A-Double starts it off by talking, as has become customary, but Williams has heard enough and gets him. Interestingly, in something ROH haven't done before (but I've seen Japanese promos do regularly), as the match wears on the cameras catch Eddie Edwards peeking around the back of the building scouting ahead of his scheduled match with Petey tomorrow night. Aries works over his opponent in the usual way, and Petey fights back with his usual offence. Commentators actually spend nearly the entire match talking about 'Big Bang'. Aries and Williams go back-and-forth before A-Double hits the IED (running dropkick in corner) and then HIS OWN CANADIAN DESTROYER. Petey kicks out at ONE. Aries then folds up Petey and grabs the ropes to get the 3. Annoyed Williams gets his revenge after by attacking Aries and hitting him with the Destroyer. A decent-yet-unremarkable match, this. Nothing more to say.

 

Colt Cabana & El Generico vs. House of Truth (Josh Raymond & Christian Able). Continues the theme of Steen and Generico establishing themselves in new separate tag teams. After Cabana gains control by being all wrestley, HOT get all brawly. Generico and Cabana win that one with daftness and running HOT together i various ays, makingthe look silly. This continues until manager Truth Martini gets involved in things. Heat on Cabana for a while, before a hot tag to Generico. This is cut off when Martini interferes AGAIN. House of Truth work over Generico now. Able and Raymond go for this move a little bit like a Demolition Decapitation or an America's Most Wanted Death Sentence, except with an Asai moonsault instead of the elbow/legdrop. In doing this over-contrived spot, however, the guy jumping accidentally came down RIGHT ON HIS OWN PARTNER'S HEAD. Of course, they then had to pretend like nothing went wrong. Absolutely howling with laughter at this unnecessary indyness gone wrong. Another hot tag, but again the babyfaces' comeback is halted when Martini interferes yet again, this time hitting Cabana with his shoe. Raymond hits a Sky Twister Press. Martini trys to get involved one more time, but this time Generico catches him and sorts him out. Generico hits the Helluva Kick (big running Yakuza boot in the corner) and follows up with his top rope brainbustaaa, setting up Cabana coming off the second rope with a basic splash for the win. Match was fine for what it was, and all the heat spots worked well in the context of the story of them having to overcome Martini's constant interference, but a match I didn't really need to see. Steve Corino emerges after the match and warns Cabana ahead of their singles bout tomorrow night.

 

The second and final Pick Six bout of the night next, with Roderick Strong vs. Kenny Omega. A rematch from 'Reverse the Curse' in December, and that match was shite, so I don't have high hopes for this one. This was, however, immediately more physical and aggressive than their previous bout, fighting each other on the floor like the match is actually worth winning, instead of the bullshit exhibition of nicey-nicey sporting playfighting they had last time. Strong fights off Croyt's Wrath and hits a side slam off the top rope. Omega fires back with a cross-special brainbuster ("2K1 Bomb"). Strong then hits his signature Sick Kick -> Freaky Retard Strength Backbreaker -> Gibson Driver chain for the win. Clearly a better bout than last time, but nowt special that you need to see. Commentators again spent the entire match talking about Roderick's already-scheduled title shot at 'Big Bang', making this come across as even more meaningless.

 

Main event is a 6-man tag with all the ROH champions in one match: Tyler Black & The Briscoes (Jay & Mark) vs. Chris Hero & The American Wolves (Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards). Hence 'Gold Rush'. Not that any of the gold was up for grabs on this show. Pretty stupid name then, really. This event also marks my first look at the new TV Title strap, and that is one nifty-looking piece of metal. Bout rolls along at a very deliberate pace, but it easily kept my interest at all times. Nice, easy viewing, this a match that builds logically and well. Heels isolate and work over World Champion Black before the Briscoes end up tagged in and it all goes crazy. Jay hits a flip dive to the outside, Mark hits a moonsault from the corner to the outside, then Mark comes back in with a crossbody off the top rope on TV Champ Edwards for a 2-count. Hero starts throwing nasty elbows at Mark and the pace is frantic after building so effectively. Frequent advantage switches between the two squads as they start hitting big trademark moves. Pretty exciting. A lucha-style triple-submission spot executed by los rudos, followed by a simulataneous Death Blow elbow & 2 kicks, but Mark was in to make the last gasp save. Tyler takes out the Wolves, leaving Hero to eat a springboard Doomsday Device from the Briscoes to end the match. The babyfaces celebrate as the show fades to black (no pun intended. Well, maybe).

 

There's another funny Rhett Titus vs. Rasche Brown backstage skit to close the home video presentation, making me kinda interested in seeing another bout between them.

 

Pretty great main event, ***1/2, standing out on a pretty nondescript, totally irrelevant show. As such, I find it hard to recommend this disc to anyone but ROH diehards/hardcores and collectors.

Edited July 29, 2011 by Big Benny HG

[Big Benny HG]

Epic Encounter III - 20 March 2010 (Missunaga, Ontario, Canada)

 

ROH takes a short hop across the border for the 2nd half of the weekend double-header.

 

No interviews or promos, but the show opens with the ring announcer informing both us and the live crowd that both Roderick Strong and Mark Briscoe have been refused entry to Canada for "immigration issues". Hasn't Strong had passport problems on at least a couple of occasions when he was supposed to come to the UK? I think the 1st PWG event and King of Europe Cup, it might have been. Perhaps Canada doesn't let Downers into the country. This obviously means that the advertised Black/Strong vs. Aries/King and Briscoes vs. House of Truth tag bouts are off, the former looking like important build for the 'Big Bang' they've been, erm, 'banging' on about.

 

Tyler Black's music plays and the champion comes out to explain that he still wants Austin Aries and Kenny King by himself. Aries comes out to answer, but King runs through the crowd and ambushes. The lone Briscoe, Aries'/King's buddy Rhett Titus, TYSON DUX and eventually Titus' weekend nemesis Rasche Brown all come out for a 7-man fight. Heels bail and an 8-man tag is made for later on, also scrapping the Brown/Titus rematch. Aries promises a surprise 4th man for his team, then says "Get ready, we're gonna SCRAP".

 

Decent enough opening segment to set the scene for the show and create expectation for later.

 

Show starts properly with House of Truth (Josh 'Jugg' Raymond & Christian Able) vs. The Flatliners. Ah yes, Asylum and Burt/Burns/Barnes from the last Canadian show. How could or, more importantly, why should anyone possibly care about or want to see this match on DVD? Commentators make a Simpsons Mr Burns gag, so that at least confirms the dude's name. Heat on 'Burns', before the tag to Pitbull #1 look-alike Asylum. It is at this point that I notice the venue appears to resemble a large barn. Hmm. All 4 men in. HOT do the Asai moonsault double-team from last night again, but this time he lands it perfectly. Shame, it was so much more enjoyable the other way. Really neat lungblower/German suplex combo from Flatliners which pops the crowd big, before The House hit a double-team Thesz Press-thingy for the win. An acceptable enough basic tag match, but absolutely no reason to care or believe it meant anything.

 

Following the events of last night, the "grudge" match of Kevin Steen vs. Player Dos of Super Smash Bros is up next. As I said with last night's show, they've built this one around Steen and SSB once being good pals when they were starting out on the Canadian indy scene. It's no secret I think SSB are cack, but the story they've given it at least made me interested in seeing what happens and gave meaning to someone coming out with the win. Steen wrestles the early part of the match wearing one of those Cabanarama headbands in mocking fashion, ripping of some Colt Cabana spots. Repeating last night, Steen again takes out the injured Player Uno at ringside, so Dos comers at him hard and fast with all this flippy indy shit. Steen then just beats this guy up. He wipes his arse on the Cabanarama bandana and rubs it in Dos' face. He then licks the camera lens before "teabagging" his opponent. Just knocking him about and totally humiliating him. Really got this prick character down. P2 bravely fights back with a Meteora and a satellite DDT before hitting another German suplex just as improbable as his one last night. Steen kills him with a powerbomb, a superkick and a version of the Tomorrow Driver. Goes up top for a moonsault but P2 reverses into another German. Dos tries to follow up with some flip/twist but misses. Steen hits the package piledriver... but P2 kicks out at 2.99. Big pop for that one. Fed up with this shit now, Steen hits a JUMPING PACKAGE PILEDRIVER for the win. As Dos is being helped to the back afterwards, Steen returns from the back to blast him with another package piledriver. Message you are supposed to take from this one is: this guy's an arsehole. Match was fine, made more enjoyable by being based around Steen's character and the backstory of being former buddies, the Generico Dos situation and the happenings of last night.

 

TV Champ Eddie Edwards vs. Petey Williams. Edwards opens by cutting an anti-Canada, pro-America promo for easy heat. Petey comes out and the fight is on. Williams comes back with a pro-Canada promo and makes a challenge for the belt. Edwards accepts, so the ROH Television Title is on the line, here on this non-televised show. Go figure. All this early verbal jousting creates good heat and good interest in the bout, creating an intensity between the fighters. They go on to have a very decent competitive match. I've long considered Petey Williams to be this generation's Jerry Lynn, in that his matches always consist of him doing the same set of signature spots in the same order every time before starting on the Destroyer teases. Each of his bouts is nearly almost identical. Having said that, he does his stuff well and the addition of Edwards' contributions meant it was not to the detriment of this match here tonight. Edwards hits a Barbie Crusher for 2, then heads up top with a double stomp to Petey's back before locking in the Achilles hold. Williams fights back and hits his big move, but Edwards' manager Shane Hagadorn pulls him out before the ref can count 3. It would seem that this was not grounds for an immediate disqualification, here. As Petey deals with Hagadorn, Edwards locks in the Achilles lock again for a tapout win. If you ignore the finish, a good match.

 

A backstage promo from the House of Truth, of all people. God bless ROH for trying to make new stars, but they have hardly done anything with HOT so far to tell us this is a team to take seriously.

 

Time for the 8-man tag made earlier, with Tyler Black & Jay Briscoe & Rasche Brown & Tyson Dux vs. Austin Aries & Kenny King & Rhett Titus & X. 'X' turns out to be ROH booker 'Scrap Iron' Adam Pearce (hence the clue from earlier), who was NWA World Heavyweight Champion at this point. There was a time when the NWA Champ appearing unadvertised as a mystery partner would never happen. Pearce and Aries do the Mega-Powers handshake in the ring. Babyfaces surprise the heels by running in through the crowd and it's an all-out 8-man brawl. Settles down into pretty standard stuff, but it builds well at a decent pace. Rasche Brown is big and has a great look, but he's uncoordinated and clumsy, like a US version of the UK's Val Kabious. Match builds to Black and Briscoe doing simultaneous flip dives out onto the crowd of heels, followed by Rasche launching himself over too. Back inside, everyone takes it in turns to come in and do stuff for nearfalls, then Black hits God's Last Gift (small package driver) on Titus for the win. Would have normally thought that the man they'd sensibly pick to do the job would be the one who was not a member of the regular roster, but when that guy is he NWA World Champion I guess different rules apply. Basic but enjoyable match this, nothing special but plenty watchable.

 

I've wondered it for a while, but why are ROH DVD releases still filmed and presented in 4:3 format, not widescreen? It's 2010 (well, it is to me, dammit), for crying out loud. I would have thought with the advent of the HDNet programming (which IS in widescreen) they would make the switch to a more contemporary format. Sort it out, ROH.

 

Colt Cabana vs. Steve Corino in a grudge match, based on the events of 2010 so far. One thing worth pointing out about that this show is that, if you count Corino, every single match on this card includes at least one Canadian in it (Corino is half-Canadian, half-American, I believe). This bout's a deliberately-paced, heavy-hitting heavyweight tussle. Good performances from both men and you really get the feeling across that they don't like each other and want to beat their enemy. Cabana locks in the Billy Goat's Curse reverse crab, but Kevin Steen runs in and attacks. Unlike Hagadorn's interference earlier, this did warrant a DQ. Steen and Corino beat on Cabana for a while until El Generico runs out with a chair, causing the heels to bail before we get to see if Generico would, in fact, now hit his former partner. I didn't mind the non-finish to the bout, since it builds tensions and interest nicely in the Generico/Cabana/Steen/Corino saga and makes me want to see more of what happens next.

 

The 'Generic Luchador' stays in the ring, since it is El Generico vs. Chris Hero in the first and only Pick Six contest of the evening next. I've fairly recently just seen these two have a really good singles match against each other in PWG ('Against The Grain', October 2009). This match, like that, plays out like you'd expect: bigger, stronger Hero beats his opponent up and controls him with strikes, slams and stretches, while Generico keeps trying to fight back every now and then spirited, firery, explosive comebacks. These two work really well together as opponents, it just works. Not as well as Generico and Hero's partner Claudio Castagnoli, it must be said, but the dynamic is still just right. Hero looks to finish Generico off, going desperately for the knock-out with big Yakuza kicks and elbow strikes, but Generico just about stays in, even kicking out of the Death Blow. He won't give in. Hero locks on a stretch plum in the middle of the ring. Generico refuses to give up, but he passes out and the referee jumps in for the stoppage. Really good match, only criticism would be that it never really reached a peak in the action or story.

 

Afterwards, Steen comes back out singing the 'Ole!' song sarcastically. He calls Cabana out too and says he has something they need to hear. He finally gives his explanation for his actions at and since 'Final Battle 2009' nearly 3 months ago. He says he absolutely hated Generico when they first started, but hung with him since he thought they'd go places. Then, at some point, he started to actually like him and they became like brothers. Then, he started to be annoyed by Generico and blamed him for losing the tag titles. He says he suddenly woke up and realised he had become exactly what he hated and it needed to end. He smashed Generico in the head and it felt great.

 

Steen goads Generico to hit him, getting right in his face. Generico is angry, but resists hitting his former long-time friend. Cabana even gives him a chair and he and the crowd beg Generico to smash the kneeling Steen right in the head, exactly replicating what Steen did to him at 'Final Battle'. Generico won't do it. Corino runs in and attacks, Cabana saves, and Steen and Corino back off cackling. Hell of an angle. Superb.

 

The titular 'Epic Encounter' is presumably the main event of Davey Richards vs. Kenny Omega, here in Omega's home nation. Also, a rematch from 'Clash of the Contenders' from autumn last year. Before the bout, however, Omega is shown backstage on a forklift truck, for some reason. Oh, I see, it's a metaphor for the Canadian fans, who he says will 'lift' his spirits, will 'lift'his energy and will now 'lift' his chances of victory. Erm, didn't he win the first time? A check of my review a few pages back confirms that yes, yes he did. How odd, then... The fact they've post-titled this show 'Epic Encounter III' instantly makes me think this one is going looooong, like Bryan Danielson vs. Paul London going 45 minutes in 2003 ('Epic Encounter I') and Danielson vs. Nigel McGuiness going an hour in 2006 ('Epic Encounter II'). Fast and furious start, ending in Richards hitting his crazy tope where he ends up in about the 8th row. Just over 10 minutes in, Richards end up back over the barrier as Omeg hits him with a running springboard moonsault. Spectacular move. They fight on the ring apron, exchanging kicks, until Kenny does his leapfrog face-plant move, smashing Davey down onto the ringside table. Richards only just beats the 20-count, making it back in at 19.5. Great spot. Back in the middle of the ring, they go toe-to-toe exchanging strikes. 15 minutes in, Omega hits a reverse Frankensteiner but Richards rolls through it and lands a running lariat. Crowd explodes. Seemingly exhausted, both men trade punches, kicks and headbutts. A combination of various kicks from Richards sets him up to go for a shooting star press, usually a sign in his matches that he is starting to get desperate for the win and taking uncharacteristic risks. Kenny cuts him off, though, and they struggle for the advantage on the top rope. Richards throws Omeg off with a huge German suplex, but Kenny flips all the way over and land son his feet. The Hadoken (a comedy spot which he really needs to stop doing if he is to be taken seriously in big matches) followed by the 2K1 Bomb only leads to a 2-count. In a very cool sequence, Richards hits the DR Driver, holds on straight into a kimura and then transitions into a cross-armbar, only for Omega to power up, lift Richards onto his shoulders in the classic pro wrestling escape to that move and then hit the Croyt's Wrath (electric chair German suplex) back into the turnbuckles. Great stuff. Omega hits a reverse frankensteiner again and a standard Croyt's Wrath, but Richards kciks out of the resulting pin attempt, catches hold of a stray loose arm and locks in the kimura for a quick tap.

 

At just over 20 minutes, it wasn't exactly following in the tradition of the other bouts to bear that name, more reminiscent of a typical ROH main event, but that is not a criticism of the match itself. The first 10 minutes weren't exactly much and didn't lead anywhere, but the fantastically exciting second half was excellent and made for an overall terrific bout. Better than their decent bout at 'Clash of the Contenders', this was **** material. Of course, the ROH crowd, being an ROH crowd, are ridiculously over-the-top with their appreciative over-respectful smarky bullshit, outdoing "That was awesome" with a painfully vomit-inducing "THANK YOU BOTH". Thank you? For what? For coming together in your performances to make a great illusion? They have clearly missed that the point of pro wrestling. I enjoy matches where I can understand what they are fighting for and why it is important to win. These berks are making an outward comment about the artistic qualities of the match and the worked performances of the individuals to create that. Tits.

 

The commentators are quick to point out that they are now 1-1 and Davey acknowledges on the microphone afterwards that Kenny has his respect and that they will do this again. Richards also has a message for ROH World Champion Tyler Black, who he warns "The hunt is on..."

 

Overall, this was a pretty good show and worth watching. Although many of the undercard matches are pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of things and you won't have missed anything essential if you don't see them, they are all decent at worst, very good at best. The main event is great, and the way the Steen/Generico situation develops (including, believe it or not, Steen's performance in the PLAYER DOS match) is tremendous.

 

BONUS DVD CONTENT: a scan of the menu offers one sole attraction. That attraction, however, is listed as a "BOBBY DEMPSEY GAUNTLET", and so is automatically must-see viewing. This is the pre-show bonus match, with no commentary, and appears to be a trainee gauntlet. Starts with Bobby Dempsey vs. Rahim Ali, who is a pleather-bound arab. Dempsey kills him with a Death Valley Driver in, like 5 seconds. Next out is a guy who I'm sure is announced as "RJ SINGH". No, it wasn't UK star Ross Jordan, but instead a Paul Roma look-alike. Dempsey, once again, smashes this dude immediately with a DVD for the win. This is great. Next, please. Some dude called "Horny". Indeed. He's Kofi Kingston with a punk rocker mohawk. He lasts a little bit longer, but goes down in about 30 seconds to a Dempsey DVD. KEVIN NEMESIS is next up, which is the most indyriffic name I've ever heard. It's almost BritWres bad. I will absolutely die if Johnny Kickpadz and the Tracksuit Kid come out next. KEVIN NEMESIS, in fact, actually looks like Corey Vandal of UKFF fame. Some guy in the crowd shouts "HURRY UP AND DIE ALREADY" as he does some flippy thing. Nearly crying with laughter. Dempsey powers him up into the Death Valley Driver, and it's bye-bye Kevin Nemesis.

 

Next out to face Dempsey is "Lou Crank". He's Kenny King sponsored by Red Bull. He wears red Bull colours, has the Red Bull logo on his arse and what appears to be two cans of Red ull stuffed down the sides of his trunks. Crank jumps off the top but Bobby catches him on his shoulders. DVD. Pin. Next. Ring announcer tells us this is the last entrant, "Kenny Duggan". Short-haired Kenny Omega who's had botox, meaning his. Face. Must. Not. Move. From. This. One. Gormless. Expression. The camera microphone picks up some fan asking "How can it be the last guy already?!" I know what you mean, my friend - this fun surely cannot end so soon. Other in the crowd simply amuse themselve by shouting "HOOOOOOOOOO!!!" at Duggan. LOL. Duggan actually gets a fair bit of offence in, but takes these totally crazy over-the-top hard bumps off everything. Wacky. Duggan hits a high athletic dropkick. I never thought I'd ever type that sentence in my lifetime. Duggan with a Rock Bottom for 2. This makes big bad Bobby Dempsey so angry he has to pull the straps of his singlet down. Sweet Jesus. Big, huge clothesline then a final DVD for the win.

 

A big fat Down's Syndrome-lookng guy just outright killing horrendously-named generic indy shitarses is the wackiest, most hilarious, enjoyable 7 minutes of fun I think I've ever had watching ROH. This segment was just pure WIN all over.

 

 

UP NEXT - We head to Phoenix, Arizona for the WrestleMania weekend shows. They usually throw quite a bit into those, and they are often a highlight of the year. Looking forward to it.

Edited July 30, 2011 by Big Benny HG

[Adorable Adrian]

Is Evolve 7 ever going to be released on DVD?

 

Gabe put on the book of face that "it's going into replication now so a few more weeks."

 

He's also going through the EVOLVE 8 proof DVD.

[gadge]

Only The Strong Survive - Charlotte, NC - 15/1/11

 

Adam Cole & Kyle O'Reilly vs The Bravado Brothers - in December 2010, I was there live to see the team of Cole & O'Reilly go down to Zack Sabre Jr and Marty Scurll in a fantastic 22 minute opener at IPW:UK in Sittinbourne, Kent. Back in North America later that month, they went down again in the opener of Final Battle 2010 in less than ten minutes (but still a good bout) vs the All Night Express. Fast forward to January 2011, and Dave Prazak and Kevin Kelly are talking up the team of Cole & O'Reilly, including going on about a TV winning streak... then they go down the the Bravados in 7:52 after O'Reilly is pinned with a rollup and handful of tights in just 7:52. Eh? A couple of good moments here, particularly O'Reilly's offfense when he gets the hot tag, and one of the Bravados busts out a Chaos Theory (rolling German suplex out of the corner), but that's about it. One for the friends of family of the Bravados only I guess, as they get the home town win.

 

Rhett Titus vs Caprice Coleman - Now this is better. A decent promo exchange at the beginning gives the match some heat, and they also cook up a decent in-ring encounter that would be a worthy TV match anywhere in North America. Rhett uses an arm capture variation of a Zack Attack for the pin at 9:04. Coleman, however, gets a big ovation and "Please Come Back" chant afterwards...

 

Colt Cabana vs Grizzly Redwood - A comedy match in the usual Cabana style to start, though he's pretty mean with Grizzly in the end and Redwood's comeback spots look ridiculous. Powerbomb, Billy Goat's Curse, and it's over at 7:23. I didn't like this.

 

Mike Bennett vs Cedric Alexander - Boring, boring stuff from Bennett here once again. Local boy Alexander gets some athletic moves in, but Bennett is all punches with just the odd wrestling move here and there. Cedric manages to avoid the Side Slam of Doom after tasting a Buckle Bomb, but then sumits to a terrible looking armbar at 4:22. Just awful. Bennett then stays at ringside for...

 

ROH World TV Title: Christopher Daniels vs Claudio Castagnoli - I guess one thing good about having Bennett out there is he has to learn something by watching a match like this up close. Tremendous stuff for almost the whole way. Castagnoli is so much bigger than Daniels he's able to dominate him in the opening parts of the bout in a manner not dissimilar to Cabana dominating Redwood earlier, but it works much better in the serious context of this one. Claudio nicely controls Daniels with wrestling here too, none of the punch-oriented offense of Bennett here. There's a couple of things you can pick at with this one near the end - Hagadorn interferes so that the ref misses a Claudio submission in the Koji Clutch, then there's shenanigans with Claudio, Bennett and the TV title belt. Finally, there's the moment the announced twenty minute time limit is ignored, as they go 21:27, but that's possibly because Daniels slips slightly on a BME which could have been the planned finish. A couple of minutes later and a second BME, executed perfectly, sees Daniels retain. Really good stuff.

 

In what must have been the start of the second half of the live show, Steve Corino convinces Andy Ridge to change their scheduled singles match into a tag bout. So, it's Steve Corino & Andy Ridge vs Alabama Attitude with Corino trying to prove to Ridge he's making an effort to change his evil ways. His refusal to cheat then means Alabama Attitude (Corey 'Don't Call Me Reg' Hollis and Mike Posey the former WWE/current TNA referee) get the better of him with double team shenanigans for awhile. Ridge gets the hot tag and the advantage, then Corino comes back in and hits Eternal Dream, then lets Ridge get the pin with his superkick at 6:03. Ridge looks far from convinced that Corino has changed, but accepts the plaudits and a handshake. This did its job in the greater Corino angle without being anything particularly spectacular.

 

Chris Hero vs Davey Richards - Bloody hell. I guess the advantage of being a few months behind on the DVDs is that on the non-PPV/regular shows, occasionally you get a match that surprises you because you don't have expectations raised in advance. So anyway: Kings vs Wolves, singles style, and this is a full-on bout to say the least. The first ten minutes or so are steady build, with a couple of annoying distractions from Sara Del Rey (who for some reason gets a crowd chant when she interferes, moronic North Carolinians) and Shane Hagadorn. After that, Hero starts targetting the head of the peviously concussed Richards, but just can't hit the combination of kicks, elbows etc to put him away. Richards will probably always be criticised by some, but the timing of his comebacks and ability to get the crowd behind him are as good as it gets in ROH in recent months. In between that, he's busy working on Hero's arm, and after surviving a jumping piledriver at about 27:30, Richards is able to capitalise on referee Todd Sinclair actually catching Hero with the golden elbow pad on. A missile dropkick, the shooting star press, the Kimura and then the cross armbreaker later and Hero taps at 29:04 (just inside the announced 30:00 time limit this time!). The best January match from ROH in many years...

 

Homicide vs El Generico vs Kenny King vs Mark Briscoe - At risk of turning this into a Power Slam review: not one of the four competitors in this one is announced by the ring announcer at the weight listed on the entrance graphics. Oh dear. At first glance, this appears to be a thrown together Four Corner Survival to give the crowd a break between the epic they've just seen and the World Title match to come, but they start with Generico and Homicide, the next two contenders lined up for World title shots, and you realise there is in fact more to it than that. The crowd stay hot for this one too, and there's plenty of action, even from Homicide. Mark Briscoe is denied a pin because he's not the legal man, then Generico pins King with the brainbuster at 15:00 even. Enjoyable overall. Homicide lays Generico out with a Cop Killa afterwards.

 

ROH World Title: Roderick Strong vs Jay Briscoe - Role reversal for Roderick here: this one is basically his match with Jerry Lynn at A Cut Above in 2009, only here it's Roderick who's the champion and Jay Briscoe as the perennial challenger who bleeds an absolute gusher and therefore draws the crowd in to his unlikely championship challenge. From an action standpoint, this is like an extended version of their series from the first half of 2009, which is good for the most part. The blood just getting everywhere is certainly great for the drama. In the end though, maybe they go a bit too long and some of the drama is lost in the final five minutes as both guys just kick out of everything. Jay's best offense - a Jay Driller through a table that sees Roderick kick out due to time elapsed on the floor, and another Jay Driller in the ring where the pin is too close to the ropes - are inside the first 20:00 of the match. Roderick eventually gets the three count with the Gibson Driver at 25:09.

 

Overall - There's some dodgy undercard matches here, but the three major singles encounters all deliver in style. A January show well worth inversting in for once. DVD run time is an impressive 2 hours, 59 minutes, though you don't get anything at all in the way of extras.

[Big Benny HG]

From the Ashes - Phoenix, AZ (26 March 2010)

 

 

Whoaoa, Whoaoa, WrestleMania! Fighting to survive! Just like that! Just like that! TATANKA WILL BE SUCCESSFUL.

 

Ahem. Yes, it's time for ROH's now-traditional pair of WrestleMania weekend shows, capitalising on the fact there is something like 75,000 wrestling fans converging on one city for one weekend. Over the past few years, these have been major events in ROH's calendar, what with imported talent, Dragon Gate Challenges, All Star Extravaganzas and Supercards of Honor. Far from the now throwaway ROH 'house shows'. Dragon Gate USA also started their own tradition of WM weekend double-headers this year too, offering competition for the hardcore fans' dollar-dollar bill, y'all.

 

This time it's Phoenix, Arizona, site of WrestleMania XVI, where Undertaker and Shawn Michaels will battle again in a Streak vs.Career match, Edge vs. Chris Jericho, Batista vs. John Cena and Triple-H vs. Seamus. Before all that, however, it's ROH 'From the Ashes' (Phoenix, geddit?).

 

I start by checking out the VideoWire show from the bonus menu, previewing this weekend. American Wolves talk about the Briscoes... Kenny King talks about Jerry Lynn... Steve Corino talks about Lynn... Corino and Kevin Steen talk Colt Cabana & El Generico... Jay Briscoe talks Wolves... and Chris Hero talks Scorpio Sky and Scott Lost and about the Kings of Wrestling's tag title shot at 'Big Bang'... They replay a clip from the Steen/Generico angle at 'Epic Encounter III', before a promo where Cabana shouts and screams at Generico, trying to get him angry and motivated. We end with Tyler Black, Austin Aries and Roderick Strong all talk about each other. Okay then.

 

Main show starts with a Six-Man Mayhem bout, Shawn Daivari vs. Joey Ryan vs. Johnny Goodtime vs. Rasche Brown vs. Human Tornado vs. Colt Cabana. I've become familiar with Goodtime from many a 2009 PWG opening multiman craziness match. I should point out that my 2010 PWG DVD reviews will come soon. There's something to look forward to. This one opens with commentator Joe Dombrowski making a dumb comment about the fact that WrestleMania still has tickets available, whereas both nights of ROH are sold out. Yeah, try 70,000 tickets vs. 1,000. Daivari is in the Embassy now, I should point out. Opening exhanges are Goodtime vs. Tornado and Embassy vs. Brown and Cabana. Cabana then acts all scared of bog bad Rasche. This was the light-hearted, daft, happy Cabana back here in this match, showing no signs of his troubles with Steen and Corino. That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. From there, it's all action with nearly everyone taking it in turn to do a dive. Cabana takes the match by tapping Goodtime to the Billy Goat's Curse reverse crab. Match was what it was, a fast warm-up.

 

Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) vs. Scott Lost & Scorpio Sky. Kings attack at the handshake, but the PWG team starts on the offensive. KOW then isolate Sky and go to work with strikes,slams and double-teams. Pretty good showcase for their offence, actually, making them look a serious top act. Sky does a cool headscissors escape and makes hot tag to Lost, who comes in all martial arts kicky. Sky hits a flip dive and Lost does the Picture Perfect Elbow. Kings fight back with Claudio doing the old Ultimo Guerrero double hanging swing wacky lucha spot. KOW take the win with the KRS-1 on Lost. Decent little tag match, this, which only failure was that you never thought there was any chance that Lost and Sky would actually win.

 

Next up is a rematch from 'Final Battle 2009' between AAA cruiserweight stars: Alex Koslov vs. Rocky Romero. 'Final Battle' bout was a good match, that I enjoyed. Segment starts with a Koslov promo outside the building where he starts speaking in Spanish, but then switches to Russian. Wacky. After Koslov's entrance, Romero cuts a promo on him in the corridor before coming out through the curtain. Erm, so how was Koslov supposed to see/hear this, then? Daft. Koslov jumps 'Mr Azuca' immediately and it's on. Really comes over that it's not just an exhibition match between two international guests, but an actual grudge match where the win matters. Alex with a springboard dive over the barrier onto Romero in the crowd, which draws a "FUCK WRESTLEMANIA (clap clap clapclapclap)" chant. Now, I know that plenty of ROH fans are mongs, but that's a bit stupid even for them considering WrestleMania is THE REASON THEY ARE HERE. The two rivals work really well together, as you'd expect. Both end up standing on the top turnbuckle. Rocky goes for the Diablo Armbar, just like the last time, but Koslov rolls through for the pin. Good match, this, but at only about 7 minutes it was limited.

 

Prince Nane and Bison Smith cut a promo backstage before Bison Smith vs. Necro Butcher. The Necro vs. Embassy feud MUST. NEVER. END. Fight starts in the aisle and then goes all around the building in typical fashion. Necro grabs the ring bell and tries to goad Bison into the ring, but Bison's fellow Embassy members Nana, Joey Ryan and Shawn Daivari pull him off and take him backstage to fight another day. Necro is awarded the decision. Utterly pointless, as if anyone could give a shit about this interminable feud by now.

 

Kevin Steen vs. Kenny Omega is next. I've just seen these two have a fair bout in the opening round of the 2009 'Battle of Los Angeles' tournament. Crowd does the 'Ole!' song at Steen, who threatens to leave if they don't stop. Of course, this causes them to sing louder and in more numbers. Steen doesn't want to give the fans what they want by leaving, so stays to fight. All Star Wrestling, YAY! As with recent Steen bouts, it settles down to Steen systematically dissecting his opponent in a slow, deliberate but vicious and nasty manner. Steen work's Omeg's arm. In a repeat of a spot from BOLA, Steen counters the stop sign enziguiri by biting Kenny's fingers. As payback, Kenny bites Steen's nose. Steen takes over again with a backbreaker to more 'Ole!' chants. The Steen vs. Generico feud has really connected with the ROH fans. Omeg hits his leapfrog faceplant and begins a one-armed comeback. During the action, Omega tries for Croyt's Wrath a couple of times, but can't do it one-handed. Steen then goes up top so that he can swanton himself onto Omega's knees, as usual. Omega with a reverse frankensteiner and two dragon suplexes for a brilliant near-fall, but Steen fires back with a low blow and a package piledriver. Omega kicks out, which pops the crowd in a big way, since they were convinced that was the finish. Instead, Steen locks on a Crippler Crossface for the submission win. Good match.

 

The feud continues to develop next, with El Generico vs. Steve Corino. While he has shown hesitation in going for his former friend and partner Steen, Generico shows none of that with Corino and goes for him straight away. This is the explosive, motivated Generico from before. Corino then takes over, jabbing some kind of object into the head and face. Abdominal stretch from Corino, where he sticks his thumb up Generico's arse. Yeah, really. OLD SCHOOL. Generico's fantastic comeback consists of a tornado DDT and a Michinoku Driver, but Corino is back on top with an arm-capture flatliner for one 2 count and a couple of lariats for another. Generico fires back again with another explosive comeback, hitting a half-and-half suplex, the Helluva Kick in the corner and another half-and-half for a great nearfall. Generico sails coast-to-coast with the flipping dropkick, but Kevin Steen arrives and pulls the referee out before he can count. This was not a disqualification. Generico doesn't know what to do, and the distraction allows Corino to get the pinfall using the ropes. This gets Generico really angry for the first time in months, as he takes out Corino and a couple of referees. Cabana joins Generico and warns Steen and Corino that they will see them at 'Big Bang'. Genuinely can't wait to see what happens.

 

Both of these WrestleMania weekend shows feature ROH World Champion Tyler Black vs. Austin Aries vs. Roderick Strong in a couple of non-title winner-stays-on Gauntlets as a preview for the 3-way title match at 'Big Bang'. Black vs. Aries starts it off tonight. Aries, who came out with Sunny, of all people, hits the Heetseeking Missile low tope about 4 minutes in. 10 minutes in, Tyler goes for the Phoenix Splash, here in Phoenix, but Sunny tries to pull him. Tyler (who, actually, was possibly "too young" when Sunny was all over WWF TV) is not interested seeing any sunny days today, but the distraction causes him to miss the splash. Aries hits the IED. The paid exchange a series of kicks before Tyler rolls up Aries for the 3 count in just over 10 minutes. Wow, that was quick for these two. Afterwards, Aries attacks Tyler's arm using the ringpost and a chair, at which point Roderick Strong comes out. Aries invites Strong to join him in beating Black up, but Roddy declines and gets rid of A-Double. Black vs. Strong, then. Strong goes right for the injured arm. Black hits Peroxism, but then Strong takes over again, building to him dropping Black on the ring apron. Back inside, Black hits the buckle bomb and a superkick. The referee counts 3, but then waves it off as he notices Strong's leg was on the ropes. As Black protests, Roddy blasts him with a Sick Kick followed by the Gibson Driver for the win, pinning the champion in a non-title bout. This 2nd part was less than 10 minutes, so the whole thing was done in under 20. Two very short, fair matches, but were more like short TV-style bouts rather than big headline singles bouts between world title contenders. A bite-sized preview of 'Big Bang', if you will, though these shows won't have even been released on DVD by the time 'Big Bang' airs on iPPV. They will repeat tomorrow, with Aries vs. Strong to start.

 

Jerry Lynn vs. Kenny King in an Anything Goes grudge match, and rematch from 'SoCal Showdown' just over 2 months ago. We are shown a Lynn promo from earlier, where he promises to go "Hardcore....old school ECW-style". Keeping his promise, Lynn comes out with a chair. A ladder comes into play fairly early on. Lynn misses a legdrop and lands ass-first on the ladder. Ouch. Lynn uses the chair to break up a sunset flip pin attempt, but is sent headfirst into a chair set up in the corner just a minute or so later. Lynn bleeding as a result. King fetches a table from under the ring. A cool reversal spot ends with King face-planted onto the ladder, but he fires back later with a northern lights suplex onto the ladder in the corner. These fuckers gonna be sore. More inovative ladder spots as King traps Lynn's head in the ladder and runs it into the corner. Another table set up. King DDTs Lynn onto an upright chair, then double-knees him through a table in the corner for a two count. Lynn breaks out the old sunset bomb on King on the other table, but it doesn't break. He follows up with a cradle piledriver on the table, breaking it this time, for the win. A good, enjoyable stunt-based match which you never forgot was a grudge bout, despite the cool spots. Have a ***1/2.

 

Main event time, and it's the ROH World Tag Team Title rematch of The Briscoes (Jay & Mark) vs. American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) from 'Final Battle' where the Briscoes won the belts for, like, the 5th or 6th time. First, we get a typical promo from the champs out in the sun with brand new swanky tag title belts. Swish - just as good as Edwards' TV Title belt. Good-paced tag team action. Heat on Jay, and it's all good. 10 minutes in, it breaks down and all 4 men brawl on the floor. Beat-up Jay ends up dumped in the crowd as the Wolves now turn to work over Mark, who has no-one to tag. Good story, well executed. Of course, there is the eventual hot tag to Jay and it's a sprint from that point on with a faster pace, bigger moves and nearer falls. This was pretty great. Mark and Richards go toe-to-toe in the middle of the ring, each taking each other's best. Edwards takes over from Davey, before Jay and Edwards go at it. All 4 down. Richards does his crazy tope before Jay takes a Wolves double-team backstabber/powerbomb combo and Edwards locks on the Achilles lock immediately. Wolves go for the Briscoes' own (well, in a manner of speaking) Doomsday Device, but the brothers break it up with a springboard Diamond Cutter and a reverse frankensteiner. A Jay Driller on Edwards yields a 2-count, before a Briscoes Doomsday secures the title-retaining pinfall.

 

Match was really good for what it was, but they could have done a lot more with it. I am spoiler-free on ROH for the very large part, but the live reports I'd heard from the this match was that it was awesomely incredible and the 2nd best match of the weekend behind what Undertaker and Michaels would do on Sunday night. That was not the case, since, for example, the 6-man tag team main event from Dragon Gate USA's "Mercury Rising" PPV also in Phoenix this weekend was a much better match, for me. As good as this one was in it's own way, I have to admit to being a little disappointed with it - the same feeling I had about these two teams' previous bout at 'Final Battle'. Still, **** for me.

 

All-in-all, a decent enough show where just about everything on offer is more than acceptable. If you buy it and watch it, you'll enjoy it. Still, for a WM weekend event from ROH, this isn't essential viewing and you could easily get away with skipping it and not feel like you've missed anything critical (assuming the Steen/Generico angle is replayed on VideoWire and such). That is a major step down from ROH's WM weekend events of the past.

Edited August 8, 2011 by Big Benny HG

[Big Benny HG]

Phoenix Rising - Phoenix, AZ (27 March 2010)

 

Part two of the WrestleMania XVI weekend double-header from the desert. This was an afternoon show, with the WWE's Hall of Fame event nearby later on the same day.

 

No promos or backstage skits here, so it's straight into Rocky Romero vs. Kenny Omega. Fast early sequence ends with Rocky hitting a tope. Omega, bleeding from the nose, takes over until Romero lands a splendid springboard tornado DDT. Pace quickens and Romero utilises a cool counter to the Croyt's Wrath, into a heel hook for a near-tap. Omega with a convincing near-fall from a small package. Kenny then catches Rocky in an awkward-looking Croyt's Wrath for the win. Decent enough bout, but the crowd was absolutely dead for it beyond polite applause since they had no reason to care who won.

 

We join the Embassy backstage for a promo. Joey Ryan hypes himself, Bison Smith, Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli vs. The Briscoes, Rasche Brown and Necro Butcher. Hmm, that's not what's listed on the DVD's back cover. Shawn Daivari issues an open challenge to anyone in the world. Good... except the commentators already told us that Shawn Daivari vs. Human Tornado was up next... In the ring, Daivari responds to '"U-S-A" chants by explaining why he is more American than anyone in the crowd. He maybe has a point to a certain extent, here on WrestleMania weekend. Not much to this. After several minutes of unremarkable action, Daivari pins Tornado with his feet on the ropes. Bit pointless.

 

An all-PWG showdown next, Kevin Steen vs. Scott Lost, though Steen's PWG appearances had become rare at this point. Steen jumps Lost at the bell, beats him up around ringside and goes from there. Again, same formula as all 2010 Steen bouts in ROH: he takes his opponent apart, he humilaites him and he cracks wise at people while he does it. Probably wants to stop that, since it gets laughs that a maniacal psycho evil heel shouldn't. Lost, cast in the babyface-in-peril role here, hits a Diamond Cutter but Steen avoids the Big Fat Kill kick and uses the package piledriver for the win. Interesting fact: my girlfriend's sister is singer in a band called 'Piledriver'. They're shit. Perfectly acceptable extended squash, here.

 

Despite what was said in the promo earlier, Chris Hero isn't on the show due to injury, so it's Joey Ryan & Bison Smith & Claudio Castagnoli & PRINCE NANA vs. The Briscoes (Jay & Mark) & Necro Butcher & Rasche Brown. PRINCE NANA WRESTLING. What a truly magnificent chap. The idea of this match, like others this weekend, is to preview several bouts at 'Big Bang' next week. Necro uses a completely contrived and quite ridiculous-looking headscissors on Castagnoli, who has to sell this shit. The babyfaces do a big Chikara/Dragon Gate-style massive multi-person assisted (including several crowd members) abdominal stretch spot. Got to admit, I loved that. From there, though, it was all very nondescript, with too many advantage switches to give it any momentum. Babyfaces all do dives to the floor, leaving Nana trapped in the ring with big "Skullcrusher" Rasche Brown. Joey Ryan saves his boss. The Briscoes then go for a Doomsday Device on Nana, but this time Bison saves. Castagnoli and Jay fight over trademark spots, before Claudio gives him possibly the best UFO (hands-free airplane spin) EVER. Briscoes come back with a Spike Jaydriller on Double-C for the win. A bit "meh" as a match.

 

The first and only Pick Six bout of WrestleMania weekend sees Kenny King vs. Scorpio Sky. Early dominance from King before Sky flies with a big dive, then King back on top after using referee Todd Sinclair as a shield. Scorpio gets to hit a neat leaping frankensteiner to the top but is soon put away when he is nailed with a Royal Flush from the top rope. Decent enough, I suppose, but completely unremarkable and will be forgotten as soon as it finished. It has to be said that I'm also quickly losing interest in Kenny King...

 

Big nostalgia kick from 10 years ago now, with Steve Corino vs. Jerry Lynn as two former ECW veterans and champions going head-to-head in a rematch of a memorable bout from 'Heatwave 2000'. Starts with verbals from both men, in which the bout is made into a hardcore/extreme/ECW match. I'll admit to being quite interested in seeing this, actually. The verbal jousting kick-starts a heated brawl. Chairs, barriers, someone's crutch and a broom all play a part in the early going. Corino sets up a ladder bridge on the outside and the pair struggle on the apron until Lynn is planted face-first into it. Lynn bleeding for the second night in a row. Back in the ring, Jerry headscissors Corino head-first into a chair set up in the corner, causing Corino to bleed. Back outside again, and Lynn follows Corino into the crowd with a running dive over the barrier from the floor. They fight briefly around the building, ending with Lynn leaping from the hard camera stand onto his opponent. Back inside, Lynn continues to turn it on by suplexing Corino onto the ladder and drop-kicking a chair into his face. Lynn starts to set up some chairs, but Corino comes back and continues the construction work by bringing a ringside security barrier in and placing it on the chairs. At this moment, you can't help to notice REFEREE PAUL TURNER HELPING THEM SET UP THIS STRUCTURE. FUXAKE. Anyway, Corino superplexes Lynn down onto the metal. "This is awesome (clap clap clapclapclap)" goes the crowd, and it has to be said that this match is the first thing to truly connect with them tonight. Lynn 'sort of' spears Corino through an upright table and goes for the cradle piledriver, but Corino's buddy Steen arrives to interfere. Steen hits Lynn with a chair, but Corino only scores 2. Lynn comes back with a draping DDT onto the chair for a 2 of his own. Jerry tries to re-enact the "DIE" spot from 'Heatwave' by writing on his own chest in Corino's blood, but he is cut off. El Generico evens the odds by running out and hitting Corino with a Yakuza kick. LYnn follows up with a cradle piledriver on a chair for the win. Really fun hardcore-style match that I really enjoyed. ***1/2. Two nights in a row that Jerry has been involved in grudge-style stunt bouts, and I've actually enjoyed him more this weekend than I have in ages.

 

Generico is back out again for the next match: El Generico & Colt Cabana vs. American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards). Duelling chants for Richards and Cabana from the Phoenix fans during the opening exchanges, as I try to recall these two ever facing off in a singles bout before, in ROH,PWG or anywhere else. Doesn't spring to mind, but they surely, surely have. Real fine tag bout with the Wolves isolating Generico, whose selling once again draws you in. Generico with a Michinoku Driver on Edwards and then the hot tag to Cabana, who runs wild on both Wolves with Bionic elbows and a moonsault. Slick tag team work from the babyfaces, before Richards and Edwards fight back with double-teams of their own. Generico gives the Wolves a half-and-half suplex each, before a Yakuza kick -> Colt45 chain earns a near-fall. End of the match sees Cabana trap Edwards in the Billy Goat's Curse for the submission while Generico keeps Richards at bay with a Brainbustaaaa on the top buckle. Perhaps shorter than I'd prefer, but still a grand tag team contest. ***1/2. Story is Generico is all fired up and back to his best, while Generico and Cabana are showing themselves to be working incredibly well as a unit.

 

Of course, Kevin Steen turns up and takes out Cabana. Steen and Generico go face-to-face as Steen tries to goad his former partner into hitting him. Steen repeatedly calls Generico a "bitch" and goes to slap him, but Generico blocks it and spits in Steen's face. He's possibly finally going to hit Steen, but Corino attack him before we find out. Cabana saves and the heels bail once again. Fantastic angle - still can't wait to see this tag match at 'Big Bang'.

 

Of course, as mentioned in my review of 'From the Ashes', 'Phoenix Rising' also features Tyler Black vs. Austin Aries vs. Roderick Strong in a 3-man gauntlet series to build the 3-way title match next week at 'Big Bang'. Last night's series was okay, but far from remarkable. Tonight starts with Aries vs. Strong, who didn't face each other officially last night. Generation Next... No Remorse Corps vs. Resilience... etc. Starts with A-Double talking, as usual. In a rarity, Strong picks up the microphone when he's done, as if he has something to say himself, but instead just smacks Aries and it's on. Fast action, quickly back-and-forth. Crowd is dead, however, possibly burnt out from a weekend of TOO MUCH WRESTLING. After roughly 10 minutes of action, the pair struggle on the top rope. Strong sends Aries down to the mat but he himself falls down through the ringside table and lays motionless on the floor. Referees, owner Cary Silkin, trainees and Executive Producer James E Cornette all come out to take a look at him. Tyler Black comes out. Strong can't continue and is helped to the back. Aries, back on the mic, challenges Tyler to put his belt on the line and Black agrees. So, we have Tyler Black vs. Austin Aries for the ROH World Title as the final of the gauntlet. *Yawn*, I've seen this too many times now. The two battle and bonk heads for a double-down just 2 minutes in. This isn't going long. Tyler misses a quebrada for another double-down. At this point, Roderick Strong re-emerges, his should and arm all taped up. He wants in. Aries wants none of it, but Strong kicks Aries, leading to a 2-count for Black. Strong gets in the ring and they all stare at each other like they want to fight. Jim Cornette grabs the microphone and does indeed make it a 3-way for the World Title right now, just a week ahead of the same match advertised for the 'Big Bang' in Charlotte. So, it's Black vs. Aries vs. Strong in a 3-way in a sneak preview, then, if you will, and a treat for the WrestleMania weekend fans. Strong flips dives over onto both opponents on the floor. It continues from there with fast-paced, exciting, stellar 3-way combat. Clever merging of each wrestler's well-known trademark spots into cool 3-way scenarios in a way that make sense. In an awesome sequence, Aries pulled off a turnbuckle pad, but Tyler sent him packing out of the ring. Strong then tried the Gibson Driver on Tyler, but Black lifted him up over the ropes, where Aries caught him in a Death Valley Driver on the apron. Black then followed up with a springboard dive outside onto both opponents. Great stuff. Back inside, Black nails Strong with God's Last Gift (small package driver) for a 2-count. Tyler then locks on a Fujiwara armbar on Strong's injured arm/sholder for the immediate tap-out win. Story is that Strong tapped out to avoid a serious injury which would keep him out of his next chance in the huge rematch next week at the 'Bang'. The 3-way portion of this only last 6 or 7 minutes, but it was really excellent and a wonderful preview of the 'proper' 3-way on the next show, which I now can't wait for. ***1/2 for this alone.

 

Overall, I could sum up this event exactly the same as last night's - a decent enough event with some good stuff on it that you will get a kick out of, but you can't honestly say you'd miss anything essential or particularly jaw-dropping if you didn't bother. Again, the first time that ROH's WrestleMania weekend events are entirely miss-able. The main focus of the weekend seemed to be about building and previewing 'Big Bang', which it admittedly did do in the same way that 'go-home' TV would before a WWE or TNA PPV (well, less so in the case of TNA, who don't build to anything but next week's TV rating). However, the main problem with that approach is that these were just DVD tapings/house shows, and the DVDs would never be available to actually see this build before the iPPV is broadcast the next weekend. You could argue that they actually then hype the DVD release of 'Big Bang', but I would expect that most people who get these shows would be getting 'Bang' anyway. As such, as stand-alone events, 'From the Ashes' and 'Phoenix Rising' have to come off as disappointments.

 

That said, the next event I'll be viewing is, of course, the 'Big Bang' PPV, which looks an utterly stunning line-up from what has been built to in 2010. Black vs. Aries vs. Strong, Generico & Cabana vs. Steen & Corino and Briscoes vs. Kings of Wrestling have already got me eager to throw the disc in the machine as soon as possible. Of course, full review to come....

[Enrico Federico]

Can anyone tell me a website n which i can watch all the present ROH stuff??

 

Thanks

[Big Benny HG]

Can anyone tell me a website n which i can watch all the present ROH stuff??

 

Thanks

The new TV series starts shortly after the tapings in September, and will be available to watch on the ROH website.

 

The iPPVs are broadcast by GoFight Live.

 

The weekly VideoWire show is on YouTube.

 

You can buy the DVDs of the other recent events at www.rohwrestling.com.

[I Bent My Wookie]

Jay Lethal signed his contract with ROH, glad to see he's sticking round there for a bit then.

[Dil|kid]

Just finished watching the Revolution shows, and although not 'absolute must-have' shows, ROH is still in top form this year.

 

USA

 

Starts with Homicide v Ciampa. Homicide has bored me since his return and I hate the Embassy. Ciampa is wasted, from what little Ive seen of him he could be so much better. Prince Nana doesnt help him like Martini does Elgin. Which brings me onto Elgin v Andy Ridge, I enjoyed this because Elgin battered Ridge and thats exactly what I want from him. Ridge needs new gear. Mike Bennett vs. Grizzly Redwood was okay, furthered Bennett's fued with Corino, who has been great on the mic, the best in ROH this year.

 

I love Rhett Titus and I love ANX, their fued with the Briscoes has the potential to be fantastic. The first blood match was fine but the finish was brilliant and fun, and sets up their streetfight at SCOH perfectly. Cabana vs Chris Daniels was really average and what you'd expect from the two. Cole and O'Reilly look like they belong amongst ROH's top tags in their match against TWGGT, just wish ROH would let them win some, O'Reilly is great. Roderick Strong v El Generico in a street fight was fun, ending with the usual and expected HOT/Cabana interference.

 

KOW vs American Wolves was very good but no way near their Tag Title Classic II match.

 

 

 

Canada

 

Started off with a cracking opener from Claudio and O'Reilly, great storytelling and O'Reilly really is one for 2012 but needs to break away from Cole. Corino and Bennett was fun and furthered the Corino storyline, I love Bennett and Corino is getting the best from him, needs a better finisher though. Double Danger Scramble match was fun, a bit messy but did the job in making Elgin look a monster. Davey Richards vs Kenny King was okay, but promoting it as a rematch from over a year ago was pointless and the finish was weird.

 

Cabana and Delirious gave a great tribute to Larry Sweeney, built around a strut-off with Sinclair getting involved. Nowhere as fun as their match here in Liverpool but still a great tribute. Daniels and El Generico was again fine, but I can never personally get into a Daniels match. The tag title match between the Briscoes and tWGTT was by the numbers but enjoyable.

 

The main event of Eddie Edwards and Chris Hero was fantastic, I loved it, brilliant storytelling and use of the submissions, Hero's elbows and Eddies suprkick. Even though the crowd hated the finish, I quite liked it.

 

If I had to pick just one show Id say go for Revolution: Canada for the opener and main event. Plus the Toronto crowd is much more hotter, although annoying at times. Ive got the next 2 shows on the way but with a my 2nd child due on Thursday I might have to have a break from ROH for a while.

 

 

Will be keeping an eye out though for the weekends results, as the the new logo will be introduced and that means new ring and barriers etc. Be interesting to see what it looks like

[Dil|kid]

That said, the next event I'll be viewing is, of course, the 'Big Bang' PPV, which looks an utterly stunning line-up from what has been built to in 2010. Black vs. Aries vs. Strong, Generico & Cabana vs. Steen & Corino and Briscoes vs. Kings of Wrestling have already got me eager to throw the disc in the machine as soon as possible. Of course, full review to come....

 

be looking forward to reading this review and you wont be disappointed, Big Bang is a cracking show

[gadge]

SoCal Showdown 2 - Los Angeles, CA - 28/1/11

 

The show opens with an in-ring Kings of Wrestling promo on their advancement in the past year and their opponents this evening, Wrestling's "So Called" Greatest Tag Team. Nothing happens other than the talking, however.

 

The Bravado Brothers vs Cedric Alexander & Celeb Konley - Suffice to say, these are neither the Kings of Wrestling nor Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team. An OK opener, nothing more, the Bravados defeating Team CACK with a roll-up on Cedric at 7:51. Next...

 

Colt Cabana vs Jay Briscoe - Apparently this is a first time ever singles match in ROH. They don't get long to mark the occasion, just 7:09, but do what they can for the most part. Jay struggles with Cabana's mat wrestling skill and goofiness to start but manages to draw Cabana into a battle to get himself back into it. Jay then scores a somewhat surprising win with the Jay Driller. A reward for his bloodloss and worthy challenge against Roderick at the last show, perhaps...

 

The All Night Express vs The Cutler Brothers - A tad underwhelming, this one, no-one seems to be able to decide if either team is a fan favourite, the momentum keeps changing on a whim, and some of the more advanced sequences are at the very least a bit messy. Plus, the ANX are always going to win in their home promotion, going over at 10:59. This felt longer than that, which is never a good sign.

 

Davey Richards vs TJ Perkins - Fresh off his fantastic victory against Chris Hero at Only The Strong Survive, Davey tears it up again here against the ever-dependable TJP. This is billed as a Battle of Mat Technicians, and the first half is the EVOLVE-style action you might expect, before they level up and deliver the type of action you might get from a decent ROH main event. Perhaps the only problem with that is the crowd don't quite buy TJP in that spot, hanging with Richards and kicking out of his array of kicks, and he subsequently attracts a few boos. Davey works the arm, as usual, and TJP attempts to take Davey's leg out to limited success, coming closer with a couple of tight cradles. For Davey, his established gameplan pays off in the end, as after surviving the cross armbreaker a couple of times, the Falcon Arrow straight into the hold one more time earns him the submission victory at 18:55. Davey puts PWG and TJP over afterwards, and the crowd approves. Cracking match.

 

ROH World TV Title: Christopher Daniels vs Mark Briscoe - The Prophecy explodes! Well, not really, but Allison Danger being in Daniels' corner takes me back. This is a solid "TV" match, starting off slowly and building steadily. Daniels at first avoids the Frog Elbow that pinned him in the 8-man main event of Champions vs All-Stars, then when he is hit by it later kicks out. This leads to a hot exchange of both men's trademark stuff, with Mark kicking out of Angels Wings before being pinned with the BME at 12:20. As I said, solid.

 

The Kings of Wrestling vs Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin - Another non-title match between these two teams, following on from their thriller at Glory By Honor IX. That bout was great due to the electric atmosphere of the Manhattan Center, as the crowd bit on heat segments and were desperate to see WGTT hit all their trademarks. I wrote at the time that future WGTT matches in ROH would only get better, and that's evident here as the chemistry between the teams is better established and the action is smoother and better paced as a result. There's some well executed reversals of spots that worked in the GBHIX match too for those who like to analyse. Terrific stuff and they get the crowd absolutely eating out of their hands well before the end. The finish sees Charlie once again lock Claudio in the Haas of Pain, only this time Shelton is able to stop Hero from using the loaded elbow to break it up, and Claudio taps at 17:03. Just splendid.

 

ROH World Title Match: Roderick Strong vs El Generico - Roderick's title reign continues to maintain a decent standard here, though this isn't one of his very best. Strong perhaps just has a bit too much control of this one to make it as exciting as it could be, and while Generico's selling and explosiveness are there he's worn down a lot. The finish is a bit of an anticlimax as well, as Roderick distracts the ref with one of those big hefty padded chairs, then uses the title belt to hit Generico behind the ref's back to set up the Sick Kick and Gibson Driver for the pin at 22:00 even. Roderick gets on the mic to run down his challengers afterwards, but Davey Richards, Chris Daniels and Jay Briscoe run him off. Daniels puts over WrestleReunion and that's our show.

 

Overall - There's not much to the opening three bouts, but the four top bouts offer more than enough to make this an easy show to recommend. DVD run time is 2 hours, 20 minutes for the main feature, which is complemented in the bonus section by Video Wires from before and after, a promo from new Embassy barrister RD Evans which basically resets the faction, a farewell promo from Adam Cole as he heads to Europe, and a 10 Questions with Cole & O'Reilly segment.. most interesting answers for me were when asked the best guys they've ever wrestled, Cole puts over Zack Sabre Jr (COME ON ZACK!) while O'Reilly names The Honky Tonk Man (!)