Official ROH Discussion Thread

[IANdrewDiceClay]

Here's the best thing in ROH's history from Sunday night:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=playe...;v=Rn9ADyUpnSs#

[Joey Joe Joe Jr]

Brilliant stuff from Corino there. Some of his lines to Nigel were class.

[BiffingtonClyro]

Wow, a PPV and their letting him commentate like that? He was totally ripping the piss out of their product.

[The Cum Doctor]

Kevin Steen is supposed to be the antichrist of ROH or something like that, and with Corino with him, it sorta makes sense that if he's gonna do commentary, he's gonna be like that. Which is kind of stupid from ROH's point of view, but absolutely fantastic from mines, because he was world class.

 

I think calling Steen vs. Richards just an ECW brawl is a bit harsh. I didn't like many of them. I thought this was pretty good though. Certainly better than their first No DQ match, which was dull as fuck. I quite liked this one.

 

Most of the show was REALLY disappointing. Was especially disappointed by Finlay vs. Elgin.

[Devon Malcolm]

Great job by Corino. I bet loads of ROH fans hated it. But that company has always taken itself way too fucking seriously. It's professional wrestling, for fuck's sake, it's supposed to be a good laugh at times.

 

A bit of self-mocking humour will do them no harm at all, although more abuse of Kevin Kelly is definitely required.

[Big Benny HG]

ROH Best in the World 2011 (26 June 2011)

 

 

ROH may have just presented 'Best in the World 2012' on iPPV this past weekend, but one year ago yesterday they ran the 2011 version in front of the biggest live crowd to ever see an ROH show, as well as their biggest iPPV audience up to that point. Indeed, the promotion's return to the Hammerstein Ballroom for the first time in a couple of years saw the fans turn out in their masses. And hey, what do you know, I've just caught the DVD version...

 

As well as the entire iPPV, the disc also features titbits from the pre-show, including an in-ring Eddie Edwards interview where he explains his motivation for the night's main event and Adam Cole & Kyle O'Reilly taking on GenerationMe in a 10 minute tag tussle. It's relegated to the pre-show due to Max and Jeremy Buck's contractual status with TNA, and is one of those daft little tag bouts which is wonderfully exciting and fun in some places, annoyingly over-choreographed in others, prompting a wholly-unwarranted "This is awesome (clap clap clapclapclap)" chant (which is a ridiculously stupid chant at the best of times). In other news, Kyle O'Reilly is one of the worst wrestlers I have ever seen.

 

The main show itself starts with 5 singles matches in a row, and there isn't a stinker among them. Colt Cabana vs. Tomasso Ciampa and the returning Jay Lethal vs. Mike Bennett are as basic as it gets, but they are still acceptable undercard filler and enjoyable in that context. Homicide faces The Embassy's hired muscle Rhino (who I'm trying desperately to remember if he has appeared in ROH before) in a no holds barred 'Barrio Streetfight' which, again, isn't anything spectacular but still comes in as a solid and entertaining brawl - something different to break up all the straight-up matches.

 

The first major talking point from the show comes prior to Steve Corino vs. Michael Elgin. Corino is still trying desperately to convince the ROH wrestlers he has changed from the villain of the past, but so far no-one has bought into his attitude change apart from Jimmy Jacobs, himself a reforming bad guy. Corino and Jacobs promise that they have a third man who also wishes to change and denounce his heelish past, and the crowd immediately twigs that he's talking about Kevin Steen. Sure enough, Steen makes his first ROH appearance for over 6 months, coming in through the crowd. He is prevented from making it to the ring, however, by an entire army of ROH staff and security, who intercept him and remove him from the building, much to the disapproval of the audience. In the come-down from all this excitement, the actual Corino vs. Elgin match itself comes off very flat. The crowd isn't interested and even iPPV commentators Kevin Kelly and Dave Prazack disappear for the duration, selling the chaos which preceded it. The highlight of the contest sees Elgin catching Corino on a tope(!) and turning it into an Oklahoma Stampede on the barrier/floor. In the aftermath of the bout, Elgin and manager Truth Martini are laying a beating on Corino and Jacobs, prompting the re-invasion of Steen to make the save. This time, Steen does get the opportunity he came for. At first, Steen appears to be the humble, reformed character Corino and Jacobs promised. However, when he is given the chance to speak, he reveals he is exactly the same man who ran crazy over ROH during the entire 2010 calendar year and was forced out of the promotion in December, declaring "FUCK RING OF HONOR!!" as he attacks the men who are trying to make him change, smacking Jacobs and laying out Corino with a package piledriver before security manage to remove him from the premises....again. ROH Executive Producer James E Cornette proclaims that we will never, ever see Steen in ROH again. The reform/sponsorship/buddy storyline may be completely G-A-Y, but this is a super-cool angle and comes off as majorly exciting.

 

In a side note, one thing that was noticeably apparent during the course of this show is that it seems every single heel on the roster is part of a stable or has some kind of heel manager. With Prince Nana, RD Reynolds, Ernesto Osiris, Princess Mia, Truth Martini, Brutal Bob Evans, Shane Hagadorn, Sara Del Rey and probably more I've forgotten, ROH's ringside non-wrestler cast is almost as big as its in-ring roster. The majority of these people are completely interchangeable and do absolutely nothing to the aim of making each wrestler a distinguishable and unique character.

 

The top three matches on offer on 'Best in the World 2011' actually take up more than half of the DVD main feature run-time, and are all terrific. Christopher Daniels vs. El Generico for the Television Title is a hot one with a crowd massively into everything they do. Daniels' heel character adds massively to the bout compared to if it had been a straight-up athletic contest like some of his earlier bouts from this ROH run. Generico plays off this wonderfully, and I was impressed with this strong bout. The tag team title bout sees Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin defend against The Briscoes, the All Night Express and the Kings of Wrestling in a fantastic 4-way elimination match. Clocking in at over 35 minutes, yet not outstaying its welcome, it is given time to develop and show-off each of the 4 teams' own characters and styles, so that you understand their motivations within the match. It works off previous encounters between the teams at the same time as advancing existing storylines and setting up new situations. I enjoyed this one a great deal.

 

The main event is the aforementioned World Title collision between Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards. I explained the set-up and the dynamic at work here at the end of my 'Supercard of Honor VI' review above, so won't bother repeating myself here. I'll admit to saying it is a storyline that had me interested, and the match itself is splendid. It's really well-paced and tells a great story of two men who are friends, but whose personal and professional ambition and pride pushes them further and further. It would be easy to expect this one to be one of those wanky-wanky-workrateTM exhibitions, but it actually isn't. The crowd seems genuinely into the match from the point of view of wanting to see the outcome, rather than the typical ROH fans who only want to see matches for the 'action' so they can make their cringey appreciative chants. The time flies by, culminating in a dramatic and exciting finish. The emotional close to the show adds more engagement to the fine overall package. It will be interesting to see where they go with this from here, since they've told this story so well here, it will be difficult to take it further without it ending up in goofiness, ridiculousness and overkill.

 

So, then, yes: this is a very worthwhile DVD package which comes with a high recommendation from myself. If you were looking for a DVD which defines ROH in 2011, this is pretty much it. Not everything is amazing, but as an event as a whole it stands up very respectively in terms of match quality in comparison to WWE and TNA PPV events.

 

Full show results:

<-- click on 'spoiler' to show/hide the spoiler

Kyle O'Reilly & Adam Cole beat The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) by disqualification when The Bravado Brothers ran in and attacked them

 

Tomasso Ciampa beat Colt Cabana with a double-knees backbreaker

 

Jay Lethal beat Mike Bennett with a top rope elbow drop

 

No Holds Barred Barrio Streetfight: Homicide beat Rhino, countering the Gore into a sunset flip

 

Michael Elgin beat Steve Corino with a spinning powerbomb

 

El Generico beat Christopher Daniels with a top-rope brainbustaa to win the ROH Television Title

 

4-corners elimination tag match:

- All Night Express (Rhett Titus & Kenny King) eliminated The Briscoes (Jay & Mark)

- Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) eliminated All Night Express

- Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team (Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin) eliminated the Kings of Wrestling to retain the ROH World Tag Team Titles

 

Davey Richards beat Eddie Edwards with a running kick to the head to win the ROH World Championship

 

[close spoiler]

");document.close();

[gadge]

I still can't believe Generico lost the tv title almost immediately on the first Sinclair taping.

 

Best in the World 2011 is still the last whole ROH show I watched - though I did watch the opening two bouts of Border Wars that was linked on another thread recently...

[IANdrewDiceClay]

Why is Generico not on TV anymore? Were those rumours about Cornette not liking his 'hokey' gimmick true, then?

[PowerButchi]

ROH needs Generico right now. Probably the only person who can get the crowd to stop pretending they are dead clever and get them to boo Steen.

[Halitosis Romantic]

Why is Generico not on TV anymore? Were those rumours about Cornette not liking his 'hokey' gimmick true, then?

 

I'd have Cornette on the payroll of my company, as a reverse divining rod - if he thinks it's great, it's shite. If he hates it, give it a push. He'd also get the J.R. humiliation treatment, although he'd be under a hood, for obvious reasons.

[Richie Freebird]

A young lady is probably safer trudging through Kidderminster underpass after dark than coming within three hundred feet of our lot.

 

She is clearly smiling in that photo!

[Big Benny HG]

ROH No Escape (9 July 2011)

 

 

I thought I’d be moving onto the ‘Death Before Dishonor IX’ iPPV next, skipping the unremarkable-looking ‘Tag Team Turmoil’ and ‘No Escape’ events from ROH’s July mid-Atlantic weekender. It turns out, though, that the latter of those two shows is actually available for members to watch in full on the ROH website. May as well give it a look, then...

 

In actual fact, there is plenty to be interested in here, to say it is a secondary or even tertiary level show. The 'No Escape' idea is realised in a main event Steel Cage match between El Generico and Roderick Strong, which acts as the finale to Generico's mini-feud with the House of Truth. This has seen Generico have some belting 2011 bouts against Strong and some decent efforts with Michael Elgin, but the interference of manager Truth Martini has been a recurrent theme. Thus, the climax to the series takes place behind the fence. I'd be lying if I said this was the best match these two have had against each other, but it is still damn good fun. They go a bit overboard with the false finishes at the end, but leading up to that it is an exciting and rewarding encounter which serves as a worthy ending. What they do with Generico now is anyone's guess, as this HoT feud has realistically been him treading water since 'Final Battle'.

 

The 'No Escape' theme also plays a part in building the Briscoes vs. All Night Express feud, ahead of them settling the score in Ladder War III at 'Death Before Dishonor'. The two teams face each other in two separate singles matches, with the non-participating partners handcuffed to opposing ring posts to prevent shenanigans. Both Mark Briscoe vs. Kenny King and Jay Briscoe vs. Rhett Titus are good, enjoyable brawls that the live crowd eats up. The handcuff gimmick adds to the fun and games, as the restricted partners still try to get involved whenever they can. When a pair of bolt clippers make an appearance, all hell breaks loose, much like it has over the duration of what has been a terrific feud. The Briscoes are already now involved in what looks to be their post-DBD feud against Wrestling's Greatest Tag Team, but I'm still eager to see the pay-off to this one at the iPPV.

 

Possibly the most interesting-looking bout sees World Champion Davey Richards and former champ Eddie Edwards, fresh from their big PPV singles bout, reunite as the American Wolves to face the up-and-comer partnership of Adam Cole and Richards' protege Kyle O'Reilly. Richards says that he won't go easy on his pal, and that O'Reilly and Cole will need to bring their very best if they are going to tackle the Wolves. They do, and it makes for a cracking tag bout. It's competitive, all-action excitement that draws you in and keeps you guessing, with Cole and O'Reilly recapturing that spark that saw them put in two fantastic matches over WrestleMania weekend. The end of the contest is also notable, as it continues the story between Richards and Edwards in a way that keeps the situation fresh and interesting. Edwards supposedly fails to realise that the referee has stopped the match, meaning he keeps putting a serious hurting on partner Davey's buddy O'Reilly. Obviously this doesn't sit well with the other members of the match, including Richards...

 

A real nice surprise comes in the form of Chris Hero vs. Colt Cabana, which is a wonderfully fun little match in the middle of the card. Basically, it's two guys who have known each other forever, who know exactly how to get the best out of each other as opponents and build a match that does just that. Even Cabana's goofiness works a treat, as Hero always sells it perfectly in his reactions and his strategy to try and cope with it. I enjoyed the heck out of this one, which is easily the best Colt Cabana match of 2011 so far.

 

Of course, there is some fluff on here too. Andy Ridge vs. Mick Bennett won't get anyone too excited. Bennett is someone who displays all the confidence and showmanship to make him a star, with a good basic punch-kick-slam moveset which would allow him to fit right in a proper promotion eventually with a bit of seasoning, but is someone that is never going to earn much in the way of interest or engagement from ROH's fanbase. Michael Elgin & Chase Owens vs. Cedric Alexander & Caprice Coleman (spot the odd man out there...) is just dull, uninteresting and drags on an age. Tag champs Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin are left to fight The Bravado Brothers, of all people, in a quick, basic TV-style squash, though this one does set up another entertaining post-match brawl with 'Dem Boyz the Briscoes, even if the live fans want to cheer the heel Briscoes over the heel champions...

 

I know Dearly Devoted Dexter didn't think much of this show when he watched it, but I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised with what I found. After going in with low expectations to an event that I wasn't even interested in seeing, I found this to be a good, solid card with plenty of decent and enjoyable matches. It is true that if you decide to skip this one, you won't be missing anything crucial or special. However, if you decide to give it a go (taking it in the context of being a 'B' show, so you cast aside the expected fluff and appreciate the good stuff), the chances are you'll find this a fun and entertaining little show.

 

Full show results:

<-- click on 'spoiler' to show/hide the spoiler

Mike Bennett beat Andy Ridge with a piledriver

 

Kenny King beat Mark Briscoe with the Coronation

 

Rhett Titus beat Jay Briscoe by DQ following interference from Mark Briscoe

 

American Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards{W, Achilles Lock}) beat Adam Cole & Kyle O’Reilly by referee stoppage

 

Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander{W, frog-splash} beat The House of Truth (Michael Elgin & Chase Owens{L})

 

Chris Hero beat Colt Cabana with a rolling big boot

 

Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin beat The Bravado Brothers

 

Steel Cage Match: El Generico beat Roderick Strong with a top-rope brainbustaaa

 

[close spoiler]

");document.close();

Up next: the 'Death Before Dishonor IX' iPPV, back in New York. The key attraction appears to be the feud-ending Ladder War between the Briscoes and the All Night Express, a series which has caught my imagination during my 2011 catch-up.

Edited June 28, 2012 by Big Benny HG

[Big Benny HG]

ROH Death Before Dishonor IX (17 September 2011)

 

 

In an iPPV that seems to have crept up from nowhere, with top star and World Champion Davey Richards absent on an NJPW tour, ROH returns to New York for the first time since 'Best in the World'. Despite gaining their biggest ever 2,400 attendance last time in the Hammerstein Ballroom, perhaps the lack of a single 'huge' attraction match sees them downgrade back to the Manhattan Centre downstairs, drawing the usual sold-out 1,200 and apparently turning away a further 200 at the door.

 

It is also notable that this is the first show to take place since the inaugural set of TV tapings for the new weekly show on the Sinclair networks (the first episode was due to air 1 week after this event). As such, the ring, barriers, entranceway etc are all covered in the new-look ROH logo, which is somewhat of a throwback to the original badge and a massive improvement on that basic, blocky, ugly-looking one they've been using. It also has to be said that picture quality on this presentation is much, much better than that seen on any ROH DVD to date. Colours are rich and bright, darks aren't grainy and the image is sharp and crisp - probably the result of them now using the HD cameras from the TV show. Still very noticeable, however, is that the DVD is still presented in 20th century 4:3 picture format, which winds me up no end.

 

This is is a 7-match card, but exactly half of the 2hr 45min DVD run-time is taken up with the top 2 bouts. Oh boy. In the absence of Davey Boy, Roderick Strong and Eddie Edwards contest the number-one contendership in the co-main event. It's billed as a 'Ringmaster's Challenge', which is basically a 2-out-3-fall match with a separate stipulation for each fall. A bit like the old WWE 3 Stages of Hell gimmick, except each stipulation here is based around wrestling ability rather than violence or settling a blood feud. The first fall is pinfall-only, the second submission-only, the third is then a 15-minute Iron Man, with a Sudden Death overtime period if things are still level. It's the usual very good match between these two, featuring smooth technical action, hard-hitting strikes, dramatic submission attempts and crazy near-falls, and the 45+ minute match time really flies by, but it has to be said that it's becoming less and less interesting to see these guys fight the more and more times they are paired together. Indeed, this is the 3rd major event in 6 months that Strong and Edwards have met in a top-line singles bout, and virtually every big show even going back to Tyler Black's days in 2010 seems to have featured some combination of Richards, Edwards and Strong mano-a-mano. The ROH main event scenario is stale beyond belief, and the parity booking which has gone on between the three over the previous 12 months keeps them all at the same level with no-one else in danger of breaking through and freshening things up. As said already, this incarnation of Strong vs. Edwards is definitely a very good match and watched in isolation it would be a cracker. However, it's just more of the same as you've already seen them do to each other all year and doesn't even pretend to offer anything different.

 

It has to be said the live crowd is massively into the loooong Edwards vs. Strong bout, but the problem is that the co-main leaves the audience well and truly burned out and drained for the 'proper' headliner, that being the feud-ending final grudge match between The Briscoes and the All Night Express. This is Ladder War III, the third instalment of ROH's signature tables, ladders and chairs match gimmick that they bring out every couple of years for two of their hottest teams to contest a wild, crazy, stunt-based brawl. The restraint the promotion shows in only wheeling out the Ladder War once every 2 years or so is admirable, and does mean it retains a the air of a specialist attraction worth seeing. It's a real shame the audience is down for much of this, since it was these fans in this particular venue that were red hot for the blinder these two teams put on in March which featured the double-turn and kicked-off the entire deal. Since then, this has been ROH's best feud of 2011 and one that I've enjoyed enormously. All 4 men put in the graft, going at it hard and heavy and working their arses off. Fittingly, since it has been a signature of the series between these teams, 3 of the 4 blokes bleed heavily (with only Kenny King getting away with it) and you really get the sense that these guys hate each other. There are nutty dives, spectacular table breaks, cringe-inducing ladder bumps, heated brawling and more insane stunts. After all that, the simple finish comes off flat, and the lack of noise from a tired-out crowd really harms the match. If the final two matches on this show had been the other way round, I expect the fans would have been into this in a big way and the bout would have been much more memorable.

 

Another match that falls completely flat is Jimmy Jacobs vs. El Generico, as the crowd has absolutely no interest in a bout between 2 babyfaces, with no issue between them, fighting for no reason, in a match they don't want to see. It's also an obvious candidate for a run-in from banned outsider Kevin Steen, given his situation with both men, and the crowd seem to be just waiting for it to happen. Sure enough, chaos erupts as Steen invades and what follows is, however, another wonderful angle that the fans are well into. Steen tries to talk and run down ROH, but his mic is cut. He then fights off an army of security and nearly manages to blast ROH president Cary Silkin with a package piledriver when he comes in to try and talk sense. Security bundles Steen out of there, and an enraged Jim Cornette even gets a few shots in on him on the way out, which was brilliant. Generico gets involved with his arch rival again, and it's all magnificent anarchy. Great, must-see stuff.

 

The rest of the show isn't bad. New Television Champion Jay Lethal & Homicide vs. Tomasso Ciampa & Rhino, tag champ Charlie Haas vs. Michael Elgin and partner Shelton Benjamin vs. Mike Bennett are all basic and don't set the world on fire, but perfectly acceptable as decent, solid, PPV undercard affairs. The finish to the latter match, involving Bennett's interfering manager Brutal Bob, is awesome and had me reversing the DVD to "mark out" at it again. There is also a 3-way elimination tag match between The Young Bucks, Future Shock (the new name for Adam Cole & Kyle O'Reilly's partnership) and The Bravado Brothers, coming out of what happened at 'Best in the World'. It's one of those 100mph spot-fests that is exciting and fun in places, messy and daft in others. DVD extras are non-existent, not even any of the VideoWire shorts.

 

All-in-all, another good, solid all-round show from ROH that I enjoyed watching, but not one that you could say is up there at the usual level of their big, major events.

 

Full show results:

<-- click on 'spoiler' to show/hide the spoiler

The Embassy (Tomasso Ciampa{W, Project Ciampa} & Rhino) beat Homicide{L} & Jay Lethal

 

Shelton Benjamin beat Mike Bennett with the Paydirt. Brutal Bob tried to interfere for Bennett, but ended up swinging Benjamin's leg into a leaping enziguiri on Bennett. He then immediately ate a sweet superkick just before the finish.

 

3-way elimination tag match:

- Future Shock (Kyle O

[cobystag]

Considering the latest with Kenny King, Highspots are rushing out an interview they did with him and Rhett Titus two months ago.

 

 

Definitely no-brainer why he went for TNA after watching that.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

There's hell on about the Kenny King departure apparently. Ring of Honor are super pissed off. This isn't the worst time to be a wrestler if you are a talented ROH worker and your contract is coming up. TNA is searching for unsigned talent on the Indy scene and elsewhere (Borash and King were raving about how Rhett Titus and Prince Devitt of all people should be in a major promotion in the US) and with NXT and developmental being revamped, as well as the new C-show they are putting on (and the current freeze on WWE hiring TNA talent), WWE will probably snap a few of the ROH roster up if their contracts become available. Its quite shit if you are Ring of Honor, though. I don't understand why they put the belts on them. A handshake has never meant fuck all in wrestling.

 

One question, though. What the fucks he doing in the tag ranks? He looked awesome and carried himself better than at least half of the TNA roster. A real talent I thought.

 

EDIT: Christ, he's speaking the truth on that video.

Edited July 7, 2012 by The_BarbarIAN